Chapter 36: Good and Bad
Wang Ling handed over the stone to Chang Ping and started walking away. Chang Ping was left there to stare at Wang Ling's back for a moment before she finally snapped out of her daze.
She looked at the stone that was on her hand and felt really depressed. This was what amounted of all her effort? 10 days of kneeling and he got a stone with sword marks all over it?
What kind of joke was this? Why would Wang Ling would give her something so unneeded? Feeling slightly angered, she looked at Wang Ling who was leaving and gave him an angered look.
"What is this? What do you mean grasp the mystery of this stone? Do you really think that by striking this sword you will be able to leave profound intentions?" Chang Ping asked Wang Ling.
Which Wang Ling responded with silence. He does not care what she had to say, this stone he had given her was something that could either become useless trash or priceless treasure.
[What a child, too much arrogance and pride, her heart is not tempered and her temperament is nothing short of ugly. I tried helping her because her family helped me.
If she didn't have any connections with the imperial family of this particular kingdom I would have long kicked her out of my place. Tsk, this is getting ridiculous, I wish I could go back to the good old days and kill this bratty princess.]
Wang Ling was someone who will kill if he wants to. He was not a man of compassion or mercy but at the moment he had to act like he is. He had yet to grasp the status of the Wang family he was a part of so he had to keep acting like a normal member of the family.
He can act as a genius with a cold disposition with outsiders but he can't kill people he hates discriminately. If this was the past, yes he can kill without worry, but now that he has a family behind him that may be implicated, Wang Ling cannot do that.
[Having a family can also be a bad thing, huh.] Wang Ling did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Feeling that her effort and sincerity was wasted, Chang Ping looked at Wang Ling hatefully. She does not know what was going on inside his mind but she felt that she was being mocked.
He glared at him from behind.
At that moment Chang Ping had the urge to just cut Wang Ling down. Of course she only played the scenario in her mind. She wouldn't dare hurt Wang Ling or else the whole imperial family will suffer from her stupid outburst.
[Is every genius like this?]
However, what she didn't know was that the simple fact of showing Wang Ling a little bit of fighting intent triggered something.
A hint of danger went pass Wang Ling. His inner expert went off and all of a sudden his instincts took over and moved where the source of fighting intent came from. With one swift motion he suddenly disappeared from where he stood and actually appeared right in front of Chang Ping.
He was already positioned to make a clean slash, and at this moment he looked at Chang Ping with an intention to kill.
Chang Ping was startled by this as a wave of killing intent suddenly struck her dazed. She look at the eyes of Wang Ling that was in front of her and felt danger closely encroaching her. She frantically went to take out a sword but because of her panicked state, she was unable to do so.
"Ting!" Wang Ling's sword moved and swiftly traversed the path that leads to Chang Ping's neck. However, he realized that Chang Ping was actually the one who directed that malicious intent to him and forcefully stopped his sword.
His sword stopped a few centimeters away from her translucent skin. Wang Ling looked at the terrified and stifled Chang Ping. He saw the deep fear within her eyes and realized what he had done.
He soon saw that a thin cut appeared on Chang Ping's fair neck. It was thin but blood still flowed out of it.
[Tsk, I hope she doesn't make this harder for me.]
Wang Ling knew that he had done something that he was totally trying to avoid. But in his defense, it was Chang Ping's fault for having malicious intent directed at him. He had just suffered a grave injury from a sneak attack a few months ago so he was still jumpy when someone directs a malicious at him.
He looked at the situation and assessed what is happening before making his speech that he had just formulated.
"Second Princess… like I have said, you are lacking something… your heart and mind is not strong enough, your temperament is not calm, and your courage is like a paper that can easily be torn apart…."
At this moment, Wang Ling had finally solidified what he wanted to say. And upon seeing the dazed look Chang Ping had on her face, he knew that if he acts like some kind of teacher teaching Chang Ping, he should be able to gloss this matter over so he continued talking.
"What you lack is the three I just mentioned, heart, mind (temperament), and courage. Just now, I tried directing my killing intent at you, but the only reaction you gave was something that can get you killed.
"And like I have already said, you are a spoiled princess who had been housed by your family too much. If you truly wish to become a proper swordswoman who can split the heavens with her sword, you will never reach that goal with your current self.
"If you want to become strong, do what I am about to tell you. Go travel the continent and broaden your horizons. Although this might sound something but a rambling from someone who has yet to travel this world, what I am telling you to do is something that can lead you to the path that you are seeking."
With that, Wang Ling finished his piece. Chang Ping at this moment slowly digested what was spoken to her. After a while, she realized that what Wang Ling had done was something to test out her reactions, and it seems like he did that to prove his earlier point about someone being spoiled.
She looked at that terrifying eyes of Wang Ling and thought to herself.
[Is this his way of teaching me?
Did he attacked me to show me that I will die if I continue with my current path? What he did was good, but if I was his enemy, would he really kill me?]
Chang Ping seemed like she had bitten the bait that Wang Ling had thrown. It took a while but Chang Ping managed to regain the strength of her body and finally managed to move.
She first wiped the blood of her neck before bowing down on Wang Ling. She said her thanks and appreciation for the 'lesson' he had given her.
Although she was slightly traumatize by the Wang Ling's actions. That trauma will not become a detriment to her as it will become something that can push her to greater heights.
The killing intent Wang Ling gave her was something that will temper her mind. If she can overcome the barrier of his image Chang Ping will become a fearless and courageous swordswoman who can overcome most adversaries that comes her way.
Wang Ling saw her off personally to the front gates. He saw her off and heaved a sigh of relief. After a while, Wang Ling called out to Qigang and told him that he will be cultivating.
Cultivating till night came, Wang Ling sighed. His rate of accumulating spirit qi and hellish qi was rather slow. With this supreme spirit qi and hellish qi, his power was immense but the amount he needed before achieving a breakthrough is a lot.
Wang Ling came out and had dinner. Wang Shu Qing was with him when he ate dinner so he asked him for some cultivation resources that he can use. Seeing his son being so hardworking, Wang Shu Qing gladly gave him what he asked.
But because they were not in the main house. Wang Shu Qing only managed to give Wang Ling the thing he had in his storage ring.
Three hundred spirit stones, ten [Condensed Qi Pill], and three [Fire Dragon's Saliva]. The three hundred spirit stones were good enough to Wang Ling, but the Condensed Qi Pill and Fire Dragon's Saliva was even better.
The Condensed Qi Pill, like its name implied was a pill that contains abundant spirit qi. Fire Dragon's Saliva was something that came from the depths of the volcanic areas where extreme heat was prevalent.
The Fire Dragon's Saliva was a priceless treasure that not everyone could gain. Fire attributed treasure was something he needed a lot. What a good harvest this was.
Wang Ling said his thanks to his father and went back to cultivating. Soon, two weeks passed.
Wang Ling at this time had achieved another breakthrough and reached late-sky root stage. He was momentarily happy, but soon returned to cultivating.
Another week passed and right now, he had already been staying in the Piercing Heaven Empire for over a week.
There were two great things that happened this passed month. He had obtained peace and quiet because Chang Ping chose not to return and he had improved by a lot in terms of cultivation.
However, the happy days he spent on the Piercing Heaven Empire suddenly turned for the worst when he received a certain news:
"Wang Hong was attacked and is gravely injured."