by <unknown>
"However, in the end, I was not the same as Jiang Tao. He is just a student, a nameless newbie. Even if he badmouths us, it is not a big deal."
"However, I am different. I can be considered to be a slightly reputed scholar in the refiners' community, and I am also an elder of the Hidden God Valley. I have countless eyes pointed at me. The moment I flee instead of fighting, it would turn into a big scandal, and I don't know how I would become an upright person in the future."
"That's why, even though I was not so willing to go forward, I still forcibly mustered up my courage and came forward, only to turn into a spectral cultivator in the end."
"From the moment I was dead, I was also like Jiang Tao. Countless times, I have asked myself one question—was it worth it?"
"Was it worth it to sacrifice myself for a couple thousand ordinary citizen whom I don't even know? Was it worth it for me to combust my life, smash my spirit, and forever live in this metal box? Was it worth it for me to be unable to be an ordinary husband, a father, and a grandfather?
"Until this moment, this question had always been lingering in my mind and had remained unanswered."
"However, after I saw the cute smile on Dudu's face, I found the answer."
"It was worth it, it was totally worth it."
"If someday, my granddaughter twins encounter a similar danger, I believe that there would be someone like me who would come forward to protect them, so that a carefree smile remains on their faces and they could live happily."
"I firmly believe this."
...
The crystal train gradually started moving, and soon, it left the endless army-green tents behind, replacing the scenery with a desolate desert that seemed to have no end.
This time, on the train, a single compartment had been allotted for Li Yao in accordance with the standard of the Class-1 Federation Disabled Servicemen.
Li Yao didn't refuse. He very much needed to be alone to comfortably sink into the depths of his neural field and assimilate Ou Yezi's memory fragments.
He could not wait to know whether there were any wonderful changes in his ability to assimilate memory fragments after he had awakened his spiritual root and advanced to a cultivator.
Locking the door, Li Yao laid down on the bed as he breathed evenly. The gap between each breath grew longer and longer, and soon, his soul heavily sunk into the depths of his neural field where the glittering tree of memories grew slowly.
"Sure enough, there are some changes!"
Li Yao's soul shook in astonishment. At the central part of the tree of memories, which used to be pitch black, a few dozen "leaves" began to light up one by one and turned into memory fragments that could be assimilated!
In accordance with the former step by step assimilating speed, he was still far from lighting the memory fragments of this part.
He had never dreamt that along with his advancement to a cultivator, the number of memories he could assimilate would all of a sudden increase.
Upon carefully studying for some time, Li Yao discovered that the newly lit memories belonged to the days when Ou Yezi was a Refinement Stage disciple.
"Is the lighting of memory fragments dependent on my strength?"
"After I became a Refinement Stage cultivator, do I have the qualification to assimilate Ou Yezi's memories as a Refinement Stage cultivator? If so, once I advanced to the Building Foundation Stage, will I be able to use Ou Yezi's memories from the days when he was a Building Foundation Stage cultivator?"
This question could only be slowly answered with time. For the time being, Li Yao put it aside. With a sparkling gaze, he searched through the newly lit memory fragments, and soon, he was able to find the memory of the day which he had always been dreaming about day and night.
The memory belonged to the third day after Ou Yezi had become a cultivator. The Hundred Smelting Clan's elder had brought the newcomers to the first floor of the Hundred Smelting Clan's "Heavenly Refining Tower"!
The Heavenly Refining Tower was one of the most important restricted areas of the Hundred Smelting Clan and was also known as the "Scriptures Hall" in ordinary cultivation sects!
The Heavenly Refining Tower had a total of nine floors, each of which had multitudes of wondrous exercises and techniques, and what's more, it even had a massive amount of refining books and notes that was as vast as the sea!
Li Yao cheerfully cried before his soul transformed into a stream of light and entered the memory fragment, finding himself amidst a group of newly advanced, low-level cultivators who were following the Hundred Smelting Clan's Elder and arriving at the first floor of the mysterious Heavenly Refining Tower!
"Creak—"
The giant door of Heavenly Refining Tower gradually opened, revealing a narrow space with a radius of a dozen meters before the newly advanced cultivators. But as Li Yao stepped inside, a light gray mist rose around him and separated him from the rest.
"Whiz... Whiz... Whiz... Whiz...!"
A few dozen dusty book shelves surprisingly slid over from the gray mist and surrounded Li Yao.
Each bookshelf was stacked with low-level cultivation techniques that had been accumulated over the thousands of years by the Hundred Smelting Clan.
The most sophisticated body refining exercise, [Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining], that was used to help low-level cultivators temper their soul and body.
The [Li Fire Technique[1]] that was used to master spiritual energy flames and help low-level cultivators control the flames to smelt heaven and earth treasures.
The [Thirteen Ancient Sword Blueprint] that was intended for refiners to master the basics and had the blueprint of 13 ancient flying swords drawn in addition to the principle and refining method.
The [Thousand Fingers Supple Bone Exercise] that was derived from the Illusory Hand Pickpocketing Technique and was especially used to exercise flexibility of the fingers and increase one’s hand speed.
Every basic cultivation technique made Li Yao's pair of eyes red, his breathing become ragged, and his heart pound like drums.
From the bookshelves, he took out the [Thousand Fingers Supple Bone Exercise] and lightly blew up on it, blowing away the dust that had accumulated on it. Then, with his head buried inside the book, he took a long, deep breath.
The ancient book had a faint aroma of sandalwood, which made him feel relaxed and happy; it was comfortable to the extreme.
Ruthlessly pinching his thighs, Li Yao focused his mind as he eagerly started reading.
His indulged himself in the Heavenly Refining Tower for an entire three days and three nights. Besides eating and the usual bodily requirements, for every minute and every second, he was assimilating Ou Yezi's memories.
When he had finally, without complete comprehension, engraved the [Thousand Fingers Supple Bone Exercise], [Thirteen Ancient Sword Blueprints], and a dozen other basic exercises and records of the Hundred Smelting Clan in his mind, the crystal train gradually started slowing down.
A desolate, primitive, majestic, and wide town appeared on the horizon.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in fifteen minutes, the train will arrive at its destination, Wild Waves City. Thank you for your cooperation. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience encountered during the journey. Goodbye and we wish you a pleasant stay!"
A gentle female voice resounded in every coach.
"I have finally reached the Grand Desolate War Institution. I had never dreamt that so much would happen on the way, and neither have I dreamt that I would become a cultivator before even having stepped into the university!"
"However, I can not be proud. The world is vast, and I have a long road ahead of me. Devil knows what wonderful things are waiting for me!"
Li Yao slightly smiled as he carried the Black Wing Sword and Dark Star Rock and stepped out of the train in large strides.
TLN:
[1] 离火 - Li Fire, I could have used plain fire but it would be different. The Li(离) is the symbol on the eight trigram
s or bagua which means Fire. In Chinese culture, the trigrams are related to everything, from astronomy, astrology, geography, geomancy, anatomy, the family, to everything else.
[2] Translator’s Rambling—On a side note, as to why there are inconsistencies in the novel when there is always talk about memories. For example, he should not be shocked about Peng Hai’s shocking display of power, as he must have already seen it in the memories and so on. So, here is what I think: the dream he saw, I think, is just a rough pigmentation of Ou Yezi’s memories pertaining to the events that had the most impact on him. Like when he joined the sect, the torturous training, when he smelted his first weapon, or when he became a cultivator and so on. And once again reading Chapter 11, I came across a sentence which should clear the doubt—”The rate at which the dreamland unfolded grew faster and faster. It was like the blurred lightning speed of a crystal rail train. Only during important moments did the speed slow down, allowing Li Yao to clearly see their details”. Only a small part of the dream he saw clearly, while the rest was blurry besides the important detail. Like in this chapter, Li Yao very well remembered when Ou Yezi became cultivator and entered the Heavenly Refining Tower. However, he didn’t remember the techniques and exercises.
Chapter 127: Wasteland's Wild Waves |
Wild Waves City.[1]
For a town which was hundreds of thousands of miles away from any oceans to be named “Wild Waves”, it seemed extremely strange.
However, when the passenger disembarked from the train, an "ocean" with waves that ran as high as they could get appeared in the distance behind the huge glass walls of the entrance.
To be precise, it was a vast expanse of Wasteland; because the rocks had been carried by the fierce winds for hundreds of millions of years, they had stacked upon each other, creating an appearance akin to waves upon waves. In other words, the rocks, after having been swept away by the wind, had solidified and turned into a sea of stones.
This sea of stones was painted with two colors—black and red.
The black color was the original color of the rock.
Whereas the red color was because of having been dyed with the blood of countless federation soldiers, cultivators, and demon beasts.
The blood of humans and demon beasts had so deeply perfused into the rocks that even if the rocks were smashed to pieces, one would still be able to find bits and pieces of scarlet amidst the black.
Wild Waves City was a lot different than the other cities of the Demon Beast Wasteland. Around Wild Waves City, there weren't any military camps nor were there any towering walls protecting the city.
The humans living here didn't need any city walls at all because, for a very long time, the demon beasts had not dared to invade this city.
On the contrary, the ones who needed to be protected the most by a solid wall were the enemies of Wild Waves City—even if they did have this protection, it would only buy them a few seconds, that's all.
Because there wasn't anybody or anything that could block the residents of Wild Waves City. Whether it was any kind of enclosing wall or the fangs and armor of demon beasts, there would be no effect—none at all.
This was precisely Wild Waves City.
The place where the Grand Desolate War Institution was located—a paradise for hot-blooded men!
Li Yao looked for a long time while standing behind the huge glass screen at the entrance. His heart was fluctuating up and down just like the sea of rocks made by the wind in the Wasteland.
Behind him were a couple hundred young boys and girls. They were a group of hot-blooded teenagers who had just disembarked from different trains and were all new students of the Grand Desolate War Institution.
They smiled at each other before confirming each other’s identities quickly. Everyone involuntarily raised their chests, as though they were all an inseparable group from this moment onward.
All the high-spirited young boys and girls very quickly got familiar with each other, and soon, they set forth, clattering at the entrance.
"Brother, I am from the Chaos Edge Hall, which student union are you from?"
"Ha ha ha! I am also from the Chaos Edge Hall. It seems we are family. Just a moment ago, looking at your thick arm, I thought you were from the Iron Fist Club!"
"You see that girl over there who is covered in many tattoos from head to toe? She is definitely a member of the Glyph Devils—not good, she heard us!"
On one hand, Li Yao was listening to the conversations of the students, while on the other, he was thinking about the information he had just learned from the freshman guide.
Before the Grand Desolate War Institution came into existence, it used to be a platform in the Demon Beast Wasteland where all kinds of warriors could exchange martial techniques, thus the Grand Desolate War Institution was rather free, the rules were loose, and it promoted a student autonomy.
It was not the professors who were in control of the various departments, but rather, it was the students. Every department’s student union was self-governed, and the professors were only there to guide them. As long as the students didn't cross their bottom line, then they would generally not interfere with the operation of the student union.
The Iron Fist Club, the Chaos Edge Hall, the Glyph Devils, and the Lancets were the four strongest student unions established at the Grand Desolate War Institution.
The Iron Fist Club was a student union composed of body practitioners. They all disdained the use of any kind of weapon. Any student who was convinced that their body was the strongest magical equipment would join the Iron Fist Club. The members of the Iron Fist Club continuously charged towards the limits of their body, tempering their flesh and blood into an all-conquering killing machine.
The Chaos Edge Hall was a student union composed of sword cultivators. The students who joined the Chaos Edge Hall possessed superb skills in the usage of cold weapons, and their dreams were to become a first-rate sword immortal.
The Lancets were, instead, a student organization of the Medical Department.
At the beginning, Li Yao could not understand why there was a Medical Department at the Grand Desolate War Institution, especially one that was very high level to the point that it was on par with the Empyrean Capital School of Medicine in surgery, emergency treatment, and other fields.
Only after a careful explanation from the freshman manual did he come to understand.
The Grand Desolate War Institution was a combat school that specialized in nurturing warriors who zealously fought and was a university that encouraged its students to fight.
The students would definitely be subjected to all kinds of injuries while fighting, and it would not be strange in the least for them to be injured to the point that their life was hanging by a thread—whether it was the members of the Iron Fist Club or the Chaos Edge Hall, all of them were a bunch of madmen who didn't fear death. Even if they were facing a demon beast who was ten times stronger than they were, they would still directly charged at it without even batting an eye.
Under these circumstances, a "Medical Department" appeared in the Grand Desolate War Institution which specialized in trauma treatment and were responsible for emergency treatment on the field.
Over the course of a couple hundred years, the Medical Department's level continued to rise, so much that many of the patients who had suffered serious injuries on the battlefield which could not be cured by the Empyrean Capital School of Medicine would be sent for treatment to the surgical and orthopedic hospitals affiliated to the Grand Desolate War Institution's Medical Department.
The doctors of the Grand Desolate War Institution's Medical Department specialized in the usage of a kind of scalpel that was as thin and as similar as a willow leaf to carry out the most sophisticated of operations. Over time, "Lancets" had become the synonym for the doctors of the Wasteland.
As for the Glyph Devils, their existences were even more surprising than that of the Lancets for Li Yao—to his surprise, it was a studen
t organization of the Arts Department.
No matter how Li Yao racked his brain, he could not figure out why the Grand Desolate War Institution would have an "Arts Department", especially one so strong that it had left his beloved "Refining Department" far behind.
The freshmen manual, yet again—broke the mystery.
In the cultivation world, there was an extremely mysterious ability called "Spirit Tattoo Technique". Using this technique, one could draw hundreds of thousands of patterns that were infused with spirit glyphs all over their body. Without even having to cultivate, they would possess a powerful strength.
The cultivators who had mastered this kind of ability were revered as "Spirit Tattoo Artists".
Let's take the most common example—if a Spirit Tattoo Artist had drawn a flame which contained complex fire-type array glyphs on the hand of a cultivator, then when the cultivator punched with that very fist, he could spontaneously mobilize flame spiritual energy and blast it. He simply did not need to form any kinds of seals, chant any spell, or any other triggering conditions.
This was just the most common, the most low-level usage of spirit tattoos.
A true Spirit Tattoo Master Artist could marvelously draw over a hundred spirit glyphs in a small tattoo that was no bigger than a square inch. Moreover, it would completely fuse with blood vessels, perfectly integrating the tattoo with its user!
You could imagine that the Spirit Tattoo Artists were simply the strongest supporters of the body practitioners.
A body practitioner who had spirit tattoos drawn all over his body was absolutely a terrifying existence on the battlefield. Nobody knew what kind of frightening abilities he would come to possess after the tattoo had fused with his body.
For instance, the red-eyed officer who Li Yao had met on the crystal train was just a 1st level Building Foundation Stage cultivator. In truth, it was absolutely impossible for him to fly hundreds of meters high into the air in the blink of an eye.