Chapter 426: The Possibility of Collaboration?
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
Li Lanfeng’s eyesight was very good; he could see how worked up and indignant those people were from here. Li Lanfeng could not help but laugh at their expressions. “It looks like the Thunder King won’t be having an easy time of it for the near future. His subordinates have started to grow some ulterior motives.”
“Hn.” The corners of Ling Lan’s lips quirked. Seeing her opponent in trouble, she was undoubtedly in a good mood, and so deigned to give Li Lanfeng a verbal response.
“This is also a result of him being too overbearing in the past, leaving no room for dissent. So, as soon as he tripped up, the dissatisfaction of all those he had oppressed is breaking out now.” Li Lanfeng was rather gleeful at the other’s misfortune. With a half-smile, he peered at Ling Lan and said, “I had originally thought it would be a long time before I could see the Thunder King so down on his luck. Who would have guessed that that wish would be realized so soon?”
Hearing Li Lanfeng’s somewhat loaded words, Ling Lan cast an assessing glance at him and said with some realisation, “Leopard, you hate the Thunder King?”
Li Lanfeng’s eyes narrowed and he was silent for several seconds before saying with a soft sigh, “Yes, I hate him. Such a proud elite. Both in terms of talent and physique, he is so outstanding that it’s sickening. No matter how hard I work, I’ll never be able to chase up to him …” At this point, Li Lanfeng seemed to lose focus a little. All the reasons he had mentioned were all just surface reasons — Li Lanfeng had no idea how to broach the true reason for his hatred, that seemingly absurd reason that even he could hardly believe in …
Picking up on the displeasure in Li Lanfeng’s tone, Ling Lan thought about how Li Lanfeng had just pushed his body out of the danger zone, and she was instantly filled with understanding. She recalled how she could not help her jealousy in her previous life whenever she saw someone else with a strong and healthy body — back then, she had even cursed the heavens and hated the people around her at times. Why could they possess healthy bodies and spirits while she could only lie there in bed every day, grappling with death?
Perhaps out of sympathy for having shared the same affliction, or perhaps because she could empathize, Ling Lan felt that she could understand Li Lanfeng’s complicated psychological state at this moment. Thus, she patted Li Lanfeng’s shoulder consolingly and said firmly, “I believe that, in a few more years, you will definitely not be weaker than him, and you may even be stronger.”
Ling Lan’s actions and the sincerity and conviction behind her words warmed Li Lanfeng’s heart. This was probably what the books called a bosom friend, right? Someone who would trust him without having a reason to, who would stand unwaveringly by his side no matter what happened … Li Lanfeng felt heat run through his entire body — at this moment, the usual tendrils of cold air emanating from Ling Lan felt so refreshing to Li Lanfeng.
Ling Lan cast a dubious glance at Li Lanfeng, unsure why the other’s ears had suddenly flushed so red. She started thinking back on what she had said — could it be that he had become so moved and excited by her encouragement?
It looked like the leopard was someone who liked to hear kind words of encouragement. She needed to note this down — it might be a good way to spur the leopard forwards in future. Ling Lan stroked her jaw as she thought about this.
Li Lanfeng was still very good at controlling his emotions; he calmed down again very soon. When he saw Ling Lan staring at the Thunder King and stroking her jaw thoughtfully, an idea sparked in his mind. Thinking of the change he had sensed in the Thunder King, he said with confidence, “Rabbit, are you staring at the Thunder King because you’ve also noticed the change in him?”
Thunder King? Ling Lan was just planning how she could heap some tough training on Li Lanfeng in the upcoming period of time to raise his physical constitution even more as much as possible when she registered what Li Lanfeng asked, and her heart clenched in shock … cough, cough, always thinking about how she could torture her friends — it was rather inhumane of her no matter how she looked at it!
Ling Lan was afraid her dark intentions would be discovered by Li Lanfeng, so she quickly gathered up her thoughts. Switching tracks smoothly into Li Lanfeng’s topic, she replied, “Hn, compared to three days ago, he is indeed a little different now.”
Since the topic of conversation had turned to the Thunder King, Ling Lan began to seriously recall some of the things which had happened during the fight with him. A new idea suddenly appeared in her mind; eyes glittering, Ling Lan asked Li Lanfeng seriously, “Leopard, setting aside your subjective opinions for now, objectively speaking, what is Qiao Ting like?”
Li Lanfeng frowned at her question, not really willing to answer it. However, since his rabbit had asked, no matter how much he disliked to do so, he would answer the question seriously.
“Qiao Ting was extremely forceful and overbearing in the past. Always determined to do things his way, he was rather lacking in leadership ability. The creed he lived by was the survival of the fittest, where strength determines everything, so the strong should rule. Ever since he became the regiment commander of Leiting, Leiting’s power structure has basically been distributed according to strength. It should be said that this is another version of fairness and justice … but an excellent faction should not look at pure strength alone.” At this point, Li Lanfeng paused for a moment before continuing, “If we only consider strength, Leiting is the indisputable number one faction in the military academy. However, in terms of clan battles, whether it is the second faction Tianji or the third faction Wuji, who I used to be part of, those other two factions are all a little better than Leiting at clan battles. Unfortunately …”
“Unfortunately. Tianji and Wuji are both lacking a Thunder King!” Ling Lan finished his sentence.
“Yes, we did not lose to the Leiting Mecha Clan but to Thunder King Qiao Ting,” said Li Lanfeng, nodding with a bitter smile. Teamwork was indeed very important for a clan, but before absolute strength, even the strongest clan could only submit. Qiao Ting, who was forever a level higher than the others, was an obstacle which no faction had ever been able to overcome. ” Thus, he was called Thunder King, and not just because he’s from Leiting 1 .”
“No matter which faction the Thunder King was in, he would have been given the title of a king. If it had not been Thunder King, it would have been Sky King or Earth King.” Ling Lan acknowledged Qiao Ting’s strength.
“Yes. It is precisely this kind of brilliant prodigy who people look up to. But sadly, he hasn’t had very good luck.” Li Lanfeng laughed. Looking intently at Ling Lan, he could not hide how proud he felt. “He just had to meet you. He may be a rare talent which only pops up every hundred years or so, but I believe that you must be a peerless aberrant which only emerges every once in ten thousand years.”
Perhaps Li Lanfeng’s gaze was too passionate, for Ling Lan actually felt a little embarrassed. After all, some of her strength could be said to be a product of cheating, while Qiao Ting was the one who had truly fought for every bit of his achievements. Being worshipped by an oblivious good friend like this … wasn’t this just too brazen and shameless?
In fact, Qi Long and the rest also worshipped Ling Lan immensely, but because they had encountered Ling Lan, who already had a strange auntie mentality at that time, while they were so young, Ling Lan felt that she was so much older than these little brats. If she could not handle them, then that would be a horrible disgrace. As such, Ling Lan could accept the idolization of Qi Long and the other children with ease. In contrast, Li Lanfeng had joined her later on, and he had always acted extremely mature and reliable, giving Ling Lan the feeling that he was a peer. Therefore, Li Lanfeng’s worship made Ling Lan feel rather flustered and uncomfortable.
Li Lanfeng did not sense Ling Lan’s shyness — this was all thanks to Ling Lan’s perpetual and unchanging ice-block of a face; almost no emotion could be discerned from it. He retracted his heated gaze and continued on to say, “However, though that Thunder King has superior strength, he also has quite a few weaknesses. His aloof personality and insistence to do things his way makes it impossible for him to work with others well. And on top of that, his wilfulness and methods of oppression to get his own way also lost him the support of a considerable number of regular faction members. The previous few years were all smooth sailing, so the problems between him and those below him were not obvious … but the defeat this time has completely brought out all the hidden conflicts within the clan …”
At this point, Li Lanfeng’s expression turned solemn. “Just now when I saw Qiao Ting, I felt that this defeat may not be a completely bad thing for him. He seems to have learned some tolerance …”
“You are very perceptive …” Ling Lan indicated for Li Lanfeng to look out the window. Li Lanfeng saw that although Qiao Ting was being taunted and provoked by his subordinates, he did not get angry. Instead, Qiao Ting listened calmly with a stony expression. If not for the deep furrow of his brow, one could almost assume there was no confrontation between the two sides. It really seemed like Qiao Ting had learned how to be tolerant.
Li Lanfeng’s brows knitted together at the sight. “As expected, Qiao Ting has grown even more. Who knows how far he’ll go? With such an opponent, it looks like things will be rather troublesome.”
Ling Lan’s lips quirked up at his words. “Isn’t it more interesting this way? Some appropriate pressure can prompt us to improve. Qiao Ting is a good rival.” The Thunder King’s strength may perhaps spur on the growth of Qi Long and the others, including the leopard before her — Li Lanfeng.
“However, before Qiao Ting becomes a troublesome opponent for us, perhaps there is the possibility of a collaboration.” After saying this, Ling Lan stepped away from the window to sit back before her office desk.
Collaboration? Li Lanfeng ran some swift calculations in his head and figured out the deeper meaning behind Ling Lan’s words. “You’re saying that Qiao Ting might leave Leiting to join Lingtian?”
Li Lanfeng’s mood was suddenly horrible, a great sense of danger stabbing him straight in the heart. Could it be that he was going to have yet another rival? Qi Long alone was enough to make him feel suffocated from the pressure, and now Qiao Ting, who was stronger than Qi Long, was going to come? When would he earn the right to stand by his rabbit’s side and truly become Ling Lan’s right hand who could be trusted and depended on?
Ling Lan cast a cold glance at him, and Li Lanfeng shuddered, crushing his wandering thoughts. “How can that be? I only mentioned the possibility of collaboration. Have you forgotten? Three months later, the All-Federation Military Academy Grand Mecha Tournament will be starting. This year, I do not intend to continue remaining as number two.”
The All-Federation Grand Mecha Tournament was held once every three years. As per the First Men’s Military Academy regulations and tradition, the battle team representing the school every time were always members from the number one faction of that year. This had also led to a frustrating consequence. Despite having assembled all the most outstanding talents in the entire Federation, the First Men’s Military Academy’s representative students had only performed on equal ground with the other outstanding students from the other military academies. According to Ling Lan’s intel, the First Men’s Military Academy had already obtained second place for seven consecutive years in the mecha tournament.
“You’re saying that … you want to break past the current faction boundaries and choose the strongest few students from every specialization in our academy as representatives?” Ling Lan’s words made Li Lanfeng’s eyes light up. If this move of Ling Lan’s succeeded, then it would definitely be a great pioneering achievement for the First Men’s Military Academy.
“Yes, since we’re representing the academy as a whole, then why should only members from one faction be representatives? This is unfair for those exceptional students belonging to other factions. They have the right to shine as well in the grand mecha tournament.”
“The administrators of the academy had originally intended for Qiao Ting to win first place in the mecha tournament. If they know your plans, they will definitely support it fully,” said Li Lanfeng with a smile.
“I’m not doing this for them, but because I want everyone in the Federation to know that the strongest military academy is our First Men’s Military Academy!” A glint of ambition shone in Ling Lan’s eyes. Those rules which she disliked … she shall destroy them personally!