On the outskirts of the southern district of Saint Splendor City, a beautiful and unique manor stood in the middle of a tranquil lake and mountain scenery. This was the Ling family's mansion, and it was the only one in the entire southern residential area.
It was already evening, and the night sky was gradually darkening. The dining room of the Ling family's mansion was already filled with people. Aside from Ling Xingqi, Ling Xingwen, and Fang Lin, there was also a middle-aged lady dressed in luxurious clothing. This person was Ling Zhixing's wife, Zhu Bihua.
Ling Zhixing had a total of five wives, but only Zhu Bihua was still alive. Her identity wasn't simple; she was the eldest daughter of the Holy Grail Federation's Biyu family. The Biyu family seemed like a sect, but in reality, they were a hidden financial magnate within the Federation. The reason the Starry Rainbow Group was able to develop to its current scale was because of the marriage between Ling Zhixing and Zhu Bihua.
Zhu Bihua's two daughters were Ling Xingqi and Ling Xingwen. Today was the eighth day of the Fengyun Convention, and Fang Lin's elimination had already affected the Starry Rainbow Group's plans. Thus, the whole family had received a notice from Ling Zhixing to have dinner together at home.
Fang Lin was originally Zhu Bihua's personal bodyguard, and had followed her for many years. Now that the Starry Rainbow Group was on the right track, Zhu Bihua no longer needed to worry about the company's affairs. Basically, she was idle at home, so Fang Lin spent most of her time moving around with Ling Xingwen.
Of the two daughters, Zhu Bihua doted on Ling Xingwen the most. In fact, Ling Xingwen was originally a proud daughter of the heavens. Her martial arts talent was very high, even higher than Ling Xingqi's. However, when she was thirteen, she fell seriously ill. After a long year of treatment, her body became weak, and she wasn't suitable for strenuous exercise. As for cultivation, it was even more impossible.
At that time, the Federation's medical system wasn't as advanced as today's. By the time Ling Xingwen truly recovered, he was already 26 years old. Basically, he had missed the golden age of awakening and was destined to not have much success on the path of origin ability users.
Ling Xingwen decided to stop focusing on her cultivation and put her energy into the company's affairs. Ling Xingwen had shown outstanding talent in social interaction. At least, she believed that her talent in this area was unmatched. In fact, it was because of her parents' reputation that few people in the Federation went against her. Therefore, she had developed a haughty and violent temper.
However, now that she was back with her mother, she had to control her temper. At this moment, Ling Xingwen was sitting at the long dining table, as quiet as a good girl.
"Ah Lin, the person who injured you last time is called Ding Meng. Is it also Ding Meng who eliminated you this time?" Zhu Bihua was obviously in disbelief.
Fang Lin respectfully replied, "Sister Hua, we'll have to wait for Brother Xing and Third Miss to come back before we can make an accurate judgment."
"What's this situation?" Zhu Bihua's expression was somewhat unhappy.
Ling Xingqi hurriedly explained, "Xingxian has dealt with Ding Meng many times. She should be more familiar with Ding Meng's movements."
Zhu Bihua disdainfully snorted, "You should all reflect on yourselves. Why did you fall at the hands of a refugee over and over again? Moreover, this refugee used to be a laborer."
This question was truly a headache. The twists and turns of this matter couldn't be explained in a few words.
Ling Xingqi really wanted to say, "That kid was killed by me before, but he could revive and even kill Uncle Wu and the others."
This matter might not be a big deal to Ding Meng, but Ling Xingqi had been locked up at home by Zhu Bihua for half a year. Every day, she had to face the wall and reflect on her mistakes. Wu Cangzhen and the other masters used to be members of the Biyu Family. When Zhu Bihua got married, they followed her to the Ling Family.
At this moment, the door opened. Ling Zhixing, with a serious expression, came in with two old men. Behind the two old men were the Transit String and Jin Xiaoyan.
Zhu Bihua frowned and said, "This isn't the company. Why did you bring your secretary to a family dinner?"
Jin Xiaoyan instantly blushed and said, "I'm sorry, madam. I'll leave immediately."
Zhu Bihua didn't look at her. She turned her head to the other side and said, "Hmph!"
Ling Zhixing frowned and said, "Xiaoyan, you've had a hard time recently. Stay!"
Jin Xiaoyan didn't dare to say anything. She stood obediently behind the Transit String.
"Sit!" Ling Zhixing looked around and said, "There are no outsiders here. We're all family!"
After all, he was the head of the family. Zhu Bihua didn't dare to object.
The nine of them quickly took their seats. Ling Zhixing naturally sat in the center seat. He didn't look relaxed. It was obvious that he wasn't in a good mood. "Ah Lin, I expected you to at least enter the top 16."
Fang Lin lowered her head and said, "Brother Xing, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
Ling Zhixing waved his hand, which meant that he didn't blame her.
"Is the real identity of that crazy guy Ding Meng?" Ling Zhixing asked the Transit String.
No matter how much Zhu Bihua disliked the Transit String, she had to admit that among the three sisters of the Ling family, the Transit String wasn't the strongest, the prettiest, or the most powerful. However, the Transit String's overall ability was the strongest. Ling Zhixing had appointed the Transit String to the position of CEO because he recognized the Transit String's abilities.
"Yes, the real identity of that crazy guy is Ding Meng!"
The Transit String answered calmly. There was no point in hiding Ding Meng now. As the Storm Meet went on, more and more experts would be exposed. Ding Meng's identity would be dug out sooner or later.
Ling Zhixing's face was full of black lines. This was a very troublesome problem. If the identity of that crazy guy was Ou Yangguang, it wouldn't be a problem. The results of the competition could still be discussed with Yu Tianlin.
Although Sheng Hao and Xinghong were at odds with each other on the surface, there were many important matters that the two families had to negotiate. This included competitions like the Storm Gathering. With the power of the two families, the results of many competitions could be controlled. However, now that Ding Meng had popped out again, this situation gave Ling Zhixing a headache. This was because Ling Xingqi was going to face Ding Meng tomorrow. This was an extremely crucial match that was related to the overall plan of the Xinghong Corporation.
"Xingqi!" Ling Zhixing looked away again.
Ling Xingqi also turned her head. "Dad!"
Ling Zhixing said, "The new energy sources that we found in the past two years were mostly allocated to you as cultivation resources. How confident are you in facing off against Ding Meng?"
This was also a very difficult question. Ling Xingqi pondered and said, "If Ding Meng stays at the level he was on the Poison Dragon Star, then I'm 100% confident. However, after today's fight with Aunt Fang, I feel that he has improved a lot in the past few years. If we really fight, it's hard to say who will win. I can only say that I'm 50% confident."
Ling Zhixing turned his head and looked at the old man in a suit behind him. "Old Long, what do you think?"
Old Long slowly answered, "If it were me, I'd be 70% confident. However, I personally still hope that Young Mistress will be noticed by the higher-ups. We're all old bones and don't have much development left."
Ling Xingqi quickly said, "Old Long, you're too humble."
Transit String said, "Dad, Old Long, other than Ding Meng, the Bingyi Group has two other experts participating in the competition. We can't underestimate them."
Before Ling Zhixing could answer, Ling Xingwen was dissatisfied. "Little sister, what do you mean by this? Why do you keep praising others and diminishing our own strength?
How can a small Bingyi Group be compared to our Starbow Group? "
Transit String said calmly, "Second sister, Ding Meng's power has already been established. He's no longer the small individual he used to be. Moreover, we don't know what their real motive is for participating in the Storm Gathering. What if they're not going for the prize pool?"
Ling Xingwen argued, "If they're not going for the prize pool, then are they going for me?"
Transit String was speechless. Sometimes, one's team would have a useless teammate. This was the situation in front of them. You didn't know anything at all. Moreover, with Ding Meng's current strength and reputation, why would he go for you alone?
Old Long also nodded. "That Dai Yi really can't be underestimated. Although there's a gap between her and Young Mistress, the gap isn't that big."
The other old man's eyes flashed. He clearly wanted to say something.
Ling Zhixing said, "Brother Tian, what about you?
What do you think? "
Elder Tian was clearly deep in thought. "Young Mistress, our train of thought is quite clear. We want you to be noticed by the higher-ups. Therefore, you have to win tomorrow's match. According to your previous description and the information we've collected, I'm guessing that Ding Meng doesn't have any Divine Light equipment."
It was shocking that he could see this. Ling Xingqi was also shocked. "Is that really the case?"
Elder Tian nodded. "I watched Arlene's match today. Ding Meng used the Blazing Sun Battle Mark instead of the Divine Light Ray he used in the past. I'm guessing that he has lost his equipment. Otherwise, there's no way that a nine-star martial arts technique wouldn't be able to trigger his equipment. You can use this to your advantage."
Ling Xingqi's eyes flashed. She was clearly thinking about the reason behind this as well.
Transit String decisively rejected this idea. "Elder Tian, you guys better not think this way. Ding Meng isn't the kind of person who relied on the Divine Light energy to suppress others. I feel that he doesn't have any Divine Light equipment. It's not that he doesn't have any, but that he doesn't need them anymore."
"Are you questioning Elder Tian?" Ling Xingwen glared at her.
Transit String said calmly, "I just think that it's better to be careful. Many losses are caused by underestimating the enemy."
Ling Xingwen was furious. "Why are you always speaking up for others? Can't you think for your own family?"
Transit String frowned. "Second Sister, if you had respected him a little, the Bingyi Group might have been able to be used by us. The situation wouldn't be as bad as it is now."
Ling Xingwen said angrily, "What's the point of bringing up the past now?"
Transit String argued, "It's not scary to make a mistake. What's scary is to make the same mistake twice. It'll be a big mistake that'll be hard to undo."
Ling Xingwen waved her hand. "It's not up to you to teach me how to do things."
Transit String suddenly stood up and stared at the table expressionlessly. "I'm full. I'll leave first."
The table was empty. The food hadn't even been served yet, but she said she was full. She wasn't full from eating, but from anger.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. It had happened many times over the years. Transit String never returned to the Ling family unless it was something extremely important. She had her own house outside.
Ling Xingqi had already stood up. "Dad, Mom, I'll go talk to little sister."
"Okay!" Zhu Yuehua nodded. "Talk to her to calm down!"
Ever since Ling Zhixing came back, she had only said this one sentence.