Inside the maze made of black bricks, Li Tianlan stood quietly, as if lost in thought.
It had been more than 10 minutes since Zhuang Huayang and Qin Ke left. During the 10 minutes, Li Tianlan remained motionless and silent, which seemed terrifying.
And it was not just him. Li Baitian and Ning Qiancheng were also silent. The two of them stood erect and still beside Li Tianlan, like two faithful guards who were firm but without any breath.
Yu Qingyan was smart, gentle and very patient, and she also sensed that Zhuang Huayang and Li Tianlan’s meeting was unusual, so she stood still and said nothing.
Only w.a.n.g Yuetong, standing at the end, kept looking at the three young men, even though she did not utter a single word either. Her eyes seemed to rest on Li Tianlan most of the time, and her interest grew stronger.
w.a.n.g Yuetong knew she was now in a bit of a precarious position because, in terms of feelings, when a woman took a strong interest in a man, it usually signaled the beginning of a good or bad relationship.
She was just 20 years old this year, and she couldn’t hold back her curiosity when facing Li Tianlan, who seemed to be full of mystery.
“Zhuang Huayang’s guarantees of his safety for one year with his personal reputation and the life of his whole family.”
“Li Baitian and Ning Qiancheng’s following.”
“The support of Yu Donglai, who was known as poison doctor and still has some influence in the secret service system of the Zhongzhou State until now.”
“What’s so special about Li Tianlan that he gets so much remarkable attention?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong was eager to do something. She couldn’t help but feel a desire to reveal all Li Tianlan’s secrets.
It was 20 minutes later.
Li Tianlan still didn’t make any move.
The atmosphere in this dead end of the maze was turning more subtle and oppressive.
Although it was a dead end, several groups of freshmen came here accidentally during the 20 minutes. It was a relief that none of them made any trouble as they saw the five quiet people. Since there was no way forward, everyone chose to retreat wisely.
The path of the maze was just beginning, and only a madman or a fool would rush to attack others at this moment.
It was 30 minutes later.
Li Tianlan remained the same. From the beginning to the present he seemed to have fallen into a state of utter strangeness, in which not even a hair was stirred from head to toe.
w.a.n.g Yuetong and Yu Qingyan didn’t feel anything yet because they were a little far from him, but Ning Qiancheng and Li Baitian were more and more surprised.
“Tianlan seems to be meditating?”
Li Baitian held it back for a long time, but finally, he couldn’t help whispering to Ning Qiancheng.
He was closest to Li Tianlan, and he could definitely feel Li Tianlan’s breathing becoming more and more stable and long with an indescribable frequency, which was completely consistent with the state of meditation.
Ning Qiancheng nodded, feeling as absurd and astonished as Li Baitian did.
Of course, w.a.n.g Yuetong and Yu Qingyan were too in astonishment.
w.a.n.g Yuetong took a step closer to Ning Qiancheng and asked quietly, “Is senior brother Tianlan really meditating?”
“I suppose.”
Ning Qiancheng answered with a smile of uncertain. It was probably the first time to have a freshman fell into a meditative state at the start of the entrance maneuver since the Sky Academy was founded decades ago.
The Martial Arts meditation was about the absolute concentration of mind. Most people needed to be in a quiet place and then slowly focus their attention.
Ning Qiancheng himself, for example, in a quiet environment, he required at least half an hour to an hour to get into the meditation state. And he was quite excellent amongst the younger generation, but what about Li Tianlan?
He was in the middle of a maneuver, surrounded by footsteps, but he seemed to meditate from the moment Zhuang Huayang left.
That was to say, he could be in a meditative state anytime and anywhere. What a strong mind state did it take to do that?
“He is able to meditate in a moment. With such a mind state, he is a marvel.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong praised, her eyes shining, and her smile turned more beautiful and enchanting.
All of a sudden, she found that she seemed to have really found a great treasure or a genius just because of her unintentional curiosity.
Li Baitian shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “Exactly, but it’s not a good time to meditate.”
“So, if I’m right, senior brother Tianlan should be making a breakthrough. The headmaster has made it clear that he should not have any scruples. That’s why he chose to break through and enhance his combat capability at this time.”
There was a note of expectation in w.a.n.g Yuetong’s voice that she hadn’t even noticed.
She longed to see the quiet and frightening young man at his most flamboyant. “Hey, guys, which realms do you think senior brother Tianlan is in now?”
“At least in the Ice-condensing Realm?”
Li Baitian said uncertainly, “He just said that his combat capability is similar to that of Brother Drunbility and mine, so he should be in the Ice-condensing Realm. If he breaks through, he will be in the Fire-flaming Realm?”
His eyes widened in disbelief as he narrated this.
In deep meditation, concentrate the will to the extreme, and then with an instant upturn, the breakthrough was achieved smoothly and the one was in the Fire-flaming Realm!
That sounded normal, but now Li Tianlan seemed to be less than 20 years old.
Across the Zhongzhou State, there were few Fire-flaming Realm experts at his age now.
If Li Tianlan did make the breakthrough, the list of the Zhongzhou State’s top 10 young experts might have to be rearranged.
“He’s moving!”
Li Baitian had become thrilled. Just as he was about to say something more, he noticed Li Tianlan moving out of the corner of his eyes before he blurted out the two words.
With that, all eyes were on Li Tianlan.
Li Tianlan’s posture didn’t seem to change, but he seemed to be straighter than before. His pendant hands were trembling, his fingers slowly clasping, and a quivering sound of knuckles rose thickly from within him, from top to bottom.
Suddenly he clenched his fists and opened his eyes.
In the air, a shrill whistle rose as he clenched his fists. With his fists at the center, a number of sharp or heavy winds cut through the air. It was invisible yet powerful.
Everyone present was dumbfounded!
“I… I…”
Li Baitian’s mouth twitched. He stared at Li Tianlan, speechless. After a while, he asked slowly, “Tianlan, you’ve broken through?”
“Yes.”
Li Tianlan’s eyes sparkled with relief. “I’ve broken through to the Qi-controlling Realm,” he said with a smile.
“…”
It was either the Fire-flaming Realm or the Ice-condensing Realm.
It was the most basic Qi-controlling Realm!
Li Baitian laughed or cried. “Congratulations… Congratulations… Tianlan, you’ve gone bad under Drunbility Cheng’s influence,” he said as if he was groaning.
He was not judging Li Tianlan’s low realm, but he just remembered that before they set off, Li Tianlan told Ning Qiancheng and him that he was about as strong as they were.
“At that time, Li Tianlan should not have entered Martial Arts. His strength was really like ours, only about two big realms away. What a modest person he is! He knows Drunbility Cheng for only one day, but how could he began to be Drunbility as well?” Li Baitian wondered secretly.
“Thank you, guys.”
Li Tianlan chuckled. He knew what Li Baitian was thinking, but he didn’t bother to explain. To explain that his combat capability was seriously inconsistent with his realm would really make others feel that he was not humble at all and would also make him bored.
He had made it clear to Zhuang Huayang that he would no longer keep a low profile, so whether he wanted to or not, he had to be strong all the time, and then Li Baitian would understand his current state.
Li Tianlan had figured out what to do before he came here when he chose to be low-key or pushy. What Zhuang Huayang said today really inspired him a lot. He knew how to follow good advice readily, but that didn’t mean he would easily change his way of life because of what others said.
However, Li Tianlan also knew that since Zhuang Huayang had come to him, he had little choice. The worst thing was to be a low-key person and did things with a high profile. His indomitable march on the path of Martial Arts did not mean that he was stubborn. Faced with a headmaster who probably had already known who he was, he would have unpredictable consequences if he didn’t make any compromise and change.
“Qingyan.”
Li Tianlan suddenly turned his eyes on Yu Qingyan and asked, “Do you know what they talked about when Senior Yu visited Headmaster Zhuang?”
He had to know if Zhuang Huayang knew his ident.i.ty. And if he did, then how did he get it? It determined Zhuang Huayang’s att.i.tude and stance.
“I don’t know.”
Yu Qingyan shook her head honestly. “My grandpa never told me about that.”
Li Tianlan nodded his head in silence, as if he had uderstood.
“Senior brother Tianlan, what are you worrying about?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong asked as she glanced at Li Tianlan with meaning.
Although Li Tianlan’s realm was so low that she was surprised, she still had a strong interest in him.
“I was just asking casually. Why are you so sensitive, junior sister Yuetong? Curiosity is not necessarily a good thing.”
Li Tianlan gave her a cool smile.
w.a.n.g Yuetong suddenly froze. At this moment, she finally found that Li Tianlan was a little different than before. At first glance, he didn’t seem to have changed, but now Li Tianlan was a bit sharper than half an hour ago. His last remark, in particular, mixed with softness and hardness. It seemed to be exhortation, but could also be seen as a warning to her.
She called him senior brother Tianlan, just to be polite, and he took the opportunity to call her junior sister. They were much closer in address, but from Li Tianlan’s manner, it was obvious that he did not pay attention to her at all.
w.a.n.g Yuetong raised her comely black eyebrows and giggled. “I was just asking casually too. It seems that you are more sensitive than me, senior brother Tianlan. But I think what the headmaster said is right. If you keep a low profile and hide your strength, how can those people who want to support you fight for you?”
She meant Ning Qiancheng and Li Baitian, but Li Tianlan thought of the people who had died for the Li family.
At this moment, Li Tianlan had a flood of thoughts in his mind.
He thought of the brilliance of the Li family, the nights as long as winter, the cold wet forest and the camp that had condensed too much unwillingness near the border, the vast desert and dazzling maze in Beijiang, Gu Yunxia on the platform with a mean and ugly face. Also, he thought of Yu Donglai who was willing to help him after so many years, even though he didn’t like him, and Qin Weibai…
A variety of images flashed through his mind.
Li Tianlan lifted his mouth and grinned from ear to ear.
His expression was as brilliant as the morning glow.
“You’re right.”
He looked at w.a.n.g Yuetong and laughed. “Then let’s go this way.”
He said as he raised his hand to point, but the direction that he was pointing at was a dead end of the maze, blocked by a wall of black brick.
“Uh…”
Li Baitian gave a wry smile, and asked, “How do we get through it? Knock the wall down?”
The maze of black brick was a completely enclosed building with walls, ceilings, and floors made of the same black bricks. Li Baitian wasn’t familiar with the maze, but he did know the blue brick. This kind of black brick came from the Qinzhou Province of the Zhongzhou State and was made of a certain kind of mountain clay, which was several times harder than an ordinary red brick. When he came in the maze, he smelled a kind of adhesive. And it was a military adhesive, so the bricks in front of them were all held together with a super strong adhesive. And as he observed, each wall in the maze was at least one meter thick.
Knock the wall down?
The idea was feasible in theory, and Li Baitian could do it. With all his might, he could knock down walls, but this was a large maze, and how many walls could he break? He would have worn himself down.
“Yes, knock it.”
Li Tianlan wore a bright smile, jerked the Human Emperor in his sleeve, and dropped it onto his palm.
He raised it with one hand and the Human Emperor stretched out in the air. Suddenly, there was the howl of wind and thunder, and the spear went out fiercely!
The point of the weapon smacked against the wall and sent sparks flying.
The black brick wall of three meters high and over one meter thick instantly collapsed with a bang, leaving bricks and stone splashing!
Li Tianlan looked calm and stepped forward.
“Smash everything, tear everything apart, the direction I go is my way, my life, my way of Martial Arts.”
“I will never stop until I die!”
Zhuang Huayang told him to give it a go if he trusted him.
Then he gave it a go.
The Human Emperor flew through the air with a roar and banged.
The second wall also shattered as he lifted his arms again.
Li Tianlan turned and disappeared.
“How could… how could this be the Qi-controlling Realm? Isn’t that bullying?”
Li Baitian shouted angrily after he froze for a few seconds, and then suddenly came to his mind.
He could also smash the black brick wall in front of them, but it would take all his strength. However, Li Tianlan, in the Qi-controlling Realm, broke two walls in a row effortlessly as if he was breaking gla.s.ses.
Li Baitian was already in the Peak of the Ice-condensing Realm, one realm ahead of Li Tianlan, who just broke through to the Qi-controlling Realm.
“Why didn’t he show the difference between us? Is that realm lost? Or is it eaten by a dog?” Li Baitian cried in his heart helplessly.
w.a.n.g Yuetong took Yu Qingyan by the hand to catch up with Li Tianlan quickly without hesitation. Pa.s.sing Li Baitian, she calmly explained to him. “Those two strikes just now were completely from the physical strength of senior brother Tianlan himself. Perfect strength and speed. If I’m right, he was born with incredible strength and the Wind and Thunder Veins.”
The Wind and Thunder Veins!
Li Baitian and Ning Qiancheng shook at the same time.
The so-called Wind and Thunder Veins referred to a Wind Vein and a Thunder Vein, which were very rare. With this kind of veins in the body, the owner’s body was quite different from others’. In other words, the owner had two more veins that connected the arms and the legs.
The Wind Vein could make its owner ultra-fast when they were born.
The Thunder Vein could give its owner innate immense strength.
It was almost impossible for a person to have both Wind Vein and Thunder Vein, and the situation was even rarer than the existence of an Invincible Realm expert. Its owner was specially born for the Martial Arts. They could become invincible in the same realm, and even kill people higher than their realm.
The owner of Wind Vein or Thunder Vein alone was the top expert that all the forces were vying for, let alone the one who owned both the veins. The person that had Wind Vein was born a.s.sa.s.sin, and the person that had Thunder Vein was born valiant general. Such a person was completely gifted in Martial Arts.
Was Li Tianlan really such a super genius who owned the Wind and Thunder Veins?
“Your Highness Yuetong!”
Li Baitian suddenly called out in a low voice.
“What?”
w.a.n.g Yuetong paused and turned to look at Li Baitian.
“Does Tianlan really own the Wind and Thunder Veins?”
Li Baitian asked her seriously. Once the problem was confirmed, he would have to report it to the person behind him.
When the owner of the Wind and Thunder Veins grew up, he or she would definitely become an expert in the Invincible Realm!
Moreover, they would be much stronger than the other experts in the same realm.
There were Divine & Holy Lists in the dark world dedicated to include the world’s Invincible Realm experts. The last Invincible Realm expert on the Divine List was stronger than the first on the Holy List.
This meant that the Invincible Realm experts had also actual strength difference.
An Invincible Realm expert with the Wind and Thunder Veins could at least be listed on the Divine List. Thus, whether Li Tianlan owned the two veins greatly mattered.
w.a.n.g Yuetong’s eyes sparkled with exceptional fever as she nodded and said, “Very likely!”
Li Baitian and Ning Qiancheng exchanged glances with each other and found they were both excited.
w.a.n.g Yuetong was definitely the authority on whether Li Tianlan had the veins or not.
It was because this w.a.n.gs’ Siren herself was a wizard with the Wind Vein, and she had a brother, who had the Wind and Thunder Veins!
His name was w.a.n.g Shengxiao.
He was now 23, half step to the Thunder-shocking Realm!
He ranked first among the top 10 young experts in the Zhongzhou State with another young genius.
“BANG!”
At that moment the third crash of the black wall broke out.
“Come on, follow him!”
As Ning Qiancheng said, they rushed in Li Tianlan’s direction.
In front of them, Li Tianlan held a silver spear and marched forward steadily without backing off or turning back.
Forward.
Raise his spear.
Knock down the wall.
The black wall in front of Li Tianlan was smashed one after another, but his movement was always stable and coherent.
One wall, five walls, 15 walls.
Ning Qiancheng and Li Baitian followed Li Tianlan.
w.a.n.g Yuetong and Yu Qingyan walked behind them.
The five people rampaged wildly through the maze.
Behind them gathered a growing number of other freshmen.
“How many walls can you knock down?”
Li Baitian took a glance at Ning Qiancheng and asked.
“15 or 20 at most. You?”
Ning Qiancheng then put on a bitter smile and looked at Li Tianlan, who didn’t show any tiredness after breaking 15 walls consecutively. He felt his mood at the moment was beyond description.
“The Wind and Thunder Veins of legend really are so terrifying?”
“Li Tianlan is so powerful when he has just entered the Qi-controlling Realm.”
“Then how scary will it be if the w.a.n.g’s genius, who has the Wind and Thunder Veins and is going to enter the Thunder-shocking Realm, launches his strength?”
“I should be just like you.”
Li Baitian looked gravely and said, “We’re about the same. After 20 walls, your willpower will be insufficient, and I will be short of breath.”
w.a.n.g Yuetong followed them quietly, but did not hear what they were saying at all.
Her eyes, which were so clear that they looked as if could reflect everything, were on Li Tianlan’s back all the time, unwilling to pay attention to other things for a second.
The ordinary figure in her sight was neither big nor strong, but now in this closed maze, it seemed as if he could smash all obstacles with his silver spear as he walked on. He looked like the only one who could move in the entire world and nothing could stand in his way.
He was obviously a man of average appearance and figure, but his every move at this time was giving out a kind of confidence and elegant demeanor, which made him glamour matchless. Every time he took a shot, he was magnificent.
w.a.n.g Yuetong’s eyes were rapt, full of fascination.
The crash of the black wall ahead continued, and the whole maze seemed to shake violently.
It was the fortieth minute since they entered the maze.
Li Tianlan smashed 35 walls and approached the exit.