YM778.TV Chapter 314 - Karma in Troubled Times
The Lin Clan attached great importance to the commitment. Over hundreds of years, the Lin Clan had rarely made any serious commitments. Once they agreed, they would fulfill all the promises.
Lin Fengting promised to lend one sword stroke to Qin Weibai. However, the sword stroke was all wool and a yard wide.
A full sword stroke.
The most powerful sword stroke.
With it, many things could be done.
If he unsheathed the sword without scruple, he could kill experts of the Invincible Realm, block Sword Emperor Wang Tianzong, resist against the most mysterious god of the Purgatory of Heaven Capital...
At the most critical moment, the stroke could change the general trend.
To change the general trend, one must understand it.
So, Lin Fengting had been studying the information of the Dark World after returning to Switzerland.
Meanwhile, he was slowly adjusting his state.
The Lin Clan really stood aloof from worldly success.
They did not have the most basic intelligence organization.
The branches of the Lin Clan were spread all over the world. Among them, many wealthy families took part in the Dark World’s games.
Although the headquarters of the Lin Clan had little contact with branches on weekdays, they were not completely isolated from each other all their lives. When Lin Fengting needed intelligence, the major branches would first send out information to Lin Fengting.
It was late at night in Switzerland.
The light was still on in Lin Fengting’s study.
On a luxurious and spacious desk laid all kinds of documents.
Folders, videotapes, literal data, and image data were all available. All were laid in front of Lin Fengting.
The heir of the Lin Clan Lin Youxian sat opposite to Lin Fengting and browsed stacks of information with his father.
The chaos in the Dark World was not a secret.
It was clear at a glance.
All the superpowers got into a bitter fight. Many forces played games and fought at close quarters, and some people died every day. Almost all the forces were caught in a strange circle that they wanted to win, but they could not, and they wanted to retreat, but they could not.
It seemed that all superpowers held on firmly despite extreme adversity.
However, Lin Fengting looked more and more confused.
Because in his eyes, the situation that day was really chaotic.
It was chaotic without any logic or any rules.
That was reality.
It was entirely different from what he expected.
When she was in Australia, Qin Weibai told him that the Samsara Palace had been psychologically prepared for everything that day.
From another angle, the Samsara Palace had planned all that.
Even if it could not control the overall situation, it was still one of the main forces behind the curtain.
At the very least, they could anticipate all of that and would definitely make enough preparations for everything.
However, Lin Fengting did not see the slightest preparation made by the Samsara Palace.
Like other forces, the Samsara Palace still suffered losses, held on, and was degrading.
Their movements occurred for a short time and they lacked background. The Samsara Palace could be said to be a party that had suffered the most disastrous loss.
Over three years, three medium-sized consortiums attached to the Samsara Palace in Europe were destroyed. An elite squad code-named Samsara, half of it had already been damaged.
As for the gains...
Lin Fengting looked for a long time.
However, he did not see any gains for the Samsara Palace in the past three years.
It was what puzzled him most.
He did not know what the Samsara Palace wanted to do and what the benefits were as it kept developing like that.
The Samsara Palace had been well prepared, but at the moment, the situation had utterly nullified their preparations... or was it because of something else?
Lin Fengting put down the information and took a sip of tea.
The tea had gone cold. As he poured it into his mouth, it tasted bitter but a bit refreshing.
“What do you think?”
Lin Fengting suddenly asked, looking at Lin Youxian who sat opposite him.
“Obviously, the situation has completely gone out of control.”
Lin Youxian held the information in his hand and continued, “The Purgatory of Heaven Capital pins a considerable part of the force of the Wang family of Beihai in the Annan State. Although Beihai Province is calm, they suffered great losses beyond the sea in the past three years. Almost 30 information organizations of the Wang family of Beihai in Europe and America were destroyed. An affiliated wealthy family betrayed them. The Kunlun City is even worse. Over the years, their forces built overseas have been almost annihilated.
“The tangle between the Dark Knights and the Knights Templar is that Vatican’s crackdown on the Dark Knights. But, their escalating battle caused dissatisfaction of the European Shadow Throne, which is an official organization. Although it aimed at dealing with the black devil, it will take part in the battle between the Vatican and the Dark Knights.
“In America, the Fantasy World cooperated with the Men in Black of Star State to resist Kunlun City. With the presence of the Shadow Throne, they have become somewhat hesitant. While preserving their strength, they also gave some time for Kunlun City to entangle them in the Star State. Thus, the Men in Black and Fantasy World have had complaints about the Jiang family of South America which invited the black devil.
“And there are indications that the attitude of the Heroes’ Club is ambiguous. There seems to be a deal between the Jiang family of South America and them.”
Lin Youxian dully remembered the information that could not be messed up any more and smiled wryly. “The battlefield is almost everywhere now. Recently, the infighting of the Polar Ground Alliance of Snow Country is severe. It’s said that there are spies from the Samsara Palace in Snow Country. In Europe, the Vatican got involved in the battle between the Knights Templar and the Dark Knights. The Shadow Throne has cast covetous eyes. The Samsara Palace fought the Vatican with the Dark Knights, but Kunlun City, the Fantasy World, and the Jiang family of South America also took part in the battle.”
“The Men in Black is an official organization of the Star State. It seems to have fastened onto the Kunlun City, but it has ideas about the Shadow Throne. So, they contact frequently with the Samsara Palace. Many masters appeared in the camp of the Samsara Palace, and they seemed to come from the Purgatory of Heaven Capital. However, the masters of the Samsara Palace also appeared in the Annan State. The Heroes’ Club and the Jiang family of South America seemed to have ideas about all sides, so they played more little tricks. Currently, we can’t analyze their specific goals.”
Lin Youxian rubbed his temple and said helplessly, “There are too many possibilities now, and the relationship between the enemy and us is completely chaotic. The Wang family of Beihai, the Purgatory of Heaven Capital, the Samsara Palace, Kunlun City, the Dark Knights, the Fantasy World, the Heroes’ Club, the Jiang family of South America, the Polar Ground Alliance, the Vatican, the Men in Black, the Shadow Throne... Dad, all the powers in the Dark World got involved, including superpowers and official powers. There are too many possibilities. Any two forces can cooperate or betray. It’s impossible to see the situation.”
Too many possibilities meant that the situation had completely lost its balance. No superpower had a reason to compromise.
“In your opinion, is there any beneficiary in this mess?” Lin Fengting asked.
...
“No.”
Lin Youxian said without hesitation, “Everyone has suffered great losses. The Dark World has paid a heavy cost. In the past three years, even in the final battle of Heaven Capital, the Dark World lost hundreds of experts of the Thunder-shocking Realm and more experts of the Fire-flaming Realm in the Dark World. In the end, there will be huge benefits. But now, everyone is a loser. I think if they had known the current situation, they wouldn’t have chosen to make war.
“It’s no longer important how to start the war. All powers made war for war. They did not want to fight, but they are helpless, and they can’t get free.”
Lin Fengting nodded.
He agreed with his son.
“Where is the key point?” Lin Fengting asked again.
...
“Key point?”
Lin Youxian tried to think about the information he had read. A moment later, he suddenly raised his eyebrows, “The Samsara Palace!”
Lin Fengting narrowed his eyes and did not speak for a while.
The Samsara Palace was indeed the key point.
The chaos began with the Wang family of Beihai and the Kunlun City’s crackdown on the Samsara Palace.
The situation was entirely out of control at that time.
The war continued until then, and there were battlefields everywhere.
Snow Country, Europe, America, Annan State... all were fighting.
Unbelievably, the Samsara Palace could be seen on all the battlefields.
Moreover, they were quite active.
In cases where all superpowers did not want to fight but had to fight, the situation would be more chaotic every time when the Samsara Palace took the initiative.
Then, it developed into the current disastrous situation.
The Samsara Palace was indeed the key point.
In the past few years, every battle that made conflicts and contradictions escalate seemed to have been provoked by the Master of the Samsara Palace.
So until then, the Samsara Palace had also suffered the most.
What did the Samsara Palace exactly want?
According to the current situation, it was basically or absolutely impossible for the Samsara Palace to achieve success.
...
Not to mention to borrow a sword stroke from Lin Fengting, even if Qin Weibai had sold herself to the Samsara Palace, the Samsara Palace would not get any benefits.
“Why would she do that?” Lin Fengting whispered to himself.
...
“According to intelligence, the Samsara Palace is to get its own foundation.”
Lin Youxian shook his head, “This speculation makes sense, but now it seems to be unreliable. The matter has come to a point where it is impossible to end. Why bother to this point only for its own foundation?”
“No matter how impossible it is to end, it will end.”
Lin Fengting said flatly, “If it’s forced to end, what do you think the result will be?”
Lin Youxian subconsciously looked at his father.
Lin Fengting looked calm.
Lin Youxian meditated for a while and said flatly, “If it’s forced to end... at least one superpower will be destroyed, maybe...”
There was a bit of caution and temptation in his tone. “Some new superpowers may enter the secular world, as the Purgatory of Heaven Capital appeared in Heaven Capital three years ago.”
Lin Fengting made no comment, then asked, “Which power is the most likely to be destroyed?”
“The Samsara Palace.”
Lin Youxian said without hesitation, “About the destruction of the Samsara Palace, it’s not possible. Now, it’s definitely settled.”
Lin Fengting suddenly fell silent.
He knew that his son was telling the truth.
How could people believe the fact that the Samsara Palace would suddenly court its own destruction?
“Dad, We...”
Lin Youxian hesitated a moment, and his face turned red, with cold sweat on his forehead. “We... will enter the secular world?”
Until then, he still did not know that Qin Weibai had asked Lin Fengting for a sword stroke.
Lin Fengting suddenly found a great deal of recent information on the Dark World. Lin Youxian subconsciously thought that the Lin Clan would enter the secular world.
“Why?”
Lin Fengting shook his head and whispered, “We’re different from the Wang family of Beihai.”
“The Lin Clan is a family; the Wang family of Beihai is a family; so is the Jiang family of South America. The biggest difference between the latter two and us is that they are used to getting all branches together. In this way, the power will be stronger, but more internal problems will arise, so they have to clean up internal disagreements and contradictions from time to time. If those differences can be eliminated, they will continue to be successful and eventually reach the peak. Once they fail, the consequences are unimaginable.
“But we are different. We spread out all the branches. Everyone can leave and get enough support. They can get what they want. The headquarters of the Lin Clan can protect them when necessary, but there is nothing worth peeping. If we don’t enter the secular world, the Lin Clan will always be the Lin Clan. Perhaps some branches will disappear and will be broken, but we have more branches to go continue. We don’t pursue power, but freedom can create all.”
Lin Fengting looked at his son with a smile and whispered, “I think this is very good.”
Lin Youxian sighed and laughed. He said, “I also feel that it’s good, but...”
“Qin Weibai of the Samsara Palace found me.”
Lin Fengting said, “She wanted to borrow a sword stroke from me. I agreed, so I came here to browse the information.”
“You agreed?”
Lin Youxian was amazed.
“Borrowing the sword stroke of the Li family to her.”
Lin Fengting shook his head.
With his eyes twinkling, Lin Youxian said thoughtfully, “When does she want to use it?”
“A month later, Snow Country,” Lin Fengting said.
...
“Snow Country...”
With pupils shrinking, Lin Youxian said with a smile, “She intends to get the Polar Ground Alliance involved. Dad, can I go to Snow Country with you?”
“Er?”
Lin Fengting looked at him.
“I wanted to go to Zhongzhou State.”
Lin Youxian said, “I’m going to reach the peak of the Thunder-shocking Realm, and maybe I’ll get some inspiration...”
“There’s still time.”
Lin Fengting muttered to himself, “Go to Zhongzhou State and then go to Snow Country. It isn’t urgent.”
Lin Youxian hesitated and nodded, “I heard that Li Tianlan came back. I’m looking forward to a battle between him and Wang Shengxiao.”
“I’m afraid that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment,” Lin Fengting said with a smile.
...
“What do you mean?” Lin Youxian looked confused.
...
Lin Fengting shook his head without saying more. He casually said, “Go if you want. Be cautious. Something big is about to happen in the Dark World.”
Lin Youxian nodded, stood up and walked to the door.
When he was about to leave the study, he suddenly stopped and whispered, “Dad, have you ever wondered why Qin Weibai borrowed the sword stroke from you?”
He hesitated and continued, “After all, Senior Li is still alive...”
Lin Fengting looked calm.
He stood up, walked over to the window, and opened it.
It was late at night outside. There was only chirping left in the quiet night.
In Australia, after the curtain call, he found Qin Weibai who had not left Sydney and asked that question.
Since she wanted to borrow a sword stroke, why didn’t she go to find Senior Li?
He seemed to have more reasons to launch attacks.
However, Qin Weibai’s answer was extremely indifferent.
It meant that she had no faith in the Li family.
“The Wang family of Beihai is overbearing; the Li family of Zhongzhou State is stubborn; only the Lin Clan is affectionate and real. If there is any force I can trust in the world, then it can only be the Lin Clan.”
Those were Qin Weibai’s words.
The Wang family of Beihai was indeed overbearing...
But the Li family... why did it become stubborn over the years?
Lin Fengting looked at the sparse starry sky outside the window, thoughtfully.
Lin Youxian quietly retired.
In the far distance, the night sky lit up with a brilliant arc of light.
The light arc rose in the night sky. With transient brilliance, it fell into the dim stars.
Meteors fell.
The rain was falling in the sky.
It looked hazy in the rain.
A clear and vague figure appeared in Lin Fengting’s place downstairs.
It was abrupt and natural.
It seemed that as the night wind blew over and the rain fell, he had appeared without warning, but it was quite a harmony.
In the rain at night, he seemed like an ordinary, and yet not ordinary, middle-aged man.
His appearance was ordinary.
His dress was not ordinary.
His cloth gown and cloth shoes were very plain. Late at night, a middle-aged man wore a pair of sunglasses. He was bareheaded with nine orderly ring scars.
One could take him for a monk, but he had a pure white horsetail whisk...
He was a monk who had a Taoist horsetail whisk.
Or, he was a Taoist priest with ring scars.
Cloth gown, horsetail whisk, ring scars, and sunglasses.
He was improperly dressed, but he looked less natural.
He stood in the night and raised his head. Through the drizzling rain, he looked at a high place.
There was a flash of shock in Lin Fengting’s eyes.
His figure flashed, but in the next second he stood by the middle-aged man.
“What’s there?” Lin Fengting asked in a loud and clear manner.
...
He did not ask what he was looking at, because he was blind.
...
His voice was heavy because the blind man was deaf and dumb...
He was Lin Xu.
He was Lin Fengting’s brother.
There was no metaphysics grandmaster in the Lin Clan. However, Lin Xu had been playing that role for years. In the Zhongzhou State, there were Wuwei and Xuan Xuanzi. The members of the Lin Clan did not know whose Taoist cultivation was more profound. Compared to those two grandmasters, Lin Xu was not good at protecting himself.
Lin Xu suffered the wrath of heaven because he disclosed the secret.
When he was 20, Lin Xu lost one eye, and then the second eye, followed by all sorts of ailments. His martial strength suffered a disastrous decline.
Lin Xu was tonsured.
When his sense of hearing became less acute, he picked up the horsetail whisk again.
In recent years, with his hearing loss, he spoke with difficulty.
In recent years, he basically stopped speaking, and even rarely appeared in front of the Lin Clan.
Every time he spoke, it basically meant that there would be another strong branch in the Lin Clan.
Lin Fengting heard his father saying that Lin Xu was deeply blessed. He was many times or even tens of times more fortunate than Lin Fengting. He was the best suited to be the leader of the Lin Clan. If he devoted himself to practice martial arts, he would be expected to become a real Heavenly Son, more powerful than Wang Tianzong.
However, Lin Xu contacted metaphysics.
He abandoned himself and condensed majestic fate for the Lin Clan with his own blessings.
In that world, the Lin Clan had to make some sacrifices if they wanted to be free and at ease.
Lin Xu was sacrificed for the Lin Clan.
Lin Fengting was also sacrificed for the Lin Clan.
He named his son Lin Youxian.
It meant that the Lin Clan lived leisurely.
How could Lin Youxian live leisurely in that lifetime?
Lin Xu seemed to have noticed Lin Fengting.
He lifted the hand holding the horsetail whisk and pointed to the sky.
His arms trembled fiercely. The white horsetail whisk scattered in the night rain and was blown up by the wind, like a head of lifeless white hair.
“Don’t say it if it’s not important,” Lin Fengting said.
...
“I have to say that.”
With a hoarse and dry voice, Lin Xu seemed to be a bit stiff and dull as he spoke, “The demon star fell.”
“Demon star?”
Lin Fengting raised his eyebrows.
Lin Xu stood in place and seemed to be thinking.
“You want to enter the secular world?”
He asked after a long pause, “That woman?”
“Her name is Qin Weibai.”
Lin Fengting said, “It’s not for her. The sword stroke she borrowed is what I owe to the Li family.”
“She is a demon star,” Lin Xu slowly said.
His voice did not become smooth but drier and stiffer.
He was a metaphysics grandmaster, but he was not omnipotent.
At that moment, he knew Qin Weibai’s name, Lin Fengting’s sword stroke, and more things.
“That sword stroke will be used in Snow Country.”
Lin Fengting said, “Don’t you believe in it?”
“But... but it’s not enough.”
Lin Xu said with difficulty, “The demon star... she’s courting death.”
“Qin Weibai?”
Lin Fengting was shocked.
He recalled the information he saw.
He could see no future for the Samsara Palace, and he could not see what it wanted to do.
Was Qin Weibai courting death?
Was that the answer?
However...
“Why does she wish to die?” Lin Fengting asked.
...
Blood gushed out of Lin Xu’s mouth and fell on the ground. There were sounds of the drizzle; it sounded subtle and far-away.
“To cope with disaster for others,” He replied.
...
“Who?”
“I don’t know, and it can’t be said.”
“What will happen after she dies?”
“A new era will begin.”
“What if she does not die?”
“It would also bring a new era.”
“Why does she wish to die?”
“To cope with disaster for others.”
All the problems suddenly returned to the original point.
Lin Fengting was thoughtful. It was a knot that could not be unwound, with no choice and no way back.
“Will she die?” Lin Fengting asked.
...
Lin Xu paused for a while and said huskily, “There is no doubt.”
Lin Fengting frowned.
He did not think there was anything wrong, but he only felt a little pity.
It was a pity that a woman with such a charming and graceful bearing would die.
Lin Fengting whispered, “What will happen to the Battle of Snow Country?”
“The demon star disrupts the world. The disaster in troubled times.”
It was a new era after troubled times.
Lin Fengting took a deep breath and whispered, “I’ll still perform the sword stroke.”
“But... but it’s not enough.”
Lin Xu’s body shook a little as if he could not stand. His voice was weaker and hoarser. “If the Lin Clan wants to continue to flourish, you should protect her life.”
“Why?”
Lin Fengting finally changed his face.
“Karma.”
Lin Xu’s voice was hoarse and almost strange.
Upon hearing the word, he felt inexplicable and shivered all over. All of a sudden, the world seemed to become grim and bleak.
“Puff!”
Blood spurted from Lin Xu’s mouth.
Lin Xu’s body fell down softly.
Lin Fengting was shocked and caught him.
Lin Xu fell into his arms and looked pale, but he kept saying, “Zhongzhou State... Go to Zhongzhou State...”
...