She had graduated from a magic academy in three years and graduated from a Battle Aura academy in two years.
Her talent made many members of the royal family blush with shame and feel ashamed of themselves, and Fire Dragon King Flit the 66th had also found it surprising. Never would he have thought that the seed that he had accidentally planted would actually bear such an outstanding fruit.
In Heaven’s Vault Continent, the strong were revered. Everyone held the strong in esteem and respected them. Naturally, Flit the 66th would also favor outstanding children even more.
It was just a pity that the Eighth Princess, who had suffered all kinds of scorn and contempt since she had been young, held extremely great animosity toward the royal family. In fact, she hated her irresponsible father, Flit the 66th, even more.
There was nothing Flit the 66th could do about that except to allow her to continue as she was. In the few years that followed, the Eighth Princess had left on a journey to train and cultivate and rarely appeared within the people’s sight anymore.
Time could wear everything away; after a few years of absence, people had gradually forgotten about the astonishingly talented princess.
However, little did they expect that she would actually show up in the qualifying round and in the final challenge match, no less.
“Time sure passes really fast.” The muscular elderly man stroked his long beard as he remarked, “I remember when the Eighth Princess was still just a young girl back then. In the blink of an eye, she has already become a big girl.”
“Indeed!” The blond elderly man nodded slightly. “Back then, the Eighth Princess had studied magic in our Douglas Magic Academy. She was so young back then.”
All the academy presidents were rather emotional. To Saint Domains like them, their lifespans were very long, so they could hardly feel the passage of time.
However, to an ordinary person, the traces that time left on one were extremely obvious. Every few years brought a difference to their appearance, and they changed every few years.
Time was like a knife that urged one to mature with every cut and age with every cut.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve seen her. I wonder how strong that girl is now?”
Flit the 66th gazed at the most outstanding princess with a complex look in his eyes. Upon his remark, everyone else also became awfully curious.
Considering the astonishing talent that the Eighth Princess had exhibited, just how far had she progressed after an absence of a few years?
In this instant, in the fighting ring...
Meng Lei, who had only just walked back to the contestant benches and hadn’t even warmed the benches yet, returned to the fighting ring again. As he gazed at the heroic, valiant Dragon Person beauty in front of him, he only had curses and swearing in his mind.
Damn it!
Someone’s challenging me again!
Do I look that easy to bully? Why are you all specially picking me to bully!?
Meng Lei was terribly displeased. He decided to give them a tough time this time and show all those blind bastards what he was capable of so that they would stop bothering him.
“Start!” The host announced loudly. Then, he scurried off the fighting ring with a whoosh. Hosting matches of a class like this was a demanding job; they would become collateral damage the moment they got careless.
Reality also proved just how right of a decision the host’s cowardice was—in the instant he scurried off the fighting ring, Meng Lei erupted.
“Ninth-Grade Spell... Raging Thunder Dragon!”
“Ninth-Grade Spell... Thunder Tribulation Domain!”
“Ninth-Grade Spell... Thunderblast Meteor!”
“Ninth-Grade Spell... Thunder God Descends!”
“Ninth-Grade Spell... Soul-Controlling Thunderblast!”
Boom, boom, boom!
Meng Lei flung out five different ninth-grade spells in succession with an interval of less than two seconds in between each and directly covered the entire fighting ring that wasn’t big to begin with.
Amid the booming thunderous explosions, lightning flashed, and electric currents ran amok. At once, the tiny fighting ring turned into a sea of lightning. Before the unfortunate Eighth Princess could even make a move, she had been engulfed by the lightning.
“This...”
All the spectators in the house were dumbstruck.
And in the private room, all the bigwigs’ lip corners spasmed, all of them dazed and flabbergasted by what had happened.
Chapter 134: A Berserk Meng Lei, The Infuriated King
“Is that kid out of his mind!?” Flit the 66th exploded. “How dare he attack Little Eighth like that? Is he tired of living?”
“This...”
The academy presidents looked at one another, none of them knowing how they should respond to him.
In the fighting ring, everyone fought with their own abilities, and their life and death were not open for dispute thereafter. Nothing would be considered as going too far, no matter what kind of attacks the other party launched.
Besides, how would Meng Lei know that she was a princess?
“That bastard! If anything happens to Little Eighth, I won’t let him off!”
...
“Meng Lei!”
“Meng Lei!”
“Meng Lei!”
Compared to the furious King, at the sight of Meng Lei’s insane moves, all the spectators in the house went totally crazy. Each and every one of them shouted and cheered hysterically, all pumped up!
The more berserk Meng Lei was, the more excited they became. The five spells just now were simply too cool and crazy.
With this, there shouldn’t be anyone challenging me anymore, right?
Meng Lei stood at the edge of the ring and cast a glance at the contestant benches with a hint of warning in his eyes. It was so bothersome being challenged again and again.
Upon sensing Meng Lei’s gaze, a vast majority of the contestants involuntarily lowered their heads—they had been frightened by Meng Lei’s harsh actions!
Enveloping the whole fighting ring with five ninth-grade spells... Was that guy even human?
Wasn’t that a little too savage?
A layer of cold sweat formed on some of the contestants’ backs, secretly relieved.
That guy has gone berserk. Fortunately, that woman had been a step faster! Otherwise, I’d be dead now!
Crackle, crackle!
The lightning gradually dissipated. As the covered fighting ring was revealed, everyone’s eyes gradually widened, and astonished cries escaped them.
The fighting ring... had disappeared again. What had replaced it was yet another charred, black chasm.
And at the bottom of the chasm was someone in a half-kneel. Her beautiful long, red locks were burned, and her fair, tender, and crystal-clear face was also somewhat charred. She looked as if she had just escaped from a fire.
In any case, only one word could describe the princess’ terrible state—pathetic!
Yes, that’s right!
Extremely pathetic!
And a sight terrible to behold!
Aside from that, the princess didn’t seem to have sustained serious injuries. She glared at Meng Lei, who was standing at the edge of the chasm, her feminine body trembling slightly and her eyes red.
“Damned bastard! I’m going to kill you!”
Whoosh!
Elizabeth drew the sword at her waist. Then, she suddenly turned into a stream of light that shot toward Meng Lei. That ferocious expression and blood-red eyes of hers were as though she wished she could cleave Meng Lei into eight pieces.
“What the heck? She’s actually alright despite all that?”
Meng Lei let out a strange cry and shot backward.
“You bastard! I’m going to chop you dead!”
Elizabeth wielded her sword and slashed madly at him as if she had gone insane. The sharp blade edge swooped past Meng Lei’s scalp a few times, only
a hair’s breadth away from him. If not for his ultra-quick reflexes, he’d have long since been chopped into pieces.
“Damn it! Is there any end to this?!”
Meng Lei grew infuriated. A layer of gold scales suddenly surfaced atop his fists, and they instantly turned golden. Then, he hurled a punch out and met the sword cleaving down upon him head-on,
Snap!
The sword landed on the surface of his fist. As a crisp clang rang out, it actually broke into two in the middle.
“What?!”
Elizabeth was stunned.
“Hmph!”
Meng Lei snorted, and his leg went flying out, landing squarely on Elizabeth’s lower abdomen. As a tragic cry rang out, Elizabeth also flew out like a fallen leaf floating in the air.
Then, she crashed onto the floor and threw up a mouthful of blood, her countenance instantly becoming dispirited and listless.
“There are so many people here, yet you just had to challenge me instead. Have you had enough yet?” Meng Lei let out a snort, and then he returned straight to the contestant benches.
“Victory! Meng Lei is the victor!”
The host ran over and loudly declared the outcome of the match. Then, he asked in concern, “Miss, are you alright?”
Elizabeth didn’t pay the host any heed and climbed onto her feet as she clutched her abdomen. Then, under the eyes of everyone in the arena, she left in silence, leaving behind only a solitary, stubborn back view.
...
“That bastard!”
Flit the 66th was fuming mad. He broke the chair armrest into pieces with a smack of his palm, his eyes as if a ferocious man-eating tiger’s.
“How dare he treat Little Eighth like that! How can I condone him?!”
“Calm down!”
“Your Majesty, calm down!”
At the sight of this, everyone hastily tried to dissuade him. “Your Majesty, from the start, the moment one goes up the ring, life and death are not open for dispute.”
“Even if Meng Lei really kills Her Highness the Eighth Princess, he won’t be considered in the wrong. Besides, he has already shown her mercy!”
“Shown her mercy?”
Flit the 66th was so incensed that he was laughing instead. “Starting out with five ninth-grade spells and then launching such a heavy-handed punch after that—you call that showing her mercy?”
“Your Majesty! With Meng Lei’s capabilities, if he hadn’t shown any mercy, the Eighth Princess would have died a long time ago!”
“Your Majesty, please reconsider!”
“Yes, Your Majesty! That kid had broken the Eighth Princess’ sword with one punch just now. His body’s sturdiness is beyond our imagination. If he had really intended to harm Her Highness...”
All the academy presidents spoke up.
Only then did Flit the 66th’s fury ease a little. However, he was still gnashing his teeth. “That little bastard, he’s too brutal! Doesn’t he even have the slightest bit of tender, protective feelings for a woman?”
“This...”
Everyone exchanged a look, peculiar looks coming over their faces.
Tender, protective feelings for a woman?
What was there to feel tenderness toward?!
In the fighting ring, who would dare to show tender, protective feelings for a woman? Are they tired of living? Do you think everyone’s like you, refusing to let off even a Hen-Woman?
“But... Meng Lei is still young. Maybe he hasn’t awakened to amorous desires yet?” said Fred in response.
“Pffft!”
...
“Peace and quiet at last!”
Meng Lei returned to the contestant benches. As he watched the fighting ring rapidly take form under the staff members’ reconstruction efforts, he let out a long, pent-up breath. Then, he got into a Ge You slouch[1] and lay down comfortably.
However, he had only just laid down when Ol’ Amos’ infuriated chastising rang out in his ear. “Brat, how many times have I told you not to expose your Golden Gods-Slaying Ant bloodline in front of outsiders? Are you taking my words like water off a duck’s back?”
“It’s not that serious.” Meng Lei looked up and said leisurely, “Only my hands had transformed into ant-form just now. How would outsiders be able to tell that it’s the Golden Gods-Slaying Ant bloodline? Ol’ President, don’t make a fuss over nothing.”
“Making a fuss over nothing? Hmph! The ignorant are fearless, indeed!” Ol’ Amos snorted and said, “The moment it’s exposed, you’ll be dead meat... Forget it, I can’t be bothered to nag at you. Just remember not to use it easily in front of others in the future!”
“Alright, alright.”
Meng Lei rolled his eyes.
“Hmph! How dare you get impatient with me?”
Ol’ Amos was rather displeased. “By the way, you still haven’t told me when you comprehended the fire-elemental laws of nature,
“If memory serves me right, you haven’t even comprehended the universe’s momentum, so why have you gone straight to comprehending the laws of nature?”
Elsewhere, under a few staff members’ efforts, the fighting ring was restored to its original condition in no time. The host had only just announced the resumption of the challenge match when a silver figure lunged up into the ring.
This person wasn’t an unfamiliar figure. He was the other genius that Flit the 66th and the others had been discussing earlier—the 28-year-old sixth-year student from Fighting Dragon Academy, Francis Matthew.
“It’s him!”
“Why has he gone up the ring?”
“Isn’t he a victor? Who is he challenging?”
At the sight of Francis, Flit the 66th and the others looked at one another in confusion. Then, they looked at the muscular elderly man, their countenances puzzled. “President of Fighting Dragon, what’s Francis trying to do?”
The muscular elderly man shook his head with a wry smile. “I don’t know, either!”
“Meng Lei, I challenge you!”
“What the hell!?”
Meng Lei almost went berserk!
[1] Refers to a Chinese internet meme of the actor Ge You, where he is pictured half-lying, half-slouching lazily on the couch in a sitcom still
Chapter 135: Equally-Matched Opponents, A First-Class Spell Falls
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Francis stood tall and proud in the fighting ring, dressed in silver chainmail and holding a silver sword. With his long, slender figure and handsome features, even the reincarnations of Pan An1 and Song Yu2 couldn’t get any better than this.
The moment he went up into the ring, innumerable wealthy young ladies became starry-eyed with infatuation and almost started drooling.
“Wow! He’s so handsome...”
“He’s so good-looking!”
“That guy has really been blessed with a great face!”
Even Flit the 66th and the others in the private room couldn’t help marveling at how dashing Francis was.
Power was certainly revered in Heaven’s Vault Continent, but vanity was human nature. No matter where one went, good-looking people would always be at an advantage.
“What I find strange is that he’s actually challenging that little bastard. How interesting. Things are going to be interesting now!”
Flit the 66th drummed his fingers against the table lightly as a remarkably amused smile graced his lips.
“Indeed, Your Majesty. Between those two, one has a very deep comprehension of Ice momentum and hardly has a match among those below the Saint Domain realm.
“Whereas the other is even more of a mutant by straight-up comprehending the laws of nature, having the ability to do instant release of ninth-grade spells, and even has an impressive body. For them to go up against each other, this is certainly a match of equally formidable opponents and a clash of the titans.
“That little fellow Meng Lei has already comprehended fire-elemental laws of nature. In terms of pure
talent alone, he edges out Francis by too much.
“His only disadvantages are a cultivation duration that’s too short and his status as a dual cultivator of magic and martial arts that has caused his cultivation specialization to become too broad.”
As the muscular elderly man stroked his beard, he said, “Because of this, he’s unable to raise his body, spiritual power, and magic power reserves to their peak. That’s how he has given Francis an opportunity to win.”
“Indeed! If Francis wants to defeat Meng Lei, now is indeed the best time for him to do so. Otherwise, once that little fellow cultivates his various attributes to their peak, he’ll go straight into the Saint Domain realm. By that time, Francis won’t hold any chances of victory anymore.”
As the academy presidents gave their evaluations of the situation one by one, looks of interest also showed in their eyes. In terms of one’s comprehension of the laws of nature, Meng Lei had evidently surpassed Francis—this was his merit.
On the other hand, his demerits were still the same—too young, a cultivation duration that was too short, and various attributes that hadn’t peaked yet. In these aspects, he was inferior to Francis.
If Francis wished to defeat Meng Lei, this was the best, as well as the last, opportunity for him to do so.
...
Meng Lei wasn’t aware of the discussion taking place in the private room. He was currently raging mad and had the urge to go berserk, as well as the urge to beat someone up.
As he walked step by step up into the ring, Meng Lei cast a glance at Francis, and then he turned to look at the contestant benches before saying, “If there’s anyone else that also wants to challenge me, all of you can come at me together!”
(⊙o⊙)
Despite the fact that Meng Lei wasn’t very loud, his voice still traveled throughout the whole arena and reached everyone’s ears clearly.
Everyone was stunned.
“What did that little fellow say?”
Thinking that he had misheard, Flit the 66th dug his ears a couple of times. The academy presidents also looked at one another in silence.
“If there’s anyone else that also wants to challenge me, all of you can come at me together!”?
Picking Up Attributes From Today c1-406 Page 73
