by <unknown>
The Grand Desolate War Institution did not breed cultivators — they only bred warriors!
Ding Lingdang’s glowing eyes shined as she stared at Li Yao. She spoke earnestly, “You’ve just awakened. I still don’t know to what degree you can recover your body to in the end, so right now I can’t give you any guarantees. However, please be convinced of Grand Desolate War Institution’s sincerity. Student Li Yao, if you are willing, I hope to be able to closely observe your cultivation for the following month, to move one step closer to confirming your recovery state. At the same time, I will fight for preferential treatment for you as much as possible. The time for Special Enrollment has already passed; it would be very hard to arrange, but a Preferential Score Treatment shouldn’t be a problem. I will do my best to fight for the best Preferential Score Treatment!”
Li Yao was finally moved.
The style revealed by the Grand Desolate War Institution was completely different than that of Deep Sea University.
Ding Lingdang held a unique charm that was different than that of Xie Tingxian. It was the kind that comes when one will persist until the very end once a target has been fixed. The charm that comes from absolutely completing something.
It caused one to unable to keep their blood from boiling, to wish to fight shoulder to shoulder with her, to fight until the bloody end!
“What do you think, Student Li Yao? I saw the blazing flame in your eyes. Your heart has already stirred. That’s right! Be a straightforward man! Let’s do our best together for this following month and blast out a never before seen miracle! Let’s make those people who look down on you feel regret! Then let’s enter the Grand Desolate War Institution’s Combat Department in a magnificent fashion! Become a heaven and earth defying warrior! What do you say!”
Ding Lingdang’s passion radiated all around. She was completely ignited!
Li Yao also was boiling. Suddenly, he smashed his fist down and growled, “No good!”
“Ah?” Ding Lingdang blinked her eyes. Her expression was sluggish. “Whaddya say?”
“No good. I won’t enter Grand Desolate War Institution’s Combat Department,” Li Yao repeated very seriously.
Ding Lingdang’s charming face broke down completely.
“Yo yo yo yo. Student Li Yao, we just ate that meal so happily just now. We chatted in our conversation so amiably. When I introduced the history of the Grand Desolate War Institution to you, the flame in your eyes was blazing and bursting! You were clearly super interested! That rejection you did in the end was way too snappy!”
“Amiableness is Amiableness. Happiness is happiness. Blazing flames are flames. But Dreams… aren’t something that can be sold!”
Li Yao looked straight at Ding Lingdang’s beautiful eyes. He spoke with complete seriousness, “Sister Ling, I am extremely thankful for everything you’ve invested for my sake in this month. When everyone else no longer supported me, when everyone else gave up on me, only your Grand Desolate War Institution continued to favor me and believe that I’m a manufacturable material… To the me at this very moment, this belief is the most precious of invaluable treasures!”
“The Grand Desolate War Institution's founding history and traditional school of thought are really to my liking… You should have looked through my profile and know that I was born in the Artifact Graveyard. That I am a small garbage scavenger. I’ve struggled since young at the very bottom. I started 100% from the grassroots. It should be natural for someone like me to go to your Grand Desolate War Institution!”
“However, I’ve always wanted to become a Master Refiner from the very beginning. This is not only my dream but a promise was given to the deceased person closest to me!”
“The Combat Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution is the Federation’s strongest. I believe there are many youths who thirst to become the most powerful of warriors. They are like the me at this time, striving with all their strength to chase their dreams and break into the Combat Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution.”
“If I gave up my dream of becoming a Master Refiner for the sake of emotion, for the sake of trust, for our amiable chat and other causes, to enter into the Grand Desolate War Institution’s Combat Department unresigningly and unwillingly… This would be an insult to my dream. It would also be an insult to the Grand Desolate War Institution’s Combat Department. It would be even more of an insult to the thousands up thousands of students cultivating with their all, thirsting to test into the Grand Desolate War Institution!”
“So, I’m very sorry. I can’t choose the Combat Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution. My number one goal still remains to be the Refining Department of Deep Sea University!”
“As for the trust and assistance the Grand Desolate War Institution has given me, I will engrave it all in my heart. One day in the future when I become a Master Artificer and break through in my career, I will absolutely pay back everything you’ve done for me today.”
“A dream once made is a dream forever fixed. One absolutely has to persist down that road. There isn’t anyone who can change my path!”
Ding Lingdang remained quiet until he finished his speaking. Her expression was somewhat lonely. “You’re this determined? You won’t give even a 1% chance for our Grand Desolate War Institution?”
Li Yao hesitated for a moment.
For some unknown reason, the hesitating face of Xie Tingxian had suddenly flashed in his mind alongside with Ding Lingdang’s ravenous eating appearance just now.
Right when he was about to painfully nod his head, Ding Lingdang actually laughed crisply and brightly, revealing a mouth of white teeth. “You hesitated. That means I still have a 1% chance, right? I remember that someone told me just now that even if there's only a 1% chance, he will bring out 100% of his strength and strive with all his might. After giving his all, it didn’t matter if he loses or wins, but if he didn’t give his all, it would be the same as giving up. It just wasn’t his style!”
“Excellent excellent. These words are my spoken feelings. Likewise, these are my thoughts!”
“It’s fine even if you haven’t promised me. I will stick to you like sticky candy for this following month. The Grand Desolate War Institution will also bring forth its most alluring preferential treatment, to make you understand completely our sincerity!”
“Unless I see with my own eyes you fill out the words Deep Sea University’s Refining Department on the College Entrance Exam Application Form a month later, I will, like you, persist until the very end. Before that happens, I absolutely won’t give up!”
“Why?”
Li Yao really didn’t understand. He wasn’t a narcissistic person; he really couldn’t see what was so special about him to be worthy of Ding Lingdang being attached like this, to not be discarded, to not be given up!
Ding Lingdang stood up on the flame wing and spread out her arms. Her beautiful feet tapped and she rocked swaying into to the front most portion of the Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle. She relied on her big toe to stand on a condensed flame.
Underneath the blood-red illumination of the setting sun, she had the appearance of a devastatingly beautiful goddess.
She closed her eyes and bathed in the warmth of the setting sun. She was silent for a long time, long enough for Li Yao to believe that she wouldn’t answer this question. Then she slowly opened her mouth, “Because I see myself in you.”
“What do you mean?” Li Yao was completely confused.
But this time, Ding Lingdang only giggled lightly. She wouldn’t reply no matter how Li Yao asked.
She just stood like this quietly, looking at the beautiful view of the changing wind and clouds. Her eyes were somewhat blurred; it was as if she had sunk into distant memories.
Chapter 80: Idol! |
In the dark curtain of the night, the pitch black Mystic Bird Battle Shuttle stealthily slipped into the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. Its exterior was riddled with multiple pot-holes
as well as a starling dent. It appeared as if it was ruthlessly nibbled on by a giant demon beast.
The Mystic Bird Battle Shuttle stopped before a brightly lit office building. In the blink of an eye, the cruiser melted into thin air and was replaced by a black armor wearing young man who was covered in dust. With a flicker of his figure, the black-armored young man disappeared and reappeared inside the principal's office.
The lights of principal's office were still on. Several school leader's eyes were boiling red, noticing the black-armored young man's arrival, some hope burst forth in their eyes. One by one, they all ecstatically stood up.
"Peng Hai, you're here!"
Fiend Blade Peng Hai looked at everyone around. His facial expression was cold as ice, he appeared to be laughing yet not laughing, "What happened? I only went away to the wasteland to cultivate for just a month, yet you've created such a ruckus here. Not only that, but you also drove away Teacher Sun Biao in anger?"
Zhao Shude, Hei Mianshen, and a few other high-level school leaders were all shocked. Zhao Shude embarrassingly replied, "Old Sun is too stubborn. If he wants to go home, no matter what we do we can't stop him. We planned to wait for few days till his anger has subsided, but we didn't expect you to be back before that! However, today, it's not about Old Sun but Li Yao, did you know..."
Zhao Shude was not yet finished before Peng Hai coldly interrupted him, "Do you know why I had promised I would help Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School in instructing the students?"
Zhao Shude and Hei Mianshen stared at each other before replying hesitatingly, "Peng Hai, you're an outstanding graduate of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. Now, everyone is Crimson Nimbus Sect's family. You coming to instruct the younger generation is a matter of course."
"Hei hei, hei hei hei hei!"
Peng Hai laughed strangely as he very slowly and calmly said, "Zhao Shude, you listen to me carefully — if you can't remember, then let me refresh your memory. It was Teacher Sun Biao who had rescued me from the slums and brought me to the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. I was just a hillbilly with a dusty and dirty appearance. At that time, all of you acted like snobs and didn't take me seriously. On the contrary, all of you scolded and shouted at me and made it difficult for me. Don’t even think for a minute that I’ve forgotten anything!"
"If I wasn’t trying to be respectful to Teacher Sun Biao, I would be too lazy to even look at your rotten faces, let alone fostering the new students of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School!"
"As for Li Yao, not only is he the newest seedling uncovered by my most respected Teacher Sun Biao, he has also helped me conduct special training for one month, by virtue of which my strength has stepped onto a new level!"
"I have the best relationship with these two. Since your actions have driven them away, why should I even stay to help you chop sueys to train new people?"
"You can look out for yourself. From this moment on, any cooperation between us is completely terminated. If Zhou Yin has anything to say, he can come and directly look for me!”
Peng Hai coldly spoke, took a long deep glance at everyone, and suddenly disappeared.
From outside the window came the departing noise of the Mystic Bird Battle Shuttle. By the time Zhao Shude and the others got to the window, a black tail like the ripples left by in a sea of black ink appeared in their sight as it disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Zhao Shude lost his wits completely. He sat down on a chair and his lips trembled for a long time, but nothing came out from his mouth.
…
Inside the Mystic Bird Battle Shuttle.
The spiritual glyphs engraved upon the control panel emitted a faint light, shining upon Fiend Blade Peng Hai's face. The expression on his face was exceptionally heavy.
After pondering for a bit, Peng Hai turned on the crystal processor and sent a message to a spiritual crane number.
Just 0.01 seconds after, dozens of kilometers away in the clouds, Li Yao's wristwatch slightly shook. The mini crystal processor had received a message from some unknown number.
"It's him?"
Li Yao was a little taken aback. It was the contact info of the man he had been sparring for one month in the Militant Wolf Slayer Gym.
Li Yao was really curious about this tyrannical mysterious figure. However, in the Underground Ghost City, everyone had to abide by its rules. One must never remove their mask if they don't know the identity of the opposing party.
"He’s inviting me to the Upper East District to see his real identity and also wants to make a deal with me?"
Li Yao pondered over the address sent by the gym guy. The address happened to point at the most central location in the Upper East District and was one of the tallest buildings in Floating Spear City. It was one of the Floating Spear City landmark, rumored to have the personal training rooms of many cultivators inside.
"Who the hell is that gym guy? Unexpectedly calling me to meet him at the 'Crystal Sky Building'!"
Li Yao was a little surprised. From the bottom his heart, an impulse to leap surged forth — he now had the opportunity to actually see how luxurious a legendary cultivator's private training room was.
After thinking for a moment, Li Yao accepted the gym guy's invitation.
"A friend is looking for you? Where do you want to go? I'll take you there!" Ding Lingdang said with a smile.
Li Yao lightly tapped on the hologram before the location area of the hologram turned into a fragment and flew out to build an extremely vivid three-dimensional map.
Ding Lingdang arbitrarily swept a glance, but suddenly, her gaze was transfixed. She appeared to be frightened out of her wits, "You want to go to this place? Do you know the owner of this place? What is your relation with him?"
Li Yao, after a bit of thinking, replied, "You can say... we have trained together for a month."
"You have trained with him for a month?"
Ding Lingdang turned completely foolish. Looking at Li Yao, the expression in her eyes was also a little sluggish, as if she was looking at some monster — one out-and-out evildoer!
"Is there a problem? Do you know this guy?" Li Yao touched his cheek while Ding Lingdang looked at him with a hint of fear.
"Yeah... this guy is your high school alumni. It would be more strange if he could not discover a monstrous genius like you with his sinister insight..."
Ding Lingdang muttered in such a low voice that only she was able to hear herself. Her facial expression had turned extremely weird. After laughing several times, she shouted, "Hold on tightly, we're leaving!"
Ding Lingdang's pair of hands tightly grabbed the Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle's handle. The spiritual energy around her body burst to its limit, and like the outbreak of a flood in a steady stream, it flooded into the Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle.
Her crazy spiritual energy stirred up the array glyphs powering the Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle in an instant. The Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle blasted off with a dazzling aura, like the dance of a peacock, and whistled towards the most prosperous Upper Eastern District of Floating Spear City, leaving a trail of flames and a series of deafening noises behind.
In a second, the Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle tore away the sea of clouds. Rows upon rows of sky rising buildings were glistening in the dark curtain of the night as if the sun was shining upon a city of crystal.
As the Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle soared into the Upper Eastern District's space, the battle shuttle slightly trembled and gradually slowed down as if it hit a transparent cushion.
Multiple shiny round objects floated in the sky. A translucent "Eyeball" unsteadily floated over; despite its seemingly clumsy movement, it was astonishingly fast.
Presumably, it was the defensive magical equipment responsible for guarding the Floating Spear City.
A few cultivators could also be found floating in the sky as rainbow colored lights danced around their bodies. They were in the process of absorbing moon essence.<
br />
The roaring noise of the Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle had obviously made them a little unhappy. One after another, everyone looked over with a sharp look in their eyes.
Even through the thick wall, Li Yao felt a cold chill inside the room.
In front of the abundant cultivators, even Ding Lingdang did not dare to act rashly. She slowed down the battle shuttle, circled around at a lower altitude, and flew towards an approximately 1000m high round building.
In the Upper Eastern District, flying shuttles were the main means of transportation. Cultivators also liked to fly as high as possible on their flying swords, thus the top of each high-rise building had hundreds of branches spread out, at the end of which was a small air terminal. Looking from afar, it appeared as if the rows upon rows of crystal trees were growing to create a city of trees.
Ding Lingdang's Scarlet Flame Battle Shuttle landed upon one of these branches.
At the center of each air terminal was a small transmission formation. Ding Lingdang brought Li Yao to the transmission formation and entered a glyph on the control panel.
In Li Yao's vision, everything suddenly disappeared. With the flash of a blinding light, Li Yao and Ding Lingdang appeared inside a small training room.
The length and width of the small training room were no more than 20 meters. It was much smaller than the underground city's "Militant Wolf Slayers Cultivation Gym".
There were no windows inside; the walls slightly exuded a milky white aura, and the air inside was extremely fresh, giving off a slight grassy fragrance.
Breathing the air here made one feel refreshed.
Strengthening equipment and treadmills were casually placed inside the room. There were no priceless, high-level training equipment as Li Yao has imagined. At the corner of the room, a tall and thin young man was exercising his body. From his posture, it was quite clear he was the man from the Militant Wolf Slayers Cultivation Gym.
