Despite being unconscious, Luo Lang"s entire face was becoming redder and redder, as his breathing became more and more laboured, and his body began to spasm. This meant that the aphrodisiac in Luo Lang"s body was already in full swing.
This caused the typically composed Ling Lan to be at a loss, unsure what she should do. Would dousing Luo Lang with cold water help? Having the barest knowledge of aphrodisiacs, Ling Lan could only be clueless 1 .
Little Four could sense his boss"s helplessness, and so quickly rushed off into the learning s.p.a.ce to request a.s.sistance. Very soon, he returned to say happily, "Boss, Instructor Number One is looking for you."
Ling Lan"s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly instructed, "Little Four, take care of the hover car and Luo Lang ..."
Before she was even done speaking, a black vortex had appeared before her eyes, about to swallow her whole.
F*ck, again?! Ling Lan"s attention strayed for a split second, and she was pulled right into the learning s.p.a.ce by Instructor Number One.
This was Instructor Number One"s personal s.p.a.ce. It was forever shaded by cloudy skies, a plateau shrouded in clouds at the peak of the tallest mountain. As usual, Instructor Number One was sitting on the plateau in solitude, resting his eyes as he meditated.
Ling Lan appeared out of thin air behind Instructor Number One. Seeing Instructor Number One"s figure, Ling Lan called out respectfully, "Instructor Number One, greetings!"
Only then did Instructor Number One open his eyes and say dispa.s.sionately, "So you"ve come!"
Ling Lan could not help but grumble internally — how much faker could these words be? Instructor Number One was the one who pulled her in here ... was it possible for Instructor Number One to not know when she was coming?
"I heard Little Four say that one of your friends has been dosed with aphrodisiac?" Number One spared no mind to Ling Lan"s opinion, asking her about the situation without beating around the bush.
"Yes, Instructor Number One, can this aphrodisiac be cured?" Hearing what he had to say, Ling Lan"s eyes lit up. Right, why had she forgotten to come ask the instructors in the learning s.p.a.ce? Little Four"s mind was still the quickest, thinking of this. Ling Lan firmly gave Little Four a mental thumbs up.
"Aphrodisiacs have no antidote," replied Instructor Number One calmly.
Ling Lan"s gaze dimmed at these words — could she only watch as Luo Lang suffered?
"However, that doesn"t mean there is no solution," Instructor Number One continued to say. This caused Ling Lan"s initially low spirits to perk up once more. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Instructor Number One, hoping that Instructor Number One would be able to tell her a good plan.
"Your companion"s name is Luo Lang, right?" Instructor Number One did not seem to notice Ling Lan"s impatience, actually beginning to stray from the topic.
Ling Lan quickly replied, "Yes, Instructor Number One. What method exactly can we use to resolve the aphrodisiac in Luo Lang"s body?" Please, the flames were already lapping at their brows ... Instructor Number One, could you just be efficient and give a direct answer?!
Instructor Number One"s cold gaze swept over to stare at her, freezing Ling Lan"s anxious impatience instantly, and her mind cleared.
"Calmed down yet?" huffed Instructor Number One coldly, somewhat dissatisfied over Ling Lan"s loss of composure.
"Sorry, Instructor Number One, I lost control of my emotions." Realising her lapse, Ling Lan quickly bowed her head and admitted her fault.
"Being concerned for a companion is not wrong, but remember, no matter when, you must keep calm. Otherwise, not only will you be unable to help your friend, you might even make things worse for them." Instructor Number One could understand Ling Lan"s current anxious state of mind, but he could not condone it. On the battlefield, once one lost their composure, not only would they destroy themselves, they would also drag their brother-in-arms down with them — this was unacceptable.
"Understood!" Ling Lan nodded. At this moment, her gaze was no longer lost and panicked; there was only cool rationality and determination in her eyes.
Instructor Number One"s icy stare was fixed on Ling Lan for several seconds. Under this stare heaped with pressure, Ling Lan did not retreat, staring right back at Instructor Number One with a steady gaze.
"Remember what you"ve said today!" Instructor Number One retracted his gaze in satisfaction, before continuing to say, "You"ve forgotten that no matter how long you spend in the learning s.p.a.ce, only a second would have pa.s.sed outside. It won"t delay you from saving your friend."
Ling Lan bowed her head in shame; she had indeed forgotten about this. It was just as Instructor Number One had said — she had lost her mental balance, her calm, and her judgment. This kind of weak display was indeed worthy of a scolding.
"I remember that, Luo Lang is the one who activated the innate talent Alter Ego, and has still not found a way to control it?" Instructor Number One saw that Ling Lan was already reflecting deeply on her mistake, and so continued with their previous topic.
At this time, Ling Lan had already centred herself and was back to normal. She responded calmly, "Yes, Instructor Number One." This was also a problem that had been bothering her. She wanted to help Luo Lang, but really did not know where to start. It should be known that Luo Lang"s innate talent was an excellent one, but it was just unfortunately out of control. It was like a double-edged sword; even as it cut the enemy, it would also cut its user. This was also why Ling Lan had always restricted Luo Lang from activating his innate talent before this. An unstable innate talent would not be acknowledged by either the military academy or the army divisions.
"That is indeed a very good innate talent ..." At this point, Instructor Number One glanced reflexively at Ling Lan, silently awed by how beloved Ling Lan was by the heavens. Even the companions by her side had awakened such powerful innate talents. "If you want your companion to fully master this innate talent, this aphrodisiac incident is actually a great opportunity."
Ling Lan"s gaze brightened at these words, but remembering the instructor"s previous counsel, she took in a deep breath and suppressed the emotional surge she felt, merely asking calmly, "May I request Instructor Number One to clarify?"
Instructor Number One nodded silently — this reaction of Ling Lan pleased him greatly. Thus, he did not make things difficult for Ling Lan any longer, directly stating the solution, "Find an enclosed s.p.a.ce and let Luo Lang activate his innate talent. Within his innate talent, there should be one Transcendent Cold personality. As long as this personality can be brought to the surface, the aphrodisiac issue will be resolved."
"Extremely frigid?" Ling Lan was rather perplexed — how could this particular personality nullify the aphrodisiac?
"In fact, this will let him cut off all the seven emotions and six desires 2 , leaving him in an extremely cold and rational mode. As long as he can stay in this personality until the aphrodisiac has run its course, your companion will have safely overcome this hurdle," replied Instructor Number One.
"Will there be any latent issues?" Ling Lan asked after some thought. She did not wish for Luo Lang to have any remnant problems from this method.
"No, but in the process of activating the personality, you need to make sure that your companion retains his rationality. If the wrong personality is activated, you will need to beat it back so that another personality can be activated. And this point will require your strength to enforce. Based on your capabilities at a half step to Domain, you should have no problems," explained Number One, "Remember, you must keep him conscious. If it"s not an aware personality, you must beat it back, until your companion manages to master how to activate his personalities while retaining his awareness."
"Understood, Instructor Number One. Is there anything else I should watch out for? If there is nothing, I would like to return now and resolve this as soon as possible," said Ling Lan with a grim expression. Right now, her mind was most concerned over the problem of Luo Lang and the aphrodisiac.
"Go. Once you are done helping your companion, come back and seek me out ..." Instructor Number One waved his hand, and Ling Lan was sent out of the learning s.p.a.ce. The dim s.p.a.ce once again subsided into silence. Instructor Number One sighed, his gaze complex, before once more closing his eyes.
Several seconds later, a tear suddenly appeared three metres behind Instructor Number One. A ravishingly beautiful woman in a uniform walked out of the tear — it was Instructor Number Four. Glumly, she whined, "Big Brother, why won"t you let me teach her about s.e.x? This is obviously a great chance. Not only can she help clear the poison from her companion, she can also learn what is meant by the weaponry of women ..."
"Now is still not the time. Ling Lan"s Dominance Dao is gradually entering an optimum state. We cannot cause her heart to waver," said Number One coldly, " Besides, Ling Lan doesn"t have any need for this type of weaponry 3 . You are only asked to always be prepared, just in case she cannot regain her female nature in the future ..." At this point in his speech, Instructor Number One"s forehead was tightly creased. Even though Ling Lan"s progress on her Dominance Dao was astounding, in direct contrast, the gentle grace unique to women had slowly faded away ... could this be the price of walking the Dominance Dao?
"That would be such a shame. Ling Lan has such great qualities," said Instructor Number Four with a forlorn gaze. The supple flexibility of Ling Lan"s body was truly marvellous — this was closely tied to Number Nine"s efforts in cultivating her. It would allow Ling Lan to require only half the effort for double the effect when learning the arts of feminine wiles. She was an absolute high-quality jade ... it was such a pity she had no place in her life right now for these arts to come into play.
"If Ling Lan had not proven successful on the other fronts, I would not stop you. But reality shows that her future will be brighter if she continues to walk the Dominance Dao." Instructor Number One"s tone held steely conviction. Ling Lan was undoubtedly his most prized successor; there was no other.
"Since you, Number One, have said so, what can I do? But, when Ling Lan is done with her Dominance Dao, you won"t be able to stop me anymore from teaching Ling Lan the arts of female seduction." Number Four cast these words down sulkily and then returned to her own s.p.a.ce.
She had just known her debut was not going to be so early. She still had so many years to wait! She dearly wished Ling Lan could grow up quicker — it would be best if she could arrive at that age where her heart would flower into the spring of love ... at that time, that b.l.o.o.d.y big brother could no longer prevent her from teaching Ling Lan the methods of women.
Seeing Number Four vanish from his s.p.a.ce, Instructor Number One took in a deep breath, calming down his ruffled emotions.
Truly amazing — actually stealthily performing the art of allure right in front of his face without displaying any signs. If his will had not been strong enough, he might really have found it difficult to resist ... Instructor Number One thought about how Ling Lan would also possess this type of allure skill in the future, and combine it with her current cold-domineering-swag aura ... Number One"s brow creased tightly once more. Alright, so he just could not imagine what that result would be like, but somehow it did not seem that it would turn out that lovely.
"Forget it, let"s worry about it when we come to it." Instructor Number One was unexpectedly displaying some Ah-Q mentality 4 — because he too could not bear to refuse Instructor Number Four and her pa.s.sion for teaching so many times. In future, Ling Lan would just have to bear with it.
Without knowing it, Ling Lan had been sold out by the Instructor Number One she deeply revered. Even someone as cold and unyielding as Instructor Number One had no choice but to give way a little when faced with the extraordinary charm and allure of Instructor Number Four.
Sure enough, Ling Lan was back in the hover car after only a second on the clock. Little Four said joyfully, "Boss, you"re back? Have you found a solution?"
Ling Lan nodded and said, "Yes, Little Four. Change destinations immediately. Head for the combat hall!" To find an enclosed s.p.a.ce, the only option was the private combat rooms at the combat hall. She did not forget to caution, "Little Four, do not leave any sign that we"re going there."
"Yes, Boss!" With that, the hover car silently changed directions and began flying rapidly towards the combat hall.
莫宰羊: Author, why you gotta be so hipster? This phrase draws on the Chinese dialect, Minnan, and is written based on sound. Thus, it cannot be translated literally. (If you do, it means "don"t kill the goat". =.=) The meaning is actually "don"t remember" or "don"t know". 七情六欲: A Chinese idiom that refers to the unavoidable aspects of human experience. The seven emotions refer to pleasure, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate, and desire. The six desires are where things get a little trickier. There seems to be various interpretations of what the "six desires" refer to. One interpretation is to a.s.sociate it with the six human senses — sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and will/pa.s.sion (mind/heart). The other versions are rather more complicated to explain and are not really necessary for comprehension of this story. If you are interested to find out more, please research it on your own. :3
In short, #1 is saying that Luo Lang needs to cut off all emotion and human desire. T/C: Anyone else get the sense that Number One is being an overprotective grizzly papa bear here? Rawr! No man is good enough for my Ling Lan! She will remain pure forever! 阿Q精神: This is in reference to the main character of "The True Story of Ah Q" written by Lu Xun. In modern Chinese language, the term the "Ah Q mentality" is used commonly as a term of mockery to describe someone who chooses not to face up to reality and deceives himself into believing he is successful (wikipedia, 2018). In other words, #1 is trying to fool himself that everything will work out alright despite his scepticism.