Chapter 442: Opening Ceremony!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
When Old Cao’s assistant heard this, he instantly said happily, ” Overseer 1 , if that bunch of brats know your intentions, they’ll definitely be over the moon. Luo Chao was almost ruined this time, and those stinky brats almost exploded from the anger. They’ve long been howling that we should show the Second Men’s Military Academy what’s what.”
Old Cao smiled at his words, nodded and said, “That’s what our students should be like. If they can’t protect their own brothers and sisters, then what use do they have for becoming strong?”
While this side was planning to deceive and trip up the Second Men’s Military Academy, on the Third Men’s Military Academy’s side, Old Wu was asking his assistant, “Ah Qi, tell me, what do you think the First Co-ed Military Academy is planning?”
His assistant Ah Qi replied, “On the surface, they seem like they intend to collaborate with us. Like us, they seem to have some beef with the Second Men’s Military Academy. But after Faculty Head Zhou of the Second Men’s Military Academy said what he said, Overseer Cao seemed to have retreated.”
“Retreated?” Old Wu frowned. “That fellow Cao Yongyu … although he looks like a really nice guy, very agreeable and open to discussion, we have really never been able to gain any advantage when dealing with him. This kind of person … would he really just give up because of one statement from Zhou Yuanyi?” He did not believe it.
His assistant Ah Qi also became thoughtful. Then, suddenly thinking of something, he said in a low voice, “Sir, last night, I heard some news from the grapevine. Perhaps it has something to do with this …”
Old Wu’s eyes lit up and he quickly motioned for Ah Qi to elaborate.
“The team leader of the Second Men’s Military Academy clashed with the First Men’s Military Academy all because of a girl. And that girl is from the First Co-ed Military Academy, a Starship Navigation prodigy whom they are specially cultivating …”
Old Wu was surprised. He had thought that the Second Men’s Military Academy and the First Men’s Military Academy had clashed in the marketplace because they just could not see eye to eye. Unexpectedly, there was this extra element to it … Old Wu suddenly laughed and said, “So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is. Looks like our chance has come. Watch them closely. Once the results for the earlier competitions are out, we can study the situation better and decide who we should choose as our final partners to work with. It’s about time for the perennial fourth place to move up a little.” A flash of ambition coursed through Old Wu’s eyes.
At this moment, Ling Lan and the rest had already arrived at the main venue, completely oblivious to the dark currents surging behind them. They were nervously lining up to enter the venue — as the last participating group to take the stage, everyone could take pride in this honour they had been given.
Qiao Ting accepted the school flag which had been prepared by the staff members, gripping it firmly. This school flag which represented the military academy he came from … he had looked at it for five years, and he had never ever felt like it had any particular meaning. But here and now, the school flag was actually heavy, giving him a sort of invisible pressure. He suddenly felt that the treasured throne of king of just his military academy, which he had desired for so long, was actually such a trivial thing …
“My world should not be limited to a small military academy. It should encompass the entire Federation, no, the whole universe!” A bright flame rose in Qiao Ting’s eyes. He felt as if he was being remade from the inside out, and the bottleneck of his initially frozen and unmoving peak of advanced level Qi-Jin actually began to show signs of loosening …
Ling Lan sensed the change in Qiao Ting’s condition. She threw a startled glance at the other, thinking that the other was becoming stronger both in terms of force of presence and confidence. She frowned lightly, but the furrow of her brow quickly smoothed out and her eyes soon became tranquil again.
No matter how strong the opponent was, she was not afraid of any challenge!
The pride in Ling Lan’s heart surged and her force of presence began to shake violently. This instantly startled the students who had been caught up in their nervous excitement — the powerful pressure gave them no room to think of anything else. They could only grit their teeth and resist the oppressive pressure with all their might. As they were now putting their full attention on this, their initially stiff movements and restless minds due to their nerves instantly became much more natural and calm.
Qiao Ting sensed the pressure coming from Ling Lan and turned to glance at her. His gaze became even more determined — losing once did not mean losing for a lifetime. He would definitely become stronger than Ling Lan!
The subtle byplay between Qiao Ting’s and Ling Lan’s force of presences was instantly noticed by the spiritually-aberrant Li Lanfeng. He looked at Qiao Ting then looked at Ling Lan, and his gaze turned solemn. Whether it was Qiao Ting, who he viewed as his greatest opponent in this life, or Ling Lan, his most important confidant, they were both constantly improving. In that split second back then, he had felt the two of them becoming even stronger than before.
Sure enough, it was not so easy to alter one’s destiny. He needed to work much harder! Li Lanfeng’s gaze turned cold and he began to silently practise the Qi exercises.
Ever since Ling Lan had told him that as long as he was persistent with his efforts in practising these Qi exercises, his terrible physical constitution would be inherently changed and may even be resolved completely, he had practised the exercises whenever he could. After close to a year of relentless study, he had finally achieved a state where he did not even need to sit down and meditate to circulate his Qi and go through the exercises. Now, he could even practise the Qi exercises while exercising. Although the effects were not as great as when he was meditating, the effects were still noticeable after accumulation over time. Based on his current progress and efficacy, his constitution problem which originally would have required five to six years to resolve may be resolved a year or two faster.
Of course, he had also shared the results of his research with Ling Lan. And as expected, his rabbit was unbelievably aberrant, only taking one month to achieve what he had spent a year to do. At this thought, Li Lanfeng felt both proud and somewhat put out. He was proud of Ling Lan being so outstanding, but put out just thinking of the gap between himself and the other. However, Li Lanfeng’s heart was strong — he was not discouraged by Ling Lan’s aberrant abilities. If he could not compare to the other in terms of talent, then he would use hard work to make up the difference.
Li Lanfeng could never have imagined that Ling Lan had a cheat that allowed her to extend her practice time several times over. As such, whether it was in terms of talent or hard work, Li Lanfeng was doomed to chase after Ling Lan his entire life.
“Boss, retract your force of presence quickly!” Inside Ling Lan’s mindspace, Little Four was panicking. He had not forgotten that Ling Lan’s force of presence was currently extremely unstable — this was also why Qiao Ting had been able to provoke Ling Lan’s force of presence so easily.
Ling Lan, whose force of presence had already reached a critical point, was at risk of losing control at any moment. If his boss’s force of presence was allowed to escalate freely, the possibility of losing control would be infinitely increased — Little Four did not dare to risk it.
Little Four’s words sent a jolt running through Ling Lan’s heart — she too had recalled her problem, so she quickly suppressed her force of presence which was on the verge of rampaging. The team members who had been resisting the pressure with all their might suddenly felt the burden ease, and their bodies became much lighter. They silently breathed a sigh of relief and finally relaxed. Right then, they no longer felt as nervous and tense as they had at the start, becoming much calmer and composed. They glanced at Ling Lan gratefully — they had been able to regain their usual state of mind all thanks to the pressure of Ling Lan’s force of presence. They thought that Ling Lan had been trying to help them.
This was undoubtedly a beautiful misunderstanding. Without her conscious knowledge, Ling Lan had once again made her image become even greater than before.
At this moment, at the rostrum area, Ling Xiao, who was chatting happily with his dear wife Lan Luofeng, suddenly frowned, but his expression was soon relaxed again. Lan Luofeng, who had been peering at the entrance all this time, did not notice Ling Xiao’s shift in expressions. She was extraordinarily excited; tugging on Ling Xiao’s sleeve, she kept asking, “Have they come? Have they come?” Why hadn’t she seen any sign of her baby daughter after so long? Where had the First Men’s Military Academy gone? Why weren’t they here yet?
Ling Xiao quickly reassured her. “Soon, soon. The First Men’s Military Academy is typically saved for the last. Now that the other schools have all come out, it should be their turn soon.”
Although Ling Xiao was all smiles, his smile did not reach his eyes. Just now, he had sensed Ling Lan’s force of presence and, powerful as he was, he had instantly sensed something wrong with it. He was very worried and also somewhat crestfallen at the same time — even when his baby daughter was having problems, she still did not want to seek him, her father, out to help her solve her problems. Undoubtedly, he was too incompetent as a father.
“The last to take the stage is the First Men’s Military Academy. The First Men’s Military Academy is one of the strongest military academies in the Federation, with a long history of cultivating countless talents …” Following the appearance of another participating school team, the host of the main venue began to announce the name and background of the next school to take the stage, providing a brief introduction as well.
When Lan Luofeng heard that the First Men’s Military Academy was about to appear, she instantly stood up in excitement. Her sudden move greatly surprised the other special guests. Smiling wryly, Ling Xiao quickly stood up as well to applaud the entrance of the participating team from the First Men’s Military Academy. This move enlightened the surrounding people — General Ling Xiao had graduated from the First Men’s Military Academy. No wonder his wife was so worked up …
Ling Xiao’s follow-up action perfectly explained his wife’s excitement, and the virtual screens on all four sides of the main venue also began displaying the clapping figures of General Ling Xiao and his wife. This worked up the audience, and they began shouting fervently, submerging the entire venue in a sea of cheers.
In the lead, when Qiao Ting saw Ling Xiao standing on the rostrum, he clenched his hands over the staff of the flag he was holding, holding back the excitement in his heart. Ling Xiao was his idol as well as a target he wanted to surpass. In this tournament, he had to perform well and let General Ling Xiao know that he would be the next Ling Xiao.
When Qi Long and the others who knew the truth saw General Ling Xiao and Lan Luofeng, they peeked at their boss in unplanned unison. Subsequently, they instantly felt a subtle drop in the temperature around their boss.
The student representatives of the First Men’s Military Academy saw their senior General Ling Xiao standing and applauding for them and were instantly overwhelmed with emotion. For a moment, the team was at risk of being thrown into disarray — if Ling Lan had not huffed coldly, startling them back to awareness, the boys might have lost control and disgraced themselves despite regaining their calm previously under the pressure of Ling Lan’s force of presence.
Ling Lan managed to rein in the situation with some effort, and then she stared speechlessly at the smiling handsome man who was applauding them passionately. This old man of hers … always unconsciously giving her some trouble.
After that, Ling Lan looked over at the obviously excited Lan Luofeng, and her brain began to ache. Mind you, her mum was the person she most did not know how to handle — if her attitude was just the least bit off in any way, she would instantly be treated to a shower of tears …
Leaving aside Ling Lan’s complicated feelings, after walking once around the stage, they were finally led to the area designated for them by a staff member. Only then did Ling Xiao and Lan Luofeng sit down again. Because of this, the First Men’s Military Academy very quickly drew the envious gazes of countless other cadets around them. That was General Ling Xiao, their idol! Why couldn’t General Ling Xiao be their senior? In their envy, countless cadets could not help crying internally, unbearably indignant.