This year, the final battle of Changdao seemed to divide the whole Dark World. The uproar and chaos before the battle contrasted sharply with the tranquility and peace later on.
The Sky Academy and Deep-sea Academy reopened.
To be exact, they officially opened.
Both academies opened between April and May every year. After the entrance maneuver, all courses would be officially opened after a short break.
This year, however, a special situation had broken this tradition. Changdao delayed everything for a few months, with the official start of school set for September.
Students from both academies returned to their academy to register, and the standards of the opening ceremony also soared.
President Li Huacheng, the leader of the Academics of Zhongzhou State, arrived at the Sky Academy accompanied by Gu Xingyun, the Governor of Kunlun City, and Ye Dongsheng, the God of Army of Zhongzhou State.
Prime Minister Chen Fangqing of Zhongzhou State, the leader of the Prince Group, arrived at the Deep-sea Academy accompanied by Marshal Qi Beicang, the Minister of Army Headquarters, and Marshal Dongcheng Wudi, the Commander of Border Control Corps.
Huating in September was still hot. The chaos that spread from the Sky Academy to all of Huating was over. The whole city was tranquil now.
The entrance ceremony was held several months ago, and the classes had been divided. All previous procedures were simply skipped. With their class as one unit, the students in the Sky Academy stood in one square-shaped formation after another.
There was also a square-shaped formation behind Principal Zhuang Huayang.
It was the smallest on the field.
It only had 17 people.
Two of them had lost their arms, and 10 were seriously injured.
Zhuang Huayang was holding a list of the dead.
When Zhongzhou State schemed against East Island, both the Deep-sea Academy and Sky Academy had dispatched their elite members there. The elites, naturally, referred to the classes personally led by the two principals.
After months of fighting, only 17 of the 50 came back.
The scene was solemn and sad.
The location of the official opening was at the entrance of the Sky Academy with no gate.
In front was a boulder that was inscribed with the words
the place where heroes come from
.
The boulder was engraved with the names of the victims of the Sky Academy.
Holding a carving knife, Zhuang Huayang stood in front of the boulder and engraved one name after another on it. Since there was red paint on the edge of the carving knife, the engraved names also turned red, as red as blood.
All the people looked at Zhuang Huayang’s actions with respect and did not open their mouths.
Zhuang Huayang engraved each of the names from the list on the boulder, and finally, only one person’s name remained.
A man who was known to the world today.
He turned his head and looked toward the front of the crowd.
President Li Huacheng of Zhongzhou State, who came to watch the ceremony, looked serious.
Dressed in a black suit, he looked mournful and regretful.
Li Huacheng turned his head, and his line of sight swept across the face of Gu Xingyun.
Just as Gu Xingyun was about to take action, Li Huacheng had already fixed his eyes on the face of a woman next to him.
The woman’s face was charming, but her expression appeared somewhat wooden and hollow.
It was Situ Cangyue, the Governor of Sigh City, who returned to Huating from North America.
Instead of returning to Sigh City, she stayed in the Sky Academy and healed her injuries together with Tribulation.
Sorry to trouble you, Cangyue.
Li Huacheng slowly opened his mouth, and there seemed to be a forced smile on his face.
Situ Cangyue nodded and waved her long sleeve. Her gentle power instantly brought Li Huacheng up.
His body finally rose to the height of the boulder.
Gu Xingyun’s pupils contracted slightly. A sardonic grin crossed his lips, but he said nothing.
The place where heroes come from.
The word
heroes
was carved on the top of the stele.
There was a blank space around it.
Li Huacheng stared at the boulder and clenched his carving knife. Slowly, he carved the first stroke with great effort.
Since he carved it with great effort, and the letter was not small, the name was clear.
There was an air of suffocation.
A name took shape slowly and neatly under Li Huacheng’s carving knife.
It was lively and vigorous.
Li Tianlan.
A name, a legend, a Heavenly Son.
With all eyes on him, President Li Huacheng personally engraved the name of the last victim from the Sky Academy on the boulder.
He engraved that name on the top of the stone tablet.
Clear and distinct.
Salute the hero!
From behind Li Huacheng came the roar of Ye Dongsheng at the top of his lungs.
All the teachers and students, including Li Huacheng and Gu Xingyun, raised their hands to salute.
The sun shone on the boulder. Outside the Sky Academy, the river and sea converged. On the sunlit ground, thousands of teachers and students raised their hands in solemn silence.
After the Li family’s glory was extinguished, Li Tianlan became the most dazzling young man in the whole Dark World. Many of those present had not even seen him, but they all knew that had it not been for him, the final battle of Changdao might have turned out differently.
The situation under the starry sky on that day was very complicated. If Li Tianlan hadn’t appeared, what could Wang Tianzong and the Heaven Punishment Troop have done there?
Wang Tianzong would have faced the siege of five Invincible Realm experts and two murderous weapons, including Deity.
The final battle had reached a crucial point back then. When no one knew how terrible Deity’s power was, the fact that Wang Tianzong, who ranked first on the Divine List, appeared in Changdao would bring everyone together instinctively in the face of a formidable enemy.
When facing five Invincible Realm experts, two murderous weapons, several Half-step Invincible Realm experts, and more masters at the peak of the Thunder-shocking Realm, how could Wang Tianzong protect himself, even if he was omnipotent?
Without Li Tianlan, what would happen to Wang Tianzong, Zhongzhou State, and the Wang family of Beihai?
The thought of such a scene was mind-numbing.
Similarly, Li Tianlan’s achievements were equally shocking.
To some extent, he saved the peace of the Special Warfare System of Zhongzhou State.
It didn’t matter if that wasn’t his intention.
What mattered was the outcome.
He was a hero.
No one could argue with that.
…
Li Baitian quietly looked at the name of Li Tianlan on the stele, with confusion in his eyes.
Mount Shu possessed numerous different kinds of sword intent.
The Four Sword Masters of Mount Shu were pure swordsmen.
Considering Li Baitian’s identity, he actually didn’t need to come to the Sky Academy to study. Moreover, he wouldn’t be in the same dormitory with Li Tianlan in the seemingly inevitable coincidence.
Everything was planned.
So it should be with Ning Qiancheng. He stayed together with Li Tianlan because of the command of Dongcheng Wudi.
Li Baitian was entrusted with the task by someone else. His First Senior Brother knew this matter as well. After having a detailed understanding of that matter, he finally acquiesced to the fact that Li Baitian and Ye Huayu went to the Sky Academy.
His state of mind was actually very subtle when he deliberately approached and made friends with Li Tianlan. But after brief contact, however, he felt that Li Tianlan was nice.
They had fought against the Liu family in the entrance maneuver and gone through thick and thin together.
In Changdao, when Li Tianlan learned that he and Ning Qiancheng were in danger, he hurried to Zhongjing from Changdao without hesitation and shared life and death with them.
Until this time, their time together was not long, but it didn’t matter how they got together.
Now they recognized each other as brothers, and that was enough.
…
Ning Qiancheng’s body trembled in the crowd.
His injuries were so severe that, at best, he could barely walk. Yu Qingyan supported him by his side, and looked with him at the name on the stele that made their hearts break.
Yu Qingyan’s eyes were red and puffy from crying.
Ning Qiancheng, however, was calm.
He didn’t believe that Li Tianlan was dead.
He didn’t believe it, even though Li Tianlan had died in front of his very eyes, with his chest being pierced through by the sword.
Qin Weibai’s reaction at the time seemed abnormal.
The battlefield was so chaotic back then. All kinds of Sword Energy roared between the sky and the earth, and all the pictures seemed to fade in and out. Somehow, perhaps it was because Ning Qiancheng was not so far away from Li Tianlan, he saw it all.
He didn’t hear much, but he saw the reaction of Qin Weibai.
The sword went straight through Li Tianlan’s heart, and blood spurted out under the starlight.
Qin Weibai at that moment was very calm.
She seemed to have expected this sort of thing or expected the result.
Her hands trembled as she took Li Tianlan from Saint’s arms. However, it was from pure heartache instead of panic.
From beginning to end, he never felt the despair in Qin Weibai of losing a loved one.
Just a deep sense of guilt and desolation.
People from the Purgatory of Heaven Capital took Li Tianlan’s corpse away.
At that moment, the seriously injured Ning Qiancheng vaguely saw Qin Weibai turn around.
Decisively.
He had trouble understanding the love between Li Tianlan and Qin Weibai. But if Qin Weibai hadn’t carved her emotions and affectionateness into her bones and blood, she would not have had that kind of look when she held Li Tianlan’s body.
If everything was truly irredeemable, why would Qin Weibai turn around so decisively and discard Li Tianlan’s body then?
Ning Qiancheng thought of the text message he had received this morning.
It was from his father, who hadn’t contacted him in years. Now, the Eastern Theater of Operations had been greatly weakened by the loss of hundreds of Fire-flaming Realm elites in Changdao. At this point, his father should have been deeply troubled.
The general trend is clear. Do what you have to do.
Ning Qiancheng thought about this text message, and turned to look at Li Baitian next to him.
Do you really believe…?
Before he could finish speaking, Li Baitian had shaken his head and interrupted him.
That name is an eyesore,
Li Baitian said, looking at the stele ahead.
…
…
Wang Yuetong was also looking at the stele in front.
Her eyes lost focus and misted over. Little by little, the pride of the little princess from the Wang family of Beihai began to fade. When Li Huacheng finished engraving that name on the stele, she could not bear it any longer. Her whole body trembled gently, and tears fell from her face like rain.
In the days leading up to Li Tianlan’s departure, Wang Yuetong could sense his intimacy and occasional possessiveness toward her. They had slept in the same bed, which suggested that Li Tianlan seemed to have accepted her identity.
An identity that didn’t seem very glorious.
But Wang Yuetong did not care about this. Actually, she did care, but she didn’t feel it necessary.
She liked Li Tianlan so much that she was willing to give herself entirely to him.
But Wang Yuetong didn’t think about the future.
Perhaps she occasionally thought that the animosity between the Wang family and the Li family would slowly disappear because of her and Li Tianlan. But a fantasy could only be a fantasy, after all.
She was the little princess of the Wang family of Beihai, whose status was honorable.
But in the rise and fall of influential families, and in the face of the general trend of Zhongzhou State, she was insignificant.
Therefore, she hadn’t thought about the future. She just liked Li Tianlan and wanted to be with him.
Even if they would separate, at least she once had him.
The unseen future was just around the corner. How ridiculous would it be if she thought about the so-called title?
They had spent time together. If there were no regrets, maybe that was enough.
Wang Yuetong took out her phone with trembling palms.
The text messages that Wang Yuetong sent to Li Tianlan over the past few months were on the communication software of the mobile phone. They were trivialities, and she behaved like a little girl who liked to pester her boyfriend.
Li Tianlan didn’t reply to any of them.
How could Li Tianlan reply to her text messages when the state was scheming against East Island in the general trend, and he himself was unsure if he would have a huge conflict with the Wang family of Beihai now?
No reply and no future reply.
Wang Yuetong’s eyes grew bleaker and bleaker.
She couldn’t imagine how decisive the cruelhearted man was the moment he raised the sword for Qin Weibai in Changdao.
She couldn’t imagine his reluctance and sadness when the sword light disappeared.
It all seemed destined.
She and he really had no future.
Not a separation, but death.
She no longer liked him.
She looked at the fading name on the stele.
Not until this moment did she realize that she really loved that man.
But he was dead.
…
The crowd began to disperse.
Zhuang Huayang accompanied Li Huacheng, Gu Xingyun, and others to his office.
Now a pair of the most formidable siblings in the Dark World of Zhongzhou State remained where they were, looking quietly at the stele in front of them.
What will happen to him?
Situ Cangyue asked suddenly as she looked at Li Tianlan’s name.
…
Who?
Tribulation’s eyes were dim. He asked softly, looking at his sister, who was dressed in white beside him.
The answer to the question was obvious.
However, Situ Cangyue seemed to be stumped by the question.
After a long while, she said softly,
What will happen to Tianlan?
I don’t know.
Tribulation shook his head.
He really didn’t know.
But Samsara is quiet. Saint has returned to Zhongzhou State,
Tribulation added after a second thought.
…
Samsara was quiet, and that was the best news.
Samsara withdrew from Zhongzhou State… Hehe…
Situ Cangyue shook her head and did not go on.
On the surface, Samsara did exit Zhongzhou State, but that only lost the Pre-Qin International Group.
Considering the return of Saint to Zhongzhou State and what they had gained in this journey, Samsara had even taken a step further in Zhongzhou State.
Don’t you want to ask something else?
Tribulation asked.
…
What?
Situ Cangyue raised her eyebrows slightly.
Ask him.
Tribulation said in a calm tone,
Ask Senluo about the drugs named Life-prolonging and Athanasy… These…
What’s there to ask?
Situ Cangyue said blandly,
He’s not him. Otherwise, how could Tianlan die?
Not die.
Tribulation corrected Situ Cangyue.
He was once dead.
There’s no difference between the two.
Situ Cangyue shook her head.
Tribulation said no more. A trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. Under the silver mask, Tribulation’s mouth tightened, and his eyes seemed to grow dim.
What’s the matter?
Situ Cangyue’s eyes focused.
The injuries you sustained in Changdao are not under control?
They are under control.
Tribulation smiled and added in a complicated tone,
But the injuries I got after the breakthrough are uncontrollable.
I was sure I could have killed Miyamoto without breaking through. But I could feel that was my best chance to break through. I made it, and now I’m in the Invincible Realm.
Tribulation let out a self-deprecating laugh.
But I wish I didn’t make it. It’s better not to enter the Invincible Realm. Isn’t it ridiculous?
Situ Cangyue didn’t smile.
Her body slowly tightened. She looked at Tribulation and said nothing.
It was noon on a late summer, early autumn day.
The sun was blazing.
Tribulation stood still, like a lonely shadow.
…
The Dark World had utterly calmed down.
With the end of the battle of Changdao, the dark forces, all with different losses, entered a period of recuperation. The conflicts of all parties were suppressed as well. Even if there were some conflicts, they had become the internal affairs of each force and country.
But all the forces knew that the matter at hand was not over.
The current calm was brewing a bigger storm.
Zhongzhou State began to handle its internal affairs in an orderly way. All the events that followed the battle of Changdao were resolved one by one.
Li Tianlan was a topic that couldn’t be gotten around.
Kunlun City of Zhongzhou State reluctantly came up with two new lists after a few days of gestation.
In a trance, a lot of people found that it was time to rerank the top 10 experts of the young generation of Zhongzhou State when they saw the two lists.
It was even time to rerank the top 10 contemporary experts of Zhongzhou State as well.
No one was surprised by the new rankings on the two lists.
The composition of the top 10 young experts had been completely changed.
Li Tianlan fully deserved to be ranked first. He became the top ace among the young generation in Zhongzhou State.
Wang Shengxiao ranked right behind him. He was no longer tied with Gu Hanshan, who came third.
Dongcheng Rushi slipped back one place from the original ranking but surpassed Jiang Shangyu in front of her and ranked fourth.
Li Baitian ranked fifth, just behind Dongcheng Rushi.
A couple that surprised everyone ranked sixth and seventh respectively. Ning Qiancheng remained on the list, but this was Yu Qingyan’s first time on the list. The military exploits she gained by poisoning a Thunder-shocking Realm expert to death enabled this girl, who was adept at using poison, to be famous throughout Zhongzhou State. Her ranking would have been even higher had it not been for the fact that some people regarded poison as a foreign object.
The one who ranked eighth was Du Hanyin, who once had been on this list and then out. She had no problem getting onto this list after her destroyed Wind Vein underwent a mutation.
Wang Yuetong, who didn’t join the final battle of Changdao, failed to be on the list. The last two on the list were Qi Zhaoxi, the Young Master of Asura Path, and Zhongli Wuxin, the last disciple of the dean of the Deep-sea Academy, who were absent from the final battle of Changdao.
The list got a fair amount of attention, but not much discussion. This list would be reranked each year and was obviously not authoritative.
The most hotly debated topic was the rankings of the top 10 contemporary state masters.
This list would change every five years. The 10 people on the list basically represented the peak fighting capacity of Zhongzhou State for the next five years!
That was a big deal.
The rankings of the younger generation were fluctuating.
The rankings of the older generation were also changing.
Li Tianlan was also on this highly valued and authoritative list.
Wang Tianzong, Gu Xingyun, Situ Cangyue.
The first three experts’ rankings wouldn’t be altered under any circumstance. Li Tianlan ranked fourth among the top 10 experts of Zhongzhou State.
Behind him was Tribulation, who had broken through to the Invincible Realm.
The First Elder of Kunlun City, who was also of the Invincible Realm, had been bumped to sixth place.
Wei Kunlun, the Nirvana Sword Master of Mount Shu, ranked seventh.
Dongcheng Wudi, the God of Massacre of Zhongzhou State, ranked eighth.
The name of Principal Zhuang Huayang of the Sky Academy didn’t appear on the list. The one who ranked ninth was also a young man.
Wang Shengxiao from the Wang family of Beihai!
Considering the fighting power that he displayed in Changdao, no one questioned that ranking.
The 10th position was given to Hua Qingfeng, the perennial shadow guard in Youzhou, the Leader of the Shadow Sect.
In terms of quantity, the rankings this time showed that the strength of Zhongzhou State’s high-end combatants had undoubtedly increased on the surface.
The first six experts were of the Invincible Realm. And the fact that the young Thunder-shocking Realm expert Wang Shengxiao appeared on the list gave people unlimited expectations.
But whether it was on the list of the young generation or the contemporary list, one of the rankings was always vacant.
Li Tianlan was dead.
These two lists, in the eyes of many people, had become his last traces in this world.
But those who believed that there would be a miracle began to mention one thing that Kunlun City had been reluctant to mention or publicize.
Merits!
Li Tianlan’s merits.
All people’s merits.
The Sky Academy had started to count Li Tianlan’s credits.
Some people began to study the level of the East Emperor Palace.
The Sky Academy reported Li Tianlan’s credits to Kunlun City.
80,000 credits!
It was a number large enough to drive anyone to utter despair. In one fell swoop, it broke the record for the highest credits ever since the establishment of the Sky Academy and Deep-sea Academy.
Kunlun City almost dismissed the materials from the Sky Academy without hesitation.
As a result, Principal Zhuang Huayang seemed to lose his temper. He reported 100,000 credits the second time.
There were strict rules for the credit statistics of the two Special Warfare Academies. The problem was that Li Tianlan had killed two Invincible Realm experts in Changdao and even snatched a murderous weapon. Therefore, it was impossible to calculate his credits. Even though Kunlun City dismissed the materials reported by the Sky Academy, it dared not dismiss the materials about Li Tianlan’s credits alone. Thus, it chose to reject all the materials.
Even if Zhuang Huayang gave Li Tianlan 1,000,000 credits for his merits, no one had anything to say at this time.
Because Li Tianlan was a hero.
After two days of silence, Kunlun City finally approved the credits reported by the Sky Academy.
100,000 credits!
Of course, the 100,000 credits did not belong to Li Tianlan because they were given to the East Emperor Palace.
But it didn’t matter because it was bound to be an unbreakable record. The student who won the first prize in this semester in the Sky Academy was born in advance when the school officially started.
…
Mount Dibing.
Wang Tianzong was also looking at the list in his hand.
Wang Shengxiao sat opposite him.
Ninth… Ha… A little bit swank.
Wang Tianzong waved the list in his hand.
But it doesn’t matter. You’ve grown up now. My request to you remains the same; the same word—discretion.
666
Wang Shengxiao took the list from Wang Tianzong and asked as he looked at the names on it,
Why not put Brother Jiang on the list?
Li Tianlan’s name was on it.
It was a little glaring.
That’s not for me to decide.
Wang Tianzong shook his head. If Dijiang appeared on this list, even if he couldn’t suppress Gu Qianchuan, he could be put in the place of the Nirvana Sword Master’s ranking. But it was Kunlun City, the power center of Zhongzhou State’s Special Warfare System that decided this sort of thing. No matter how powerful the Wang family of Beihai was, it could not sway Gu Xingyun’s thoughts.
Wang Shengxiao did not speak. He just quietly bowed his head, looking at the seemingly light and yet weighty list in his hand.
666
You cannot accept it?
Wang Tianzong asked as if he knew what his son was thinking.
Wang Shengxiao shook his head. He said slowly after a moment’s silence,
He deserves to be remembered by Zhongzhou State for what he did in Changdao that day. I have nothing to say about him ranking fourth.
To be remembered by Zhongzhou State…
Wang Tianzong narrowed his eyes slightly, lit a cigarette, and said softly,
Not only Zhongzhou State!
Wang Shengxiao’s palm trembled.
He suddenly thought of another list in the Dark World this year.
It was a list that represented the highest level of combat strength in the entire Dark World.
The rankings were a big part of the reason that the Master of Samsara Palace and Gu Xingyun fought back then.
The rankings of the World Divine List!
He looked at Wang Tianzong in disbelief.
There’s nothing strange about it.
Wang Tianzong’s tone was indifferent.
As a 19-year-old Invincible Realm expert, Li Tianlan killed two Invincible Realm experts in the battle. Moreover, one of them ranked ninth on the Divine List. Li Tianlan will definitely appear on the Divine List and be remembered by the whole Dark World.
It was the sword light that amazed the whole Dark World, not because it was so mighty, but because it was vigorous in a dead end.
The owner of that sword light was only 19 years old.
A 19-year-old Invincible Realm expert was not destined to be forgotten any time soon.
Wang Tianzong looked at Wang Shengxiao and said,
I’ve already signed it.
…
The rankings of the World Divine List required the joint signatures of all the world’s known Invincible Realm masters and all the major forces. The rankings took effect when the majority’s opinion overwhelmed the minority’s. The rankings of the Divine List were also related to the division of the interests of the forces in the Dark World.
Li Tianlan now occupied a place on the Divine List. He replaced the one he killed, Aldak, and ranked ninth on the Divine List.
Wang Tianzong still ranked first on the Divine List.
But Aresis, who had been second, moved to third.
Deity, from the Purgatory of Heaven Capital, replaced Aresis and became the second-best expert on the World Divine List.
Gu Xingyun dropped one place to fifth.
The Master of Samsara Palace now ranked fourth.
Situ Cangyue, the Hidden God of Zhongzhou State, rushed from 15th to 11th on the Divine List.
It was an interesting phenomenon.
In Zhongzhou State, Situ Cangyue ranked higher than Li Tianlan, but on the Divine List, Li Tianlan ranked higher than Situ Cangyue.
However, it didn’t matter.
Wang Tianzong’s eyes were blank when he thought of the list that would now spread out to every corner of the Dark World.
There were 15 Invincible Realm experts on the Divine List.
But one of them was dead now.
It was a name that needed to be remembered by the Dark World.
But he had forgotten him.
Because there was no point in remembering.
Only the past needed to be remembered.
If a person stuck to the past, he would not have a future.
