Chapter 151: A True Void Stage Powerhouse Translator: KurazyTolanzuraytor Editor: Lucas After taking in a deep breath, Duan Ling Tian suppressed the lust that arose within his heart and left the rear courtyard after his meal. "Xiong Quan!" After finding Xiong Quan in the front courtyard, Duan Ling Tian withdrew a brush and with a wave of the hand, started writing down a long and dense list of materials. "Gather these materials for me as soon as possible. This is 10,000,000 silver, take it." At the same time that he passed over the list full of materials to Xiong Quan, Duan Ling Tian withdrew all the silver within his Spatial Ring, a total of 10,000,000 silver, and passed it over to Xiong Quan. "Yes, Young Master," Xiong Quan respectfully replied, then he left the house right after Duan Ling Tian left for Paladin Academy. When Duan Ling Tian arrived at the Star Mastermind Department classroom, he noticed that both Xiao Yu and Xiao Xun were already there. "You two are really early..." Because class hadn’t started yet, the three gathered together and whispered to one another in idle chat. Duan Ling Tian’s eyes focused as he asked Xiao Xun, "Right, Xiao Xun, you’re a disciple of the Xiao Clan. Do you know what cultivation level the so-called Void Stage powerhouses within the Crimson Sky Kingdom are truy at? According to my knowledge, some Void Stage powerhouses aren’t truly in the Void Stage but are only half a step into the Void Stage, and their cultivation is still at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul Stage." Xiao Xun shook his head and smiled. "Others might not know of the answer to your question, but I, however, do know.... In truth, the Void Stage powerhouses that are spread thinly within the Crimson Sky Kingdom are largely different compared to the Void Stage powerhouses from the rumors, who are able to control the air and fly." "The 18 County Governors under the Crimson Sky Kingdom, the Guard Commanders of the three great Trading Companies in each county, and our Xiao Clan’s Void Stage powerhouse... they are all only peak ninth level Nascent Soul martial artists, or in other words, the half a step into the Void Stage that you spoke of! They at most are able to stay in the air for a short period and are unable to truly control the air and fly," Xiao Xun slowly said. Duan Ling Tian nodded. As expected, it was just as he had thought. Divine Might Marquis Nie Yuan was also this type of existence... "There should be some true Void Stage powerhouses that can control the air and fly within the Crimson Sky Kingdom, right?" Duan Ling Tian thought of the old man, the Senior Marquis of the Divine Might Marquis Estate straight away. Although the old man was infected with the Dark Nether Mink’s poison and all of his Origin Energy was suppressed, he was a true Void Stage powerhouse, an existence at the Void Prying Stage. "Of course there are." Xiao Xun nodded, and his eyes emitted a sense of reverence. "According to rumors, there are three true Void Stage powerhouses within our Crimson Sky Kingdom, one within the Imperial Family, one within the Divine Might Marquis Estate, and the last one is within the Ghastly Shadow." Ghastly Shadow? Duan Ling Tian was slightly surprised. He didn’t think it was strange that the Imperial Family had a true Void Stage powerhouse; after all, that’s an existence that stands at the apex of Crimson Sky Kingdom! But that Ghastly Shadow was a mere assassin’s organization, and it actually had a true Void Stage powerhouse commanding it as well? After Xiao Xun finished explaining, he added, "Right, it’s fine that you two know, but try not to tell anyone.... This is the secret suffering of our Crimson Sky Kingdom, and if it wasn’t for me annoying my grandfather, he wouldn’t have told me." Duan Ling Tian and Xiao Yu nodded in understanding. "How many people would know that the Void Stage powerhouses that are spread about outside are practically all Half-step Void Stage martial artists, and not true Void Stage powerhouses!" Xiao Xun lightly sighed. During the following conversation, Duan Ling Tian gained an understanding of the distribution of powers within the Crimson Sky Kingdom. Within the Crimson Sky Kingdom, the power that stood at the apex was undoubtedly the Imperial Family! The Void Stage powerhouse within the Imperial Family was allegedly the strongest existence within the Crimson Sky Kingdom.... Even the Ghastly Shadow’s and Divine Might Marquis Estate’s Void Stage powerhouses were slightly inferior to him. And thus, the two powers merely inferior to the Imperial Family were the Ghastly Shadow and the Divine Might Marquis Estate, as they each had a true Void Stage powerhouse in command! The six great powers that followed after those three were the three great clans of the Imperial City: the Duan Clan, the Xiao Clan, and the Su Clan, as well as the three great Trading Companies, which included the Violet Tulip Trading Company. There were many Half-step Void Stage powerhouses within these six powers. After these six great powers were the 18 County Governor Estates under the Crimson Sky Kingdom, as they each had a Half-step Void Stage powerhouse. "The Divine Might Marquis Estate.... The current Divine Might Marquis Estate is probably inferior to the three great clans and three great trading companies." Duan Ling Tian sighed in his heart. He understood that the glory of the Divine Might Marquis Estate stemmed from the Senior Marquis, and the only reason the Divine Might Marquis Estate was still influential now was because the Senior Marquis was still alive. Even though the Senior Marquis was infected with the poison of the Dark Nether Mink, there was still no one who dared to look down on the Divine Might Marquis Estate... It was like a tiger; even sickly, it was still a tiger, and was far from something a cat or dog could compare to! Of course, if the Senior Marquis were to pass away one day, then the Divine Might Marquis Estate would surely go into a decline, unless another true Void Stage powerhouse were to appear within the Divine Might Marquis Estate! At some point, the students had all gathered within the class and teacher Sima had arrived. However, during the entire morning, although Duan Ling Tian was in the classroom, his mind had long ago flown far away. He was constantly thinking about the matter of Xiong Quan gathering the materials and was wondering how Xiong Quan’s progress was... "I’m now capable of inscribing an inscription that’s sufficient to annihilate a Nascent Soul martial artist. However, I’m 90% certain that it wouldn’t pose a threat to a Half-step Void Stage martial artist... There are only a few types of inscriptions that are sufficient to annihilate a Half-step Void Stage powerhouse!" "However, each of those inscriptions require extremely valuable materials that are difficult to obtain and gather within the Crimson Sky Kingdom." Duan Ling Tian’s train of thought floated as he lightly pondered. "Never mind. Why am I thinking so much.... Could it be that the Fifth Prince and the Duan Clan’s second master are capable of ordering a Half-step Void Stage martial artist to deal with me?" Duan Ling Tian laughed in self-ridicule as he thought of this. Although there was quite a number of Half-step Void Stage martial artists within the Imperial Family and the Duan Clan, they weren’t existences that anyone could order around, not to mention be sent to deal with a youth... Overall, today’s gains were not bad. At least he gained an understanding of the various powers within the Crimson Sky Kingdom. As the saying goes: know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat! At noon, Duan Ling Tian and the others gathered together for lunch. "Hmph!" Suddenly, among the young men that walked in the cafeteria, the gaze of one of them was incomparably icy cold as it descended upon Duan Ling Tian. "Duan Ling Tian, this Duan Rong seems like he won’t let the matter go. You should be careful." Xiao Yu recognized the person as he frowned with a slightly serious expression. "Don’t worry, it’s just a clown," Duan Ling Tian said indifferently. "It’s better to be careful. That Duan Clan’s second master’s wife is famous for being extremely cruel and merciless! There was once a servant girl who called her a fat woman in private and was overheard by her... guess what happened?" Xiao Xun kept them guessing as he spoke to this point. "Killed by her?" Tian Hu guessed. "No." Xiao Xun shook his head. "OK, stop creating suspense and tell us. What happened in the end?" Xiao Yu derided. Xiao Xun’s eyes emitted a trace of being unable to bear the thought of what he was about to say. "In the end, she ordered people to fill that servant girls stomach with water.... They continuously filled it for a whole day and night, and finally, that servant girl’s stomach exploded open. Supposedly, her intestines flowed all over the floor!" "F**k! Don’t talk about this while we eat." Tian Hu’s face was filled with disgust. Duan Ling Tian’s eyes went cold. The Duan Clan’s second master’s wife, or in other words, the mother of Duan Ling Xing! As expected, they were cut from the same cloth! The entire family was so cruel and merciless! "Miss Li, he’s the one that cut the wrist tendon of the grade 2 student yesterday." Suddenly, a voice full of flattery sounded from afar, then a young man with a wretched appearance arrived before Duan Ling Tian’s table and extended his finger to point at Su Li. Su Li’s gaze turned cold as he said, with a chilly voice, "Scram!" "Don’t misunderstand, I don’t have any ill intentions. It’s just that Miss Li wants to get to know you." The young man with a wretched face was so scared that his face went pale, as he saw with his own two eyes of Su Li’s ability and didn’t consider himself Su Li’s match. "Hmm?" Su Li frowned and then looked towards the area behind the young man with the wretched appearance. A red-clothed girl was walking over while being followed by another girl. "It’s her!" Duan Ling Tian’s gaze focused as he saw the red-clothed girl. The person that appeared before him now was none other than the girl who was taught a lesson by him at the restaurant in the outer city that day, the Fair Sun County’s County Governor’s daughter who was also the Cousin Sister of the Crimson Sky Kingdom’s Imperial Family’s Fifth Prince. "Enemies really are fated to meet!" Duan Ling Tian thought in his heart. However, Duan Ling Tian also noticed that due to the angle, the girl didn’t notice him. Moreover, there seemed to only be Su Li within her gaze. "Nice to meet you, I’m Tong Li." Tong Li actually put away her usual arrogant expression in front of Su Li and her face emitted a trace of a faint smile. "Su Li!" Su Li indifferently nodded to Tong Li. The corners of Duan Ling Tian’s mouth twitched as he saw this. It can’t be.... This girl is actually interested in Su Li? It’s too preposterous! Meanwhile, Xiao Yu, Xiao Xun, and Tian Hu all glanced at Su Li with dubious gazes, as they had all noticed the clues. Su Li only glanced at Tong Li before withdrawing his gaze and saying indifferently. "If there’s nothing else, don’t disturb our meal." Tong Li’s pupils constricted, and a trace of fury emerged on her face. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦 "Going to flare again?" The corners of Duan Ling Tian’s mouth curled into a sneer. As expected, people don’t easily change! "Su Li, what do you mean by this? This Miss greeted you, and it’s your honor.... You, don’t not know what’s good for you?!" Tong Li fiercely shouted. She completely flared and returned to her original self. As far as she was concerned, her humbling herself to greet Su Li was already giving Su Li enough face, but Su Li’s attitude caused her to be unable to bear it! Her attitude just now, which would seem normal in front of a bystander, was, in her eyes, considered to be humbling herself. Xiao Yu, Xiao Xun, and Tian Hu were all stunned. The current Tong Li was like a completely different person than the earlier Tong Li! It was known that women are capricious, but this change seems a little too exaggerated, right? Su Li’s face sank and his gaze went slightly cold as he shouted, in a low voice, "Scram!" "You... You dare tell me to scram?" Tong Li’s expression went grim. Besides that violet-clothed youth who didn’t know what was good for him from before, there actually was another that dared shout at her.... He was courting death!