"Although I don't know when Boss noticed you ..." He suddenly recalled what Qi Long had said at the start, as if the one who had first noticed him was Ling Lan and not them ...
Xie Yi's gaze steadied. He looked at Qi Long and asked seriously, "Earlier, you said that the first to notice me was your boss? Did you mean Ling Lan?"
Qi Long nodded and said, "Of course. If Boss hadn't told me you were here, we wouldn't have come here to watch you fight."
Qi Long's words caused Xie Yi to come to an abrupt realisation. He finally knew who had pushed him down from his tree — it must have been Ling Lan!
Xie Yi's expression alternated between red and white as he struggled with the idea. He had thought that even if he was not the champion of the 7th grade, he would still be within the ranks of the strongest few. But now, reality had given him a direct slap in the face. When he had been nudged off the tree by Ling Lan, not only did he not sense the other, he had even thought that he had fallen due to his own mistake ...It was clear to see that Ling Lan's capabilities were far beyond his; Xie Yi's mouth tasted bitter. "Is Ling Lan really really strong?"
Qi Long threw a puzzled glance at Xie Yi. Ling Lan's strength was unanimously acknowledged by the entire grade — why did Xie Yi look as if he had just found out about this? Still, Qi Long replied properly, "Of course. If Boss fought seriously, I don't know if I can even last for 10 moves ..." As Qi Long said this, he secretly crossed his fingers behind his back, praying to any passing deity to forgive him for his lie.
Qi Long had actually increased the number of moves he could handle in his response. No matter what, he was still the grade's top rank; saving some face was necessary. I mean, it's not like he could be honest and say that he could not even take one move from Boss ... that would be too embarrassing.
Xie Yi had no clue that Qi Long was already buffering his words to save face, adding on a couple extra moves, but still the answer of 10 moves was enough to settle him. He did not think he could beat Qi Long, and so if Qi Long could not last for 10 moves, then he himself would not be able to either.
Even if they enrolled now, Ling Lan's current strength would be no weaker than that of those lauded prodigies of the First Men's Military Academy. With such a powerful team leader, their team would definitely never be mediocre.
Xie Yi's heart was decided instantly. He lifted his head and said, "I will join!"
Qi Long and Han Jijyun exchanged a joyful glance at Xie Yi's clarion response. Although they still did not know Xie Yi very well right now, the other had only made his decision after serious contemplation. As such, the other must have considered things thoroughly, and definitely would not change his mind easily after this. This was precisely the type of team member they needed ...Of course, to truly become a true companion of theirs, he would still need to go through a series of tests, just like how it was with Lin Zhong-qing at the start ... Xie Yi was just blissfully ignorant of this at present.
Yet, Xie Yi naturally could not join Ling Lan's team right away, because the grand armed melee was still ongoing. All functions of the communicators were still in lock-down mode. Xie Yi could only wait for the grand armed melee to end so that he could receive the invitation from Ling Lan's team ...
Mission accomplished, Qi Long and Han Jijyun departed after asking what Xie Yi was planning to do next. As Xie Yi's stamina was depleted, he needed to find a place to rest and recover, while Qi Long and Han Jijyun needed to continue fighting. In particular, they wanted to seek out the strongest few of the 10th grade Class-A and defeat them all; otherwise, the 7th grade may not be able to win this grand armed melee.
Xie Yi waited for Qi Long and Han Jijyun to leave, and then, smiling sinisterly, he prepared to finish off the still unconscious Yuan Chen. However, before he could act, the teacher monitoring the scene appeared suddenly to whisk the other away, causing Xie Yi to lose his chance.
Still, Xie Yi was not vexed by this. After all, the other had not been a sworn enemy. If not for the fact that the other had tried to kill him first, he too would not think to kill the other. He had only wanted to eliminate all future threat — this was a point which all pig-players 1 had to hold fast to. But since a teacher had shown up, he would not be stubborn about it. Pig-players needed to be clear on the fact that they were just playing as pigs, but were not really pigs 2 — so, they should not be afraid of any challenges.
That said, Qi Long and the others continued to fight. Because the top team of the 10th grade had pretty much been wiped out single-handedly by Ling Lan — the remaining two members had also been secretly undermined by Ling Lan 3 — this greatly alleviated the pressure on the 7th grade Class-A students.
That said, the two members who had been undermined by Ling Lan had encountered a 7th grade Class-B five-man team, and a fight had broken out. Even though the Class-B team was overall weaker than those two members, they worked together well, and hence actually managed to withstand a series of fierce attacks from their opponents. As the fight dragged on, the manipulation Ling Lan had applied began to have an even greater effect. Meanwhile, the team member chased away by Xie Yi had discovered the signals his team members had left behind, and had finally managed to catch up to reunite with them. At this time, having become adjusted to fighting, the reunited 7th grade Class-B team, now with all six members, began to launch their counterattack ...
In addition, due to the pressure exerted upon them by their opponents, two out of the four students who had yet to awaken their innate talents actually awakened them. Although the abilities they awakened were very ordinary, awakening any ability at all meant that in terms of operating mecha, they would go much further than those students who did not awaken ... Of course, the more suited the innate talent awakened was for mecha control, the more of an advantage it was in all aspects of operating mecha.
Against the spirited attack of the 7th grade Class-B team, the two 10th graders were finally overcome. One of them was knocked unconscious right at the scene from a coordinated attack of the Class-B team, while the other, seeing that the situation was not right, instantly turned tail to run ... but was struck down by another 7th grade Class-A team coincidentally passing by.
This kind of battles were occurring at various places around the academy. Those struck down could be 7th graders or 10th graders — only when the grand armed melee ended would the final numbers be known. For now, everyone involved just continued to work hard to remain active in the grand armed melee.
Yet all of this no longer had anything to do with Ling Lan. Controlling Ling Lan's body, Number Nine hurried to the dormitory district under Little Four's guidance.
As long as one pressed the surrender button, they would be able to enter the dormitory safety area. Of course, Little Four could use the mainframe and let Ling Lan enter even without surrendering, but recalling Ling Lan's caution, Little Four knew that he could not do anything that could leave traces to be discovered. If he did this, without a doubt, Boss would be exposed to public scrutiny.
Number Nine decisively pressed the surrender button; Ling Lan's body would not be able to hold out for much longer. If they did not return to an absolutely safe place, she would not be able to be assured of Ling Lan's safety. For both Number Nine and Little Four, in comparison, the outcome of the grand armed melee was just not as important as Ling Lan's life.
Number Nine quickly entered the dormitory area, and with several quick flash steps, she had made her way to Ling Lan's villa where she burst straight into the house. Right then, Ling Lan's body had already begun showing signs of breaking down, her entire body covered in blood. Such a horrific scene caused Lan Luofeng to leap up in shock from the couch where she had been watching the latest updates on the grand armed melee.
"Aunt Nan!" Lan Luofeng caught the falling Ling Lan in her arms as she shouted.
"Young Master Lan! What happened?!" Ling Nanyi appeared in the living room instantly after the shout. From this alone, Number Nine could tell that the other was at the very least a Qi-Jin level master.
"Unidentified enemies pretended to be teachers to assassinate me! Contact Ling Qin to send trained professionals from home for protection ..." After leaving these final words in a hurry, Number Nine regretfully returned to the learning space. It wasn't that she did not want to explain things better, but Ling Lan's body really could not support her manifestation any longer. If she continued to stay, Ling Lan's body would truly be done for.
Lan Luofeng's eyes were wide as she stared at Ling Lan lying unconscious in her arms. A vicious glint flashed through her eyes ... No mother could accept her child being harmed. Even the frailest and gentlest mother would become a savage mother lion in times like this.
"Aunt Nan, let Uncle Qin send people over. Send the strongest people. Not just that. Mobilise all the mecha squads at home for me. I want the academy to give our Ling family an explanation!" Lan Luofeng's face was a sheet of ice. Her initial gentleness was nowhere to be seen, her gaze filled with the intent to kill.
Pleasant surprise flashed through Ling Nanyi's eyes. She nodded emphatically and said, "I understand, Mistress!" This was the presence the mistress of the household should have! She had always been of the mind that Lan Luofeng was just a little too weak.
"Ling Xiao, I definitely won't let anyone harm our baby, no one ..." Lan Luofeng embraced Ling Lan tightly, as if she would be able to protect her child better by doing so.
"Mistress, I've already sent out the notification. One hour later, they will arrive." Ling Nanyi used the special Ling family communication method, contacting Ling Qin speedily.
"Also, I've asked Xiao Ying to activate the recovery pod. It is best for Young Master Lan to go into a recovery pod now ..." From her check of Ling Lan's body, Ling Nanyi found that other than the wide-scale disintegration of the muscles, Ling Lan's internal organs was also displaying varying degrees of damage. However, fortunately, all of these injuries were not fatal with the current technology. As long as there was no problem with the brain, the recovery pod would definitely be able to heal Ling Lan's injuries. It was all just a matter of time.
Lan Luofeng knew that she would not be able to carry the 13 year old Ling Lan all on her own with her level of strength. So, she decisively passed Ling Lan to Ling Nanyi. Since she was unable to help, she should just get out of the way and not make things more difficult. Lan Luofeng knew very well what she should do.
Eyes red, she watched as Ling Lan was placed into the recovery pod. Seeing the recovery pod close, Lan Luofeng finally showed some weakness, her expression showing traces of sorrow and pain.
But once the recovery pod hid Ling Lan from sight completely, Lan Luofeng's expression turned cold and unforgiving. She abruptly turned to Ling Nanyi and said, "Aunt Nan, let us wait for the dean's arrival ..."
"Yes! Mistress!" said Ling Nanyi respectfully.
One hour later, an old man with a head of white hair appeared mysteriously at Ling Lan's villa. Lan Luofeng had met him before — Ling Xiao had brought her to visit him once — he was one of Ling Xiao's initiate instructors 4 , Mu Shui-qing 5 .
"Instructor Mu ..." Seeing the other, Lan Luofeng's eyes turned red, almost breaking out into tears. Ever since Ling Xiao had passed away, Mu Shui-qing had shut himself up in the Ling family mansion. He had not come out for 10 years. This time, due to Ling Lan's near assassination, he had finally been troubled enough to come.
"Where is Ling Lan now?" asked Mu Shui-qing anxiously.
Lan Luofeng hurriedly led Mu Shui-qing to Ling Lan's recovery pod and opened it up. Mu Shui-qing carefully examined Ling Lan's body, and his expression shifted minutely, "There is still a trace of water elemental energy from a Domain master. Looks like the one who tried to kill Kiddy Lan is a Domain master."
Mu Shui-qing's expression eased slightly in consolation, "Although I don't know how he managed to escape from the opponent, surviving an attack from a Domain master is a miracle on its own."
