Chapter 042 – The Target this Time
Translated by: BerrryBunz.
Edited by: Robin, Leo and De Andre
The gust of wind from the fist behind the Cross Door reverberated.
In the place where time does not flow, Tang Tian stood alone, unwavering from start till end.
Minute Collapsing Fist’s deep and low sound lingered in the ear, his True Power was like the strings of a musical instrument, one after another, patiently plucking, an extremely simple yet dull and uninteresting way of practising, as the timer quietly counted down. Sweat had long soaked his clothes, with vapour ascending from his body. Tang Tian was like a machine, repeatedly doing the same action over and over again.
Every punch was filled with sweat, every punch was a battle.
No one talked to him, he could only hear the wind from his fists, his violent heartbeat, and drops of sweat trickling down onto the stone floor with a dripping sound.
It was extremely dry and dull, with no excitement, repeatedly throwing out the familiar martial techniques that he had already reached the pinnacle of. Practise, meditate, practise again, meditate again…
Other than the last time, when he was close to fainting into deep sleep, Tang Tian did not waste a bit of time at all.
He was extremely tired, and as long as he closed his eyes, Tang Tian would just fall asleep.
It was really a challenging battle…
The number on the Cross Door jumped from 100,000 to 200,000, before reaching today’s 990,000.
The amount of effort and sweat Tang Tian has given, only the Cross Door knew.
Tang Tian’s face did not have his usual laughing and cruel look, only concentration. The usually calm and straight face was replaced by painful expressions, as though he was cut by blades, and the pain was even in his eyes.
His vision was on chasing the images of his fists.
Suddenly his body shook, and a flash of understanding was triggered in his body.
A short, indescribable tremble started from the third tier Dantian pool,
“Collapse!”
With a sudden, thunderous shout, Tang Tian moved his leg as fast as lightning, and one punch exploding out!
True Power emitted from his entire body, like countless strings being simultaneously pulled, while countless wave motions, similar to ten thousand sound waves, were converging on the fist Tang Tian released.
Tang Tian’s fist hit the fog wall without sound and without notice.
Plop!
The sound was extremely soft, as if it did not use any power at all.
This punch practically exhausted all of Tang Tian’s True Power. The exhaustion brought about a blank state of mind, but he maintained the posture of the punch, and did not move at all.
Huff… Huff..! ( breathing sound)
Heavy breathing like he were a bellows, sweat trickling down Tang Tian’s cheeks, his sharp and edged face seemingly frozen like a statue.
Huff… Huff… Is it completed…? Hu….
Bang!
The fog wall in front of him suddenly became like an avalanche, forming countless small granules of the fog wall that disappeared into the air.
Huff…. Completed….
His entire surroundings started spinning.
Was it time yet?
Returning to his room, Tang Tian lay on the floor snoring loudly.
He did not know how long he had slept, but as he groggily woke up, it was already night, and hunger took over his body. While his hands and legs were weak, Tang Tian felt that he could eat an entire cow by himself.
“Food, food, hurry and come out, hurry and come out…”
Tang Tian swallowed his saliva and muttered, crazily looking for food. Luckily, everyone at Caramel Academy was a foodie, and with the great distance to Star Wind City, there was an abundance of food stocked up. Tang Tian quickly took out a few big biscuits and swallowed them whole.
Suddenly, his gaze landed at the training grounds.
Ah Mo Li was leaning on the fence, apparently pondering on some stuffs.
Housefly Cow….
Tang Tian was confused. If Housefly Cow was muttering words of cultivation, Tang Tian would have pretended he did not see as that rascal was a cultivation freak. But it was rare to have such a worried look on his face.
With a biscuit in his mouth, Tang Tian rose and appeared right beside Ah Mo Li.
“Housefly Cow, are you thinking about something?”
Ah Mo Li raised his head and muttered: “We’re going to the Starry Door tomorrow and I… I’m a bit nervous.”
Astounded, Tang Tian comforted him: “Don’t worry, this G.o.dlike young lad will help you!”
Having been with Ah Mo Li for so long, Tang Tian understood him very well. Although Ah Mo Li may looked crude and strong but on the inside, he was an extremely kind and cowardly person.
“I heard if you open the land this way, it will be very dangerous…” Ah Mo Li continued to mutter.
“What’s there to be afraid of!” Tang tian slapped onto Ah Mo Li’s shoulders: “You’re a man who is going to create his own Martial Dao! You just have to see it as a type of cultivation and there’ll be nothing to worry about! Whatever danger we face, we will destroy it together!”
Ah Mo Li’s looked more relaxed and he asked suddenly: “Fundamental Tang, aren’t you afraid?”
“Nope.” Tang Tian leaned on the fence and munched on his biscuit as he said: “I’ve thought about it. I will retrieve the number one spot for Old Fart Wei. He has given me the Crane-Style Qi Manual, and he is a good man. Although I don’t know what Old Fart Wei is good at, or why he is defending Caramel Academy, I think he has his own reasons. Everyone has something they want to fight for. Since this is what Old Fart Wei wants to do, I will help him. I want to defeat the others, obtain the first place position and give it to Old Fart Wei. With the pa.s.ses, Caramel Academy will be very powerful. Then, i will ask for Old Fart Wei to bring Master Cen into Caramel Academy. Master Cen is a very good master. Once I have done all this, I will go ahead and find Qian Hui with no regrets, onto Heaven’s Road. Oh, this is my target this time. I need to complete it.”
“Number… Number one….” Ah Mo Li stared blankly.
“Mmhmm.” Tang Tian said as he ate his biscuit: “When this is over, I want to find Qian Hui. Even if I’m leaving, I must bring victory with me so I won’t have any regrets.”
Ah Mo Li was bewildered.
Tang Tian suddenly turned to face him: “Housefly Cow, why do you want to create your own Martial Dao?”
Ah Mo Li came back to reality and scratched his head: “When I was young, I thought it was very suave. When I grew up, I didn’t know why, either. Everytime I think about it, I’m very pa.s.sionate and motivated. Maybe I felt like this is something n.o.ble.”
“Then, are you afraid?” Tang Tian bit onto his biscuit: “Afraid that after putting in so much effort, you might get nothing in return? Afraid that even though you place your hard work into it, you might be getting farther away from your goal?”
Ah Mo Li shook his head: “What’s there to be afraid of anyway, it’s cultivation, and a very cool target. How suave is that. How boring would it be if there’s no change in everyday life! Since I’m still young, I can do whatever I want. I will just probably feel a bit pitiful, that’s all.”
“So why are you afraid of fighting?” Tang Tian finished munching on the last piece of biscuit, turned, and looked at Ah Mo Li very seriously: “You practiced so hard, and cultivated so much to create your own Martial Dao. All Martial Daos were created for victory. What’s the meaning if you create a Martial Dao that doesn’t bring victory? Only when you fight can you achieve victory. Each victory is like a stepping stone, and with each victory, you are one step closer to your target. Your enemy is getting stronger, and to defeat them, your Martial Dao must get stronger and reach perfection.”
“Starting with tomorrow’s fight, defeat one enemy after another and don’t fear failure nor death. Never retreat!” Tang Tian said: “Let’s destroy all of them side by side with one another!”
Tang Tian raised his right palm.
The first ray of the sunlight peered through the forest and fell on the young lad’s palm.
Ah Mo Li was electrified. As if something had a breakthrough, he said seriously: “Fundamental Tang, you’re right! There is absolutely no meaning if I can’t create a Martial Dao that leads to victory!”
Slap!
The two palms clapped in midair.
“Destroy all of them!”
The two shouted in unison and laughed while looking at each other.
The security at the Starry Door was tight.
This Starry Door was situated in a karst cave amongst desolate mountain and valleys. They had re-expanded the karst cave and it was obvious that the work was done not too long ago, as the scars of the hatchet were still apparent.
In front of the Starry Door, many academies waited to enter.. Surprisingly, the City Lord had declined the suggestion for another application. But those who had applied and were chosen could form a team and fight with the other academies.
Tang Tian studied the Starry Door carefully, and suddenly noticed a striking similarity between the Cross Door of his, and the Starry Door before him. Other than the cross sign, there was not much difference.
Unless the light door was a Starry Door as well?!
But how could the Cross Door then be inside of his own body?
Okay… this question seemed a tad too complicated…
The first batch with the approval to enter the Starry Door was Crystal Sky Academy. The one leading the students was the Princ.i.p.al of Crystal Sky and Sima Xiang Shan, but the faces of everyone else were stern and solemn. The second batch was the Northern Yan Academy. Similarly, leading them was their Princ.i.p.al, but the pretty female students matched with swords looked so beautiful and graceful. It was truly a splendid sight.
Tang Tian could recognize Han Bing Ning right away and jumped and waved as he shouted: “Aha! Young Lady, Young Lady! Good luck!”
Han Bing Ning footsteps turned sluggish and the female students behind her lowered their head and giggled.
“Oh, is that Tang Tian?” the Princ.i.p.al who was standing right in front suddenly turned and asked.
Han Bing Ning returned to reality and replied quickly: “Yes, Princ.i.p.al.”
“Indeed, he is a talented young lad!” the Princ.i.p.al of Northern Yan complimented.
Talented young lad…
Han Bing Ning’s eyelid twitched.
“Yuan Yuan! All the best!”
Tang Tian’s shout rang once again. Han Bing Ning could almost imagine how Shen Yuan was itching to hide somewhere, and her expression became calm.
Truly, blissfulness was gained by competing…
When it was Andrew Academy, the crowd gasped for the first time.
“What a powerful Spirit General! What a powerful aura!”
“It must be a famous General Card!”
“Isolated Spirit Spear! Geez! It’s Isolated Spirit Spear!”
……
…
The shrilling scream travelled to ears. Zhou Peng had no ounce of ego. He stared angrily at Tang Tian. his eyes were filled with an intention to kill.
Tang Tian looked at Zhou Peng and saw him staring back at him. Right away, he had an idea and whispered something to Ah Mo Li. Ah Mo Li nodded and looked at Zhou Peng with ill intentions.
The two split up and stood facing one another.
The two started to make weird moves and immediately, it attracted the attention of the people around them.
Only to see Ah Mo Li started to mimic Zhou Peng. while pressing onto his throat, he said with a tone that sent chills down one’s spine: “Aiyoyo, isn’t this the Tyrant Tang of Andrew Academy? Why does he look so tired?”
Tang Tian then mimicked the same way, with a smirk: “Great, I never thought you would send yourself here!”
Tang Tian brought out his fists slowly as Ah Mo Li stared at him with his big eyes. He puffed up his cheeks as if he was using a h.e.l.l lot of energy and pulled out his palm slowly.
The fist and palm touched each other lightly.
Ah Mo Li then suddenly held his palm and screamed in a voice that was even more shrilling: “I am going to kill you! I am going to kill you!”
At this time, his beastly stature imitated a scene where he started twisting, as if he was injured. It was terrifying.
The two directed and acted out the scene on their own. They could no longer take it anymore and started bursting into laughters. The people around them then realised they were re-enacting the conflict between Zhou Peng and Tang Tian. This news had already spread out. Unexpectedly, the two were actually re-enacting the day’s incident. Ah Mo Li’s acting was superb and many could not help but laugh.
Zhou Peng’s face was burning hot. His fist was clenched so tightly that his fingers were turning white. Those mocking gazes had humiliated him like never before.
Tang Tian! Ah Mo Li!
I want to turn your bones into ashes when you die and throw them away!
Pa!
Tang Tian and Ah Mo Li high-fived one another happily.
“You were so cheap when you acted it out!” Tang Tian pointed out a thumb.
“Thanks for the compliment.” Ah Mo Li bowed respectfully.
The two laughed and made Zhou Peng’s silhouette looked even more pathetic, even the Spirit General seemed to be dull and faded. Even the people of the Zhou Clan subconsciously distanced themselves from Zhou Peng. This move by Tang Tian and Ah Mo Li was truly too vicious.
After a long time, it was Caramel Academy’s turn.
“Let’s go in!” Old Fart Wei walked at the front, his face congealed. In his hand, he held onto a worn out and stained blade. It looked as if he found it from a garbage bin.
Tang Tian and Ah Mo Li followed tightly and stepped through the front gate.