by <unknown>
The three students were surprised at first, but soon they jumped around wild with joy. They hugged each other laughing and crying. It was like the opponent they had faced just then was not a student of the Common Class, but rather a campus king like Si Jiaxue or Helian Lie!
“I managed to get a ticket!”
The first student took out a wrapped treasure from his bosom, a small box engraved with glyphs. He waved it energetically and roared loudly.
“I managed to get a ticket!”
The second student also hefted up his own admission ticket. His face was full of hope after a storm, an expression with tears of joy.
“I… where’s my ticket?”
The third student felt all over his clothes in confusion. He could not feel out anything. He thought, distracted, and seemed to have realized something. He looked towards Li Yao as his face suddenly turned deathly white.
Li Yao sat cross-legged on the ground. His head was tilted while he carefully examined the artifact box held in his hand with great detail and discovered that there was a semi-translucent crystal card that was as thin as a cicada’s wing lying inside.
Devil Dragon Island was one of the locations of this year’s Limit Challenge Competition.
Li Yao let out a soft whistle as he took out the ticket from the box and channeled the ticket with his mind. A Puji Critter rushed through the air and laughed brightly.
In the VIP lounges was a wave of uproar!
“He... When did he grab the ticket? How did I miss it?” Most of the household heads looked at each other in dismay. They dared not to believe their eyes.
In the first VIP room, Yin Zhou could not hold back a light laugh, nodding his head, “Not bad. This kid’s body is quite powerful, like those body tempering specialists from the Northwest Continent who cultivate in the path of body refinement. And, his fingers are so adept, to be able to snatch away a ticket without anybody noticing. Those fingers are very much suited for crafting and repairing artifacts; they’re simply the hands of a refiner! In these times, what the Circle of Cultivators lacks the most are these sort of multi-talented geniuses. Really, this kid’s not bad!”
At this time, his secretary walked in and stooped down to his ear, saying a few words.
“Oh, so there’s this sort of thing going on?”
Zhou Yin’s gaze drifted, like a gentle stream, towards Helian Ba, “So, word has it that your esteemed son and this student Li Yao have some misunderstanding?
Helian Ba’s eyebrows rose up; his face was filled with an expression of disbelief. “It can’t be, right? I’ve never heard Small Lie mention this before? Although, kids can be quite hot blooded. It’s quite common for them to fight with each other, and often a friendship is born from the exchange of blows. Aren’t many bro-for-life bonds born from rivalries and fights? Or it's quite possible that these two really have a misunderstanding. That’s also not a big deal. Who would still take it personally?”
Zhou Yin gradually nodded his head, “Then that’s fine. Your esteemed son is also a genius that’s quite hard to come by. His strength is superior to Li Yao’s by a factor. Both of these two have promising futures. It’s not worth getting mad over such small matters!”
Helian Ba nodded his head over and over. He spoke with utter sincerity, “Yes. Yes. What Elder Zhou says is absolute! Oh, that’s right. Headmaster Zhao, I’ve heard that student Li Yao’s family circumstances aren’t too good. Doesn’t our school have a dedicated fund to sponsor students in poverty? I propose to withdraw 100,000 credits from this fund, and I will also contribute 100,000 myself for a total of 200,000 credits as a form of a scholarship to give to student Li Yao in praise of his wonderful display in this fighting competition… Elder Zhou, sir, what do you think?”
Zhou Yin chuckled. “These are all matters regarding your school; I don’t want to get involved. In short, this student’s basic potential isn’t bad. I’m quite pleased. Headmaster Zhao, Board-member Helian, and all the guests sitting with me today, everyone has done a great service.”
When the speech concluded, Helian Ba’s heart returned, once again, stuck in his throat. He felt he had just been fished from the bathing room; his back was full of cold sweat.
“LI! YAO!” A terrifying glow flashed in the depths of Helian Ba’s eyes as Helian Ba committed this name to memory.
……
At the main stage of the first school building, Helian Lie and Si Jiaxue stood on opposite sides onstage. They opened their microprocessors to produce holograms in order to find out the names of 10 ticket holders.
“We caused several of the stronger students in our class to suffer from heavy injuries and retire from the competition. We don’t know who the other 8 people are going to be, the lucky ones who can come with us to Devil Dragon Island.” Helian Lie laughed with his head lowered.
Their smiling expressions froze in a flash, like their faces were covered with a mask of botched human skin, and like their faces were beaten viciously.
An expression of faint doubt flew up on Si Jiaxue’s face. Giant question marks rippled in the depths of her clear-water eyes.
“Li Yao?” the two read the name silently. Their tones and implications were as different as black and white.
Chapter 39: The World Of Cultivation, Is as Vast as the Skies and Seas! |
10 days later, on the east coast of the Federation, at the Far East Ocean.
It was early morning. The rising sun filled the day and the red clouds filled the sky. A myriad of golden fish-scale dots glistened and dazzled in an ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a scene from a fairytale.
Countless schools of fish and oceanic Demon Beasts leapt and fluttered about over the golden sea’s surface, creating quite a vitalic sight to behold.
“*HUMM! *HUMM!”
Eight large antigravity spiritual-energy-powered ships were stuffed full of the young geniuses of Floating Spear City and its neighboring dozen towns, carrying them over and looking like eight large sea turtles. They leisurely swept over at an altitude 200 meters above the sea’s surface. Their mysterious and complex glyph were vibrating endlessly, radiating all the colors of the rainbow brightly. The turbulent waves of spiritual energy surged and rippled. The ripples spread endlessly, colliding into the sea, creating explosions that sounded like the thunderous roars of large Demon Beasts, and creating white waves of froth.
Li Yao was standing at the edge of the front deck. He clung to the railing, looking downwards.
In the midst of the golden ocean, several dozen fishing boats were cruising lazily all over, scattered and fragmented.
Suddenly, an extremely strange “water bubble” swelled on the surface of the sea not too far away. Soon, a small piece of an utterly-sharp fin emerged, splitting the sea without a sound. It headed towards the several dozen fishing boats at high speeds, attacking.
When the fin reached nearly a 100-meter distance from the fishing boats, the “water bubble” suddenly expanded. A 100-meter long giant monster fish exploded out from the water bubble, leaping suddenly into the air and soaring several dozen meters high. It headed forward with reckless abandon, pouncing towards the fishing boats.
The skin of this monsterish fish was bumpy and full of scabs and was covered in growing coral of five different gorgeous colors. It looked extremely devilish. There was a tumorous growth on its head that formed the face of an incomparably ugly baby. There was even a thick tentacle, on the tip of which was a ball of meat, growing from its forehead. “*Pop” “*Pop” The ball of meat crackled as it shot explosive blue lightning in arcs.
“*WAUM! *WAUM!”
The monsterish fish gaped open its mouth, letting out a strange cry like that of a child. It’s mouth was strangely and incomparably large. The mouth actually split all they way to the middle of its body, and jagged teeth filled to the brim within its gaping mouth. The corpses of rotten oceanic beasts were even seen pierced on top of several dozen of the razor-sharp jagged teeth!
Li Yao did not have the time to yell in surprise. In a flash, it seemed that all the fishing boats had awakened from stupor. They moved at a speed comparable to lightning, splitting in all directions. The enormous, monsterish fish flung itself into the air. It’s body, weighing over 10,000 pounds, smashed against the sea once again, creating a giant, sky-towering wave.
The fishing boats that had just been fleeing turned their helms one by one, faintly forming an encirclement. The enormous monsterish fish tried to escape through the air once more but was met with the fishing boats suddenly shooting balls of nets.
These nets appeared to be artifacts crafted and refined by cultivators. They hooked and coiled together mid-air, forming an 8-pointed star pattern that glowed with splendor and radiance. It was an eye-catching and dazzling glyph that soon transformed into a giant net that blotted the sky and covered the earth. It came crashing down, bolting straight towards the cranium of the gigantic monsterish fish!
All of a sudden, the gigantic monster fish thundered with a roar that contained both shock and fury. It’s body twisted and rocked wildly, creating raging and storming waves. The still tranquil and peaceful surface of the sea had transformed, in a flash, into a surging battlefield with the aura of death.
But no matter how much the monster fish struggled, it was unable to free itself. Who knows what crafting materials this fishing net was made of, but as soon as it made contact with the ocean’s water, it shrunk at lightning speeds to deeply embed itself into the body of the gigantic monster fish. The net bound tightly to the skin, causing the skin to split and chap. The blood that subsequently flowed was a dark green, polluting a large area of the sea’s surface, and emitted noxious fishy fumes.
Even Li Yao, at a distance of several hundred meters in the air, was affected by the smell of the noxious fumes, causing his eyes to go faint and his head to be dizzy. He faintly felt a loss of consciousness. It seemed that the blood of this gigantic monster fish contained a natural and terrifying ability to cause people to lose consciousness.
“Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!”
The several dozen fishing ships launched gigantic harpoons simultaneously, piercing deep into the body of the monster fish. With the additional pain, the monster fish went even crazier. The fish thrashed and tried to flee, causing the steel rope that was hooked to the fishing boats to go taut and straight. Several dozen fishing boats were being dragged, rushing forward.
The monster fish rushed several hundred meters, dragging several fishing boats with it and causing them to tip to extreme angles, almost to the point of capsizing. From one of these ships flew out a cultivator suited in a light blue crystal-powered mobile armor that hefted a giant sword on its shoulder.
In a blink of an eye, this cultivator flew to appear right in front of the monster fish. A dangerous arc of lightning flashed across the tentacle on the forehead of the monster fish. With the giant sword in hand, an image of a sword-strike flashed out. The tentacle was actually cleaved cleanly at the base, falling down to the sea!
“TSSSS!...”
The monster fish could not hold back a sharp, blood-curdling cry.
Without waiting for the fish to respond, the cultivator sheathed the sword once again behind his back. His left hand grasped the hilt, while the palm of his right hand faced the forehead of the gigantic monster fish. A ball of light, like a miniature sun, formed in the palm of his hand and expanded at lightning speeds.
“Boom!”
When the ball of light expanded to a size larger than the cultivator’s head, the fingers of his hand spread open. He pushed forcefully, sending the ball of light into the blood gaping wound on the monster fish’s forehead, entering the brains of the monster fish in a flash. Only a world-shaking sound was heard. A geyser of blood spouted a hundred of meters into the air from the blowhole on the top of the monster fish’s brain. Its entire brain had been mashed into a pulp!
The eyes of the monster fish turned to an ash-gray in a flash. It stopped struggling, flipped belly up, and floated without strength on the surface of the sea.
The countless parasitic octopuses, crabs, and tiny Demon Beasts living on its body dispersed, fleeing without direction towards the ocean floor in panic.
“So awesome!”
Li Yao watched with wonder... This was an encirclement hunt that was planned early on. First, the fishing nets and harpoons were used to exhaust the monster fish’s physical strength and life force. Then, the cultivator cleaved its tentacle to create a wound as a weak point. Finally, a fatal strike was sent through the wound into the brain of the monster fish!
“The world of cultivation... really is incomparably vast and filled with unlimited awesomeness!”
Li Yao gazed far into the distance, to his limits. Bottomless red clouds were scattered across the horizon. A red disk of a sun did its best to break through the sea’s surface, to shoot to the sky.
This was a spectacular scene of the vastness and forces of nature, something that Li Yao did not experience often living life in Floating Spear City. He was at peace and relaxed, and his thoughts were like the image seen by his eyes — they flew to the ends of the ocean, towards the sun.
“One day, I will also be a cultivator, like this one. My hand will be holding an awesome military weapon that I personally crafted. I will rush to the great ocean, slaying Demon Beasts and wrestling with the stormy seas!” The tides of Li Yao’s heart moved up and down, heating his blood.
Everyone on this anti-gravity ship was a youth from Floating Spear City. Quite a few people were like him. In twos and threes on the deck of the ship, they were also admiring the wondrous marvel of nature unfolding before their eyes. They had seen the cultivator below slay the Demon Beast, and they cried out, one by one, in surprise.
However, Li Yao understood clearly that he was different than the others within this flock of people. What he displayed in the fight for the ticket was too much of a shock. And, he was someone who was willing to offend people with rich and powerful backing, like Helian Lie. Other people did not dare to wantonly go up and talk to him.
Li Yao enjoyed the peacefulness. He looked down at the exceptionally beautiful marvel, the reflection of the sky on the ocean. His memories flew back to the time in his dream of grandeur. Specks of detail become clearer. No matter what he remembered, no matter how useful it was, he recorded it all to his crystal processor.
This was his secret training technique that he thought of only recently. People’s ability to remember will always have its limits, say nothing of remembering the details of dreams. Li Yao feared that once some details became clear, upon awakening, everything would be forgotten completely.
The memories of Ou Yezi were undoubtedly a precious treasure trove equivalent to the wealth of an entire nation. No matter how mottled any shard of memory recollection was, each shard was capable of providing great benefits.
These days had gone by with Li Yao racking his mind away. He managed to recall many things. He was able to fumble around in the depths of his mind and discover what seemed to be a giant sealed sliding door. He was even able to hear sounds coming inside, the twinkling sounds of a treasure trove.
All he needed was one step, one small step. Then, he would be able to inherit all of Ou Yezi’s memories!
It was right at this time when the faint air of alcohol assailed his nostrils. A chubster with cat-like eyes and splendid clothes leaned against the railing next to Li Yao. This youngster said, “This view really isn’t bad. Isn’t that right, fellow student Li Yao!?”
Li Yao’s pupils suddenly contracted. Nonchalantly, he revoked the hologram of his crystal processor. Filled to the brim with caution, he said, “Aren’t you Zheng Dongming, a friend of Helian Lie?”
Chapter 40: The Different Types of Cultivators |
“Nope, I’m not Helian Lie’s friend. I’m his swine friend.” Zheng Dongming’s nostrils flared as he chuckled in reply.
“Is there a difference?” Li Yao stared blankly.
“To
be partners in decadence means… that Helian Lie can find me if he wants to dine food, drink alcohol, race in shuttles, play with girls… Basically, anything that brings pleasure is totally fine. But if it's to help him beat someone up, especially someone who’s true strength has increased by leaps and bounds in a month, and whose Actualization Quotient increased by several dozen percents, this sort of damn awesome person... Then Helian Lie overestimates our friendship way too much!” Zheng Dongming chuckled, nudging over a step closer to Li Yao’s side.
Li Yao calmly pulled some distance away from him. “So, you’re not here to stir up some trouble with me?”
Zheng Dongming nudged over once again. It seemed that he didn’t pick up on Li Yao’s cold attitude. With a composed expression, he said, “Do you know just how many different types of time-established fine wine are in the Federation? Just how many restaurants far and near? Just how many girls have entered into the entertainment industry?”
Li Yao blinked his eyes. He felt that he could not quite keep up with Zheng Dongming’s tempo of speech, “Nope, so what’s the answer?”
With a flick of his finger, Zheng Dongming enumerated a list of numbers, “According to my statistics, the Federation has a total of 1,300 different time-established fine wine, over 300,000 critically acclaimed restaurants that are worth trying… and just last year, counting every new female actress of every major entertainment company, female idols… etc… There are at least 500,000 of them!”
Zheng Dongming paused for a bit to let out a sigh, “You should know that I am the child of rich and power parents with money in explosive amounts. There are that many kinds of alcohol waiting for me to taste. That many fine delicacies for me to eat. That many stunning and devastatingly beautiful women… all I need to do is to cough lightly… and they become like succubi, stripping on their own… stripping myself and pushing me on the bed… What do you think? Why would I give up alcohol to taste, give up delicacies to eat, give up girls to f*ck. Why would I waste my precious time to come cause you trouble?”