Chapter 120: Chapter 120 We’re Going to Have a Blast (Seeking Full Subscription)
Qi Xinzhu looked at Lu Luo, puzzled. There was something strange about the look in his eyes just now, and his tone!
"What are you talking about? What do you mean ’fortunately your milk isn’t small either’? Lu Luo, are you talking about me?"
Lu Luo clenched his fist over his mouth.
"COUGH, COUGH. Uh, yes, I was talking about you. But by ’milk,’ I mean resources—an endless supply of resources."
"How did it end up being about resources again?"
"This goes back to a long story. I was orphaned at a young age, living in utter poverty..."
Qi Xinzhu interrupted Lu Luo. His previous tale of his origins had been different.
"Weren’t you raised in an orphanage from birth? What home are you talking about?"
"Don’t sweat the details; they’re not important. That year, at eighteen, I stood at the school gate, looking like a ruffian. Unnoticed, I watched my classmates drink milk every day, and I could only envy them. I made a silent vow to strike it rich within three years and live a life where I could drink milk every day. Since then, ’milk’ has become synonymous with resources and the economy in my mind. Now, I have the capability to acquire resources, and your arrival has perfected the little red bottle, providing me with a channel to obtain an inexhaustible supply of resources."
"So, you hold an irreplaceable importance in my heart; your presence is the channel to resources. And a resource channel is ’milk,’ hence why I call you my ’milk.’ No problem with that."
Lu Luo spoke rapidly. Reflecting on his words afterward, he concluded that his reasoning was indeed flawless.
Listening to Lu Luo’s explanation, Qi Xinzhu’s expression turned a bit odd. Being referred to as ’milk,’ well, it took some getting used to. However, since it was Lu Luo who called her that, she could only accept it.
"So that’s what ’milk’ means. I didn’t expect I’d be so important to you."
Qi Xinzhu’s voice was a bit soft, her expression slightly shy, but Lu Luo could still hear her clearly.
In truth, despite his words partly aiming to defuse the situation, there was no issue with their content. This brings us back to the question of the origin of the capital chain.
Why did he use the company’s funds to break through rapidly? Because he needed to enhance his strength and crush the other trainees from his intake. This way, he could receive complete guidance from Qiao Xing and gain a full martial arts education to comprehensively optimize his combat strength.
And after fully increasing his strength? He could conduct searches outside the wall on a much larger scale and in a wider area. This included, to a certain extent, teaming up with Qi Xinzhu, Gu Fangyi, and one other person to take on the Swamp Ghost Crabs alone!
The C-13 area was now outside the wall. If the Dawn Disc didn’t turn, then for the next nine-plus months, the C-13 area would remain unchanged. This meant that the Parent-Child Swamp was close at hand! The Blood Pouch and the little red bottle were the truly worthwhile gamble.
Of course, for this, Lu Luo also had to take on huge risks, like the Parent-Child Lemonade and Song Hana from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals. But now, he was ready to face these risks. Such is the effect of strength.
The full attribute cap for the Second Tier was 50. Once his attributes reached 50, then in this part of the Fourth Ring, he could say that as long as he didn’t provoke the Church, he could basically ignore the military forces of other factions and groups. Moreover, he was now inseparable from the Hunters and was practically on the same side as the Church. In the Fourth Ring, one could say that aside from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, Lu Luo had no natural predators.
The bolder one is, the more one produces. What’s there to fear? Just get it done!
And Qi Xinzhu was the key to everything. She was indeed very important to Lu Luo. He had been too harsh on her before and resolved to treat her better in the future.
"Yes, you are a very important partner to me."
Qi Xinzhu couldn’t resist Lu Luo’s sudden gentle tone. She lowered her head and responded softly, "Yeah, I also think you are a very important... uh, partner to me!"
Qi Xinzhu kept her head down, her expression hidden, but the cheeks that were slightly visible seemed a bit more flushed than before.
The atmosphere between the two was somewhat intimate, but an uninvited guest always seemed to interrupt such lovely moments—like Qi Gefei. He seemed to have been waiting for Lu Luo. When he saw Lu Luo arrive, he walked straight over to him and stretched out his hand.
"Yesterday, I apologize. I was too impulsive. Next time, I’ll be more careful."
Qi Gefei spoke very slowly, emphasizing each pause in his speech—clearly, there was a message in his words!
Looking at the large hand in front of him, Lu Luo chose not to shake hands with Qi Gefei. Qiao Xing would be arriving soon. The issue could be resolved today, but not now. Qi Gefei felt the same way.
"Hmm, being impulsive is a bad habit that really ought to be changed. Otherwise, you’ll suffer in society. Consider yesterday a reminder. You don’t need to thank me too much. It’s better not to be so reckless in the future."
"Heh, well said. Being too reckless only leads to unwanted outcomes."
Their words were laden with implications. At this moment, nobody thought that the two of them, smiling as they were, had reconciled. It was just a question of when the second fight would occur.
Every year, the swordsmanship training saw conflicts between people from the Fourth Ring and the Inner Ring. However, due to the Inner Ring’s superior energy strength, it mostly ended with the Inner Ring crushing the opposition. However, this year seemed a bit different. Lu Luo’s performance yesterday was indeed stunning. Such a guy might really create what they consider to be a miracle.
After Qi Gefei left, Qiao Xing arrived at the swordsmanship training ground at a leisurely pace.
"Today’s lesson is about Holy Radiance Cross Swordsmanship, a high-level technique applicable to all cold weapons—Shock..."
Qiao Xing’s lecture today sounded substantial, and Lu Luo wanted to listen to it carefully as well. But Qiao Xing had warned him not to focus on these swordsmanship lessons and to just practice the basic six movements. After some hesitation, Lu Luo ultimately stopped listening to Qiao Xing’s lecture. He picked up a Cross Greatsword and moved aside to continue the monotonous practice of energized sword swings.
The connection of the three energy points worked like a three-cylinder turbocharged engine, providing a continuous supply of Qi He to Lu Luo. Qi He consumption had changed from an initial -5-5-5-5-5 with rest +1 to the current -5+3-5+3-5+3. Lu Luo could now perform 110 continuous energized sword swings without resting. Even when he needed to rest, the breaks were much shorter than before. He progressed from swinging his sword only 150 times an hour to over 1,500 times per hour.
What defines a qualitative change? This is a qualitative change.
The combined effect of three enhanced energy points and the three connected energy channels was also a result of money.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Lu Luo’s Sword Qi was steady and silent. From the morning when Qiao Xing started lecturing until noon when he finished, Lu Luo did nothing but practice his sword technique. Initially, some people glanced at him occasionally, thinking he was attempting some fancy maneuver. But when they realized Lu Luo was just swinging his sword, they lost interest.
During the lunch break, Lu Yang came to check on Lu Luo, wearing a worried expression.
"Lu Luo, I already know about the conflict between you and Qi Gefei. If it really comes down to it, I’ll help you deal with him."
Wow! Big brother’s talking big, was Lu Luo’s first reaction. Beyond that, he was touched by how good Lu Yang was to him. Not just to him, but to both him and Lu Yu. He provided them with an expensive house and even sent money home each month. They weren’t even real siblings, just grown up together in an orphanage. To do this much was already quite exceptional.
"No need, big brother. I’m confident I can handle it myself. Don’t worry."
"Are you serious? Qi Gefei isn’t some brainless fool. Yesterday, he was just caught off-guard by you. If he’s fully prepared, yesterday’s outcome is hard to say."
Even yesterday, if I had been in good condition, I was confident of winning, Lu Luo thought. But his condition had been truly poor then. No one but he knew how bad his condition had been at that time. He had been unable to concentrate, relying solely on the Observer for assistance to fight.
"Really, no need. Don’t worry, big brother. I didn’t come here to be bullied."
Lu Yang looked at Lu Luo as if trying to ascertain whether he was just putting on a brave front.
"Alright then. If you need any help, just let me know. Your big brother still has some clout here in the Knights Group reserve service. As for Qi Gefei, if you just say the word, I can help you take care of it."
"Thanks, big brother. If I need it, I’ll definitely call on you."
Lu Luo couldn’t help but feel amused. He clearly hadn’t joined the Church, yet he was getting increasingly involved with it. Everyone around him was from the Church—Qi Xinzhu, Han Shiyu, Lu Yang, Qiao Xing. But this was good in its own way. Getting closer to the Church also meant more opportunities to learn about its secrets. He also wanted to know if the Church really practiced the sacrifice of brides, if the Fruit of Life truly existed, and what it was for.
...
After Lu Yang left, Qi Xinzhu began to practice silently beside Lu Luo. She rarely trained in the Fourth Ring because the efficiency was indeed too low. With such scarce Dark Energy, training was hardly meaningful. During her time in the Fourth Ring, it was more appropriate to focus on improving her skills.
However, today, she felt something was off. When she stood beside Lu Luo, the Dark Energy particles she sensed through her Holy Radiance felt comparable to those in the Second Ring. This caused a constant trembling in her body’s Holy Radiance, forcing her to sit down and cultivate, transforming the Dark Energy.
Is this the power of Li Ming? Why does it seem like nobody else can feel it? Only those closest to Li Ming can be called Believers of Light. Is it because I am one that I experience this effect?
Qi Xinzhu didn’t know the reason, but she felt it was very comfortable to cultivate beside Lu Luo. It was as if she were close to Li Ming.
Indeed, Teacher was right, and so was Senior Sister. Lu Luo is Li Ming, she thought.
Lu Luo swung his sword, his face expressionless. He felt very tired and hungry. He glanced at Qi Xinzhu, who had inexplicably started cultivating beside him, and felt somewhat helpless.
This girl, it’s the middle of the day! Doesn’t she know to go buy some food? I’m starving to death!
As Qi Xinzhu sat cultivating, she suddenly felt something amiss—the Dark Energy particles seemed to be less concentrated than before. When she opened her eyes, she saw Lu Luo staring at her. Still unsure how to adapt to Lu Luo’s new ’identity’ as Li Ming, Qi Xinzhu felt a bit flustered.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"You’re not planning on going back, are you? Can you buy some food then? We’re living people; we can’t survive on incense alone."
"Uh..."
Buying food was not something Qi Xinzhu usually did, but she was very willing to do it for the current Lu Luo.
"Alright, I will go buy food."
To serve the Li Ming of her heart is, of course, something I do willingly, she thought.
Half an hour later, Lu Luo stopped his sword practice. He watched Qi Xinzhu run hurriedly towards him, the smile on his face slowly freezing.
"You took half an hour just to buy a wrap?"
"Hmm, do you not like it?"
Damn it, is this really a matter of liking it or not? Doesn’t she know a man’s appetite?
Lu Luo opened his mouth, finished the wrap Qi Xinzhu handed him in two bites, and then fell silent. He didn’t want to speak further and appear petty.
The Observer had once hinted to him that his food intake might be different from that of a normal Transcendent. As Transcendents ascended in level, or tier, their demand for food tended to decrease. They could eat or not eat, maintaining their body’s normal energy consumption entirely by absorbing Dark Energy, so not eating wasn’t an issue. But Lu Luo was different; he was the kind who would get hungry if he didn’t eat. Although he could also absorb energy from Dark Energy and wouldn’t die of hunger, it was indeed uncomfortable. Lu Luo knew that this hunger stemmed from the Devourer, so he needed to eat. Of course, if there were Exotic Species corpses to devour, that would be perfect, providing him with a strong sense of satiety, but unfortunately, there were none here.
Seeing that Lu Luo remained silent, Qi Xinzhu thought she had done something wrong again.
"Are you upset?"
"I’m not."
"Good."
"..."
So, Lu Luo continued practicing swordsmanship on an empty stomach. He didn’t stop again until Qiao Xing arrived for the afternoon and resumed the swordsmanship class. His clothing was soaked with sweat, yet his eyes shone brightly. He relished the sensation; though tired, he felt his spirit and condition were at their peak.
SWISH!
Lu Luo executed a thrust, but this time, the Sword Qi was not as turbulent as before. The thrust went forward without much of a gust, and he appeared rather ordinary.
By this point, Lu Luo had swung his sword 17,000 times. At this rate, the first milestone of 60,000 swings wasn’t far off. Actually, once he had practiced each of the six moves 3,000 times, he understood why Qiao Xing had instructed him to practice energized swings. Practice does indeed make perfect—it was no joke.
His six forms became more stable and restrained. Without any change in Qi He consumption, the fluctuations of his Sword Qi appeared to grow smaller. Lu Luo felt the change and improvement profoundly. The smaller the Sword Qi became, with unchanged energy consumption, the more its power and cutting ability increased. As long as he trained persistently and combined it with even a bit of Qi He, achieving an effect like Qiao Xing’s heaven-cleaving sword strike was just a matter of time.
After class, once Qiao Xing had left, Lu Luo put away his sword. He headed towards the restroom, noticing Qi Gefei watching him. Once Lu Luo went to the restroom, Qi Gefei followed suit, an unspoken understanding between men—of course, this understanding had nothing to do with fencing. Lu Luo stood by the sink washing his face. After Qi Gefei finished urinating, he also stood at an adjacent sink and began washing his hands. Both took their time.
"No one is going to disturb us today."
There was something unsettling about that statement, especially when uttered in the men’s restroom.
"I was thinking the same thing. I’m in good condition today; we can have a bit more fun."
"I’ll make sure you do," Qi Gefei said, turning off the tap.
"Heh, I hope so."
One after the other, the two returned to the swordsmanship training ground. They made their way to the center of the arena and faced off. At this time, the other trainees had not yet left. Upon seeing the confrontation, they stopped packing their belongings.
"Little Luo, are you sure about this?" Lu Yang frowned slightly. He hadn’t expected the second bout between Lu Luo and Qi Gefei to come so quickly.
"Big brother, if you don’t have anything else to do, you might want to watch. You could learn something."
Lu Yang and several members of the Knights Group looked somewhat astonished. Lu Luo’s statement was indeed bold.
The other students in the swordsmanship class were also keenly watching. They felt they had already learned a lot from Qiao Xing’s lesson on the Shock Sword. Now, with an exciting fight to watch, today’s swordsmanship class was proving to be very worthwhile indeed.
"Those two are fighting again? Qi Gefei from the Knight of Justice and that kid have a beef?"
"Master Qiao Xing has already left. Why don’t we watch?"
"Let’s watch, let’s watch."
"Both are sober today; it’s probably going to be much more brutal than yesterday!"
Qi Xinzhu had also been in the restroom. When she came out, she saw Qi Gefei behind Lu Luo and was about to step forward to stop them.
"Lu Luo?"
Lu Luo directly blocked her.
"You know my situation."
Lu Luo didn’t elaborate, but since he was unwilling to back down, Qi Xinzhu had no choice but to support him. There was no other option.
"Mhm." This time she wasn’t too worried. She knew Lu Luo was strong. Lu Luo’s miserable state yesterday had been due to his poor condition. Qi Xinzhu, being a Healer, was perhaps the only other person besides Lu Luo himself who knew just how bad his predicament had been. Today, Lu Luo had already made a breakthrough to the Second Tier, with both his spirit and will at their peak—his condition was completely different from yesterday’s.
As Lu Luo was walking toward Qi Gefei, another Believer of Light, Yu Luo, approached Qi Xinzhu.
"Aren’t you going to stop them? Today’s meaning is different from yesterday’s. Yesterday, it could be said that Qi Gefei was taking advantage of Lu Luo’s condition, so it was normal for you to intervene. But today, both are clear-headed. This is just a sparring session between students from different academies, and Master Qiao Xing won’t concern himself with such matters."
A newly promoted Believer of Light? Qi Xinzhu thought as she glanced at Yu Luo. I can sense that the Holy Radiance around Yu Luo is very murky. How could such a person become a Believer of Light? What on earth has the Church been doing these past few years? Has the Judge truly fallen?
"Lu Luo is strong. I believe in him; there won’t be a problem."
"Qi Gefei is the leading reserve member of the Knight of Justice. He lost yesterday mainly due to underestimation. And you blocked him from using the Evil Holy Seal yesterday. You don’t really think that Lu Luo can handle someone from one of the four great Knights Groups, do you? Even the weakest Knight of Justice is beyond comparison for someone from the Fourth Ring."
Qi Xinzhu found this woman detestable—truly, from the bottom of her heart. Yet, her good upbringing prompted her to respond to Yu Luo anyway.
"Nothing is absolute."
To me, Lu Luo is exceptional, Qi Xinzhu thought. Someone carrying the mantle of the Dawn Disc doesn’t need to be compared to those from the Inner Ring.
"Heh, I hope your confidence isn’t misplaced, Saintess."
Yu Luo crossed her arms. Though her figure and appearance were far less impressive than Qi Xinzhu’s, she possessed a quality rarely found among other normal Church members.
Seductive!