The sun gradually tilted west, and the evening glow was already spreading across the sky.
The car sped along the Great Dao. After passing through a long tunnel, the outline of Langya City could be seen in the distance.
"Spectacular, isn’t it?"
Chen Ye, who was driving the small car, marveled in a low voice:
"Every ti I pass through the tunnel, every ti I see Langya City from this angle, I’m always completely awestruck by humanity’s technological creations."
The three people in the back seat looked forward through the windshield. Lu Xuan nodded slightly and said softly:
"Indeed."
From this angle, the view was filled with incredibly tall buildings, each one piercing straight into the sea of clouds, their tops out of sight.
And all these buildings, standing one after another, resembled a dense forest of giants, shimring with the cold light of steel.
With one hand on the steering wheel and the other outside the window feeling the rushing wind, Chen Ye said:
"I’ve seen the records. The tallest building in the Old Calendar Era was only a little over eight hundred ters high. But these ones here, the shortest is over a thousand ters, and the tallest is even over four thousand..."
As she spoke, she turned her head back. Her delicate features held a heroic air, and she broke into a clean, crisp smile.
"Let’s introduce ourselves. My na is Chen Ye..."
"Sis!!" The young man in the passenger seat let out an inhuman shriek. "Watch the road, watch the road, watch the road!!"
Chen Ye smacked him on the forehead and continued:
"This is my useless, sissy little brother, Chen Shu. We both study in Langya City... Our hotown is East Sea City, but this ti we’re moving to Langya City for good. What about you?"
Chen Shu was shocked and angry:
"Watch the road, watch the road, watch the road!!"
"Shut up, you little sissy!"
Chen Ye slapped him again. With a crisp sound, a red mark appeared on Chen Shu’s face, which was even more delicate than Chen Ye’s.
Lu Xuan watched this scene, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said softly:
"My na is Lu Xuan. These two are Qing He and Qing Ping... I’m also from East Sea City, here to study in Langya City."
The bickering siblings in the front seats froze.
Chen Ye started to turn her head, but Chen Shu grabbed her and held it in place.
"Just drive the car!"
Then, he twisted around himself and said in surprise:
"Hey, so we’re from the sa town? Where did you live? Maybe we were even neighbors..."
Lu Xuan said softly:
"Only I am from East Sea City. These two are from... hmm, around Wutong City, I believe. It’s quite far. As for , I used to live in the shantytown district."
The shantytown district?
The two siblings exchanged a glance.
Chen Ye said with a sigh as she drove:
"I’ve never been to the shantytown district. I was planning to go once before we moved for good, but it’s already been redeveloped by Longque Technology."
After a pause, she continued:
"I’ve heard my dad talk about the shantytown district before. He said the people there were good... Where are you going to study?"
Lu Xuan turned his head, looking at the scenery rushing past the window, and said softly:
"Langya University, I think."
"What a coincidence?" Chen Shu wrinkled his nose in surprise. "My sister is also at Langya University, but she’s a junior... My grades are much worse, so I’m at Federation University across the street from Langya University. I’m a freshman."
"I’m a freshman too." Lu Xuan smiled and nodded. "It is a coincidence."
"You can say that again," Chen Ye said casually. "We’re all from East Sea City, we all study at Langya University, and I even picked you guys up on the road."
"Speaking of which, do you two not plan on returning to East Sea?" Lu Xuan asked casually. "I heard you say you were moving to Langya City for good."
"Yeah." The smile on Chen Ye’s face faded quite a bit, and Chen Shu beside her also fell silent.
After a long mont, she spoke calmly:
"You must know about that incident a while ago. Everyone in our family died, so there’s nothing left to miss. At most, we’ll go back once a year to pay respects to our parents."
The smile on Lu Xuan’s face vanished.
"It’s all fate." Chen Ye gave a self-deprecating laugh, one hand on the steering wheel, the other drumming a soft, rhythmic beat on the car door.
"The day before it happened, I was on the phone with my dad, telling him to quit his job and co to Langya City with us. The next day, my dad had packed his things, written his resignation letter, and was just about to leave when he saw so big shots flying through the sky. Then it started pouring rain, so he decided to wait for it to stop before leaving."
She had popped a piece of bubblegum in her mouth at so point and was chewing it slowly.
"And then, the Cultists ca. It should have been fine, they just needed to hide in a shelter. But my dad was with the Inspectorate, and my mom was with the dical Bureau. They both had a little bit of Cultivation, so they ran to the front lines at the pass..."
The young woman suddenly slamd her hand on the steering wheel, and with a loud HONK from the horn, she choked up.
"Watch the road..." Chen Shu sighed softly and reached out to pat his sister’s shoulder.
Lu Xuan sat in silence. Qing Ping and Qing He exchanged a glance, and both lowered their eyelids.
Although the two of them were considered to be at the peak of power in the current world, they had spent years in Guangcheng Palace and had rarely witnessed the suffering of the Human World. Now, having just co out, they had already encountered one such tragedy.
"Fucking Evil Cult, fucking Sakata Heavy Industries!" Chen Ye slamd the steering wheel hard again, wiped away her tears, and quickly cald down, driving on in silence.
Chen Shu patted her shoulder again, trying to lighten the mood. He turned back and said, as if joking:
"My sister and I have an ambition. We’re going to study hard, beco important people, and then overthrow Sakata Heavy Industries... Sounds pretty ridiculous, right?"
But Lu Xuan shook his head and said softly:
"Don’t worry. Sakata Heavy Industries... it will collapse. It won’t be long."
From the day he set foot on the path of cultivation until now, when he could fight and kill an ordinary High-ranking Celestial Human, less than half a year had passed.
Lu Xuan was confident enough that he could beco an Earth Immortal within a few years, or even reach a higher level.
’Sakata Heavy Industries...’
A sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
The brother and sister didn’t take him seriously, assuming the young man they’d just t was just trying to comfort them, and they both just smiled lightly.
"You always have to look forward," Chen Ye said. "Actually, we weren’t sad for too long. We just have to look ahead. At least we still have a goal. At least we still have enemies."
Amidst their fragnted conversation, the car slowly entered the borders of Langya City. After stopping and starting at one traffic light after another, it finally drove into the downtown area just before the sun completely disappeared.
"Um... where are you guys headed?" Chen Ye finally asked, a bit belatedly and apologetically. "I forgot to ask earlier."
"It’s fine."
Lu Xuan glanced sideways at the streets, which were far more prosperous than East Sea City’s and even a bit more bustling than Wutong City’s, and chuckled.
"We don’t really have a specific destination. We were just going to rent a room at any hotel..."p>
"Oof, the hotels downtown are really expensive," Chen Shu cut in. They had grown sowhat familiar with each other after their earlier chat. "Why don’t you guys co stay at our place for the night?"
After a pause, he continued:
"Langya University assigned a house to my sister. It’s pretty big, with four or five rooms."
"Well..." Lu Xuan hesitated for a mont. Thinking that Xiaoyan wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow, he nodded and said, "Then we’ll be imposing. Speaking of which, universities assign houses?"
"Not usually." Chen Shu tilted his head up with a bit of pride. "It’s because my sister is amazing."
As they spoke, Chen Ye drove the car into a building’s parking garage, parked it securely, and turned off the engine.
Everyone got out of the car one by one. Glancing at the darkening sky, the young woman thought for a mont, then waved her hand magnanimously.
"Since this is your first ti in Langya City, I’m sort of a semi-host. It’s my treat. I’ll take you out to eat... The food at this one place is really good!"
Lu Xuan and the others didn’t refuse excessively. They followed the siblings through the extrely bustling long street, walking through the heavy traffic to a restaurant along the road.
The restaurant was in a great location, but it didn’t look particularly luxurious. On the contrary, the entire decor was simple and plain, but it was packed with custors, almost every seat taken.
The Backbone Tower.
"The Backbone Tower..." Qing He was a little surprised. "That’s a rather novel na."
Led by a waiter, the five of them entered the restaurant and took their seats. Chen Ye explained with a smile:
"I heard the owner was a great Swordsman. He retired from the world and opened this restaurant here. The na might be a little weird, but the food is even better than those ridiculously expensive places!"p>
They casually ordered a few dishes. The five of them ate and talked, and the food was indeed excellent. This was especially true for one of the signature dishes, whose na was even plainer than the decor: ’Stir-fried Greens’.
According to Chen Ye, only a few of the signature dishes were personally cooked by the big boss himself. After all, the restaurant had far too many custors...
Lu Xuan took a bite of the stir-fried greens and was slightly stunned. It was truly extraordinary.
It wasn’t just the dish, but also the person who cooked it.
With his current Divine Sense and attainnts in the Sword Dao, he surpassed even Celestial Humans and could rival an Earth Immortal.
Thus, in that single bite of greens, he tasted ’Sword Intent’. He subconsciously activated his [Taste] aperture to trace it to its source and, in a trance, he truly saw a peerless, dominant Swordsman, brandishing a longsword and slashing through ten thousand miles of heavy clouds.
A Swordsman at the Earth Immortal Level.
RING RING, RING RING!
His phone rang at that mont. Lu Xuan opened it and saw it was from Xiaoyan.
He smiled apologetically at the others and answered the call.
"Xiaolu, Xiaolu, guess where I am?"
"Hmm, from the sound of it, you’ve arrived in Langya City early, haven’t you? I’m having dinner with so friends right now, downtown."
"Eeeh? You’re so smart... Xiaolu, when did you make new friends?"
"I t two of them in the Kongtong Mountain Range, and the other two on the road. They’re also from East Sea City originally and study in Langya City."
"Too bad I’ve already eaten... Well, I’ll co find you tomorrow, then. My dad ca with ; he said he’s not leaving until he sees finish registration... Okay, I’m hanging up now! See you tomorrow!"
Lu Xuan hung up the phone with a smile. Across from him, Chen Shu stretched his neck out.
"Brother Xiaoluo, I think I heard a girl’s voice... Is that your girlfriend?"
Lu Xuan scratched his head.
"She’s... probably not, I guess..."
"Then she is!" A gossipy expression appeared on Chen Shu’s delicate face. "To be honest, Brother Xiaoluo, you’re the most handso guy I’ve ever seen. Your girlfriend must be gorgeous..."
SMACK!
"Eat your food. Why so many questions?" Chen Ye slapped him again impatiently. He clutched his head, looking wronged.
Lu Xuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
After glaring at her little brother, Chen Ye smiled at Lu Xuan.
"But speaking of which, I guess that makes your senior... You freshn all register on the fifteenth, right? You should be able to see a celebrity then."
"Oh?" Lu Xuan asked, a little curious. "What celebrity?"
Chen Ye’s expression grew a bit more solemn.
"I’ve only heard rumors, but there’s a direct descendant of an Immortal in this freshman class. He seems to have caused quite a stir. The noble lady of the Wang Family, Wang Zhiyao, often pays him a visit, but she gets the door slamd in her face every ti..."
Lu Xuan was slightly stunned.
Beside them, Chen Shu’s interest was piqued again. He leaned forward and said:
"I’ve heard about that too. Is it that direct descendant of an Immortal nad Wu Xiaoxu? His reputation is huge lately. He’s surrounded by followers wherever he goes, with lots of prodigies accompanying him. I hear he’s a top-tier expert himself..."
As he spoke, he glanced left and right and lowered his voice:
"I heard from a friend of mine that he’s at least at the Grandmaster level. I’m not sure of the specifics, but anyway, the top prodigies in our city, like Wang Zhiyao, hold him in extrely high regard..."
Lu Xuan’s expression turned a little strange.
But Chen Shu continued on his own:
"Brother Xiaoluo, you’re in the sa year as a figure like that. You might even be in the sa departnt, the sa class... You’d better be careful. Those kinds of big shots are the most temperantal."
This ti, Chen Ye didn’t argue, just nodded seriously.
"Right. I’ve seen Wang Zhiyao, she’s very powerful. For even her to hold him in such high regard, that Wu Xiaoxu... Anyway, Junior Lu, just be careful when the ti cos. But you don’t need to be too scared. If you happen to provoke him, just co find ."
Chen Shu chid in with a grin:
"Sis, you’re bragging again. You’re pretty tough, but against..."
Chen Ye gave him a slap without any hesitation.
Lu Xuan didn’t say much more. He just smiled, cupped his fists, and said:
"Then I thank you both."
User Comments
0 comments from readers