Chapter 13: A Rare Talent
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Efydatia
Two men with grizzled white hair were standing in an area in the Rising Dragon Army Chang’an Headquarters that looked like a palace hall. The two old men, who were clad in military uniforms, were having wine. At first glance, they looked like colossal giants.
The wine was good, but the food was just ordinary peanuts.
The old men’s shoulders were full of golden stars. Each of them was holding a wine bottle, but they didn’t seem to mind the onlookers.
The only difference between the two were the armbands on their military uniforms. One of them had the words “Rising Dragon” on it, while the other spelled “Royal Forest”.
“This wine isn’t bad, old fella. He he… Every bottle I drink is one less bottle for everyone else!” The old man with the “Royal Forest” armband was tall and mighty, with a long scar across his steadfast face.
The scar made the man seem even more battle-hardened.
The old man with the “Rising Dragon” armband was shorter, but when he stood next to the tall, mighty old fella, his spirit and manner weren’t inferior in any way.
“So, you do know that there is one less bottle for each bottle you drink. d.a.m.n it, I know you can drink a lot, but you didn’t have to come over and waste my wine!”
“You are good at a lot of things, old fella, but you are just too petty. No wonder you haven’t gotten any taller!” The tall, imposing old man hit his own chest proudly as he made fun of his companion without restraint.
The shorter old man widened his eyes and caused a golden blaze to shot out.
“What the f*ck are you trying to do, old fella? Are you trying to burn down your own lair? He he… Just because people call you the Flame Emperor, it doesn’t mean you have to take it seriously!” As the taller man spoke, he created a water screen in front of him.
The tension between those two made every soldier in the vicinity tense up.
In their eyes, the two men were unrivalled ent.i.ties. If they wanted to, they could turn everyone into ashes in a second.
Fortunately, the shorter old man was very reasonable. He just turned towards the taller man and chuckled. “Next time, we’ll drink at your place.”
His words were like a blow for the taller man, whose expression suddenly became slightly panicked.
“Stop with this nonsense. d.a.m.n it, I have no idea what the folks at the Da Eastern Region are doing. Why do they insist on having a talent selection?” The tall old man changed the topic awkwardly.
The shorter man chuckled. “What’s the point of bringing this up? Everything will be fine, as long as we do our jobs.”
“d.a.m.n it. No one knows what the future holds. One of these days those d.a.m.n source beasts will break through the s.p.a.ce barrier!”
“When that time comes…”
The shorter old man did not finish his sentence. His expression was dispirited enough for anyone to guess what he wanted to say.
Although he was a bigshot of the Rising Dragon Army with the honorific t.i.tle of Flame Emperor, he actually looked pessimistic after this exchange.
“Alright, there’s no use talking about these things. Let’s just watch those youngsters’ performances. I hope there are some talented individuals among them.”
As the tall old man spoke, he turned to look at an electronic screen that took up an entire wall.
The screen showed an uncouth-looking young man with a red chest badge. Although the badge wasn’t too bad, its red color caused looks of disdain to form on some people’s faces.
The young man was only an ordinary G-rank elite.
They had too many elites like that on their hands already, so there was no need to concern themselves with this sort of talented individual.
“This young man seems to have a lot of confidence.” The tall old man smiled as he watched the steady young man.
The skinnier old man, who was also known as the Flame Emperor, nodded his head lightly.
The young man suddenly soared into the air, brought his fist down and smashed it straight against the a.s.sessment target.
That was the Earth-Splitting Devil Ape Move!
As soon as the young man had soared into the air, the taller man’s expression had changed. There was a look of concern on his face now.
The moment this concern appeared, a blaze formed in his eyes.
It hadn’t been ignited because of the Earth-Splitting Devil Ape Move, but because of the young man’s blow.
When the Flame Emperor saw the Earth-Splitting Devil Ape Move, his expression became delighted. Then, it suddenly turned unsightly.
Only F-rank elites and above were able to cultivate the Ape-Dragon Blueprint. Why had this young man only been evaluated as G-rank?
Martialists with this sort of superiority were a.s.sessed as at least E-rank.
BOOM!
As the young man’s fist smashed into the practise target, the taller man’s eyes lit up.
He looked as though he had discovered a rare treasure.
“Luo Yunyang, 2,506 kilos. Outstanding!”
A mechanical voice rang out in the room.
The tall old man pressed a b.u.t.ton and the huge screen displayed Luo Yunyang’s information.
He was a 15-year-old inhabitant of Donglu Town who had cultivated successfully the third diagram of the Ape-Dragon Blueprint, the Tail-Swaying Storm Dragon.
This information might have seemed plain, but when the shorter old man saw it, his eyes lit up. He is a young genius!
The two men were at the summit of the realm, so they had seen many geniuses. They had met talented individuals with over 2,500 kilos of strength. They had even come across people who were groomed by family clans or financial organizations until they reached 5,000 kilos.
Luo Yunyang still had a long way to go compared to these geniuses.
However, considering that he had just started cultivating the third diagram of the Ape-Dragon Blueprint and had already reached 2,500 kilos, he was definitely an outstanding young man that was worth grooming.
How could such a talented individual be evaluated as a lower-cla.s.s elite?
“That’s not right!” the tall old man exclaimed loudly.
The Flame Emperor, who was well-versed in social relations, could think of a few possibilities. He definitely didn’t like these sort of things himself.
Just as he was thinking about how to investigate this matter, his companion’s words shocked him.
Astonished, he glanced at the practise target made of metal alloy and noticed the little cracks that had started to appear.
The cracks kept expanding until the entire target was filled with them.
“How precise!” the taller old man said. “There is a hint of Martial G.o.d Luo Kai’s true intent in this.”
“The Royal Forest Military needs people like him!”
The Flame Emperor met the taller old man’s gaze head-on. When he saw the cracks on the target, he was stupefied.
The Martial Spirit Path was something that could only be comprehended at the realm they were living in.
Only a true genius would be able to comprehend a part of this spirit under the right circ.u.mstances.
However, these sort of top-notch, talented individuals would not join the Rising Dragon Army. They would receive grooming of an even higher level…
Someone who could comprehend the Martial Spirit Path had emerged during this recruitment. He might only understand it a little, but he was definitely the most talented person at this a.s.sessment.
Such a person was like a gift from heaven for the Rising Dragon Army.
“Don’t even dream about laying your hands on Rising Dragon Army personnel!” the Flame Emperor bellowed firmly.
“He he… In the past, there would have been no need to discuss this any further. However, you have seen for yourself that this young man is a G-rank elite. According to the Da Alliance regulations, he will have to be deployed somewhere else.”
The old man laughed heartily when he heard this. “I like this kid. I will instruct him and make him stand out in the military!”
The Flame Emperor’s palm struck the table heavily. Flames once again shot out of his eyes and swayed in the air like pythons.
“No means no, you old loach. If you dare fight me on this, you can forget about ever drinking my wine again in the future.”
“So be it. I want this kid more than I want your wine!” The other man didn’t seem afraid in the least. His expression hadn’t changed at all.
Apparently, he had heard this sort of threat many times in the past.
Suddenly, three beeps rang out. When they heard them, the two men turned to look at the screen.
A Red Sun, a Fist, and a Bursting Bear had appeared on it.
Although these insignias weren’t big, they looked really ugly.
“Commander, these three armies have marked out Luo Yunyang!” a stern-looking middle-aged man reported.
Even though he ran the risk of facing the Flame Emperor’s wrath, the man remained placid.
“Marked him out, my a.s.s. You pig! Just announce that he is ours!”
Although he had been scolded, the middle-aged man’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Just as he was about to speak again, another insignia appeared on the screen.
It was a Giant Twin-Horned Dragon!
“How dare you, you old loach! It’s over between us. Just hurry up and leave!” the Flame Emperor exploded.
The taller old man didn’t seem the slightest bit nervous. He just brought his cup to his lips and laughed. “No way, I haven’t finished my wine yet. I have to drink to my heart’s content today!”
“We have already marked him out, Commander,” the middle-aged man told the Flame Emperor respectfully. “According to our a.n.a.lysis, the spirit he unleashed during the attack was probably something he comprehended from reading the words on our building.”
“He must have a rare talent!”
The Flame Emperor nodded. As he was about to relay further instructions, another man clad in military attire appeared on the screen.
He wasn’t very tall, but he looked crafty. The man scanned the practise target meticulously and then said indifferently, “The a.s.sessment equipment had a pre-existing problem. This round’s a.s.sessment results are invalid. Please wait for the repeat a.s.sessment!”
The taller old man started laughing heartily. The Flame Emperor also roared with laughter. However, his laughter was a result of his fury reaching its tipping point.
Of course, Luo Yunyang could not hear the men laughing. He was gripping his fist tightly as he got ready to take the first test again.
He was filled with contempt as he adjusted his Power to 5. If he raised it any higher, he was afraid it might cause him problems. He was still too weak after all.
2,500 kilos would be enough for him to wipe the floor with everyone!
As soon as he had brandished his fist, the understanding he had gained from the words on the Rising Dragon Army Chang’an Headquarters had been unleashed along with his rage and smashed the target.
His strength hadn’t increased, but Luo Yunyang had felt something. It had been a sensation that could split apart any living thing.
However, his result had sadly been invalidated.