Tempest of the Stellar War
chapter-628

However, Snow Li's eyelashes quivered. Wang Zheng smiled. "You've awoken, Snow. You might want to leave soon, before rumours start spreading."

Snow Li opened her eyes, and gently bit her lip, "I don't really care what others might say. Aren't you the one that's concerned?"

Wang Zheng offered no explanation and just looked at her with a smile. Snow Li felt a little embarrassed. Her cute nose twitched a few times. "What's that smell?"

"Heh, you finished the first cycle yesterday, so naturally, a cleansing of your body would occur… you should take a shower first, otherwise your image as a goddess would be affected"

Ah~~~

The icy-calm student Snow no longer stay composed and was visibly affected. Not only was she drenched with the smell of sweat, her appearance just upon waking up was completely revealed to another person. That was a girl's at their lowest state of beauty after all!

She practically bounced into the bathroom, and the sound of flowing water soon followed. Wang Zheng, on the other hand, was preparing breakfast. He was practically presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers, since everything was provided for by Snow Li after all.

TL Note: Idiom meaning to win favor or influence using somebody else's property

Snow Li finished her shower very quickly, and radiated with health and vigor. The moment of enlightenment she experienced yesterday seemed to already have a cleansing effect, for upon changing into her own clothes, Goddess Snow now looked rather dazzling.

"Do you want breakfast?"

"Of course!" Snow Li replied determinedly.

Wang Zheng laughed, but at this untimely moment the doorbell rang again. The door swung open, for there was another person who knew the entry code - student Zhang Shan.

Zhang Shan rushed in like a gust of wind, "Wang Zheng, you're truly awesome. I feel as though I've been born anew, it's amazing! Let me treat you to…"

Zhang Shang stopped in his tracks, and so did Wang Zheng and Snow Li. At this moment, Snow Li's hair was wet and she was still wearing the same set of clothes from yesterday. The bed was also in disarray, and still had sweat stains on it.

"Ahem, Zhang Shan, don't be mistaken."

Zhang Shan showed a smug and lewd smile, "I don't think I've been mistaken, I'm a well-behaved youth after all. Aiyah, it's just that I really want to keep my mouth shut, so I wonder if anyone is willing to treat me to breakfast. Tsk, I don't think one breakfast would suffice. A month's worth seems more like it!"

Wang Zheng helplessly swung his hand, "Don't mind him."

Snow Li did in fact ignore the warrior. Her little tongue swept the bread off her lips in a single lick. Stroking her chin, she said, "Wang Zheng, I really want him to misunderstand, what should I do?"

"Stop fooling around. It would be alright if there was really anything, but since there wasn't it's really not worth becoming a scapegoat."

"How about we do it again?" Snow Li teased.

"Really? You won't be so lucky next time."

"Alright, I can't stand you two any longer. Spare a thought for how others might feel, will you? Seeing as to how you're able to flirt so early in the morning, you've clearly finished your body technique training, classmate Snow." Zhang Shan was not entirely an idiot and was able to infer the situation from the conversation between the two.

He also knew Wang Zheng well enough. If Wang Zheng really did it, he would definitely fear nothing in Heaven or on Earth, and would certainly not care about what others might think.

"We're in the same boat."

Upon seeing Zhang Shan's energy, Snow Li immediately knew what Zhang Shan was excited about so early in the morning. Sure enough, Earthlings seemed to have an advantage in this area.

"Don't start worshipping me. Actually if not for Wang Zheng, I wouldn't be done so fast." Zhang Shan remarked.

"This guy truly is capable of something else entirely." Snow Li teased.

"Haha, it's not just something. Let me tell you, Wang Zheng will eventually change the universe!" Zhang Shan grandly proclaimed.

This time Wang Zheng's face turned red in embarrassment. Was it really necessary to boast so loudly?

Snow Li smiled silently, "You two take your time, I need to make a move first."

"Pretty girl, take care." Zhang Shan politely sent Snow Li off. After he closed the door, he practically leapt back to Wang Zheng.

"What a shame, you don't even take a bite when a pretty girl is literally presented to you. This is practically a waste of resources." Zhang Shan cried out in great pity, " Wang Zheng, you might as well change your name to Liuxia Hui and call it a day."

[1.TL Note: A famous person who couldn't be tempted by anything, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhan_Huo."]

Wang Zheng smiled as he took a sip of water, "The emperor is calm yet the eunuch is anxious."

TL Note: Idiom meaning that surrounding people are more concerned than the primary person involved, similar to the concept of 'back-seat driving'. Lots of Idioms today…

"Yep, continue being bullish all you want. Even if I'm the anxious eunuch here, what exactly are your plans? Don't tell me that you're going to live your whole life being intent on Aina? I'm not saying this just for your sake, but you're great at everything other than your indecisiveness when it comes to relationships!" Zhang Shan couldn't help but burst out, for he was not willing to see Wang Zheng continue to waste his youth away.

The very mention of Aina still shook Wang Zheng's emotions. He was completely unable to control this. While he was able to be as calm as still water even in the face of death, he was unable to do so when it came to Aina.

However, things were different from before, for even Meng Tian was in the picture now. In the past he felt like he was hurting Meng Tian, but after the round of explanation from Zhang Shan, he realised that he was already headed towards a dead end. However, when it came to other girls, he did not know why he could never take the first step even if there was obvious attraction present.

"Look at you go, overthinking things again! It's actually really simple, if you like someone, just go for it. If you fail, just try harder. If you fail again, just change your target. It's not as if it's the end of the world. Let me tell you if you continue your ways, sooner or later, you will experience a huge reversal!"

"A huge reversal?"

"Yeah, a huge reversal in your sexual orientation. For example, you may start to be attracted to animals…" Zhang Shan guffawed.

Bam…"Aiyaya, that hurts, a gentleman uses his mouth and not his fist! You bastard, don't be so unreasonable, do unto others as you would have them do unto you! Aiyo!"

After a short while, the disheveled Zhang Shan obediently took a seat. Alas, he still could not take Wang Zheng on in a fight. Sometimes it was more direct for men to use their fists to do the talking.

"Ahem, one's first love always leaves a deeper impression, but for a first love to be as severe as yours it's basically become a full-fledged love obstructing disease. Surely this isn't necessary. That being said, your first love set the bar high indeed. Seeing the grand ocean surely makes other rivers seem small in comparison. The state you've reached is certainly too high." Zhang Shan remarked. In actual fact he also knew the reasons behind Wang Zheng's behaviour. Nobody could match up to Aina after all. Men may seem to think with their lower halves but that was just passion and lust. When it came to true emotions, men and women were one and the same. This was especially true for someone like Wang Zheng, who definitely preferred taking things slow. However, once you gained his approval, he would treat you as if you were part of his family.

Zhang Shan silently labelled this pitiful guy as one who would always be in the friendzone.

...????????????????????????,???????,???????????

… Was he pitiful? All of a sudden Zhang Shan realised that this guy was not as as pitiful as he imagined. Stunningly beautiful women kept throwing themselves at Wang Zheng after all. When would Zhang Shan be able to enjoy such treatment himself?

Wang Zheng laughed, "Alright, enough nonsense, let's go to class!"

"Ahem, let's make a deal shall we? Since you don't even like this Snow Li, how about you introduce her to me?" Zhang Shan grinned.

"Don't you already have Yan Ge?"

"Cheh, we just get along well. If we like each other we'll get together, if not we'll just forget about it and remain as good friends!"

"F*ck, you're definitely the unfaithful one here!"

"Cheh, there you go again. Before me she already had more than ten ex-boyfriends alright, even if I hesitated, she wouldn't need to. Your idea of love is practically that from three thousand years ago, I'm seriously speechless."

Zhang Shan felt that Wang Zheng was great in all aspects except being passionate. How could a true man not be passionate!?

Nope, Wang Zheng was probably passionate on the inside. Wang Zheng was just not as outspoken as himself - that on the other-hand was outward passion!

Zhang Shan was proud of being able to come to such a conclusion himself. The two of them drove the cauldron to class. Every time they faced the morning sun while in midair, Zhang Shan always felt a blazing enthusiasm for life.

Today's class was combat tactics. The main topics covered were solo combat on complex terrain, multi-member cooperative combat, large-scale combat , airborne combat etc. Since the professors either held positions within the Army's Dagger Task Forces or the Special Forces, the military strategies and tactics presented to them were unique in nature.

The combat tactics class was also divided into both theoretical lessons and practical lessons. How could one put it, individual ability was indeed important, but since ancient times raising an army of one thousand was easy, while finding a good general was difficult. Tacticians would obtain an exalted status, and becoming a talented general was the ultimate goal of the students of Elite Academy X. Unless one had special interests, this was definitely the main goal of the students. Nobody would want to be a mere soldier all their lives, especially not among this group of talented youths.

As a result, the reference scores from the combat tactics class were extremely valuable. In the short-term their importance would not be felt since everyone was still rather young and they would need to accumulate at least ten years of experience. However, when the time for promotion eventually came, these scores would reveal their true value.

Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan were both intellectuals, just that one was reserved while the other was more flamboyant. The moment they entered the classroom, they sensed an indescribable ambience. Everyone seemed to be overly excited.

Could it be that rumors had spread?

Zhang Shan glanced at Wang Zheng, before realizing that no one was paying any attention to them. They were imagining things, for the true situation revealed itself quickly via Eisen.

"What were the two of you busy with all day? Could it be that you haven't seen the Skylink news about the school from yesterday?"

Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan shot a quick glance at each other. They really did not have any time to care about such things yesterday.

"Elite Academy will be organizing a mecha competition. Those who place in the top five will be able to obtain a personal custom-made runic mech!"

"Runic mech?" Zhang Shan curiously asked.

"You idiot, have you forgotten about our flying devices? Did you really think that the Elite Academy gained control of this technology just to make transport vehicles!?" Eisen replied in a tone resentful of expectations not being met. This was no secret in the Elite Academy. This type of mecha had a difficult manufacturing process and mass production was not possible since each mecha had to be made on a one-to-one basis. As such, they could only be obtained by these gifted students.

"In the past only students above Earth Grade could obtain this, but now the school has finally been enlightened about the importance of taking care of us. As such, they decided to hold a competition of real combat, and those who place in the top five can obtain one immediately!" Eisen exclaimed with excitement.

Zhang Shan smirked, "What are you so excited for? This was obviously prepared for those in the Xuan Grade. It's none of our business."

There was no chance at all for those a whole grade lower.

All at once, Eisen was in low spirits again, "That's why I'm so bloody fed up. It would be great if such good opportunities existed while we're in the Xuan Grade. However, it seems like we are able to sign up on paper at least."

"Oh, anyone can take part?"

"After registering and if you pass the background check, you will need to take part in a basic test, after which your participation will be confirmed. However, your opponents will all be Xuan Grade Seniors. It would be best to just treat this as a learning opportunity, since victory is pretty much impossible. I've heard that all those in the Xuan Grade are their own special brand of crazy." Eisen remarked with admiration.

When it came to owning your own mecha, this runic mech would be different from that of Atlantis, for in this case only the owner would be able to use the mech. Once matching was complete, this mech would solely belong to its pilot. While there were definitely going to be restrictions on its usage, this did not really matter much, for the mech would still be invaluable. These mecha were the manifestation of mankind's greatest knowledge and simply engraving your own name on one of them would be an unsurpassable achievement.

That would be truly glorious!

This was a temptation that no mech pilot could ever resist!