Top-tier Unruly Master

Chapter 2240: Chapter 2275: A Monumental Scheme

No matter who it is, no matter what kind of scheme they set up, there will always be someone who profits. If after an entire game is played out no one benefits, then wouldn’t the one who laid it out be a fool?

Zheng Tianxing was certainly no fool. Without enormous benefits, he would never arrange such a layout. Previously, everyone guessed he might be helping Lin Zhongshan unify the Northern Wastelands, but now he was standing on the opposite side of Lin Zhongshan.

So the previous speculation simply didn’t hold. Now that Zheng Tianxing had taken a clear stance, this war was essentially over. Zheng Tianxing had set up such a shocking grand scheme, drawn such a huge circle—did he gain any benefit from it?

The answer was no. In the end, it looked like he hadn’t gotten anything at all!

At this point, the only thing he could gain was Ding Fan’s friendship.

Given the current situation, if Zheng Tianxing had stood on Lin Zhongshan’s side, Ding Fan would have suffered a miserable defeat; if he stood on Ding Fan’s side, then Ding Fan would win a great victory.

One side was a crushing defeat, the other a sweeping victory. The gap between the two was immense and would have an enormous impact on Ding Fan, and Ding Fan’s goodwill toward Zheng Tianxing would increase without limit.

As for why Zheng Tianxing wanted to curry favor with Ding Fan, that was very easy to understand. Setting aside Ding Fan’s current status as the heir of this generation of the Sirius Clan, just his master, the old Sirius, was enough to make Zheng Tianxing act this way. Others might not know, but behind Zheng Tianxing stood the Zheng Family; of course he had found out that the old Sirius was not dead—that so‑called Sirius Ancient Tomb had just been a smokescreen he deliberately laid down.

What kind of status did the old Sirius have? Since he had already acknowledged Ding Fan as the heir, then just for that, Zheng Tianxing had reason to pay an enormous price to befriend Ding Fan.

Because of this, Zhao Tianba started to harbor suspicions. Sharing those suspicions with him was Madam Yan of Daozhen Villa. But Lin Zhongshan, Lin Zixuan, Zhao Xiner, Tian Qianlian, Tian Bubai, Tian Buxiu and the others were all utterly baffled. No matter how they thought about it, they couldn’t understand why Zheng Tianxing would do this.

The onlooker sees clearly, the one in the game is muddled; at this moment, Ding Fan didn’t understand either. But since someone was extending goodwill to him, and that person was a pivotal figure in this war, he naturally would not refuse.

Ding Fan immediately smiled, cupped his fists toward Zheng Tianxing, and said, "With Grand Steward Zheng’s gracious invitation, how would I dare disobey? However, I must ask Grand Steward Zheng to wait a bit. Let me finish dealing with the matters here before I disturb you."

"No problem. Then, Young Master Ding, please see to your business first. Tianxing will return to Tianyuan Auction House and await your esteemed arrival!"

Once he finished speaking, Zheng Tianxing cast a cold glance toward Lin Zhongshan and Zhao Tianba’s side, then the luxurious chariot shot into the sky, rushing toward Tianyuan Auction House in Daozhen City. Very soon, the chariot vanished within Daozhen City.

"Swoosh~"

Smart people only need a hint. That glance that Zheng Tianxing had thrown over carried endless meaning; how could Lin Zhongshan not understand? At this moment, he reached out to grab Lin Zixuan, his body shot into the sky, and he flew southward toward Tianmu Sea without even looking back.

"Everyone, run!"

Even Lin Zhongshan had fled; the people on the battlefield no longer dared to hesitate. Countless Fourth Level and Fifth Level Samurai of the Divine Realm scattered in all directions, desperately fleeing for their lives.

The Divine Realm Fifth Level Experts of each major family flew up onto the Super Airships watching the battle, each taking their own young masters and young ladies to escape. One Divine Realm Fifth Level Expert of the Tian Family protected Tian Buxiu and withdrew first. Tian Bubai leapt up, took Tian Qianlian, and also fled. In an instant, the entire battlefield was full of people running for their lives, a complete chaotic mess like a boiling pot of porridge.

"Young Master?"

Ye Li looked to Ding Fan for instruction. He didn’t know if they should pursue and kill now. Ding Fan shook his head at him. This time he had come mainly to rescue people, not to kill. With so many people fleeing, with just the few men under his command, how many could they kill anyway?

"Young Master Ding, I am Zhao Tianba. We’ve met before—I am the Great Elder of the Zhao Family."

Zhao Tianba and the young masters and young ladies of Shenwu Country had not hurried to leave. At this time Zhao Tianba cupped his fists toward Ding Fan and said, "I did not lie just now. Our Zhao Family is grateful that you saved our Xiner in the Tomb of Emperor Yelang. We did not understand the inside story of what happened before. Our Zhao Family very much wishes to make friends with you. If you have the chance, you must come visit Shenwu City; the Zhao Family warmly welcomes your arrival."

Just now Zhao Tianba hadn’t acted, which made Ding Fan look at him in a new light. Moreover, last time at Zhong Family Fortress, Zhao Xiner had been very fair in clearly recounting what happened in the Imperial Tomb, which truly made Ding Fan think more highly of her.

At this moment, Ding Fan glanced at Zhao Xiner, then cupped his fists toward the two and said, "Ding Fan thanks Great Elder and Miss Xiner. After today, I will definitely choose a day to pay you a visit."

"Good! The Zhao Family welcomes you at any time. All right, let’s leave things here for today; we’ll take our leave first."

Zhao Tianba waved his hand, and the Super Airship lit up with a dazzling ray of light as it flew off into the distance. Zhao Xiner waved goodbye to Ding Fan. Although there was a smile on her face, in her heart she felt a heavy weight.

The battlefield that had been a fierce melee just a moment ago suddenly grew quiet, leaving only a war‑torn field and dozens of corpses.

"Swoosh!"

Ye Li made a hand gesture toward Ye Lian, and Ye Lian flew down, helping the Ye Family elder who had been smashed into that deep pit out of it. That elder looked utterly miserable on the surface, with multiple fractures all over his body, but his life wasn’t in any danger.

Ye Li also knew this elder wouldn’t die; otherwise he wouldn’t have waited until now to have Ye Lian go find him. As for the Martial Artists of the Ye Family, Ye Li was still very much at ease about them.

Ye Li took out a Super Airship, and everyone flew up together. Ding Fan looked around once, then called down toward Madam Yan in the Daozhen Villa below: "Madam, I’ll leave the aftermath to you."

Madam Yan was still brooding over why Zheng Tianxing had to do all this. Jerked awake by Ding Fan’s words, she immediately smiled and said to Ding Fan, "Young Master Ding, this favor is beyond words. Don’t worry, I know how to handle what comes next."

Lin Zhongshan fled, Xiang Neng was gravely injured and missing, Tian Buxiu was badly wounded and carried off by Tian Bubai, and Zhao Tianba withdrew from the battle of Tianmu Sea.

The crucial point now was that Zheng Tianxing was standing on Ding Fan’s side. With his support, the Four Great Royal Clans could only retreat. Their armies would be pulling out soon, and for a while they definitely wouldn’t dare step into Tianmu Sea again. Relying on his own strength alone, Ding Fan had actually made the war at Tianmu Sea dissolve into nothing.

"Family Head Ye, Zhong Zhiyong, you two accompany me to the auction house. Crimson Flame, you and the others help Madam Yan steady the situation here."

Ding Fan ordered his experts. To be honest, he still didn’t dare fully trust Zheng Tianxing, so he didn’t dare go alone. This Zheng Tianxing did things completely out of the ordinary; no matter what, with these two along, even if Zheng Tianxing turned hostile, he could still retreat intact.

At this moment Ye Li reached out and grabbed Ding Fan, Zhong Zhiyong followed behind the two, and the three of them flew toward Daozhen City. Crimson Flame and the others dropped down instead, arriving outside the open-air pavilion of Daozhen Villa. Ye Lian treated that Ye Family elder, while the other two elders stood silently to one side.

"We actually won just like that?"

Herr Rufeng still felt like she was dreaming even now. She quickly began to shout in excitement, and cheers of joy erupted throughout Daozhen Villa. Many people were yelling Ding Fan’s name— to these people, Ding Fan was a God, their savior, the Guardian of this generation’s Tianmu Sea.

Madam Yan and Herr Ningshuang exchanged a glance; there wasn’t much joy on either of their faces. Instead, they both wore a kind of inexplicable expression.

At this moment, both of them harbored a suspicion in their hearts: for Zheng Tianxing to set up such a scenario, his true purpose was likely to curry favor with Ding Fan— that is, to show goodwill to Ding Fan, Zheng Tianxing had laid a trap and slaughtered He Daozhen, He Chengzhan and those people.

By rights this matter had nothing to do with Ding Fan, yet one could also say that Master Daozhen and Herr Wanzhan had died by Ding Fan’s hand.

Zheng Tianxing wanted to use the entire Tianmu Sea in exchange for Ding Fan’s friendship. He wanted to treat Tianmu Sea as a generous gift to present to Ding Fan. But if Ding Fan were to take over Tianmu Sea, then Master Daozhen and Herr Wanzhan would have to die.

Originally this was Ding Fan saving the Daozhen Family as well as Tianmu Sea. Madam Yan and Herr Ningshuang should be deeply grateful to him. Yet right now, what they felt inside was something hard to put into words— like a fishbone stuck in their throats, impossible to spit out...

At this time, the Tianyuan Auction House was very quiet. There wasn’t a single customer; only Steward Zheng Qing and two maidservants came out to welcome Ding Fan.

Seeing Ding Fan enter with Ye Li and the other man, Zheng Qing’s face bloomed like a flower. He bowed to the three and said, "A warm welcome to Young Master Ding and the two honored lords."

Ding Fan nodded slightly to Zheng Qing, and Zheng Qing lowered his head toward the interior, saying, "Please, all three of you, come in. The Grand Steward is inside, waiting respectfully for you."

Led by Zheng Qing, the three of them stepped into a luxurious great hall. The decor here was dazzlingly beautiful, exquisitely refined. There were no fewer than ten beautiful maids standing by, and the golden tables were piled high with all sorts of delicacies. From the looks of it, they had indeed long been prepared to receive Ding Fan.

At a glance, Ding Fan saw the master of this place— the Grand Steward Zheng of Tianyuan Auction House in the Northern Wastelands. Though he hadn’t gone out to welcome Ding Fan and the others personally, he was now standing there waiting. Watching the three enter under Zheng Qing’s guidance, he smiled and said to them, "Ding Fan, Young Master Ding, you’re truly hard to invite. Ever since our last meeting, I, Zheng, have been hoping to see Young Master Ding again. But you, good sir, simply refused to come."

Ding Fan certainly didn’t take this polite talk at face value, but one doesn’t hit a smiling man. He smiled back and greeted Zheng Tianxing, then sat down behind a golden table. Ye Li and Zhong Zhiyong did not sit, instead standing in attendance behind Ding Fan.

Zheng Tianxing didn’t concern himself with the two. He had the maids serve fragrant tea, then said to Ding Fan, "Young Master Ding, this is Rain-after Maojian, produced in the Cooling Mountain of the Central Plains. It truly has a unique flavor when you drink it. Please, Young Master, have a taste."

Zhong Zhiyong and Ye Li almost simultaneously glanced at the tea bowls; Ye Li even extended his Divine Sense. They were afraid Zheng Tianxing might have poisoned the water.

Ding Fan, however, didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He lifted the bowl, took a sniff, sipped a small mouthful, then closed his eyes to savor it. After a long moment, he slowly opened his eyes and said to Zheng Tianxing, "Grand Steward Zheng, although I don’t understand tea quality, I can still tell this is an excellent, top-grade tea. And this tea seems to nourish the Soul as well?"

"Hahaha!"

Zheng Tianxing threw back his head and laughed, extending his thumb toward Ding Fan as he said, "As expected, you’re different from ordinary people. Young Master Ding’s bearing is truly captivating; Tianxing admires you deeply. This tea is in fact a Spirit Grass that nourishes the Soul. A single liang costs over a million Black Obsidian. If not for your visit, I wouldn’t be willing to bring it out for anyone else."

After speaking, Zheng Tianxing turned to Ye Li and Zhong Zhiyong and said, "Brother Ye, Brother Zhong, won’t you have a taste as well? Oh, and Brother Ye, your Secret Technique is truly profound. But as it happens, insignificant me has learned another kind of Secret Technique that can see through Brother Ye’s true body. Still, rest assured, Brother Ye, I’m not the sort who enjoys gossiping."

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