Chapter 286 Reunion Across Thousands of MilesLi Tianlan boarded a cargo ship that went directly from the Polar Ground to Zhongzhou State.
It was not too difficult to travel from Zhongzhou State to the Polar Ground through Snow Country.
…
Without a pa.s.sport, he stole into the Polar Ground. The return journey was effortless. Although he had no pa.s.sport, he had the top badge in Sigh City.
Polar Ground was rich in resources.
Whether it was the South Pole or the North Pole, all superpowers would more or less build strongholds.
Sigh City had also built strongholds.
With the badge, the people of Sigh City in the Polar Ground would arrange a return route for him at the top speed.
They could arrange a hidden route in a breeze.
The sea and the land were calm.
As the cargo ship gradually moved away from the Arctic Ocean, the glaciers were out of sight. It was no longer cold, and it started getting warm. Li Tianlan and the Golden Retriever, who were used to the cold, felt a little uncomfortable.
From the Polar Ground to Zhongzhou State, they proceeded by a northeast fairway. They started from the Arctic Ocean, pa.s.sed through the Pacific Ocean, to eventually enter the Yellow Sea, and arriving at Qingdao in the Dongshan Province of the Zhongzhou State.
They hadd spent one month in walking for more than 6,000 km.
The tenacious Golden Retriever was alive and kicking after the first few days. It was hard to survive after living in Snow Country and the Polar Ground for almost three years. At the moment, when it finally returned to normal conditions, it lived like a Huskie.
Most of the time, Li Tianlan stared blankly on the ship.
He was not seasick. However, he was not crazy about his surroundings, for there was nothing but seawater. He only thought fondly of that feeling.
The ship sailed on the sea.
Behind it was glaciers, and in front of it was a flourishing age.
Behind him was freedom, and in front of him was a fetter.
He often stood on the deck and looked at the way he had come.
The cargo ship was moving forward.
Clear white waves were drawn from the stern.
Glaciers disappeared from his sight, and it was no longer cold.
Li Tianlan finally determined that the so-called freedom had really left him.
In the prosperous time, all the worries, conspiracies, dangerous conditions, mutual suspicion & deception, and tumultuous changes were getting closer and closer to him.
Li Tianlan began to miss the tranquility of the glaciers.
He knew that if there were no accidents in his life, the past few years would end up being the only relaxing time of his life.
In that year, Li Tianlan was just 22 years old.
He already had the capability to take more responsibility.
It was good to live freely, but it was not his life.
Li Tianlan looked up at the sky.
He shaved off his very, very long beard, and cut his hair short, disclosing a clean and gentle face.
The sky was full of sunset glow.
Being illuminated by the setting sun, the clouds became fiery red. The setting sun cast a gorgeous light and shadow over the endless sea.
In the sunset, the sea was calm. The landscape was beautiful.
He suddenly remembered a word.
“When I used to be a teenager, I met the world for the first time…”
Li Tianlan laughed. At the age of 22, he laughed with ignorance and yearning.
The Golden Retriever circled around him.
Li Tianlan opened his hand.
The big dog leaped at him.
Li Tianlan gently stroked its smooth fur and looked at the deep sea peacefully.
He had no sword in his hand.
His arms were so strong; it seemed as if he could overturn the sea.
Li Tianlan started to recall.
He thought of the Li family, his surviving cousins, the East Emperor Palace, Li Baitian, Ning Qiancheng, the Samsara Palace, the Sigh City, Tribulation and Situ Cangyue, the Dongcheng Clan, Dongcheng Wudi and Bai Qingqian…
It seemed that something had been forgotten.
Li Tianlan knew that he had not forgotten.
He just kept silent and was unwilling to think about it.
He also thought of the Divine Punishment, which was broken in the Polar Ground and blown into dust.
There was sword radiance in his eyes.
He had no sword in his hand.
At that moment, Li Tianlan knew where he should go.
The Human Sovereign was broken in Heaven Capital.
The Divine Punishment was broken in the Polar Ground.
He needed a new weapon, a powerful enough weapon.
The coolness was mixed with dryness on the Pacific Ocean in May.
Li Tianlan’s mind had gone back to the Zhongzhou State.
Because of the final battle in Heaven Capital, the Sky Academy and the Deep-sea Academy had delayed the opening for several months, from the early spring to the early autumn.
It was the third year.
It was also the graduation year of the Sky Academy.
If the official opening started from the early autumn, the last joint maneuver should be from the end of June to the beginning of July.
Li Tianlan could be just in time for that maneuver.
It would be the starting point of the East Emperor Palace. Whether it would be accommodated in the system or become a free force, the joint maneuver was inevitable. After that, Li Tianlan would face the pressure from the Kunlun City and the w.a.n.g family of Beihai in the Zhongzhou State.
“I don’t know how Grandpa is.”
The Old Master’s physical condition directly determined what Li Tianlan would face: Hairbreadth Escape or Death.
He touched his Golden Retriever’s paw and subconsciously put forth his strength.
The Golden Retriever sobbed and shook its head in his arms.
Li Tianlan was shocked and loosened his grip subconsciously.
The Golden Retriever looked at him innocently, as if it felt a little wronged.
“Sorry.”
Li Tianlan smiled apologetically, “Let’s go back. I’ll ask Senior Yu to cook a delicious meal for you. He was the chef of Hidden Dragon Sea. I’ll let you be treated as the giants of the Zhongzhou State.”
The Golden Retriever was going to rub itself on him.
Li Tianlan held it down and looked at the setting sun on the horizon. He stood up from the deck and said, “Let’s go back.”
He had a separate room on the ship.
Sigh City was very thoughtful. It seemed that the innocent captain was on his side: he specially prepared cigarettes and a small amount of alcohol for him. Someone specially delivered three meals for him every day. He was treated like a VIP. He was not dissatisfied, but since he had been at sea for a long time, he was more and more anxious to return to the Zhongzhou State.
The cargo ship was getting quieter at night.
The Golden Retriever lay on Li Tianlan’s bed.
Li Tianlan sat by the bedside and meditated.
His current meditation was closer to thinking.
His will was perfect, so he had a clearer idea of his path when he was absolutely engrossed.
Three years.
In the cold wind and snow, Li Tianlan did not know how much he had attained, but he knew that it was a lot, including the perfect prototype of martial arts, the most deceptive sword intent, and the most muscular body.
…
During the three years after a disruptive breakthrough, he never wasted time. Thus, everything became absolutely perfect.
Li Tianlan began to forget the 24 Moves of Sword.
He fumbled for his own martial arts and sword intent.
At the moment, he did not want a distinctive 24 Moves of Sword.
It was just like what he said to Situ Cangyue in Mount Taibai three years ago.
No matter how distinctive it was, the 24 Moves of Sword were still the 24 Moves of Sword.
What he wanted were his own sword intent and martial art.
…
The night gradually ended.
The starry sky was brighter over the sea than on land. At dawn, it disappeared silently.
There was light in the outside world, but the sky was gloomy.
Li Tianlan woke up from meditation and met the first rainstorm since boarding.
The sky above the rain.
The sea under the rain.
In the raging wind, the sky and the sea were turbulent. The dark clouds covered the sky, but the sea in the day seemed to have entered the polar night. Under the dark clouds, the endless sea was rippled with desperate darkness. The rain was pouring heavily, and the high waves were crashing on the deck. The large cargo ship pitched in the storm. As thunder rumbled, the Golden Retriever left Li Tianlan and went into the corner of the room.
Li Tianlan stood on the deck steadily and looked at the almost boiling and extremely fierce deep sea.
His eyes flashed brightly, and he was full of vague and arrogant sword intent.
The raindrops crashed by his side. Li Tianlan stood numbly and looked at the deep sea quietly. It was irresistible as if it went into a frenzy.
The storm came and went in haste.
The dark clouds were blown away by the wind.
The rain was stilled.
The sea was covered by warm sunshine again, which shimmered in sight.
Li Tianlan, whose clothes were still dry and refreshing, gazed into the distance.
A light appeared in the distant sky.
On the calm sea, a colorful rainbow bridge across the sky and the sea suddenly appeared.
The color was so clear. It was so far, yet it seemed to be touchable.
Li Tianlan stared blankly.
He looked deep into the distance.
The rainbow seemed to get closer.
A floating island appeared in the air.
Many islands appeared in the air and became increasingly clear, like a floating continent in midair.
The rolling islands were floating between rainbows.
Antique palaces, flowers covered the islands, and the crowd appeared in sight.
There seemed to be a mist that separated the island from the deep sea, making everything look far yet near.
The rainbow shined with dazzling brilliance.
The island was increasingly clear.
Between the rainbows, the rarest seen mirage appeared on the sea, when the sun shined again after the rain.
Li Tianlan was utterly obsessed.
An exquisite figure appeared in his sight.
Standing above the highest palace on the island, she seemed to overlook the deep sea or looked into the horizon.
The sea breeze blew her hair.
She wore a red dress, and her long hair and skirt fluttered at the same time.
Li Tianlan seemed to smell the fragrance that he dreamed but dared not to think.
He looked at her quietly, his eyes blinking for a moment.
“You were the moonlight pouring down at night.”
“You were the clouds drifting about in the sky.”
“You were the most moving fragrance in the world.”
It was Qin Weibai!
She was between the rainbows and in the mirage.
She was so perfect with a graceful bearing.
Instantly, his inner indifference, stubbornness, and persistence completely disappeared.
He had imagined their reunion in the future, but he never thought that they would meet again in that way.
…
It was thousands of miles apart between the sky and the sea.
The light reflected large tracts of islands and Qin Weibai.
It was the cruelest and also the gentlest.
Li Tianlan subconsciously rushed out of the deck and ascended into the sky.
His sword intent was completely out of control and bubbling up in the sea.
A huge wave up to 100 meters abruptly rose in front of the cargo ship.
The sword intent swirled in the sea.
The waves went higher and higher.
In the sea, the cargo ship looked like a rising mountain.
Standing on the tides, Li Tianlan was rising steadily.
He looked at Qin Weibai.
Qin Weibai could not see him.
They reunited in that way.
The huge waves were still rising.
The mirage was getting farther and farther.
Standing between the rainbows, she became more and more illusory.
It was the distance.
Even if he could topple the mountains and overturn the seas, she was unreachable.
She was so near yet so far.