1304 - 1314

Chapter 1304 Courtesy Demands Reciprocity.

"It looks like we have to be careful. We can't go back to Lingtian now and we can't use our domain concept too. If not, we might be discovered." Li Lanfeng already sensed their dire situation.

He didn't know how Lingtian would explain their presence but he believed that Han Jijyun wouldn't be so stupid to admit it directly. If he stated that they were attacked by an unknown faction, they could still return as victims and condemned the security of Planet General. He could be more straightforward by pretending to start a fight and demanding an explanation from the security department of Planet General. That was the best solution.

Li Lanfeng didn't know if Han Jijyun was able to break free from his conservative thoughts and make such a shameless move. If he was the one making the decision, he would definitely choose the second option and make a huge scene out of it. He would recruit up some fake parents for the victims and ask them to condemn the military headquarters.

"I'm just curious why Lieutenant General Ling had to hide his identity. Everyone is waiting for him to return." The man of the couple was puzzled. From his viewpoint, the child of a hero wouldn't be punished unless he committed a huge crime like betraying the country. Lieutenant General Ling ignored the military command many times during the war between Twilight and the Federation. He acted alone and got surrounded by his enemies so General Ling Xiao went to save him and died in the process. But, all these are not serious crimes. If he came back and apologised to everyone, they would all forgive him even if they had some grievances in the end. Lieutenant General Ling is still young so it's normal that he acts rashly.

Li Lanfeng smiled but didn't reply. At times like this, keeping silent was the best decision. The other party was now in control of the conversation. He mustn't give them any chances to obtain any more information.

"Escaping is not a good solution. A soldier should be brave enough to bear the consequences of his actions." The man appeared unhappy when Li Lanfeng didn't reply to him. As expected, birds of a feather flock together. Lingtian was filled with people who shrink in the face of danger.

However, no matter what he said to infuriate him, Li Lanfeng just continued smiling at him silently.

"There's no use talking to you nicely. It seems like we have to invite you by force." The man finally got impatient, especially after looking at Li Lanfeng's fake smile.

A huge flame appeared on his palm. The hot air quickly spread in the air and rushed towards Li Lanfeng.

Li Lanfeng looked up and a black whirlpool appeared in front of him. The hot air was absorbed into the black whirlpool. It couldn't pass through this black barrier.

"Hmph!" The man snorted. He pushed his right hand towards Li Lanfeng furiously. The flame left his hand and turned into a fire dragon. It opened its mouth ferociously and charged at Li Lanfeng.

The fire dragon wanted to pass through the black whirlpool but when it flew high above the black whirlpool, the fire dragon started to get sucked into the whirlpool uncontrollably. After a few seconds, it fell directly into the black whirlpool.

The man's expression changed slightly. He was always in control of his fire dragon but in that instant, he suddenly lost control of it. He felt as though the connection between his fire dragon and him was cut off.

Even though his first attack failed, he was unwilling to give up. He moved his hands and multiple fire dragons appeared. They danced furiously in the air and rushed towards Li Lanfeng in a deadly swarm.

Li Lanfeng raised his head and looked at the group of fire dragons raining down on him and frowned. In response, he spread his hands out slightly. The black whirlpool that was around his height suddenly erupted and covered half of his domain territory. His body was also covered up by the black whirlpool.

The multiple fire dragons seemed to have lost their direction. They uncontrollably flew towards the middle of the whirlpool and got swallowed by it.

Li Lanfeng's body started getting distorted too. This weird scene made the man following him feel uncomfortable. He felt like vomiting.

"Courtesy demands reciprocity." Li Lanfeng lifted his right hand which seemed to have been lengthened from the distortion and a deformed scythe appeared from thin air. The black scythe, which represented death, floated in mid-air. The sound of metal chains scraping against each other was heard, inciting fear in the heart of the man.

They were both domain realm masters but his opponent's domain concept was extremely weird. He even felt that if that scythe just slightly touched him, he would die.

The man could feel death approaching him so he decisively broke the signal device in his hands.

Li Lanfeng sensed his actions and threw his scythe out while the metal chains on the scythe suddenly shot in three different directions.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

After the three earth-shattering impacts, three different people appeared in his domain.

One had a broadsword in his hand, one had wind spheres all around him, and the last one was holding a silver-grey giant hammer. They were named after their unique specialities, namely Broadsword, Wind, and Hammer. The man who fought with Li Lanfeng earlier was codenamed Fire.

"Luckily, you came in time. I almost failed." Fire heaved a sigh of relief when he saw his three comrades.

"We were watching the situation from the outside. What happened? Is he hard to deal with? Broadsword asked as he glanced at the sinister-looking Li Lanfeng.

"His domain is special. I've never seen anything like his domain before." Fire furrowed his brows. He hated fighting with special domain realm masters. There was no information about special domains so he had to take things as they came along. Moreover, improvising in battle was not his strong suit.

"Interesting. Let's slowly attack him together." Hammer knocked his hammer on his hand and laughed. No matter how powerful Li Lanfeng's domain was, once the energy of his domain was depleted, he would be powerless against them. It was four against one. No matter how he looked at it, they would win.

"If you come here, is everything outside going to be okay?" Fire asked worriedly.

"No problem. Our leader is keeping watch outside. If something happens, he'll inform us. We can quickly take care of him and wait for Ling Lan to come back." In their eyes, Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang had no chance of escaping. Thus, they started bragging shamelessly in front of Li Lanfeng.

Li Lanfeng sneered. He didn't have the confidence to refute the first sentence but they wouldn't stand a chance against Ling Lan.

Moreover, they would have a hard time finishing him too.

Li Lanfeng clenched his left fist and his entire domain territory got distorted. Li Lanfeng smiled. He hadn't told his opponent that the black whirlpool was his domain.

Wind turned solemn when he saw when he saw the whirlpool getting increasingly distorted. "This is bad. Break his domain."

The space around him had just started distorting but his wind spheres had already turned unstable. If the entire area got distorted fully, their domain might be damaged which would be tragic for domain realm masters. The only way to stop this was to break his opponent's domain and drag him into their domain.

Chapter 1305 Crazy Fan!

They chose to enter Li Lanfeng's domain because they thought that the four of them together would finish off Li Lanfeng quickly in his domain, which in turn would give them more time to prepare for Ling Lan's arrival. They were basically underestimating Li Lanfeng. However, now, it seemed like their decision to enter Li Lanfeng's domain was a mistake. They should have destroyed Li Lanfeng's domain and then dragged him into their own domains.

The four of them signalled at each other with their forefingers, and all of their domains were activated simultaneously. They had been in the same team since they were young and they had basically never worked apart from each other, so obviously, they would have seamless teamwork.

Soon, an amalgamation of domains were formed as they connected into a line and went against Li Lanfeng's domain.

Even if Li Lanfeng's special domain was stronger than the average domains, their domain amalgamation was still able to pierce through Li Lanfeng's domain.

As his domain shattered like a piece of glass, Li Lanfeng spat out a mouthful of blood. Before he could react, the domain amalgamation splitted apart into four separate domain energies and charged towards him at the same time.

When Li Lanfeng saw the incoming energy projectiles, his eyes gleamed like the stars in the sky as the scythe in his hand grew larger by several meters. After the scythe grew until it was around twelve meters tall, it broke off into four equal size pieces as it flew towards the four domain energy projectiles.

Just as the scythe slightly touched the domain energy projectiles, it began to shake a little before the energy projectiles were instantly erased by it. It was as though they had been formatted by the system of the planet they were in, completely vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Blood continued to drip from the corner of Li Lanfeng's lips uncontrollably. His beautiful face was filled with smears of blood and grime, scabs that were a few centimeters long, and some bruises to top it all off. However, what he gained from getting such horrendous injuries was stalling against four domain realm masters.

Li Lanfeng looked at his opponents with a cold look on his face. He had long discovered that not only was he facing the attacks from four domain realm masters, Luo Lang was also experiencing the same thing. Similarly, Luo Lang also had four domain realm masters attacking him. However, Luo Lang could freely optimize his domains against his opponents through mixing his personality. He was more suitable in fights against multiple opponents. In reality, in terms of numbers, who could actually defeat Luo Lang who had an infinite number of personalities? It was only due to the fact that Luo Lang was currently not strong that he couldn't bring out too many different personalities, and thus limiting his fighting strength. If he had actually reached a point where he could bring out any amount of personalities, even Ling Lan had said that it would be annoying to face Luo Lang in battle.

Of course, this wasn't why Li Lanfeng felt that they were in a rut. It was because he had discovered that other than the eight people fighting them, there were also two others who were just viewing them fighting. There was one leaning against the pole next to the staircase while the other was leaning against the wall. They were also people who activated their domains to contain the commotion their fight was causing.

These two people were undoubtedly not regular domain realm masters since they were able to contain the domain energies of ten of them. They were definitely titled domain realm formidable warriors. They might even be the types who were infinitely close to becoming imperial stage domain experts.

Unluckily, Li Lanfeng had only been able to send them glances, stopping him from accurately determining how strong those two were. Even though Li Lanfeng was quite capable in gauging the strength of his opponents through his outstanding spiritual power, he still couldn't sense anything. If he couldn't sense anything, then either those two opponents had special barriers that could block his senses or they were just so much stronger than him that he could detect them.

However, no matter how strong these two were, their existence was bad news for him and Luo Lang, especially when they were already in a tough situation.

Right as Li Lanfeng was trying his hardest to think of ways to get out of their situation, the two people waiting for the two groups to finish their battle were becoming somewhat impatient.

"So, you still want to wait?" asked the person leaning on the pole.

"It doesn't matter, the result will be us winning either way." The person leaning on the wall had his hands in his pockets with an uncaring expression on his face. If all ten of them moved out and they couldn't capture these three people, then they should just hand over their lives as payment for their poor performance.

"We'll take care of these two first and then there will be no issue. Ling Lan should be back when we finish these two off." The person leaning on the pole yawned dismissively. It was actually quite boring to just watch from the sidelines.

"It's fine. Just wait for a little longer. The chief has said that Lieutenant General Ling is quite strong and might be stronger than us by a stage. If that is really true, then we would need to work together." These two didn't look like they belonged in the same team.

"Maybe the chief thought too highly of him. How old is Lieutenant General Ling and how old are we? If he actually was stronger than us, doesn't that mean we are actually useless?" said the person leaning on the pole annoyedly.

"You can't say that. Did you forget about General Ling Xiao? After all, he is his child. It's quite normal that he's outstanding as well." The person leaning on the wall seemed to idolize Ling Xiao a bit. He truly acknowledged the possibility of Ling Lan having incredible talent.

"Didn't the Federation's Military Medical Research Facility discover that the talents of the descendants of god-class operators would be reduced to nil?" The person leaning on the pole didn't believe that Ling Lan could be stronger than them.

"But General Ling Xiao… he's already an existence that cannot be explained. He also advanced into a god-class operator at such a young age. Additionally, the amount of merits he had built up and his rank were all like as if he was cheating. So having a son who doesn't walk a normal path is quite normal." The person leaning on the wall had completely pictured Ling Xiao as some god-like figure.

"Not going to talk to you about this anymore. You're a crazy fan of Ling Xiao. As long as there was something connected to General Ling Xiao, your mind will always be in the clouds." The person leaning on the pole facepalmed. How could he forget that this teammate of his had this problem? He shouldn't have attempted to talk to him about General Ling Xiao in a logical manner.

"You're looking down on me. When was my head in the clouds?" the person leaning on the wall raised his eyebrows. He didn't let up and said, "It is because my mind is fully logical that I decided to cooperate with you to ask Lieutenant General Ling to report back to the military headquarters. He can't just stay out there in the galaxy, after all he is General Ling Xiao's only son. I need to do something for General Ling Xiao and keep Lieutenant General Ling safe.���

"That's why Lieutenant General Ling is too young and impulsive. He was convinced into believing that the Federation did General Ling Xiao wrong… In the end, wasn't it because he didn't follow orders, did his own thing and fell into an ambush, which forced General Ling Xiao to fall into Caesar and Twilight's trap. All in all, wasn't the person who caused General Ling Xiao's death Lieutenant General Ling himself?" The person leaning on the pole didn't see Ling Lan in a good light, especially after obtaining some inside information. After knowing that the person who caused General Ling Xiao's death was Ling Lan, he hated him even more.

It was because of a punk who didn't listen to orders that the Federation lost a godly figure. The strongest future, no, the strongest god-class operator. They had also heard that General Ling Xiao had reached the profound god-class. This made them feel pain in their hearts after hearing that news.

"Alright, alright, after all he's Ling Xiao's son. We still have to cut him some slack and save some face for him. Didn't the military headquarters send us here to ask him to go back because they wanted to save him from further embarrassment as well? Didn't they also want to clear up the misunderstanding?" The person leaning on the wall still had a good feeling about Ling Lan. After all, he was his idol's son. He hoped that Ling Lan could live happier.

"Alright, let's stop talking." The person leaning on the pole raised his hands like he was surrendering to show that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. After all, saying bad things about Ling Xiao's son to a crazy Ling Xiao fan would definitely not be a fun conversation to continue.

Chapter 1306 Look For an Excuse

They quickly stopped their useless conversation and continued to spectate the two groups that were fighting. After the two groups finished off their respective opponents, they would group up and face Ling Lan altogether.

Right at that moment, the eyes of the person leaning on the pole suddenly froze. He stiffly turned his head and looked at the empty ground not far from him. After a few seconds, a silhouette of a person could be seen slowly appearing there.

Although the person wore a female soldier's uniform, the presence he gave off didn't feel anything like a female. The cold look in his eyes gave him a chill that rushed up from his foot all the way up to his head.

"Thank you for taking care of my two comrades," he said calmly.

Before the person leaning on the pole could even say a word, he felt as though he had fallen into an icy cave. The bone chilling cold made everything feel like they had slowed down to a snail's pace. He couldn't distinguish if a few minutes had passed or seconds. Before he could warn his comrades about the new arrival, that person had already disappeared without a trace.

"What is happening?" He looked around in shock. He discovered that the two groups who had been battling furiously had stopped some time ago. The two groups looked at each other in confusion, looking as though they had no idea what had happened.

"Team Leader Kong, did you sense him as well?" He looked at his comrade who was leaning on the wall.

"Yeah!" Team Leader Kong's expression was frozen as he looked towards a certain direction and answered in a certain tone.

"Was he Lieutenant General Ling?" He gulped audibly. At first, he was calling Ling Lan by her name, but now he referred to Ling Lan with her title respectfully.

"It's probably him. It can only be him." Team Leader Kong felt like his entire body had turned into an ice cold corpse. That feeling came swiftly and deadly. When he finally came to his senses, he realized that Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang had already disappeared from their sight.

"To be able to take them away silently without us reacting, that kind of strength…" The person leaning on the pole looked at Team Leader Kong with cold sweat on his head. The words 'imperial realm formidable warrior' quickly appeared in his mind.

"That's why I said don't look down on General Ling Xiao's son. Their bloodline is full of cheat codes." Team Leader Kong smiled ruefully as he shook his head. At first, he wanted to find a chance to talk to Lieutenant General Ling peacefully. Now, it seemed Lieutenant General Ling didn't even want to give him a chance to even meet him.

"How are we going to write the report?" A slight look of shame appeared on this team leader's face. He remembered being all confident and dismissive about Ling Lan in front of his chief. Now, they were totally played by Ling Lan in the palm of her hands. He could feel his cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

"Oh you." Team Leader Kong also remembered his comrade's dismissive attitude from before. "Now, even if you were to speak the truth, no one would believe you."

Lieutenant General Ling had already reached the imperial realm… or perhaps an even higher stage? If they stated that it was the reason why they failed their mission, their colleagues probably would think that it was an excuse for their failure. Imperial realm before the age of 25? That was indeed quite unbelievable.

"Now the only thing we can do is to make sure we corroborate our reports. We'll say that he was too cautious so he discovered us when we got close so we didn't have a chance to surround him and thus he got away." Team Leader Kong still wanted to be able to stand with his head held up high in front of his colleagues. By reporting like this, although they had failed, they could just make themselves seem unprepared to capture Ling Lan, not like how it actually was, being totally rolled over by Ling Lan. Plus, if they actually reported the truth, no one would believe them. They could only make up a reason that everyone could accept.

The person leaning on the pole thought for a moment. Other than that, they didn't have any other way of writing a sensible report. In the end, he could only agree with a sullen look on his face. Of course, they didn't forget to remind their team members of this. Their team members also didn't want the news of them losing a four against one to be known by others. Even if their team leader didn't remind them, they wouldn't tell anyone of such a shameful performance.

Just like that, in order to save face and to not let anyone make fun of them or misunderstand, they reported those words in the end. The military headquarters totally didn't suspect anything. In reality, they had already known that Li Lanfeng had followed Ling Lan there. He was a very perceptive individual, so it was normal that they were discovered.

Thus, the fact of Ling Lan being an imperial realm formidable warrior became hidden away just like that.

Of course, these two team leaders only guessed that was the case. After calming down and thinking about it, they also believed that it was impossible that Ling Lan was an imperial realm formidable warrior. Theoretically, domain realm masters who were on par with them were able to slow them down and cause them to hallucinate for a short period of time like what Ling Lan did just now. Then that person would be able to take others away and save them.

If he was actually stronger than them like being an imperial stage domain expert, he would have just needed to completely overpower them. He didn't need to use that method to save his comrades and then leave.

The two of them felt that that was the truth of what happened so the feeling of shame in their hearts instantly disappeared. After all, they didn't hide much in their reports. The opponent was indeed overly cautious, found an opening and got away.

At that moment, Ling Lan, Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang went into a random person's house and hid there.

If the military headquarters knew they were on Planet General, hotels and hostels wouldn't be suitable for them to hide in since they required their identification cards. Without Little Four, Ling Lan felt it was inconvenient everywhere she went and was in danger of exposing themselves at any moment. Faced with an overpowering mainframe of the Federation, Li Lanfeng could only block off partial amounts of information. He couldn't go around the mainframe and enter flawless data to create new identities. This was why they could only stay at one place for a short while. Otherwise, the mainframe would discover that there was something wrong with the place they were staying at.

In reality, planets nowadays were all under surveillance through one mainframe. However, this type of surveillance inevitably had places where it was white space or other parts where it didn't function as well. Those places were the average residential districts. Although there was still surveillance equipment in these districts, security wasn't as tight. At most, every street would have one surveillance camera.

Li Lanfeng chose a house with no one living in it out of the many average houses around them. It was only for hiding themselves for a short while. A house with no one living in it was the most suitable choice.

The three of them chose a living room in the attic and sat on the floor.

"We can't go back to Lingtian," said Li Lanfeng.

"I don't understand, how did we expose ourselves?" Luo Lang pulled on his hair in frustration. They clearly disguised themselves very well. He didn't want to suspect his friends, but reality was forcing him to think that way. That feeling of distrust made him frustrated and annoyed.

"Don't think too much. It has nothing to do with Qi Long and the others. The Federation's military headquarters' research institute invented a new tool that can detect domain concept energies. We were discovered probably when we activated our domains. That's how we were caught," Ling Lan said calmly. She knew what Luo Lang was frustrated about from his expressions.

"It's pretty much the same as what I had predicted. I have been thinking that there was something that they used to detect our presence. I just didn't think it could detect domain concept energies," said Li Lanfeng.

"Does that mean if we don't activate our domains, they wouldn't be able to find us?" Luo Lang's eyes glimmered.

"But if we don't use domain energy, can we change our looks?" Li Lanfeng thought of another possibility why they were being followed. Although they could change the way they looked without activating their domains, they still needed to control the domain energies within themselves to adjust the muscles on their faces. He didn't know whether that tool could also detect that as well.

Chapter 1307 Little White Has Disappeared.

"To be safe, we can't use this method to disguise ourselves anymore." Ling Lan wasn't certain but she didn't want to take the risk. They were at the headquarters of the military. Once they were discovered by their enemy, they would be surrounded instantly. There was nowhere to hide.

"That's not the problem. Most importantly, how are we going to leave Planet General without Lingtian?" Li Lanfeng brought forward the cruel reality to their attention. They were stuck on Planet General without being able to board the commercial starships.

Even if they managed to get on a starship, they wouldn't be able to hide their identities using their disguise or their domain concepts. The mainframe would see through their disguise quickly. Using their domain concept was a good idea but now, the military had a device that was able to detect their domain concept energy. This path of retreat was crossed out.

"Wait," Ling Lan replied calmly.

"Wait?" Li Lanfeng looked at Ling Lan in surprise. Being passive wasn't Ling Lan's style. He always liked to seek opportunities.

"On the way to Planet General, I accidentally saw something interesting." Ling Lan smiled when she saw Li Lanfeng's astonished gaze. Normally, the smile would make Ling Lan's aura warmer but Li Lanfeng felt that her smile seemed a little devilish.

His instinct told him that he shouldn't ask Ling Lan what she was talking about. However, even though he didn't ask, someone else would. The equally confused Luo Lang asked naturally, "What is it?"

Ling Lan lifted her right hand slowly and pointed at Li Lanfeng. The smile on her face got brighter. "Li Yinfei."

"Ah!" Luo Lang turned to look at Li Lanfeng. He remembered the first time he saw Li Lanfeng's real appearance. He was so dumbfounded he asked his boss if he brought Li Yinfei back to be his third wife.

Back then, his boss just replied to him with a forceful knock on his head. Fortunately, Li Lanfeng also had a good temper so he just smiled at him and didn't get angry. Luo Lang felt that if someone thought he was a woman and even took him as someone's wife, he might have beaten the person up badly.

So, from that moment onwards, Luo Lang had a really good impression of Li Lanfeng. He felt that Li Lanfeng was a very good person and was very forgiving.

This was Luo Lang's own thoughts. If his comrades knew about this, they would snort, and snort, and continue snorting. Then, they would release a thesis of at least 5000 words about hypocrites. They would warn Luo Lang against judging a book by its cover and asked him to be aware of a wolf in sheep's clothing. Li Lanfeng was a perfect example of such a person.

Li Lanfeng felt the corners of his lips twitching. As expected, Ling Lan's smile was full of evil intentions. However, what Ling Lan hinted allowed Li Lanfeng to understand what she wanted to do.

"I remember that Li Yinfei is going to attend the ceremony celebrating the return of the soldiers." Li Lanfeng didn't like Li Yinfei but as a strategist, he mustn't let go of any factor he could exploit.

"It'll happen three days later." Ling Lan stood up and walked to the window. Through the gaps of the curtains, she could see the passer-bys walking outside. She continued calmly, "Now, we must think of a way to let her apply to leave Planet General as soon as possible after the ceremony ends."

Li Lanfeng squinted his eyes as he contemplated. "Substituting one for another."

"Yes!" Li Yinfei had her own personal starship. After Ling Lan's identity was exposed, she came up with this idea. After all, there was a real Li Yinfei beside her. The military didn't know this so this was their best chance to leave Planet General.

The two of them smiled at each other. They understood each other without the need for words. Only Luo Lang remained confused. They only spoke a few words and they were already starting to act? He felt that he was still in the dark.

Soon, the Lingtian Independent Army received a summon for a questioning from the military headquarters. Why didn't they inform the military headquarters of Ling Lan and the other two people's presence on Planet General?

The people who participated in this matter answered with only one statement. They just state that they didn't know their commander was here. Hence, they didn't conceal his presence.

The headquarters pointed out that Ling Lan and the two other people were disguised as three JMCs from their army. The moment this was mentioned, the representative from Lingtian flipped the script and lashed out at the representative from the headquarters.

The representative from Lingtian said that they had already received the report from their logistics department. They already knew that three JMCs were missing so they informed their soldiers, who were shopping outside, to look for them. However, there was no news after a few days worth of searching. They were already preparing to report this matter to the headquarters to seek their help in finding the three JMCs.

Han Jijyun changed his passive style of doing things and directly reprimanded the headquarters. Did their JMCs get in danger because the security on Planet General wasn't tight enough? Once this question was asked, everyone in Lingtian turned furious at the same time. All of them demanded an answer from the headquarters within 24 hours. If not, the Lingtian Independent Army wouldn't let them off so easily.

The people from Lingtian denied the accusation and insisted that the three JMCs were real. In the past, Little Four created some fake soldier identities in Lingtian so that Ling Lan was able to do some dirty work with them. Hence, the mainframe was unable to detect any loopholes in the system. It couldn't find any evidence to prove that the three JMCs were fake or problematic so the headquarters couldn't do anything about Lingtian's accusations. They knew that there was something wrong with the Lingtian Independent Army but they couldn't force them to answer their questions when their backs were against the wall.

This was because Lingtian wasn't a normal independent army. It was the independent army of Ling Xiao's only son, Ling Lan. The death of Ling Xiao and the disappearance of Ling Lan caused everyone to place their attention on the Lingtian Independent Army. If the military forced the Lingtian Independent Army, Lingtian just needed to appear wronged and the public would misunderstand the military, thinking that they were trying to snatch the things that belonged to Ling Xiao and Ling Lan while they were gone.

The military indeed had this intention but they couldn't be too obvious with it. If not, they would cause public discontent. They might even lose their positions if Lingtian and the public worked together to push the matter.

In the end, the people from the military headquarters left Lingtian dishearteningly. This matter was pushed aside but the surveillance over Lingtian got even tighter. They believed that Ling Lan and her group were hiding on Planet General. At the same time, they kept a close watch of all the starships at the spaceport to prevent Ling Lan from having any chances of leaving.

At this moment, Han Xuya ran over anxiously. She shouted at Qi Long and the other people, "This is bad. Little White is missing."

"How did it go missing?" Qi Long jumped up from his seat and asked loudly.

"Luo Chao and I were talking about Boss. We said that Boss most likely won't return to Lingtian. Then Little White jumped up and ran away." Han Xuya felt frustrated. "I misspoke in front of it. I forgot that Little White understands human language."

Luo Chao was a step slower than Han Xuya. She ran in too.

Chapter 1308 Candidate

"I asked Jialan just now and Jialan told me she has no idea where Little White is." Luo Chao arrived later than Han Xuya because she had gone to ask the starship's mainframe, Jialan, first.

After hearing about Little White's disappearance, Qi Long slowly stood up and said with certainty in his tone, "Little White probably went to find Boss."

"But how could it know where Boss is when we don't even know?" asked Han Xuya frustratingly.

"We can't find Boss, but it doesn't mean Little White can't find him." Qi Long let out a forlorn sigh. "Boss and Little White have a special way of communicating. Don't forget how Boss found us in the first place."

"But what if Little White got lost?" Han Xuya was still worried about Little White's safety. Luo Chao nodded in agreement with a face full of concern. How could a tiny white blob be able to survive in the cruel harsh world?

"Don't worry, Little White is very strong. It might even be stronger than us. Back then, didn't Boss let out Little White in the wild from time to time? And didn't Little White come back safely each and every time?" Qi Long patiently comforted them, slowly easing them out of their concerns. "If Little White can't find Boss, I trust that it will find its way back to us."

Han Xuya and Luo Chao remembered what happened in the past, and it was indeed just the same as what Qi Long had said. They temporarily stopped their worrying. They didn't know whether they should hope for Little White to find its way to Boss or to not find him and come back. No matter which one it was, they hoped Little White was safe. In their hearts, Little White wasn't just some pet, but rather their most loyal and reliable friend.

However, the next day, they didn't have time to worry about Little White anymore, as the military headquarters had just notified them that all personnel in charge of Lingtian must participate in the military headquarters' conference at 1pm.

Everyone had their doubt as they rushed to the conference room. Right as they were about to enter the conference room, they were informed by someone sent by Qi Yaoyang, who had been waiting for them, that this conference was about determining who should be Lingtian Independent Army and the 23rd Division's highest ranking officer. The reason it was so sudden and why they weren't informed beforehand was because the military headquarters didn't want them to make any preparations, catching them off guard.

After hearing about it, everyone from Lingtian got nervous. However, they could do nothing about it now. The conference was about to start, and they couldn't just delay it because they weren't prepared beforehand

After entering the conference room, they saw the members of the military headquarters all in their respective seats. There were also a few representatives from ministries of government and representatives from other armies. They almost filled up the entire conference room.

Near the front of the conference room, there were a few rows of seats that faced each other on the left and the right side. Qi Long saw the chief of staff of the 23rd Division, He Xuyang, sitting in the center of the left side. Next to him was a female major general, Ms. Lan Luofeng.

Qi Long's heart stopped beating for a moment. He turned around towards the name tags on the right side which showed the words 'Lingtian Independent Army'. It seemed the seats on the right side were prepared for them.

Qi Long gave a look to his comrades, then led the way to the seats on the right side and sat down.

Besides Qi Long sat Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong. There were also the other brigade leaders and department heads sitting behind them.

After a short while, the large screen at the center of them suddenly lit up. Then it split into many smaller screens. In each of the screens, there was a stern looking general shown within it. Their ranks were from lieutenant general all the way up to general. These were all the generals of the 23 official divisions.

In the end, in the four screens in the middle, it showed the faces of the three marshals. On the fourth showed the Flying Dragon Special Forces highest commanding officer, who didn't appear frequently on these occasions, Ren Feiyu.

Seeing essentially the decision makers of the Federation joining this conference caused a large commotion within the government's representatives.

It should be known that only important matters would cause the three marshals, the generals and not to mention the person-in-charge of the Flying Dragon Special Forces to appear. Could this conference be so important that any decision made here would harm the foundation of the Federation?

Not only was there commotion in those seated below, even the three marshals didn't understand why Ren Feiyu had requested to join this conference.

However, the reason Ren Feiyu had given them was reasonable. The 23rd Division was established by Ling Xiao and was considered to be special to the citizens of the Federation. The requirement for the next person in line to take command of the 23rd Division was quite high. Once the chosen individual did not satisfy the citizens or perhaps there was a flaw of some sort, it would cause the people of the Federation to protest against them. The results of that would be devastating. Ren Feiyu believed that a bad decision on their part could be bad enough to affect the peacefulness within the Federation and shake the foundation of the nation. In order to prevent this outcome from happening, the Flying Dragon Special Forces must come out and watch over this conference. They must make sure the next general of the 23rd Division has no underlying problems.

Although the three marshals were annoyed by Ren Feiyu's rude remarks, they still couldn't reject his proposal. After all, they also didn't want the next general to have any problems in the future, giving Ren Feiyu a chance to uproot them. Although the supervision power of the Flying Dragon Special Forces was considered to be nothing by the three marshals, they still didn't want them coming to their houses hounding them everyday. After all, dealing with them required time. As people who put time as the most valuable thing, they didn't want to waste their valuable time with the Flying Dragon Special Forces.

The official time had reached 1p.m. The person-in-charge of the military headquarters, who was also the host for this conference, gestured for the door to be closed. After restricting anyone from entering and leaving, he spoke, "First, I would like to thank the three marshals and our generals for participating in this conference. Special thanks to General Ren Feiyu for attending as well."

"For this conference, our first objective is to determine whether the rewards and merits given to the division who participated in the war against the Twilight Empire have been approved. The second objective in this conference is to discuss who will be the next general of the 23rd Division and who will be the commanding officer for the Lingtian Independent Army."

Everyone had already prepared for the first objective of the conference. After all, there were only two days left until the award ceremony. The list of names needed to be approved before the ceremony started. However, the second objective came at a surprise to them. Although everyone knew that the 23rd Division and the Lingtian Independent Army needed a new leader, it was still a surprise to them.

The entire conference room was instantly filled with minute chatters everywhere.

"Hm hm." The host coughed a few times and the crowd quickly fell silent.

"Now, we will announce the three candidates for the commanding officer of Lingtian Independent Army."

"The first candidate is the 11th Division, 17th Brigade Leader, Major General Luo Zhiqun. The second is 6th Division, 3rd Brigade Deputy Leader, Major General Zhou Lirong. The third is Lingtian Independent Army, 3rd Brigade Leader, Major General Qi Long."

The first two names were both major generals who were well known and around the age of 50. Only Qi Long seemed out of place from the three candidates. Everyone believed that even if the Lingtian Independent Army had an internal candidate, they would have thought it would be Yang Mingzhi or Liu Furong. After all these two were the deputy commanders of the army. Ranking them up by half a rank and becoming the commander was more logical. No matter if it was age or his position, Qi Long fighting for the position of commander seemed somewhat forced.

Some who knew about Qi Long's background surreptitiously looked towards one of the small screens in the center where the 13th Division Commander, Qi Yaoyang was shown. Did Qi Long receive this chance because of his father helping him in the dark?

Chapter 1309 Assumptions.

"The portfolio of the three major generals have already been sent to everyone. You can read them on your own," the host continued.

Those people that didn't know the three candidates well, especially Qi Long, clicked on the screen in front of them and started reading the information.

In the military, major generals weren't highly regarded. There were just too many of them, probably more than a million, so to them Qi Long was just an unknown insignificant major general. He didn't achieve any amazing merits, wasn't the one who changed the tides of the war and wasn't the one who led the victory (someone like Ling Lan). To the soldiers, they didn't think much of those soldiers who rose to major general rank according to routine. There were many major generals who didn't have any power too, making their title just a title.

But, soon, many people were astounded. Qi Long was young but his track record was even more outstanding than the other two generals who were twice his age. Whether it was during the battle on Planet Haijiao, the battle in the Nebula boundary, the Twilight escorting mission, or the war with Twilight, Qi Long's performance in them was amazing. He killed multiple ace operators of their enemies and also killed a few enemy imperial operators who were registered in the database of the Federation.

Why didn't they discover this outstanding youngster in the past?

Then, they looked at the prefix of these battles and discovered in every battle he fought the leader was Ling Lan. Then they were enlightened. Ling Lan was just too exceptional. The other outstanding soldiers in his clan were totally overshadowed by his light. This time, without Ling Lan, they were finally able to see how excellent the other soldiers of the Lingtian Independent Army were.

The track records of the deputy commanders, the various brigade leaders of the mecha brigades, and the head of the different departments were all stunning. Any one of them could be a high-ranking official of any clan they join in the Federation.

The people who initially looked down on Qi Long due to his young age now saw him in a different light after looking at his track records.

"Now, let's invite the three candidates on stage to answer everyone's questions."

Qi Long stood up. Yang Mingzhi also stood up after him and patted his shoulders to calm Qi Long down. He encouraged him to remain calm.

Qi Long nodded gratefully at Yang Mingzhi. He turned and looked at his comrades who were looking at him encouragingly and felt warm in his heart. He clenched his fist secretly and reminded himself that he must remain composed. He mustn't embarrass Boss.

No matter what the result was, he must protect the Lingtian Independent Army for Boss.

The three candidates were all impressive. However, Qi Long stood out with his handsome figure and youthful looks. He captured everyone's attention the moment he went up. Without Ling Lan sheltering them, Qi Long had to remove his honest facade and reveal his real personality which he had been hiding so that he could take over Ling Lan's position and protect his comrades. This was Lingtian's tradition. The baton would always be passed down. It would never end.

The entire place was silent. For a while, no one knew what to ask. Based on their track records, everyone had the ability to be the commander of the Lingtian Independent Army.

Finally, someone opened his mouth.

"Can the three candidates explain your future plans for the Lingtian Independent Army?"

This was just empty talk but from their statement, they could determine the ambition and aspiration of the candidates, as well as their understanding of Lingtian.

The three candidates exchanged glances with one another. Qi Long took a step back and raised his hand in front of him.

Luo Zhiqun, smiled at the candidate from the 6th Division, Zhou Lirong, and nodded. He took a step back too.

In the end, Major General Zhou Lirong shook his head. He was the oldest here. Qi Long's actions indirectly caused them to speak according to their age.

The audience members who knew Qi Long's identity smiled at Qi Yaoyang secretly. They were jealous that Qi Yaoyang had such an outstanding son. He wasn't nervous in front of a huge audience and he had also shown that he had good manners for someone his age. This was rare.

Qi Yaoyang smiled as though he was accepting their praises and compliments. But, in reality, he felt bitter in his heart. His oldest and second oldest son was groomed by him but they performed average in his eyes. It would be difficult for them to hold great responsibilities. His youngest son was stubborn ever since he was young. No matter how he reprimanded him, he wouldn't bow down. In the end, he had no choice but to let go of him and let him mixed around with Ling Lan. At that time, he just wished that Ling Lan would hold him back from creating trouble. Yet, unexpectedly, his youngest son was the most successful out of all his sons. Once the time was right, he would soar above everyone else.

Ling Xiao was really the favoured child of god. His talents were better than him and he knew how to groom his child better too. Moreover, Ling Lan was as outstanding as Ling Xiao, even Ling Lan's friends were exceptional too.

Qi Yaoyang sighed in his heart as he thought of this. Ling Xiao was too perfect. This might be the reason why the world couldn't accept him, forcing him to meet disasters time and time again until he met his death.

Zhou Lirong walked to the front of the stage and opened his mouth. "I'm honoured to be one of the candidates for the position of commander in the Lingtian Independent Army. After I received the notice, I immediately went to do my own research on the Lingtian Independent Army carefully. I have deep respect for the first commander of Lingtian, Lieutenant General Ling Lan. He groomed an ordinary mecha clan into a powerful ace mecha clan. Then, he led his ace mecha clan to become an independent army with illustrious military exploits. He achieved all these in less than three years. I believe that none of us here are able to emulate his leadership."

"If I can become the commander of this legendary independent army, I feel excited but glad. In terms of personal ability, I can't be compared to Lieutenant General Ling. However, I've been the deputy brigade leader for more than ten years so I do have some experience with integrating a team. My plan is to turn Lingtian into a mature integrated army. I've looked at the composition of the Lingtian Independent Army and noticed that their main focus is the mecha brigades, with the logisticians supporting these brigades. Although they're able to maintain Lingtian's amazing battling capabilities, it is detrimental to the future development of Lingtian."

In order to turn Lingtian into a complete independent army, all the soldiers must be strong. If I take over Lingtian, I'll cover up this loophole. I'll make sure that in five years, the independent army will complete the requirements for a division. In ten years, it'll become a mature integrated independent army."

Zhou Lirong's speech won him a round of applause. The current Lingtian Independent Army was called an independent army but in fact, it was just a huge mecha clan. Besides their mecha operators who were outstanding, the ability and number of the other soldiers were lacking. This wasn't the kind of independent army the military needed. The military allowed Lingtian to become an independent army because they wanted more integrated divisions to replenish the lack of soldiers in the Federation. Without a doubt, Zhou Lirong's speech gained the approval of some representatives who had the same thought.

Chapter 1310 Mecha Army!

Qi Long's gaze turned cold when he heard about Zhou Lirong plans for Lingtian's future. His plan was completely opposite of what Boss wanted for Lingtian. If they really progressed based on his plan, then Lingtian would be the same as every other independent armies, losing its glamour in the process.

Zhou Lirong took a step back when he finished speaking and nodded at Luo Zhiqun and Qi Long.

Luo Zhiqun smiled lightly and walked forward to the center of the stage. Just like Zhou Lirong, he expressed his admiration for the first commander of Lingtian, Ling Lan. Then, he explained his future plans for Lingtian. His plan was slightly different from Zhou Lirong. He felt that they should train the current soldiers in Lingtian first before expanding the independent army. You could say that Luo Zhiqun's method was gentler than Zhou Lirong's. His method would ensure the positions of the current soldiers in the army as well as focusing on the current soldiers before turning the Lingtian Independent Army into a mature integrated independent army.

Luo Zhiqun's method would likely be able to gain the support and approval of the current members of Lingtian easier. Although he might take more time than Zhou Lirong to turn Lingtian into a mature integrated independent army since his methods wouldn't have effects in the short run, but his method severely lowered the possibility of any mistakes. It was the safer option of the two routes.

This was the difference between an official leader and a deputy leader. The former knew how to have his soldiers accept the changes calmly while preventing all possible problems from cropping up. On the other hand, the latter's plan was too idealised. The latter wanted to see results as quickly as possible so his methods were more radical.

Although their methods were different, the end result was still the same. Both of them wanted to turn the Lingtian Independent Army into a mature integrated army to lay the foundations for it to become an official division in the future. A commander who doesn't want to become a general of a division wasn't a good commander. Most of the representatives from the military agreed with plans so both their speeches ended with enthusiastic applause.

The last person to speak was Qi Long. Zhou Lirong and Luo Zhiqun's plans had already caused his gaze to turn cold. He wouldn't let anyone who went against Boss's plan to take over the Lingtian Independent Army.

Qi Long took a big step and stood at the center of the stage. He looked down at the representatives with a stern gaze. He stared at them quietly without saying anything.

The chatter in the conference room soon subsided. Everyone looked at the person standing on stage silently in confusion. The atmosphere slowly turned tense too.

Qi Yaoyang slightly raised one of his eyebrows when he saw his son's act. He also straightened his sitting posture a little.

Looking at his expression, he knew that Qi Long was angry. He expected his son to say some shocking words.

After sensing that everyone's attention was on him, Qi Long audibly scoffed. "I highly suspect Major General Luo Zhiqun and Major General Zhou Lirong when they said that they did detailed research of Lingtian."

Surprisingly, Qi Long mocked Zhou Lirong and Luo Zhiqun the moment he came on stage. Those representatives who thought that Qi Long was well-mannered even though he was young frowned.

Although Qi Long's track record was exemplary, he was still too young in the end. He wasn't able to maintain his composure at crucial times. He was too aggressive.

"People who understand Lingtian will know what Lingtian used to be. We were the 250 Mecha Clan."

"We grew from an ordinary clan into an independent mecha clan before becoming an independent army. From the very beginning, the foundation of Lingtian is our mechas," Qi Long continued without hesitation.

"Our commander, Lieutenant General Ling Lan, said this to us when we first became an independent army. He said the Lingtian Independent Army will be the only independent army where all the soldiers will service one kind of soldiers, the mecha operators. Under his leadership, the Lingtian Independent Army is on route to become the most powerful mecha army of the Federation."

Qi Long spoke confidently with full aspirations. The representatives seated below were moved. They were reminded of those times when they fought with all their might on the battlefield.

"In the future, no matter what the Lingtian Independent Army ultimately becomes, whether it will be an independent army or an official division, its foundation will never change. The Lingtian Independent Army can only be a mecha army. It must be a mecha army. It will be the first line of offense on the battlefield. It will also be the last line of defense for a base." Qi Long placed his hand on his left chest and said sincerely, "It will be the most powerful mecha army of the Federation. Its name will bring fear in our enemies. This is what Lieutenant General Ling wanted for the Lingtian Independent Army."

"Hence, I will continue our commander's faith and turn Lingtian into a unique mecha army. We will create our own legacy and leave a mark in the history of the Federation. I've finished my speech. Thank you!" Qi Long saluted solemnly to express his attitude. He truly meant what he said.

The audience was silent. Qi Long's speech was entirely different from the norm. He was breaking fresh ground. Independent mecha clans were all unique but once they became an independent army, they would all turn into integrated divisions in the end. Some of their special traits might still be present but the other types of soldiers would become stronger too so everyone could progress together.

Lingtian Independent Army wanted to overthrow the conventional mindset. None of the representatives knew what to say. They could say he was wrong but if the Lingtian Independent Army really became a powerful and legendary mecha army… they felt excited just by this thought. They couldn't control their imagination. Slowly, they hoped that it would come true immediately. If what Qi Long said was true, they wondered if an independent army with mecha operators as its main focus was really able to walk far.

While everyone was confused and silent, the sound of clapping echoed through the entire conference room.

Everyone looked over in unplanned unison and saw Ren Feiyu smiling and clapping his hands slowly.

"Not bad. You have a very good plan. I've seen enough of integrated divisions. I feel that Major General Qi's plan is very interesting." Ren Feiyu clapped a few more times before putting his hands down and continued slowly, "There are too many of the same integrated divisions. We don't need any more of them. I really want to see what a mature mecha army will be like."

The highest commander of the Flying Dragon Special Forces had spoken. The representatives who had a good relationship with Ren Feiyu opened their mouths to express their anticipation for the future of a legendary mecha army. As for Qi Yaoyang, he would definitely support his son.

The most powerful officers had already spoken to those that were still hesitating, so including both the representatives from the military and the government started clapping.

The Third Marshal finally smiled. Pushing Qi Long up was the decision of his faction. If Qi Long was rejected the moment he showed his face, he would feel embarrassed. From the looks of it now, the neutral faction, led by Ren Feiyu, had high hopes for Qi Long. This was a surprise to him.

Chapter 1311 An Uproar

"Now, each representative can ask questions freely," said the host of the conference.

The representatives all thought it over and asked Zhou Lirong and Luo Zhiqun some hypothetical questions such as the problems in the development of the Lingtian Independent Army. They were asked questions about how they would resolve these problems.

Finally, when the conference was about to end, one of the representatives finally asked Qi Long a question.

"Major General Qi has mentioned that you would be developing the Lingtian Independent Army into a mecha army. However, this is considered to be something that has no precedents. So, Major General Qi, how can you guarantee its success?"

Qi Long thought for a moment and said, "It's just as you have said. This is unprecedented with no previous documentation. I can't guarantee what the final outcome will be so I cannot make any promises, but I will try my best to complete it. The world didn't have roads in the beginning, and only had roads after humans created them. However, if there wasn't someone who took that risk to build them, then roads would never be so common. This plan may be very risky, difficult and could have pitfalls without a way back. Among the candidates, I have the least amount of merits and the least amount of experience. The advantage I have is that I'm young and I am not afraid to fail. No matter what the outcome will be, I want to walk forward on this path. I hope everyone can give me this chance and let a mecha army exist in the Federation's military."

Qi Long's expression was serious, but spoke those words very sincerely. However, his honest face also leaked out terrifying killing intent. The honest-looking and hardworking expression he had was embedded into everyone's mind. Just by looking at his face, everyone was willing to trust him and give him a chance to achieve his dream.

After Qi Yaoyang saw all that, he turned his head down as he tried to get rid of the surprise and joy he had in his eyes. Although Qi Long's choice of words were not the most optimal for a speech, those words were real and from the heart. When combined with his expression, it was quite easy for him to affect the people among the representatives who were neutral.

After that question, the question and answer round had finished. The host of the conference announced that after 10 minutes, they would enter the final voting stage to finally determine the final candidate for the commander of Lingtian Independent Army.

Qi Long slowly walked back to his seat. Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong and his other comrades all stood up to welcome him back. They didn't say anything and only bumped their fists against his fist to show that they supported Qi Long all the way.

After sitting down, Qi Long saw Lan Luofeng, who was sitting in front him, slowly nodded at him. Her expression was warm and her eyes had a hint of encouragement. Just that look almost made someone as strong-willed as Qi Long burst into tears. Boss's mother also acknowledged him. This acknowledgment was much more treasured by Qi Long than those from others.

After 10 minutes, the host announced that the final voting would begin.

No matter if it was Zhou Lirong, Luo Zhiqun or Qi Long, they all had serious expressions on their faces.

Waiting for the result was the most anxious thing that could happen to someone. Qi Long took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he turned extremely calm. Just as Boss had said, if he did everything he could do well, then he shouldn't be afraid of anything.

The change in presence from Qi Long made the many people, who were focused their attention on him, smirk slightly. No matter what the final outcome was going to be, Qi Long had made an impression on these people so they would remember him in the future. This was definitely good for Qi Long's future development.

In order for a person to get what they wanted in the military world, their own capabilities were the most important. However, it was similarly important if that person could make an impression on these people. In the most important moment, someone with a good impression would instantly let the scales tilt towards them when they were at a disadvantage.

Soon, the final result was counted and then sent to the host of the conference.

The host saw the final name and raised his eyebrows in surprise. He looked at Qi Long and then smiled as he announced, "The position of commander for the Lingtian Independent Army will be given to Major General Qi Long."

After this result was publicized, everyone from Lingtian cheered. Didn't they work so hard for so long just for this result?

Qi Long's eyes teared up as he clenched his fists. "Boss, are you seeing this? I did it. I will hold onto Lingtian and wait for you to come back one day."

In Qi Long's mind, Boss definitely would one day be a marshal. He would then be the sharpest blade in Ling Lan's hands and go wherever she pointed him towards.

This result was somewhat surprising but not really. The people who voted all had a slight moment of surprise on their faces and then understood the reason.

Those who entered the military headquarters were although part of many factions, they were still fully loyal to the Federation. Integrated divisions were commonplace. This new type of mecha armies Qi Long mentioned did indeed make them curious. They also wanted the Federation's military to be stronger. As long as there was even a slim chance, they would want to try it. That was why when Qi Long mentioned a possibility of becoming stronger, they had already been won over by him. In addition to the full support of the third faction, the neutral factions and those, who were somewhat neutral from the other two factions, were all willing to give Qi Long this opportunity. That was why Qi Long was the top voted candidate.

However, this was only just an appetizer of sorts. Everyone knew that the real brutal competition was about to begin. A new independent army, even if it had a future, was still only in the future. On the other hand, the voting for the commander of the 23rd Division was the one that had its benefits shown in the present.

When the host of the conference began speaking about selecting the next general of the 23rd Division, the First Marshal, who had his eyes closed all this time, slowly opened his eyes.

After he opened his eyes, the Second and Third Marshals instantly had serious looks on their faces. The atmosphere of the conference room instantly became anxious.

This was the First Marshal. Just any action from him could affect the mood of everyone in the vicinity.

"There are also three candidates for the position of general in the 23rd Division."

"The first candidate is the 2nd Division's deputy general, Lieutenant General Qiao Zhenyu. The second candidate is the 3rd Division's deputy general, Lieutenant General Yang Tie. The third candidate is Lingtian Independent Army's commander, Lieutenant General Ling Lan."

"Hoo~" After hearing Ling Lan's name as the third candidate, the entire conference room was in uproar.

Ling Lan's disappearance was the reason the military headquarters had to choose a new commander for the Lingtian Independent Army. If someone who disappeared could compete for the position of a general, then it would have been better to let him continue to have his original position. At least that way, his subordinates would still be loyal and trust him.

"With Lieutenant General Ling Lan having not returned, if he is to be chosen, Major General Lan Luofeng, General Ling Xiao's widow, will be acting on behalf of the general," the host calmly added. When he received the list of candidates, he was just as surprised as those seated below. After seeing the statement afterwards, he felt it made sense.

As expected, after adding that statement, the uproar within the audience instantly lowered. However, at the same time, there were many discussions that began.

Chapter 1312 Spoken With Confidence

"Why did the military headquarters let someone like that be a candidate? This doesn't make sense." Doubts of the Ling Lan being a candidate of the position started sounding out loud.

"I heard that it was because everyone from the 23rd Division recommended him."

"If that's the case then that explains it."

With the 23rd Division being built from the ground up by Ling Xiao, the respect everyone in the division had for Ling Xiao was unwavering. They definitely wouldn't accept any general who didn't have any connections with the 23rd Division to take over the position. Even if that general was of the same caliber as Ling Xiao, they still wouldn't be able to accept that.

Of course, if they were to choose a general from within the 23rd Division, someone like He Xuyang would be their ideal candidate. However, He Xuyang didn't have enough merits and didn't have any support from the higher-ups in the military so he couldn't get onto the list of candidates. Moreover, the 23rd Division didn't have a deputy general so no one was available from the 23rd Division internally to take up the position of general.

However, the truth laid in front of the 23rd Division was brutal. They must accept someone else to be their general. But, all of the members of the division would still be frustrated if a general they didn't acknowledge joined.

Instead of those outsiders, it would be better for General Ling Xiao's family members to take this position. In terms of their feelings, they would be able to accept it.

In reality, although the 23rd Division was established only for eight to nine years, the entire division still had reached a perfect maturation state because of Ling Xiao's hard work. Even if there wasn't a general giving them orders, the 23rd Division still could continue to function well. Thus, the 23rd Division didn't need their next general to be amazing. They just wanted this new general to be able to take over the fighting spirit of the 23rd Division that General Ling Xiao had left them with and not mold the division into something new. They didn't want anyone to make changes and get rid of the mark General Ling Xiao had left in the hearts of those in the 23rd Division.

Thus, after careful consideration, He Xuyang and the other higher-ups of the 23rd Division spoke with Lan Luofeng to push Ling Lan into the position of general. That way they would be able to protect the 23rd Division General Ling Xiao had put all of his effort in.

However, there was still a problem presented before them. That was the disappearance of Lieutenant General Ling. Although the military didn't have any regulations that restricted disappeared individuals from competing for an important military position, it still clearly stated that if an individual that had been missing in action for more than three months, their position would be revoked and new arrangements would take place. Even if Ling Lan was chosen for the position, his position would probably be revoked if he didn't come back to the Federation, and they would return to this problem again. If that happened, all the effort they put in doing all of this would all be for naught.

However, nothing was impossible for those with a will. He Xuyang and the others from the 23rd Division studied through all of the military regulations, rules, bills and methods. In the end, they found a possible method on a document from the military headquarters.

If an army unit was met with a special circumstance (such as a disappeared individual who couldn't return to the Federation for certain reasons and he or she also couldn't contact the military headquarters) and if the position had some special attribute to it which could not have anyone substitute for the position. If that was the case, they would be able to find a representative to work as a deputy of the army unit. After the said person returned to the Federation, the power of command would be returned to that person. The representative would be removed for their position automatically afterwards.

The best candidate for Ling Lan's representative was Lan Luofeng.

However, with Lan Luofeng's military rank, it was clearly not enough for her to be a representative. That was why Lan Luofeng needed to go find the First Marshal and have him support her. The First Marshal had used different methods and the connections he had to successfully rank up Lan Luofeng's military rank before the other marshals and the neutral factions had discovered this fact. He managed to raise her rank up to the lowest requirement of military rank for being a representative.

Everything was ready and only a match was needed to light the fuse.

Finally, on this day, the plan was unfolding.

After realizing why the First Marshal did what he did in the past few weeks, both the Second and Third Marshals called the First Marshal 'an old bastard' in their minds. That sly old fox got the better of them once again without them knowing. They were busy using that time to comfort the emotions and frustrations of the citizens so they just approved of it willingly when asked to rank up Lan Luofeng. This was why Lan Luofeng advanced in military ranks without any issues that fast.

Now that they thought about it, they really regretted it. Ling Lan and Lan Luofeng combination seemed to be ridiculous by itself, but with General Ling Xiao's death having happened recently, this combination was deadly. Many representatives would lean towards Ling Xiao's successor over the other candidates when there wasn't much difference between the three of them due to their respect towards General Ling Xiao and the feeling of sadness after his death.

It was no wonder that when competing for the Lingtian Independent Army, the First Marshal's faction didn't try their best to win it. Their faction's main goal was still the 23rd Division.

The feeling of joy the Third Marshal originally had, after successfully taking Lingtian Independent Army under his wing, was instantly gone. Not to mention the Second Marshal, who was already defeated in the first round.

Moreover, the host of this conference was also part of the First Marshal's faction. Otherwise, when he introduced Lan Luofeng, why did he mention that Lan Luofeng was Ling Xiao's widow? It was a clear reminder to the representatives sitting in the audience to respect General Ling Xiao's wife, Lan Luofeng. In this way, the scales within the minds of these representatives would tilt more towards Ling Lan and Lan Luofeng.

After the list of names were announced, the people from Lingtian Independent Army couldn't help but clench their fists. They held back their excitement and made small fist pumps to celebrate.

Those from the Lingtian Independent Army didn't have much political power. They couldn't even get close to the people who were the top brass of the military. That was why they didn't know the 23rd Division would put Boss up as a candidate. They were still thinking about how they could protect the Lingtian Independent Army. The issue with the 23rd Division was something that they could only watch unfold because they could not even get close to that position. They had discussed among themselves about who would be successor of the 23rd Division. After all, it was a division established by Boss's father, Ling Xiao. They hoped that the person who took over would continue to be generous to them and continue to work well with them. Everyone from Lingtian understood that the reason why Lingtian had developed so quickly was because of General Ling Xiao's support. Many of the weapons and equipment that were impossible to acquire by armies like Lingtian Independent Army, were taken from the 23rd Division by Boss.

If they were to lose the 23rd Division's full support, they predict that the Lingtian Independent Army would be in a difficult situation in the following years. Although Qi Long took up the position of commander and could go to the 13th Division for help, Qi Yaoyang was still only just someone who took over recently. There was still the deputy general watching over his shoulders. It was impossible for them to receive limitless aid like they did with the 23rd Division. Qi Yaoyang especially wouldn't dare to give them those restricted weapons and equipment. There were just too many people watching him and waiting for him to make a mistake.

Ling Xiao on the other hand was different. He was a god-class operator. One of the ten great generals of the Federation. A general of a division who didn't have a deputy watching over him. Without a doubt, all of his subordinates were his confidants. He could do whatever he wanted to do. Even if the military headquarters had problems with his decisions, they wouldn't dare to go find General Ling Xiao and talk to him about it… That was the power Ling Xiao had. However, it was also because of this that the higher-ups within the military headquarters were afraid of Ling Xiao. They just didn't have any method of deterring or stopping him.

Chapter 1313 Bargaining Chip.

Once the chattering subsided, the host of the conference opened his mouth. "Let's invite the three candidates to explain their future plans for the 23rd division."

Lan Luofeng took a deep breath and stood up. She walked up the stage slowly.

This was the first time Lan Luofeng went up on stage as the main speaker. She wasn't following Ling Xiao up as she did in the past. However, her footsteps were firm just like in the past. She didn't seem nervous at all.

He Xuyang finally felt at ease when he saw Lan Luofeng's confident posture.

No one noticed that when Lan Luofeng got up, Ren Feiyu (Ling Xiao), who was wearing an indifferent expression all these while, suddenly straightened his body and glanced quickly at Lan Luofeng.

Lan Luofeng was Ling Xiao's widow so Qiao Zhenyu and Yang Tie naturally took a step back to let Lan Luofeng speak first.

Lan Luofeng politely rejected their offer but the other two people remained firm. Thus, she nodded and went up to the center of the stage.

Lan Luofeng stood on the stage and looked at the huge number of people below her. She felt that her heart was going to jump out of her throat. She had already mentally prepared herself beforehand but when she actually faced the situation, she was still nervous.

She wouldn't be worried if it was only for herself since she didn't mind losing. However, she was fighting for Ling Lan. Hence, she was afraid that her mistake would affect Ling Lan's succession of the 23rd division.

For a moment, Lan Luofeng didn't know what to say. She remained silent.

Ling Xiao clasped his hands together tightly. This was the first time Lan Luofeng left his protection and faced the public to speak. He knew that Lan Luofeng had a strong personality. At first, he started liking Lan Luofeng because of her voice. However, as he got to know her better and understood her personality more, he fell in love with her. From then onwards, he couldn't leave her anymore.

That year, he left his wife a little more than a month after she got pregnant. Although he had to leave because it was a command from the military, he knew Lan Luofeng would be able to pull through it with her personality. She would find a suitable way to survive without him.

Because of trust, he left her and went to the battlefield. Because of trust, he kept his vows to her for 16 years. Because of trust, he fought desperately to find a way home. Because of trust, he chose to hide his identity and protect her secretly.

Ling Xiao released his right hand slowly and his gaze turned indifferent again. He believed his Luofeng. She would definitely pass this test with flying colors.

Lan Luofeng started speaking. Her voice was clear and stable. She wasn't nervous even though there were so many people present.

"First, I would like to thank all the members of the 23rd division for their love for Ling Xiao. They were willing to give all their trust to his judgement that Ling Lan would be the best candidate for the position as the general of the 23rd division. They applied internally to allow Ling Lan to have this precious opportunity to become a candidate for the general's position."

"The war with Twilight caused me to lose Ling Xiao. At the same time, I also lost contact with Ling Lan. Hence, when he was pushed into this position, I was initially opposed to the idea. The 23rd division was built by Ling Xiao and he had gained the respect and trust of all his soldiers. It couldn't be denied that many people labeled the 23rd division as Ling Xiao's division. However, I would like to say that the 23rd division is the same as the other 22 divisions of the Federation. There's nothing special or unique about it. It doesn't belong to Ling Xiao. I, Lan Luofeng, don't mind who becomes the general of the 23rd division. I'm sure that if Ling Xiao was still alive, he would feel the same way."

Lan Luofeng's speech was magnanimous. The representatives below started applauding loudly. At first, they just respected her because she was Ling Xiao's wife. Now, they realised that she was a reasonable and selfless person. Their impression of her got better and they admired her even more.

The First Marshal frowned slightly when he heard Lan Luofeng's speech. Lan Luofeng's words had put him at a disadvantage. If the representatives below felt that Ling Lan and Lan Luofeng didn't want the position of 23rd division's general, the faction of the Second Marshal and the Third Marshal would benefit. After hearing Lan Luofeng's speech, the Second Marshal and Third Marshal's expressions got gentler.

The representatives from the 23rd division all had stunned expressions. This speech was entirely different from the materials they had prepared. They didn't know what to do.

He Xuyang tapped his thighs silently. He decided to watch quietly. He believed that the lady his general loved wasn't a stupid person. Major General Lan must have something up her sleeve.

Only Ling Xiao closed his eyes after listening to Lan Luofeng. He looked as though he didn't care about this matter anymore but if you look closely, you would realise that there was a tiny smile on his face. He completely understood what Lan Luofeng was doing.

"However, the representatives from the 23rd division convinced me. They respected Ling Xiao. If the 23rd division was taken over by someone else right after Ling Xiao passed away, they won't be able to accept it. They actually feel strongly against it too. They recommended Ling Lan because he's Ling Xiao's son. They hoped that he could inherit Ling Xiao's unfulfilled wish and lead the 23rd division to glory. Since Ling Lan is missing, they requested me to be his representative to solve the problem." Lan Luofeng's eyes were filled with tears as she continued speaking. Her voice was full of emotions. "I can't reject their earnest request. I have my own selfish thoughts too. I want to see the 23rd division, which Ling Xiao regarded as his pride, becoming the 23rd division wished it will become."

He Xuyang clenched his fist tightly. Without a doubt, Lan Luofeng was starting to give more bargaining chips to Ling Lan. She pointed out the attitude of the soldiers in the 23rd division so that the representatives below knew how much they would reject the arrival of a new general. If they didn't do it right, the new general might be just a mindless puppet. The only way the military could change the general to whoever they wanted was to sweep away all the main officers of the 23rd division.

But, this would shake the hearts of all the soldiers in the 23rd division. If the anger of the soldiers was ignited, it might affect the other divisions too. Thus, unless there was no other way, the military wouldn't touch the 23rd division so soon after Ling Xiao's death.

But, Lan Luofeng's actions pushed the higher authorities of the 23rd division out. These people would be blacklisted by the military and their path in the future would be heavily affected. They might have a hard time rising in rank.

Many representatives from the 23rd division had an unhappy look on their faces.

'Since they wanted to use Young Master Lan and mistress, they must be prepared to pay the price.' He Xuyang smiled lightly. Not everyone wanted to protect the 23rd division sincerely like him. Some people respected Ling Xiao but as the saying goes, the tea cools down when the person is gone. Without a powerful person suppressing the majority of the people, some of them would turn greedy. However, everyone had the same thing. In that case, he would make use of them too. Once everything had settled down, he would slowly count the debt.

Chapter 1314 Brilliant!

"All of you know about Ling Lan's track record. I can proudly say that Ling Lan is the number one soldier in his generation. Even if I compared him to the previous generation of soldiers, besides Ling Xiao, no one can be compared to him." Lan Luofeng turned aggressive when she talked about her precious daughter. She wasn't polite about it at all.

In the back, Ling Xiao's smile got deeper. If it was about their daughter, Lan Luofeng's aggressive personality would come out. He had suffered from it many times. Even he would succumb to her, much less all these people.

Qiao Zhenyu and Yang Tie's expressions froze when they heard the shameless praise Lan Luofeng had for Ling Lan. They didn't seem too happy about it.

The representatives below quickly got reminded by Lan Luofeng and they went to check Ling Lan's track records. They were instantly dumbfounded by it the moment they read it. Within a short span of around four years, the number of merits she had gained were equal to the number of merits an above average soldier would gain in his entire career. This astonishing track record made them exclaim, "Like father, like son."

Compared to Ling Lan's extraordinary track record, Qiao Zhenyu and Yang Tie's records fell short in comparison. After all, all their merits were gained through their time spent in the military. Their value wasn't like Ling Lan's merits, which she got using her real ability and through battles.

"Since Ling Lan was able to build an independent army from scratch, I believe that he will be able to lead a division properly. Although Ling Lan is young, he has his advantage too. With his youth, he would have enough time to learn and develop the 23rd division into the division his father envisioned, and I trust that he won't disappoint his father. As for the direction of the 23rd Division, I'm sure Ling Lan knows and understands it better than anyone here." Lan Luofeng gave a knowing smile. She didn't explain herself explicitly but everyone knew what she was saying.

General Ling Xiao had definitely discussed with Ling Lan on the future of the 23rd division. A scene slowly appeared in everyone's mind. A father and son sitting in a study room chatting about their resolve in the military. The former was talking about the 23rd division while the latter talked about the Lingtian Independent Army. This should have been a legendary scene but it only invoked pity now. A lot of the audience started favouring Ling Lan. In their minds, it made more sense to have the son continue his father's dream.

Lan Luofeng's gaze turned sharp. "Based on what I've mentioned above, Ling Lan is the most suitable person to take over the 23rd division. I can't think of a reason to reject his candidacy. For myself, I can't stop the most suitable candidate from getting the position just because I want to avoid arousing suspicion. I can't be selfish. Thus, I agreed to be Ling Lan's representative."

Both times, Lan Luofeng spoke about being selfish. The way she said it was different but the content was the same. The image of a righteous wife of a soldier who cared about the nation, its people, and her family was imprinted deeply in everyone's mind. While they admired her, they felt sad for her too.

They were completely convinced to let this virtuous lady be the representative of Ling Lan. Lan Luofeng's speech gave Ling Lan more bargaining chips and at the same time, she managed to portray herself perfectly. She indirectly gave her daughter more support.

He Xuyang forcefully calmed his turbulent emotions. Major General Lan's speech seemed normal but it was actually brilliant to anyone who understood her underlying intentions. She laid out the advantages of having Ling Lan as the general of the 23rd division from many different perspectives. The wife of General Ling Xiao and the mother of Young Master Lan was truly not an ordinary woman. They had underestimated Major General Lan. Everyone underestimated Major General Lan. They deserved to be fooled by Major General Lan.

"Thank you for your willingness to listen to me." Lan Luofeng saluted. She looked very handsome in her current image.

The representatives from the Lingtian Independent Army started applauding enthusiastically. Their enthusiasm also affected the other representatives who respected Lan Luofeng. The First Marshal clapped happily too. Only the expressions of the Second Marshal and the Third Marshal were sour. However, they could only unwillingly clap.

Ling Xiao only started smiling and clapping after he saw his wife's beautiful performance.

Since the three great marshals and the commander of the Flying Dragon Special Forces acknowledged her, those with impure intentions didn't dare speak up. Soon, a loud roar of applause echoed through the venue. It lasted for a very long time.

Seeing Lan Luofeng already earning a standing ovation at the beginning of the conference, Qiao Zhenyu and Yang Tie turned gloomy. They felt that they were in a dire situation. Now, they weren't as confident as before.

After Lan Luofeng returned back to her seat, the two of them continued with the conference and explained their plan for the 23rd division's future. However, their speech didn't leave any impression in the hearts of the representatives. They were only talking about their vision, not General Ling Xiao's.

Actually, Ling Xiao was always a bugged character. A lot of people in the headquarters were jealous and envious of him. However, if they were involved in a mess with Ling Xiao, they would follow his lead involuntarily. This was because they believed Ling Xiao and trusted that all the decisions he made were right. Hence, they would rather follow Ling Xiao's vision of the 23rd division's future and not anyone else's.

This kind of mindset was contradictory. They wanted to suppress Ling Xiao but yet, they believed and respected him. We could only say that Qiao Zhenyu and Yang Tie didn't understand the representatives' true thoughts. They thought that they could reorganise the 23rd division based on their own plans, but reality thought them wrong. Thus, more and more people began to lean towards Ling Lan.

After that, it was time for the representatives to ask questions. They threw some standard questions at Qiao Zhenyu and Yang Tie before focusing all their attention on Lan Luofeng.

The range of the questions was very broad. Some even asked Lan Luofeng what she liked to do in her free time. Although the questions they asked were strange, they had a valid reason for doing so. Lan Luofeng didn't have any management experience in the military so they could only use her hobbies and habits to analyse and understand Lan Luofeng better before they could make a decision to see if she was a suitable representative for Ling Lan.

Lan Luofeng didn't mind their weird questions. She smiled and replied to all the questions at face value. Her natural and graceful attitude gained even more approval.

Ling Xiao's face turned dark. 'Damn it, what do they think they are doing? Are they trying to flirt with my wife right in front of me? Are they looking for death?'

Soon, the final voting would be held. The Second Marshal and Third Marshal noticed that the majority of the votes weren't on their side so they secretly signaled to their confidants.

Before the host could announce that it was time to start the voting process, the general of the 6th division suddenly stood up from his seat and said, "I don't have any opinion against Ling Lan being the general of the 23rd division. However, I've one question that I must ask."

Ling Xiao frowned slightly. He knew that it wouldn't be that easy of a road.

The host looked at the First Marshal instinctively. The First Marshal lowered his head when he heard the general of the 6th division talking. He didn't say anything.

The host understood what he meant by that so he looked directly at him and said, "General Yuan, please come up and speak."