Chapter 290: Destination Martian Colony City
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The gears in w.a.n.g Baole’s head turned swiftly. This was no small matter. It was something that could decide his future. He decided he needed to give it some thought.
The Ethereal Dao College Sect Lord knew that such decisions couldn’t be rushed. He waited patiently for w.a.n.g Baole’s answer. After half an hour had pa.s.sed, w.a.n.g Baole thought for a while then raised his head and looked at the Ethereal Dao College Sect Lord. He cupped his fists and bowed.
“Sect Lord, I have no idea which one is best for me. What do you think?”
“You little rascal!” The Ethereal Dao College Sect Lord smiled and gazed at w.a.n.g Baole with approval.
w.a.n.g Baole scratched his head and tried to appear like the simple and honest student he truly was. The Sect Lord witnessed his act and couldn’t help himself. He pointed at w.a.n.g Baole again, shaking his head as he laughed. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for him to advise w.a.n.g Baole if the latter hadn’t asked for it. The Sect Lord mused for a while before speaking.
“You’ll become a Primary Rank Five n.o.ble if you stay in the college. When you reach the Core Formation realm in the future, with your exemplary records, you would be able to rise to the position of Grand Elder in the Dharmic Armament Pavilion. You’ll at least be promoted to a Secondary Rank Four n.o.ble. A Primary Rank Four n.o.ble is also not beyond reach!
“Make a few adequate contributions to the Federation or college after that, and after you’ve gained more experience, you’ll get a shot at becoming the Deputy Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College, which would place you at the Secondary Rank Three n.o.ble!
“This is a more secure progression path with few risks. There are benefits to that. The cons of it, though… are that you’ll have to take things step by step. Basically, you’ll be investing a great deal of time to build your experience.
“As for the second option, which is to be deployed to Mars… the pros are that there are many chances for you to showcase yourself, making progression quicker, and the people you will get to know will be different from those in the college. The flipside, obviously, is that Mars has only been partially colonized. There’s an element of danger. The chances of sudden and unexpected events happening are higher.
“I’d advise you to accept the deployment to Mars. If you can prove yourself while on Mars and get promoted to a Rank Four n.o.ble, even if it’s the Secondary Rank, and achieve the Core Formation realm, you can then transfer back to Earth. With your experience on Mars, you’re almost guaranteed a deputy head position in a key Federation department and a Secondary Rank Three n.o.ble!”
“This is the fastest way. It’ll save you half the time!” The Sect Lord shared his true thoughts with w.a.n.g Baole without holding anything back.
w.a.n.g Baole listened carefully and considered what the Sect Lord had said. He nodded his head and bowed at the Sect Lord.
“As the Sect Lord commands!”
The meaning of his reply was multilayered. w.a.n.g Baole hadn’t studied the high officials’ autobiographies for nothing. With a few simple words, he had expressed both his stance and grat.i.tude towards the Sect Lord.
The Ethereal Dao College Sect Lord smiled. He told w.a.n.g Baole to start his preparations as he would leave three days later. Then, the Sect Lord picked up the teacup next to him.
Upon seeing that, w.a.n.g Baole immediately took his leave. He left Sky Path Island and returned to the Upper Academy Island. He was in extremely high spirits and couldn’t control his excitement and antic.i.p.ation at going to Mars.
I’m gonna become a real government official! w.a.n.g Baole was extremely excited. He started packing as soon as he returned to his cave abode. He packed his materials for refining artifacts as well as items such as jade slips into his storage bracelet.
Then, he remembered the monster egg he had received from the military instructor during the Hundred Seedling cultivation camp. He had handed the egg over to Liu Daobin after and gotten his subordinates to help speed up the incubation process. He hurriedly sent a message to Liu Daobin and got him to bring the monster egg over.
Liu Daobin soon arrived with the monster egg. w.a.n.g Baole eyed the egg. It seemed slightly different from when he had last seen it. He tossed it into his storage compartment before exchanging a few words with Liu Daobin.
Liu Daobin was smart. He could tell w.a.n.g Baole was leaving. After inquiring further, he started b.u.t.tering up w.a.n.g Baole and piling him with congratulations and compliments. w.a.n.g Baole was on cloud nine, and he kept smiling widely and laughing.
After a moment, he coughed and picked up his teacup. Liu Daobin got the message and left.
w.a.n.g Baole placed the teacup down. He stared at his cave abode and the Ethereal Dao College that he had been living in for a few years with great fondness. He was overwhelmed by emotions. He felt the past few years had sped by so quickly. Just a moment ago, he had been a handsome fatty tucking into his chicken drumstick on the cruiser to the college. Then, in the blink of an eye, he had become a prominent figure in the Federation who was about to head to Mars. There was something else, of course, which was most important…
w.a.n.g Baole stood before the mirror and stared. He was lost in his reflection.
I’ve lost weight, and become even more handsome! No wonder mother wanted to arrange matchmaking sessions. If I ever have a son who’s just as good looking, I’ll want to matchmake him too. Let other folks’ daughters fall head over heels for him…w.a.n.g Baole smacked his stomach happily. It had recently regained size, and the flesh wobbled. He grew even more pleased.
I look so good even when I smack my stomach! His spirits high, w.a.n.g Baole thought he could understand exactly how his mother had felt. He decided.
When I have a son in the future, I’m going to name him Handsome w.a.n.g. When other people see me, they’ll get to say, hey, that’s Handsome w.a.n.g’s handsome father! w.a.n.g Baole burst out into laughter. He thought it was a terrific idea. He started to look forward eagerly to his journey.
In the past, w.a.n.g Baole would have found three days too short a period. Now while he waited, he found time to have slowed to a crawl. Finally, the day of departure arrived. w.a.n.g Baole had completed his preparations early in the day, so he raced towards the port.
A s.p.a.ce cruiser had been specially a.s.signed to take him to Mars. It was already waiting at the port and ready for takeoff. The Sect Lord was there to see him off personally. Liu Daobin and a few other familiar faces—as well as many other unfamiliar faces from the Upper Academy Island who hadn’t known w.a.n.g Baole very well but had heard of his various exploits and feats of extreme violence—were there as well. w.a.n.g Baole boarded the cruiser, then turned around and waved his goodbyes.
“Farewell, everyone. I’ll be waiting for you on Mars!” w.a.n.g Baole shouted excitedly as the cruiser engines rumbled to life. As it slowly rose into the air, he saw a young woman in Dao robes running up the path towards the Alchemy Pavilion’s mountain peak. She stood at its highest point and waved at him frantically. She seemed to be shouting.
“Brother Baole…”
At a single glance, w.a.n.g Baole immediately recognized that to be Bunny, whom he had sought out earlier but had still been in seclusion.
“Bunny!” w.a.n.g Baole was overjoyed. The cruiser was already taking off though, so he could only shout at the top of his lungs towards the mountain peak below him, where Bunny stood.
“Bunny, wait for me to come back. Don’t always be in seclusion. I’m afraid the next time I see you, you’ll be an old bunny…”
As his voice rang out, there was a sudden roar from the cruiser engines. The cruiser blasted away into the heavens. It stirred ripples in the skies and shot straight for the stars!
It left behind a crowd on the Upper Academy Island watching it speed away, a myriad of emotions in their eyes. Bunny stood on the peak of the Alchemy Pavilion, dismay and regret in her eyes.
Brother Baole, I promise to reach the Foundation Establishment realm by the time we meet again. I won’t go into seclusion again after that!
w.a.n.g Baole’s heart was filled with regret as well. He missed Bunny too. It was unfortunate that they missed each other again, but they still had a long future ahead of them and plenty of chances. Onboard the cruiser, w.a.n.g Baole stared at the lands below him that slowly curved and turned into a round planet Earth. He didn’t stop staring until the cruiser entered s.p.a.ce. That was when he withdrew his gaze and folded his legs into a cross-legged position. His journey to Mars had begun.
It was a boring trip. There were the occasional beams of light shooting by and glimmering lights, but most of the time, the scenery was a vast pitch-black. It might have been refres.h.i.+ng if it were his first time seeing it, but w.a.n.g Baole had seen enough of the same on his way back from the Mystic Luna Realm.
He started practicing his two mystic techniques. He had already gotten some headway with the Lightning Dao: First Volume, so he chose to focus on the Dark Art now.
There were shards of the ancient green-bronze sword in s.p.a.ce as well and hence, no lack of Spirit Qi. It might not be abundant, but w.a.n.g Baole could still sense it. The s.p.a.ce cruiser approached Mars steadily as he continued his practice, continued his attempts, and continued to fail repeatedly.
It was difficult to tell the pa.s.sing of time in s.p.a.ce. w.a.n.g Baole suffered repeated failures in his attempts to learn the Dark Art. He was dejected. It was fortunate that they were arriving at Mars soon. His low spirits were given a boost by their approaching the colony.
The red planet soon appeared within sight. w.a.n.g Baole stood up excitedly, no longer troubled over his challenges in learning the Dark Art. His attention was fully captured by the dusty red planet that lay before him.
The planet was considerably smaller than Earth. Amongst the eight planets in the Solar System, it was the one second nearest to Earth. The first was Venus. This planet… was Mars!
Countless satellites...o...b..ted around Mars, and they immediately took over control of the s.p.a.ce cruiser when it neared. They didn’t slow the cruiser down but steered it in a different direction towards the Martian atmosphere.
w.a.n.g Baole s.h.i.+vered with excitement as he watched everything speed past as the cruiser shot through the red planet’s atmosphere and appeared on Mars!
w.a.n.g Baole’s breathing paused a beat, and he stood at the edge of the cruiser. With a single glance, he saw, sitting upon the dusty red lands, a rapidly approaching, increasingly large… city of spectacular proportions and immense majesty!
It was… the only colony city on Mars!