Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
After class entered, everyone shot out like an arrow from a bow. The training grounds had never been more popular, and people were starting to fight for spots. At the same time, they had to train the mecha they were good at, and maintain their condition in preparation for the big battle.
Wang Zheng stayed till the last. He had many questions that he wanted to ask Old Mentor, who had noticed him as well. He smiled. “Questions?”
“Teacher, I have a few.” Wang Zheng said. There were only the 2 of them left.
“Oh? Speak.” Old Mentor put down his book. His generation loved the old days, and preferred to write things out by hand rather than use the Skylink to record things.
“It’s about the powers we use. There are 3 main schools of thought, as you mentioned. The Mark of Life, the Major and Minor 5 Cycles, and the School of Mental Dominion. But they conflict with each other. How do we reconcile them? Wang Zheng asked. This question had been endlessly debated. Wang Zheng wanted at least some resolution, but he felt that each school of thought sounded perfectly reasonable.
Old Mentor smiled. “The Major and Minor 5 cycles and the Mental Dominion school actually originate from humanity’s 2 models of evolution. Physical evolution and mental evolution. In the end, the debate never stops on which is more suitable. But in truth, humanity is only suited for a complementary evolution, which means a simultaneous development of both physical and mental faculties. Otherwise, it will only lead to ruin.”
“Then, you mean that the Atlanteans’ evolution has its flaws?”
Old Mentor nodded. “I’m afraid that the Atlanteans had realized this point from a long time ago. They are strengthening their bodies through all kinds of methods as well, to complement their mental development. They can even slow the speed of their mental growth.”
“Extremes lead to ruin.” Wang Zheng followed.
Old Mentor smiled. “Perhaps ruin. Perhaps divinity. Who knows? At present, there are two beliefs in the human world. One type thinks the body as dominant, with the mental as the support. The other thinks the mind dominant, with the body as the support. They use one to trigger an improvement in the other. For example, Arbiter’s Space Despot is an excellent example of the former, while the latter is accepted by many ability X users.”
“You mean that an impetus method is better than a simultaneous method?”
“Not necessarily. What’s suitable depends on the individual. At the same time, the key lies in the method. There’s no universal way. The types of thought I spoke of is just a notion. One should not be obsessed with it in training. That would be a disaster.” Old Mentor laughed. Theories that were too abstract were not suited for this level of students.
Wang Zheng nodded. He wholeheartedly approved of Old Mentor’s words. As he reasoned, it seemed to get more understandable, only that his ability level was insufficient to apply it.
“Teacher, I met with a difficult problem when training. In the Saint world, there’s a training called Atomic Burst. Theoretically speaking, it can be explained by the Mark of Life, but in actual application, it’s very difficult.” Wang Zheng had spent many an hour working on the Atomic Burst skill, but the results had been less than ideal. It only looked flashy, which was useless to him. There were many ways to look cool. But the Atomic Burst was very dangerous, but an understanding of Atomic Burst seemed too good to pass up on. Wang Zheng believed that this was a theoretical gap he had, which meant that his knowledge was completely inadequate.
As for the World of Saints, the college teachers could not possibly not know about it. Li Poshan even held it in high regard. He felt that the World of Saints could be treated as an art, originating from life, but higher than life. The enlightenment inside could influence reality.
Old Mentor was taken aback. “You did that training?”
“Yes, I found it very meaningful. According to the existential compound material concept of the Mark of Life, then any material has a gathering point, which is the material’s atom. This is the strongest part of the material, but also the weakest. If it could be found, and then energy poured into it, then a disintegrating effect could be produced.
Wang Zheng felt that this was reasonable. He always had held an interest towards huge forces.
Old Mentor was exasperated. “Your ability X is only C rank, isn’t it?”
Wang Zheng nodded.
“Then don’t think about such iffy things. Focus on your foundations. To you, the 5 Cycles school or the Mental school are more suitable. The Mark of Life theory is only for you to gain an impression of. If you become obsessed with it, it will be counterproductive to your studies. You still need to improve more, step by step. Don’t try to jump the gun. Learning to fly before you can walk is impossible.”
Old Mentor encouraged the “bit off more than he could chew” student Wang Zheng, who could only nod.
Heaving his book, Old Mentor left. It looks like the teacher did not like students who sought shortcuts.
But to Wang Zheng, the more Old Mentor talked this way, the more interested he became. He was just a tad disappointed. He had thought the teacher would give him some pointers, but it had become a lecture.
With his ability, was this learning to walk before he could fly?
Suddenly Wang Zheng was stunned. From a different angle, it was!
He suddenly came to a realization. All the while, he had always pushed directly to further his understanding of Atomic Burst, desperately trying to look for that singular “point”. But on careful consideration, Old Mentor was not wrong. Looking down from the high view of the Mark of Life was not realistic, because he had not mastered that theory. Or rather, such a theory was an ivory tower. Useful for understanding, not useful for practical pursuits.
Practically, he should still look for answers through mastering the 5 Cycles school or the Mental school for answers. This was learning the basics.
Which meant to say that to find a substance’s bursting point, then firstly it needed to be classified. From either the 5 Cycles or Mental angle, if it was a non-living thing, that would be easier, because only the 5 Cycles angle was needed. If it was a living thing, then there were other factors. It needed to be considered from both perspectives at once. Given Wang Zheng’s current circumstances and training objective, he only needed to consider non-living objects.
For example, a stone. It belonged to the Earth of the 5 Affinities. Metal belonged to the Gold Affinity…
Wang Zheng thought as he walked, becoming completely immersed. It seemed like Atomic Burst also required mental energy, which needed to pervade the object.
How could he not have thought of it earlier?
As he thought, with a THONK, Wang Zheng had ran headlong into a lamppost with a yell. This had shaken him up from his musings.
Gold Affinity. Wang Zheng hugged the street lamp with both hands, channeling his Primordial Regression Technique in all ways. Primordial Regression Technique was a balanced affinity art. All the while, he had only been able to make Water, Fire, Wind respond, while the most common Gold did not. There had always been no answer, but now?
The fast channeling of the Primordial Regression Technique made Wang Zheng’s body enter its strongest state. At the same time, his mental energy enveloped the lamppost. Wang Zheng had a feeling that this was the key. Using the Primordial Regression Technique to forge a path of communication with the object, and then using mental energy to analyze it, the nucleus could be found.
But after a long while, there was still no reaction. He was clearly just a step away. Where lay the problem?
Wang Zheng hugged the street lamp, deep in thought. The Primordial Regression Technique was flawless. Was his mental energy too weak?
It seemed like it should not be a question of strength, but of his method.
Method… method…
Suddenly, Wang Zheng hit upon the answer. Blade Techniques!
The other half that he lacked, which Old Mentor had mentioned before. Both methods had to be mastered to completely realize the Mark of Life, otherwise one would forever float on the surface of power. A majority only pursued power, but neglected the basic nature. Yet, only mastery of the basic nature could not completely master the power, otherwise one was simply a user of the power, and not its dominator.
The enlightened Wang Zheng hugged the street lamp and fiercely kissed it a couple of times, to startled cries around him.
“Is this guy crazy? He’s been rubbing up against the street lamp for a long while, and then suddenly making out with it.”
“D*mn, my eyes have been opened today. I know some have an object fetish, but would never dream of someone having one for street lamps!”
“This is another world. It’s rumored some primitive tribes worshipped sexual organs. The lamp post is thick and long…”
Wang Zheng could not listen to this anymore. D*mn, f*ck, that was disgusting. This was worse than his lake jumping antics back in the day. He legged it out of there.
From then on, Elite Academy X had a new legend, about a street lamp maniac.
Titatitan Star had now become a haven for businessmen, explorers, and pioneers. With rich mineral resources and beautiful scenery, it attracted countless people from all over the Milky Way. Amongst these, tourists also comprised a substantial portion. This was something unexpected. In just half a year, Tita Star had changed greatly. Tita Star had been compelled to throttle the flow, and such a move had instead incited popularity. Personal and group requests to enter Tita Star grew and grew. In comparison, businessmen seemed less noticeable, although in truth they were the main force.
Under these circumstances, whoever could gain the Tita people’s support could be absolved of failure. No matter how badly one performed, or years of drought and famine hit, bountiful harvests were guaranteed. As for the future, everybody knew that at Titatitan Star’s current rate of construction, as long as they endured, the final sum would be a staggering figure, whether the fortune was made of their own hands, or by riding the rise of the market.
Yan Xiaosu had recently been so busy his forehead was steaming. Little Lucky Star’s investment on Titatitan Star made him feel a little embarrassed. The amount on the bill, compared to other companies which had received Tita’s official support, was the difference between a cat and a mouse.
He sighed. These huge financial magnates that spanned stellar systems were ferocious, like sharks that ate small and big fishes alike.
Yet, being small had its advantages, like being agile and adaptable. Besides, they had invested in daily products, and held hopes of becoming an “Interstellar Shark” one day.
Most crucially was that the brand would become big and strong on Titatitan. Titatitan Star had already become Little Lucky Star’s main battlefield. The Earth market had long been saturated. The suppliers’ customers had become set in their habits. As long as they continued to invent and maintain their edge, they could hold on to their territory. It was not that they did not want to expand, but the competition was about the same as well, and stealing another territory was no easy matter. The entire industry’s rules were fairly conservative as well, in order to avoid needless price wars.
