Chapter 382 Destined to be GreatEveryone looked at this image silently.
A total of 40,000 troops kneeled at the same time, like a torrent that had reached its climax, and then immediately kept quiet in front of Li Tianlan.
Forty thousand troops.
Li Tianlan.
The former was kneeling while the latter was bowing.
The lingering sound of shouting “Your Highness” carried suffocating power.
No one dared to make irresponsible remarks about the scene that looked normal but was actually very abnormal.
Gu Xingyun didn’t dare to do so, even though the most elite 40,000 troops looked more like the private forces of the Dongcheng Clan at this time.
When thinking of the Border Control Corps, everyone thought of a taboo, at least a taboo address.
Dongcheng Corps.
Both the Dongcheng Clan and the authority denied this address.
But wasn’t this the image of Dongcheng Corps right now?
Not even the Dongcheng Corps.
The light on the big screen flowed.
The scene in the maneuver area disappeared.
The image of dense troops kneeling in front of Li Tianlan appeared on the big screen.
Inside the venue. Outside the venue.
Inside and outside Zhongzhou State.
Countless people had seen this image.
Compared to the little scar that Li Tianlan’s sword intent left on w.a.n.g Tianzong’s palm, this scene was truly shocking, because the meaning of this image was too rich.
The military super influential family with a magnate of Zhongzhou State, the most elite 40,000 troops among hundreds of thousands of troops, the 22-year-old Invincible Realm expert who shouldered the Li family’s responsibility, Sigh City, and the Academics.
The seriously injured Gu Xingyun, and w.a.n.g Tianzong, who had left but still had killing intent.
Everything virtually mixed together.
Li Tianlan fully proved his potential today.
Dongcheng Wudi and the performance of the 40,000 troops also fully demonstrated that the Dongcheng Clan had taken Li Tianlan as the core in the future.
The Academics expressed a certain support to Li Tianlan.
w.a.n.g Tianzong’s killing intent did not disperse, but he suddenly left.
Gu Xingyun never made a move because of his injuries, but it was clear that he would not allow Li Tianlan to grow up.
All contradictions and conflicts appeared before the public.
And it was foreseeable that such conflicts would continually escalate as Li Tianlan and the East Emperor Palace became stronger and stronger.
It was simply a whirlpool large enough to swallow Zhongzhou State.
And Li Tianlan was standing at the center of the whirlpool at this moment.
There were still not many people who were optimistic about Li Tianlan, but most people who really felt that Li Tianlan could achieve nothing had disappeared.
As the Young Governor of Sigh City, he also had the combat strength of the Invincible Realm. Moreover, he had the full support of the Dongcheng Clan and the inclination of the Academics’ att.i.tude.
Now everything about Li Tianlan may still be weaker than that of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City.
But he had no weaknesses.
No one dared to say that such a Li Tianlan had no background.
The Dongcheng Clan, Sigh City, and even the Academics would become his powerful force to break the Li family’s imprisonment in the future.
Li Tianlan slowly stood up straight.
“Stand up.”
His voice was calm.
The 40,000 troops stood up one after another and saluted him again.
When they knelt, they shouted “Your Highness”.
Li Tianlan understood Dongcheng Wudi’s meaning, so he knew exactly what he should do.
“Withdraw from the Sky Academy first. The maneuver is over.”
The maneuver was not over yet.
But for Li Tianlan, the following maneuver items were meaningless.
The East Emperor Palace already took first place.
The following different maneuver subjects were meaningless to many people.
Today was the first day of the maneuver.
For too many people, the real maneuver had actually ended in such a way.
Forty thousand troops maintained a neat formation and began to leave the Sky Academy.
Fighters and helicopters in the sky landed slowly.
Tanks and armored vehicles returned to the a.r.s.enal.
The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated as the army left.
The sun was still shining.
The clouds were pale, and a light breeze was blowing.
But all this seemed to be the calm before the storm.
Li Tianlan, the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, and Kunlun City.
They were still there.
And thus, contradictions would not disappear.
Li Tianlan walked to the high platform in front of the stand.
Applause rang out from the packed stand.
Everyone was applauding, including those who thought highly of Li Tianlan, those who were not optimistic about him, the people of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, and even Gu Xingyun.
No matter how they felt on the inside, they should applaud.
They should applaud the young man who took his time but walked up the steps with his feet on the ground.
He was twenty-two years old this year.
He was very young.
But he had the t.i.tle “Your Highness”.
Dongcheng Hanguang was also applauding.
Naturally, the applause from Luojing, Zhongyuan couldn’t reach the Sky Academy, and Li Tianlan could not hear it.
But all applause from Dongcheng Hanguang fell into the ears of the old man opposite him.
The old man was wearing a purple Tang suit, and his white hair had just been dyed jet-black. He was lean, and he looked a little like Dongcheng Hanguang.
It was just that compared with the gentle and carefree Dongcheng Hanguang in daily life, the old man was always tense, sitting there with an awe-inspiring appearance.
He and Dongcheng Hanguang watched the maneuver of the two academies in Zhongzhou State together, and at this time, as he heard the applause, his att.i.tude was a bit subtle.
Dongcheng Hanguang looked at the old man’s subtle expression and asked with a chuckle, “How’s he doing?”
“Fine.”
The old man nodded.
“The best,” Dongcheng Hanguang said without hesitation.
The old man shook his head, seemingly helpless.
“You don’t approve of him?” Dongcheng Hanguang asked.
“Does it make sense?”
The old man shook his head, his face a little complicated. “That was your choice in those days. I didn’t agree with you the very year.”
“But you had no objection.”
Dongcheng Hanguang looked seriously.
He was the old patriarch of the Dongcheng Clan. Except for some new-born families, no one could have absolute dominance in a large family. Even the patriarch was hampered in many ways.
The Dongcheng Clan was brave and loyal. They were where they were today because generations of the family members had sacrificed their lives, and they were still willing to devote themselves to Zhongzhou State.
Dongcheng Hanguang had several brothers and sisters, but most of them died on the battlefield. To this day, only Dongcheng Hanguang himself and the old man in purple in front of him were alive.
Dongcheng Hanjian.
Dongcheng Hanguang’s biological brother.
Li Tianlan had used his performance to tell everyone how scary his future would be.
Li Tianlan was the most ideal next-generation core figure in Dongcheng Hanguang’s heart. With the help of the lingering influence of this maneuver, Dongcheng Hanguang definitely wanted to use all his power and resources on Li Tianlan, which required Dongcheng Hanjian’s approval.
This att.i.tude was extremely important.
“He did well.”
Dongcheng Hanjian was silent for a while and nodded gently.
It was his approval.
But he only approved of his performance.
Dongcheng Hanguang seemed to know what his brother was thinking.
He smiled. “Relax, there is still plenty of time.”
Dongcheng Hanjian thought for a while and nodded. “We will see.”
He stood up and slowly left the hall.
President Li Huacheng was also applauding.
Hua Qingfeng, Leader of Zhongzhou Shadow Sect, who was responsible for protecting him personally during this visit, had arranged his schedule.
He witnessed the maneuver together with Li Huacheng.
Watching the president applauding, Hua Qingfeng also wore a smile on his face.
“President.”
Hua Qingfeng whispered, “I helped you decline the dinner of the president of Star State. Our private plane shall take off at eight o’clock.”
“Okay, I get it.”
Li Huacheng turned around.
He wore a smile on his face, and his eyes were bright. His mind seemed to be immersed in the maneuver just now.
The president didn’t know Martial Arts.
But he could see the result.
He was very satisfied with Li Tianlan.
Very satisfied.
“Good.”
Li Huacheng burst into laughter, without hiding his mood at all.
It was his seventh year as the President of Zhongzhou State.
In another three years, Zhongzhou State was about to usher in a turbulent general election. And some of the undercurrents began to surge as early as last year and were getting more and more intense.
For Zhongzhou State, Li Huacheng had a clear conscience.
In recent decades, Li Huacheng had been a very successful president among previous presidents.
But he still hadn’t completed the overall arrangement of the Academics so far, which was undoubtedly his worry.
The appearance of Li Tianlan seemed to be a good remedy.
Especially from today on, his influence would not be limited to the Special Warfare System only.
This was exactly what Li Huacheng wanted to see.
“Thank you for all the hard work, Qingfeng.”
Li Huacheng glanced at Hua Qingfeng and smiled.
Hua Qingfeng smiled, shook his head, turned, and walked out of the room.
Walking in the corridors of the White House, he thought for a while and fished out his phone again.
He directly called a real-power higher-up in the headquarters of Shadow Sect in Zhongzhou State.
“Have you watched the final maneuver?” Hua Qingfeng asked straightforwardly.
“Yes, I have.”
A voice with some emotions rang out on the phone. “A twenty-two-year-old boy with the t.i.tle ‘His Highness’… Alas, among the younger generation, perhaps that person is really invincible.”
“Find a chance to get in touch with him,” Hua Qingfeng said.
“Cooperation?”
The person on the other end of the line was a little surprised.
“What else can we do?”
Hua Qingfeng laughed. “Are we going to make an enemy of him when we see that he is too powerful? We don’t have a conflict of interest.”
“What about Sword Emperor…”
On the phone, the man was a little hesitant.
He actually wanted to cooperate with Li Tianlan.
But w.a.n.g Tianzong’s intention to kill Li Tianlan was obvious.
No one thought he’d give up his murderous intention after receiving a call.
This time Li Tianlan could end up being slightly injured because w.a.n.g Tianzong was delayed by something. If they cooperated with Li Tianlan now, their future would be hard to see. What was worse, they would offend w.a.n.g Tianzong instead.
Sword Emperor of Zhongzhou State.
In the hearts of all the masters in Zhongzhou State, he was a mountain and an insurmountable peak.
In Zhongzhou State, few force groups dared to cooperate with Li Tianlan before a clear situation appeared and were basically not afraid of the revenge of Kunlun City and the w.a.n.g family of Beihai. The Shadow Sect, which had limited resources and little support, obviously didn’t have the courage at present.
“It’s all right.”
Hua Qingfeng’s face was gloomy for a moment, but he still insisted on his opinion.
He was very clear that at this time, those who dared to cooperate with Li Tianlan were leviathans who were not afraid of revenge. However, except for the Dongcheng Clan, such leviathans would basically not support Li Tianlan fully.
Most of what they did was just invest for the benefit that could be expected.
Today, Li Tianlan had an absolutely not weak background and strength.
There was a whirlpool around him.
But in Hua Qingfeng’s view, it was also a great opportunity.
According to the most basic process of the maneuver, Zhuang Huayang, the princ.i.p.al of the Sky Academy, accompanied Li Tianlan to the high platform in front of the stand. After delivering a very routine speech full of praise, he declared the East Emperor Palace as the first place of the team maneuver in the final exercise of the two academies this year.
It was actually tantamount to declaring the East Emperor Palace as the first place in the total credits of the two academies this year, without any suspense.
But the maneuver was not over yet.
Then there were different maneuver contents like the electronic invasion, mechanical manipulation, one-on-one actual combat, and so on.
If this year’s team maneuver was the battle of the top young talents, it was time for ordinary students to compete for credits and plot against each other in the following maneuver contents.
Together, the two academies had nearly 4,000 students.
The maneuver would officially end on August 10th.
There were ten days left.
Ten days later, the two academies would announce the first place in this year’s total credits and the first place in various maneuver items. At the same time, they would count credits, hold graduation ceremonies and commendation conferences, award graduation medals and various awards according to different levels.
At that time, the two academies would also hold something similar to the press conference together.
But there would be no reporters at the scene.
In addition to the heavyweights of Kunlun City, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of State Security, and the Headquarters of the General Staff, personnel of the military and various departments of the Special Warfare System would probably attend the conference and choose the students they needed.
So even if everyone knew that the two-academy maneuver this year had actually ended, today was just the beginning, according to the process.
But all this had nothing to do with the East Emperor Palace.
On the last day of the maneuver, Li Tianlan only needed to send a representative to make sure the future development direction of the East Emperor Palace as well as in which respects would Zhongzhou State offer support to the East Emperor Palace with the personnel of the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of State Security.
His heart had flown to the battlefield of Snow Country, which was destined to be chaotic and to the Samsara Palace that had collapsed.
“Tianlan, do you have anything to say?”
Zhuang Huayang finally finished what he thought was nonsense. Then he handed the microphone to Li Tianlan.
Li Tianlan took the microphone and stared at the crowded stand ahead, his eyes blurred.
He saw a lot of familiar people.
Gu Xingyun, whose face was gloomy, tried to smile.
Ye Fengcheng with a complicated face.
The enraptured and elated Li Baitian, who burst into laughter, was sitting in his wheelchair and talking glibly as if there were n.o.body else around.
Members of the East Emperor Palace surrounded him.
Han Donglou, the founder of Flourishing Age Fund, smiled and waved at him.
Han Xinyan was a little surprised.
Dongcheng Rushi, whose little face glowed with pride.
Different people with different moods.
But compared to the audience, the people he knew were few and far between.
More people were destined to have more moods.
Li Tianlan watched them silently.
The applause was heard again on the stand, getting louder and louder.
Everyone was applauding.
Li Tianlan froze for a while, then finally understood.
He finally had this day. He and the Li family had gradually been able to ignore the thoughts of others.
He stood here.
There must be flowers and applause ahead.
Li Tianlan laughed.
“For Zhongzhou State, the Li family has a clear conscience. The same is true of me to the Li family.”
His voice was clear and indifferent, and some of the content he said was still implicit.
But everyone knew what he meant.
For Zhongzhou State, the Li family had a clear conscience.
This, of course, referred to the case of treason many years ago.
Li Tianlan paused, and then he continued, “In the Dark World of the next century, three phrases are destined to be called great. Zhongzhou State. East Emperor Palace. Li Tianlan.”
He looked around. “The greatest phrases.”
At this moment, Li Tianlan was extremely calm inside.
But he, too, had unparalleled arrogance.
He was bathed in the sunlight from head to toe and seemed to be making threatening gestures.
It was the Li family’s first public statement after years of silence.
It was also Li Tianlan’s first declaration to Zhongzhou State.
Zhongzhou State, East Emperor Palace, and Li Tianlan.
All of them would be great.
The applause sounded again.
Everyone was clapping hard, whether they were willing or not.
At this moment, Li Tianlan may not know that he had created countless records in the histories of both academies because of this maneuver.
For the first time in all previous final maneuvers, the compet.i.tion ended ahead of time, without any suspense.
In all previous final maneuvers, he was the youngest and the strongest who took the first place.
In all previous final maneuvers, he killed and hurt the most people.
In all previous final maneuvers, his total credits were the highest.
He also won many other first prizes.
On this day, Li Tianlan, who was only 22 years old, stood here and swept through the joint efforts of several young Chosen Ones in Zhongzhou State in an absolutely invincible manner, destroying the cooperation of the six teams on his own.
To be exact, he alone shattered the entire age!
That was the age of the future.
The Chosen One rose.
Was it a blessing or a disaster for Zhongzhou State?