525-529

Chapter 525: Purpose!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Number One's words caused the expressions of the others still present to change. Number Four was talking to himself, saying, "How could it be this fast…" Was he entering the maturation stage?

"I can't determine the direction Majesty Four is evolving towards. He probably still hasn't reached the period of maturation, but for some reason he has the possibility of evolving." Instructor Number One's eyes showed worry and confusion for the first time. It should be said that ever since Ling Lan had decided to walk her own path, no matter if it was the learning space or Little Four, both appeared to have some changes; only, Instructor Number One didn't know whether the change was a good or bad thing.

"Since it's already become reality, then we can only watch and see." Instructor Number Five was looking forward to the change very much. Compared to cases of normal evolution, he was more interested in this type of unpredictable evolution. In his own words, he would say that it added a feeling of novelty.

Moving away from the instructors' concerns and worries about Little Four's evolution, after Ling Lan and the others walked into the training dojo, they didn't go to the center of the arena. Instead, they walked into the spacious observation room which directly faced the arena.

In the observation room, there was a transparent glass window on the side with the arena, which allowed for a clear view of any movement inside the training dojo. Of course, if someone looked from the other side, it would only appear to be a wall and they wouldn't be able to see what was inside.

This transparent glass window simultaneously acted as a large screen. In front of the screen, there were rows of sofas that were set up in a shape of handheld fan. The room could hold up to a maximum of 500 audience members that could sit and watch.

Beside each sofa seat, there was also a miniature optical supercomputer. The audience could freely choose the angles and spots they wanted to watch from. This optical supercomputer would also send information from the arena to the seat. For example, once a new cadet chose their opponent, these optical supercomputers would immediately receive the information and show it.

The observation room was around 400 to 500 meters away from the arena. It seemed far, but for these captains whose physical skills had reached the level of Qi-Jin, they only need 2 to 3 seconds to close that distance. It didn't hinder them from reaching the arena to act as an examiner.

Knowing that today was the day of evaluations for freshmen, many members of the Lingtian Mecha Clan had already come inside the training dojo. Very soon, the dojo became lively. Many of the older members were calling out to their friends to gather in front of the arena and quietly wait for the evaluations to begin.

Finally, it was the time for the evaluations, but not one person appeared in the arena—it turned out that none among the freshmen were rushing out to choose their opponent. Those who could manage to get admitted to the First Men's Military Academy were not blindly impulsive people. Being clever, they all wanted to watch two rounds of evaluations before making their decisions.

"Boss, this group of freshmen are all very cautious," Wu Jiong quietly said to Ling Lan upon seeing this scene.

Li Yingjie snorted coldly at that and said, "They're all gutless. If it were me, I would definitely have gone up at the very beginning to take the examiner down a notch."

Taking an examiner down a notch? Everyone looked towards Li Yingjie with surprise and they saw that his head was propped up. He was being so cocky that he made a few people around him instantly feel their hands itch. Sh*t, they were examiners right now. Did Li Yingjie mean that he regretted that no one was coming out to take himself down a notch?

It should be known that Li Yingjie was a huge fool; he always ended up drawing a great deal of hatred towards himself. Even if those around him were friends from the same clan who had known him for at least three years and knew of his personality, that still couldn't help Li Yingjie prevent everyone from hating him.

Seeing this, Ling Lan couldn't help but shake her head silently. Even now, this Li Yingjie's words were still rubbish. As expected, he was definitely an antagonist.

Right then, there was finally some movement among the freshman who had been silently waiting for three minutes, which saved Li Yingjie in the nick of time. One captain discovered the information that the A.I. had sent over and said, "Coming."

His voice diverted everyone's focus towards the optical supercomputer in front of them; no one was paying attention to the second-rate captain Li Yingjie. At the same time, Li Yingjie didn't realize that he was almost about to have been beaten up by a large mob. He too looked at the optical supercomputer, curious as to who among them was the one chosen to go out.

"Wang Ke from Doha Central Scout Academy, graduated as valedictorian. Physical Skills: Qi-Jin Beginner Level; Mecha World Mecha Piloting Level: Advanced!" The optical supercomputer displayed these data points, which astonished many of the captains; they themselves hadn't managed to reach this standard when they had entered the First Men's Military Academy.

"As expected of Boss' junior. He's very strong." Many of the captains looked towards Ling Lan, all of them giving compliments. Ling Lan smiled for good measure. Could it be that they thought all the geniuses that came out from Doha Central Scout Academy was her doing?

But Ling Lan didn't expect her playful thought was actually a reality. Ling Lan's legacy had always remained a legend in the Central Scout Academy. The uncrowned king of the Central Scout Academy was the boss of the valedictorian. Wang Ke had also led his year's cadets and successfully jump-started the grand armed melee, and became the idol of the entire Central Scout Academy. This was why Wang Ke had such amazing grades upon entering the First Men's Military Academy. With gems like Ling Lan, Qi Long and Wu Jiong before them, these younger cadets didn't dare to loosen up and be lazy. They had had no choice but to train as hard as they could to follow in the footsteps of their seniors.

"The opponent he chose is… Commander Qi, Qi Long." The observation room became rowdy. Although the four big commanders were in the list of the examiners that could be chosen, most people wouldn't choose the 4 Bosses of Lingtian to be their examiner. For one, they wouldn't be able to win because those who could become commanders were very capable. Two, everyone feared that choosing the Bosses would leave a bad impression on them and end up getting themselves be mercilessly failed.

Qi Long saw this notification and was also stunned for a moment. He didn't expect his turn to come right off the bat. The amount of time given to him to rest wasn't enough, as the energy that he had fully depleted during their activities had not recovered yet; his arms and legs were still limp and didn't have any strength.

Qi Long laughed bitterly in his mind. This Wang Ke was really lucky; if he had acted just a bit slower, with his capabilities, Qi Long wouldn't have even seen him as a threat. Now, however, the outcome was unpredictable. Qi Long thought back to Boss' words back in the commander's room and his expression instantly tensed up—he knew that it was time to put his life on the line.

"Boss, I'm going," Qi Long turned around and told Ling Lan. His eyes showed calmness.

Seeing this, Ling Lan's eyes quickly showed a hint of splendor and she nodded lightly in response. In the next second, Qi Long had already disappeared from the observation room.

The freshmen saw the opponent that Wang Ke, who was from the Doha Central Academy, had chosen and they weren't surprised. In their minds, it was logical that this valedictorian of the Doha Central Academy was the first to go into the arena. This was also the reason why they had been waiting for almost three minutes.

"Captain, I thought you were going to be the first one to go up," Tao Xiaotao said to Ling Yi upon seeing that Wang Ke had gone into the arena.

"We're from a third-rate planet, so it's not appropriate for us to go in first. No matter if our performance is good or not, we would still make the others feel annoyed," Yi Tiange quietly explained to Tao Xiaotao.

Tao Xiaotao only half understood what he meant. The others, however, all showed that they understood with a gleam in their eyes. There were many cadets who had come from first and second-rate planets, and there were also many cadets who had come from the Federation's Planet Doha. If they let a third-rate planet's cadet go up first, it would be a disgrace for the Federation and would make the other high-class cadets feel disgraced as well. Even if Ling Yi successfully joined Lingtian Mecha Clan, he would still probably suffer from discrimination by the first and second-rate cadets in the beginning.

At that moment, a person suddenly appeared in the arena. The virtual screen in front of the optical supercomputer clearly showed the freshmen a close-up of the face of the person who had just appeared.

"Oh, it's Qi Long, Commander Qi!" The freshmen all let out an exclamation at the sight of that individual; they didn't expect Wang Ke to be this gutsy. He had actually chosen to fight against the second most powerful member of Lingtian, Qi Long.

"This Wang Ke really is something. The opponent that he chose is actually this guy," Rong Ziruo mused to himself as he looked at the arena.

"When Commander Qi Long graduated, he was the valedictorian of Doha Central. Wang Ke, the new graduate, is also the same. The battle between the old and new valedictorian… it'll be interesting as I thought. Using his status to challenge Commander Qi Long will not only not irritate Commander Qi Long, but it could even make him appreciate Wang Ke more. This Wang Ke isn't just a simple person," Yi Tiange analyzed. He and Rong Ziruo smiled at each other. In their team, their IQs were higher and they would usually think similarly.

Ling Yi's expression grew tense as he looked at Wang Ke. Originally, Ling Yi believed that he was the best of the best, but now it seemed that he had underestimated the geniuses of the Federation. The First Men's Military Academy was, as expected, the cradle for the most talented people of the entire Federation; a mere small mecha clan tryout had drawn out a rival on par with him.

"Weird, it looks like Commander Qi Long isn't feeling well," Yan Wuyou remarked with a frown. He was the main fighter of the team. Since his capabilities were very close to Ling Yi, he was able to quickly see through Qi Long's odd condition.

His words made the others focus on Qi Long as well. Hua Qingxin frowned beautifully and said, "It seems there's some problem with his energy." Hua Qingxin's heart was closer to that of a female, but his strength was ranked third in the team, very close to Ling Yi and Yan Wuyou; he was the secondary fighter of the team. Yan Wuyou's indication allowed him to immediately see through where Qi Long's issue lay.

"Haha, could it be that Captain Qi Long did something to deplete his energy just now?" It seemed Tao Xiaotao had thought of something. He had a sleazy smile on his face.

Seeing this, Yan Wuyou slapped Tao Xiaotao's head and scoldingly said, "Dumbass, what are you thinking about?" They really got to hand it to this brat; he dared to think of anything. Although it seemed as if Commander Qi Long's condition was the result of him doing 'that', Yan Wuyou believed that he would definitely not do such a thing. Even if he wanted to, he didn't have anyone one to do it with, right?

Yi Tiange put his hand under his chin and began to think… and his expression quickly changed. He guessed, "Perhaps this is the Lingtian Mecha Clan trying to take us down a notch."

"Taking us down a notch?" Everyone looked at Yi Tiange. Rong Ziruo was also in deep thought.

"They don't even care about us. Before our evaluations, they even went through brutal physical training and depleted all of their energy," Yi Tiange replied with a tense expression.

After hearing those words, Ling Yi and the others all had difficult expressions on their faces. They were originally full of confidence, but a heavy blow was dealt to their hearts because of how Lingtian was underestimating them.

"Oh!" Rong Ziruo suddenly exclaimed with a smile. Unfortunately, his eyes didn't show that he was smiling. "Since it's like that this, then we should behave well. If they really do get defeated by us, then I want to see how they'll be able to still stand proud as seniors." Lingtian's move had made him mad…

Rong Ziruo's words had also evoked the anger of the rest of Ling Yi's team at the same time. Their eyes became filled with rage and they desired to go up to the arena that very instant to fight those examiners; they wanted to use their strength to prove that they weren't just weaklings that would be defeated easily.

Ling Yi's expression showed he was in deep thought. "Young Master Lan, are you really looking down on us? Or perhaps it was Ling Lan's subordinates' acting on their own will?" Ling Yi was thinking towards the latter. Perhaps he didn't want to think Young Master Lan, whom he respected, didn't respect him. In short, his intuition had told him that it was the latter.

Ling Yi's intuition was correct. That Ling Lan exhausted Qi Long and the others of their energy wasn't because she was underestimating them as Yi Tiange had thought. In reality, Ling Lan thought well of them, which was why she had arranged things like this. She hoped that they would be able to give Qi Long a good fight.

In the next moment, Wang Ke had already walked up onto the arena.

"Senior Qi Long! Please go easy!" Wang Ke respectfully bowed towards Qi Long.

Qi Long nodded towards Wang Ke before taking a defensive stance with his hands. Even such a simple movement made Qi Long use up all of his energy; the energy that he had managed to recover earlier was completely depleted when he had ran from the observation room.

Wang Ke frowned. Qi Long's expression didn't change, but his movements were odd; Wang Ke saw through this. He didn't think that Qi Long was underestimating him, but he was curious what had actually happened to Qi Long's body to make his condition this terrible.

"Bam!" Wang Ke used all his might to attack. Seeing this, Qi Long didn't dodge and took the blow.

The hidden strength of the beginner level of Qi-Jin from both of them collided fiercely, and the resultant shockwave knocked back Wang Ke by a few steps. His blood began to boil. Wang Ke took a deep breath and held down the feeling of pain. His eyes showed a hint of caution but also a hint of pleasant surprise.

Wang Ke didn't think that Qi Long's condition was so poor. The original information known to the public about Qi Long was that he was at the intermediate level of Qi-Jin. Wang Ke's Qi-Jin definitely didn't have a chance of going against Qi Long. Wang Ke had already thought about this problem. He knew that once they clashed, he would become wounded internally, but right now, other than the feeling of his blood boiling, he hadn't suffered any internal wounds; this proved that Qi Long's current strength was on par with his at best.

On his side, Qi Long felt the same blood boiling feeling after clashing with Wang Ke. He uncontrollably took a large step back and his expression changed slightly. As expected, he was totally exhausted and could no longer continue to use his internal energy. His capabilities had fallen to the beginner level of Qi-Jin. Because of this, Wang Ke's evaluation fight would trap Qi Long in a drawn-out fight, and for him, a drawn-out fight in his current condition was very disadvantageous.

Qi Long exhaled profusely, releasing a bit of the pressurized air in his body, and at the same time he shook his right hand slightly; the shockwave from the clash had made his right hand feel numb.

Wang Ke stopped his footsteps. He didn't hesitate—he pounced and attacked Qi Long again. He knew that he couldn't let Qi Long have time to recover. If he did, the situation would be disadvantageous for him.

"Bang, bang, bang…" What followed was the collision of countless punches. In the arena, Wang Ke was like the wind, he was there one second and over there for another, attacking Qi Long with swift movements. Qi Long, on the other hand, was like an unmoving old oak tree, standing firmly in the center of the arena. He only used his two hands to block Wang Ke's continuous attacks.

The situation in the arena made the freshmen, who hadn't see that Qi Long's behavior was odd in the beginning, realize that there was something wrong. "Ah, that Commander Qi Long. It looks like there's a problem with his body's energy."

"This is a way of fighting to save to energy. Commander Qi Long definitely doesn't have enough energy." Although they were freshmen, they were all outstanding individuals since they were able to participate in the first round of assessments; all of them were physical skills experts and they all clearly knew why Qi Long was using that way to fight.

"Sh*t, Qi Long's too weak. The freshman is actually getting the better of him," Li Yingjie said, expecting better from Qi Long after watching until this point. Only, his brows showed a hint of anxiousness and his eyes flashed with a hint of concern. Whether it be the fact that he was worried about Qi Long, or worried that Qi Long losing would mean losing pride for Lingtian, both proved that Li Yingjie really did care about the Lingtian Mecha Clan.

The other captains that were watching all wore expressions of worry and concern. They looked towards Ling Lan, thinking that Boss would be able to give a proper explanation. They knew clearly that Commander Qi Long was in such a troubled state because of Boss. It was just that they didn't understand why Boss had beaten up Qi Long and then entrusted him with the role of an examiner for the evaluations this time.

"Boss, Qi Long will be okay, right?" Wu Jiong looked to Ling Lan for some comfort. Ever since the Lingtian Mecha Clan was formed, Wu Jiong had kept in contact with Qi Long the most. After countless meetings, their friendship had gradually deepened. At that moment, Wu Jiong was sincerely worried that something might happen to Qi Long.

In response to his question, Ling Lan, who was originally touching her right hand's index finger, instantly paused and then calmly replied, "I don't know."

Ling Lan's answer stunned Wu Jiong. It also made Luo Lang, Han Jijyun and the others turn around to look towards Ling Lan. Their eyes filled with a hint of worry.

"Boss…" Wu Jiong swallowed the rest of his sentence. "You're too much. Since you don't even know what kind of outcome was waiting for Qi Long, then why would you arrange it like this?" Wu Jiong thought to himself.

"Qi Long's Qi-Jin limit has been stuck for quite some time. Although he has been doing limit training, he still hasn't found any possibility of a breakthrough." Ling Lan glanced at Luo and the others. "But as luck would have it, these freshmans couldn't be ruthless against a fully exhausted Qi Long and is unable to force out Qi Long's final limit."

The criticism in Ling Lan's eyes made the others in her team touch their noses in embarrassment. They were all friends that had grown up together and furthermore, they weren't Boss. Even if Boss ordered that they had to be be ruthless, they still couldn't help but feel compassion at the sight of Qi Long getting beaten to a pulp.

Luo Lang was unwilling to submit to her criticism and said, "Boss, there's still you, isn't there?"

Ling Lan glared at Luo Lang and plainly responded, "If I could do it, then would I need to order you guys to do it? At my current level, even Qi Long at his peak form wouldn't be able to block one hit from me. Is it possible for me to slowly force Qi Long to his limit?" Ling Lan actually also had a headache. After entering the Domain level, her aura, no matter how much she lowered it, would be just over the level with which she could help Qi Long reach his limit.

Luo Lang and the others were actually the most suitable. Unfortunately, the friendship between them made them unable to force Qi Long into a corner and drive him to the brink of death. As such, Ling had had no choice but to look for other methods.

Han Jijyun's eyes suddenly lit up. He knew clearly that Qi Long was always troubled by the fact that his physical skills were stuck at its current level and didn't move at all. No matter what method he used, he couldn't see any sign of the barrier to advanced level budging. Although Qi Long's performance was stable, Han Jijyun, who was very familiar with Qi Long, had still managed to become of aware of Qi Long's small impatience.

He didn't that think Qi Long's anxiousness was also discovered by Boss. He thought back to the last few days. Not only did Boss beat up Qi Long himself, but he also called upon them to do the same. In the beginning, Han Jijyun had felt that Qi Long's situation was tragic, but he didn't expect that there was a deeper meaning to Boss' decision in the matter. Unfortunately, they had failed to understand his deeper meaning and failed to help Qi Long reach his actual limit.

Han Jijyun thought back to that time again. Even if they had known, they wouldn't have been able to be so heartless as to actually drive Qi Long to the verge of death. None of them was Boss. When Boss was ruthless, they could truly feel his thick killing intent aura; it was as if he really wanted to kill them.

"Now, he can really enter that limit." Han Jijyun looked at Ling Lan wishfully. He, of course, hoped that Qi Long could become stronger.

Ling Lan's frown tensed up further as she said, "I don't know…" Some luck and coincidence was necessary in order to be driven to a near-death state. Ling Lan really didn't know whether Qi Long could get there or not. The only thing she could do was to use any way possible to let Qi Long get closer to that moment.

"This Wang Ke really can force Qi Long to his limit," Wu Jiong said slyly. Even if Qi Long's current energy was close to zero, the beginner level of Qi-Jin alone wasn't enough to force him to the edge of death.

"One naturally isn't enough, but there are a hundred people waiting for their evaluations. That should be enough," Ling Lan said indifferently.

Everyone looked at Ling Lan dumbfounded. Did Ling Lan know from the very beginning that Qi Long would be trapped in a round-robin battle?

"Compared to the other examiners whose strength are unknown, do you really think these freshmen would give up on this examiner who is clearly at his breaking point?" Ling Lan continued plainly.

Everyone shook their heads. If it was them, they would also have continued to choose Qi Long.

"In the beginning, if no one chose Qi Long but someone else instead, for example, me or Luo Lang or another, then the one trapped in a round-robin battle would have been one of us," Han Jijyun said, pointing at himself, Luo Lang and the others. They were all people who had their energy exhausted.

"Do you guys not need to advance as well?" Ling Lan raised her brow.

Han Jijyun was shaken. He didn't think that it wasn't only Qi Long who had fallen into a bottleneck for his physical skills. They had all entered different degrees of a bottleneck state. It turned out that Boss' target wasn't only set on Qi Long—they were targets too. Boss was clearly throwing down his fishing net and seeing which unlucky fish was going to get caught.

"Actually, you guys are considered secondary. It's mainly for Qi Long this time. Only, I wasn't sure which battle Qi Long would appear in." Ling Lan pointed at Wang Ke, who had fallen into a drawn-out fight with Qi Long. "This guy, he would have definitely chosen Qi Long either way." As a valedictorian, he definitely had his own pride. He wouldn't choose a normal captain as his opponent, but he most likely didn't have the courage to go against her. This being the case, then Qi Long, as a valedictorian himself, was Wang Ke's best opponent. Ling Lan had already arranged everything ever since she had taken a look at the list of applicants.

"I didn't know that that the effect of this fight would be this good. Wang Ke is the first to have entered the arena, which resulted in not giving Qi Long any time to rest. This also exposed Qi Long's condition to everyone right at the beginning. I believe that many of the freshmen will start to act rashly," Ling Lan explained, looking around the freshmen below the arena. The excitement in their eyes showed everything clearly. It seemed that Ling Lan's arrangement had had some effect.

Ling Lan's gaze passed over Ling Yi, who was frowning as though he was thinking of something…

Chapter 526: Defeated!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Ling Lan subconsciously tapped the armrest of her sofa with her fingers on her right hand, her expression slightly tense. "I hope this punk won't ruin my plans."

Inside the arena, although Wang Ke wanted to take advantage of Qi Long's lack of energy to defeat him, the latter was used when he was being beaten up by Ling Lan. He was always whipped until he was at the brink of collapse. The type of attacks that Wang Ke had come at him with didn't pressure him too much. In addition to Qi Long's fighting experience, he was also more experienced in other ways as well; he had become adjusted to his opponent's attacks before long.

However, Wang Ke was still one of Doha Central Scout Academy's top cadets. His mentality was amazingly in check. Even though he had held the upper hand the entire time and was only a step away from defeating Qi Long, he was still able to remain calm and collected, holding down his impatience in order to achieve victory, and this made those who were in the observation room all nod in approval. They all believed that this person was a talent that could be used and was a candidate for nurturing to become a captain in Lingtian.

"What do you guys think of this Wang Ke's performance?" Ling Lan suddenly asked those around her.

Luo Lang was the first to respond. "Not bad. His fighting style is calm, and neither impulsive nor impatient. He thinks before he acts."

Luo Lang's words made the others all nodded in agreement. Xie Yi added, "Although Qi Long's condition isn't very good, the level of his physical skills is still higher than Wang Ke's by at least one level. Wang Ke isn't afraid. His mentality is very good."

Hearing Luo Lang and Xie Yi's answers, Ling Lan gave Han Jijyun a look that said she didn't want to express her own opinions.

Han Jijyun felt the glare coming from his boss and knew he needed to answer; thus, he answered seriously, "My level of physical skills is weaker than everyone. The things that I can see through, everyone else will definitely be able to see through. I just think that if Wang Ke really wants to win, this type of slightly defensive way of fighting may have not be very effective."

His words made Luo Lang and Xie Yi's show a hint of a smile on their lips. Although they approved of Wang Ke's performance, they still didn't believe that Wang Ke could defeat Qi Long. Han Jijyun words were actually what they wanted to say as well.

At that moment, Han Jijyun had set his eyes up on the screen and looked at the two fighting in the arena. He continued, "Qi Long isn't someone that would lose in a drawn-out fight." Trust gleamed in his eyes; he believed that his comrade would not be defeated that easily.

Lin Zhong-qing also agreed and said, "I'm in agreement with Jijyun's analysis. Qi Long's physical constitution is the most monstrous out of what I've seen before. Normally you would think that he would be done in the next second, but as long as the pressure doesn't go past his limit, no matter how you attack him, he won't be defeated." Lin Zhong-qing looked at Ling Lan with respect and continued, "Only Boss' terrifying attack power can instantly smash through the limit that Qi Long can take. I still haven't met a second person that can actually defeat him in terms of physical skills. At most, it will be both sides taking lots of damage like during the freshman arena fight they had when they joined the academy. Qi Long's ability to take pressure is seriously too strong and monstrous."

The answers given by the four of them caused Ling Lan to show a hint of approval in her eyes. She was very happy that everyone had managed to see through these facts. Being calm and collected wasn't a bad thing, but it depended on the situation. There was no problem in Wang Ke fighting in a calm and collected way, but it was that he had missed a crucial point; Qi Long was someone that, if not given enough pressure, would not lose in a dragged-out fight. It was simply impossible. When going against Qi Long, the opponent had to use powerful, continuous attacks to exhaust his energy, rendering him unable to recover, and only then could they be able to defeat him.

When Wang Ke had chosen to defend and attack in a calm and controlled manner, he had actually already lost the chance to defeat Qi Long.

"So that means you guys don't think Wang Ke is any good?" Ling Lan's lips perked up a bit.

This question made Luo Lang and the others shout in unison, "Of course!" It wasn't possible that this Wang Ke alone was enough to defeat Qi Long.

As expected, after their shouts, there was a turn of the tide in the arena. Qi Long, who was originally at a disadvantage, had made his move.

"Qi Long made a move," Han Jijyun shouted excitedly. It should be known that out of everyone else, Han Jijyun cared for Qi Long the most. Even though he had believed Qi Long would win, he still couldn't help but worry. Seeing that Qi Long had finally counterattacked, he jumped up happily.

After becoming excited, he saw Luo Lang and the others look at him in surprise. He felt that he went a bit out of line and immediately controlled his expression. He sat down with a serious face and gave Luo Lang and the others an explanation, "We have to let the freshmen know that even with our energy exhausted, a commander of Lingtian isn't someone so easily defeated."

"Ohhh!" The three of them responded with a drawn out and odd sound, making Han Jijyun blush. He glanced at Ling Lan in dismay. It was all because of Boss. He was the one who had drained them of their energy. There was originally supposed to be no issues during the evaluations, yet Boss had managed to make it full of worry and fear. Even going against someone as weak as Wang Ke had made him lose his cool.

Ling Lan sawHan Jijyun's slight expression of resentment and her lips perked up a bit. Ever since the fifth-year seniors, who were at the advanced level for physical skills, had left the school, other than her, Qi Long had become the one with the highest level in physical skills in the entire military academy. Although he was pressured by her, Qi Long was still eager in training. However, compared to last year, he was clearly slowing down. This was the reason why Ling Lan had been ruthless and exhausted their energy before the evaluations. If this could push Qi Long to the edge of death, then that would be for the best. But if it didn't work, then it would make the rest remember the hardships they went through after losing all their energy. This would make them understand that levels were not absolute. If there were external factors, those who were weaker could also defeat them.

It was just as Han Jijyun had said; Qi Long had made a move. Having endured for many minutes, he finally used his awakened talent, Animal Instinct, and discovered a fatal weakness in Wang Ke's attacks.

Qi Long was very confident in his intuition. He didn't even stop to think and used the small amount of Qi-Jin that he managed to accumulate in that amount of time; he ruthlessly tossed out a punch towards the direction he wanted to hit.

It had seemed as though Wang Ke didn't have a weak point, but right as Qi Long's punch was reaching him, his originally heavily guarded chest became unprotected. This was because his left hand that was protecting his chest had moved downwards due to his next attack.

A loud "Boom!" followed.

Qi Long's fist accurately struck Wang Ke's chest. Although the power of his punch wasn't very great, the resultant shockwave cut off Wang Ke's blood flow from his heart; his chest suddenly felt clogged and the Qi-Jin that was originally flowing through his body was cut off—Wang Ke was uncontrollably sent flying backwards.

Before he could have a chance to control his body in mid-air, Qi Long flew towards him. Another strong punch struck Wang Ke's shoulder and instantly sent him flying out of the arena.

Wang Ke did a somersault in mid-air and landed firmly on the ground. Qi Long had controlled his power very well and had only sent Wang Ke flying without wounding him, which was why the latter was able to neutralize that force in mid-air and land with no injuries. Qi Long showing mercy made Wang Ke feel embarrassed since he had used all his strength and didn't hold back in the arena.

Wang Ke looked towards the arena above him, his expression showing a hint of admiration. He bowed from below the arena and said gratefully, "I lost. Thank you for your time, Senior Qi Long."

As expected of the person who was valedictorian for two years in a row; even if Qi Long's condition was at its worst, he wasn't someone he could defeat. Wang Ke thought to himself, "If Commander Qi Long's physical condition was at its best, how many hits could I had taken from him?" At that moment, Wang Ke truly hoped that he could join the Lingtian Mecha Clan. If he could do so, then in the future, he would have a chance to fight Commander Qi Long once again.

Qi Long stood on the arena and nodded towards Wang Ke. As the examiner of this match, he was very satisfied with Wang Ke's performance. He believed that Wang Ke didn't lose any dignity for the Doha Central Scout Academy. This valedictorian behaved just as expected.

Qi Long wanted to drag his exhausted footsteps off the arena. At that moment, if someone were to look closely at Qi Long, they would be able to see that his clothes were soaked in sweat. Although he had defeated Wang Ke, Qi Long himself had made a Herculean effort. He felt that his body had become tired to its limit; his hands and feet were feeling numb and slow. At that moment, even if a three-year-old was to come by, that three-year-old would be able to push him down.

The freshmen below the arena all looked at each other. They all knew that this was the best time to defeat Captain Qi Long and were all thinking of doing so. However, everyone was also worried. If they went up, would they give the examiners a bad impression if they used any means necessary to finish their objective? It was, after all. not a competition and heroes weren't determined by victory or defeat. Whether they could join the mecha clan depended on the examiner's acknowledgment.

While they were hesitating, a cold voice suddenly rang through the entire training dojo. "Anyone who defeats Qi Long will not only be allowed to join the Lingtian Mecha Clan, but also receive other rewards. The battle team that the winner belongs to will instantly join a battle team from one of Lingtian's frontline battle teams."

These words made the hesitating freshmen suddenly gain resolve. The freshmen knew that the cold voice must have been the voice of Ling Lan, the first commander of Lingtian. Only Ling Lan could make a promise of still being acknowledged after defeating the second commander. Since the Lingtian Mecha Clan's highest order of command had given this order, what did they have to worry about?

Those who managed to get admitted to the First Men's Military Academy were all actually people with ambitions; they all wanted to climb higher up the ladder. Regardless of whether they had a battle team or not, they all hoped that their starting point, as well as their future progress, could be better than the others.

After the people in the observation room saw that Ling Lan had pushed down the communication button to the outside and mercilessly made that announcement, they all involuntarily pitied Qi Long. Qi Long was really sad since he had such a cold, heartless Boss who liked to play around with his subordinates.

Of course, there were a few that envied Qi Long, such as Gao Jinyun. Knowing Boss Ling Lan, he knew that this was definitely a way Ling Lan was using to train Commander Qi Long. Gao Jinyun felt a little bit of regret. Although he tried his best to perform and had made Boss remember him, that was all. If someone wanted to receive pointers from Boss himself, only those who had been beside him from the very beginning could have that chance…

Gao Jinyun felt a bit crestfallen but quickly braced himself. While he had joined later than those old members, it wasn't too late. He was confident that as long as he followed Boss, he would definitely, definitely have a chance… Gao Jinyun thought back to that matter which Lin Zhong-qing had unintentionally disclosed to him and he clenched his fists hard. He told himself to continue to work hard and absolutely enter the 23rd Division in his fifth year! That was his only chance to follow after Boss Lan.

Ling Lan's words had made Qi Long freeze in place, and then he looked towards the observation room with resentment. "Boss, do you really like seeing me get defeated that much?"

Chapter 527: Choke to Death!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Ling Lan's words made Han Jijyun, Luo Lang and others tremble. They knew why Boss was doing this, and now they only hoped that Qi Long wouldn't lose too badly in the round-robin fights.

Everyone knew clearly that the freshmen, who were rid of their worries, would definitely not give up on the chance to reach the top. The round-robin fights had become a reality.

As expected, after a few seconds, a freshman jumped up to the stage. His face showed a hint of shame, but he still spoke out his objective; the freshman respectfully bowed to Qi Long and said, "I am Wang Ruoxu from Planet Qinhuang. Please go easy on me, Commander Qi!"

"Go ahead!" Qi Long replied, taking a deep breath. Wearing the color of determination on his face, he gestured him to start. This decision of Ling Lan's wouldn't make Qi Long actually resent her; he believed that there was definitely a deeper meaning to Boss' decision. He just had to work hard and finish the mission that Boss had given him.

This Wang Ruoxu attacked crazily right from the beginning. Unfortunately, having only reached the peak of the late stages of Qi-Jin, the pressure he gave Qi Long wasn't as much as compared to Wang Ke. After carefully defending for around 3 minutes, Qi Long had accumulated a certain amount of Qi-Jin, found the opponent's weak spot and struck him off the arena.

Two more freshmen went up onto the arena in immediate succession; however, Qi Long fought with patience. With no energy left, Qi Long used his strong body to defend. Once he accumulated a small amount of Qi-Jin, he would find his opponent's weak spot and defeat them. Qi Long fought in a very calm and collected manner. The freshmen couldn't find a chance to win at that moment.

However, having to face so many people consecutively had pushed Qi Long's already exhausted body towards its limit even more. If he didn't have his spiritual power helping him endure it all, it was possible that he might not even have been able to raise his fists.

The sharper individuals had already discovered that Qi Long was now spent. Another freshman jumped up onto the arena…

"Captain, this a chance," Yi Tiange whispered to Ling Yi.

"You want me to go up and defeat Commander Qi Long?" Ling Yi asked coldly.

"Yes. Wang Ke already made Commander Qi Long show his limit. Additionally, the round-robin fights that these people made him go through has already squeezed out the last bit of energy from Commander Qi Long. If you go up now, with your capabilities, you should be able to defeat him." Yi Tiange spoke out his thoughts.

Ling Yi went silent and looked at Qi Long, who had already reached his limit yet wasn't showing a hint of it on his expression; he was still determined to face his new opponent. His calmness and composure along with his unyielding expression moved Ling Yi's heart…

"Captain, this is a good chance. If you win, Commander Ling said that he would give us the treatment of a frontline battle team. It'll be very good for the growth of our battle team." Rong Ziruo also agreed with Yi Tiange's opinion.

Yan Wuyou smiled but didn't say anything; however, his eyes showed that he also agreed. On the other side, the other person in the battle team, Tao Xiaotao, was concentrated on the fight and didn't even notice that his teammates were in the middle of deciding something that could affect the future of their battle team. Of course, his teammates hadn't intended on asking for his opinions in the first place. In the battle team, Tao Xiaotao's opinions could be ignored.

Ling Yi finally spoke, his expression holding a hint of coldness and also a hint of pride. "I know that you guys are right, but I just don't want to."

Yi Tiange showed a hint of regret on his face as he looked at Rong Ziruo and silently sighed. His captain was good in every way, except that he was simply too righteous and didn't want to do things that he thought to be unfair.

"I know that Commander Qi Long's body is at the brink of collapse and now is the best chance to defeat him. But can't you guys see that even though it's so hard for him, Commander Qi Long still hasn't shown a hint of weakness? He's still remaining calm and composed, still fighting without giving any openings. He's using his spiritual power to force himself to continue fighting in order to prove to us that he isn't someone that will be defeated by despicable methods! He's a real fighter. This type of fighter should be respected by us instead of becoming our stepping stone and being stomped on by us as we climb up the ladder. If I really did do something like this, I would feel very ashamed of myself. Even if we'd be treated like a front line battle team because of this, I wouldn't be able to raise my head when facing the other members of Lingtian," Ling Yi explained without hesitation.

Hearing Ling Yi's righteousness in his words, Yi Tiange showed smirk on his face. It was this Ling Yi that had made them submit. Even if there were enough benefits, when Ling Yi believed that it shouldn't be done, he would be able to withstand the temptation and stand his ground. Only this kind of captain would give them confidence that when they were faced with danger in the future, he wouldn't abandon his comrades and would fight alongside them.

Yi Tiange smiled and replied, "Since you've already said so much, then we'll definitely support you!"

Rong Ziruo and Yan Wuyou exchanged a look before they too nodded firmly and said, "Yes, we support you!"

Yi Tiange thought the same as they did as well. Although this kind of captain would lose their battle team many chances for promotion, the same benefits might cause them to end up in a dangerous situation. It was both a good and bad thing. Comparatively, they were more willing to accept a captain like Ling Yi. He made them feel confident with him backing them up.

In the arena, Qi Long had defeated another freshman. Tao Xiaotao's eyes had returned from watching the fight and he heard the voices of his teammates coming from beside him. He turned around in confusion and asked with a confused expression, "What were you guys agreeing about?"

Yan Wuyou wore a smile as he held out his right hand to turn Tao Xiaotao's face back towards. "Xiaotao, just watch. What we're talking about has nothing do with you."

Tao Xiaotao replied in dismay, "You guys always have things to say and never want to share it with me. I'm not going to ignore you guys and just watch. Oh, another person went up. How many does that make? I pity Commander Qi Long."

It turned out that while they were talking, another freshman had challenged Qi Long. The bait that Ling Lan had set was sufficient to draw in the freshmen and make them continuously challenge Qi Long.

Seeing this, Ling Yi walked up to stand before the optical supercomputer. He was waiting for Qi Long to defeat this challenger, after which he would input in his own name for the evaluation battle.

"Who do you guys think the captain is going to challenge?" Yi Tiange asked Rong Ziruo while gazing at Ling Yi.

Rong Ziruo replied with a smile, "You and I both know. Do you really need to ask?"

"I don't know, but I keep feeling that our captain is going to be disappointed this time," Yi Tiange said as if in deep thought.

"What kind of person do you think Commander Ling Lan is?" Rong Ziruo suddenly asked.

Yi Tiange thought carefully before replying, "I saw him once during the award ceremony in last year's Grand Mecha Tournament. He seemed to be very cold and cool at first glance. At second second glance, he seemed to be very dominant…"

"A few days ago, I caught a glimpse of Commander Ling Lan from afar." Rong Ziruo's smile had disappeared as he spoke. "He discovered me looking at him and looked me back in the eye." A layer of sweat had actually formed on his forehead by the end of his words.

Rong Ziruo's odd behavior made Yi Tiange's expression become serious. The latter asked, "How was it?"

"That look of his made me feel as though my entire body had become frozen. In that instant, I thought I died," Rong Ziruo replied with a pale face. "It was as though thousands of years had passed. By the time my consciousness returned, 10 minutes had already passed, and Commander Ling Lan was nowhere in sight."

"He is someone that I've met who is the most dominant and strong out of everyone I know. Do you still remember the captain of the ship that took us to the First Men's Military Academy? Our guess was that his level of Qi-Jin had peaked at the stage of Great Perfection. However, the feeling that the captain of that ship gave me was far weaker than that of Commander Ling Lan's."

"He's really that strong!" Yi Tiange exclaimed with a serious expression.

"He's really strong, unfathomably strong," Rong Ziruo confirmed with a bitter smile. "Even I couldn't believe my own senses, but at that time, that was how I really felt."

"Captain, if you really choose Commander Ling Lan… I hope you won't lose too badly," Rong Ziruo said to himself. He was afraid that the captain might lose his confidence after being beaten. Truly strong people could not be pursued by others.

Hearing this, Yi Tiange went silent. He now hoped that someone could be sign up faster than his captain. Then at least his captain would be beaten a bit later by Commander Ling Lan.

In the arena, Qi Long had once again defeated a freshman who had challenged him. This time, however, he had spent almost 15 minutes in taking victory. Ever since Qi Long had defeated Wang Ke, every time he defeated a challenger, the time he took in doing so increased. This also meant that he truly had almost reached his limit. It was just that they didn't know when he would completely collapse.

When the freshman jumped off the arena, Ling Yi, who was already ready, decisively pressed down on the confirm button for the evaluation.

"Ling Yi, a commoner from Puyi Scout Academy (Third-class planet, Planet Puzhe). Physical Skills: Qi-Jin Beginner Level. Mecha World Mecha Piloting Level: Advanced!" Ling Yi's information was sent to the observation room through the optical supercomputer, and his data made the captains all gasp in disbelief. Compared to Wang Ke, Ling Yi surprised them even more. After all, Ling Yi did come from a third-class planet; it was very difficult for people from there to get into the First Men's Military Academy. He had managed to get admitted to the First Men's Military Academy, and even his capabilities ranked among the top of the freshmen.

"The opponent he has chosen is… Ling Lan! Boss!" Everyone in the observation room gasped in surprise. They didn't think that someone would be so daring as to actually challenge the strongest individual in their mecha clan. Did he not know that Boss Lan's physical skills was definitely the best in the entire military academy? He had defeated the previous top-ranked physical skills expert, Huo Zhenyu, in his first year. He was deemed as the most domineering individual in terms of physical skills throughout entire First Men's Military Academy.

Ling Lan saw this notification and struck her armrest with great force. Luo Lang could clearly see that a crack had appeared in the armrest's hard metallic surface. It looked Ling Yi's accidental disruption in her plan had made Ling Lan angry. Qi Long had been about to reach his limit and could have been on the verge of death at any moment, but now it had all gone to waste.

As long as Qi Long was given time to rest, if she wanted to push him to his current state again, he would have to have many times the amount of people fight him to achieve the state. Not only that, she was afraid that once Qi Long calmed down, he would understand why she made such plans. Once he made preparations, it would be impossible to have him become unconscious and on the verge of death. In other words, the hardships that Qi Long had endured beforehand was all for naught.

At the same time, this also meant that it would be no longer possible to use fighting amongst themselves to help him reach his limit. Having prepared, if she had used the same method in the future, she would not be able to make Qi Long be on the verge of death. If Qi Long wanted to find a new way of advancing, he would need to find another shortcut. However, it was a known fact that shortcuts were discovered through luck while thinking on it day and night. To find a new way, she didn't know how long he would have to wait and didn't know whether that kind of chance would appear again.

This was why Ling Lan was angry. The hope that she saw was instantly destroyed by Ling Yi. Ling Yi interfering by making a challenge had completely messed up Ling Lan's plan.

"I should have just choked him to death back then!" Ling Lan uttered, biting her lip.

Chapter 528: Why?

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

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!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

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!