Ling Lan was stunned by these words. She had not expected herself to be the cause of Qi Long"s sad state. At this moment, Qi Long had lost his mental balance due to his desperate need to grow stronger. Although being more proactive and more aggressive than before was a good thing, it was not so easy to strengthen one"s combat arts just like that. The process needed the acc.u.mulation of time. If she did not have the learning s.p.a.ce, which multiplied the amount of training time she had by manyfold — just relying on the time she had in real life, it would have been impossible to achieve the peak stage of Qi-Jin ...

It should be said that something had gone wrong with Qi Long"s mental state. If this issue was not resolved soon, it would definitely be a great latent danger to Qi Long in future.

After weighing the matter for a moment, Ling Lan said, "Qi Long, I"m very happy you think this way. In future, we may be deployed to a battlefield. At that time, I hope that you will be the one protecting my back!"

Qi Long eyes blazed, his entire being coming to attention. Ling Lan was clearly telling him that he had high hopes for him; this increased his intent to become stronger — he definitely would not let Boss down.

"But, Qi Long, it"s not that easy to become strong. It cannot be rushed. You need the acc.u.mulation of time ..." However, Ling Lan"s following words made Qi Long"s heart sink. Was Boss Lan refusing him? Perhaps he wasn"t a genius, and so could not keep up with Boss" footsteps?

"I hope that you will take things a step at a time and build your foundations well. Then you"ll be able to go higher in the future," said Ling Lan slowly.

"But that way, the distance between us will just keep getting larger," said Qi Long agitatedly.

Ling Lan"s brow quirked. "How could it? You will just be getting closer and closer to me."

"Huh?" Qi Long was struck dumb by Ling Lan"s words. For a moment, he just could not understand what Ling Lan meant.

Ling Lan coolly pointed at her body and said, "What is the condition of my body?"

Qi Long lowered his head and said, downcast, "You need to recuperate for 3 to 4 years!" This was what the Ling family had announced to the public.

"Qi Long, this is the price!" said Ling Lan, self-mockingly, "Although the damage to my body was caused by the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt by enemies this time, my body is damaged so badly mostly because I had some latent problems remaining from breaking through too quickly before that."

In her heart, Ling Lan silently confessed her sins to any pa.s.sing G.o.ds. For the sake of her little follower"s future, she could only lie. Honestly, Ling Lan"s words were not entirely a lie — if Ling Lan had not possessed the G.o.dlike cheating device, the learning s.p.a.ce, even the most talented of prodigies would have had to pay an everlasting pyrrhic price to achieve her current level of strength.

"How can this be?" Ling Lan"s words shocked all of her little companions. They could not believe that their Boss Lan, who seemed so formidable and level-headed, would actually do such a foolish thing.

Ling Lan swept her gaze in a circle over her companions before her and said tonelessly, "Because I did not want to lose to my father ..." Ling Lan lifted her head slightly, as if holding back her emotions. Very quickly, she lowered her head again, and when she faced them once more, she was back to normal. "But my talent is no match for my father"s. No matter how hard I train, I still cannot reach the pace of my father. Slowly, I felt the gap widening so I became impatient. Thus, at a moment not really suitable for breaking through, I still chose to break through."

Qi Long and a few others knew who Ling Lan"s father was, so they did not reveal any signs of surprise at hearing this. In contrast, the faces of the others who had no idea who Ling Lan"s father was were filled with bewilderment as they stared at Ling Lan. In their eyes, Ling Lan was already so aberrantly prodigious that they could only look up to him ... but now, Ling Lan was saying that he was completely no match for his father ... Then, how aberrant was Ling Lan"s father exactly?!

Ling Lan saw the stupefied expressions of the others, and instantly realised that they probably still did not know that her father was Ling Xiao. It looked like before Qi Long and the others had gotten explicit permission from her, they had not told any of the others about this information. Her heart was instantly filled with grat.i.tude and affection for them. A thought pa.s.sed through her mind, and she said, "Can"t figure it out? How can there be someone so aberrant?"

Han Xuya, Luo Chao, and the others nodded their heads vigorously at Ling Lan"s words. They really could not figure out who could be so aberrant and terrifying to cause the seemingly all-powerful Boss Lan admit defeat.

"My father is Ling Xiao!" The corners of Ling Lan"s lips twitched upwards. She could not conceal the pride she felt that her father was just that aberrant.

"Ah!" Han Xuya was the first to scream in shock. A great lover of mecha, she naturally knew what the name Ling Xiao represented.

"G.o.d-cla.s.s operator!" In their astonishment, the others could not help but gulp. In their hearts, Ling Xiao was like a deity — they would never have dared to even think of relating anyone by their side to him.

After a fit of excitement, the companions quickly calmed down. They looked at Ling Lan with gazes of admiration and also sympathy. They admired that Ling Lan"s father was the G.o.d-cla.s.s operator Ling Xiao, but also pitied Ling Lan for actually trying to challenge that publicly acknowledged number one prodigy. It would have been more of a shock if he hadn"t lost badly!

Ling Lan felt somewhat awkward under these stares. In any case, she really had no intention of comparing herself to her father, but this excuse was just more convincing. She coughed and then turned to look at Qi Long, and said, "Qi Long, even though I managed to force a breakthrough successfully, I hurt my foundations. So, I have no choice but to rest for a long period of time after being injured this time. Do you also want to be like me? Lying in a bed for 4 to 5 years, maybe even longer?"

Qi Long shook his head emphatically. He did not want that. He just wanted to be able to stand by Boss"s side when he needed him, and not just have to watch helplessly, or even be protected by Boss. Therefore, his desire to become strong would never change. At most, he would be a little more careful, making sure not to rush as much when trying to break through in his physical skills training.

Qi Long"s gaze shone with his determination. Ling Lan sighed internally — why was this brat so stubborn? For the first time, Ling Lan had a bit of a headache. It was really so G.o.dd.a.m.n difficult to be someone else"s boss. How could she get rid of Qi Long"s tenacious way of thinking?

"Qi Long, you"re actually cornering yourself now." Ling Lan suddenly thought of the upcoming mission of the 7th grade, and her eyes lighted up. She felt that she had a way to solve the problem now. Since she could not find a way to suppress Qi Long urgent desire to become strong, then she would give him a safe way to become stronger. "Physical skills are not the only path to becoming stronger."

Qi Long threw a confused glance at Ling Lan, unsure what Ling Lan wanted to say.

"In this world, the strongest people are not physical fighters, but mecha operators," reminded Ling Lan, "Just like my father Ling Xiao, although his physical skills were only at Domain, he still became a G.o.d-cla.s.s operator, the Federation"s ultimate weapon. This is an existence that even G.o.d-Realm masters cannot compare with.

"And after this, you all will be going to complete the virtual world barrier-crossing mission. This was my original goal. Although I can"t go anymore now, that doesn"t mean I"ve given up on this goal. So Qi Long, as the team leader, and as my follower, you need to finish it for me."

Looking at the level of Qi Long"s team right now, this mission was totally at an S-level difficulty. Hearing Ling Lan"s command, Qi Long"s spirits rallied. He pounded his chest and said, "Don"t worry, Boss, I will complete this mission."

"This is just the first step. After entering the real virtual world, go and learn how to operate mecha. Three years later, when I return to the academy for the tests, I hope you will all have successfully advanced to intermediate mecha warrior or higher. Especially you, Qi Long, you need to be at advanced mecha warrior level."

"Why?" asked Qi Long, confused.

"Didn"t you want to become strong?" said Ling Lan calmly, "An advanced mecha warrior can match up with an early stage Domain master. At that time, you will have the right to stand beside me and fight alongside me."

Qi Long"s gaze glimmered. He had finally found a shortcut to becoming stronger. 3 years, and he would have the right to stand by Boss"s side. For him, this path was much more secure than physical skills.

Qi Long nodded solemnly and said, "Alright, Boss, I will definitely complete this goal. Three years later, I will definitely become an advanced mecha operator."

"Alright, if you all don"t achieve this objective, three years later, just wait for my punishment." Ling Lan"s tone was cold and ominous when she said this, causing everyone else besides Qi Long to shiver involuntarily, their expressions paling noticeably.

Mind you, to rise up from newbie trainee to intermediate mecha warrior in three years" time was an absolutely tough challenge. Even if they had not truly experienced what it was like to learn mecha control, they still knew that it required a ma.s.sive amount of points to upgrade mecha within the virtual world. These points needed to be earned by winning mecha fights. Even more frightening was the fact that, once they lost, an equivalent of the number of points they would have won would be deducted from their acc.u.mulated score. This rule had caused many people to become stuck with the label of newbie even after 2 to 3 years, because their total score was still in the negatives.

For them to successfully advance to intermediate mecha warrior in 3 years, they needed to maintain an extremely high win-rate, perhaps even not lose at all ... this was completely impossible!

Face ashen, Han Xuya could not help but open her mouth to plead, "Can the requirements be lowered for us girls?"

Ling Lan swept a glance at the other, "If you think it"s impossible, then it"s better to just not go and not learn how to operate mecha."

Ling Lan"s merciless words caused Han Xuya"s face to turn even paler, and she could not help but argue, "I remember that even the most impressive person in the virtual world needed 3 years and 3 months to advance from newbie to intermediate mecha warrior. How can we succeed?"

"That is just on public records. As far as I know, there is one person who only used half a year to become an intermediate mecha warrior from a newbie, in total using just one year to become an advanced mecha warrior," Ling Lan casually described a fact she knew.

"How could that be? Who was he?" Han Xuya"s first reaction was to disbelieve it.

"My father, Ling Xiao!" replied Ling Lan calmly.

"Uncle Ling is a G.o.d-cla.s.s operator, and also the globally recognized number one prodigy. How are we supposed to compare to him?" said Han Xuya feebly. Her cry of "Uncle Ling" made Ling Lan"s face twitch. Mind you, the Ling Xiao in the legacy s.p.a.ce had been a stunning pretty boy — completely incompatible with the t.i.tle of "uncle".

Ling Lan kept her face slack with all her might, and continued to say, "Which is why I asked you all to do it in three years. That"s 3 times more time than what Ling Xiao used to advance. You should know that in the same three years of time, Ling Xiao had already advanced to ace operator status. You all should also know that for a mecha operator to advance to ace operator status is a natural chasm. Many people remain stuck in this chasm for all their lives, unable to break through ... Compared to this, my request is already low enough."