Chapter 148: Grandfather of the Ultimate Style
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Meng Chao whistled and took a stroll around the university for almost half the day with his hands behind his back. He did so with great ease.
Ever since he joined the university, he had been immersed in the lab and cultivating madly for almost two months before that. Today, he finally gave himself half a day’s break. For the first time, he could enjoy the university’s full appearance, and he felt rather great.
He first went to the etherealized plants course to watch how the botanists injected specially made growth liquid into the roots of the etherealized plants. This allowed them to cultivate fierce carnivorous plants such as snake vines, man-eating flowers, and triffids.
In fact, they could even release the plants from the hold of the ground, and they would dance along their own rhythm.
Then, he went to the veterinary course and watched the vets “treat” monsters.
Most of the monsters did not have any value or chance to be treated. The “treatment” was just the vets installing all sorts of powerful weapons and strange machines as well as armor on heavily wounded monsters to turn them into killing machines made of metal and flesh.
After that, he visited the environment course to watch the students using chemicals made of hundreds of biochemical materials to turn st.u.r.dy stones into fertile soil. They could even instantly shrivel or harden weeds or vines that could grow at incredible speeds and surround entire mountains. These plants were full of poison, so the insects that fed on them would die. In just a few days, the plans could clear out a huge uncultivated area.
Meng Chao broadened his views for half a day. Then, he went to the tuck shop of the etherealized plants course to buy a specially treated fruit basket as a gift for when he went to the university’s medical office to visit his tutor.
It was normal for a university which had a martial arts course and a few other fighting occupations to constantly have injured people. Hence, the Agricultural University’s medical office was pretty large. Meng Chao did not want to run into anyone he was familiar with in the martial arts course, so he snuck around for a long time before he managed to get to Gu Jianbo’s ward.
He peeked in through the crack in the door while wondering whether Gu Jianbo would appreciate his kind will. If they had ended up going at it too fiercely yesterday or if Gu Jianbo did not have enough stamina since it had been a long time since he fought in this area, he might get angry at Meng Chao, which would be bad for him.
His shoulder was smacked by a plump hand from behind, and Gu Jianbo spoke right by him. “What are you doing?”
Meng Chao stiffened up and quickly turned his head around. He grinned and handed the fruit basket over. “Big Brother Bo, I came to visit you!”
“What’s this? Blue apples, purple watermelons, and bananas with tentacles? Ack, this orange bites!”
“They’re the newest products produced by the etherealized plants course. They’re filled with nutrition and are very fresh. I bought them specifically to provide you with nourishment.”
Meng Chao carefully observed his tutor and hesitated for a long while before he asked, “Was your body... okay yesterday?”
“What do you mean by okay? It’s the same as ever. There are fine hidden injuries in my blood vessels and nerves, but they won’t stop a man refined by fire like me!”
Then, Gu Jianbo’s expression turned dark, and he said, “As for you, you caused quite a lot of trouble, huh?”
“I didn’t. I was just cultivating, researching, learning, and sparring. What sort of trouble could I have caused?!”
Meng Chao blinked innocently and raised his hands to swear. “I seriously didn’t say anything to Ms. Li. I don’t know why she would misunderstand that you have a fatal wound on your b.u.t.t.”
“What?” Gu Jianbo was flabbergasted. “You were the one who caused this? I was wondering why she went for my pants the moment she entered the room!”
Meng Chao was speechless.
Gu Jianbo found himself with nothing to say as well.
The atmosphere instantly became a little awkward.
“Oh well, we can talk about this later, when we get back. Let me ask you, just what on Earth did you do yesterday? Or more accurately speaking, what did you do within the past twenty-four hours? Are you thinking about beating up the ten strongest students among the martial arts freshmen and the ten strongest among the monster controller freshmen?” Gu Jianbo rubbed his temples.
Meng Chao thought about it.
“Yeah, sure. Why not?” He nodded very seriously.
“What do you mean by sure?” Gu Jianbo did not know whether he should laugh or cry. “What are you thinking? Don’t you know that the lecturers from both courses have already warned all students that the three days after the tournament between courses is supposed to be a period where all of you cool your heads so you are not allowed to challenge each other or have any sort of fights in private?
“Yet look at you, you went to provoke ten students from the monster controller course and fought them, and you even beat up their secret weapon! You actually swaggered into their department while carrying Wu Wu on your back too! If you don’t handle this matter properly, hundreds of people will surround and attack you. At that time, even if I want to save you, it’ll be beyond my abilities!”
“I can run.” Meng Chao placed his hands behind his back and gave off a really powerful and confident air. “The Ultimate Style was born to allow the martial artist to run from a fight. As long as I want to run, no one can stop me.”
“Seriously, you...” Gu Jianbo found himself with a real headache in his hands. “Meng Chao, I know that your confidence in the Ultimate Style surpa.s.ses mine by miles, and with your help, the Ultimate Style has definitely obtained progressive success. You’re young and full of life, and it’s normal for you to want to prove just how strong the Ultimate Style is,” he said earnestly.
“But there are plenty of things in which haste won’t bring you success. If you want to promote a martial art ideal, you can’t do so overnight. If you act too hastily, you might end up... trampling on the benefits of other parties, and you’ll face a strong counterattack or even suppression.
“This isn’t good for the Ultimate Style and for your own future too. You know about the tall poppy syndrome, right? The tall poppy gets cut down for overachieving. Do you understand what I mean?”
Of course Meng Chao did.
The pros and cons of a martial art ideal were not something to be explored purely by academic means. They were also dragged into the fight of monetary interests.
Even if they ignored everyone outside the university and just talked about the lecturers within it alone, there were plenty of powerful people who relied on the Beast Soul Style to obtain funds for their projects and get the positions of specialists.
They obtained a lot of cultivation resources from the school, investments from companies that wanted to sponsor them, and benefits from opening workshops outside to teach the secrets of the Beast Soul Style.
If the Ultimate Style rose to power, it was impossible for it not to encroach on their interests.
This was one of the reasons why the Ultimate Style was not yet promoted through the whole city even after the death of Blade Dancer Gu Jianbo. And that was when the Ultimate Style had already shown its glory a long time ago.
It had a somewhat easier time of rising at that time because a lot of the powerful martial artists of the other styles had already been killed by monsters, and Dragon City had suffered a really painful blow.
Now, all of it had yet to happen, so it was... truly an almost impossible task to make the powerful martial artists of the other styles to understand the advantages of the Ultimate Style ahead of time and switch willingly.
But Meng Chao planned to persevere with his ideals until the end. The flames of determination shone in his eyes, and he nodded before he said, “Big Brother Bo, I understand your kind will, but if we use the normal route and apply for the Ultimate Style to be taught as a brand new course, we will need to go through all sorts of appraisals from the others in the same field, the specialists will have to provide guidance, and the university will want to appraise it too. When will we ever be able to promote it, then?
“You know that more than 90% of the lecturers in the martial arts course practice the Beast Soul Style. Do you think that they will say anything good for the Ultimate Style during the appraisal meeting?
“If we can’t get through the appraisal, we won’t be able to get it listed as a compulsory course for the undergraduate students, and we won’t be able to get more cultivation resources. Then, the Ultimate Style will only be able to spread in a small area as an experimental martial art for at least three years.
“It has already been ten years since Senior Zong Ye pa.s.sed away. I don’t want to wait for another three years, let alone ten years. Since I’m certain that this path is the correct path, I will definitely bring out all my courage and strength to run down this path.
“Even if I end up crashing into a wall, I won’t turn back. It’s only by doing this that I can live up to Senior Zong Ye and your expectations. It’s also the only way to live up to all the pioneers who sacrificed their youth, pa.s.sion, and everything else for the Ultimate Style!”
Meng Chao’s gaze was firm. He was like a saber that would cut down everything and would rather break than bend.
Gu Jianbo’s expression changed.
“I seriously don’t know whether I should say that you’re smart or really stupid.” He smiled wryly. “You shine even more brilliantly than Zong Ye and I when we were young, but it also makes it easier for you to cause unnecessary trouble. Did you know that I have been with Dean Zong since yesterday, and his phone had been ringing nonstop all night?
“The calls came from the monster controller course, the resource course, and the martial arts course, and all of them mentioned your name. Then, the monster controller course even sent Wu Wu and her biochemical beast here to be treated. Dean Zong and I went to visit her.
“Wu Wu is a genius that Agricultural University spent a lot of effort to s.n.a.t.c.h from Dragon City University and the other universities. She’s someone that we specially brought in. We don’t mind you sparring with her, but how could you poison her?”
“I didn’t poison her,” Meng Chao corrected him. “I just stuck a man-made skin on my neck and hid some poisonous blood under it. This is a harmless habit of mine. If she didn’t bite me, she wouldn’t have run into this problem.”
Gu Jianbo was absolutely speechless. He rubbed his plump face vigorously and said, “You have no idea how shocked the monster controller course’s dean was at that time. He whispered with Dean Zong for half a day. Those are two Deity Realm elites, you know?! My heart was pounding so fast while I watched their expressions.
“If Dean Zong decided that you’re too reckless and that the Ultimate Style draws too much attention, you’d be in big trouble!”
“I trust that Dean Zong will definitely support the Ultimate Style!” Meng Chao said with an intense gaze.
“Don’t go thinking that just because Zong Ye is Dean Zong’s son that he will fully support the Ultimate Style and you causing trouble,” Gu Jianbo said with a scowl. “Zong Ye has been dead for ten years, and Dean Zong is a veteran Beast Soul Style martial artist... No, I should say that he is the strongest Beast Soul Style martial artist in Dragon City!
“You’re thinking about impatiently promoting the Ultimate Style under the strongest Beast Soul Style martial artist’s gaze, and you want to get his support as well. Why does it look... that you’re letting your dreams run way too wild?”
Meng Chao scratched his head.
He did not know how he should explain things to Gu Jianbo.
His actions might seem reckless, and if he were in Dragon City’s martial arts course and was facing the Overkill Style elites, he would definitely not be in such a hurry to obtain success.
He knew his own strengths, and the Ultimate Style had just been born. It was a very young shoot. It could not face any trials and tribulations.
The masters of the Overkill Style did not even need to do anything to Meng Chao. They just needed to use some of their influence to drag the Ultimate Style down.
But he was in Agricultural University.
In his previous life, Agricultural University’s martial arts course was able to stand on equal grounds with Dragon City University’s martial arts course precisely because of the Ultimate Style rise to power.
This meant that the leaders of Agricultural University’s martial arts course had accepted the Ultimate Style in the end.
Meng Chao did not know what happened, but he believed that it was related to Zong Ye’s father, Black Tortoise Zong Yue.
If Zong Ye was the true father of the Ultimate Style, then Black Tortoise Zong Yue, the iron shield, was the grandfather of the Ultimate Style, right? Even though he was the strongest Beast Soul Style martial artist?
This was the main reason behind why Meng Chao was fearless and did whatever it took to promote the Ultimate Style.
“I believe in Dean Zong’s magnanimity and judgment. Regardless of whether it’s the Ultimate Style, Beast Soul Style, the Overkill Style, or other fighting styles, at the end of the day, it’s all to make Dragon City stronger and so that Earth’s civilization can spread through the entire Other World,” Meng Chao said firmly. “As long as we can prove the advantage of the Ultimate Style, Dean Zong will definitely support us!”
Gu Jianbo stared deeply at Meng Chao for half a minute.
Suddenly, his gaze turned gentle, and a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.
“Go in”—he pointed at his ward—”and say what you just told me to Dean Zong himself. He’s waiting for you inside.”