396 - 401

Chapter 396 - Stepping Stone and That Chicken!

"Gao Jinyun's proposal is very accurate. The 12-man mecha fight is indeed the most advantageous for us. In comparison, the 50-man clan fight is the most disadvantageous because although we have already established our mecha clan, we have never experienced a large-scale mecha fight. I believe that in Mecha World, the most you all would have encountered would have been a 24-man cooperative battle, and many of you would probably only have experienced a 6-12 person mini battle clan mission, right?"

Ling Lan's question received nods from all corners of the room. Indeed, these team leaders' strength was not sufficient for them to participate in large-scale team missions. In this regard, they truly had no experience.

"If Qiao Ting simply needs a victory to wipe away the disgrace Leiting suffered when they lost to us, he should choose the safer option of the 50-man large-scale clan fight. However, as far as I know, Qiao Ting is a very aloof and confident person, perhaps even somewhat arbitrary and wilful. Using this sort of safe method to defeat us, for him, may be a disgrace in and of itself."

At this point, Ling Lan paused, then continued to say, "The reason he has decided to challenge us now is — one, he is indeed afraid we'll use this time to fully develop our clan, and two, their fifth-year division assessment is about to start. Qiao Ting is probably thinking of using this challenge fight before the assessment to carve his name gloriously upon the military academy's historical list of honour ... in order to achieve this objective, Qiao Ting is unlikely to choose even the 24-man battle; he will only choose the 12-man battle which can best showcase individual ability."

After saying all this, Ling Lan did not seem to feel any pressure at all. She nonchalantly tugged at the cuff of her right sleeve, her expression unperturbed as she continued to say, "As for special-class operators, he will not send them. The members who will fight alongside him should all be advanced mecha warriors. This challenge fight is his personal exhibition, and those members are just there as a backdrop to his strength."

Stating this, the corners of Ling Lan's lips curled slightly into a mocking smirk. An enemy who thought highly of himself was in fact the easiest to handle — she had always thought that Qiao Ting might be her greatest enemy and obstacle to dominating the military academy, but now, from the looks of it, he might be the easiest one to handle. Hopefully, after this battle, Qiao Ting would not give up on himself from the shock! It was not easy for Ling Lan to find a rival on par with her — she still wanted to play some more.

"Ah, is he looking down on our Lingtian Mecha Clan?!" Ling Lan's words stirred up everyone present; their faces were flushed with indignant rage, and quite a few actually broke out swearing. If things really turned out as Ling Lan had said, Qiao Ting's decision absolutely meant that they were nothing in Qiao Ting's eyes.

Observing the frothing indignation of the people before her, Ling Lan's eyes closed once more and she showed no intent of saying anything more. Xie Yi, standing to one side, knew that his boss was not interested in explaining things any further, so he quickly stepped in to add on behalf of his boss, "Everyone, have you all paid attention to that bit of gossip recently?"

Xie Yi was unsure why, over the course of this past year, his boss had become more and more reticent. Boss would only communicate with them with his gaze and his actions, but the effect was quite good — the team members could almost always understand what their boss was trying to convey. However, even as team rapport improved, the pressure the team members felt increased accordingly. They just could not tell when they would fall out of favour with the boss ... oh, how uneasy it made them feel.

Xie Yi's words gathered the entire group's attention once more. Right now, Xie Yi was no longer simply a member of Ling Lan's team but also its external relations officer. What Xie Yi said was very often the intent of Ling Lan's battle clan as a whole, so they could not take him lightly.

Just as everyone was confused, uncertain which bit of gossip Xie Yi was referring to, Xie Yi elaborated, "I hear that Qiao Ting has been trying hard to chase the soul singer Li Yinfei recently, but Li Yinfei has made a high-profile announcement that her future partner shall be an indomitable king. Only if one can fulfil that criteria would that person be qualified to pursue her. In order to become a king in Li Yinfei's eyes and be qualified enough to pursue her, Qiao Ting must use exceptional results as proof. He wants to become the king of the academy, and the one stain on his kingly image is precisely our newly established Lingtian Mecha Clan. In order to prove publicly that he is truly the king of the academy, he can only use an overwhelming victory to clear away the shame from his faction's previous defeat. As such, he can only challenge us in the way Boss Lan has explained. Ah, how beauty leads one astray ..." said Xie Yi gleefully with a dramatic sigh, causing many of the seated members to chuckle despite themselves.

Right then, at the bend of the staircase leading up to the second floor, a dark figure was standing within the shadowed recesses of the corner. When he heard what Xie Yi said, his body actually shuddered, but he very quickly stood straight and steady again, as if that brief lapse was all just an illusion.

"Just obsessed with that face? It looks like my speculations are correct. Qiao Ting really is that despicable king ..." A trace of disgust flashed across the black figure's eyes, killing intent right on its tail, but the disgust and killing intent soon dissipated to be replaced by sheer bitterness. What means could he, who was still a special-class operator, have to deal with the other? He was still too weak.

Very soon, the black figure recovered from the mental shock and his gaze became determined once more. He believed that as long as he followed the rabbit's arrangements and continued working hard, he would become strong one day, strong enough to match Qiao Ting's strength. At that time, he would personally end this evil fated bond.

Xie Yi waited for everyone's laughter to subside before continuing to say, "Of course, Qiao Ting has a wonderful plan. Personally put an end to the grudge between us, take the prized throne of the king of the academy and, with this air of majestic authority, sweep right into some army division to gain loads of accolades. And then, riding this momentum, he will rise higher and higher to finally become the veritable king of Mecha World and win the heart of the great beauty Li Yinfei. It cannot be denied that Qiao Ting has an ideal plan in place, and he views our Lingtian Mecha Clan as a solid stepping stone ... However, our Lingtian Mecha Clan is no sandbag which he can push around as he likes 1 ..." At this point, Xie Yi's smile disappeared completely and a trace of iciness could be seen on his face; it actually resembled the cold air of Boss Lan somewhat.

So after following Boss Lan for so long, one would also inherit this special ability of Boss Lan's. Even the ever-smiling Xie Yi could make others feel so cold the moment his expression turned stony ... the group snuck a glance at the frozen face of the person sitting in the main chair, the expressionless Ling Lan, and once again confirmed that Boss Lan was truly unmatched in dominance. Her influential power was just too great.

These words of Xie Yi's finally let everyone understand why Boss Lan would conclude that Qiao Ting would choose the 12-man battle mode when challenging them. Everyone could not help but be filled with admiration. Wu Jiong was the one who felt this most profoundly. His gaze was filled with admiration and respect when he looked at Ling Lan, but it also carried a trace of frustrated disappointment.

The more he spent time with Ling Lan, the more he felt that Ling Lan was unfathomable. After establishing the Lingtian Mecha Clan, Wu Jiong knew very well that though Ling Lan was the first chair in their mecha clan, she actually did not handle anything — the true manager of the Lingtian Mecha Clan was him, Wu Jiong. But when the Leiting Mecha Clan had issued their letter of challenge, filling him with panic, Ling Lan had calmly collected data and intel on Leiting and Qiao Ting. He had completely overlooked some of these news and gossip which had seemed disjointed and unrelated, but Ling Lan had been able to find some clues from all of it, swiftly grasping the key points to determine the possible behaviour of the opponent. Obviously, in terms of gauging the big picture, he was still no match for Ling Lan.

At this thought, Wu Jiong could not help but glance at Gao Jinyun, who had by now resumed his usual humble manner. This person had always been extremely low-key and unobtrusive, so low-key that they had all overlooked him. Yet, despite not actively managing the clan, Boss Lan had been able to see his strengths with just one glance, only choosing him among all the others to speak. This astute vision was equally worthy of Wu Jiong's admiration and envy — in terms of mining talent, he was also no match for Boss Ling Lan.

Wu Jiong could see very clearly that the interaction between Ling Lan and Gao Jinyun had not been a pre-planned thing. The pleasant surprise and excitement on Gao Jinyun's face could not have been faked. Unless Gao Jinyun was a natural actor whose acting skills had already achieved flawless perfection, there was no way his reaction could be that real.

His father had spoken truly — following an exceptional person would indeed let him learn many things he never knew before, and come to recognise weaknesses he had not noticed in himself previously ... but, father, when someone was so strong that one could only look up at them, how could he find the courage to oppose the other? Wu Jiong could not help but smile wryly ...

The Lingtian Mecha Clan came to a consensus; they could only wait to see what Qiao Ting would do now. As expected, Qiao Ting did not give the Lingtian Mecha Clan too much time to prepare. The very next day, the Lingtian Mecha Clan had already received a notification from the academy mainframe. It was truly as Ling Lan had predicted. The Leiting Mecha Clan had chosen the 12-man mecha challenge fight, and the leader of the representative team was Qiao Ting.

At the bottom of the notification from the mainframe was a reminder for the Lingtian Mecha Clan and the Leiting Mecha Clan to make sure and submit the official name list of their participating members to the mainframe three days later.

In reality, when Ling Lan had judged that Qiao Ting would choose the 12-man challenge fight, she had already had a name list in mind. However, she had not announced the list because, for one, she wanted to wait and see if she had missed anything. And secondly, she also did not want Leiting to somehow find out about this list and make some adjustment specifically countering it.

Since Qiao Ting was planning to use the Lingtian Mecha Clan as his stepping stone to crowning himself king, then he should not blame her for planning to use the Leiting Mecha Clan as her mecha clan's 'chicken' in a lesson to strike fear into the 'monkeys' of the military academy 1 .

********

In the headquarters of the Leiting Mecha Clan, Qiao Ting seemed to be waiting for something. Finally, someone rushed in from outside. Seeing this person appear, Qiao Ting's initially tense expression eased slightly.

"Did you manage to get the participating name list of the Lingtian Mecha Clan?" asked one of the people standing beside Qiao Ting hurriedly. As a confidant of Qiao Ting's, he knew very well what Qiao Ting wanted to know most right now.

"No, the name list is being held by their regiment commander. Even the team leaders below are not sure who will be fighting in the end. But what we can confirm is that all of the regiment commanders will be participating, and the remaining few slots should be selected from among the various team leaders." The newcomer wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He had not been able to obtain the true name list even after using about three days' time. This made him feel rather timid, worried whether his regiment commander would blame him for this.

1. 不是一根软骨头,想啃就能啃: The original here is actually 'not a piece of cartilage (soft bone) to chew on as one likes'.

2. This is a play on the saying explained before in previous chapters. 'slaughter a chicken to strike fear into the monkeys', i.e. making an example out of someone. I would have taken it out and put something more natural and less awkward here, but unfortunately the title only makes sense if this stays. orz

Chapter 397 - Choosing A Mentor!

Qiao Ting could not help but frown at these words. It looked like the Lingtian Mecha Clan was on guard against spies after their name list.

However, Qiao Ting's brow soon smoothed out again. For the Lingtian Mecha Clan to place so much importance on their name list, so afraid that it would be leaked ... that was a sign of low confidence; this was a good thing. Moreover, even if he did not know the contents of the opponent's name list, as long as he was here, even if all the members he brought with him were intermediate mecha warriors, victory would still belong to the Leiting Mecha Clan. It looked like this match just meant way too much to him, causing him to be somewhat unsettled.

Seeing that the regiment commander was not angry, the newcomer instantly relaxed. He quickly took out a chip and hand handed it over, saying, "This is the intel we've managed to gather on the various regiment commanders and team leaders of the Lingtian Mecha Clan over the past few days. The ones marked with red dots are those we reckon could be on the representative name list."

Someone beside Qiao Ting quickly reached out to take the chip and then handed it respectfully to Qiao Ting. Qiao Ting accepted the chip and aligned it with his communicator to scan it, thus copying over all the contents of the data chip.

Soon, from Qiao Ting's communicator, a virtual screen sprang out before Qiao Ting's face, and the information contained in the chip was fully displayed on the screen.

The first name on the list was Ling Lan. However, all aspects after Ling Lan's name were filled with question marks 1 — in the end, as the final conclusion, there was only one hypothesis, speculating that the other might be an advanced mecha warrior, or maybe even a special-class operator.

"This is the intel you all have gathered?" Looking at the page full of question marks, and that unverified speculation, Qiao Ting's face turned dark as he snapped out the question.

The newcomer wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and hurried to explain, "Regiment Commander, it's like this. The first regiment commander of the Lingtian Mecha Clan has always acted on his own. Our people have no way of obtaining any accurate information on him from others. However, we still managed to get some detailed info on the other regiment commanders and team leaders. Our hypothesis is also based on the other regiment commanders and team leaders, so there is a certain factual basis for it."

Qiao Ting sniffed coldly before looking down at the intel again. Sure enough, other than Ling Lan, there were more or less some concrete stats for the other members. Hence, he set aside his dissatisfaction and began perusing the information intently.

Right after Ling Lan was information on the three regiment commanders, Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie, and Qi Long. The data compiled was fairly specific — their personality, attack specializations, etcetera were all listed out one by one. This included their mecha level, which was stated clearly as advanced mecha warrior. Of course, exactly which stage of the advanced mecha warrior level they were at was unable to be determined since the intel people had never fought them personally before.

Looking at this list, Qiao Ting was extremely satisfied. All the regiment commanders of the Lingtian Mecha Clan were advanced mecha warriors, and a majority of the sixteen team leaders under them were also advanced mecha warriors, with only four or five being intermediate mecha warriors — these numbers were completely incomparable with those of the Leiting Mecha Clan. This revenge fight would undoubtedly be Leiting's triumph.

However, this name list equally startled Qiao Ting. After all, the regiment commanders and team leaders of the Lingtian Mecha Clan were all still cadets who had just entered their second academic year. For them to be able to advance to advanced mecha warrior level at this age meant that they were absolutely prodigious characters with abnormal mecha piloting talent. What's more frightening is the fact that the Lingtian Mecha Clan had not just one or two, but a whole bunch of them ... Hells, who would have expected the Central Scout Academy of Doha which had been quiescent these many years to actually produce such a mass burst of talent this year, producing so many geniuses in one go.

If the Lingtian Mecha Clan was given a little more time, perhaps the Leiting Mecha Clan would really be no match for them anymore. Qiao Ting secretly rejoiced, even more determined in his heart to utterly crush the Lingtian Mecha Clan in this revenge match ...

"Looks like, it is necessary to add on some wagers!" Qiao Ting finally realised personally why his vice regiment commander had decided to risk that wager back then for these people. In order to utterly eliminate the threat to the Leiting Mecha Clan's claim to supremacy, they could only completely absorb the other party into their ranks.

"Aside from this regiment commander of the Lingtian Mecha Clan being somewhat problematic, the others are all nothing to worry about." Qiao Ting's initially stern face finally cracked a smile — it looked like he had indeed been worrying too much.

"Just send the original name list as planned!" Qiao Ting finally made his decision. At his order, his confidant beside him immediately sent the pre-set name list over to the mainframe.

"Even if everyone participating are advanced mecha warriors, those I've chosen for our side are all advanced mecha warriors at the peak stage, just one step away from entering special-class operator level. Lingtian Mecha Clan ... even without me taking action, my team members will be enough to make you all choke." A smug smile hung on the corners of Qiao Ting's lips.

********

"Boss, Leiting's name list is out." Little Four, who had been closely monitoring all activity of Leiting's side instantly managed to grab a copy of the battle name list Leiting had submitted to the mainframe.

In the middle of researching to decide which mentor she should choose, Ling Lan heard Little Four's cry and a smile appeared on her lips. As expected, Leiting had been unable to hold back. "Let me see."

Little Four immediately displayed the name list in Ling Lan's mindspace. Scanning the name list, Ling Lan nodded. It was as she expected — Qiao Ting truly wanted to emphasize his individual prowess in this revenge match.

"Even though they're all advanced mecha warriors, these operators have already advanced into that level for over 2 years. Whether in terms of mecha controls or battle experience, they outclass our team members by a lot." Little Four instantly gathered all data he could find on everyone on the name list, and he could not help but warn Ling Lan, tone serious.

"With two special-class operators, Li Lanfeng and Zhao Jun, in the lead, even the most experienced advanced mecha warriors will end up as cannon fodder in this battle," said Ling Lan with a cold smirk. "Send over the name list we have settled on now as well then."

Qiao Ting, when you find out that we actually have special-class operators on our name list, will you regret deciding too hastily? A smile tugged at the corners of Ling Lan's lips; she really wanted to see Qiao Ting's face change in colour ...

It turned out that this time, Ling Lan had chosen purely based on ability, without fearing any possible claims of nepotism. She had placed the strongest eight in her own battle clan into the name list, adding on Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie who were both at the late stages of advanced mecha warrior. Aside from the middle stage advanced mecha warrior Ye Xu, the final name on the list was the unexpected Gao Jinyun, who had only just entered advanced mecha warrior level.

The reason why Ling Lan had given up on picking other stronger candidates in favour of Gao Jinyun was that she wanted to see for certain what Gao Jinyun's skills were like in terms of mecha. Gao Jinyun may have passed in terms of strategizing, but his personal level of strength was equally essential — Ling Lan needed to conduct further observation.

Both sides had only sent in their clan's name list at almost the final moment of the time limit. As for when the fight would begin, that was not something they could control. The challenge time would be determined by the mainframe, which would only inform the two parties a week before.

After sending in the name list, Ling Lan stopped worrying about it. As for whether or not the opponent would manage to obtain their name list and figure out even more of their strength before the fight, Ling Lan very shamelessly threw the problem over to Wu Jiong to handle. Ling Lan believed that if she had to personally handle everything herself, that would absolutely be a sign of incompetence (Ling Lan would forever use brilliant methods to disguise her lazy nature).

After setting aside the matter of the challenge fight, Ling Lan once again turned her focus on choosing a mecha piloting mentor. The two months of mecha piloting theory and knowledge class was coming to an end. From next month onwards, the cadets would have to follow a mecha mentor in practical mecha training. And now, an application to request one's choice of mentor laid before Ling Lan.

Yes, the cadets had the right to apply for any mentor they liked — they could choose and order up to three mentor candidates they most wanted to follow for their practical training. However, the application did not mean that they would definitely get the person they wanted. The instructors would also browse through the applications to select the students they wanted to take in as well. If the first-choice instructor refused, the application would automatically appear within the consideration pile for the second-choice instructor. And if the second-choice instructor refused, the application would then move on to the third instructor.

Although it looked like the application process was extremely ideal and fair, it should be known that every instructor had limited student slots. Very often, these instructors would have already filled up all their slots after the first batch of applications. Therefore, the possibility of being selected by one's second or third choice mentor was infinitesimal, unless the first batch of students was truly lacking ... this also resulted in many students missing all three instructors they requested for, only to be saddled with the tragic outcome of being randomly assigned a mentor by the mainframe.

Thus, the cadets attached great importance to the application of mentors. In order to ensure that they managed to follow an instructor with an operation style similar to theirs, the cadets would have already begun studying the various mecha instructors in the academy from the time they first started school. They did not go after the strongest, only aiming for those most suited for themselves ...

At present, Ling Lan had also come to the time to choose a mentor. This troubled Ling Lan greatly, for Ling Lan truly loved close-combat mecha down to her very bones. However, the military academy only had one ace operator mecha instructor specialising in close combat, and this one and only ace operator instructor just so happened to be a master of berserker attack methods, which was the complete opposite of Ling Lan's fine-tuned and delicate style of operation. If she chose this instructor, it was very likely they would butt heads, for any instructor would be unhappy with his own student not learning his style and instead choosing to do things their own way.

Ling Lan involuntarily looked at the number one instructor on the ranking list, Tang Yu. This was an elite mecha operator whom everyone in the academy lauded as a mecha professor. He was undoubtedly one of the strongest mecha instructors in the academy, because he had a thorough comprehension of every type of ace mecha. Even though he was most proficient at long-range attack, his close-combat abilities were also very powerful, and because long-range attack required a great attention to detail, Tang Yu's operation style was extremely meticulous and delicate, belonging to the same category as Ling Lan's style.

"Instructor Tang Yu, eh?" Ling Lan frowned lightly. If Tang Yu had not just finished mentoring Qiao Ting, Ling Lan would not be so troubled. Ling Lan truly did not want to have anything to do with Qiao Ting ...

"Oh, forget it, let's look for someone else." Ling Lan still decided to give up on that option in the end 1 , thinking to just randomly choose another from among the other instructors. After all, she was already learning mecha piloting from Instructor Number Three in the learning space now, so the practical training mentorship in the academy here was not as crucial to her as it was for the other students.

At this time, Little Four who had remained silent all this while could not help but speak up, "Boss, if Instructor Tang Yu is the best one, then why won't you choose him?" Little Four just could not accept his boss learning from a subpar instructor; that would be such a disgrace to his boss.

1. T/C: Hahaha, totally like in a game where the Boss's level is too high.

2. T/C: Aww, I quite like Tang Yu, honestly.

Chapter 398 - The Problem of Dao!

"Thunder King Qiao Ting is Instructor Tang Yu's favoured disciple. If not too long after this, Qiao Ting loses at our hands, Instructor Tang Yu might hold a grudge." In response to Little Four's question, Ling Lan randomly made up an excuse.

"That's impossible! According to the data I gathered, Instructor Tang Yu has never taken in any disciples in the academy. Even Thunder King Qiao Ting is only a normal student of his," argued Little Four, "Besides, Instructor Tang Yu has stated clearly that he hopes to see his students surpass himself, each generation being stronger than the one before it. If you defeat Qiao Ting, Boss, Instructor Tang Yu will only be happy and not angry."

"Is that so ..." Ling Lan once again turned her thoughts to Instructor Tang Yu. If that was the case, applying for Instructor Tang Yu should not be a problem. Although Ling Lan seemed to treat others very coldly, she was actually very respectful of everyone, especially those who had cared for her before. She was afraid that if she really applied for Instructor Tang Yu to be her mentor, and if Tang Yu happened to plead for mercy on Qiao Ting's behalf, though this would not shake her decision, she would still feel some guilt towards Instructor Tang Yu. This was something she did not want to see happen, which was also one of the reasons why she did not want to apply for Instructor Tang Yu.

"Also, Instructor Tang Yu is a mecha operator who daddy really appreciates." Little Four's face was shining — the moment they brought up Ling Xiao, Little Four would become unable to control his emotions; compared to Ling Lan, he seemed even more like a child of Ling Xiao's.

Little Four's words reminded Ling Lan that when her dad had left planet Newline after the battle back then, he had mentioned Instructor Tang Yu, saying that he was a true teacher. From his words, it looked like Ling Xiao was very much in favour of Ling Lan learning from Instructor Tang Yu.

"So father approves of him as well?" Ling Xiao's silly grin filled with indulgent love and affection surfaced involuntarily within Ling Lan's mind. Faced with this kind of doting dad, Ling Lan could not find it in herself to refuse. Sighing softly, she decisively chose Instructor Tang Yu and sent out her application.

Ling Xiao's opinion was really hard for her to refuse. Ling Lan felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to resist that powerful fatherly love of Ling Xiao's. Even when Ling Xiao was not by her side, that full berth of fatherly love would always appear in full force around her. Yep, the traitor Little Four was the culprit behind this. He was constantly whispering by her ear about how good Daddy Ling Xiao was and how it was oh so difficult to forget how good he was ...

At this thought, Ling Lan threw a fierce glare at Little Four. This glare frightened Little Four — who knew what Boss had caught him doing wrong this time? Alright, Little Four had recently been hanging out most of the time in the virtual world; the bad things he had done were truly too many to count, even he did not dare to think too closely about it ...

Having decided on Instructor Tang Yu, Ling Lan did not bother with choosing a second or third-choice mecha mentor. If Tang Yu refused, it did not really make much difference to Ling Lan which mecha instructor was assigned to her. Subsequently, all that was left was to wait for the mainframe's notification to see if her application would be approved by Instructor Tang Yu.

After completing the most pressing task for a second-year student, Ling Lan left the virtual world, returning to her room to rest. However, she had just lain down when a powerful suction force pulled her consciousness into the learning space. By now, Ling Lan was extremely calm in the face of such things. Every time her instructors wanted to see her, they would pull this stunt. The only thing uncertain was who had initiated it this time.

By the time Ling Lan became aware again, her eyes were greeted by a plain of clouds. Looking at the white clouds surrounding her, Ling Lan did not even have to think to know that this was Instructor Number One's place —— Mountain's Peak.

Ling Lan unhurriedly took control of her body and stepped out into the air. Finally, when she caught sight of a square platform below, Ling Lan descended lightly to touch the tips of her feet to the ground before landing firmly without making a sound.

"Recently, are you finding your force of presence harder and harder to control?" Right then, Instructor Number One was seated on a large rock with his back to Ling Lan. Without turning his head, he asked her this question.

"Yes, Instructor Number One." Ling Lan looked at Instructor Number One, who was about three metres away from her, and suddenly sensed a massive wave of pressure pressing down on her. This pressure was much greater than any she had felt before, making her feel as if she could not handle it and was about to be forced to her knees.

But Ling Lan would not submit — she abruptly let out the force of presence within her in one powerful burst, pitting it against the formidable pressure Instructor Number One was plying upon her.

Instructor Number One's pressure was like waves at high tide, each wave heavier than the one before it — Ling Lan's forehead began to bead up with cold sweat, with more and more beads appearing by the moment. Her entire face turned pale and a trickle of blood suddenly flowed down from a corner of her initially tightly sealed lips ... but even so, Ling Lan's body still stood tall and steady with no sign of submitting.

"As expected!" said Instructor Number One all of a sudden. Following this remark, the overwhelming pressure instantly disappeared completely. Taken by surprise, Ling Lan was thrown off-balance by the sudden shift and almost stumbled and fell. Luckily, Ling Lan had nimble reflexes and adjusted quickly — even though her body tilted forwards a little, she still managed to keep her footing.

"Your force of presence is too intractable, willing to break rather than bend ..." said Instructor Number One faintly. His tone carried some trace of emotion, some approval as well as some regret.

"Isn't this good?" Ling Lan's forehead was scrunched up tightly. She could hear the regret in Instructor Number One's tone — it looked like there must be some problem with her force of presence now.

"It's not bad, it's just ... you have forgotten you are a girl ..." said Instructor Number One with a wry smile. If Ling Lan were a boy, this sort of presence would not be a problem at all, but she was a girl. A girl's body was 'yin' in nature, and intractability was a 'yang' trait 1 . This kind of presence which was contrary to the body it inhabited would inevitably cause the inherent nature of the body to reject and resist it. This was also why Ling Lan had found it so difficult recently to control her force of presence, letting it leak out all too often.

"How troublesome." Instructor Number One's explanation caused Ling Lan's frown to deepen. She had never imagined that the reason she was unable to control her force of presence was actually because her body had begun to reject it internally.

Mind you, in the recent past period of time, the reason she had become increasingly untalkative was that she had been putting all her effort into suppressing her body's force of presence. As soon as she started to speak, her aura would fluctuate and even show signs of erupting. At that time, she might very likely injure the companions by her side accidentally, and this was not something Ling Lan was willing to see ...

"At the heart of it, it's still the fault of the Dao you have chosen. You should know that your Dao depends fully on self-exploration. There is no prior experience for you to reference. It's normal for there to be some deviation," Instructor Number One continued to explain.

"I think, Instructor Number One, you must have some way of resolving this." Ling Lan looked at Instructor Number One with steady eyes. Since the other had already diagnosed her problem, then he must have some solution. Ling Lan had the utmost faith in the omnipotent learning space and the omnipotent Instructor Number One.

Seeing the dependency on Ling Lan's face, Instructor Number One could not help but shake his head and smile bitterly in his mind. This Ling Lan was really becoming more and more shameless. Still, he could not ignore this beloved disciple of his. Instructor Number One could not help but feel that Ling Lan had only turned out this way due to them instructors spoiling her ... though Instructor Number One just could not figure out how in the world they had spoiled her to this extent, considering how everyone had obviously been so strict with her.

After a moment of silence, Instructor Number One said, "I do have a plan. There are two choices. The first is for you to give up on the Dao you are walking now, choose some other Dao which suits you and already exists, accept the experience of your predecessors, and thus improve and transform your force of presence. This is the safest and also the easiest way 1 . I suggest you choose this one." Instructor Number One bluntly gave his recommendation.

After hearing all this, Ling Lan brushed off this option without any hesitation. "This, I will not choose." Since she had already decided to walk her own Dao, she had never once thought of giving up halfway.

"You've thought it through? You should know that the second method may very well cause all your previous efforts to go to waste, and it may even cost you your life." When Instructor Number One heard Ling Lan's reply, he immediately appeared right before Ling Lan in the very next second. His cold and piercing eyes stared intently at Ling Lan, as if trying to see for certain whether Ling Lan's heart was as firm and steady as her tone.

Ling Lan did not hesitate to meet Instructor Number One's gaze, declaring resolutely, "Yes. Even if I fail in the end, I will not regret it!" She was indeed very afraid of dying, but she did not want to give up on her beliefs due to this fear. This was the only thing she had learned over these past several years in her second life here.

"Good. Well said!" A glimmer of an approving smile finally appeared upon Instructor Number One's glacial face. "Ling Lan, listen well. The second way is to stay firm and unyielding. Since the two sides are repelling each other, you need to force them closer and make them merge."

"Stay firm and unyielding? Force them close to merge them?" Confusion appeared for the first time in Ling Lan's eyes.

"Just like how fire and water are mutually incompatible, but you will need to make it so that each has some of the other within it," A flippant voice rang out behind Ling Lan, and Ling Lan's initially steady body trembled minutely. The next second, Ling Lan had already turned around, bowed her head, and shouted, "Instructor Number Five, hello!"

Seeing Instructor Number Five appear, Instructor Number One once again dashed back to the top of the large rock, sat down, and closed his eyes, no longer caring about Ling Lan and the uninvited Instructor Number Five.

At the sight, Ling Lan knew that the following task of explaining would be taken over by Instructor Number Five now. She raised the questions she had in her mind, "Can water and fire coexist? I have never seen something like that exist, unless there are other intermediary substances present ..."

"No no no, little Ling Lan, just because you've never seen it before doesn't mean it doesn't exist," said Instructor Number Five, shaking a finger as he replied with a close-eyed smile. Just then, he suddenly turned his head to look up at the empty skies around the cloud layer and shouted, "Number Nine, come out! I know you're there."

Following this cry, Number Nine's cold huff could be heard, and then a pair of ivory white palms suddenly appeared to pry the sky among the clouds apart, revealing a black space. In the next moment, Instructor Number Nine had walked out from the black opening to come and stand before Ling Lan.

"Ling Lan, long time no see." Instructor Number Nine's body was as cold and frigid as Ling Lan remembered, but her gaze could not conceal her affection for Ling Lan. Ling Lan's heart throbbed, and her eyes actually turned slightly red. Ever since Instructor Number Nine had finished instructing Ling Lan in top-level physical skills, she had never again appeared before Ling Lan. If she calculated the time, it had been about three years since they had seen each other — Ling Lan had really missed her.

"Instructor Number Nine, I am really very happy to see you," said Ling Lan respectfully, holding back the emotional upheaval in her heart.

1. This is based on the philosophy of yin and yang, which is often extended to refer to the feminine and the masculine.

2. T/C: Welp, clear flag that this won't be the option Ling Lan chooses. When has Boss Lan ever taken the easy way out? :p

Chapter 399 - Personal Testimony!

"I am also very happy. You are becoming stronger and stronger ..." said Instructor Number Nine approvingly.

Ling Lan was just about to reply when Instructor Number Five coughed loudly. Ling Lan and Instructor Number Nine turned in unplanned unison to glare at him.

Instructor Number Five rubbed his nose guilelessly and said, "I'm only reminding you all that right now, the pressing matter is to first resolve little Ling Lan's force of presence problem. Time waits for no man ..."

At these words, Instructor Number Nine cast a piercing glance at Number Five. Number Five could only wave his hands again and again in response to the rage in her gaze, indicating that he had spoken unnecessarily. Perhaps it was true that every object has its counter — Number Five's perversity made all the other instructors wary, keeping a safe distance from him whenever possible. Even Number One could do nothing to handle Number Five. But Number Nine was not at all afraid of Number Five. She was the only one who could show any signs of temper towards Number Five, but Number Five was helpless against her, never ever having dealt viciously with Number Nine ...

However, Number Five's reminder also let Number Nine know the mission she was called here for. She said to Ling Lan, "Ling Lan, first take a look at my ability."

She had barely finished speaking when five clusters of blue flame appeared on Number Nine's fingers. The flames that should obviously be producing heat, were paradoxically radiating a biting chill.

Ling Lan was startled. She could not help but reach out a hand to try and touch the blue flames on Number Nine's fingers, but she was quickly stopped by a sharp admonishment from Instructor Number Nine. "Don't touch. It will consume any kind of energy, including your spiritual self."

Ling Lan shrunk back, quickly pulling her hand back. Instructor Number Nine was not like Instructor Number Five whose words were always a mixture of truths and lies — if Instructor Number Nine had said so, then it truly meant that these blue flames could indeed do all of that. Consuming any type of energy ... this was really too horrifying.

Seeing that Ling Lan was no longer planning to move, Number Nine continued, "This is my awakened talent. The element I awakened is actually like yours, a water-based element, but a deviation of it. It's just that the talent you awakened was Ice Affinity, while mine was Ice Flames."

"Ice Flames?" Ling Lan was puzzled. She knew that water had three states — gaseous, liquid, and solid. Its solid state was the basis of her variant innate talent series of ice. Its gaseous form typically pointed to steam or fog series of talents, while its liquid state was the water element's most common form in innate talents. However, she had never heard before that the water series of innate talents still had a variant branch called Ice Flames.

"When I first awakened my innate talent, it was not in this form." Seeing the confusion on Ling Lan's face, Number Nine's cold and serious face actually held a trace of a smile. This slight smile lit Number Nine up, making her incomparably bright, which caused Number Five's eyes to flicker with a strange light as well.

"Ah ..." Number Nine's words were completely beyond Ling Lan's expectations; when she had awakened her innate talent Ice Affinity, it had immediately already presented as ice.

In the face of Ling Lan's astonishment, Number Nine did not say anything to explain, only asking Ling Lan to look closely at the blue flames on her fingertips. As Ling Lan watched, those blue flames radiating an intense chill actually began to change in colour, from blue to pale blue to finally become transparent flames. And then, the flames gradually turned yellow, deep yellow, orange, red, deep maroon, and then, they finally turned into pitch-black flames. What shocked Ling Lan even more was how the temperature of the flames changed as their colour changed — from extreme cold, the temperature of the flames rose slowly until they finally became sizzling hot. Especially when they turned black, Ling Lan actually could not resist that heat that seemed as if it could burn away everything. She could not help but take three steps back — only then did she manage to tolerate that pressing heat.

"Instructor Number Nine, what exactly is going on here?" This was definitely not the water element ...

"You can feel it, right? That's right, I actually have two awakened elements. What I awakened was both water and fire, elements that were universally acknowledged as mutually incompatible. From the very beginning after awakening these elements, my instructor judged that I would never become a Domain master, because these two elements I awakened countered each other and could not coexist. If I pushed on and levelled them up, as soon as the two elements clashed within me, my outcome would inevitably be death by combustion ..." Number Nine recalled how she had completely lost all confidence when she had first heard her instructor's judgment back then. If not for Number One, she might no longer exist right now.

Mandora ... the competition was too fierce. If one could not become strong, one could only be eliminated — this was something a high-achiever like her could not abide.

Ling Lan's eyes lit up at her words. "So, Instructor Number Nine, you managed to find the secret to mix fire and water in the end?" Ling Lan knew very well that Instructor Number Nine was a Domain master now.

"Yes. Number One told me that since the heavens have allowed these two opposing innate talents to awaken in one body at the same time, then there must be a way for the two of them to coexist. The heavens would not push a person to despair. No one had managed to do so before only because they had not found the correct method, not because it was impossible. You must understand that existence is reason enough." Number Nine passed on Instructor Number One's words back then to Ling Lan. Though Number Nine's telling of it was hazy and ambiguous, Ling Lan felt an idea spring to mind. Wasn't this the Taoist theory from her past life: the paths of life number fifty; the heavens spawn forty-nine, while man seeks the final one 1 ? This meant that, no matter the circumstances, the realms of chance would forever leave a thread of hope for survival.

Number Nine did not know whether Ling Lan understood her meaning, so she continued to say, "From that time on, I began to research how I could get water and fire, these two mutually incompatible elements, to coexist. In the process, I was hurt many times, almost entering the gates of hell. Until one time, I turned my water element by force into extreme cold air ..."

"Cold air?" Picking up on the strange phrasing, Ling Lan instantly felt that this might be the key point.

Number Nine's eyes revealed her satisfaction at Ling Lan's agile comprehension, forever able to grasp the key points so quickly. With a smile in her eyes, she nodded and said, "That's right. In fact, for water to turn into a gaseous state, there are two ways. One is to use high temperatures to turn it into steam, while the other is to rely on extreme cold to turn water which has already crystallized into ice to vaporize into gas. This type of gas is the 'cold air' I mentioned ..."

Ling Lan naturally understood this point, so she nodded.

Instructor Number Nine saw Ling Lan nod and knew that Ling Lan had indeed understood. And so she went on to say, "After I changed my water element into extreme cold air, I tried inserting that cold air into fire. You should know that when fire burns, it will produce heat, and cold air can compress this heat indefinitely ..."

"Isn't this another contradiction?" asked Ling Lan, frowning.

"Yes. One side is producing heat while the other side is trying to remove the heat. It looks like they cannot coexist, but what if the temperature of the flame turns cold as well?" Number Nine seemed to be interested in assessing Ling Lan's ability to think. She did not state the answer directly, instead throwing the question to Ling Lan.

"Generally speaking, as long as the core heat of the flame is maintained, in theory, the flame would not disappear," replied Ling Lan after some thought. "However, till now, there has been no consensus on how much heat is needed to maintain the flame. Many scientists even suggest that negative temperatures can also maintain a burning flame, but this theory is currently unsubstantiated with actual numbers and is merely an exploratory theory." Ling Lan found the relevant theoretical discussion within her mindspace. As she spoke, her eyes became increasingly brighter, until she cried out joyfully in the end, "Could it be that Instructor Number Nine has truly found that data point where negative temperatures can sustain a burning flame?"

Instructor Number Nine nodded in satisfaction. "Yes. When I tried to lower the temperature of the flame, as soon as the temperature became low, the flame would become weaker and weaker until it finally fizzled out and died. However, I sensed that this might be the way out for me. After six years of repetitive research, I finally managed to turn the flame cold so that it no longer possessed the heat of fire. And when fire turns cold, it means that its friction against water had been reduced to the lowest point. Right after that, I spent another five years' time to finally fuse that water-based cold air into the cold flame. I just did not expect that the successful merging of water and fire would actually turn into Ice Flames capable of consuming every type of energy ... this thing, even I find it a little horrifying." At this point of her narration, Instructor Number Nine could not help but smile wryly.

At first, she had simply wanted to combine water and fire so she could successfully advance to become a Domain master. But by sheer fluke, her merging had resulted in an extremely horrifying killing move, forcing her to think twice every time she wanted to use her innate talent. Because once she used it, this meant a battle to the death with the opponent. Mind you, the moment Ice Flames came into play, there would be no survivors.

"I'm telling you all this just so you know that in this world, there are no absolutes. Just like in the case of your overly intractable aura — even though its trait is directly contrary to the nature of your body, that does not mean that there is no way to resolve this. Perhaps it will be very difficult to achieve a state where body and aura become one, but I believe that as long as you have patience and research meticulously, once you find the common ground between the two, that will be when you will be able to fully resolve this issue." Instructor Number Nine finally divulged her aim. She had shared her personal testimony so that Ling Lan would not be discouraged and become impatient, but seek a solution slowly.

"Thank you, Instructor Number Nine!" Ling Lan was deeply touched, once again thanking Number Nine sincerely. If even the most difficult and incompatible water and fire could coexist, then there should absolutely be no reason why the problem of her body and aura could not be resolved.

"Little Ling Lan, now you understand, right? If you want to walk your own Dao, then you'll need to depend on your own strength to solve this problem. None of us can help you." At this time, Instructor Number Five who had been acting as wallpaper all this while chimed in with a wide grin.

"Many thanks, Instructor Number Five." Ling Lan turned her head to thank Instructor Number Five, but compared to the thanks she had uttered to Number Nine, this one was obviously less heartfelt, almost causing the smile to drop off of Instructor Number Five's face.

"Ling Lan, since you already understand, then go back! Like Number Five said, everything depends on you now." Number Nine saw Number Five's face stiffen, and afraid that he would bear a grudge towards Ling Lan, she quickly urged Ling Lan to leave the learning space. That appearance of guarding one's child made Number Five roll his eyes mentally ... was he truly such a petty person? Eh? It looked like he really was! Sure enough, the one who knew him best was still Lil Sis Number Nine! Number Five stroked his jaw as he smiled pensively.

Seeing Number Five reveal such an eerie smile, Number Nine sensed the danger even more keenly. She absolutely would not allow Ling Lan to once again suffer Number Five's torments. Thus, she decisively shoved Ling Lan, and Ling Lan immediately felt her consciousness blacking out ...

"Little Ling Lan, remember, the key to resolving this is the Dao you choose. Figure it out quickly. What is your Dao exactly?" In a whirl of chaos, Ling Lan seemed to hear Instructor Number Five say this right by her ear. This surprised Ling Lan — when had Instructor Number Five become so kind?

After what seemed like a long time but also seemed like just a blink of an eye, Ling Lan once again regained consciousness. By then, she had already returned to the real world. She glanced down at the time displayed on the communicator on her wrist. Yep, it was still the same time she had left — only 10 seconds had elapsed since she had been whisked away.

1. 大道五十,天衍四九,人遁其一: This phrase killed me. x__x Even now, I'm not sure it's translated correctly. The meaning though is that despite all odds, there will always be some hope of survival.

Chapter 400 - Plan to Create a God!

"Beep beep beep!" Early in the morning, the still asleep Han Yu was suddenly startled awake by the alert ringing from his communicator by his pillow. Eyes closed, he rummaged around his pillow and got his hands around the culprit which had disturbed his sleep. Only then did he open his eyes ...

Seeing a familiar name on the screen, Han Yu sobered up. He quickly sat up and clipped the communicator onto his wrist and pressed the button to connect the call.

Wei Ji's figure appeared on the virtual screen. He was frowning and his expression was extremely grim. "Han Yu, did you know that early this morning, the mainframe announced some news?"

"I slept very late last night because I was preparing the documents needed for enlistment. If you hadn't woken me up, I would still be sleeping!" Han Yu could not help but yawn. Them fifth-year cadets were all busy recently preparing to apply for enlistment, and so were almost completely oblivious to anything happening outside their windows.

"This past year of peace in the academy is coming to an end!" said Wei Ji solemnly.

"What happened?" Wei Ji's expression caused Han Yu's expression to turn serious as well. Han Yu knew very well that, as the vice regiment commander of Wuji, the other would not have come to disturb him so early in the morning unless something big had occurred.

"Leiting has made a move." Wei Ji told Han Yu the news he had learned this morning.

Han Yu reacted immediately. "The Lingtian Mecha Clan? Leiting's revenge match?" It looked like the Leiting Mecha Clan was truly vicious. Taking advantage of this time while the other party had yet to secure stable footing and were still weak to utterly crush the other.

"Yes. The mainframe has announced this news to every student early this morning. The challenge fight will be a week later, starting at 1 p.m. sharp. I think you should have received it too," Wei Ji added.

Han Yu immediately began scrolling through the news on his communicator, and found that half an hour back, he had indeed received an alert from the mainframe. It looked like the academy was also taking this challenge fight extremely seriously, otherwise they would not have issued this school-wide announcement.

"Eh? Leiting has chosen the 12-man small-scale mecha fight? Isn't this obviously giving the Lingtian Mecha Clan a chance?" Han Yu saw the associated details of the challenge fight and could not help but be surprised.

"Look at who is leading the team," Wei Ji reminded.

"Qiao Ting, haha, looks like Qiao Ting has decided to be ruthless. He won't be happy unless he has completely destroyed the Lingtian Mecha Clan," said Han Yu gleefully.

Han Yu also hated the Lingtian Mecha Clan with a passion right now, because Li Lanfeng and Zhao Jun had refused to collaborate with Wuji again at the start of this academic year. After some investigation, he had found that this had something to do with the Lingtian Mecha Clan. Although he could not be sure whether they had really joined the Lingtian Mecha Clan, the very thought of the possibility was enough to incite Han Yu's envy and hatred.

Indeed, Han Yu had cultivated a strategist-type character like Zhou Ya specifically because he wanted to weaken Li Lanfeng's prestige within the Wuji Mecha Clan. He always remembered what the previous regiment commander had said — people not belonging to their own faction were not deserving of trust. However, he had not finished wringing Li Lanfeng of all his worth; he truly could not bear to let such an excellent strategist leave Wuji like this ... at the bottom of it all, Zhou Ya was still a little weaker in comparison.

What made him even angrier was the fact that when Li Lanfeng had withdrawn and left, he had actually taken Zhao Jun with him. This infuriated Han Yu, as he believed that Li Lanfeng had dealt him a blow in secret. It should be known that Zhao Jun was their number one fighter in the Wuji Mecha Clan. Every time they had a conflict with the other factions, Zhao Jun was an indispensable mainstay of their mecha clan ...

Thus, Han Yu hated Li Lanfeng, and this hatred was then extended to the Lingtian Mecha Clan which Li Lanfeng was hanging around so much. If the Leiting Mecha Clan could deal a devastating blow to the Lingtian Mecha Clan, he, Han Yu, would be happy to see it.

Han Yu had thought things through. If the Lingtian Mecha Clan was thoroughly beaten by the Leiting Mecha Clan, he would definitely lead some people to seek out Li Lanfeng and Zhao Jun. Then, with an absolutely haughty and condescending attitude, he would dispense his mercy upon them. However, at that time, their relationship would no longer be that of collaborative partners but of master and servants.

"No matter what the outcome of this match is, it can be predicted that from now on, our academy will be dragged into power disputes among the various major factions once more." The actions of the Leiting Mecha Clan definitely would not stop there. After being a rival of Qiao Ting for four years, Wei Ji was extremely familiar with the other's ambition. If Qiao Ting could make all the factions in the academy submit to his before he applied for enlistment, he would be able to justifiably become the king of the military academy. This would be of great benefit to his future development.

If he had possessed Qiao Ting's current level of strength and ability, with the power of his faction, he, Wei Ji, would have probably found it hard to resist this temptation ...

"We should also make some preparations. Perhaps after a period of time, we too will receive a letter of challenge from Leiting," said Wei Ji with a sigh. Without Zhao Jun around, their confidence was flimsy in going up against Leiting. Mind you, in their mecha fights with Leiting in the past, even though Zhao Jun was a level below Qiao Ting, he was one of the only three people who could withstand more than twenty moves from Qiao Ting. Of the other two, one was the regiment commander of Tianji, while the other was the vice regiment commander of Dwotong. In terms of mecha operation, both he and Han Yu were weaker than these three by a good margin.

"How terrible!" Han Yu had also thought of this. He slammed a vicious fist down on the edge of his bed, his hatred for Li Lanfeng rising once again. "Next week when the challenge fight begins. Don't forget to remind me to go watch it together." Han Yu had to personally witness the downfall of the Lingtian Mecha Clan — only with that would his rage be vented.

Due to Li Lanfeng, the Lingtian Mecha Clan thus became an innocent target for Han Yu to vent his anger.

"Who knows if the Lingtian Mecha Clan will choose to make the fight public? If they choose a closed fight, we won't be able to spectate even if we want to," said Wei Ji with a frown. The numbers of the challenge fight were chosen by the challenger, but the choice for the fight to be opened or closed laid with the side being challenged. Wei Ji was afraid that the Lingtian Mecha Clan would refuse to make the fight public in order to save face. If that happened, they would not be able to spectate the fight.

"I don't think that will be the case this time ..." Han Yu's face was suffused with schadenfreude. "If that were true, why would the academy mainframe go as far as to make a campus-wide announcement? I suspect that the administrators of the academy are also thinking of using this challenge fight to restore the academy's morale. After a year of low spirits within the school, I think those old men are unable to hold back anymore." Han Yu had not been the regiment commander for Wuji for two years in vain — he did have some understanding of certain motives and strategies of the academy administrators.

Wei Ji's gaze lit up at these words. Indeed, the academy mainframe's announcement of the fight was indeed different from how things had been handled previously. It really looked like Han Yu was right — the academy administrators might very well be planning to use this challenge fight to rekindle the aggressive combative atmosphere of the military academy. In that case, they absolutely would not allow this challenge fight to end so quietly and unremarkably.

"The decision is no longer in the hands of the Lingtian Mecha Clan." Wei Ji could not help but lament silently for the Lingtian Mecha Clan — it looked like in order for the academy to regain its liveliness, the academy administrators were going to sacrifice the Lingtian Mecha Clan without any hesitation.

"Qiao Ting ... his luck is amazing!" said Wei Ji, enviously. All conditions were in accord, everything favourable to Qiao Ting had been gathered — if he could not become the king of the military academy under these circumstances, then he would truly be unworthy of the care and attention the academy administrators were lavishing on him.

********

In the principal's office of the First Men's Military Academy, the seldom-seen principal finally appeared in this private office of his. His hair was white as stork feathers and his face was red and rosy, his entire person seeming very kind and friendly. However, his eyes were lively and spirited, and at times would even shine with a keen light. Overall, although the principal was already over 120 years old, he did not look the least bit decrepit.

In this era, following the rise in individual strength and development, the human lifespan had long ago broken past the age barrier 10,000 years ago. Now, living to the age of 200 was a sure thing barring any accidents. Those with superior strength could even live up to 300 years. Although the principal's actual age was already over 120, his body was as strong as that of a 50 to 60-year-old man. Killing a level three demon-beast with his bare hands was still absolutely nothing to him.

Right then, he was looking intently at a proposal submitted by the vice principals and the faculty heads of the school. They were hoping he would approve their proposal and use the principal's authority to declare the challenge fight between the Leiting Mecha Clan and the Lingtian Mecha Clan as an open fight.

After perusing the proposal carefully, the principal said, "With regards to the rights and obligations of the two parties in the challenge fight, the mainframe has already outlined the rules. Unless completely necessary, it's better not to change anything."

The eight people seated on the sofas in the principal's office glanced at one another at the principal's words, and in the end, one of them spoke up to explain, "Principal, it's like this ..." That person spilled their thoughts and suggestions, and ended with, "The cadets now are lacking a pursuable goal. Although General Ling Xiao is the national idol, a legend of our Federation, it is precisely because he is too strong that the cadets cannot convince themselves that they can ever achieve what General Ling Xiao has. Therefore, our academy needs to produce a new idol for them, a new legend closer to the cadets, one who is within reach and who may even make them feel as if, as long as they work hard, they too could reach his level ..."

"The air invasion incident a year ago has still affected our students' morale. We need to make them forget about this and restore the fine tradition of our First Men's Military Academy — the fierce and aggressive competition system!" Another person quickly chimed in in support. "So, this challenge fight is a perfect opportunity. It needs to be open to the entire academy for viewing so that the students' battle spirit and bloodlust will be roused!"

After hearing what they had to say, the principal mused silently for several seconds, then said, "Are you all planning to use this challenge fight to create a legend?"

The group became still, sharing looks. They knew that it was impossible to hide anything before the experienced and astute principal. As such, all of them nodded honestly, confirming the principal's speculations.

"The person you all have chosen is Qiao Ting?" A glimmer of light flashed past the principal's eyes.

The principal's words received nods from around the room once more. Qiao Ting was originally already the only fourth-year cadet who had managed to advance to ace operator level — it was clear to see that the other's skill in mecha operation was abnormally strong. He was known within the school as the second Ling Xiao and had even received the favour of the Third Marshal now — his reputation within the academy was unmatched. As the top person in the academy, who else could they choose if not him?

The principal fell silent once more. Several seconds passed, as if he were analysing the pro and cons of the proposal, and in the end, he nodded and said, "Alright. Since everyone seems to be in agreement, I approve your proposal. I will use my authority as principal to set this match as an open fight. However, I must remind you all. Don't think that everything will turn out as you wish. Man can plan, but it is up to the heavens if those plans bear fruit. There are no absolutes. I hope that when the time comes, you all do not regret your decision this day!"

"Of course not!" they replied, different voices in unison. Overjoyed, they felt right then that the principal was obviously worrying for no good reason. If a newly established mecha clan could defeat a senior mecha clan led by an ace operator — now that would be a true joke!

Seeing that these people were not taking his warning to heart at all, the principal was not angry. Meanwhile, having achieved their objective, the crowd quickly bid farewell to the principal and left his office.

In the end, only the principal was left alone in his spacious office. He sat behind his office desk and lifted that proposal once more to browse through it carefully. Finally, his lips twitched and a snicker escaped him.

This bunch of fools ... actually not taking the time and effort to properly understand the data on the members of the Lingtian Mecha Clan. The regiment commander of the Lingtian Mecha Clan, Ling Lan — that son of Ling Xiao who filled Ling Xiao's eyes with unconcealed pride ... how could he be mediocre? Knowing Ling Xiao, he knew very well that for Ling Xiao to take so much pride in him, Ling Lan's strength must not be simple. Ling Lan may even already be among the ranks of the ace operators. Would someone as aberrant as this be so easily defeated?

His subordinates' plan to create a god ... heaven knows who the created god would be in the end?

The principal walked over to the window to look out over the entire academy below. A slight smile pulled involuntarily at the corner of his lips.

The First Men's Military Academy may become very interesting! Oh, Ling Xiao, who could have guessed that time would pass so quickly. The time has actually come for your son to show off his talent ... I hope he will not disappoint us!

Chapter 401 - Honest Confrontation!

In a blur, three more days passed. In another three days, it would come time for the battle between the Lingtian Mecha Clan and the Leiting Mecha Clan.

Everyone thought that Lingtian would definitely seize the time left to practise their mecha clan's teamwork, but found instead that all the regiment commanders and team leaders of the Lingtian Mecha Clan, including Ling Lan, acted just as before, attending classes like normal. It was as if they were not at all worried about the coming grand battle that would determine whether their mecha clan lived or died.

This behaviour of the Lingtian Mecha Clan puzzled all the other major factions greatly. Even Qiao Ting was unable to figure out what the Lingtian Mecha Clan was plotting with this.

Frankly, Ling Lan had not assembled all the members participating in the battle for team training because she really did not want their participant name list to be exposed prematurely to the Leiting Mecha Clan. However, she did not waste these three days. Whenever Ling Lan was free, she would work with Little Four in her mindspace to simulate the battle between the Lingtian Mecha Clan and the Leiting Mecha Clan.

After three days of repeated simulation, basically all of the formations Qiao Ting could use as well as all the possible flukes and coincidences that could occur on the various members involved had been recorded down. If any of these situations appeared in battle, Ling Lan would have a countermeasure at hand.

Of course, Ling Lan did not believe that her battle team would be any weaker than the team Qiao Ting was sending. However, in order to guarantee victory, she still made sure she was fully prepared. Ling Lan knew very well that, in a fight, there were just too many factors that could change the course of the battle. Ling Lan did not want to lose this match because she had overlooked any of these factors. Since the members of the Lingtian Mecha Clan had chosen to put their faith in her, then she must lead the Lingtian Mecha Clan to the summit — only then would she live up to this heavy burden of trust.

On this day, Ling Lan still went to school on time. She had long made the decision that she would only gather the participating members on the last day before the battle and hold their one and only teamwork practice then. Ling Lan was so bold because she believed that these people she had chosen were all talented prodigies in mecha control — just one practice would be enough.

The morning's theory classes were soon over. Following the end of class, lunch time arrived. When the bell signalling the end of class rang, the students respectfully bid farewell to their instructor and then some of the starving students rushed out ahead of the pack ...

"Boss Lan, class is over." Seated beside Ling Lan, Luo Lang shifted closer to whisper softly to Ling Lan, even as his hands deftly helped her pack up her things.

Hearing Luo Lang's words, Ling Lan opened her half-closed eyes. During the lesson, she and Little Four had been conducting another round of simulation.

Right at that moment, a youthful and tall youth suddenly appeared at the doorway. He merely peeked through the doorway, and when he saw Ling Lan, his eyes lit up. He quickly knocked on the door, announcing his presence, drawing the attention of the students who had yet to leave the classroom.

"Ah, isn't that that unlucky Chang Xinyuan?" The students could not help but whisper to one another at the sight. The news of Leiting's oppression of Chang Xinyuan had long since spread throughout the whole military academy — many of the new students greatly admired Chang Xinyuan's courage, but of course there were also many who felt that Chang Xinyuan was foolish for not knowing his own strength, actually daring to defy Qiao Ting. He had almost been expelled from the academy for it.

Still, it could not be denied that Chang Xinyuan was extremely lucky. At that critical final juncture, he had actually chanced upon a mecha expert who was willing to help him escape from the miscellaneous obstacles set up by the Leiting Mecha Clan. In the end, he had fortunately managed to extend his military academy life.

However, a majority of the cadets were still not optimistic about Chang Xinyuan's future. Even if Qiao Ting left the academy today, as long as Leiting was still the number one faction in the academy and as long as Qiao Ting did not retract his decision to hinder Chang Xinyuan, Chang Xinyuan's subsequent academy life would still be rocky. His final outcome might still very well be expulsion from the school. No one believed that Chang Xinyuan would still be so lucky to meet some powerful mecha clan again next time which would help him complete those harder team missions in Mecha World ...

For such a controversial person to suddenly appear before them, the second-year Mecha Piloting Special Class students naturally could not help but talk.

"Boss Lan, are you free right now?" Chang Xinyuan did not seem to hear the susurration of voices in the classroom. His complexion remained steady as he shouted out towards Ling Lan.

Ling Lan glanced at Luo Lang beside her and found that he had finished packing up for the both of them. So, she turned to nod at Chang Xinyuan and then stood up and walked out of the classroom.

Luo Lang quickly followed, and seeing this, Qi Long and Xie Yi also tagged along without hesitation. When Ling Lan arrived at the doorway, she said to Chang Xinyuan, "Let's go!"

Chang Xinyuan turned aside to let Ling Lan's entourage walk first, and only then did he trail after Xie Yi to depart the 2nd-year Mecha Piloting Special Class classroom.

As soon as Ling Lan's group left, the entire classroom became a raucous mess. Everyone else remaining could not suppress the busybody within them, turning to ask the other members of the Lingtian Mecha Clan still in the classroom why Chang Xinyuan would seek out Ling Lan.

"Wu Jiong, why do you think Chang Xinyuan came to look for Boss Lan?" Ye Xu could not help but be puzzled by what he had seen. In his eyes, Boss Lan and that unfortunate soul 1 Chang Xinyuan could not be connected in any way, but somehow, these two people from completely different worlds obviously seemed to have some connection.

It turned out that Ling Lan had not revealed the member name list of the Lingtian Battle Clan to the other regiment commanders of the Lingtian Mecha Clan. For one, the Lingtian Mecha Clan had been converted from the New Cadet Regiment, so the members inherently held some antipathy towards the senior cadets. Ling Lan felt that before things became stable, this was better kept as a secret. Secondly, all of the battle clans within the Lingtian Mecha Clan never had to submit their detailed name lists to the mecha clan to begin with. Every clan leader only needed to report the number of members they had — they did not even have to report the members' names or mecha levels for the record. The reason for this was both to ensure the autonomy of the battle clans, as well as to prevent the other factions from getting a clear read on the true capabilities of the Lingtian Mecha Clan.

Wu Jiong said somewhat contemplatively, "Perhaps, Chang Xinyuan is trying to seek asylum." An individual had no way of standing up against a group — if Chang Xinyuan was smart, even if he was unwilling to submit to Qiao Ting, he would still need to find some solid backing to help him withstand Qiao Ting's oppression.

"It looks like Chang Xinyuan would also like to take a gamble and fight. Right now, in the entire academy, other than our Lingtian Mecha Clan who has the courage to fight against the Leiting Mecha Clan, which other faction would dare to shelter him?" From behind Wu Jiong, a mocking and haughty voice rang out.

Wu Jiong turned his head with a half-smile on his face to say to the person behind him, "Who'd have guessed that even you would understand this?"

Li Yingjie glared angrily at Wu Jiong in response. "What? You think I'm an idiot?"

Wu Jiong smiled and said nothing, but the ridicule in his eyes was obvious. This made the rage in Li Yingjie's heart build up, and he smacked a fierce palm down onto the table before him, bellowing, "Before this, I just did not want to stoop to your level!"

"I know. Before this, you believed that your strength was enough to settle everything, so you never had to worry about plotting or scheming." Seeing Li Yingjie puff up like an angry cat 1 , Wu Jiong quickly raised his arms in the universal sign of surrender and tried to console the other.

"You better know it!" Li Yingjie lifted his head haughtily — he felt from the very bottom of his heart that Wu Jiong spoke truly. If not for the fact that the First Men's Military Academy had gathered all of the aberrant prodigies under one roof, piling up the pressure on Li Yingjie, he would not have had to compromise and consider things a little more thoroughly when doing things. This kind of mentally-taxing thing was something he really disliked. He loved speaking with his fists the most, using pure brute strength to beat down those people who had anything bad to say about their Lingtian Mecha Clan.

Ye Xu looked at the prideful and prickly Li Yingjie and suddenly dipped his head, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Catching sight of this, Wu Jiong surreptitiously kicked Ye Xu, asking him to get a hold of himself.

With great effort, Ye Xu finally managed to suppress his laughter and raised his head to say to Wu Jiong, "Leader, I have some matter to attend to so I'll head out first. Please continue your conversation without me." In order to avoid being found out, Ye Xu decided that he should just retreat.

Wu Jiong quickly said, "Ye Xu, I have something about the battle clan to discuss with you. Li Yingjie, excuse us for now, let's talk next time."

Taken aback, Li Yingjie nodded woodenly and said, "Okay, got it."

After Wu Jiong and Ye Xu left the classroom, Li Yingjie suddenly realised something and burst out howling, "Wu Jiong, you bastard, actually mocking me. Stand where you are ...!" That said, he charged out of the classroom after them ...

In the Mecha Piloting Special Class, several other Lingtian Mecha Clan members could only shrug in response to the questioning gazes of the other students. These kinds of scenarios often occurred between Regiment Commander Wu and Regiment Commander Li. However, their relationship was not negatively affected by this, instead becoming much more harmonious than with others who kept up a polite facade. This once again proved that verbal sparring was sometimes an effective method to improve friendships.

"Qin Yi, in your Lingtian Mecha Clan, for two of the regiment commanders to interact like this ... isn't that a problem?" One of the students beside Qin Yi could not help but ask. He was used to seeing the other factions having a strict hierarchy and being wary of outsiders. Even if there were any dissent among the leaders and they could not get along, they would not show it so obviously in front of others. They would always present a harmonious and united front to outsiders, putting on fake smiles. This type of outright taunting among the leaders of the Lingtian Mecha Clan was so fascinating in comparison ...

As Qin Yi packed up his things, he smiled and said, "What problem is there? With Boss Lan on top watching over things, nothing's going to go wrong under him. Besides, who among us doesn't know what Regiment Commander Li is like? His lack of tact and straightforwardness is an open secret in our clan. Even he himself is aware of this."

"Also, the other regiment commanders of our Lingtian Mecha Clan may perhaps have some friction with one another, but as soon as Boss Lan gives an order, we will not forget that we are all one clan. This is trust and friendship which has been built up over ten years. It will not break apart so easily because of all this ..."

How could the Central Scout Academy students forget the grand feats they had managed to achieve time and time again under Boss Lan's lead? And now, they were about to face a new challenge head on — a fight against the strongest faction in the First Men's Military Academy. The Leiting Mecha Clan was finally going to be their next target — it was exhilarating just thinking about it. Which freshman organisation would dare to oppose the strongest senior faction right at the start of school? And yet their New Cadet Regiment had managed to do so. Which newly established mecha clan would dare to fight against the strongest senior mecha clan? Their Lingtian Mecha Clan had dared to do so ... Every decision of Boss Lan's ushered in a new record, and Qin Yi believed that this trend definitely would not stop here.

1. 倒霉蛋: The literal phrase here is actually quite cute, but I still took it out because it seemed a little strange in context. The Chinese phrase used here is 'unlucky egg'.

2. 炸毛: Literally 'exploded fur'. This slang is definitely derived from angry animal reactions -- like when a bird has its feathers ruffled or how the fur of agitated cats would all stand up. Used to describe when a person reacts in an exaggerated manner, typically out of fear or anger.