Chapter 409: Two Choices
The Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple that sat atop the Ferghana Horse extended his hand out to receive the letter Duan Ling Tian passed to him.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
...
He didn't even open it and directly tore the letter into pieces with a few movements.
Swoosh!
With a casual swing of his hand, the pieces fluttered in the wind to scatter within the desert, and not a single complete piece could be found any longer.
"Kid!" The Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple looked down at Duan Ling Tian who had a gloomy expression and ridiculed. "You're quite smart, you even knew to prepare a forged letter to deceive everyone... The Sect Leader's letter? I, Zhao Lei, a Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple doesn't even have the qualifications to make the Sect Leader write a letter for me. Could a little kid that's a little over 20 like you possibly have a letter written personally by the Sect Leader?"
"Who would believe it?!" As he finished speaking, Zhao Lei's glared angrily at Duan Ling Tian and a wisp of a complacent ridiculing smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.
He had an expression as if he was saying that he'd seen through Duan Ling Tian's cheap tricks since long ago.
Duan Ling Tian took a deep breath and suppressed the restless flames of rage in his heart, then said in a low voice, "Zhao Lei, right? I don't mind that you don't believe I'm an inner court disciple because of my age, and I only took it as a misunderstanding... But now, I took out a letter that can prove my identity, the letter that the Sect Leader asked me to pass to Elder Zhao Yu and Elder Feng Ping, and you actually tore it without even sparing it a glance?"
"Are you so sure that wasn't personally written by the Sect Leader?" As Duan Ling Tian finished speaking, traces of an icy cold luster jumped about in his eyes.
He didn't mind that this Zhao Lei didn't believe him in the beginning.
Although his reputation had spread far and wide in the Seven Star Sword Sect now, and not long ago, he'd even seized the supreme glory of first in the Martial Competition of the five great sects.
However, the Ancient City of Everlast was a remote place after all, and it wasn't surprising that a Seven Star Sword Sect disciple that was stationed at the Ancient City of Everlast's Ancient River Trading Company hadn't heard of him.
But now, he'd passed the letter personally written by the Sect Leader to Zhao Lei to distinguish its authenticity, yet this Zhao Lei didn't even spare it a glance before directly tearing it up?
"Laughable!" When Zhao Lei heard Duan Ling Tian, the ridicule on his face grew deeper. "Kid, you're truly thickheaded! If I were you, I'd have fled as far as I can when my disguise was seen through... Letter? What can a forged letter prove?!"
"If I take out a letter that says his Majesty the Emperor of the Azure Forest Imperial Kingdom wanted to take me as his foster son and make me the next inheritor the position of Emperor... You would believe it as well?" As he finished speaking, the ridicule on Zhao Lei's face practically reached the limits of ridicule, and caused the surrounding crowd of spectators to burst out in laughter.
Duan Ling Tian's face sank, then glanced at Zhao Lei with a cold and indifferent gaze before turning to walk towards the Ancient City of Everlast.
Since this Zhao Lei didn't believe his identity, then he would go to the Ancient River Trading Company's branch in the Ancient City of Everlast and go look for that Elder Zhao Yu and Elder Feng Ping.
At that time, everything will be brought to light!
"Don't move!"
Right at this moment, Zhao Lei's voice sounded out from behind him, causing Duan Ling Tian's expression that had eased up to sink once again, and he turned around to look at Zhao Lei. "You still need something?"
Now, Duan Ling Tian lacked interest when facing Zhao Lei and he couldn't care less to pay any attention to him.
Zhao Lei sat on the Ferghana Horse, and his icy cold gaze looked down upon Duan Ling Tian as he said in a cold voice, "You pretended to be my Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple, and you just want to walk it off?"
"What do you want?" Duan Ling Tian sneered.
He wasn't willing to fuss about it with Zhao Lei earlier, but now, this Zhao Lei really thought he was a 'soft persimmon' that Zhao Lei could squeeze however he wished?
"Take off this forged Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple attire of yours, then take off your inner clothing... Then walk into the city in your birthday suit." An evil smile appeared on the corners of Zhao Lei's mouth.
Zhao Lei's words caused the amount of people spectating to increase.
"This young man is really unfortunate. Forget pretending to be a Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple, he was actually caught red handed by a real Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple."
"Yeah, he's really unfortunate. If I was him, I'd forge a Seven Star Sword Sect outer court disciple attire. In this way, I wouldn't be doubted at all."
"Perhaps this young man felt that the identity of a Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple would be able to satisfy his vanity."
"He's still a little kid but he wants to pretend to be a Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple? Truly courting death!"
...
The gazes of the surrounding crowd descended onto Duan Ling Tian, seeming to have already seen the scene of Duan Ling Tian entering the city in his birthday suit.
The eyes of some married women even glowed, as if they were impatiently wanted to see this handsome young man, Duan Ling Tian's, appearance when entering the city in his birthday suit.
Some young girls instead were embarrassed to the point their faces flushed red.
"Enter the city in my birthday suit?" At the beginning Duan Ling Tian thought he'd heard wrongly when he heard what Zhao Lei said.
After a short time, Duan Ling Tian recovered from his shock and noticed the strange gazes from the surrounding crowd.
Only now did he realize that this Zhao Lei did indeed want him to take off his clothes and enter the city in his birthday suit.
Instantly, Duan Ling Tian's gaze became cold as he looked at Zhao Lei and said in a low voice, "Zhao Lei, you're unable to confirm the truth behind my identity now, but you want to use such an extreme penalty on me, isn't it going a bit too far?"
"Going too far?" Zhao Lei sneered. "Kid, don't try to mystify yourself in front of me! I can see through a bastard like you with a single glance. Today, if you don't take off your clothes and enter the city in your birthday suit, then I'll break your legs and let you learn not to do this again!"
If I don't walk in the city in my birthday suit, then he'll break my legs?
Duan Ling Tian's face immediately seemed as if enveloped in a layer of thin ice, and was extremely icy cold.
"Zhao Lei, you don't have the qualifications to decide if my identity is true or not! I want to see Elder Zhao Yu and Elder Feng Ping and let the two elders personally distinguish if I'm a real Seven Star Sword Sect disciple or not! If you don't believe me, then you're welcome to follow me." Duan Ling Tian's voice was as if it sounded out from an icy pity and contained frightful coldness mixed within, but he still patiently finished saying all this.
Now, he endured it because Zhao Lei was a Seven Star Sword Sect disciple, and he was giving the Sect Leader, Linghu Jin Hong, some face.
Otherwise, with his temper, he'd have killed Zhao Lei long ago for continuously humiliating him like this.
Duan Ling Tian words created a stir in the surrounding crowd of spectators.
"This young man spoke neither humbly not arrogantly, and he seems to not be a fake... Could it be that he's really a Seven Star Sword Sect disciple? But even if he's a Seven Star Sword Sect disciple, it would be impossible for him to be an inner court disciple, right?"
"I've never heard of the Seven Star Sword Sect possessing such a young inner court disciple."
"He looks to me like he's misleading us..."
"Misleading? I don't think so... He himself said that he wanted to enter the city and look for the Seven Star Sword Sect's elders to distinguish his identity, could it be that he's confident in fleeing right under the nose of this Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple?"
"Who knows?"
...
The smile of ridicule on Zhao Lei's face grew wider when he heard Duan Ling Tian. "Look for the two elders? There's no need!"
"There's no need." The cold light in Duan Ling Tian's eyes were piercingly cold and he couldn't bear it any longer. He said in a low voice. "Zhao Lei, must you make it difficult for me today?"
"Make it difficult for you?" Zhao Lei was stunned then couldn't refrain from laughing and he only looked down at Duan Ling Tian once again after laughing for some time, then he said with an expression of disdain. "Kid, it's not that I look down on you, but what qualifications does a little kid like you have for me to make things difficult for you?!"
"If you're sensible then quickly take off your clothes and enter the city in your birthday suit... Otherwise, you won't be able to protect your legs!" At the same time that Zhao Lei shouted coldly at Duan Ling Tian, he continued to look down at Duan Ling Tian.
As if Duan Ling Tian was only an ant in his eyes, an ant that he could casually stomp to death!
"Are you sure you want to do this?" The icy coldness on Duan Ling Tian's face had gradually dispersed now, and replacing is was calmness.
Perhaps, in his eyes, a person like Zhao Lei was not worth for him to get angry at.
Zhao Lei wasn't worthy!
"A little kid like you doesn't have the qualifications to tell me how to do things!" Zhao Lei thought Duan Ling Tian was afraid when he saw the enraged expression on Duan Ling Tian's face vanish, and he sneered. "Kid, I'll give you the time of ten breaths... After ten breaths of time, if there's even a single loincloth on your body, I'll break both your legs and let you crawl into the city!"
"Two choices, you better think properly before deciding." As he finished speaking, Zhao Lei had a ruthless expression.
Duan Ling Tian looked at Zhao Lei with a calm expression, and he stood on the spot unmoving like a mountain, as if he wouldn't be fazed even if Mt.Tai collapsed before him.
It was as if the incident that happened before him wasn't related to him in the slightest.
"There's another seven breaths of time remaining." Zhao Lei's cold and indifferent voice sounded out.
When he saw Duan Ling Tian still remaining unmoved, he only thought that Duan Ling Tian was stunned.
Amongst the surrounding spectators, besides a portion of people taking pleasure in Duan Ling Tian's misfortune, there was also a portion of people who looked at Duan Ling Tian with pity.
Some kind hearted people even tried to persuade Duan Ling Tian. "This Little Brother, a wise man does not fight when the odds are against him... A loss of face is much better than losing two legs!"
"Yeah, Little Brother, just endure for a while and it would have passed."
"Little Brother, you shouldn't have worn a fake Seven Star Sword Sect inner court disciple's attire and swagger through the streets, it's a taboo of the Seven Star Sword Sect!"
...
Duan Ling Tian didn't take any action when he heard these persuading words, and he still calmly looked at Zhao Lei.
Within his calm gaze was no emotion at all.
"Big Brother Ling Tian, he'd going too far! Actually asking you to remove all your clothes and enter the city in your birthday suit... Just say the word and I'll kill him right now!" The little gold mouse's voice transmission sounded out in Duan Ling Tian's ears.
Duan Ling Tian was speechless as he replied via voice transmission. "Little Gold, don't start killing people on every occasion. Sometimes, you don't necessarily have to kill people so solve a problem." He patiently guided the little gold mouse.
If what Duan Ling Tian said were to be heard by the other mercenaries in the mercenary organization he was in during his previous life, they would probably be shocked to the point they wouldn't be able to speak for half a day...
After all, the king of mercenaries, Duan Ling Tian, of his previous life, only solved problems with a single method.
A bloodbath!
"There's still another three breaths of time." Zhao Lei spoke once again, and there seemed to be strands of Origin Energy waiting to shoot out from his body.
Duan Ling Tian remained indifferent to this, and still stood there unmoved.
This caused the surrounding crowd of spectators to feel their scalps go numb.