528 - 533

Chapter 528 - Why?

Inside her mindspace, Little Four rubbed his nose, rolled his eyes and didn't say anything. His boss looked as though she was angry, but she didn't have any killing intent. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Boss was actually going to choke Ling Yi to death. Boss was more angry about Ling Yi messing up her plans; she had expected better from him.

Everyone in the observation room looked towards Ling Lan and waited for their boss' next move. On the side, Ling Lan was looking at the arena with a blank expression as though she was thinking about something.

The moment the freshmen saw that Ling Yi had chosen Ling Lan, they were shaken. At the same time, this situation also made many freshmen become discontent. After all, with his interference in the middle, Qi Long would have time to rest. It wouldn't be that easy for them to continue to take advantage of Qi Long.

However, even though many freshmen were dissatisfied with his decision, they couldn't deny that they were all extremely excited as well. The examiner Ling Yi had chosen was Ling Lan and Ling Lan was the legendary existence in the First Men's Military Academy. These freshmen definitely wanted to see the heroic figure of this legendary commander, and Ling Yi had given them the chance to do so.

The members of the Lingtian Mecha Clan around the arena were actually in an uproar.

"Sh*t, who is this freshman? He actually dares to challenge our boss. He's really daring." A Lingtian member, who respected Ling Lan greatly, spoke with an angry expression. From how he saw it, these freshmen didn't even have the qualifications to challenge Boss Ling Lan.

"Is it because he's underestimating our other captains and commanders?" someone asked.

"This punk is too cocky!"

Seeing the members of Lingtian Mecha Clan around them speak ill of Ling Yi, Yi Tiange knew the situation wasn't going well; they had already made enemies with the senior members before they could even join the mecha clan. They were not in a very good position and could even be singled out by all the other members.

Yi Tiange immediately replied, "Our captain respects Commander Ling Lan very much. He was originally going to challenge Commander Qi Long, but Commander Qi Long has fought countless fights and his energy has been depleted. Our captain believes that challenging Commander Qi Long again wouldn't be fair. That is why he chose Commander Ling Lan to ask for his advice in fighting."

Yi Tiange words were very logical and made some of the Lingtian members calm down, but there were still others who remained very dissatisfied. They said, "You have to defeat our captains or other commanders before challenging our boss."

"Also, are you guys underestimating our Commander Qi Long? Even though his energy has been depleted, defeating him wouldn't be easy. Did he really need to have an expression of emapthy?" In terms of showing her physical skills, ever since Ling Lan fought in the arena battle in the very beginning, she never fought again in front of everyone. In these past two years, Qi Long was always the one to be challenged. In the eyes of Lingtian members, Qi Long was similarly undefeatable. Although Yi Tiange's words were of good intentions and Ling Yi was being just, there was still a feeling that made them seem they were underestimating Qi Long. This made the other members feel very discontent.

Hearing all this, Yi Tiange couldn't help but smile bitterly. If his own captain had chosen someone else, then maybe those of Lingtian would have seen him a better light. However, as luck would have it, his captain had chosen the spiritual leader of Lingtian, Ling Lan. This made these people's opinion of his captain worsen. No matter how much more they explained themselves, they wouldn't be able to turn those thoughts around.

At that moment, Qi Long was breathing heavily on the arena. He saw white flashes after being so exhausted and everything around him seemed to be really far from him. He was like a log waiting for the next freshman to come up the arena to challenge him…

Challenge our boss? Qi Long's ears suddenly heard these words. What? Someone wanted to challenge Boss?

"If you want to challenge our boss, then defeat all the captains or other commanders first!" That was right. If Ling Yi didn't defeat them, then how could he have to audacity to challenge the Boss?

"… Underestimating our Commander Qi Long… energy depleted to its limit… charity…" Underestimate? Charity? Qi Long's eyes suddenly opened, following which his originally fading five senses returned to him and he saw the angry expression of the members below. A cool young man stood below the arena, standing there fearlessly. He stood tall and firm as though the mockery and anger from around him didn't affect him at all.

"Is it him? He's looking down on me because of my condition? And because of that he also thinks he can defeat Boss?" Qi Long's eyes began to burn with rage. Everyone had their own friends and family. As far as the public was concerned, Ling Lan was a childhood friend that grew up with Qi Long, but in reality, the former was like a brother and father to him. Whether it be his physical skills or way of thinking, Ling Lan was the one who had taught him everything. He could accept any insults directed to him, but he couldn't let anyone look down upon Ling Lan.

Right at that moment, Ling Lan had finally come to a decision. She was getting ready to defeat Ling Yi at lighting speed and continue her previous arrangement, but just then, in the arena, Qi Long's entire aura suddenly changed.

Ling Lan frowned and looked towards Ling Yi, who was waiting for Qi Long to descend the arena. Her lips perked up as she said, "Making plans but the plans fail. If don't plan, something amazing happens. Ling Yi… your luck isn't bad! You've gotten away from danger!"

At that moment, Ling Yi suddenly felt his body become cold. Before he could figure out why, he heard Qi Long's deep voice coming from the arena, asking, "Are you the one who wants to challenge our boss?"

Ling Yi nodded in response. The only reason he had worked so hard for so long was to let Young Master Lan see his potential, to have him judge whether or not he was qualified to stand behind him.

Qi Long suddenly burst out in hysterical laughter. "Hahaha, if you want to challenge our boss then defeat me first. Otherwise, you're not qualified!" The sentence with the words "not qualified" was roared out, his voice exploding throughout the entire training dojo. It actually made a few people who had lower levels in physical skills become shaken.

Ling Yi looked at Qi Long's red eyes and immediately frowned. He suddenly felt that the current Qi Long was very dangerous. His aura was very different compared to when he was fighting others.

"Qi Long looks kind of odd." Han Jijyun, who knew Qi Long best, had a change in expression.

Ling Lan's expression tensed up and she quietly agreed, "Yes."

Although Qi Long was asking for a fight, Ling Yi didn't go into the arena. The one he had challenged was Ling Lan, and thus they could only wait for her answer.

At that moment, a cold sharp voice sounded out in response to Qi Long's outburst. "Let's do what Qi Long wants!"

Ling Lan's eyes narrowed. He didn't think that Qi Long was so trusted by Young Master Lan. Young Master Lan actually let Qi Long interfere and fight. After leaving Young Master Lan for more than ten years, did the person who was now standing behind him this man?

The intent to fight flashed in Ling Yi's eyes. "Since he wants to fight, then we'll fight!" He moved quickly and jumped onto the arena. He said, "Then Commander Qi Long, please advise me."

"Fight!" Following the signal to fight, the fighting spirit from Qi Long's body poured out and almost force Ling Yi into the ground. The aura pouring out of him had also suddenly caused a transparent light barrier to appear on the outer edges of the arena.

Ling Yi expression changed drastically. The Qi-Jin in Qi Long's body was quickly moving about. This definitely wasn't the intermediate level of Qi-Jin. The physical skills instructor at his Scout Academy was only at the intermediate level of Qi-Jin. There wasn't an existence of this type of aura that made people unable to raise their heads.

"Is it the Advanced level of Qi-Jin? Or even higher?" Ling Yi thought to himself as he endured with great effort.

The audience below the arena all wore expressions of confusion at the appearance of the light barrier. Some of the older cadets suddenly thought of something and their expressions showed pleasant surprise. Could it be that Commander Qi Long had already reached "that" level?

"Is it aura? When did Qi Long learn how to use an aura?" Luo Lang wondered aloud with surprise. Those who had previously received a beating at Ling Lan's hand all knew what it was. They had been pressured to the ground by Ling Lan's aura before. However, the day before, Qi Long clearly didn't know how to use an aura.

Ling Lan's eyes gleamed. She didn't expect Ling Yi's provocation to push Qi Long to the verge of death. It had actually accidentally allowed him to learn how to use an aura. Of course, this type of aura that only came from Qi Long's fighting spirit wasn't the actual aura from later stages of Qi-Jin. It could only be considered a prototype and needed strong emotions to kickstart.

Ling Lan already felt that it was a bit unexpected. She couldn't help but understand why it had happened. Qi Long had been stuck at the advanced level of Qi-Jin for a very long time. He had only needed to progress just a bit more to advance into the later stages of Qi-Jin. Having sense the prototype aura earlier on was also a possibility.

Everyone stared at the arena. Even though they all had their own questions, at that moment, they didn't want to think too much into the details.

Even though Qi Long's aura was a prototype, for Ling Yi, it was strong enough. He endured with great effort and felt that he was going to get pressured by this shapeless pressure.

Ling Lan knew that if this continued, his final outcome would be being forced into the floor and laying there. Ling Yi had trained his physical skills long and hard for more than ten years and he was being watched by Ling Lan right now, so how could he just surrender like this? He bit his lip hard and put all of his body's Qi-Jin into his two feet. He stomped on the ground and his entire body flew towards Qi Long like a cannonball. He clenched his right hand into a fist and launched a punch towards Qi Long's head.

He had to attack Qi Long and interfere with the release of his aura!

"Bam!" Qi Long raised his right hand and blocked Ling Yi's punch. The large aura began to spread, causing the originally dimmed transparent light barrier to brighten up once again.

Ling Yi was sent flying by this force. He somersaulted in mid-air and landed firmly on the arena. Qi Long didn't move at all. In terms of the power of the hits just now, Ling Yi's was weaker than Qi Long's by a mile. However, it was because of Ling Yi's attack that Qi Long's aura's pressure was cut off. The aura in the arena was instantly gone, making Ling Yi breathe a sigh of relief. He knew he had temporarily gotten through a crisis.

"That's too bad. Qi Long's aura stops once he gets interfered," Luo Lang remarked with a face of pity for Qi Long. If he could continue to pressure Ling Yi, then Ling Yi wouldn't have any chance to defeat Qi Long at all.

"It wasn't easy for Qi Long to get to this point since he just comprehended how to use his aura." Ling Lan knew clearly that using this kind of power would greatly burden the body. Qi Long being able to endure for this long was already a performance that was sufficiently amazing.

Luo Lang knew that he was forcing his body, but it was just that he worried that Qi Long's energy wasn't enough. If he could have defeated his opponent with his aura, that would have been the best possible outcome. This was why he felt regret.

No longer under the pressure of Qi Long's aura, Ling Yi began to attack again. He was afraid that if he hesitated even for a second, his opponent would use that shapeless aura again. Ling Yi didn't know that that aura just now was only accidentally turned on by Qi Long. If he wanted to use it again, he may not be successful. Qi Long, who couldn't fully control this ability yet, would need to use a lot of time to train and study if he wanted to completely control it.

Qi Long saw his opponent come towards him with an attack and raised his fist to block. Qi Long's way of using physical skills was to attack. He favored using offense to go against offense and using attacks as defensive moves. On his side, Ling Yi was afraid that Qi Long would release that aura of his if he got a chance, and thus he didn't dare to back off. Because of this, the fight in the arena had now become a true hand-to-hand combat. The two of them exchanged punches, each thrown fist landing a blow on the other's body.

"Bam! Bam! Bam!" The sound of intense collisions rang in the air, which made the audience members below the arena feel that their own bodies were hurting. However, the two people in the arena before had indifferent expressions, as though the body that was being hit was not their own but someone else's.

"These two are both ruthless people," some of the audience couldn't help but remark. If they were the ones up there, they didn't know how long they would have been able to endure this kind of battle.

"Do the two of them not feel any pain?" someone asked with surprise.

"How could they not feel pain? It's just that their endurance is really strong and they don't show that they are in pain," someone responded.

"Looks like Ling Yi knows the method that the Ling family uses for physical training. I'm not sure who gave it to him. Was it Chamberlain Ling Qin or Ling Yu?" Ling Lan frowned. However, no matter if it was Ling Qin or Ling Yu, it meant that they didn't give up on Ling Yi.

"It was Chamberlain Ling Qin. I remember that when Boss was in your second year at the scout academy, Chamberlain Ling Qin asked you whether to look after Ling Yi a bit. I remember your reply was that he could give Ling Yi some special treatment as long as it didn't bring about danger to the safety of the Ling family." Little Four suddenly appeared and answered Ling Lan's question.

"Right, I remember now." Little Four's reminder made Ling Lan remember that part of her memory. She had allowed Ling Qin to be fully responsible, but she didn't expect that Ling Qin's expectation of Ling Yi was so high. He had even given Ling Yi the Ling family's method of physical training.

"It's also because of this physical training that made Ling Yi attend school a year later than he should have attended," Little Four added.

Ling Lan finally understood why Ling Yi was two years behind her when he was only one year younger than her. Physical training was good, but he needed one year's time to train. She didn't know how Ling Qin had managed to convince Ling Yi to make him give up entering a scout academy in his first year.

It should be known that cadets who entered a scout academy after the first year would not be able to enter the best scout academies regardless of whether they possessed excellent talent. Some late cadets would even be put into third-rate scout academies. This act was to punish those cadets who didn't apply on time.

The only reason why it was so strict was that most cadets would become soldiers in the future. Soldiers had to obey all rules and orders, and the military was especially even more strict when it came to time management. It should be known that arriving later than a minute on the battlefield could cause the entire battle to be lost. No one could take that kind of burden, and thus the military had to start placing restrictions while cadets were children and make them understand the importance of rules and the importance of time.

"No wonder he was studying at that third-rate planet." Everything was now clear and could be explained. Although Ling Lan had allowed Ling Yi to leave, she didn't want to completely destroy the latter's future. The sympathy that Chamberlain Ling Qin had shown for Ling Yi wouldn't have him be sent to a third-rate planet. The worst would only be a second-rate planet.

After a brief bout of intense fighting, the now separated two people were both facing each as they trembled. Ling Yi breathed heavily as he felt an incomparable pain in his body. Although he had used the Ling family's special method of physical training, Qi Long's punches were fierce and heavy and still wounded him.

However… Ling Yi looked towards Qi Long in front of him. At that moment, Qi Long was hunched over and his body was swaying about. Others perhaps could not see clearly, but Ling Yi could see very clearly that there was a puddle of water below Qi Long's feet; it was the sweat from Qi Long's body. It was flowing down and instantly made an entire area wet.

Qi Long's endurance had really reached its maximum limit. If he didn't have just a bit of Qi-Jin holding him up, it was possible he wouldn't have even had the energy to stand. Although he could stand, only a gentle hit was needed to completely push down that swaying body of his.

"If I defeat you, then I'll have the necessary qualifications to challenge Young Master Lan, right?" Ling Yi thought. "Although I don't want to take advantage of the situation, I will take it in order to fight against Young Master Lan. Sorry, Commander Qi Long!" Ling Yi shouted. He let go of the shame in his mind, kicked off the ground and pounced onto Qi Long. He once again threw a punch straight at Qi Long.

Qi Long did not even have to energy to open his eyes at that moment; he couldn't feel anything around him. He felt as if his entire being had become engulfed in darkness. He even felt that he didn't even have the energy to breathe. Only his heart was beating intensely as though it was going to jump out of his chest…

"Dum, dum, dum…" The beating sound of his heart became faster and faster. Qi Long felt that his heart couldn't handle the pressure from the beating and felt like it was going to explode…

"Am I going to die?" Unable to breathe and feeling his heart pressured so much that it seemed on the verge of exploding, Qi Long really thought he was going to die. He couldn't even feel his body. It was as though his everything had disappeared.

"Could it be that I've lost my fight against Ling Yi?" At that moment, Qi Long was very curious as to why he wasn't worried whether he was dead or not. Instead, he was thinking about whether he had lost to Ling Yi or not.

"If I lose, then will Boss have to come down?"

"Sh*t!" Qi Long roared angrily. This was a disgrace to Boss and it was all because he was useless. If he had just a bit more endurance, there would have been no way for him to lose, right?

"Why did you exhaust us of all our energy and then let us be examiners? Why, Boss?" Qi Long shouted begrudgingly.

"Because you guys aren't strong enough!" Ling Lan's cold voice suddenly exploded beside Qi Long's ears.

After hearing this voice, Qi Long's dark world suddenly became enveloped in light. He stood in the mid-air and looked below him. There he saw green fields, wherein laid countless hidden buildings. When the wind blew and the trees shook, the buildings could be seen just a little bit.

At that moment, a few hover cars suddenly flew down from above and stopped in front of a huge ball-shaped building. Seven or eight young men came out of the hover cars. They each had their own personalities. There were serious ones, and there were also ones who smiled. There were feminine ones, and then there were masculine ones as well. There were happy-go-lucky ones, and then there were cool ones.

The leader was a cool, young man. He seemed to feel something and turned to shoot a cold glare at Qi Long, which almost froze him.

"Boss, what's wrong?" a young man behind the leader asked in confusion.

The leader turned around indifferently and replied, "Nothing. Let's go into the fighting dojo."

"Yes!" Everyone followed the cool, young man and walked into the large ball-shaped building.

Qi Long knew who these people were. They were Boss Ling Lan and his other friends. That young man who had asked Ling Lan what had happened was Qi Long himself.

This was Qi Long's memory, but they had gone to the fighting dojo many times in the past. Qi Long didn't know when this particular episode had occurred out of the many occasions they had gone. What surprised Qi Long was this—how could he be inside his own memories and be watching like a bystander?

Ling Lan and the others entered the fighting dojo, but they didn't go to watch any fighting competitions. Instead, they used prestige credits to rent out a private training dojo. They all walked in and then Ling Lan ordered all them to fight each other. Qi Long walked into the high-pressure chamber in the training dojo to train under high gravity. He set the chamber at 16-fold gravity just like he had before.

Qi Long and the others didn't notice that they could almost take on a 4-fold degree of gravity, while Qi Long could take on 8-fold. Qi Long had even taken on 16-fold gravity before. His best time was a bit more than 3 minutes, which wasn't as long as the time that Boss Ling Lan could endure.

Qi Long and the others fought in the dojo without a care in the world. They did not discover that as time went on, the 16-fold gravity had become 24-fold unbeknownst to anyone. Then it went from 24-fold to 28-fold. The numbers increased drastically until in the end, it stopped at 64-fold gravity.

During that time, Qi Long had just been watching the fights and had only unintentionally looked at the screen for the gravity pod. However, he didn't look closely at the numbers that were changing on the screen of the gravity pod. The Qi Long that was in the air watching all this thought to himself, "Maybe I just glanced at those numbers for a second and just ignored them. Now that I'm looking into my own memory as a bystander, I have discovered this."

It turned out that the pressure their boss could take wasn't the 16-fold they had previously thought. It was 64-fold instead. Qi Long sighed. "Although we knew Boss is really strong, we didn't that he was this strong."

The numbers just showed the gravity was at 64-fold. This continued for around 2 to 3 minutes before the number suddenly began to decrease. In the end, it became 16-fold.

"Bam." The gravity pod was pushed open. The sound alarmed Qi Long and the others who had been fighting on the side. They turned around to look, but they didn't see Boss come out. Qi Long walked over and took a peek in Boss' direction.

Ling Lan suddenly opened her eyes, and the sharp expression on her face made Qi Long unable to look her in the eyes. He quickly stood up straight and waited for his boss to come out.

Ling Lan suddenly grabbed on to the side of the gravity pod and sat up. She paused for a second before jumping from the pod and landing firmly on the ground.

The Qi Long in his memory didn't see very clearly, but the bystander Qi Long saw everything clearly. His boss had a thin layer of sweat all around his forehead, while his two hands that had held on to the pod's door were trembling. His landing, that had appeared to be firm, had made him shake a bit uncontrollably. This kind of behavior was what was expected of the Boss. It seemed that the 64-fold pressure had completely exhausted all of Boss' energy. It was just that at the time, Qi Long hadn't thought too deeply about it and neglected it carelessly.

Actually, he shouldn't blame himself for not figuring it out. The display on the screen for the pod still displayed 16-fold pressure, so logically he would think it was 16-fold. That kind of pressure wasn't even enough to affect Boss. Thus, the small change that Boss had shown was naturally overlooked by them.

"Let's challenge Boss to a fight now since he's undergone 16-fold gravity and had his energy exhausted a bit." Luo Lang saw that Ling Lan had come out from the gravity pod and excitedly made a suggestion.

"Group battle?" Qi Long, who was standing beside Ling Lan, asked.

"Yeah, group battle. Boss versus everyone else." Luo Lang nodded in agreement. His suggestion was also agreed upon by the others.

At that moment, the bystander Qi Long suddenly realized it. This was his memory from two years ago; it was their first time fighting against Boss as a group and at the same time, the last time as well.

The bystander Qi Long became worried. He clearly knew the answer his boss would give, but he still couldn't help but yell out, "Boss, don't agree with us."

"Alright!" Ling Lan replied plainly. Qi Long's heart skipped a beat. "You already know you have no energy left. Why would you agree to it?"

Ling Lan slowly walked into the fighting dojo. At the time, Qi Long and the others thought Boss was giving them more pressure by moving into the dojo slowly, but now Qi Long knew that it was because Boss hadn't had the energy to walk fast. Every step seemed easy but was actually very painful. Qi Long saw Ling Lan's hands, covered by his sleeves, clench together very tightly. He could even see that with every step Boss took, his sleeves were trembling…

Chapter 529 - Not Worthy!

However, the Qi Long, Luo Lang and the others from back then hadn't discovered all the signs. They saw that their boss was standing calmly in the middle of the fighting dojo. Before he could stand firm, they all excitedly pounced on him… If they waited until he was ready, the boss being so strong, their odds of winning would be zero.

"Boss, eat my fist!" Luo Lang was the first to pounce onto Ling Lan. His strong punch ruthlessly flew towards Ling Lan as he shouted.

Ling Lan didn't wear any expression. She raised her right arm, performed a counter spin attack and cleanly pushed back Luo Lang.

But before she could take a breather, the attacks of the others all arrived…

"Bam, bam, bam!" Following the consecutive sounds of fists colliding, Qi Long and the others were sent flying by Ling Lan one by one.

Qi Long, who was in control of his backwards flight, was puzzled. Boss' blocks today were not as strong as before. However, the suspicion he felt back then vanished the next second. Perhaps Boss was being merciful and actually fighting them for real. At this thought, Qi Long's fighting spirit rose even more.

"Haha. Boss, your killing intent doesn't seem to be enough today." Luo Lang, who landed firmly, had a bright gleam in his eyes. He had also sensed what Qi Long had felt, thought the same thoughts as Qi Long had. Almost everyone in Ling Lan's battle team believed that Boss' pressuring force today was meant for them train well. These kinds of opportunities were very scarce, which made Luo Lang become even more excited.

If Qi Long was a combat junkie, then Luo Lang would be a combat maniac. The difference between them was that Qi Long fought fairly and justly, whereas Luo Lang would do anything once he went berserk. As expected, as soon as Luo Lang stopped talking, his expression suddenly darkened then showed a hint of insanity…

At that moment, Luo Lang made Qi Long feel a bit of danger. He knew clearly that Luo Lang had most likely activated his innate talent. He just didn't know which personality Luo Lang had activated.

The difference between them was that Luo Lang only needed to activate his innate talent by himself. With Boss whipping Qi Long, his Animal Instinct would activate as long as it entered combat mode. Of course, he still didn't have full control of this power. If he wanted to use Animal Instinct to its full potential, then he would need to be able to activate it himself.

Qi Long used the activated Animal Instinct and focused on Boss. What he had to do now was to keep fighting and then let his Animal Instinct find the best time to attack.

The change in Luo Lang's aura was also felt by Xie Yi and the others. Their blood all began to boil. Xie Yi laughed and said, "We can't lose to that punk Luo Lang…" Right as he finished, his face became stern. Purple arcs of lightning suddenly appeared from his two hands. Those purple arcs of lightning, along with the chaos, made the entire atmosphere of the training dojo become wild.

As he activated his innate talent, Xie Yi's face began to twitch and frown as if he was enduring pain. Although he hadn't activated his innate talent ever since Boss had given some pointers, he had used the electricity it generated to train his body, and that training had brought him some small results. Unfortunately, the amount of time he had trained for was too short. While he wouldn't end up electrocuting himself and fainting like before, the pain that he felt when he came out of this state was even more tormenting…

"If we want to go a few rounds with Boss, how can we do it without giving it our all?" Lin Zhong-qing said quietly. His presence began to disappear. A few seconds later, Lin Zhong-qing's very being had become so transparent that if Qi Long and the others didn't look at him, they actually couldn't sense his presence—it was as though he had vanished into thin air.

It turned out Lin Zhong-qing had also activated his innate talent, Concealment. He was like an assassin, silently hiding in the darkness and waiting for the opportunity to kill.

Han Jijyun stared at Ling Lan. With the help of his innate talent, Heaven's Strategy, he began to quickly calculate data in his mind. It was actually more than four times the amount than normal. Everyone gave their all and didn't hold anything back. They wanted to see their boss' real potential. At the same time, they wanted to know what level they were at as well. They wanted to know if they could get to the level of Boss Ling Lan who was undefeatable in their hearts.

"Since you guys are this serious, then I need to get serious as well." Ling Lan looked around at the comrades who were surrounding her. She extended her right hand and for the first time, she took a defensive stance in front of her comrades.

Ling Lan's focus moved Qi Long and the others, but at the same time, they were also very excited. Did Boss' fully focused attitude mean that they had grown to the point where their boss had to be cautious against them? Had they gotten closer to their boss?

The Qi Long in mid-air saw all the excited faces of everyone. His excited face from two years ago now seemed like a joke to me. Qi Long smiled bitterly. They weren't even close to Boss' level. It was just that they had come across a time when Boss was at his weakest, and this was what had caused them to have this kind of illusion.

However, Qi Long couldn't help but admit that that illusion was very nice. It made them mistakenly think that they had almost caught up with Boss' footsteps. Thus, they worked and trained even harder. Back then, they always thought that if they trained harder than Boss, they would be able to get closer to him. Though afterwards, they discovered that Boss was always standing in front of them. No matter how much training and hard work they put in, they couldn't catch up. However, those hardships had already been remembered in their hearts and would never be forgotten or given up on.

Now that Qi Long thought about it, had their training really been that hard? No matter how hard it was, it probably wasn't even comparable to Boss' all-out training method. Qi Long now knew clearly that since Boss had used the gravity chamber to exhaust his own energy this time, he must have used it the same way in all the other times. Every time Boss trained, he pushed himself to the limit. But what about them? They only trained until they were exhausted. That wasn't even comparable to how their boss had trained.

Perhaps, they really didn't even come close to their boss in terms of strength. Rather, they were becoming further and further from him.

"Boss, although I knew that torturing us was for our own good, I just couldn't understand. I thought that I was already strong enough. Even if I continued to train, I wouldn't become another person like Boss due to the limitations of my talent. Since it is like this, then why were you beating us to our death like this? Sometimes, although I didn't refuse your training, I still felt resentment…" Qi Long's eyes couldn't help but tear up.

"But now I understand!

"Boss, you have such great strength because you also used this method of limit training.

"I hope that we'll be able to follow in your footsteps. You hope that we'll be able to become stronger and be able to walk with you to the end of the road!

"You… hope that we won't someday lose our life!

"We neglected to see that your strength didn't just come out of thin air. We even got used to your care!

"We never paid attention to the hard work you put in. Your pain, your feelings…

"We took it all for granted!

"We're not worthy to be your followers!

"Not worthy!"

After thinking deeply about the past, Qi Long found that they had taken what Boss had given them for granted and didn't even think of returning the favor! They hadn't understood the real meaning behind Boss ruthlessly training them and actually held resentment for it! They hadn't cared about what Boss was thinking and let his care go to waste. What had they done that made them worthy of being Boss' underlings?

Qi Long asked himself this question. Every time their souls were whipped, he became emotional and felt resentment. It turned out, however, that he owed Boss so much, and hurt him so much too…

Qi Long's tears uncontrollably ran down his face and fell into the air…

In the arena, Qi Long's previously closed eyes suddenly showed regret and sorrow!

At that moment, Ling Yi's punch was just about to hit Qi Long's face, but he suddenly felt as if his fist was being obstructed by an invisible force and couldn't get close to Qi Long.

Ling Yi was surprised. "What's happening?" Ling Yi had never battled against someone at the Refinement stage of Qi-Jin. Although his instructor had told him about Qi-Jin beforehand, he didn't know that Qi-Jin could be switched between attacking and defending.

"It's an Aura Shield!" Ling Lan's eyes gleamed. Aura Shields were a type of Qi-Jin where the shape of the aura was changed. It changed the outside force from an attack mode to a defensive mode. Originally, Qi Long would have needed to advance to the Refinement stage of Qi-Jin to control it. However, Qi Long hadn't actually advanced into the Refinement stage yet, yet he was able to skip a stage and use it. This was enough proof that in terms of physical skills, Qi Long's talent was unbelievable.

"If I didn't have the learning space and only had just my talent, I wouldn't have been that much better off than Qi Long," Ling Lan murmured to herself. She didn't feel any resentment, only infinite happiness.

Having the learning space was her luck. If she also had unbelievable talent, Ling Lan wouldn't have been able to hold it together. She would definitely have made everyone else become envious of her. Ling Lan believed that this was the best. All of her comrades all had exceptional talent, while she had the learning space to make up for her own dullness. With this, everyone could grow up together and move forward together. This was the best kind of happiness.

Ling Lan looked joyfully at Qi Long who was in the arena. She knew that Qi Long had been pushed to the verge of death. It was the same as when she had exhausted her energy in the gravity chamber and then reached an impasse after fighting with her comrades. They had pushed her to the verge of death and helped her gain an opportunity to break through. She went from 50% to 100% into the Domain stage and became a real Domain user.

Now, through her plans, using what she had learned from when she broke through, she had made Qi Long successfully reach this moment and find that slim chance to break through.

Ling Yi's attack was blocked, but he naturally didn't want to give up this opportunity. He shouted and wildly gathered Qi-Jin in his right fist. He prepared to strike the invisible barrier that was obstructing him.

Qi Long suddenly opened his eyes, a gleam of light flashing across them, and then Ling Yi felt a strong force come towards him. He couldn't control his body and was sent flying. Although Ling Yi was surprised by this sudden change, he didn't become flustered. He turned around in mid-air and landed firmly on the ground of the arena. However, at that moment, he was already more than 10 meters away from Qi Long. It seemed that the sudden energy that Qi Long had brought out was very strong. Ling Yi needed around 10 meters to stop himself from that force.

Ling Yi was now far from Qi Long. This scene made the audience and those in the observation room clearly see how Qi Long appeared at that moment. Although Qi Long had fully opened his eyes, they were empty and without expression. It proof enough that the Qi Long had lost consciousness at that moment.

However, tears were trickling from those dark, emotionless eyes of his, running down his face and onto the ground…

One drop! Two drops! Three drops! Countless drops… a puddle of tears was quickly forming under his feet in the arena!

Chapter 530 - Bloody Tears!

"Why is Commander Qi Long crying?" Those in the audience asked in surprise.

Commander Qi Long was a sunshine boy and always showed an honest and caring smile. That smile of his made people naturally want to trust him. Even when faced with the biggest difficulties, he would try his best. His determined and unshakable impression was known to everyone deep in their hearts. In the eyes of bystanders, if someone were to ask who in the Ling Lan's team would cry and sob, others might, but not Qi Long. The feeling that Qi Long gave to others was that he was too strong-willed. He was a tough guy who only bled but never cried.

Yet this tough guy that everyone knew from their hearts had cried. However, no one felt that this Qi Long was soft and weak…

Some people actually also had red eyes as well. They quickly rubbed their eyes and said, "Sh*t, why are you being emotional?"

Seeing this, Ling Lan frowned. She was very confused. What had Qi Long actually come to realize while he was on the verge of death?

At that moment, in Qi Long's memory, the battle between Boss and the others hadn't ended because of Qi Long's tears in mid-air. It was still continuing just like his memories.

"Ah-wooo!"

As Luo Lang howled angrily at the sky, insanity filled his eyes; he had activated the violent personality. This personality could increase his body's strength limitlessly. Luo Lang knew clearly that calculating and planning in detail would be useless when fighting against Boss. They could only do their best to increase their power to barely face him.

Although Luo Lang's face was soft and beautiful, at that moment, under the effects of his violent personality, Luo Lang's soft essence had much of it disappear and had a bit of rudeness and mercilessness to him instead. His originally weak and bony right arm suddenly inflated, and his muscles protruded outwards as well.

Luo Lang stomped the ground and his entire body flew towards Ling Lan like a cannonball. A strong punch mercilessly flew towards Ling Lan. The fist actually created an exploding sound as it traveled through the air because its speed and strength had broken the sound barrier.

Ling Lan's eyes shook as she raised her right hand to block Luo Lang's fierce punch…

Bam!

Ling Lan's expression instantly became pale. However, she instantly returned to normal. Everyone else who were all focused on the fight didn't pay attention to this detail. Of course, Ling Lan was someone who had a whiter skin color. Although her face had turned pale for a second, if they didn't look closely, they wouldn't be able to see the small change in color.

Indeed, back then no one would stare at Ling Lan's face because her aura was too strong. her gaze was too cold and sharp, making everyone not dare to stare at her face. However, the Qi Long that was sobbing kept on staring at Ling Lan. Although Ling Lan's expression only changed for a second, Qi Long still saw it.

As expected, Boss had been wounded! Why didn't they think of paying attention to their boss back then? If they had just paid a little bit of attention, how could they have not discovered this fact?

Boss was also human. He would also become tired, exhausted and injured.

Right at that moment, Qi Long, who was waiting for his chance, had made a move…

Seeing this scene, Qi Long knew the outcome of his move. Unable to control his emotions, Qi Long finally shouted, "Stop, stop!"

It turns out the most hated individuals were not enemies. Instead, the most hated were not only careless friends, but also those who harmed others. And at that time, they were these types of assholes.

Qi Long quietly sobbed as he stared at the scene below him. He had hurt the boss that he respected so much with his own two hands.

He saw himself raise his fist excitedly and pounce towards Ling Lan. Qi Long remembered clearly that at that moment, his innate talent, Animal Instinct, told him when was the best time to attack. He had indeed found the best time to attack, but now his heart felt like it was going to shatter.

Boom!

Two silhouettes suddenly split apart. The strong force threw Qi Long backwards, while Ling Lan also took a step back to get rid of the reactive force.

Ling Lan's expression became pale once again. She puckered her lips and looked coldly at her comrades. However, her eyes were showing approval and joy.

"Because I managed to take advantage of the moment and harm you, you felt pleased with all that… Boss, how can you be like that? What have I, Qi Long, done to deserve a boss like you?" Qi Long's heart began to burn up. He felt his heart beating fiercely again. This time, he didn't feel any pain, only boundless warmth…

Seeing that Qi Long's attack wasn't effective, Luo Lang shouted, "Everyone move in together."

In one versus one battles, nobody could go against Boss. Luo Lang knew this and the other members of Ling Lan's team also understood.

"Attack his lower body!" Han Jijyun finally calculated the only effective position they could attack. Before he attacked, he didn't forget to tell his comrades.

Ling Lan easily dodged Han Jijyun's attack, but when she landed, her body actually trembled a bit. Everyone's eyes lit up and they all moved in together.

The first to make their moves were Luo Lang and Xie Yi. They tacitly attacked Ling Lan's lower body. Qi Long, on the other hand, had jumped up and performed a strong side kick to attack Ling Lan's upper body… and Lin Zhong-qing, who was hidden all this time, had also made a move.

He suddenly appeared behind Ling Lan, silently attacking her from the back.

Han Jijyun saw an opening and added an attack from the side to create interference.

These attacks from all directions instantly put Ling Lan into a crisis.

Ling Lan knew that dodging was impossible, but she didn't panic; using her left foot as a pivot point, she suddenly performed a whirlwind mantis sweep…

"Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!" There were four sounds of strong hits landing almost simultaneously.

Ling Lan instantly kicked Han Jijyun, Lin Zhong-qing, Luo Lang and Xie Yi. The four of them were instantly kicked into the air and were sent flying backwards. Ling Lan's crisis still hadn't been averted, however; Qi Long's attack was right in front of her.

Suddenly, Ling Lan disappeared. Qi Long felt his vision blur as the opponent he was about to attack had disappeared. Before he could react, he felt a strong force kick him straight in the chest and his entire body flew backwards.

It turned out that Ling Lan had suddenly squatted right as Qi Long was about to hit her and dodged Qi Long's side kick. At the same time, her right leg was like a scorpion flinging its stinger as she ruthlessly kicked Qi Long who was flying towards her.

In the blink of an eye, all five of them had been kicked away by their boss. They somersaulted in mid-air and landed, but they still couldn't completely nullify the force. They took many steps back and only then managed to stop their footsteps. Even so, they still felt blood rushing to their heads. The strong blow had still wounded them internally.

They channelled their Qi-Jin around in their body and managed to get rid of the feeling of suffocation and feel much better.

After blocking the attacks of the five, Ling Lan stood up once again. She put down her right leg coolly as her right hand brushed her face. When she landed on the ground, she once again took a classic defensive stance. It was as if the five of them hadn't attacked her just now.

"Boss is so strong!" Luo Lang was dismayed at this scene, while Qi Long and the others all felt regret. Originally, they had thought their combined effort would be a bit troublesome for Boss. Now it seemed that it had no effect at all. As expected, the difference between them and Boss was still too great. They still needed to work harder.

The fellows on the ground were not paying attention, but the Qi Long in mid-air had seen something. When Boss used his right hand to brush his face, it seemed like he had brushed something off when his hand passed his mouth area.

Qi Long stared at the right hand Ling Lan used to perform her defensive stance, attempting to look for something… however, he didn't see anything. He only saw four white and long fingers along with that immovable mountain-like body of Boss'.

After Qi Long and the others took a breather, they attacked once again. Ling Lan didn't counterattack. She only blocked in a systematic way. The changes in her movements became smaller, but she was still able to intercept all of their attacks with precision and didn't waste any energy.

At the time, Qi Long and the others had believed that they weren't able to give Boss too much pressure with their attacks, which was why he wasn't paying too much attention them. Now, however, Qi Long knew that that was because Boss' body had reached its limit. He had no choice but to calculate to conserve energy in order to make sure to not waste even one bit.

Just like that, the fight continued for another 10 minutes. After putting in their all, including the energy they used during their fights from before, their energy had been exhausted by quite a lot. They finally felt tired. Qi Long looked around at his comrades and their eyes met. They decided to attack one last time.

However, the Qi Long in mid-air saw that at that moment, all of Boss' movements were being made purely out of instincts. That was because Boss had already lost consciousness…

Qi Long knew about this because he was fully focused on Ling Lan. He also saw what Ling Lan had hidden on her right hand's thumb. There was still a smear of blood that hadn't disappeared yet…

Qi Long couldn't control himself and squatted down. His entire body shook violently as he held his head tightly, afraid of what was going to happen next…

Two years ago, they had almost killed their most respected Boss. He now knew that at that moment, Boss had been on the verge of death, and those responsible were them, his underlings. If Boss hadn't broken through and had his energy erupt from inside him, what awaited them may have been a scene of them having killed their own boss…

"No, I don't want that to happen! I don't want Boss to die!" Qi Long held his head and shouted angrily. He refused to look at what was going to happen next…

However, how could the images from his memory stop just because he didn't want to see them?

Luo Lang was the first to jump out and shout, "One-Inch Punch, Level 4!" This was Luo Lang's strongest physical skill fighting technique. It was a secret family move that was made stronger by Boss through his research.

"Wave Stacking Strike!" This was similar to the One-Inch Punch, but it just had a different way of releasing Qi-Jin. It was a physical skills technique that Ling Lan had exchanged for credits in the learning space. She taught it to Qi Long and it was also Qi Long's trump card. Finally, he used it.

"Lightning Dragon Strike!" Xie Yi attacked Boss with a technique that was created from his innate talent combined with pointers from Boss. This was also his trump card.

"Final Strike!" Lin Zhong-qing silently appeared. He sent a strong fist towards a blind spot around Ling Lan's ribcage that could not be defended.

"Rolling Mines!" Han Jijyun attacked Ling Lan from the side, aiming for the weakest part of Ling Lan's body at that moment; her lower body.

Faced with this crisis, the unconscious Ling Lan didn't feel anything. She only unconsciously raised her two hands and reactively intercepted these punches and kicks coming from all directions.

"No!" Terrified, Qi Long screamed out, "Stop!"

At that moment, his eyes that were staring angrily no longer had tears come out of them. Instead, there was blood!

At that moment, Qi Long still hadn't noticed that the barrier in his body which had been limiting him had broken the instant he cried tears of blood…

Chapter 531 - Promise!

"No!

"I don't want that to happen!

"I don't want Boss to get injured!

"I don't want Boss to die!"

As Qi Long angrily screamed inside his mind, he formed a claw with his right hand and swiped downwards—he was ruthlessly reaching for the Qi Long that was attempting to attack Boss.

Maybe Qi Long's will was too strong, as the energy that was originally holding him back had been broken through by him. He instantly arrived in front of Ling Lan, grabbed the other Qi Long's neck and instantly pummeled him to the ground.

"I won't allow anyone to hurt Boss. I won't allow it even if it's myself." Qi Long raised his left fist and ruthlessly threw it towards the Qi Long who had a look of ignorance on his face.

Qi Long used all of his energy to hit himself. The image of the memory was like a mirror; because of Qi Long's punch, it shattered into countless pieces and scattered everywhere.

Qi Long raised his head. His face with bloody red tears was easily seen. There was determination in his eyes, the kind that would enable one to do anything for someone without regret.

"I, Qi Long, promise that I will become Boss' shield. If anyone wants to harm Boss, they'll have to get over my dead body first!

"I, Qi Long, will fight for Boss to the bitter end with no regrets!"

Qi Long's determined voice echoed through his vast mindspace. When he spoke, the mindspace had memorized the promise he made. This meant that if Qi Long was to go against his promise, he wouldn't have any chances of advancement. His soul will be tormented day and night. In the end, he would become a crazy demon and would never have a moment of peace.

"For this, I need to become even stronger. Strong to the point of being able to help Boss take on all of his enemies."

Qi Long had never found a reason that made it necessary for him to become stronger, but now he had one. It wasn't for himself. Instead, it was for the boss who had treated him sincerely.

In the arena, Qi Long crying had already made everyone in the audience become very surprised. When Qi Long's tears became blood, everyone was shaken. The entire training dojo became silent.

Ling Lan, who was in the observation room, had instantly stood up when Qi Long's blood red tears had come out from his eyes. She could no longer continue to be calm.

"Why is this happening?" Han Jijyun's tears silently fell from his eyes. He instantly held his chest. Qi Long's blood red tears also made Han Jijyun feel his emotions. Han Jijyun felt like his heart was in a blender.

Right at that moment, a strong aura suddenly erupted in the arena. The overwhelming aura instantly made the edges of the arena have a transparent light barrier appear.

Ling Lan instantly calmed down. Her eyes showed a hint of joy. The light barrier was even brighter than the previous one. Did this mean that Qi Long had successfully advanced into the late stage of Qi-Jin?

Everyone was surprised and moving about when the light barrier appeared again. At that moment, someone shouted, "Look, in the arena!" Everyone set their focus onto the arena.

Qi Long's eyes had stopped bleeding, and his dark and empty eyes had closed. Other than this, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. However, looking at Ling Yi, who was standing in front of Qi Long, they knew that at that moment, Qi Long wasn't a pushover.

It turned out that at that moment, Ling Yi's body was trembling. He bent his back forwards and actually couldn't stand up straight. His face had a grimace as he bit his lip as though he was resisting some sort of terrifying pressure.

This pressure was no longer the immature aura that Qi Long had before. Ling Yi had used all of his body's energy this time and could only make sure he wasn't pinned into the ground. He had no extra energy to counterattack.

"It's an aura!" The audience and the members all understood. Hadn't the boss used the same move that year when he fought with Huo Zhenyu, the strongest individual in terms of physical skills in the military academy?

They excitedly looked towards Qi Long, who had closed his eyes once again. It turned out that Commander Qi Long's supposed mid-stage of Qi-Jin was a lie. Instead, his Qi-Jin was higher by two stages than the mid-stage, the Refinement stage. From what they knew, there wasn't anyone from the other mecha clans who had reached the late of Qi-Jin. Now their Lingtian Mecha Clan, other than Boss, had another strong individual who had reached the late stage of Qi-Jin. This was definitely enough to roll over the other mecha clans.

Ling Lan silently activated her own aura and carefully felt Qi Long's current condition. Her lips perked up. She didn't expect that being pushed to the verge of death this time had not only acted as a catalyst for Qi Long to break through the barrier to his advancement, but even also managed to advance two stages above his original one. He had instantly entered the late stage of Qi-Jin, close to the peak stage. He only needed one more step to enter into the very peak stage, Great Perfection.

"Qi Long, in terms of physical skills, as expected, you are the best."

Ling Lan was overjoyed. The stronger Qi Long's potential, the more likely he would survive the fighting in the battlefield. There were still two years left before they had to join a military division., and entering a division would mean that they were not far from a battlefield.

Ling Lan felt she was hard pressed for time. This was also why she was so ruthless in making these arrangements.

Ling Yi slowly raised his head. Just this small motion was painful for him to manage. He looked at Qi Long in front of him, who was not moving. Ling Yi was oddly surprised. He didn't expect that his opponent would be this strong. Without even moving a finger, he could make it so he couldn't stand up straight. He knew that this person was Young Master Lan's battle team's vice-captain…

"Qi Long: Mid-stage of Qi-Jin. Luo Lang: Beginner stage of Qi-Jin. Xie Yi: Beginner stage of Qi-Jin. Lin Zhong-qing: Peak of Refinement stage. Han Jijyun: Advanced level of Refinement stage…" Inside Ling Yi's mind, the detailed information he had gathered on Young Master Lan's battle team members rapidly flashed through his mind.

"Qi Long, mid-stages of Qi-Jin… Heh, lies, all lies. Late stage of Qi-Jin. Even fifth-years may not reach that state. Qi Long did it in three years. It's funny that I thought my current capabilities were already qualified to stand beside Young Master Lan. Now that I think about it, I really was too arrogant.

"I think the physical skills of the others are also not as the information says. Maybe all of them have reached Qi-Jin. Those supposedly at the beginner stage of Qi-Jin may have already reached the mid-stage or advanced stage," Ling Yi thought bitterly to himself.

Ling Yi's guess wasn't wrong. His information was based on the time when Qi Long and the others were in their first year at the academy. Now that two years had gone by, how could they not have undergone even a little bit of improvement? Even if Qi Long and the others were lazy and didn't want to train, with a ruthless boss like Ling Lan by their side, they wouldn't have gotten the chance to simply stop at where they were in terms of power.

Ling Yi was actually using his will of not admitting defeat to endure through all of this. In reality, he had reached his limit long before this point in time. Qi Long seemed to have sensed this and slowly restrained his aura, making it disappear completely in the end.

The light barrier around the edges of the arena vanished once again, following which Qi Long opened his eyes and calmly said, "Thank you for the fight."

Having successfully broken through to the peak of late stages of Qi-Jin, the current Qi Long was no longer the Qi Long who was exhausted all of his energy. Now he possessed strong and abundant Qi-Jin at his disposal. At that moment, even if all of the applicants were to come up to challenge him at the same time, he wouldn't be afraid of them.

"Thank you, Commander Qi Long, for being merciful." Ling Yi finally stood up after the pressure he was under disappeared. He knew that he wasn't made a fool of because Qi Long was being merciful. If the latter hadn't slowly restrained his aura but instead instantly made his aura disappear, Ling Yi would definitely not have been able to get used to it and would have fallen straight towards the ground.

Ling Yi couldn't accept his opponent's good will. However, to ignore it would be shameless. Thus, he thanked Qi Long personally.

Qi Long nodded at Ling Yi. His behavior drew Qi Long's admiration. Qi Long decided that Ling Yi would be the first choice to accept into the mecha clan.

Afterwards, Ling Yi turned around and walked off the arena. Every step he took was difficult, but he didn't show it on his expression. He was a proud individual, especially at that moment when he didn't know where Young Master Lan was watching this evaluation from. As Young Master Lan's loyalist, he couldn't lose his master's dignity.

Ling Yi finally walked off the arena. He walked beside his comrades. Yi Tiange comforted him and said, "Captain, your performance was great. It's just that…" But before he could finish, Ling Yi was already falling over.

Rong Ziruo and Yan Wuyou reacted quickly; they supported their captain, one from the left and one from the right, to make sure he didn't fall over.

"He's totally exhausted. It's alright, it's only temporary unconsciousness." Yan Wuyou held onto to Ling Yi as he felt his pulse and informed the other members of Ling Yi's condition so that they wouldn't worry.

"Who would've known that Commander Qi Long would advance during battle? Our captain's efforts were all for naught," Yi Tiange remarked sympathetically.

Rong Ziruo turned around and looked at Qi Long, who was looking over at them from the arena. That straight stance and calm expression of his didn't need any explanations. It was as though he were a king looking down at his subjects.

"Commander Qi Long is really strong!" Rong Ziruo mumbled. He began to think about how strong Ling Lan would have to be to have become the captain of Commander Qi Long.

"Now, probably no one will challenge Commander Qi Long," Yi Tiange said. Smart individuals wouldn't choose such a strong and unbeatable examiner.

As expected, after three minutes, another freshman finally chose their opponent for their evaluation. This time, they chose a different captain from Lingtian…

Ling Yi opened his eyes and discovered he was lying in a bed. He instantly jumped up.

His movements surprised Rong Ziruo, who had been sitting beside him while looking through the information in his communicator. He asked with concern, "Captain, how do you feel?"

Seeing Rong Ziruo and also seeing that he was in his own room, Ling Yi was relieved. He laid himself back into the bed and asked, "How long did I sleep for?"

"18 hours. I have already called in sick for you and informed the instructor," Rong Ziruo replied.

Ling Yi was silent for a few seconds before finally asking the question he was most concerned about. "Lingtian. How were the results of the evaluation?"

"Although we all lost, we all passed." Hearing his question, Rong Ziruo instantly smiled.

Ling Yi raised his head, his eyes showing a hint of joy. "All of us passed?"

"Yeah, everyone passed. They even let us keep our battle team. As long as we pass the mainframe's battle team evaluation and become a real battle team, we'll then be able to officially register. However, the treatment that we'll get will only start from the lowest rank, the fifth level. Advancement will be based on our contributions," Rong Ziruo explained with a bit of regret.

"I see." Ling Yi felt that there wasn't anything wrong with all this. He looked at Rong Ziruo and the expression on his face showed slight signs of struggle. He then asked, "Did Young Master Lan come out in the end?"

Rong Ziruo shook his head and said, "No, it was Commander Wu Jiong who came out to announce the list of names. However, this is normal. From the information that we received, the person responsible for managing Lingtian Mecha Clan's work has always been Commander Wu Jiong. The commanders Qi Long and Li Yingjie are the helpers. Commander Ling Lan never meddles with anything."

"Never?"

Ling Yi talked to himself. He clenched his fists and his eyes showed a hint of determination. Whatever the case, he had already successfully joined the mecha clan that Young Master Lan had created. He was now slowly getting closer to his Young Master Lan. His strength wasn't enough at this moment. However, there would be a day when he would catch up to those in Young Master Lan's battle team. Then he will become a real loyalist of Young Master Lan and give him all of his loyalty.

Chapter 532 - Live Longer Than Others!

After the Lingtian Mecha Clan took in those freshmen members with great potential, their numbers had reached the standard of a medium sized mecha clan. At this point, the Lingtian Mecha Clan was no longer the small mecha clan they were in the past. Adding on the glory and prestige they had earned in the last year, along with Ling Lan's outstanding display of operating skills on her long-range mecha that shocked the other mecha operators… all of this had allowed Lingtian to finally possess their very first battle force with considerable power and their very own culture.

However, a new year meant a new beginning. Not a single mecha clan was satisfied with their current results, as they all wanted to improve—a battle for power would soon begin.

All the mecha clans were waiting for someone to challenge Lingtian first. In these dark times, all of the Lingtian Mecha Clan was silent.

Inside a physical training dojo, the third-year special mecha piloting class cadets, who were training, were currently huddled together beside two mechas and watching them as they were fighting.

"Ding, ding, ding. The betting has now begun. All those who wants to bet on Instructor Tang Yu defeating Boss within a certain number of hits should come find me to bet." A cool and clear voice rang out loudly in the dojo, drawing everyone's attention to the speaker.

"Xie Yi, this time I won't lose to you." Someone saw the individual who was shouting and shouted back.

Xie Yi smiled and replied, "Sure, I've already prepared everyone's credits from before. Just waiting for you guys to win it back."

Xie Yi's words made these people who had always lost to him feel better instantly, and they all went over to him in preparation to place their bets for the next round.

Seeing this, Lin Zhong-qing's lips showed a hint of a smile. Luo Lang saw this and poked him lightly, saying, "Heh heh, are we going to have another huge sum of reserve funds?"

Lin Zhong-qing said sternly, "Luo Lang, how could this bet be 100% winnable? You should talk to Xie Yi and stop him. Otherwise, if Boss finds out, he will definitely rip off a layer of Xie Yi's skin."

Luo Lang looked at Lin Zhong-qing with determination as he replied, "In that case, why don't you go talk to him?"

Lin Zhong-qing glanced at Luo Lang with a half-smile. "Everyone in the team knows that aside from Boss, Xie Yi listens to you the most."

Luo Lang proudly raised his head at that. "That's because Xie Yi and I are good friends. We know each other very well."

"Yes, yes, yes, you guys are close friends, and that's why the person to talk to Xie Yi should be you, his close friend, right?" Lin Zhong-qing retorted.

Luo Lang was instantly speechless. Just a brief moment of carelessness and he had gotten himself caught up in the betting as well. However, ever since the other personalities of Luo Lang had been taken down by Ling Lan and they decided to serve the original as the master, the original's IQ wasn't as low as before. Thus, he quickly thought of one point and said, "Okay, Lin Zhong-qing, I was almost tangled up in there by you. Boss definitely knows that Xie Yi made a betting pool. In the past, we even used this to replenish the funds for the logistics division of our team."

"It's different from before now. In the past, everyone didn't know about Boss' capabilities, which was why Xie Yi could win. Now, though, everything about Boss that he himself revealed is known to everyone," Lin Zhong-qing explained.

Luo Lang felt that his words sounded logical and he couldn't help but begin to worry for Xie Yi. He was prepared to talk to Xie Yi after the current bets. If he really did lose, Xie Yi would meet a terrible end.

At that moment, everyone had already placed their bets. Xie Yi looked at the details of the wagers and couldn't help but shake his head as he said, "Aren't you guys underestimating my boss too much? No one actually bet that he'd be able to endure more than 300 rounds. Who wants to bet for more than 300 rounds? I'll triple the return."

Although Xie Yi raised the rate of the bet by quite a lot, there was still no one betting for it. This was because everyone remembered that in the previous month, Ling Lan could only endure 187 rounds with Instructor Tang Yu. No matter how monstrous Ling Lan was, it was impossible for him to suddenly improve to the point where he could endure for 300 rounds after only a month's interval.

Very nearly everyone had wagered that Ling Lan would be able to endure for around 200 rounds, while there was only one person who wagered that Ling Lan would be able to endure 250 rounds…

Xie Yi regrettably began preparing to close shop, but it was right then that he heard someone shout, "I'll wager on it." Xie Yi's smile instantly froze. When he raised his head, however, his smile had already returned to normal. He asked with a huge smile on his face, "Gao Jinyun, how many credits do you want to bet?"

Gao Jinyun's sudden shout had also surprised the team members beside him. They didn't make a sound as they trusted him, however, and waited for Gao Jinyun to reply instead.

Gao Jinyun only hesitated for a fleeting second before he became completely determined, after which he firmly said, "I'll bet 30,000 credits." This was the entire sum of his personal credits. He was very confident in Boss Ling Lan, just like the rest of her team. Since Xie Yi had made such a remark, it had to mean that Boss Ling Lan had the capability to endure for 300 rounds.

However, Gao Jinyun was not in a battle team that was directly under Ling Lan, after all, and didn't know of her real potential. The reason he could bet this much was because he trusted his own eyes and instincts.

"Captain, isn't that a bit too much?" Gao Jinyun's vice-captain wore an expression of concern as he asked this question.

Gao Jinyun quietly explained, "I'm only doing this for myself. The credits used will be my own personal credits. I won't use the team's credits."

The logistics team member responsible for handling the credits disagreed upon hearing his words. "No way. You are our captain, and your decision is our decision. The 30,000 credits will come from the team funds."

Gao Jinyun was surprisingly determined this time. "You guys don't have to convince me. I trust Boss, and that's why I'm willing to bet. This is my own thoughts, though. It has nothing to do with you guys."

Gao Jinyun usually listened to the opinions of his team members; however, once he made a decision, there would be no changing it. The members of Gao Jinyun's team watched as he gave his 30,000 credits to Xie Yi.

Gao Jinyun's vice-captain and other team members quietly discussed this matter for a few seconds. When Gao Jinyun turned around, they all said, "Gao Jinyun's team will wager 30,000 credits as a group that Boss Ling Lan will be able to endure for 300 rounds." Since their captain trusted Boss Ling Lan, then being his team members, they had to follow in his footsteps. Even if they lost, they had to use their actions to support the captain.

Although Xie Yi was full of smiles and had a face of full confidence, he was actually crying inside. The bets that he had made today had ended up all for naught, as the money that he would make would most likely not be enough to pay Gao Jinyun's team. These guys were f**king insane.

It turned out that the only reason Xie Yi thought of setting up bets was that before Boss and Instructor Tang Yu began their fight, he had asked the former on how many rounds he would be able to endure. Ling Lan's answer was more than 300 rounds, and this was also why Xie Yi had asked whether there was anyone who was going to bet on 300 rounds or more. At that moment, Xie Yi was hating himself for having such a big mouth. Even if he did set the bet, why did he have to say that he would pay triple to the winner?

Bystanders couldn't see the pain in Xie Yi heart, but all the members of Ling Lan's battle team saw through his facade.

Lin Zhong-qing sighed quietly. As expected, sinners would eventually have to pay for their sins; Xie Yi was going to be in trouble this time.

On the side, Luo Lang was already considering whether he should open his small bank to help Xie Yi fill the lack of cash after the bets were completed.

Qi Long, who was focused on the battle the entire time, had discovered the activity on Xie Yi's end at that moment. He frowned and asked, "Did Xie Yi get into trouble this time?" Ever since Qi Long had formed his aura after his physical skills advanced to the peak late-stage of Qi-Jin, a tough presence would emanate from his entire body. Even if he looked like a nice person, he still gave off the tough feeling of a strong individual. This made others not dare to underestimate him.

Of course, this was also because Qi Long didn't have complete control of his aura. If he really could control it completely, Qi Long would still be the same as before and would not make people become cautious of him when they were around him.

Han Jijyun held in his laughter and nodded, replying, "Gao Jinyun's team has put in him in a bad spot this time."

"Gao Jinyun… he respects Boss very much." Qi Long had a very good impression of him. Every time they met, Qi Long felt that Gao Jinyun was similar to himself.

"Yeah, he also trusts Boss very much." Han Jijyun's impression of Gao Jinyun was similarly very good. How could he bet so much if he didn't fully trust Boss, putting down 60,000 credits?

Of course, Ling Lan's team didn't care about that amount of credits. The credits they had acquired during their time in the scout academy was compounded through investments made by Boss—the sum had already reached the 100 million range. It could be said that in the military academy, out of all the battle teams, only their team didn't have to worry about the logistics aspect of their team.

Later on, Boss was focused on advancing and didn't have time to deal with the credits. Thus, he transferred more than 100 million credits to Lin Zhong-qing. It was at that time that they learned that Lin Zhong-qing had another terrifying talent—doing business. Lin Zhong-qing's eye for investments wasn't as accurate as Boss, but he wasn't too far behind. The 100 million credits that they had from back then had accumulated into 300 million. This number was already excluding their expenses in the past two years.

However, no matter how many credits the battle team had, Lin Zhong-qing was just as frugal as Boss. The team members had to put in an application every time they needed to use credits and had to go through many steps. If the estimated expense was not carefully calculated or was more than 500 credits, the application would always be sent back. The team members resented all of this. However, it was Lin Zhong-qing's unwavering front that made the others learn how to calculate and estimate, not wasting even a little bit.

Qi Long and Han Jijyun were only talking casually. They also know that even if Xie Yi lost those credits, it wouldn't hurt him at all.

"Our battle team is already a five-star team. If we want to advance, we need to have secondary battle teams. Gao Jinyun's battle team…" Qi Long frowned as he fell into deep thought. Although taking in secondary battle teams wouldn't be as harsh as taking in new team members, loyalty was something that couldn't be of similar importance to new team members; they had to unconditionally listen to the head team's orders. Qi Long and the others were all looking at the battle teams in the Lingtian Mecha Clan. Currently, only Gao Jinyun's team had managed to catch their eyes, but it was just that taking in secondary battle teams was a very important matter. They were still just looking.

"We'll see!" Han Jijyun raised his chin and pointed towards the arena. "Since our captain isn't even in a rush, then we don't need to rush either." They were responsible for providing the list of choices, but the final decision would be made by their boss, Ling Lan.

Hearing this, Qi Long replied with a smile, "You're right!"

In the arena, Ling Lan was operating a special-class mecha, while Tang Yu was operating an ace mecha. Although they appeared to be in the midst of a fierce and terrifying mecha battle, in reality, the two of them were very relaxed.

"Ling Lan, how many rounds do you plan on getting to this time?" Despite launching a seemingly ruthless attack, Tang Yu asked this with a smile.

"300 rounds, or maybe more. I'll see," Ling Lan replied calmly as she raised her right hand and used her beam saber to easily intercept Tang Yu's attack.

At their level, if it wasn't a battle to the death, it was possible for them to trade blows up to 10,000 times. Even if Ling Lan's operating skills were of a special-class operator, her actually skill level of being an ace operator made it so that Instructor Tang Yu couldn't actually defeat her that easily.

"If it wasn't to protect you, I would have truly liked to immediately publicize the news of you advancing to ace operator." Tang Yu blocked and intercepted Ling Lan's attack. Using this block, he performed a side kick.

Ling Lan operated her mecha to dodge. At the same time as she attacked with her beam saber, she said, "No rush. I'm preparing to officially advance in the second half of my fourth year." Even if she got into the 23rd Division and with her father protecting her, Ling Lan still wanted to get in with her own strength. She wanted her father's subordinates to know that she was no prince that entered through a backdoor.

"Looks like you already have it all thought out," Tang Yu remarked with amazement. She was able to restrain herself from the temptation of gaining instant success. Every step that Ling Lan took was firm.

"I have to save some face for Senior Qiao Ting," replied Ling Lan. Qiao Ting had advanced at the very beginning of his fourth year, and it was because of this that he was viewed as the second Ling Xiao and received the admiration of everyone else.

"You want to use Qiao Ting as an excuse, don't you? Out of all the cadets that I've taught, you're the craftiest," Tang Yu said wholeheartedly. "However, it's possible that you'll be the one to live the longest." In reality, it wasn't that he hadn't taught any star pupils. It was just that the more talented the cadet, the more arrogant they were. They didn't want to give in and this led to them dying young, leaving Tang Yu heartbroken.

"My goal isn't to acquire boundless glory. Instead, it's to live longer than the others!" Ling Lan declared without hesitation. This was her hope for the future and she was working hard towards this goal.

"To live longer?" Tang Yu was stunned for a second. Afterwards, as though he had thought it through, he said, "That's true. In the end, it's all about living longer than everyone else."

Tang Yu's expression was slightly saddened. He suddenly realized that the lessons he had taught to his pupils from before could have been all wrong. Perhaps it was better that he taught his pupils how to survive more easily on the battlefield. The sure-kill techniques used in battle were actually compiled by those who still lived after each and every battle. As long as his pupils survived, they would naturally come to an understanding and would not need him to use his time to teach them how to kill others.

However, there was obviously no life-or-death battles in the academy. Even if he taught them more, how could he make his pupil understand the secrets of those sure-kill techniques? They, as instructors, had led them down the wrong path…

Tang Yu had a feeling that when he taught cadets in the future, he would put the main focus on how to survive in a battlefield. This would greatly increase the survival rate of his pupils.

After many years, he had proof and he sent his research to the military's headquarters. After the people at headquarters carried out further research on this subject, they discovered that this was indeed the case in terms of survival rate of the cadets; thus, they decided that they would conduct an academy-wide experiment in the First Men's Military Academy. In the classes for real battles, the lesson content changed from the training of sure-kill techniques to instructing cadets about survival techniques upon entering a battlefield.

After accumulating more than 10 years of data, they discovered that the change was very effective, and thus they put it through to every academy in the Federation. The result was that the mortality rate of the Federation's veterans decreased compared to the other countries. This made the Federation's military strength increase once again and also brought a true 100 years of peace to the Federation's borders. And all of this came about from Ling Lan's one statement of wanting to live longer than everyone else!

Tang Yu would later reveal this truth on his deathbed, following which Ling Lan, who was already legendary, would once again experience a rise in fame—she would gain the respect and gratitude of every soldier in the country.

Chapter 533 - The Dangerous Xie Yi!

Just like that, Ling Lan and Tang Yu fought for more than 300 rounds. At that point, Ling Lan revealed a weak point, which allowed Instructor Tang Yu to land a hit and defeat her. This result made all the people who were watching cry in agony; all of them had almost lost all of their credits. However, as the dealer, Xie Yi also had a bitter expression on his face, and this was because he had to pay Gao Jinyun and his battle team 180,000 credits. This had made him instantly lose all the credits he had accumulated in the past few years and return to his original poor self.

In Gao Jinyun's battle team, the vice-captain couldn't control his feelings of excitement. He grabbed Gao Jinyun's right arm and shook it violently, asking, "Captain, Captain, I'm not dreaming, am I? We… we really won."

As Gao Jinyun was shaken about by his vice-captain, he had a stupid smile on his face as if he was in a dream. When he placed his bet in the beginning, he had only done so to support Boss. He didn't actually want to win any money, but he didn't expect that his trust in Boss would actually help him win such a huge sum. This time, with his principal amount, plus the interest earned, he suddenly had 120,000 credits. No, wait—if he counted his team's betting amount, then that would be 240,000 credits. Even after taking away the principal amount of 60,000, it was still 180,000 credits…

Gao Jinyun's 30,000 credits were accumulated from when he was a child. It should be said that he had taken out all that he owned and bet it on Boss Ling Lan.

All the members in Gao Jinyun's battle team were from commoner families; they didn't have any family backgrounds like the other battle teams. Similarly, their team taking out 30,000 credits to bet on Ling Lan wasn't an easy feat. At that time, the entire team's credits only amounted to a bit more than 30,000. The only reason they had been willing to take out 30,000 credits was that they trusted their own captain. Now, they had gotten their return for their trust in him. This made the team's logistics funds increase to more than 100,000. It was enough for their small team to change their equipment and weapons.

Moving away from Gao Jinyun and his team's excitement, Ling Lan walked out of her mecha's cockpit. Before she landed on the ground, Qi Long and Han Jijyun had already walked over to her.

"Boss, thanks for your hard work."

Ling Lan glanced at the crowd that was gathered on the side. She frowned slightly as she said, "Xie lost." If he had won, the crowd would definitely have scattered.

"Gao Jinyun and his team bet that Boss could endure for 300 rounds and put down 60,000 credits," Qi Long said with a laugh.

Ling Lan was surprised. "Xie actually dared to do that?" She remembered telling Xie Yi that she would go over 300 rounds this time. Did Xie Yi not listen to her? It seemed that he had indeed been reckless this time around. It was time to beat him up.

Ling Lan saw that Han Jijyun had an odd expression on his face. She uncontrollably thought of something and asked, "Is there another reason?"

Han Jijyun nodded. He sternly told Ling Lan about how Xie Yi dug a hole for himself. Hearing this, Ling Lan glanced towards Xie Yi with a half-smile.

Xie Yi, who was transferring the credits to Gao Jinyun's battle team, suddenly felt a cold, sharp glare come his way. His entire body felt chilly, as though his blood was frozen. He didn't even need to turn around to know whose glare it was. He knew he was in trouble; Boss was definitely not going to let him off easy this time.

Xie Yi thought back to the time when he set up his first betting pool…

It happened back in their first year in the military academy. Xie Yi, Qi Long and the others had returned to their own house just like they did every day. Once they entered through door, they could see that their boss was sitting on the sofa in the living room, using his communicator to look through some data.

After Qi Long and the others greeted Boss, they all went back to their own respective rooms and cleaned themselves. Xie Yi's movements were very fast. When he finished showering, he discovered that Qi Long and the others hadn't finished yet. There was only Boss still sitting on the sofa, concentrated on the information on the virtual screen.

Xie Yi suddenly had a thought and walked towards the sofa that was facing Boss directly and sat down. Boss' aura was too strong; he didn't dare to sit beside him.

After sitting down, Xie Yi fell into several seconds of contemplation before opening his mouth and asking, "Boss, tomorrow is our class's physical skills battles. The list of names has already been announced. The battle that the most freshmen members are paying close attention to is the one between Qi Long and Commander Wu Jiong. Everyone wants to know who is stronger."

Ling Lan didn't raise her head. She replied nonchalantly, "Perhaps everyone else doesn't have any idea, but those who came from the Central Scout Academy should definitely know the answer."

Xie Yi smiled. "That's true. Everyone knows that Qi Long is a bit stronger. It's just that everyone wants to know how many hits Qi Long would need to defeat Commander Wu Jiong."

"If he gave his all, he would probably win within 50 rounds. If he restrained himself, he probably would need around 80 rounds." Ling Lan had raised her head and thought about it for a second before giving an answer.

"Boss, can you tell me just how many it'll be?" Xie Yi wasn't satisfied with the approximation of the data the Boss had given him.

Xie Yi's words prompted a stern look from Ling Lan, which made the former hang his head out of a lack of confidence.

Ling Lan turned off her communicator as she looked Xie Yi straight in the eye and said, "Okay, tell me what you think."

Xie Yi knew that his thoughts had already been seen through by his hoss. He didn't hide it anymore and told her everything. "Boss, I was thinking that our team's logistics funds are running low. Every time we want to buy some necessities, Lin Zhong-qing has to think it over many times and make careful calculations. That's why I thought of an idea that could add some funds to the logistics division of our team.

"Now that we're training our physical skills, there could be some competitions. Everyone also seems to be bored and likely to do some betting on the side. I want to make use of this point…" Xie Yi looked at Ling Lan carefully and discovered that her expression didn't show that she was annoyed. Xie Yi instantly felt better.

The fingers of Ling Lan's right hand were slowly drumming against the armrest of the sofa. She closed her eyes and began to think on whether this plan was plausible or not.

Seeing her like this, Xie Yi affirmed his decision and told everything he had thought to Boss. He hoped that Boss would support him. "Boss, I won't create random bets. I won't open a pool for opponents that I'm unsure about. The only ones that I'll open would be the ones that I know about. I plan on using our battle team as the main focus."

"Betting is something that I don't really like. There are too many uncertain factors involved. You won't ever know whether you'll win or lose until the end." Ling Lan opened her eyes and a cold gleam flashed through them for a second, which instantly snuffed out the courage that Xie Yi had built up just now.

"Unless you can guarantee that you will definitely win!" Ling Lan finished with a sharp look on her face, staring at Xie Yi.

Xie Yi's expression showed that he was struggling. It was just as Ling Lan had said. Where could he bet to guarantee a win? However, Xie also knew that if he couldn't guarantee it, Boss would definitely not agree to him starting the bets.

However, Xie Yi really didn't want to give up on this chance. As the last member to join the team, Xie Yi still didn't feel fully confident. Although Qi Long and the others had clearly told him that Boss Ling Lan had already accepted him as a member, he had still yet to hear those words from Ling Lan herself. Xie Yi was in a rush, hoping to get a chance to perform and contribute to the team.

Thus, Xie Yi was excited upon discovering that he had a way to help them resolve the pressure of the logistics funds. He didn't want to give up. Having already made up his mind, he immediately nodded and promised, "Yes, I promise that I will win."

"If you lose?" Ling Lan wasn't going to just let Xie Yi off like that.

Xie Yi bit his lip and replied, "I will be willing to be punished by you, Boss."

Hearing all this, Ling Lan went into deep thought once again. This made Xie Yi feel perturbed. He didn't know whether Boss would approve of his idea in the end.

Finally, Ling Lan gave an answer. "I'll allow it just this time. I hope you can do want you promised."

Xie Yi excitedly jumped up and instantly bowed down to show his gratitude. "Thank you, Boss, for your trust in me."

Ling Lan waved her hand. Xie Yi held in his excitement inside and left the living room, making his way back to his own room. He was full of energy as he began to plan for the betting pool tomorrow. He told himself that he had to be careful to make sure he didn't suffer a setback due to a small careless mistake.

Suffering a serious setback from a careless mistake! Xie Yi remembered his feelings from the past and regretted it strangely. In the past two years, the bets that he had set up had all gone smoothly. With the help of his comrades, he had never lost once. All of this made his confidence inflate without limit and made him lose the caution he had in the beginning.

The bitter result that he had today, after careful thinking, was completely brought about by him digging his own grave… Xie Yi began to worry. Would the good impression that he tried so hard to make in front of Boss be reverted back to the beginning because of this problem?

While Xie Yi was worrying about his well-being, Han Jijyun asked Ling Lan the question he had kept inside him for the past 2 years after he told her the dumb thing that Xie Yi had done. "Boss, I don't understand why you would have agreed to Xie Yi holding betting pools in the very beginning. This… is clearly not morally right."

Seeing Han Jijyun's frown, Ling Lan sighed. Han Jijyun was good in everything, except that he was a bit over the top. It was no wonder, though, because he was a descendant from a big family. These descendants were either quality soldier-like ruffians or exemplary soldiers. Han Jijyun was the latter. He was not very accepting of any act that were against the regulations. To have been able to endure it for so long, he had indeed made Xie Yi his comrade. That was why he was so understanding of Xie.

"For those people came from elite families, they don't really have that many limitations. We can't treat them like army personnel," Ling Lan replied calmly. "Also, two years ago, there was an issue with Xie Yi's emotions."

Han Jijyun was surprised. He actually didn't know about this. "What happened?"

"He couldn't find his own value in the team. Although he wanted to be the diplomat for the team, the cadets who came from the Central Scout Academy, including Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie and the others, actually still liked to communicate with Qi Long. Xie Yi's position was indeed very awkward, to begin with," continued Ling Lan in a sharp tone. She informed Han Jijyun of the situation Xie Yi was in at the very beginning.

Han Jijyun thought back to the past and discovered that it was indeed like that. His face showed guilt as he said, "I'm sorry, Boss. I actually missed this detail." He was the strategist of the team and yet he hadn't discovered that a team member's mental stability was not in check. He had forsaken his position on this part.

"At the time, we had just entered the military academy and didn't have a firm place to stand yet. Then we were challenged by Leiting Mecha Clan into an arena battle. Everyone's focus was on that arena battle, so missing that detail was inevitable. You don't need to feel guilty." Ling Lan elaborated and made Han Jijyun feel a bit better.

"Although Xie Yi did find his own value back then, it still wasn't very appropriate in my eyes. However, at the time, it indeed made Xie Yi push past his shaken mentality. This was the most important part. Thus, I agreed with him." Ling Lan spoke out the reason why she had agreed to Xie Yi's suggestion in the very beginning.

"Furthermore, the funds of the team's logistics division did really get replenished. This was a good thing. Jijyun, I think that as long as everyone is willing and doesn't cheat, rob or trick each other, there's no good or bad on how the funds are gathered." Ling Lan didn't really care about betting. She cared about was whether it was worth it or not.

"Take what I should take. As long as I have a clear conscience?!" Han Jijyun felt like he had understood.

Ling Lan didn't say anymore. Some things needed Han Jijyun to think about them himself. No one could help him.

Qi Long had been listening to their conversation the entire time. Seeing that Han Jijyun had gone into deep thought, he asked, "Boss, are you preparing to put Xie Yi in his place?"

Ling Lan raised her eyebrow as though she was asking why Qi Long had such a thought.

"Xie Yi's problem. Boss, don't tell me you haven't noticed," said Qi Long with a smile on his face.

"So you also know." Ling Lan's eyes showed a hint of approval.

"My innate talent is Animal Instinct. When I activate my talent, my Animal Instinct tells me that Xie Yi is very dangerous." Qi Long's expression suddenly became very serious.

Their words surprised Han Jijyun. He had a face of confusion as he asked, "Boss, Qi Long, what are you guys talking about? What problem does Xie Yi have? Didn't Boss say that his shaken mentality was resolved?"

Ling Lan looked at Qi Long. This was clearly giving Qi Long the cue to explain to his close friend.

Qi Long rubbed his nose. He could only bitterly explain to his comrade, "You also know that my innate talent, Animal Instinct, can help me sense hidden dangers. Two years ago, although Xie Yi's mentality was shaken, I didn't sense any danger from him… but as time went on, even though Xie Yi's mentality issue was resolved, whenever I activated my innate talent, I could sense the immense pressure he was giving me. This pressure was becoming larger and larger."

Qi Long looked towards Ling Lan and continued, "It's just like how Boss usually gives me a sense of intense pressure, but I can still endure it. Once I activate my innate talent, though, Boss' presence seems so terrifying to the point where if he wanted to me to die, I would die." After saying all this, Qi Long actually shivered.

Han Jijyun finally understood. "So you're saying that when you activate your innate talent, the feeling that Xie Yi gives you is very strong and threatens you right?"

Qi Long nodded. Han Jijyun exclaimed with surprise, "Could it be that he has hidden potential?" After saying this, Han Jijyun's expression showed a hint of sorrow. After all, his so-called comrade had lied to him, which gave him the feeling of being betrayed.

Qi Long didn't answer. He looked towards Ling Lan because he didn't know how to say it.

Seeing this, Ling Lan shook her head and said, "No, it's not Xie Yi's power. There were a few times when I unintentionally sensed Xie Yi suppressing it."

Ling Lan's answer not only shocked Han Jijyun, but also even Qi Long. It was probably because Qi Long hadn't even thought of this detail.

"Then what is it exactly?" Qi Long asked.

Ling Lan glanced at Xie, who was in the crowd, before looking at Luo Lang who was beside him, and then she began to speak with a certain degree of confidence. "I suspect that it is a second personality, just like Luo Lang's Alter Ego innate talent."

"Doesn't Xie Yi have the Lightning Bolt innate talent? How could he have a second innate talent?" Qi Long asked in surprise. The people of the Federation could only awaken one innate talent—there was no one who could awaken a second.

"I didn't say it's an innate talent. It is only similar to Luo Lang's innate talent. I suspect this has something to do with Xie Yi's family's bloodline. Xie Yi doesn't seem to be surprised by it. He even has a way of holding down that power.

"My guess is that this is some type of split personality… The power it has is extremely overwhelming. It has destructive properties and is probably Xie Yi's hidden personality," Ling Lan explained without hesitation.