Chapter 1090 Not Satisfied!
Zhang Chao's face turned red in anger. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "In that case, let me see how strong Lingtian is!"
He raised his fist and attacked Xie Yi instantly.
Xie Yi casually raised his right hand.
Boom!
A figure got thrown out. He took seven steps back before he managed to stabilize himself.
Zhang Chao stood still and dazely stared at the expressionless Xie Yi. He seemed to have just waved his hand casually to defeat him in one move. Zhang Chao was frightened.
"Defeated by a single blow." The regiment commanders, who had been monitoring the situation outside of Lingtian, received this piece of news instantly when it happened and were shocked.
"Now, can you leave?" Xie Yi didn't care about how shocked Zhang Chao was. He just yawned in boredom.
During these past few days, their boss's force of presence got even more frightening. The only people who could withstand training with their boss were team leaders and department heads. It was grueling but with Brother Shiyu's agents, they were able to persist through it. Guarding the door was basically a day off for them.
No one would be happy when they got disturbed during their day off.
Zhang Chao was already injured by Xie Yi. Hence, when he heard Xie Yi's irritated tone and saw his attitude, he felt humiliated and vomited a mouthful of blood.
Ling Lan, who was sitting in a secret training room, opened her eyes slowly.
"I didn't expect Xuya to reach this stage so soon." Ling Lan quickly retracted the pressure in the room.
The team leaders, who had been resisting against the pressure with all their efforts, suddenly felt the pressure lifting off from their shoulders. Before they could ask what was going on, they felt another energy moving beside them.
"Little Sister Xuya? She is going to advance soon?" Qi Long was the first to react. He shouted happily.
Luo Chao stood up and smiled. "Yup! Xuya said that after continuously training with Boss for the past few days, she felt the barrier to the Qi-Jin stage getting weaker and weaker. She should be able to advance to the Qi-Jin stage within the next dew days. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon."
Luo Chao also felt her barrier getting weaker. She didn't advance as quickly as Han Xuya but it would happen soon too. She would be able to reach the realm she had always dream of.
All the other leaders and heads were at Qi-Jin realm or above, only she and Han Xuya were still lagging behind at the peak stage of refinement. They knew that because of their gender, it would be difficult for them to advance further than refinement stage but they didn't give up. They kept working hard for many years and finally, their efforts paid off.
Luo Lang patted her head and smiled. "You should be able to advance soon too." Luo Lang was always concerned about his younger sister's condition so he immediately noticed the change in her internal energy.
"Of course. I can't lag behind you too much." Luo Chao raised her head arrogantly, but her red puffed cheeks showed that she was embarrassed by the statement. Her cute expression caused the older mecha masters around her to smile as if they were looking at their granddaughter.
At that moment, a huge pressure suddenly descended and engulfed Han Xuya's body. The people closest to her also felt the pressure and knew that it was from their boss. Ling Lan was trying to help Han Xuya with her process of breaking through.
"Breakthrough!" Han Xuya shouted with all her help. Suddenly, she felt the barrier shattering under the help of external pressure.
Han Xuya officially entered Qi-Jin stage.
Han Xuya was elated but a metaphorical cold bucket of water was quickly dumped all over her head as Ling Lan's cold voice sounded beside her. "Xuya, stabilize your Qi-Jin."
Han Xuya quickly gathered her thoughts and started manipulating the restless energy inside her. She also felt a frightening pressure coming down on her. The pressure she was currently feeling was far greater than the pressure she felt when she entered the peak stage of refinement.
It looked like Boss finally acknowledged her ability. Han Xuya knew that their boss gave them a chance by letting she and Luo Chao train with them. Plus, they were also given preferential treatment as more care was given to them.
Although their boss said that she couldn't control her force of presence, she would still protect them properly each time they came over to train with the others. The men might get injured by the pressure but the two of them were never hurt.
In the past, Li Yingjie almost once died from the pressure. He was only saved by his brother but he felt frustrated in the end. He complained that their boss was biased and that he was only protecting his wives while throwing them aside.
When she and Luo Chao heard that, they rolled their eyes at him. However, Li Yingjie was more powerful and had a higher rank than them so they could not say much in their defense. Plus, they didn't want to make a fuss out of such a small matter. It was not their style unlike a specific someone.
However, after Li Yingjie said that, he didn't have a good time too. Somehow, he offended Big Leader Li and was tormented by him for these past few days. So although they couldn't rebuke him themselves, they felt quite satisfied when they saw him getting tortured.
Under Ling Lan's suppression, the restless Qi-Jin energy flowed into Han Xuya's body and entered all the cells of her body. The Qi-Jin energy started healing her body.
The stages before Qi-Jin were all foundational stages. Once someone advanced to the Qi-Jin stage, there would be a huge leap in their physical constitution. This increase in their physique would decide if they had the chance to break through to the domain realm.
With Ling Lan's help, Han Xuya didn't waste the energy that flowed into her body. She successfully absorbed all of them. The amount of energy one could absorb depended on one's potential. The greater the potential, the more energy one could absorb and the greater the possibility of him or her breaking through to the domain realm.
Normally, due to the physical constitution of a female, they would only be able to absorb 1% of the total energy. This was why very few females managed to enter the domain realm. From the moment they advanced to the Qi-Jin stage, they were destined to have a hard time advancing their physical skills.
However, all these restrictions didn't exist for Han Xuya.
Although her energy was weaker than talented people like Qi Long but with the help of Ling Lan, she didn't waste any bit of her energy. Unknowingly, she had created a bright path ahead for herself.
It could be said that if Han Xuya didn't meet Ling Lan, she would only be able to reach the Qi-Jin stage. However, because of Ling Lan, she would not be able to walk on a path she was destined to walk. Of course, this applies to Luo Chao too.
Han Xuya continued absorbing all the Qi-Jin energy into her body. She only stood up after she finished absorbing every little bit of it.
"Congratulations!"
"As expected of Han Xuya."
"Continue working hard and become the first female domain realm master of Lingtian."
The older mecha masters liked this competitive and able young lady. They hurriedly congratulate her.
"Xuya, since you advanced to the Qi-Jin stage already, you can settle the matter outside." Ling Lan opened her mouth after noticing that Han Xuya had stabilized her Qi-Jin energy.
"What's wrong?" Qi Long asked curiously.
"Xuya's soldiers fought with someone for something they want to buy and in the end, they successfully bought it. However, the other party is unhappy about that so they came to look for us," Ling Lan replied calmly.
Little Four developed a good working relationship with the mainframe of Base Nebula so Ling Lan was able to know everything that was happening outside even if she stayed in her room.
Little Four was already treating the Lingtian Mecha Clan as his property. He treated every soldier as his men so he had cameras all around the base to make sure that they wouldn't get into trouble.
Even if Lady Mei didn't win against Zhang Han, Little Four would have hacked into his account and make sure that he didn't have enough money to buy the whip.
"What? How dare they bully our JMCs." All the team leaders were furious.
Which department was Han Xuya in charge of? The JMC department! It was filled with a bunch of pretty female soldiers. All the male soldiers in the mecha clan treat these female soldiers very dearly.
The male soldiers had already decided to keep the female soldiers among themselves, only if they were willing, of course. It was obvious that the competition between the male soldiers was great. There were a little more than a hundred female soldiers but there were close to 3000 male soldiers. In order to stop being single, the male soldiers had a hard time too.
The team leaders knew what their team members were thinking so they treated Han Xuya very well.
They didn't have a choice to not do so. If they offended Han Xuya, she might complain to her soldiers and they might remember it, which would prevent their team members from ever getting a partner.
Plus, most of the team leaders and heads were single too.
Thus, they must be angry when the dear female soldiers got bullied.
Who knew if one of the female soldiers would become the future wives of their subordinates… or maybe their own wife.
Han Xuya's smile disappeared when she heard this and her aura turned cold. She had gone through many hardships with the JMCs in the past few days so to her, they were like her family.
"I understand. I'll handle this matter." Han Xuya clenched her fist tightly.
"Okay. After you settle it, remember to continue training." Ling Lan closed her eyes again. She didn't forget to give Han Xuya her punishment. She wouldn't treat her differently just because she was a female.
In actual fact, after Han Xuya advanced to the Qi-Jin stage, Ling Lan decided to be stricter on her. She would be stricter on her than on Qi Long or any of her other comrades.
She knew that Han Xuya was just like her, except for her identity. She had the same desire to become stronger. Thus, she would help her rise to the top so that she could look down on all the people who looked down on her.
"Xuya, let me stand behind you to give you some support." Qi Long was excited. He hadn't fought in a long time.
"Okay." Han Xuya smiled in agreement and walked out of the room.
Soon, only two people were left in the secret training room.
"Are you not going to take a look?" Ling Lan opened her eyes with surprise.
"Not interested," Li Lanfeng replied calmly.
He stood up and then turned the secret training room into 'do not disturb' mode. Unless the people inside wanted to go out, no one could come in. Well, unless they break the door down forcefully.
After doing all that, he removed his mask and walked beside Ling Lan. Then, he sat down and stared at her intently.
"What's wrong?" Ling Lan raised one of her eyebrows in an inquisitive manner. This was the first time Li Lanfeng was so serious. In the past, he always appeared gentle, although she knew that it was fake.
"You're hurt." Li Lanfeng frowned. He seemed confused and agitated.
Ling Lan looked at the frustrated expression on his face. The power that she had been suppressing indeed had started getting restless.
"Actually, you should leave the room. I might not be able to protect you." The strength in her body was getting out of control.
"Stop suppressing yourself for us." Li Lanfeng suddenly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, it was filled with indescribable emotions. Ling Lan always felt that she knew what Li Lanfeng was thinking but now, she couldn't make sense of his expression and action.
"It's enough," Li Lanfeng continued with a lowered head. From his tone, he seemed to be in pain.
"What's wrong?" Ling Lan frowned. There was something wrong with how Li Lanfeng was acting today. She was concerned.
"Ling Lan!" Li Lanfeng suddenly looked up and shouted her name, something that rarely happened.
"Yes?" Ling Lan raised one of her eyebrows and waited for Li Lanfeng to continue.
"I want to become stronger!" Li Lanfeng said each word forcefully.
"I know," Ling Lan replied seriously, "You are on the path to become stronger. You never stopped."
"No, it is not enough." Li Lanfeng's voice got louder.
Ling Lan frown got deeper.
Li Lanfeng suddenly put his head down again. Then, he covered his eyes with his right hand and started laughing creepily.
"Hahaha… I'm sorry. I lost control." Li Lanfeng suddenly looked up again and smiled gently.
Ling Lan reached out and grabbed Li Lanfeng's chin.
Ling Lan applied a lot of pressure on her hand so Li Lanfeng felt as though his chin was going to crack. It was painful but the pain woke him up.
"Stop giving me your fake smile," Ling Lan said coldly, "I hate it."
"Why must you expose me?" Li Lanfeng turned serious. "Do you know I can't find my place beside you anymore?"
Ling Lan frowned. She didn't understand what Li Lanfeng meant.
"You treat everyone so well, so well that you are willing to hurt yourself to help them. Yet, they don't know anything about it. They trust you and are willing to follow you through thick and thin." Li Lanfeng appeared lost again. The characteristic that attracted him to Ling Lan in the past was becoming the devil in his heart now.
"So?" Ling Lan's face remained expressionless.
"So, I'm not satisfied." Li Lanfeng smiled. His smile seemed a little crazy. Yet, it made him look even more beautiful. Ling Lan's heart couldn't help but flutter when she saw that smile.
'Damn it, why must beautiful people be so crazy.'
"Not satisfied?" Ling Lan controlled her emotions and asked coldly.
"Yes, not satisfied at all." Li Lanfeng continued smiling. "Ling Lan, only now I know how selfish I really am."
Chapter 1091 I Trust You!
"Sometimes, I would think to myself what if you could just transfer a little bit of your power to me. Wouldn't that be great…," Li Lanfeng said mockingly as he smiled with a hint of despair in his eyes. He knew what he said was impossible because even if there was actually a way to transfer on's powers to someone else, Ling Lan would never be willing to do that. If Ling Lan was willing to do so, then Ling Lan wouldn't be the Ling Lan who he trusted dearly and someone who he would willingly die for.
"You can't be thinking like that, Li Lanfeng!" Ling Lan said seriously as she could feel Li Lanfeng's thoughts were turning towards a dangerous direction.
"Oh my god! Boss, is he becoming gay?!" Little Four shouted out loud in Ling Lan's mindscape.
"Shut up!" Ling Lan instantly smacked Little Four, who wanted to add fuel the fire, to the ground.
Sh*t, she was still trying to resolve Li Lanfeng's odd behavior. She didn't need Little Four to make the situation worse.
"I know… I know what I'm thinking is not right, but my heart aches when I see you hurt yourself for others, even for me!" Li Lanfeng clawed his chest as if he was trying to tear away that feeling in his heart. He thought of the time when Ling Lan force herself to restrain her pressure even if it would injure her own body again to help Han Xuya advance. His heart ached for her pain.
"Every single time you get injured, I would always think about why you must care for that many people. If you only cared for me, you would never be injured. Then, I wouldn't be sad and worried anymore…" Li Lanfeng's sobbing yet smiling expression made Ling Lan shudder.
"I desperately tried to become strong. I really did… Although it was to stand above the others, my main reason in doing so is to fight alongside you and protect the person I most want to protect…" Li Lanfeng finally revealed a pained smile on his face. "Ling Lan, you definitely will laugh at my overconfidence because the person I most want to protect is you. You! Ling Lan!"
Two streaks of tears slowly ran down his fleshy cheeks, making the current Li Lanfeng undoubted this generation's most beautiful person. Even when he was crying, his beauty was otherworldly, and it made those around him feel deeply sorry for him.
Ling Lan looked at Li Lanfeng silently. Right as Li Lanfeng thought Ling Lan was looking at him with disdain, Ling Lan suddenly spoke up, "I know that!"
Li Lanfeng raised his head stunned as Ling Lan reached out her right hand and softly caressed his face. She used her index finger to collect a single crystal-like teardrop from his beautiful face.
Ling Lan looked towards the crystal-like teardrop on her index finger and said slowly, "In the time that we've known each other, how can I not know about your personality? Although you seem to be warm and easy to get along with, you are actually very guarded against outsiders and someone who doesn't easily open up to people."
After Ling Lan said all this, she suddenly raised her head and looked directly Li Lanfeng's red eyes. "You are even guarded towards your little brother, Li Shiyu."
Li Lanfeng's expression instantly froze. He didn't think that secret he was hiding for his whole life was clearly seen through by Ling Lan.
"I don't need to mention about that idiot Li Yingjie who knows absolutely nothing, right? You treat him as if he doesn't exist," continued Ling Lan, "I knew about your personality long ago. Although I don't know why the first successor of the Li family is so stubborn, I am very aware about your feelings towards me."
After saying all that, Ling Lan turned her gaze towards her index finger again. She flicked her index finger softly and the teardrop vanished into the air.
Ling Lan smirked slightly and looked down towards Li Lanfeng with a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "That's because I know our friendship is real, and that is all I need."
Li Lanfeng's eyelashes quivered slightly, his eyes brimming with light. Countless emotions stacked were flowing in him, yet he couldn't force a word out of his mouth.
"Plus, I have to tell you that you're not the same as them to to me!" Ling Lan pointed towards her heart. She didn't want Li Lanfeng to keep thinking about these things which would cause him to inexplicably go down the wrong path.
Li Lanfeng raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.
"Qi Long, Luo Lang, Luo Chao, Han Xuya and the others all grew up with me. To me, they're brothers and sisters that need my loving care. But you, you are my friend, my confidant, I trust you!"
Those final words made Li Lanfeng's whole body tremble. When he finally stopped trembling, the biggest and brightest smile blossomed on his face.
"You also have to remember to take into account that you and I are both soldiers, becoming injured is inevitable in this line of work so don't make a fuss about such a small matter. The Li Lanfeng I know is a godly strategist who can turn losses into victories from thousands of miles away…" After saying this, Ling Lan slowly closed her eyes, "Now I need to ask you to do something for me. I'm about to break through. Protect me."
"Okay…" Right as Li Lanfeng answered, he felt a soft force pushing him towards the door of the secret room. Immediately after, a large pressure erupted within the room. Li Lanfeng immediately activated his domain to block off the immense pressure.
Li Lanfeng knew that Ling Lan was afraid that she might lose control and injure him. That was why she sent him to the position near the door so that he could immediately escape the room if things went awry.
It was this hidden care within Ling Lan's dominant personality that he wanted more of and wished to keep it all for himself.
Li Lanfeng stared blankly towards Ling Lan, who was breaking through to the imperial realm far away from him. Although Ling Lan's words made his heart no longer ache, it still felt empty. It was as though the words Ling Lan had said to him could not satisfy him…
He originally thought that before he could alter his fate from the course of the Phoenix Thrall Fate, his heart wouldn't be held up by anything else. He didn't think that…
The Phoenix Thrall Fate!
A lightning bolt suddenly struck in Li Lanfeng's mind and his body began to shake intensely. His expression was filled with fear as he mumbled, "Phoenix Thrall Fate, Phoenix Thrall Fate, it's actually the Phoenix Thrall Fate… The change of fate that I wished for my entire life. Could it be my own self-binding cocoon?"
Li Lanfeng was a genius. The reason he didn't think of it before was because he was blinded by what was in front of him. However, once he cleared himself from his willful dream, he knew who was the person that was the closest existence to being his king.
"Ugh!" A mouthful of blood suddenly shot out from Li Lanfeng's mouth. With different emotions constantly clashing against each other in his mind, Li Lanfeng lost control over his domain and was instantly injured by Ling Lan's force of presence.
Li Lanfeng looked towards Ling Lan and a savage look appeared on his face for a second. He reached out his right hand. If he were to attack Ling Lan at this important moment, Ling Lan would definitely be severely injured from the recoil of the uncompleted advancement of her domain concept. Now was without a doubt the best opportunity for him to get rid of Ling Lan and change his fate.
Phoenix Thrall Fate, Phoenix Thrall Fate, Phoenix Thrall Fate… As long as he got rid of his destined king, he would be able to change his fate!
The savageness within Li Lanfeng's eyes became thicker and thicker, and killing intent slowly appeared within them.
Wait, what if it wasn't him?
Li Lanfeng's savage gaze slowly began to turn into a more compassionate gaze but it suddenly turned back into the savage gaze again. This change in his gaze was constantly occurring for quite a while. He was struggling internally about his decision.
He remembered his and Ling Lan's past. How she taught him the meditation technique, helped him with mecha piloting, stood in front of him during a dangerous situation…
"I trust you!" Ling Lan's voice suddenly exploded beside Li Lanfeng's ears.
"Ugh!" Li Lanfeng spat out another mouthful of blood. This time however, it wasn't because of Ling Lan's force of presence, but rather Li Lanfeng injuring himself.
His eyes became clear once again. The devil in his heart almost made him do something he would regret for the rest of his life. Luckily, he found himself again.
Chapter 1092 Despicable!
After being injured consecutively, Li Lanfeng's face turned pale as he helplessly leaned against the wall and looked towards Ling Lan with a pained yet complicated expression on his face.
After returning to his rational self, Li Lanfeng used his intelligent mind to its fullest. Soon, he made the connection and predicted the truth behind the Phoenix Thrall Fate.
He had always thought that he was walking on the path that defied the heavens. However in the end, he was played by fate. He wanted to stay far away from his king, but the reality of it was that he was using his all to get close to his king.
Li Lanfeng knew well that if there was someone in this world who could sit upon the throne, other than Ling Lan, there was no one else. Furthermore, the Ling family's totem was a phoenix. The Phoenix Thrall Fate which predicted the arrival of a king was clearly pointing towards Ling Lan.
It was funny that he had not thought about the truth behind the Phoenix Thrall Fate when such obvious hints were right in front of him. In actuality, it wasn't that he didn't think about it, but rather he had denied it. It was because he trusted Ling Lan would not force him to what was foretold by the Phoenix Thrall Fate.
Now there was a problem… since Ling Lan wouldn't force him to do such a thing against his will then why was there a Phoenix Thrall Fate?
Li Lanfeng was sure that Ling Lan didn't have any weird thoughts about his beauty. He was very sure because Ling Lan didn't fancy men. Ling Lan was the straightest of all men. Li Lanfeng also didn't forget that Ling Lan still had two beautiful fiancées beside her, Luo Chao and Han Xuya.
Furthermore, Ling Lan clearly showed that she cared for them. She would rather let herself be injured than let his fiancees to be unsuccessful in advancing. Just her sincerity was enough to make even a bystander like him jealous and want to take that love and care for himself alone…
Take for himself?
Li Lanfeng's body suddenly trembled. His hands held his head as he curled up on the ground in a fetal position.
"Hahahaha…" Li Lanfeng laughed crazily. He retracted his domain and allowed Ling Lan's force of presence to ruthlessly beat on his body.
"Ugh!" The terrifying pressure from the presence pressed Li Lanfeng onto the ground instantly. A mouthful of blood shot out from Li Lanfeng's mouth again. Despite being in severe pain, Li Lanfeng still had an insane smile on his face. It was as though the pain in his body made him feel extremely happy.
"Li Mulan, Li Mulan. It turns out the Phoenix Thrall Fate was what you forced upon yourself. It was your own choice all along… It's hilarious that I tirelessly carried the burden of this fate and ruthlessly tormented myself for more than 20 years. In the end, the person who's crazy is me. Everything was all my own doing."
Li Lanfeng laughed as he kept spitting out blood out of his mouth. Ling Lan's imperial realm presence began to cut into his flesh after Li Lanfeng completely gave up on defending against it. Soon after, Li Lanfeng was completely covered in his own blood… However, the supposedly terrifying look actually had a hint of beauty from his extremely good looks and his insane smile.
Li Lanfeng now understood his own heart. He didn't when it started, but he had actually begun to feel attached to Ling Lan. This was why he wasn't satisfied and wanted to push everyone else away, to become an one-of-a-kind existence in Ling Lan's mind.
This one-of-a-kind existence was not being a so-called confidant, comrade or brother. Instead, it was to become the only piece in Ling Lan's mind that will never be erased.
"Li Mulan, you're disgusting." Li Lanfeng had two streaks of tears run down the sides of his face. How could he face Ling Lan when he had such disgusting thoughts? It that was the case, then he would rather die than to live in torment.
Li Lanfeng slowly closed his eyes and silently waited for his death to arrive. Perhaps, if he were to die like this, he would leave a permanent mark in Ling Lan's mind. After all, he would be dying by Ling Lan's hand.
In the end, he was still so despicable. He still didn't want Ling Lan to forget him and want Ling Lan to remember him even after he was dead.
Li Lanfeng remembered how he behaved in front of Ling Lan for all these years and smiled slightly. He was already this despicable and shameless from the very beginning.
Was he weak-hearted? No, if he was, he wouldn't be Li Lanfeng. His younger cousin brother Li Shiyu also wouldn't have walked down the path of becoming a military doctor like Li Lanfeng had hoped for… He only used his weakness on the outside to coerce the people from the Li family to unknowingly do what he wanted them to do.
The inner conflict, heartlessness, selfishness and the thirst for power were traits not inherited by Li Shiyu and Li Yingjie. However, these traits appeared in him. Even if he treated Li Shiyu with sincerity, he didn't make it any easier for Li Shiyu when he plotted against him. He would only regret such actions when he had nothing better to do.
Did he like to cry? No, he hated it. However, he knew that Ling Lan wouldn't do anything to him if he cried. Thus, he cried nonstop. Using this method, he achieved his goals one after another and increased his weight on Ling Lan's heart.
Was he a fake? It was very possible that he was. After disguising himself for so long, even he had forgotten whether his current personality was his real personality. He would only expose a weak part of himself to Ling Lan from time to time. It was because he understood that children who cried would get more attention.
Ling Lan had too many underlings under her. If he didn't do something to stand out in Ling .
s eyes, as time passed by, he would just become an insignificant bystander or just become one of her many underlings. He definitely wouldn't allow that to happen.
Now that he thought about it, everything he did while he was with Ling Lan had a goal. This included the time when he and Ling Lan were alone and he took off his mask to show his real face. This was also a means to increase his weight in Ling Lan's heart. It was to tell Ling Lan that he was a one-of-a-kind existence.
One-of-a-kind. It seemed he had unconsciously done these things so early on during their budding friendship. He was indeed despicable and shameless.
Luckily, he understood now and didn't let Ling Lan see through his actual thoughts and completely give up on him.
Li Lanfeng felt the tears he had cried out today were enough to flood a shoreline. It poured out continuously. It wasn't like the times when he purposefully cried. This time, he had no control over it.
Li Lanfeng could no longer feel the immense pain wrecking his entire body. He began to feel his soul starting to float upwards… Was this the feeling of death?
Forget it, if he was going to die then just let him cry his heart out one last time.
"Dumbass, what are you doing?" An angry shout echoed through his ears.
Immediately after, something was shoved into his mouth and a cool liquid quickly flowed down his throat.
'I'm not dead yet?'
This was Li Lanfeng's last thought.
Ling Lan saw the terrifying scene when she opened her eyes. Li Lanfeng was covered in blood and leaned weakly against the door. She immediately ran up to him and sat Li Lanfeng upright. She was instantly furious when she saw the continuously flow of tears and the lack of willpower to live in Li Lanfeng's actions. After angrily shouting, she quickly shove one vial of medicinal agent into Li Lanfeng's mouth and dragged the dying Li Lanfeng out of the clutches of hell.
Seeing Li Lanfeng gradually recovering, Ling Lan let out a sigh of relief. "He's such a troublesome guy."
Although Li Lanfeng was full of strategies and plans, he still would easily walk on a path of extremes because of his great intelligence. She didn't know what had happened during her advancement into the imperial realm that made this guy give up on running away and wait for his death instead.
Could it be that he misunderstood what she said when she said protect her? Was that why he put his life on the line and stood there? Ling Lan felt her head starting to ache. She seemed to have discovered that Li Lanfeng had problem of being stubborn.
'Why does this guy have so many problems? He has even more problems than my little brothers and sisters combined.'
Chapter 1093 Looking For Me?
"So, you're telling me that Zhang Chao couldn't even get inside and was defeated by a door guard just in a single move?"
When all the clans received the news that Zhang Chao had lost at the entrance of Lingtian's camping grounds, the regiment commanders of the clans instantly had hardened expressions on their face.
Although Zhang Chao was ranked near the bottom of the 36 Heavenly Warriors in the Piercing Arrow Clan, he was still considered an expert in physical skills. However, an expert like him was defeated in just a single one move, moreover it was a young major who had defeated him. That young major was probably a team leader in Lingtian Mecha Clan and his rank shouldn't be lower than Zhang Chao. Still, defeating an equal opponent in one hit was a magnificent feat, thus everyone was surprised.
"Useless!" In the camping grounds of Piercing Arrow, Regiment Commander Yu Wei heard the news and angrily slammed his hand on the table beside him.
"Regiment commander, Little Zhang is too weak. Let me take some people there to pressure them instead," The first rank of the 36 Heavenly Warriors, Jiang Yong, said with a smile.
"We can't do that. Zhang Chao going there can still be said to be his own actions. If you were to go, then it would be considered as deliberately provoking them." Yu Wei denied the request.
"Then, are we just allowing Lingtian to step on us and take the throne?" Wang Jianming, Piercing Arrow's second rank of the 36 Heavenly Warriors, said in dismay.
Yu Wei's expression became darkened as thought silently about his next plan of action. Suddenly, he stood up and ordered, "Gather all 36 Heavenly Warriors. Everyone will go visit Lingtian together. Since some new friends have come here, we will, of course, have to get to know them a bit."
"If Lingtian shows up with enough military strength, then it would be considered a friendly visit. If they were just putting up a strong facade, then heh…" Yu Wei smirked coldly.
"Regiment commander, Yu Wei took all 36 Heavenly Warriors and went towards Lingtian's camping grounds." Once Yu Wei made a move, every regiment commander in Base Nebula received this news.
"Finally couldn't help but go take a look for himself, eh?" Slaughter Mecha Clan's Regiment Commander Lin Yang smirked as he received this news.
Lin Yang stood up and smiled towards his leaders who had waited with him for a long time. "The game has begun. Let us watch together and see whether this Lingtian is a dragon or an ant."
"Yes, regiment commander!" Everyone had excited expressions on their faces. Faced with Lingtian, who just dropped into their base and forced them down, these leaders were not willing to stay down. They all wanted to see with their own eyes why this newly titled super mecha clan took the spot of being the top ranked clan in Base Nebula.
Every clan's regiment commanders, who were confident in themselves, all began to move out after Yu Wei and Lin Yang moved out with their forces.
At the front of Lingtian's camping grounds, Zhang Chao spat out a mouthful of blood from Xie Yi's words. His eyes angrily glared at Xie Yi. Right as he was about to speak, he saw the door behind Xie Yi got pushed open.
20 or so individuals of different ages walked out from the door. Among them were some in their 20s, some in their 30s and 40s, and also a few in their 50s and 60s. However, more than half of them were like the lieutenant colonel who had defeated him, who were in their early 20s.
What was out of the ordinary was that there were actually three beautiful female soldiers. Two of them were as beautiful as the morning sun, yet their aura was the complete opposite. One was as soft and caring like flowing water, and one had flames burning in her eyes. They could even be called the goddesses of this generation. The other female soldier on the other hand was like a sharp blade taken out of its scabbard, elegant and forceful.
What was more surprising was that these people were either majors or colonels, even between the three female soldiers they consisted of two majors and one lieutenant colonel. Although standing among these lieutenant colonels, colonels and senior colonels made them become less noticeable, it was still enough to stun people if they were to pay attention to their actual military rank.
It should be known that in the entire base, no, even in the entire Federation, other than the female administrative soldiers or the rare female mecha operators, a clan usually never had female majors or female colonel rank officers.
Could it be these three females soldiers were mecha operators?
With hint of curiosity and surprise, Zhang Chao looked towards the female soldier who stood there elegantly.
Suddenly, a ruthless glance met his eyes. Zhang Chao saw an angry large-sized colonel capturing his gaze.
"Sh*t, he's actually a pervert!" Qi Long clenched his fist and his knuckles began to crack. He was prepared to pummel the bastard who was thinking of attempt to make a move on his little sister.
"Leader Qi, he's my opponent." A soft hand was placed on Qi Long's forearm. Han Xuya used some strength and pushed Qi Long aside. Then, she walked forwards and stood beside Xie Yi.
Qi Long watched in dismay as he saw Han Xuya standing in front of him. The little sister that used to hide behind him in the past, now no longer needed his protection. This made him feel somewhat sad and feel that he was losing something.
"Boss said to let Xuya take care of it. Why are you butting in?" Luo Lang asked Qi Long.
"Isn't she our little sister?" replied Qi Long. "If our little sister is in trouble, how could we as elder brothers not help?"
"An elder brother like me didn't even make a move, why should you make a move? If her blood does not run in your veins, don't butt in her business randomly," Han Jijyun, who stood on the other side, added.
Qi Long laughed lightly and wrapped his arm around Han Jijyun's shoulder and said, "What kind of relationship do we have, Jijyun? Isn't your little sister my little sister as well?"
Han Jijyun's right hand's fingers twitched slightly and a short whip appeared in his palm. He then used some force to hit the arm Qi Long wrapped on his shoulder. The immense pain made Qi Long immediately retract his arm back.
He pitifully blew on his bruised arm. Then, he whined to Han Jijyun, "Bro, you're too f*cking ruthless. You almost broke my arm."
"Who told you spout such nonsense? What kind of relationship do I with you? Did we just accidentally meet and then we didn't have a choice but to become comrades?" Han Jijyun said coldly. "You should think more about what you actually want in your heart. Don't lose the chance in the future and regret it."
Seeing Han Jijyun's unexpected serious expression, Qi Long's original playful mood instantly dissipated… Since Han Jijyun said that he had a problem, then he definitely had a problem. It seemed he indeed needed to think about it more.
Han Xuya stood beside Xie Yi and glared at Zhang Chao as she asked in a deep voice, "So, I heard you here looking for me?"
"Looking for you?" Zhang Chao instantly stared at her blankly after hearing those words. He didn't know why this beautiful and elegant female major would ask him this question. He couldn't recall to have ever met her before.
"Didn't you say my soldiers stole the thing you wanted to buy?" Han Xuya's smirked coldly. "Although I believe my soldiers didn't do anything wrong, I still should have the courtesy to let you return disappointed since you had the audacity to come to our doorstep."
After saying this, Han Xuya walked towards Zhang Chao before stopping when she was three meters away from Zhang Chao.
"We're both soldiers, so let's resolve this issue with the method of soldiers. Come!" Han Xuya motioned towards Zhang Chao to come towards her.
Zhang Chao's eyes narrowed. "You're going to fight me?"
"Of course." Han Xuya saw that Zhang Chao wasn't moving so with a strong desire to fight already boiling inside her, she walked up to him and ruthlessly performed a whirlwind kick towards Zhang Chao.
Chapter 1094 A Visit!
Seeing a kick coming towards him at rapid speed, Zhang Chao quickly crossed his arms in front of his chest to protect himself.
"Bang!"
A loud sound of flesh-on-flesh contact echoed through the area.
Zhang Chao took two steps back uncontrollably. He looked up towards Han Xuya with a dumbfounded yet serious expression on his face.
"Qi-Jin!" What was more shocking was that the power behind the kick was not at the primary stage of Qi-Jin. Instead, it was probably at the middle stage of Qi-Jin.
Ling Lan's help allowed Han Xuya to enter Qi-Jin stage. Additionally, her accumulated inner strength allowed her to skip through the primary stage of Qi-Jin to instantly reach the middle stage of Qi-Jin.
After seeing her kick landing, Han Xuya didn't let up and followed up with another set of whirlwind kicks, furthering the distance between Zhang Chao and her. Despite Zhang Chao having already reached the peak stage of Qi-Jin, which was two stage higher than Han Xuya, he was still unable to turn the tide because how the fight went at the beginning. This made it so he was constantly at a disadvantage in every exchange.
At that exact moment, Yu Wei arrived with his 35 Heavenly Warriors. The moment he arrived, he frowned when he saw Zhang Chao being beaten back by a female soldier. With his vast experience, he saw through the fact that Zhang Chao was being pressured by his opponent's presence. As long as he overcame his opponent's force of presence when it was fluctuating, he would be able to turn the situation around.
However, even after thinking up to this point, he was still considering whether he should wait for Zhang Chao to turn the tide and then step in. Suddenly, his gaze landed on the majors and colonels standing near the door of Lingtian's camping grounds.
What he saw in his gaze instantly made his heart tremble so he immediately shouted, "Stop!"
Zhang Chao was just looking for a chance to turn the tides to his favour but suddenly, he heard his regiment commander shouting for him to stop which surprised him, causing him to fail to evade an incoming kick.
"Bang!"
Han Xuya ruthlessly kicked his shoulder. The immense power behind the kick made him unable to stand firmly anymore. He was instantly pushed back six or seven steps before he managed to stop himself.
"My apologies!" Han Xuya smiled as she placed her hand on her chest and mockingly bowed towards Zhang Chao. Then, she turned her back and quickly returned to the position beside Xie Yi and Qi Long.
Zhang Chao's expression was somewhat pale after the altercation as Han Xuya's explosive Qi – Jin had invaded his body through her kick. To protect himself from being injured further, he immediately moved his own Qi-Jin around his body and disposed of the energy that was destroying the cells in his body.
After making sure it was completely dispelled, Zhang Chao looked towards his regiment commander and said in an embarrassed tone, "I'm sorry, regiment commander!"
As a soldier who was defeated by their opponent, especially if the opponent was a woman who was weaker than him, Zhang Chao felt he had lost all of his dignity while simultaneously also embarrassing Piercing Arrow Mecha Clan.
Yu Wei sent a ruthless glare to Zhang Chao, then he turned towards Qi Long's group with an amiable smile on his face, "Hello, everyone. My subordinate was too hot-headed just now. If he offended you, please forgive him!"
After Regiment Commander Yu spoke up for his subordinate, Qi Long and the others suddenly looked behind them.
At the door, two major general rank soldiers were already standing behind them.
Seeing the two new individuals who appeared were actually two major generals, everyone from Piercing Arrow were stunned. Yu Wei and his 36 Heavenly Warriors politely shouted in unplanned unison, "Major general, sir!"
Seeing everyone gaze fixated on them, the 40 or 50-year-old easy-going major general on the left smiled slightly. "Regiment Commander Yu, getting to know people through battle in the military is considered normal so this won't be a problem."
Of course, saying that made the similar aged major general standing beside him show an expression of disagreement. However, he still needed to uphold the validity of his comrade's words so he didn't speak up to rebut against him.
The reason Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong arrived late to the party was because they had gone to the headquarters to speak with their camping grounds' mainframe, Meng Lan, to know who were the ones finding trouble with them. Thus, when Zhang Chao called out 'regiment commander', the two of them instantly knew that this senior colonel who brought his team here was definitely Piercing Arrow Mecha Clan's regiment commander, Yu Wei.
Hearing them already know who he was, Yu Wei was shocked. He didn't think that in such a short time of ten days since they had arrived at the base, they actually managed to get hold of detailed information regarding the base and the people inside the base. This meant that their method of collecting data was truly impressive.
Although the details of the clans could be found on the mainframe of the base, these details of the clans still required authorization from the highest power. Only the mecha clan's commander-in-chief could look through the details.
However, Yu Wei knew very well that the commanding officer of the base, Yu Huan, didn't give this authorization to Lingtian. Even if he had handed it to Lingtian, it would still need to go through a rigorous procedure to even access it. That procedure was to have half of the regiment commanders in the base to agree with the authorization. Otherwise, Lingtian wouldn't have the authority to use the base's mainframe and receive the details of all the mecha clans in the base.
Thus, having managed to get their hands on his details meant that Lingtian definitely had means to bypass through the mainframe of the base. No matter what method it might have been, it was enough to show how they impressive they were. Yu Wei knew very well that he himself couldn't even completely remember all of the commanders of mecha clans in the base even after he had been in the base for a very long time…
What Yu Wei didn't know was that Ling Lan didn't even wished for this to happen. Little Four just happened to take over Base Nebula's mainframe which Meng Lan also then took over and connected it to their own camping grounds. By connecting to their camping grounds allowed the leaders and department heads of Lingtian to know about any details regarding any of the other clans…
However, whether they would obtain the details depended on Meng Lan and Little Four's moods. If their moods were good, they would tell them. If not… they'll just have to go back to where they came from.
What made Yu Wei feel frightened even more was that this unknown mecha clan actually had many strong individuals hidden within it…
Yu Wei was a domain realm master. That fact allowed him to feel around 10 or so dangerous auras in the group of majors and colonels. This feeling sent chills down his spine, despite the fact that on the outside they were at the peak stage of Qi-Jin or the stage of Great Perfection.
Luckily, Yu Wei was someone who crawled out alive from the battlefield. He had used this feeling to escape from sure death situations one after the other so how could he neglect that feeling just now? This was why he decisively called out to stop the fight.
After hearing that this major general was not upset at Zhang Chao, Yu Wei was relieved. Before he could know their true depths, Yu Wei didn't want to offend Lingtian.
"Thank you for your understanding, major general," Yu Wei said gratefully.
"Since everything is sorted, Regiment Commander Yu, we won't be showing you out," the major general with the cold expression suddenly said.
Yu Wei was instantly stunned and immediately said, "Major general, I am Piercing Arrow Mecha Clan's regiment commander, Regiment Commander Yu Wei. I came specifically with my 36 leaders for a visit to Lingtian Mecha Clan."
"Visit?" The major general with the cold expression quickly raised his head and glared at Yu Wei. "Is it the type of 'visit' I understand?"
Yu Wei smiled slightly but didn't speak.
The easy-going major general saw this and smiled. "I can't recall a time when Lingtian had allied clans coming over for a visit. This really brings tears to my eyes. If that's the case…" He suddenly turned his head to the left and said, "Then, you guys come in as well."
After saying that, many people suddenly appeared on their left. It was Lin Yang and the Slaughter Mecha Clan.
"Major general, we came without being invited. Please forgive us," Lin Yang politely smiled as he apologized.
"No matter. Since everyone wants to visit our Lingtian Mecha Clan, then we will show you around." The easy-going major general smiled. " Visiting today is better than tomorrow but let's wait for everyone to come."
Meng Lan was very clear with her words. Many individuals from many mecha clans were moving towards them at a very fast speed. Instead of greeting them one by one, he would rather resolve everything in one go.
Chapter 1095 Answer!
Not long after, Yu Wei and Lin Yang saw many other regiment commanders of other clans bringing their teams over to the camping grounds of Lingtian. The two of them looked towards the easy-going major general with a slight feeling of dread in their eyes.
They didn't expect Lingtian to be deeply aware of the undercurrents going on in the base. Just where did this Lingtian clan come from? Just this display of perfect awareness was enough to make them cautious of Lingtian.
Soon afterwards, there were around 20 or so clans present, totalling up to a few thousand people at the door of the camping grounds.
"Open the door!" The easy-going major general saw everyone was present and gave out an order.
Seeing the door slowly opened, the major general with the cold expression moved to the side and gestured politely. "After you."
Behind the doors, there weren't the standard groups of soldiers in neat rows and columns standing on duty.
It was actually completely empty behind the door with not a soul in sight.
This made all of the regiment commanders and leaders who came to visit all look at each other with confusion. They didn't know what message Lingtian wanted to send them? Were they looking down on them? Or Lingtian just did not have any teams on duty?
Seemingly noticing everyone's questions, the easy-going major general smiled. "Recently, our entire clan is going through with mass amount of training. All of the soldiers are currently in the training grounds, so those who are guarding the door are us team leaders who have nothing better to do."
Leaders were actually guarding the door? Every regiment commander had cold sweat dripping down their foreheads. They kept having a feeling that they were entering a strange place. If they as regiment commanders were to send their leaders to guard the door, it would clearly to be considered a punishment. It could even be considered a humiliating insult to them which would definitely cause chaos to erupt within the clan. Why did the leaders from Lingtian just do it outright like as if it was natural for them to do so? They didn't even seem to hold any grudges at all? They even felt that they were happy to do the job?
"Right, if you guys had come a few days later, the door guard would have been me. Perhaps the scene earlier wouldn't have happened if that was the case," the easy-going major general smiled and added these words.
A major general guarding the door… All of these regiment commanders almost fainted after hearing those words. They suddenly asked themselves whether it was actually a good idea to visit Lingtian.
Zhang Chao, who was following behind Yu Wei, remembered the lieutenant colonel who had defeated him earlier in one hit and he instantly had a bitter taste in his mouth. It was no wonder that when he called for the door to be opened, that terrifying lieutenant colonel had appeared. Zhang Chao originally thought that as an individual at the peak stage of Qi-Jin, he would be able to easily take down a bunch of normal soldiers on duty. He didn't think that Lingtian was such an oddball of a clan to send a leader to guard the door. This basically was the hardest wall he could have bumped into.
As everyone entered the camping grounds, the door slowly closed behind them. Xie Yi originally wanted to stay and continue to guard the door, but Luo Chao stopped him from doing so. She gestured for him to follow them and leave the door guarding to her instead.
There would definitely be a fight among powerful individuals soon afterwards. A person like her, who was only at the refinement stage, wouldn't be able to do anything anyways if she followed them so she might as well take Xie Yi's place and guard the door.
Xie Yi agreed with her suggestion and followed with the crowd.
After entering Lingtian's camping grounds and walking for a short while, Yu Wei and Lin Yang didn't see a single soldier moving about. It was as though the entire camping grounds only had them in it. The serene silence made the temperature around them feel oddly cold.
Lin Yang didn't see what he wanted to see so he could only focus his attention on the two major generals leading them at the front. These two people had the highest ranks in Lingtian, so their positions must be the highest two as well. He just didn't know who was the regiment commander and who was the deputy.
Lin Yang looked around and saw an honest-looking young colonel so he walked over, got beside him and asked softly, "How do we address the major generals and what positions do they hold in Lingtian?"
He didn't expect that the easy-going major general actually heard his words. He turned around and smiled. "If Regiment Commander Lin wants like to know, I can give you the answer personally."
Lin Yang's face instantly reddened.
The honest looking young man pretended to not hear those words and smiled as he replied loudly, "The person who looks like he's easy-going is our Lingtian Team oi's team leader, Major General Yang Mingzhi. The other one who looks serious is our Lingtian Team 02's team leader, Major General Liu Furong,"
This young man was only a colonel. When he introduced the two major generals, he didn't show much respect with his words. It was as though they were at similar ranks. This surprised and perplexed Lin Yang, Yu Wei and the other regiment commanders. Could it be that Lingtian Mecha Clan didn't have any respect towards military rank? Wouldn't the clan turn chaotic if this kind of behaviour continued?
"Haha, that little honest looking fellow is our Lingtian Team 03's leader, Qi Long. Don't be fooled by him." Yang Mingzhi didn't care about Qi Long's attitude. However, after being influenced by Lingtian's habits of making fun of their comrades, he definitely wouldn't let Qi Long get off easily so he spoke out his identity which surprised everyone again.
Everyone there was very aware that in the ranks of mecha teams, especially the first three, were usually highest ranked individuals in the clan. They didn't think that such an honest looking and young colonel was actually such a top tier existence. It was no wonder he was so casual when he introduced the two major generals.
However, the problem was that the positions within a clan were usually correspond to military ranks, and there were many senior colonels from Lingtian walking along with them so how could a colonel be positioned above that many senior colonels and become one of the top three individuals of the mecha clan?
When Lin Yang heard that these two major generals were actually not the regiment commander he had previously thought and were only team leaders of two teams, he was instantly stunned. He couldn't fathom who could rein in two major generals to be team leaders. It seemed that the person's rank wouldn't be lower than the rank of major general… If that person was a major general, Lingtian would then have three major general ranked individuals in their clan.
Even the highest caliber of titled super mecha clans at first rank five stars would only have this many major generals. How could such a newly advanced titled super mecha clan be equipped with such individuals? Lin Yang began to think deeply when he thought about the information they had gathered about Lingtian before they had arrived. Lin Yang thought that maybe it was just false information sent to them by the military. In reality, Lingtian Mecha Clan was actually categorized as a top-class titled super mecha clan?
Not only did Lin Yang think of it this way, Yu Wei also had the same thought. He thought of the 'training' Major General Yang had spoke of and asked, "Do you mind if we take a look at your clan's training?"
A clan's real capabilities wasn't determined by the capabilities of the leaders. Instead, to determined it required one to look at the mecha operators and logistics personnel. Thus, only by going to the training grounds would they be able to determine Lingtian's depth.
All of the regiment commanders were all suddenly excited at the question. They wanted to know just how this mysterious Lingtian Mecha Clan trained their men.
"Alright. We have 10 training grounds. Each one is different. We'll just walk and look as we go."
Yang Mingzhi was nonchalant about revealing their training regimen. Every one of their training grounds were considered to be hellish and it was just only some parts of the training regimen were altered based on the individuals. Even so, if there wasn't Department Head Li's medicinal agents and the medical teams standing by, these people from other clans would instantly face life-threatening problems if they tried it, making it useless even if they were to secretly learn it.
Chapter 1096 Over the Top?
Everyone talked as they walked so the atmosphere was relatively nice. However, Lin Yang, Yu Wei and the others still couldn't find any relevant information about Lingtian. Despite half of these leaders being very young, their way of dealing with people were impervious to their haggling, rendering them dry of any chance to get information on them.
Finally, they arrived at a training ground but before they could even walk close to it, they heard strings of ruthless insults entering their ears.
"Heh, our training instructor today has a bit of hot temper," Yang Mingzhi said with a helpless expression on his face.
After hearing those words, every leader and department head from Lingtian did the same thing. They all loosened their expressions. They definitely couldn't allow outsiders to know that it was actually the same everyday. When it was their turns to be the instructor, they would also become demons from hell and torture their soldiers to the death.
Of course, to the outside world, they must continue to uphold a good image. This was to stop their allies from thinking they were all savages.
Surprisingly, Yu Wei, Lin Yang and the others didn't care much about the way the instructor was handling the soldiers. If a training instructor wasn't somewhat strict, they wouldn't be able to train tough and obedient soldiers. As regiment commanders, they all understood this idea very clearly.
Everyone slowly walked to the training ground's door. They saw a group of beautiful and elegant female soldiers who had weights on their backs and were trying their best to get past different obstacles. They were crawling, rolling, and jumping on walls. When doing so, their movements were agile and quick. Their speed and agility were actually not any worse than mecha operators who from the other clans.
Right as these regiment commanders and leaders were surprised that these female soldiers also trained so extremely, they saw a male senior colonel following behind them angrily shouting, "Did you people not eat today? Why are you running this slow! Run f*cking faster!"
1 run
However, the female soldiers seemed to have already reached their body's absolute limit. No matter how many times the instructor yelled at them, their speed still didn't increase. This seemingly angered the instructor and a short whip appeared in his hand as he lashed it towards the female soldiers. One unlucky female soldier's shoulder was struck ruthlessly. That female soldier groaned with an agonizing expression on her face.
This action made the regiment commanders and leaders visiting Lingtian have an instant change in expression. Although their training was very strict, it was still at most just insults. They wouldn't actually beat up their soldiers. They didn't think Lingtian's training was actually so merciless that they would even lay a hand on female soldiers.
The female soldier leading the group seemed to feel that they couldn't continue at their current speed, so she increased her speed slightly. The female soldiers following her also increased their speeds… faster than their original limits. Soon after that, they seemed to have depleted all of their energy and few had started to fall behind the group.
However even so, they were still running forwards while ignoring the immense pain and fatigue wrecking their body. They didn't dare to stop in their tracks because they knew the result of stopping in the middle of training.
These ladies were clearly slower than before, but the instructor behind them didn't continue to shout or insult them. He also didn't use his short whip to punish them and only followed them slowly, waiting for them to deplete their last amount of energy.
Lin Yang felt that the instructor's contradictory behavior was somewhat odd. He looked past the female soldiers and saw that inside the training ground, there were a group of medics opening their medicine box and seemingly preparing syringes.
It seemed that despite the instructors in Lingtian being very merciless, they still had an adequate amount of medical strength to ensure these female soldiers wouldn't be in too much pain afterwards.
Finally, the first female soldier fell to the ground.
In the next second, a medic appeared beside her. He held a syringe in his hand and injected it into her.
As expected, these medics were responsible for emergency treatment.
However, the next scene completely distorted their judgment. The female soldier, who was injected, now had a pained and twisted expression on her beautiful face. She was writhing in pain and was trying to bang her head ruthlessly on the ground, in an attempt to force herself to faint to get away from the pain.
However, she wasn't given the chance to escape from the pain. The medic, who injected her, held her neck and pushed her down with great force onto the ground.
The female soldier, who couldn't get out of the hold, could only dig into the ground with her fingers while she was in pain. She created countless blood trails while clawing the ground with her fingers. Her fingers were forcibly split open because she used too much force which caused blood to run onto the ground.
"Major General Yang, tha-that's going too over the top," finally, someone couldn't bear to watch and spoke up.
Training was just training. Why torment people like this?
"This is just something weaklings need to get past," Yang Mingzhi replied plainly.
Ever since their regiment commander had agreed for the JMCs to join the day training, he knew his regiment commander wanted to create a strong clan without any weaknesses. Although he also felt sympathy for the terrible situation the female soldiers were put under, what could he do? Even a female soldier needed to be able to follow in their footsteps. Otherwise, what waited for them was elimination, but he trusted that these female soldiers didn't want that to happen either.
"Isn't this just punishment? This is completely inhumane." One of the regiment commanders questioned their method. Many regiment commanders and leaders, who looked down on Lingtian's actions just now, all began to speak out their opinions and thoughts.
"Inhumane, you say?" Yang Mingzhi asked as he smiled. "Alright, you guys can ask those female soldiers if they're willing to leave Lingtian." Although the pain from the medicinal agents made them hate it, the good they acquire afterwards made them love it greatly as well. It was a love-hate relationship. Yang Mingzhi trusted that the female soldiers, who had participated in day training for one week, also knew the good that came with it. As long as they had just a little bit of desire to become strong, they wouldn't reject it no matter how much pain the medicinal agent brought with them.
Hearing this, Lin Yang shot a glance at his subordinate and his subordinate quickly jumped over everyone. In the next second, he landed next to the female soldier who was running in front of the group.
Before he could speak, that female soldier jumped into the air. The female soldiers behind her saw this strange male soldier blocking their way and they instantly shouted, "Move! You bastard!"
Seeing him still standing there stunned, the running female soldiers, who were already tired out of their minds, could no longer hold in their anger. They actually attacked simultaneously with the intention to take out this annoying man in front of them.
Suddenly, sounds of punches and kicks echoed in the air. Lin Yang's subordinate was after all still a leader with the physical skills at the peak stage of Qi-Jin so despite blocking in a hurry, he still managed to block all of the attacks coming from these angry female soldiers.
"Group leader, this guy is difficult to take down!" The female soldier who started the attacks saw the strength of the trouble-making male soldier, so she quickly shouted to the female soldier leading the group.
The female soldier leading the group quickly turned around and pounced towards the male soldier.
A ruthless whirlwind kick was instantly sent towards the back side of the intruding male's head.
Feeling the piercing wind behind his head, Lin Yang's subordinate turned vigilant. He quickly turned around and crossed his arms in front of his face to block the attack from reaching his face.
Boom!
Lin Yang's subordinate stepped backwards by one step to counteract the force behind the kick.
That female soldier however, was sent flying backwards by her opponent's block. She somersaulted in the air, releasing the counter force and landed firmly on the ground.
"You're not part of our clan. Why are you causing trouble here?" The female soldier saw the person's uniform and had a slight hint of confusion in her expression as she coldly questioned him.
Chapter 1097 Something Gone Wrong!
"Second Lieutenant Mei, he is Slaughter Mecha Clan's leader. He's here to visit Lingtian." Seeing the situation turning tense, Han Xuya walked out from the crowd and gave an explanation.
"Department head!" Lady Mei saw that it was her department head, along with the other department heads and mecha team team leaders from Lingtian so she quickly saluted and said, "Good day, leaders and department heads."
After doing all this, Lady Mei turned to Lin Yang's subordinate once again and coldly said, "So, you're here to challenge us?" A leader was actually challenging them JMCs He was really f*cking shameless.
Hearing this, Lin Yang's subordinate's face instantly reddened in embarrassment. He quickly shook his hands and said, "No! I'm not. I just want to ask you, isn't it a bit over the top with the medicinal agent being like a punishment as well?"
"Punishment? Over the top? Are you an idiot?" Lady Mei's gaze was unnerving. This person was completely oblivious about the situation and just jumped out to bring about his own views on fainess. In Lady Mei's eyes, his actions were without a doubt idiotic.
"Plus, are you qualified to ask about our clan's matters?" Lady Mei spat on the ground in front of him. "Move aside, don't disturb our training."
Although this person was clearly much stronger than her, Lady Mei wasn't the least bit afraid of him. Couldn't that person see all of Lingtian's leaders there? If he dared to make any moves, he would be instantly taken down. Plus, they were here to visit. In the military, 'visiting' was the same as challenging them to a battle so Lady Mei would, of course, not treat these people with bad intentions nicely.
Seeing this female second lieutenant giving him such a frustrated expression, this leader who worked under Lin Yang, instantly had annoyed expression on his face. After all, Slaughter Mecha Clan was the strongest clan after Proud Wind Mecha Clan sp in the base, their social status was very high. Soldiers from other clans were very polite towards leaders from their mecha clan so this was the first time he was looked down upon by a soldier and a female one at that, whom he never even considered as an equal… In that moment, he didn't know whether he should leave or continue to try to explain himself.
Seeing the opposition standing still with no intention of moving aside, Lady Mei instantly smiled coldly. "Looks like you actually are here to challenge our JMC department? Although we're the lowest ranked team in Lingtian Mecha Clan, we still won't run in the face of a challenge. Speak. How are we going to fight?"
"JMC? You guys are JMCs?" Almost everyone gasped in surprise. They had thought that these female soldiers were a group of mecha operators, so they had to accept such brutal training in order to make sure they could upkeep their fighting strength. They didn't think that the truth was the complete opposite of what they had thought. These female soldiers were the JMCs who were only responsible for being the eyecandy of their mecha clans…
"Major General Yang, they're JMCs. You guys really don't have to do this…" Yu Wei couldn't help but speak up.
"On the battlefield, anything could happen. If they have the ability to protect themselves, we wouldn't be worried when going into battle." Yang Mingzhi smiled.
However, not everyone agreed with Yang Mingzhi's opinion. Some regiment commanders and leaders believed that if the enemy were to get into their base, that meant that they had all died in battle. Then, no matter how strong these JMCs were, it wouldn't be of any use.
Yang Mingzhi knew very well what everyone was thinking, but he wasn't interested in continuing to explain to them. He pointed towards the leader working under Lin Yang, who was still blocking the female soldiers, and asked, "Regiment Commander Lin, I'm quite curious about something. Does your leader actually want to challenge our JMC department?"
"Why would we do that?" Lin Yang denied it instantly. If a mecha clan's leader were to actually challenge Lingtian's JMCs, he might be looked down upon by all of the clans in the base when he steps out of Lingtian's doors.
"Yaofeng, come back." Lin Yang instantly spoke up and called back his subordinate.
Seeing the person who blocked their way finally leave, Lady Mei saluted towards everyone and continued to lead the group to train. They trained until they were all exhausted and fell to the ground.
Guan Yaofeng walked beside his regiment commander with resentment. Right as he was about to say something, he heard his regiment commander speak out in a tone of disbelief.
"Everyone look, that female soldier…" The female soldier who was originally screaming in pain due to the medicinal agent at the beginning had quieted down.
The medic loosened the hand he put on her neck and whispered something in her ear.
After that, they saw that female soldier raising her head with a sharp look in her eyes with no signs of fear. She nodded and showed a radiant smile. Despite her face being covered in dirt and dust from all the struggling from before which caused her beautiful visage to be destroyed, but her smile was still too bright for their eyes.
When everyone looked at her smile in surprise, she pushed off the ground with both of her hands and flew up into the air. In the next second, she firmly stood on the ground.
"Catch up and continue training!" Seeing the female soldier recovering her energy almost instantly, the instructor did not hesitate and gave an order.
"Yes, sir!" The female soldier saluted him and then quickly ran towards Lady Mei. Instead of running, she just needed a few hops to arrive beside Lady Mei.
This scene made everyone's eyes narrow. Those who were present were all capable, insightful, and experienced experts. They, of course, could tell that this female soldier's capabilities had increased compared to before when she had collapsed.
"Although the whipping seems to be ruthless, it is still a method to train their physical constitution. Our instructors would always choose the ones who require outside forces to push them to their limits…" Yang Mingzhi half-smiled and glanced towards everyone else. When the instructor whipped the female soldiers, the angry and frustrated expression of these people were seen through by Yang Mingzhi.
However, compared to their regiment commander, the others in Lingtian were already very lenient by many levels. They would only choose ways of punishing that made them feel not guilty at the end of each training session. Plus, these females were the beautiful JMCs and were the treasures of every single man in the clan. As their instructor, they didn't dare to go over the top with the punishments. They even had to be careful about administering the punishment because if they punished them too hard, everyone in the clan would turn into their enemies and sliced them up.
"So, that medicinal agent is an actual recovery agent? But why are the side effects so… terrifying," asked one leader.
"Although our recovery agents are good, like other agents, it still had its own weaknesses… Since they want to reap the benefits of the agent, then they must endure all the bads of the agent. Don't you think this is fair?" Yang Mingzhi smiled as he asked.
Yang Mingzhi's words made these regiment commanders think deeply for a moment. They once again looked towards the female soldiers, who were training as if their lives were on the line, and seemed to understand why Lingtian did all this.
Right at that moment, the wall beside them suddenly lit up and an elegant virtual girl appeared on it.
"Emergency! Team 06, Leader Li is currently heavily injured and is on the brink of death. Medical Department Head Li, please immediately head to Training Grounds o7 for emergency treatment."
"What?" Li Shiyu's expression changed instantly. He didn't even think for a moment as he pushed aside those around him and quickly ran towards Training Grounds 07.
"Meng Lan, tell the medic team on duty to immediately rush to Training Grounds 07." Then, Li Shiyu's orders were heard from afar.
"Understood," the elegant virtual girl replied and then vanished in the next second. The wall returned to its original color once again.
Chapter 1098 My Fault!
"Sorry, we will be going to Training Ground 07 first. Department Head Han, we'll leave this place to you." Yang Mingzhi looked at Han Xuya with a serious expression as he spoke.
"Understood." Han Xuya immediately responded.
Yang Mingzhi was too much of a worry-wart. When he went outside to greet the visitors, Big Leader Li was still all good and healthy. How did he manage to get himself in such a bad state in such a short amount of time. Was it because something went wrong with their regiment commander's advancement that lead to Li Lanfeng being severely injured? If that was the case, was their regiment commander alright?
Yang Mingzhi knew that soul of Lingtian that kept everyone together was undoubtedly Ling Lan. If something were to happen to Ling Lan, Lingtian might just fall apart on its own.
"Major General Yang, don't worry about us. Please go ahead," Lin Yang replied seriously.
Despite being possible competitors in Base Nebula, they were still allies in the same military. They wouldn't ignore the big picture just because of their greed for the throne.
After Lin Yang spoke those words, a lot of people from Lingtian instantly vanished from their sight. Lin Yang, Yu Wei and the other regiment commanders all were mildly shocked because they couldn't actually see how they left the scene.
"Department Head Han, if it's possible, please bring us to Training Ground 07 to take a look. Perhaps we may be of help," Lin Yang thought for a moment and asked Han Xuya who was the only person who stayed behind from Lingtian.
Han Xuya was also worried about the situation in Training Ground 07, so she thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but I need to remind everyone. Don't make any sudden moves as that place is a bit troublesome."
After hearing Han Xuya's words, Lin Yang started to think about the meaning behind them. Was she afraid that they would cause trouble? Or was there a deeper meaning behind her words?
When Li Shiyu arrived at Training Ground 07, Yang Mingzhi, Qi Long and the others had already arrived.
At that moment, the secret training room that Ling Lan was using for meditation suddenly opened up. What followed after shocked everyone as Ling Lan carried out bloodied body with her.
Li Shiyu walked up and anxiously asked, "Boss, how is my brother… how is Leader Li doing?"
"I just made him drink a medicinal agent but his condition is still somewhat bad. That's why I called for you to come here," Ling Lan said as she frowned.
She looked at the beauty in her arms with worry in her eyes. She had already helped put his mask back on, but the pale and gray colored face in her mind couldn't be wiped out. This beauty, who silently stayed by her side and allowed her to tease him, seemed to be sprouting wings and becoming a fairy.
She couldn't forget the look Li Lanfeng gave her before fainting. It had the feeling of longing, but more so despair.
"Boss, what actually happened in there?" Li Shiyu quickly examined at Li Lanfeng's body. He discovered that Li Lanfeng's current injuries were similar to Ling Lan's injuries when she was injured from piloting a god-class mecha. None of his muscles were uninjured as all of his muscles had torn. This was the biggest reason why he was drenched in blood.
"When I advanced, my energy was out of control. It's my fault." Ling Lan wasn't someone who would push the blame to others.
"Man, why didn't he leave if it was that dangerous?" Li Shiyu stomped his foot as he cursed at Li Lanfeng for biting off more than he can chew.
"Maybe it's because he misunderstood my orders. All in all, it's my fault." Ling Lan turned around and shouted towards the medics who had already arrived, "Stretcher!"
"Yes, sir!" A stretcher was placed beside them. Ling Lan gently laid down Li Lanfeng on the stretcher and not long after, blood began to soak through the stretcher.
"Take him to my sterile treatment room for surgery immediately." Li Shiyu saw this and knew he couldn't operate on him here, so he immediately ordered his subordinates to take him to his treatment room.
"We'll do it." Qi Long, Xie Yi, Luo Lang and Liu Furong held up each pole-end of the stretcher and then looked each other in the eyes. In the next second, the four of them softly pushed up with the tips of their toes and took off with the stretcher into mid-air.
In order to use the shortest time to get to the medical department, they chose to go by a straight line. However, this route required them to get over countless buildings and obstacles.
"Hey, look up there." At that moment, Han Xuya and the people from the other clans had just arrived. They just so happened to see the four of them holding the stretcher, flying over them and then instantly landing on the roof of a building. At the same time, they also saw the blood-soaked stretcher with blood drops that continued to drip off from it.
"I'll take you there." Seeing Li Shiyu was preparing to follow them, Ling Lan held his back and disappeared in the next second.
Everyone watched as the four of them took off with the stretcher and vanished. Lin Yang then walked up to Yang Mingzhi and asked in concern, "How's the situation of that leader?"
"With Department Head Li there, he'll be fine," Yang Mingzhi stopped his gaze towards the four of them and responded plainly.
"What actually happened?" Lin Yang had a confused expression on his face. "How could he be so severely injured?" Just from looking at the blood-soaked stretcher, he knew that this leader Li was probably on the brink of death.
"Oh, nothing much. It's very normal for these types of injuries to happen when we train with our regiment commander." A team leader from Lingtian turned towards Li Yingjie, who was on the side with a worried expression on his face. He smiled and said, "Isn't that right, Little Leader Li?"
He was looking at him because Little Leader Li also had a similar tragic experience. No one thought Big Leader Li would follow in Little Leader Li's footsteps. Could it be those who had the surname of 'Li' had a weird attraction towards their regiment commander's punishments? That was probably why all the tragedies and troubles fell on their head. This leader unconsciously rubbed his chin as he felt his guess was quite logical.
Li Yingjie awoke from his daze after hearing those words and he looked at that leader in dismay. Ever since he almost died at the hands of Boss during training, these veterans leaders would always tease him about it. He didn't expect that the annoying Li Lanfeng would also go through the same thing. On the bright side, he would not be only one teased by them anymore.
"Yeah, in the past it was our Team 10's team leader, Leader Li Yingjie, who went through the same thing. The one who was injured just now is also called Leader Li. That's why we all refer to that one as Little Leader Li…" Yang Mingzhi pointed towards Li Yingjie and explained to Lin Yang and the others. It was as though injuries like these were run of the mill things and wasn't worth mentioning.
Hearing those words, Lin Yang, Yu Wei and the other regiment commanders instantly felt their heart tighten. What sort of existence was Lingtian? Just how brutal was their regiment commander? It was fine that soldiers were trained strictly, but even leaders who were high-ranking officers might also lose their lives?
"Don't you… think this type of training is inhumane?" Lin Yang hesitated for a moment and then finally spoke out his concern.
"Would the enemy question what is inhumane and what is not on the battlefield?" Yang Mingzhi rebutted with another question.
"Although the training here is brutal, it at the very least still leaves you with your life intact. However, on the battlefield, one mistake would cost you your life." Yang Mingzhi looked up towards the virtual sky created by the base. His eyes showed a hint of agony, "That's a cost that we cannot afford."
Yang Mingzhi's words moved everyone at the scene. Everyone had flashbacks of war scenes before their eyes. Many of their brother-in-arms were forever sleeping on the battlefield and for them, how many of them could actually safely return to their homes after they retire from the battlefield?
Yang Mingzhi organized his thoughts and turned around towards Lin Yang and the other, "I originally wanted to show you around our training grounds as a host should do. However now, something happened, so it is not so convenient for us anymore. Thus, let us get into the main topic for today. We have a total of 21 battle teams. Other than Big Leader Li, who is injured, along with the four leaders who took him to the medical department, the other 16 leaders are all here. You can choose to challenge anyone in either a single battle or group battle."
Chapter 1099 Can't Be Fooled!
Ling Lan's speed was obviously much faster than Qi Long's group of four, as she and Li Shiyu almost instantly arrived at the medical department.
Li Shiyu was prepared to enter the treatment room immediately after he arrived. He then suddenly thought of something and he turned around to ask, "Regiment commander, you advanced successfully?"
Ling Lan nodded. "It is a success.���
Li Shiyu's mouth moved as if he wanted to ask something else but in the end, he didn't ask. Instead, he chose to immediately enter the treatment room and prepare for the surgery.
Ling Lan knew what Li Shiyu wanted to ask, but Ling Lan was also extremely surprised as to why Li Lanfeng would be so severely injured. She couldn't find the reason so she could only put the blame on herself for ordering Li Lanfeng to protect her.
At that moment, Qi Long and the others arrived. Seeing Boss standing in front of the treatment room, they were all surprised. However, in the next second, they were all happy because it meant that their Boss had succeeded in advancing since she came out of the room.
Right as the medics from the medical department prepared everything, they placed Li Lanfeng, who was on the stretcher, onto a cart, then pushed him into the treatment room.
"Leave him to Li Shiyu. You guys go to Leader Yang…" Ling Lan put her hands behind her back with an expressionless look on her face. The bottomless darkness in her eyes had a short flash of icy chill. "One last thing, notify all leaders. From tomorrow onwards, I don't want to hear one word of anyone suspecting the strength of our clan in this base!"
"Yes, regiment commander!" Qi Long and the other three leaders felt their bodies tightening. Finally, their regiment commander decided to reveal Lingtian's terrifying power.
Li Shiyu changed into an attire customly made for surgery and entered the sterile treatment room.
He walked over to the surgery table and saw Li Lanfeng laying there silently with his eyes closed. If it was for the fact that his chest still moved up and down, just from the bloody scene around him, Li Shiyu would suspect that his elder brother might have already left this world.
"Department head, we cannot stop the bleeding from Leader Li's wounds. What should we do now?" Seeing Li Shiyu coming in, the medical assistants shouted out anxiously.
Li Shiyu looked at one area of Li Lanfeng's wounds and then looked all over his body. His expression changed slightly and then he said, "I will be responsible for the surgery now. In order to avoid affecting the surgery, you must all leave the treatment room."
"Yes, sir." The assistants were not surprised by Li Shiyu's orders. It was because for the recent past surgeries, only the two now department heads, Luo Chao and Han Xuya, could follow his speed. Not only were the assistants not of any help, they could even create more problems with their slow speed. Now that the two department heads were no longer here, it could only be their Department Head Li doing it all by himself.
Not long after, the assistants left the treatment room. Li Shiyu slowly put on surgical gloves and said calmly, "I know you're awake. You can't fool a military doctor like me."
After Li Shiyu said those words, Li Lanfeng's eyes slowly opened. "Why would you expose me like that?"
"I just want to know why you did this? Is it fun making everyone worried?" Li Shiyu asked angrily.
When he saw Li Lanfeng being carried out by Boss while drenched in blood in Training Ground 07, his heart almost stopped beating. He actually thought the elder cousin brother he admired had left his world.
In reality, Li Lanfeng's own self-healing capabilities were not completely destroyed unlike Boss's and when compared to Boss's injuries, the severeness of his injuries paled in comparison. Additionally, Boss made him drink one vial of the second generation Nuwa agent so as long as he had even one breath left, he would be able to come back from the gates of hell
Li Lanfeng's seemingly brutal wounds had healed long ago. It was just that Li Lanfeng was intentionally tearing them open continuously. This was what caused his blood to continue to come out of his body. Everything that happened, happened because Li Lanfeng wanted it to.
Li Shiyu didn't expect that his terrors and worries were all for nothing. All of this was just a show his elder cousin brother put on. This made Li Shiyu feel like he's been played with which lead him to be angry with Li Lanfeng.
Li Lanfeng's expression was unchanging throughout the rant. He shut his lips as if to show he didn't want to explain to Li Shiyu.
"Elder Brother, what actually happened in that room?" Seeing Li Lanfeng behave like this, Li Shiyu angrily pulled Li Lanfeng upright which caused the mask to fall off his face. The reason it fell off so easily was because when Ling Lan put Li Lanfeng's mask on for him, she only softly put it on and thus, the curtains dropped, revealing Li Lanfeng's otherworldly beauty.
"The mask…" Li Shiyu saw the mask on the floor and thought of something. Ling Lan said something about it being her fault. Li Shiyu's expression immediately changed. "Did regiment commander do something to you?"
"No, our Boss isn't like that…" Li Shiyu felt that his mind was messed up. "He already has Luo Chao… That's not possible. Impossible."
"Not only Luo Chao, but also Han Xuya right?" Li Lanfeng's words seemed to be directed at Li Shiyu, but more so it was to remind himself.
"Yeah. Boss already has two fiancées, even if… he should be finding Luo Chao and Han Xuya," said Li Shiyu as he looked at Li Lanfeng with an uncertain expression. There wasn't any way to avoid this. His elder cousin brother's beauty was too abnormal. If it wasn't for the fact that Li Shiyu himself had gotten used to Li Lanfeng's beauty at a young age, he might also have bad thoughts when faced with such a beauty.
However, Li Shiyu quickly put his thoughts behind him. Boss Ling Lan's willpower was the strongest out of everyone he had met. Plus, Boss already known about his elder cousin brother's looks so if she was interested in it, she would have done something long ago. Why would she suddenly make a move on his elder cousin brother today? Could it actually be because when she advanced to the imperial realm, she accidentally wounded his elder cousin brother?
After remembering Ling Lan's cold as ice attitude that looked at everyone in the same way without caring about beauty between men and women, Li Shiyu believed his second guess was the correct one.
It had to be said that, in Li Shiyu's mind, Ling Lan's image was grand. His mind went off on a weird tangent in the beginning, but after calming down, he quickly returned to the right path.
'Yeah, he already has two fiancée, how could he become enamored by me?' Li Lanfeng thought to himself. A slight bit of downheartedness showed in his eyes and a self-mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Brother, it's only the two of us here now. Tell me. Are these wounds caused by Boss accidentally when he advanced?" Li Shiyu asked in a serious tone.
"It seems you've become smarter." Li Lanfeng sat up and looked at Li Shiyu with a half-smile.
"I was always this smart, okay?" Li Shiyu said while clenching his teeth. Ever since he knew Li Lanfeng was his elder brother Li Mulan, his kind elder brother completely vanished.
"You still didn't tell me why you are pretending to be in so much pain. What are you planning?" Li Shiyu knew that it was impossible for him to win in a conversation with his elder brother. In reality, in Lingtian, other than Boss, he hasn't lost to anyone else other than his elder brother in debating. Thus, he wasn't looking to debate with his elder brother whether he was smart or not.