By the time Li Tianlan joined Li Baitian and the other threes according to the location on the map, a battle that took place in the sprint to the finish line was also drawing to a close.
About half a dozen senior students including boys and girls of different figures were lying on the ground, all of them unconscious, and bits of blood splashed onto the surrounding trees and gra.s.s, which looked desolate and screaming.
Li Baitian’s face was deathly pale and his mouth was still bleeding. Ning Qiancheng was carrying him on his back, but as he was much taller than Ning Qiancheng, his feet touched the ground from time to time while he was lying on Ning Qiancheng’s back, which made them look quite funny.
Ning Qiancheng looked better than Li Baitian, but he was also bloodied and had two deep cuts on his arms that had not yet been bandaged.
And Yu Qingyan was lying near them, in a coma.
Throughout the battlefield, w.a.n.g Yuetong, known as the Siren, was undoubtedly the most conspicuous presence.
The mighty Sword Qi revolved around her tall, slender body. Behind her, a huge sword, made entirely of thick ice, quivered in the air. Unlike the sword Li Tianlan saw in the maze, the huge sword behind w.a.n.g Yuetong was five or six meters long and more than two meters wide. The slight quiver of its heavy blade made a harsh sound in the air. The primitive and strong sword intent condensed or dissipated around the huge sword. w.a.n.g Yuetong’s enchanting and angelic little face remained expressionless, full of great pride and stern coldness.
Li Tianlan unconsciously glanced around. Looking at a large area of trees that had been cut off in the battlefield, he could just imagine w.a.n.g Yuetong controlling the huge sword behind her to strike at enemies with all her might.
It might be inappropriate to describe such a stunning woman with the two words: awe-inspiring and domineering, but at this moment, in Li Tianlan’s imagination, w.a.n.g Yuetong, who controlled the huge ice sword behind her and defeated all her opponents, did appear to be extraordinary awe-inspiring and domineering.
Li Tianlan gave a cough as he stopped quietly outside the range of w.a.n.g Yuetong’s Sword Qi. At the point, w.a.n.g Yuetong was clearly still in a state of battle. And once he entered the range of her Sword Qi, Li Tianlan was likely to face her full blow.
No matter the huge sword, the unique skill, or the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, Li Tianlan had never heard of it. However, as he felt the immense yet delicate Sword Qi at the moment, he was completely sure that it was a top unique skill even in the whole dark world. He was still in the Ice-condensing Realm, and thus it would not very hard for him to take on her attack, yet it would not be easy.
“Are you all right?”
Li Tianlan asked first.
As he spoke, the quiet battlefield came alive. Li Baitian, who was on Ning Qiancheng’s back, immediately raised his head and looked at Li Tianlan. Seeing that Li Tianlan was whole, he twitched his mouth and said feebly, “d.a.m.n it.”
“Yeah.”
Ning Qiancheng also seemed relieved and put on a smiled. He bounced Li Baitian on his back and laughed, “But I guess this guy will have to rest for a few days.”
“There was a drama of a pretty girl saving bears. Of course we are all right.”
The coldness and haughtiness on w.a.n.g Yuetong’s face gradually faded, and the almost bewitching smile reappeared. In the meanwhile, the huge sword behind her was also dissipating rapidly, becoming blurred, and finally vanishing.
She then picked up Yu Qingyan, who was unconscious on the ground, and walked to Li Tianlan. She stared at him with clear eyes for a long while before she inquired in a strange tone, “Did you really kill Liu Xiuwei?”
“Yes, it was just a fluke.”
Li Tianlan didn’t want to talk about it. He looked at Yu Qingyan who was in a coma, frowned, and asked, “What happened?”
“Being attacked.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong seemed a little unhappy about Li Tianlan’s perfunctory answer. She wrinkled her nose and said, “An outstanding disciple from Mount Shu intended to fight it out with Liu Dongyu in the maze, so he forced himself. Although he didn’t launch that strike, he was seriously injured. What left people speechless was his performance after coming out of the maze. In circ.u.mstances where danger could come at any moment, he was distracted by worrying about you. As a result, he was attacked by surprise and the first one lost his combat capability.”
“As for Qingyan, she is too simple and timid. In addition, the martial arts she has learned are not suitable for the Sky Academy’s maneuver. They are all fatal skills, and thus she was limited. She was the second out. So Qiancheng took care of Weakness Li and Qingyan, and I had to settle with the rest of those attackers.”
Li Baitian looked a little ashamed. He struggled to get off Ning Qiancheng’s back. “If I had launched my sword,” he said weakly, “I could have beaten Liu Dongyu in no time! Do you believe it?”
“I believe.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong smiled and replied, “But even if you had beaten Liu Dongyu in no time, how would you feel now? I guess you are really weak now in that case, aren’t you? Weakness Li?”
“My name is Li Baitian!”
Li Baitian almost cried by their teasing. “Oh my G.o.d! Senior brothers called me Weakness or Uncle Weakness. d.a.m.n, I am not weak at all, okay? Weakness? If I continue to be called by this name, I will never marry a wife. Call me Li Baitian! And I’ll be mad at anyone who calls me Weakness Li!’
“Get it, Weakness.”
Ning Qiancheng responded, his face deadpan.
“Drunbility Cheng! You!”
“What’s wrong, Brother Weakness?”
“I… ”
Li Tianlan walked to Ning Qiancheng and Li Baitian while resisting the temptation to laugh. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.
“No need to thank us.”
Ning Qiancheng said and shook his head.
“We are roommates. Don’t stand on ceremony.”
Li Baitian also shook his head, indicating that he agreed with Ning Qiancheng. As he looked at Li Tianlan, his head was full of questions, such as Li Tianlan’s realm and how he killed Liu Xiuwei. These questions started to his lips but he choked them back and just suggested, “Let’s go first. It’s not far from the end. We’ll talk when the maneuver is finish.”
“I’d like to go.”
Li Tianlan smiled when the silvery Human Emperor slipped silently into his hand and was clasped tightly. “But I’m afraid someone is trying to stop us,” he added.
Hearing his words, Li Baitian froze for a second, and then his eyes became alert.
w.a.n.g Yuetong also walked to Li Tianlan, put Yu Qingyan down, and stood beside him.
Li Baitian and Ning Qiancheng exchanged glances at each other but they were not very worried.
Of the five people now, Li Baitian and Yu Qingyan were out of action, but Ning Qiancheng was in. Most importantly, w.a.n.g Yuetong and Li Tianlan were now in the same boat. They both just saw the power of w.a.n.g Yuetong. The girl, who was known as the w.a.n.gs’ Siren but did not have many specific rumors, was more than overbearing and powerful!
With the appearance of her huge sword of five or six meters long, she really had a peerless aura. The whole battle lasted less than 10 seconds from the beginning to the end. She outcla.s.sed her opponents completely. On the list of the top 10 young experts, w.a.n.g Yuetong was ranked behind Ning Qiancheng, but her actual combat capability was much stronger than Ning Qiancheng’s. With such a powerful character on the same side with Li Tianlan, who was capable of killing Liu Xiuwei, an expert in the Fire-flaming Realm, when he was only in the Ice-condensing Realm, they needed not worry at all and their sense of security could not be more sufficient.
There were faint footsteps in the woods a few dozen meters away.
Li Tianlan gently rubbed the Human Emperor in his hand, and he was as still as a statue.
Behind w.a.n.g Yuetong, her huge ice sword reappeared, and its Sword Qi spread and completely enveloped Li Baitian and the others.
In the range of the Sword Qi, w.a.n.g Yuetong could condense the Sword Qi into one point and attack the enemy in the first place no matter who was attacked.
Li Tianlan winced, and his body became a bit tight and then relaxed again as if he was aware of something.
It happened in a very short time, and his change was very rapid.
But in that split second, w.a.n.g Yuetong had already sensed some subtle changes. She turned her head sharply, opened her watery and charming eyes wide, and looked at Li Tianlan with a hint of undisguised shock.
“Senior brother Tianlan, how did you do it?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong asked as she took a step toward Li Tianlan, her body almost pressing against Li Tianlan.
“What do you mean?”
Li Tianlan arched a brow slightly.
“You know what I mean!”
w.a.n.g Yuetong looked at Li Tianlan determinedly with a look of heat and seriousness that would make all men breathtaking.
Just a moment ago, her Sword Qi automatically spread around and tried to cover all the people to form a whole. But when it moved to Li Tianlan, w.a.n.g Yuetong was surprised to find that her Sword Qi was completely isolated from him. No Sword Qi could be close to Li Tianlan, and the land he was in seemed to be a world of its own and invincible.
What did that mean?
This meant not only that Li Tianlan’s method was ingenious, but also that in the rage of w.a.n.g Yuetong’s Sword Qi, if she were to turn against Li Tianlan, her unique skill of the move would amount to a serious flaw and weakness!
“How could the unique skill of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai be flawed?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong’s heart was pounding. She looked at Li Tianlan, hoping for an answer.
But Li Tianlan was silent throughout.
“Senior brother Tianlan, you don’t trust me, do you?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong suddenly raised the question.
“What about you, junior sister Yuetong? Do you trust me?”
Li Tianlan asked back with the same old composure. His first impression of w.a.n.g Yuetong was not bad, but he did not dare to trust her very much. It was entirely by his instinct. He always thought that this “junior sister” was too clever, and it seemed that once he revealed a little more about himself, she could guess his ident.i.ty. This feeling of danger made Li Tianlan unconsciously want to give her a wide berth.
w.a.n.g Yuetong fell silent.
Trust？
If she were just an ordinary girl, the word wouldn’t really mean anything in her heart, but she wasn’t. In the eyes of everyone, she was a siren, but also a princess, one of the cores of the Zhongzhou States’ top rich and influential family. Trust was a luxury for her. It was not that she could not have it, but it was not easy for her to get it.
w.a.n.g Yuetong gently bit her lip, and her charming eyes twinkled. For a moment she felt an unspeakable sensation.
At the same time, the footsteps grew closer and more p.r.o.nounced.
While Li Tianlan was listening attentively to determine the number of people coming, w.a.n.g Yuetong’s voice rang in his ears again.
“Senior brother Tianlan, do you have a girlfriend?”
Her voice sounded deep, husky and attractive, and it quavered a little as if it were to reach into the heart of the hearer, with irresistible temptation.
Ning Qiancheng and Li Baitian shook at the same time, but neither of them spoke.
Li Tianlan thought of Qin Weibai instantly.
He thought of the woman who could not be described with too many flowery words.
“Girlfriend… ”
Li Tianlan was lost in thought. He had not been in contact with Qin Weibai long, only for a day. But on that very day of contact she had come straight into his heart in a gesture that could not be refused. As a result, he was unable to erase her in his memory, even if he wanted to.
“Will she be my girlfriend?”
Li Tianlan laughed at himself in his heart and replied in a low voice, “No.”
His voice was soft and breezy, but to w.a.n.g Yuetong, it sounded a little lonely.
w.a.n.g Yuetong’s heart quivered a little. She blushed because of what she had just said. Then she softly said further, “I don’t have a boyfriend, either.”
“Oh, G.o.d. Look what I saw! No, look what I heard! Yuetong, I shouldn’t show up, right? Our little princess actually took the initiative to express her love for a man? Is that possible? Ah? Is that possible? Buddy, I advise you not to promise to be her boyfriend. Do not promise her! If you say yes, you will be challenged by a number of people that could form a long line from Huating to Youzhou. You have to think twice! Think twice!”
A playful voice broke forth.
About 10 meters away from them, a squat figure with several senior students came into the sights of them.
Li Tianlan looked startled.
w.a.n.g Yuetong seemed to be a little startled, too, but after hearing what the man said, her blushed yet pretty face turned rosier, and the huge sword behind her sent out a hint of obvious killing intent. She stamped her foot, gritted her teeth and shouted, “Fan Haoyu, in what universe did you see me to express my love? You can try to say it again!”
At the sight of the killing intent in w.a.n.g Yuetong’s eyes due to shame and ire, the smile on the squat man’s face immediately stiffened, and he looked somewhat embarra.s.sed all of a sudden and dared not approach them for a minute. As his eyes rolled, he found Ning Qiancheng who was carrying Li Baitian. He made a laugh and said, “Oh, Qiancheng, you’re here too. Long time no see. How did you get together?”
He took a tentative step forward and glanced cautiously at w.a.n.g Yuetong’s face.
“What are you looking at? Just come over if you want.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong ordered grimly, and the huge sword behind her vanished again.
Fan Haoyu rubbed his hands and smiled ingratiatingly as he walked towards them. A little timid, he didn’t know what to say for an instant.
“Fatty fan, why are you here?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong looked at Fan Haoyu and asked with curiosity, her cheeks still red.
“This area is the place of our Elite Organization. I was in the neighborhood just now and heard something. I knew someone was attacking the freshmen, so we rushed over and planned to get some Credit-counting Watches. We didn’t expect that you’re here.”
Fan Haoyu answered with a bitter smile.
w.a.n.g Yuetong chuckled and all her hostility to Fan Haoyu dissipated. She pulled Li Tianlan’s arm with her delicate and white fingers and said, “Senior brother Tianlan, let me introduce you, this is Fan Haoyu. You can just call him Fatty Fan. He’s sort of my friend. His Elite Organization is one of the organizations made up of senior students who leave in school from the previous graduating cla.s.s, but he is unlike Liu Dongchao and his younger sister. Don’t think less of him. Liu Dongchao and his younger sister are powerful when they join forces, but if they are alone against Fatty Fan, neither of them can take three of his moves. After all, he is an expert at the peak of the Fire-flaming Realm.”
Li Tianlan took Fan Haoyu seriously internally.
Fan Haoyu was really short and fat, less than 1.7 meters tall, but at least 100 kilograms. Moreover, he was used to wincing while talking, making him appear extremely creepy. With all these, he looked like anything but an expert.
However, the peak of the Fire-flaming Realm dispelled any doubts Li Tianlan had about him.
“Don’t judge a man by his looks!” Li Tianlan sighed secretly, reached out to Fan Haoyu and gently said, “I’m Li Tianlan. Nice to meet you.”
“This is senior brother Tianlan, the best freshman of the year.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong beamed and gave Li Tianlan an empty t.i.tle at will.
A funny look flashed across Fan Haoyu’s face. He laughed, held Li Tianlan’s hand and courteously said, “Nice to meet you, too.”
Ning Qiancheng and Li Baitian stood beside them, and said nothing. Apparently neither of them was interested in such an occasion.
“By the way, why did you come here personally? Where’s Xu Muye?”
Seeing that Fan Haoyu kept shaking Li Tianlan’s hand, w.a.n.g Yuetong raised a question impatiently.
Like Fan Haoyu, Xu Muye was the head of the Elite Organization. His strength was slightly inferior to that of Fan Haoyu, but he was also an expert in the stabilization phase of the Fire-flaming Realm. He and Fan Haoyu were closet friends who had grown up together, so there was no reason for him not to show up.
Fan Haoyu suddenly turned gloomy and answered angrily, “He slipped up, wounded by a freshman. The freshman took 10 seconds, not even 10 seconds. By the time I got to the scene, Muye was already unconscious and the freshman had already run away.”
“Are you sure it was a freshman?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong frowned and took a glance at Li Tianlan unconsciously. As far as strength was concerned, Xu Muye and Liu Dongchao were on a par. If the freshman could beat Xu Muye within 10 seconds, it meant that the freshman was almost as powerful as Li Tianlan.
“Yes, I’m sure. What’s more, the freshman is only in the Ice-condensing Realm, named Gu something Lan. d.a.m.n, what a shame!”
Fan Haoyu cursed.
w.a.n.g Yuetong’s eyes danced with thoughts.
“Forget it; let’s not talk about it anymore.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong thought for a while before she shook her head and said, “As the maneuver is over, I’ll go to see Xu Muye. Fatty, I’d like to ask you about someone. There is a woman with double sabers among the senior students of your school year. She is about 1.7 meters tall, and looked very pretty with long hair. Do you know who is she?”
These descriptions were far from specific. Fortunately, there were not many senior students left this school year. Fan Haoyu thought for a while before he inquired with some uncertainty. “She moves fast?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong’s eyes lit up at the question. She then nodded and added further, “Yes. It was her who attacked us leading some senior students. She really was fast, and badly hurt Weak… err, Li Baitian, and one of my roommates. She ran away, and I defeated all who followed her.”
Fan Haoyu walked over to see those senior students who were still on the ground, and then replied firmly, “It should be Du Hanyin, but haven’t her martial arts been abolished? It’s odd. Yuetong, Du Hanyin is a strange person; you want me to tell you about her gossip?”
“No, I have no interest in it.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong shook her head and replied, “And there’s no time for it. We’re going to the finish line now. Fatty, would it be all right if you sent a few people to escort us?”
“Of course.”
Fan Haoyu agreed with a hearty smile, beckoned and said, “Gao Qiang.”
“Yes!”
A burly senior student ran up and saluted Fan Haoyu.
“You escort these students to the finish line. Make it fast. Our mission has just begun, you know?”
Fan Haoyu commanded in a casual manner.
“Yes!”
Gao Qiang responded in a booming voice.
Fan Haoyu nodded to Gao Qiang, then turned to w.a.n.g Yuetong and said with a smile, “This is the number three in our Elite Organization. Rest a.s.sured, with his escort, no senior student will dare to attack you. The rest of your journey will be clear, I can a.s.sure you.”
“Thank you.”
Li Tianlan thanked Fan Haoyu very sincerely though he knew that w.a.n.g Yuetong was the reason for all the help.
Fan Haoyu smiled and waved his hand as a sign that he was welcome. “See you after the maneuver, buddy,” he said.
Then led by Gao Qiang, Li Tianlan and the other four went straight to the end point.
Behind them, Fan Haoyu narrowed his eyes and watched them go farther and farther while sitting casually on a coma senior student, regardless his weight of more than 100 kilos.
In his sight, w.a.n.g Yuetong and Li Tianlan walked side by side, getting closer and closer.
Fan Haoyu stroked his chin and muttered, “Um, it’s strange. Has the siren really fallen in love? If it’s true, it could lead to big trouble.”