“Are you guys even human?” Yue Zhengyu exclaimed, his arrogance shrinking down into a inkling of fear. No matter how conceited he was, he knew that he stood no match against twelve other people.The Star Luo students walked toward Yue Zhengyu with sinister expressions on their faces.
“P-please wait a minute.” Yue Zhengyu thrust out his hands to act as a barrier. “Hold up! I"ll leave and we can let bygones be bygones, okay?” Before the Star Luo students could stop him, he turned tail and jumped off the deck. At over seventy meters above sea level, an ordinary person might as well have jumped to their death!!
The Star Luo students rushed to where Yue Zhengyu once stood, peeking over the railings. Yue Zhengyu seemed to have completely surrendered himself to free-fall. But before he crashed into the deep, cold sea, they witnessed a magnificent sight. Pure white wings spouted from his back, spreading like snowy fans upon the blue waters. It took a few seconds for the Star Luo students to process what was happening, but by then it was too late to catch Yue Zhengyu. He could fly, and quite fast at that. Coupled with the sight of his four purple soul rings, they knew they had lost their chance to beat him up.
☀
Yue Zhengyu stomped through the long corridor in which Shrek Academy"s group was a.s.signed, the floorboards bending and creaking with his fury. “d.a.m.n it! These guys have no loyalty! None at all I swear!” he said, banging on the cabin doors as he pa.s.sed by them.
Suddenly, one of the doors swung open. Out walked Wu Zhangkong, his expression twisted into a frigid frown. “Who are you talking about?”
“Uh… I was talking about myself!” Without turning back, Yue Zhengyu ran away.
At that moment, Tang Wulin opened his door and stuck his head out just to see Yue Zhengyu"s hurriedly retreating figure. He couldn"t help but chuckle at the sight. What"s with this guy? He"s normally so uptight on campus, but the moment we leave he"s become all crazy. He can"t go a single day without causing trouble!
The cabins that the Star Luo delegation had arranged for them were quite nice. Each was about forty square meters in area, complete with a personal bathroom and a balcony that looked out onto the sea. Basking in the sea breeze and watching the churning of the waves was quite an enjoyable experience.
Tang Wulin had been reluctant to go on this exchange, but now that he was on the s.h.i.+p, he was excited for what was to come. His tense mood loosened as he thought about the marvels he would see.
At noon, the horns were blown three times and the two s.h.i.+ps departed from the dock. The s.h.i.+ps quickly picked up speed, setting off toward to brave the vast sea.
As the ma.s.sive s.h.i.+p cut through the water, not swaying in the slightest, Tang Wulin leaned against the railing of his cabin"s balcony and peered out toward the horizon. He took in a deep breath of the aromatic sea air and enjoyed warmth of the sun kissing his skin.
“Hey!”
Tang Wulin turned to the direction of the voice. It was Gu Yue. She stood on the balcony neighboring his, only two meters away, and the two shared a smile.
“You know, I"m starting to think this trip isn"t all that bad. Somehow I spent my entire childhood living by the sea, yet I never actually went out on a s.h.i.+p,” Tang Wulin said.
“I haven"t either,” Gu Yue said pleasantly.
The two settled into a lull of silence as they watched the land shrink into the distance behind them. Until it was no more than a speck that disappeared into the horizon. Through the clear waters, they could see schools of fish swim by, and the occasional large predator chasing after.
“Wulin…”
“Hm?” Tang Wulin studied Gu Yue, raising a brow.
In the end, she smiled and shook her head.“Nothing. I"m going back in to sleep now. Bye.”
Gu Yue"s incomprehensible actions left Tang Wulin flabbergasted. But he did not pursue it any further and retreated from the balcony as well. No matter how relaxing it was to watch the sea, he had to cultivate! He wasn"t going to reach rank 40 by just lazing around. The pressure weighing upon him was enormous and he could not afford to slack off. A minute later, he sat on his bed cross-legged, mind focused on cultivating.
On the other side of the wall they shared, Gu Yue too sat on her bed, staring out the window toward the sea. She pressed her lips tight together. A turbulent fog among her eyes. “He really is too good. Na"er, maybe you were right. But no matter what, I won"t let you two be together.” The heave of a sigh, and her eyes cleared up to s.h.i.+ne with resolution.
The two large s.h.i.+ps continued cruising toward their destination, each separated by a few kilometers. Thanks to the pleasant weather, both s.h.i.+ps had a clear line of sight on the other and could help one another at a moment"s notice.
Soon the blue of the sky bled into twilight, painting an enchanting scene across the sea.
“Attention all pa.s.sengers. Attention all pa.s.sengers.” The s.h.i.+p"s broadcast system was loud and clear. “Welcome aboard the SLS Seafarer. Tonight, we will be having a grand reception to welcome everyone. Please attend in formal attire. We"ll be hosting some friends.h.i.+p exercises and interesting games to foster good relations between our two continents. We invite everyone to attend.”
Friends.h.i.+p exercises? Tang Wulin roused from meditation and pondered the meaning of those words. A satisfied smile formed on his lips as his mind s.h.i.+fted back to cultivating. Perhaps due to the release of all the stress he had acc.u.mulated over the semester, he had made clear progress during this cultivation session. In fact, he felt on the verge of reaching rank 39. Once that happened, it would just be one more small step to rank 40 and his fourth soul ring. When that time came, he would have the soul power necessary to truly proclaim himself a sixth-rank blacksmith!
At the thought of blacksmithing, pa.s.sion blazed in Tang Wulin"s heart. Earlier he had confirmed that there were blacksmithing workshops on the s.h.i.+p for the guests to use. Of course, there was a fee. But even when disregarding that and instead focusing on his burning desire to hit things with his hammers, at the very least he still had to wait until after the evening party.
Hmm… Formal attire? Do I even have any? After a moment of thought, he realized that the only clothes he possessed were a few sets of his school uniform.
A knock on his door spurred him from his thoughts. On the other side stood Gu Yue. “Did you hear the broadcast?” she asked.
“Yeah. The friends.h.i.+p exercises might be fun, but I"m more interested in what food they"ll be serving,” Tang Wulin said, nearly beginning to drool at the thought of food.
Gu Yue"s eyes glazed over. “All you know is how to eat.”
Tang Wulin could merely shrug. “What else would I do there other than eat?”
“We need formal clothes to attend. Do you have any?”
“Uh, do you think our uniforms count as formal attire?” Tang Wulin asked, scratching his cheek.
Gu Yue scoffed. “I knew you wouldn"t have brought some. Here, take this.” In a flash of light, a set of clothes appeared in her hands.
“These are…”.
Gu Yue giggled. “It"s formal clothing!”
After receiving the clothes in his hands, Tang Wulin could feel just how exquisite the craftsmans.h.i.+p. There were several pieces to the full outfit, and each piece was of impeccable quality.
“Where did you get these?” Tang Wulin asked, gawking at her.
The corner of Gu Yue"s mouth quirked up in a smirk. “I bought them of course. I got them custom made for you since I guessed we would be having an event like this. In fact, I got you several sets.”
Tang Wulin"s eyes were as wide as humanly possible. She got these made for me?
With a hint of a blush on her cheeks, Gu Yue raised her head haughtily. “I didn"t want you to embara.s.s me! Now hurry up and go change.” Then she turned and left for her room.
The clothes clutched tight in his hands as he closed the door, it took a full minute for Tang Wulin to snap out of his stupor. Warmth rushed to his cheeks as he gazed at the clothes. How many years has it been since someone got me clothes like this?
His thoughts traveled back to a sweeter time. A time when his parents were still around and life had seemed so much simpler. Back then, what had his mother said?
“Wulin, Mom made you some new clothes. Wear it for the new year. Look, it"s a brown suit. Don"t you think you"ll look charming in these? I"ll have to make you a suit every year from now on. Then when you"re finally all grown up and get married, I can look at those suits as a record of your growth.”
Mom and Dad are gone. I couldn"t fulfill Mom"s wish. The suits she made me are still back home in Eastsea.
Gu Yue… She made me clothes. She got these made for me. A few teardrops painted dark spots on the otherwise exquisite fabric. A warm smile formed on Tang Wulin"s lips and he held the clothes to his chest, a treasure cradled near and close to his heart
To Gu Yue, perhaps this was a simple gift. But to Tang Wulin, it was a different story. It was so much more. The action brought back sentimental memories of his parents and childhood home. Reminded him of what having a family felt like.
Cold as Gu Yue usually acted, she couldn"t help but meddle when it came to Tang Wulin.
“Gu Yue, thank you,” Tang Wulin said, from him a voice that could melt the heart of any maiden.
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