Chapter 103: Nine Sands University Town
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
To the west of the city was Nine Sands Region, and it contained the university town.
It was a new region that had only been developed in the past few decades. Universities and research centers were gathered there. All sorts of black technology were used there, and it was at least one hundred years ahead of Tiger Forest Region in terms of development.
Since the university was in the city itself, Meng Chao’s parents wanted to take a look at it, and Bai Jiacao also caused a ruckus saying that she wanted to expand her world.
The moment they left the subway, the girl widened her eyes and started making a fuss.
“Whoa... Big Brother, there are so many unmanned aerial vehicles around! They’re so beautiful! They’re just like sparkling jellyfish, and they can even dance! They’re too pretty!”
“That’s the unmanned aerial vehicle cl.u.s.ter from the University of Technology. To welcome new students, they brought them out for a demonstration. Also, those things aren’t just able to dance, they can carry all sorts of interference and offensive systems to form a terrifying killing formation. They’re superweapons specially made for machine armor style martial artists and machine masters.”
“Look over there! There are machines that are several floors high! Are they the legendary mecha? Are those created by the University of Technology as well? Why didn’t you go to the University of Technology? You could have just driven a mecha to fight monsters! That’d be so cool!”
“Don’t be silly. Mechas are just toys that exist in your imagination. In a real fight, a humanoid fighting machine that is more than ten meters tall has frail joints and low defense. They don’t fit the principles of applied mechanics. The amount of ammunition and fuel they can carry aren’t satisfactory, and their fighting strength isn’t very high either.
“That’s just a general purpose multi-functional harvesting machine. It’s designed to target domestic creatures in the Other World, which are habitually fierce, and etherealized plants. They’re used to milk Armored Rhinoceros, cut wool from Ice Stone Sheep, gather the fruits from man-eating flowers, and do other light work.”
“Is it—AAAAAHHH! UFO!”
“That’s good stuff. Right now, the University of Technology is paying a lot of attention to the research of magnetic levitation. They’ve already created a lot of runic symbols and spirit energy magnetic fields that can use the repulsion from magnetic fields to fight against gravity. Before long, normal people will be able to move freely in the air, just like Heaven Realm elites.”
“You’ve been going on and on, but everything you say comes from the University of Technology. I’m going to get into the University of Technology!”
“That’s because the entrance to the subway is right next to the University of Technology. Look ahead of you, isn’t that the military school?”
All along their way, Bai Jiacao acted like a singing lark. No matter what she saw, she gasped in amazement.
Meng Chao had been reading a lot lately, so he could explain it all to her.
To welcome their new students, the military school had set up a few square formations at the entrance and sang deafening war songs while they marched around with equally deafening thuds. The sweat of their youth evaporated from their skin and turned into brilliant rays of light that charged into the air to gather into dazzling fog in midair.
Meng Chao told Bai Jiacao that those were war souls, the amalgamations of countless heroic spirits.
The University of Technology’s advantage lay in its machines and engineering, while the military school’s advantage lay in its formations and spirit science.
When countless resolute soldiers’ vitality magnetic fields trembled at the same frequency and absorbed the martyrs’ heroic spirits, together with their tight formations, they could turn into powerful soldiers who could take down anyone and win every battle.
When a Dragon City University martial arts course student fought against a military school martial arts course student, everyone would bet that the former would win.
If it was ten against ten, many people would hesitate.
But if it were one hundred against one hundred, even the lecturers from Dragon City University’s martial arts course would bet that the military school would win.
‘Feixiong has already registered at the military school. The regulations in the military school are really strict, so I wonder if that guy will be able to handle it and find a heroic spirit that fits him. I hope that he won’t be chased out a few days after he got inside because he offended a female lecturer. That would be embarra.s.sing,’ Meng Chao thought happily.
“What’s that smell? It stinks!” Bai Jiacao suddenly covered her nose.
“It came from Agricultural University.” Meng Chao’s face turned red.
Honestly, it was not a foul stench. Agricultural University was the legendary Monster University, so it was only natural that they reared countless monsters.
The lecturers and students from the etherealized plants course had also planted a lot of strange etherealized plants.
To grow healthily, all sorts of fertilizers and microorganisms were added into the soil.
When thousands of monsters, fertilizers, and microorganisms blended together, it was inevitable that the smell... was a little pungent.
“That’s Agricultural University?”
Bai Jiacao rose on her tiptoes, but her vision was covered by rows of lush trees that grew into the sky. She could not see cool and large machines, dancing and sparkling unmanned aerial vehicles, nor hear loud war songs or the loud booms from fighting machines. She could not help but be a little disappointed.
“What’s with that expression?” Meng Chao could see through the girl’s thoughts with just one glance. “Before the armies march out, food supplies must first arrive at the battlefield. Yeah, I admit, the machines from the University of Technology and the war souls from the military school are really strong, but if they go hungry for three days and three nights, no matter how strong they are, they won’t be able to use any of their strength.
“How do we fill up the stomachs of the hungry soldiers and powerful fighters? That’s the job of Agricultural University. Look at these towering trees, they look normal, right? But let me tell you, this is the high-calorie bread tree, a tree created with top-tier biochemical technology.
“Not only are its fruits filled with nutrients, when you eat one, you can withstand up to three days without food. The resin is also a natural gel-type medicine. If you wipe it on your wounds, it will be absorbed by the flesh and promote the recovery of the wound.
“Also, the veins and man-eating flowers at the back have poisonous spikes, can you see? Don’t worry, they’re controlled by humans, and they’re automatic bioweapons. If at some point we filled up Blessed Heavenly Garden with them and monsters came to invade us, they’d be hit by these plants.
“Look at the crystalline plants in the last row. They’re even more amazing. The official website of Agricultural University states that their roots can reach hundreds of meters underground and absorb energy from the planet’s spirit meridians. Then, they gather it together in the form of crystals. In other words, this is a natural oil well. We just need to plant them around mines rich with the planet’s spirit meridians and wait to collect crystals.
“Wow! That’s a huge skeleton!” Bai Jiacao pointed in front of them.
At the entrance of Agricultural University was a monster skeleton. It was more than one hundred meters tall and had a grand presence.
The skeleton shone with a metallic light, which spread out in all directions. The creature’s center formed a tunnel, and in the middle of it was a skull with horns and fangs. When Bai Jiacao saw it, she gasped in amazement.
The veins bound the white bones tightly, and not only differently-colored flowers bloomed on them, but they even bore fruit. Many of the fruits hung down and were within reach of the pa.s.sersby.
Quite a number of people picked a few fruits to eat them. Their fragrance wafted into their nostrils and juice spilled out. It was a rare treasure.
“This is the largest monster that has invaded Dragon City up to this date. Thunder G.o.d Beast. During the Thunder G.o.d Battle twenty-five years ago, it managed to enter seven kilometers into the city despite the cannonfire. It destroyed dozens of large buildings. Only five Deity Realm elites working together managed to subjugate it.”
Meng Chao was reciting the introduction from the official website. “IN the years since, Thunder G.o.d Beast’s flesh and blood has cultivated many powerful fighters for us. Its blood and feces were used to water the ground, and it gave birth to many new etherealized plants, which enriched the citizens’ meals. The unique phosphide compound in its bones helped us create more than ten types of alloys.
“Humanity drained all value from the creature, then erected its skeleton here so that plants could grow on it. It was done to tell the citizens that even if monsters are humanity’s mortal enemies, they are the greatest force in helping Dragon City develop in the Other World as well.
“We hate monsters, but we can’t distance ourselves from them. Our goal is to conquer and tame the monsters, not to simply and crudely destroy all of them. This is the ideal of Agricultural University.”
They moved through Thunder G.o.d Beast’s skeleton and entered Agricultural University’s compound.
There was a tunnel made with trees, and it led straight to rows upon rows of lecture buildings and laboratories. On the sides, there were places that looked like zoos and botanical gardens. They had rare monsters and plants that Bai Jiacao had never seen before.
The girl completely forgot that saying that Agricultural University was not as great as the University of Technology. Her eyes were transfixed and she kept on gasping in amazement.
“Big Brother, there are so many plants that can move over there. Look! That plant’s roots look like the tentacles of an octopus! It’s crawling around on its own!
“Ah! That plant looks like a large shameplant! It’s even bowing to us and greeting us!
“What’s that? It’s spitting pollen at us! It smells so nice. It seems like it contains a lot of spirit energy, but what will happen to those who are allergic to pollen?
“There are so many monsters here, but they’re just let loose on the ground. Does no one care about it?”
When she saw a few monsters that looked like velociraptors running out of the forest to look at them curiously, the girl became a little scared. She tugged at Meng Chao’s sleeve. “Big Brother, those things won’t bite us, will they?”
“Of course not.” Meng Chao smiled. “Don’t you see the remote collars on the necks of all the monsters here? They even have spirit energy chips implanted in their brains. They’re genetically-modified biochemical beasts and are controlled by the monster controllers’ brainwaves, so they’re like the extensions of the monster controllers. They’re very safe and basically the same as Big Tooth’s upgraded version.
“If you don’t believe me, you can go up and bow to one of them. See how it reacts.”
Bai Jiacao was skeptical. She moved forward and nodded slightly at the velociraptor. Then, she braced her courage and said, “h.e.l.lo!”
The velociraptor seemed to have understood her words, and it actually bowed to her. It even grinned.
Even though it bared its teeth and it did not look good because its smile was full of sharp teeth, it still stunned Bai Jiacao for a long time.
Then, her attention was attracted by the monster controllers who rode on the eagle-type monsters and hovered, dived, and flew around in the air.
“It’s so cool! I want to get into Agricultural University in the future!” Bai Jiacao was excited. “Big Brother, if you cultivate for a long time, will you be as awesome as them, ride on eagles and control hundreds of monsters?”
“Urk...” Meng Chao scratched his head. “These are the specialties of the monster controller course. The martial arts course focuses on using our own strength to fight.”
“Is that so?” The girl was a little disappointed.
“What’s with that look? Monster controllers and martial artists have their own specialties. It’s not that you’re better if you control more monsters. Look, quite a lot of new students we pa.s.sed by just now have steady footsteps, sharp gazes, and spirit tattoos on their bodies. Their aura is also very strong. They’re definitely from the martial arts course.”
Honestly, Meng Chao wasn’t sure about that, but it was necessary to deceive the girl.
Bai Jiacao observed them for a while before she came to a new discovery. “Their spirit tattoos are so dazzling. They look stronger than you!”
Agricultural University’s overall strength was second only to that of Dragon University. The martial arts courses were also popular courses, so there were naturally a lot of aristocratic children among the new students.
They had awakened to their supernatural powers after their national college examination, and many among them had cleared more than thirty main meridians. The outstanding ones were even like Luo Hai. When they entered the university, they had already cleared over sixty main meridians.
At that moment, these prodigies crossed their arms and revealed the dazzling spirit tattoos flowing faintly on their skin. They did not hide their aggressive presences.
But they had smiles on their faces, and they apologized very politely. “I’m sorry, I’ve only just awakened to my supernatural powers, and I haven’t learned how to control it. I’ve scared you.”
Meng Chao pouted.
It was very normal for people to be unable to control their spirit energy and for a few spirit tattoos to appear occasionally when they had just reached Spirit Tattoo Realm.
But the new students revealed more than ten spirit tattoos at random to create profound and complicated pictures. Spirit energy gushed out of their heads as if they were boiling high-pressure cookers. Who would believe them when they said that they could not control themselves?
They were definitely circulating their spirit magnetic field rotation energy and intentionally boasting and putting up a show of force!
‘Luo Hai’s right. The people in the fighting courses in famous universities begin competing against each other right when they step through the university gates. I have to do well so that I can get the most resources as well.
‘How do I do it, though? I only have four spirit meridians on my right arm. I don’t think I can use them to show off. Should I fight against the new student with the most dazzling spirit tattoo after Mom, Dad, and Jiacao leave?’
While Meng Chao thought about it, he heard deafening cheers and the sounds of fighting ahead of them.
A number of new students rushed over. While they ran, they shouted, “It’s a match between the martial arts course and the monster controller course. They’re going to decide which is the strongest fighting course in Agricultural University. We have to go and watch!”