by <unknown>
"But I wonder what's the limit of my hands' speed actually?
"Right, I have not used 'that' way for a long time to test the limit of my ultimate hand speed. Although it has no practical value, at least...
"It would let me feel refreshed a bit!"
Under the stimulation of Jiang Shaoyang, Li Yao's competitive heart was also eager for action.
Taking a deep breath, a huge complex and profound blueprint, dazzling digits, and intricate algorithms appeared in Li Yao's brain.
Which made him enter the Super Perceptive State within a second!
Brain cell activity 150%!
Brain cell activity 200%!
Brain cell activity 220%!
While testing hand speed, for both hands to not get cramped with some casual movements, the hand to eye coordination must be exquisite, only then would a series of actions be completed accurately.
After having entered the Super Perceptive State, the brain cell activity had improved by a tremendous degree, and naturally, his ultimate hand speed also rose.
In actual operations, this ultimate hand speed was of little to no significance.
Because after a few minutes of Super Perceptive State, his brain had to cool down for long period of time for it to return to its normal state. It was pointless for Li Yao to pursue super hand speed for a moment only to have his brain cool down for a few more minutes later.
This was just for fun, nothing more nothing less.
Li Yao controlled his brain cell activity at 220%.
This was the limit at which he could work smoothly.
If he raised it anymore, he would be unable to control at will.
"Smack!"
As Li Yao lightly flicked his little finger on the table, a toothpick jumped out from the jar and in neither fast and nor slow manner rolled between his fingers.
"Whoosh!"
As Li Yao drew a paper napkin and readily tossed it, the paper flew high in the air and fluttered down.
At this moment, Jiang Shaoyang came over. His gaze involuntarily fell upon the paper napkin.
"What does he want to do?" Jiang Shaoyang was confused in his heart.
A starry brilliance brighter than the sun flashed across Li Yao's eyes. When the paper napkin drifted to his side, he suddenly took action, the toothpick, like numerous lightning firing from his fingers, pricked hundreds of orderly holes on the soft paper napkin!
"This—!"
Jiang Shaoyang was completely stupefied.
"This monster's hand speed is at least 20% faster compared to yesterday's!"
Chapter 223: Invisible Peak |
Li Yao's actions finished with a flash. What everyone saw from afar was just a lightly fluttering paper napkin. Before the napkin even landed on the table, it was picked up and laid down flat on the table.
As Jiang Shaoyang took two steps forwards, he furtively observed and saw 144 holes pricked by the toothpick at the center of a square napkin that were evenly distributed across twelve vertical and horizontal lines to form a square whose borders ran parallel to that of the napkin. At first glance, it seemed no different than a pre-printed pattern.
Jiang Shaoyang was struck by a lightning, his face devoid of any blood in the blink of an eye.
"144 holes made using a toothpick on an incomparably soft, fluttering paper napkin within a second!? Maybe... I could also do it.
"However, the 144 holes would not be so evenly distributed to the point that the distance between each hole is exactly the same, forming a perfect square.
"This requires amazing computation ability and terrifying hand-to-eye coordination to do it!
"So, this is his true strength!
"Yesterday, this monster was holding back a bit!"
At this point, Li Yao also felt someone hot standing behind him. As he turned his head to look, the shiny bald head of Jiang Shaoyang had scared the hell out of him.
"You change your style? Not bad, quite an attitude! Have you eaten? If not, let's eat together!"
Jiang Shaoyang kept staring at him as he bit his lips to the point he was bleeding. After a long while, he said, stressing each word, "Senior Brother Li Yao, see you later!"
Having finished, he turned around in a rigid manner no different than a robot before retracing his steps back.
"What the hell?" Li Yao scratched his disheveled hair; a puzzled look covered his face.
'Last night, didn't this guy say he'd have a duel with me in the morning? Why does it look like he has taken a big blow?'
Even when he was defeated yesterday, he didn't look so crestfallen.
The gloomy look in his eyes was simply as though Li Yao had taken his girlfriend.
"What the hell!"
The Deep Sea University examinees were a million times more at a loss than Li Yao. One by one, they tugged their hair; they were simply unable to understand what had transpired.
A second ago, Jiang Shaoyang wanted to take revenge, he seemed to have been possessed by the devil; the murderous intention emanating from him clouded the sky and covered the earth.
That indomitable and unstoppable attitude devoid anyone of the slightest bit of doubt that Li Yao wouldn't be steamrolled by him, and it could also be considered as venting the suffocating feeling in their hearts.
After all, because of yesterday's defeat, God knows how many examinees were secretly mocking them. Particularly, the rival examinees from the Star Nebula University and the Federation's First Military College, they, even more so, did not have any intention to conceal their gloating.
They had been waiting for Jiang Shaoyang to use a brilliant victory to slap these people's faces swollen!
Unexpectedly, after having stood behind Li Yao for a few minutes and saying a few words, Jiang Shaoyang's overwhelmingly imposing attitude disappeared like a puff of smoke, and he withdrew dejectedly.
"Shaoyang, what happened? Didn't you wanted to go over and challenge Li Yao?! Why aren't you challenging him?" several Deep Sea University examinees asked, dissatisfied.
Jiang Shaoyang replied, dispiritedly, "The challenge is over."
"Ah?"
"Who won?"
A vacant look appeared in Jiang Shaoyang's eyes, yet there was also some sort of strange excitement too, as he muttered, "I lost again.
"If we say, yesterday's competition also had some element of luck, that Senior Brother Li Yao only won because he had laid some traps for me to walk right into it.
"Then today was completely due to the difference in strength. I was completely steamrolled by him!
"Nevertheless, it's pretty good. Senior Brother Li Yao has shown me clearly that once someone's will to fight has soared to 1,000%, their state can soar terrifyingly high too!
"We have many years ahead of us!"
Having finished speaking, the gloominess and sense of loss on Jiang Shaoyang's face were completely swept away. What replaced them was a resolution so strong it seemed he could kill tigers and dragons, behead gods, and slaughter devils. A power that could crush mountains and rivers in his path from the depths of his every cell emerged, the sun was rekindled!
With his head high and chest out, he walked out of the mess hall in large strides.
Leaving behind hundreds of Deep Sea University examinees who were soon about to go crazy.
"Did I hear it correctly!?
"Jiang Shaoyang has become so frightening overnight that his ultimate hand speed had improved by some 11%!
"Yet he had been defeated by Li Yao?!
"And it took only a second for Jiang Shaoyang to be convinced thoroughly to the point that he even said that he was completely steamrolled!? This is simply—
"Within in a span of one second, how in the bloody hell did they compete!? How did they even compete!?"
These people were outstanding members of the refiners' community, they were crowned with the title of 'genius' in their respective hometowns, yet they were scratching their heads as their faces flushed red to ears; they were on the brink of collaps
ing.
In their eyes, the quietly sitting Li Yao who was 'slurping' the soy milk and taking a bite of meat bun seemed to have his entire body covered in scales as wings, fangs, and talons emerged, an intense demonic energy was circling around him; he was a monster out and out!
...
After a while...
The message of authentication completion was announced.
All the examinees who had passed received a resplendent emblem, representing that they had officially become a refiner and joined the refiners' circle which is one of the strongest careers in the world of cultivation.
Following which, a couple dozen carriers returned the examinees to their respective cities.
Three of these carriers flew towards the largest city in the eastern hemisphere, the Deep Sea City.
When they landed at the Deep Sea City, it was already midnight.
The Deep Sea University stood toweringly at the corner of Deep Sea City. It occupied a quarter of the city's total area. The brightly illuminated rows upon rows of buildings, a part even extending to under the sea, along with the resplendent reflection on the sea, seemed no different to a paradise.
On a floating mountain dotted with rocks, giant trees, and waterfalls, Supernova Jiang Sheng was wholeheartedly enjoying a battle between two puppet warbeasts.
It was the previous day's duel between Li Yao's Tarantula and Jiang Shaoyang's Wolf King.
Jiang Shaoyang watched quietly with a deadpan look on his face.
Even when the Tarantula's weird tail plunged ruthlessly into the Wolf King, he didn't bat an eye even the slightest bit.
Until when the entire Wolf King had been destroyed into fragments did he turned his head and asked a dark skin girl standing nearby; she didn't even appear to have crossed thirty, "If it were you, how would you deal with this puppet warbeast?"
This lady's name was Yuan Yexue, she was Jiang Sheng's true disciple, and one of the Novem Stellae.
Jiang Sheng had put a lot of effort into developing the Novem Stellae. According to their various characteristics and talents, he trained nine teenaged experts with different methods. Each of them possessed all kinds of marvelous skills.
Among them, Yuan Yexue was a refiner who specialized in puppet warbeasts. Not only was she specialized in crafting them, controlling them was also her forte.
In the battlefield, she alone was capable of controlling ten puppet warbeasts simultaneously and could unleash their battle force to the maximum. She was an out and out warbeast expert.
Yuan Yexue pondered for a moment and said, "Shaoyang underestimated his opponent, since his opponent had such tyrannical ability to modify, there was no reason for such big defects to be left out in clear sight involuntarily. They were definitely traps!
"If it was me, I would have launched attacks from the front, where the Tarantula's armor was thickest! Although the armor was thick, the cross-shaped crystal eye track was its lethal weakness!
"I would have torn down the front armor along the crystal eye tracks, and directly smashed the main crystal processor!
"Of course, even if the tactic was to be successful, I cannot also guarantee I will certainly win. The Tarantula had indeed been modified correctly. Li Yao is really formidable!"
Jiang Shang heaved a sigh and said, "An accomplished disciple owes his accomplishment to his great teacher. Senior Sister Yuan's only disciple is sure to be impressive. I wanted to recruit him from the very beginning, alas, he rejected me. It is really regrettable!"
Yuan Yexue's eyebrows twitched as she said in a rather unconvinced tone, "Teacher, although the terrific skills he had displayed didn't conform with his age, and is far better than an ordinary student's, however, our Deep Sea University has an abundance of geniuses. Many of them are also far better than him! Which one of the Novem Stellae isn't better than him?"
Jiang Sheng said, sneering, "I'm not feeling regretful for the Deep Sea University, I am feeling deeply regretful for him. Such a talented seedling's future has been destroyed just because of his own impulsiveness and capriciousness!
"It is true that he is somewhat talented, however, staying in a place like the Grand Desolate War Institution and taking the wrong path of refining, will slowly destroy his good talent!
"I truly can't understand what both master and apprentice are actually thinking. First, it was Senior Sister Yuan, and now it's Li Yao, why have they not joined the Deep Sea University which has such a good environment!? Why must they plunge themselves into the limitless Wasteland!? They are simply crazy!"
At this moment, heavy footsteps resounded from outside before a travel-worn Jiang Shaoyang appeared.
"Shaoyang!"
Yuan Yexue welcomed him.
She had long received the news; she wasn't surprised by the bald Jiang Shaoyang. She said, smiling, "I heard that this time you have encountered a rare rival. And although you lost, you received enlightenment and your hand speed improved by 11.3% overnight!?"
Jiang Shaoyang nodded slightly and stepped forward. With bright and shiny eyes, he directly gazed at Jiang Sheng as he came straight to the point without the least bit of nonsense, "Uncle, I am already a registered refiner, how should I train now?"
Both uncle and nephew were a pair of fanatics who were obsessed with the road of refining. Even when they spoke, they didn't have the slightest bit of emotions.
Jiang Sheng pulled up a dense schedule on the hologram and said coldly, "Becoming a registered refiner is just the beginning. For the next part, I have arranged twenty-seven projects for you. You can choose one or a few, it's all up to you. You will join them as an assistant researcher and slowly accumulate experience and increase your knowledge.
"However, whichever project you choose, you must accept the test of the project leader. The test will be highly difficult. Even if you are my nephew, there won't be any nepotism, it will only be tougher."
Jiang Shaoyang took a glance at the schedule and showed an as-expected look on his face as he smiled.
He took out an envelope from his chest pocket and handed it over respectfully.
Jiang Sheng took to look and his countenance changed before he said, "An application to withdraw from university? Why!?"
"Because I have seen the peak."
Jiang Shaoyang stated calmly, "Uncle, I've grown up in the Deep Sea University and seen many experts of Refining Department as well as the road they are taking. Now I am also taking the very same road. It's tantamount to conquering a mountain with visible peak. It's not the least bit challenging or delightful."
"So?"
"So, I am preparing to leave the Deep Sea University and look for an invisible peak, towering into the clouds. Even if there is no peak at all, then I will tread upon the high mountains of the endless galaxy and conquer them!"
"Shaoyang, are you crazy!" exclaimed Yuan Yexue.
"How can you leave Deep Sea University? We, Novem Stellae, have been looking forward to you joining us. You are publicly recognized as the Tenth Star!"
Jiang Shaoyang smiled and revealed his sharp teeth as he said, stressing his each and every word, "Senior Sister Yuan, I have always been meaning to tell you something that I have been holding in my heart, I can finally say it to you.
"I never like the title 'Tenth Star', I did not like it at all.
"In the eyes of others, it seems standing side by side with you is a very glorious thing, but as far as I'm concerned, I don't like standing side by side with anyone, more importantly, I don't like those stars which can be found anywhere in the entire sky.
"I am not a star."
Jiang Shaoyang knocked his shiny bald head and said softly, "I am the Sun."
Chapter 224: The Future Road |
While Deep Sea University's Refining Department had been sent into a complete mess by Jiang Shaoyang's insane stunt, the culprit of the whole fiasco, Li Yao, was completely oblivious. He was comfortably sitting in a private compartment on a crystal train which was traveling towards Wild Waves City.
&
nbsp; Originally, he could have boarded a military carrier to the Giant Edge Pass.
However, Li Yao came to remember Ding Ying's words and made the same choice as her of embarking a crystal train with the ordinary people while traveling in the Wasteland.
If due to a one in a million chance, the crystal train encountered a beast tide, he could help them resist for a while.
Unconsciously, Li Yao began to strictly follow the standards of a cultivator too.
There was still a day's time before the crystal train would due to arrive at Wild Waves City, which Li Yao had no intention of wasting. He sat with his legs crossed on the floor and started the crystal processor, before initiating the telepathic thoughts of the Heaven Origin Cultivators' Nexus.
A resplendent half-step great illusionary land, in the blink of an eye, enveloped the small compartment.
A middle-aged, beautiful cultivation assistant, that was purely an illusion, looked at him smilingly and congratulated him in arousing tone, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Li Yao, for successfully passing the Refiners' Registration Examination and becoming a powerful registered refiner. You have been granted a higher clearance level and the refining forum of the Heaven Origin Cultivators' Nexus is fully open to you!"
At this moment, Li Yao was not only a 6th level Refinement Stage cultivator, he was also a registered refiner. Many sections that used to be gray at the beginning had completely transformed into resplendent, colorful rays of light as he was flooded with information, and their number had increased by a couple dozen times.
Ignoring that information, Li Yao directly entered the refining forum.
"Fellow Daoist Li Yao, as you have entered the refining forum for the first time, let me give you an introduction."
The cultivation assistant continued, "This forum was built by the registered refiners' association and is a specialized platform dedicated for exchange between the refiners. There are multiple sections in here where you can discuss academic issues with the other refiners or browse a large number of job offers, or receive a mission of your choice with huge pay, or improve your own rank. Of course, if you have any missions, or want to recruit like-minded refiners to complete complex projects, you can also post your requests here!"
