Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 122
"For this strike, by bending the shoulder outward by 7.5 degrees and raising the wrist slightly by 1.3 degrees, the blade edge will cut into the Armored Snapping Turtle's neck with the shortest path as well as the fastest speed, and the time will also shorten by 0.13 second. Okay, next time I will do so!"
Watching the battle video frame by frame, Li Yao nervously analyzed and calculated, at the same time he also drew motion trajectories and human structures one after another and listed a couple dozen dazzling formulas.
If an ignorant looked at the diagrams for the first time, he would think that he was solving some kind of complex mathematical problems.
After analyzing the video, if Li Yao still had the time, he would borrow some the common maintenance magical equipment at the campsite and help his fellow students maintain their equipment.
Amid the intense combat, every sword and saber would cut through over hundreds of demon beasts bones. Even if the equipment wasn't wrecked, its edges would crack, array glyphs would corrode, its structure would become fragile...these kinds of damages would definitely exist and the equipment must go through maintenance for it to be used again.
Li Yao wasn't repairing just any kind of equipment; he only repaired saber-type magical equipment that was sharp only on one side.
After experiencing multitudes of fights, he came to realize how ridiculously had he spent his winter vacation.
Any kind of equipment had hundreds of performance parameters and methods of use, for which a thorough in-depth study was required; even after a year or two, he may still not be proficient.
Whereas during the winter vacation, he actually modified eighteen weapons in one deep breath and also felt amazingly proud, believing how awesome he was.
Now it seemed that the magical equipment he modified had too many parameters that were flashy but had no substance; much of the effort was utilized in wrong places. His fellow students who willingly bought them at 30 to 40% higher than the original price had been truly swindled by him.
Fortunately, Li Yao had found the problem quickly and completely dispelled his unrealistic fantasy, treating himself as an ordinary 5th level Refinement Stage refiner and prepared to first clearly research the characteristics of saber-type magical equipment diligently to become a saber expert!
He helped his fellow students maintain their sabers and at very low cost. Earning the credits was secondary; the most important thing was to thoroughly research these damaged sabers by reversing the source of the destruction of these sabers and, thus, deeply understanding the characteristics of the sabers.
As far as Li Yao was concerned, those damaged sabers were like corpses, and he was performing autopsies.
Once he had performed autopsies on hundreds of thousands of saber corpses, his understanding for the saber-type magical equipment's structure and characteristics would absolutely be as clear as the sun and the moon.
Just like this, during the day he, Zhao Tianchong and Li Tieshan would form an Iron Triangle and constantly venture into the depths of the city, where they would pave a path filled with so much bloodshed, to the point that even the pestles could float. At the end of the day, they would be utterly exhausted.
At night, Li Yao would study the combat videos over and over again, to improve his shortest and fastest saber methods, becoming faster and stronger.
Late at night, while the others were completely tired and asleep, he would instead dismantle, repair, and maintain damaged sabers of all kinds of shapes and sizes with red eyes.
Vibrosabers, Flamesabers, Chainsabers, Long Sabers, Short Sabers, Daggers...dozens of saber-type common magical equipment available on the market, he would disassemble all of them several hundred times till his body had formed an instinct and he could completely disassemble and maintain them with closed eyes, or even while he was half-awake and half-asleep.
Only until now, he very meticulously began the second modification of his Heavy Vibrosaber.
However, this time, he was completely different as compared to the time during the winter vacation. Various advanced materials and complex array glyphs were piled in the corner of his brain, one by one.
Li Yao had a new understanding of the structure of the original magical equipment. He knew that these basic magical equipment had been repeatedly modified and sharpened by Master Refiners over the years; many performance parameters, which seemed to have been elevated, turned out to be a clumsy sleight of hand. It was like painting a snake with feet.
This time, all he did was thickened the front end of the saber blade, increased the weight, adjusted the center of gravity in accordance with his own characteristics.
While at the same time, he used the hand forging and tempering technique of the Hundred Smelting Clan from forty millenniums ago, altering the smooth edge of the blade into a slightly zigzag shape, increasing the overall destructive power while cutting.
The overall length of the saber had also been increased by 17.7 centimeters.
After the modification was finished, the overall weight had increased by 12.55%, which was suitable for someone with amazing physical attributes like his.
Under the high-speed slash, the jagged blade edge would emit a "Zoo Zoo!" howl, as though even the wind had been overtaken by the saber and sliced to death, giving out sad and shrill cries.
Therefore, Li Yao named this Super Heavy Vibrosaber "Windcutter"!
With Windcutter in his hand, Li Yao's killing intent became more intense. Since he could not rely on crafting magical equipment to fish out 30,000 credits, he must increase the efficiency of killing the demon beasts.
Unfortunately, along with the progress on the battlefield, the demon beast on the ground became fewer and fewer. After having been repeatedly searched, the suburbs had been cleaned completely; only a few demon beasts were lurking in the high-rise district where they made a last-ditch effort amid the ruins.
These demon beasts didn't dare to flee underground, for an even more intense contest was taking place there.
The underground battlefield belonged to Building Foundation Stage cultivators and Demon Generals, and even the Core Formation Stage cultivators and Demon Kings had taken up the stage, making them unable to easily step foot in.
The large-scale street fighting had already ended; all the civilians had been rescued, and the war had come to an end.
As for the remnants, they were still making a last-ditch effort at the center of the city. They were absolutely the most aggressive, most cunning, and the most frightening existence among the demon beasts.
If any low-level cultivator rashly rushed to the center of the city, he would only become a feast for the demon beasts.
Consequently, a majority of low-level cultivators turned their steps towards home.
Following which, the powerhouses of human and demon beasts began small scale searching, hiding, hunting, and anti-hunting contests.
For the demon beasts who were pushed into a corner, this was the final rush of madness!
0500 in the morning of the 27th day after the beast tide outbreak...
Li Yao, taking advantage of first light, was wiping the Windcutter with all his concentration; suddenly, he heard someone speaking outside the campsite.
Most of the juniors had returned to the institute, while the seniors and the others weren't at the campsite. Ding Lingdang and like professors, who were in Building Foundation Stage and above, were hunting high-level demon beasts under the ground. The campsite was empty, and thus, any sound was extremely clear.
He happened to hear Zhao Tianchon say with surprise.
"Form a team?"
"Ma Jian, you are a firearm cultivator who is proficient in 'gun fighting technique'. Among the freshman of the Federation's First Military College, you can also be counted as one of the top experts. You have a strong charisma. Yet, you can't even gather a few members?"
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yao opened the curtain to look, where he saw Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan speaking to three youths dressed in gray urban camouflage.
Among the three youths were two males and a female; all of them were approximately in their twenties and had bright piercing eyes, which gave off the impression of six searchlights.
With every action of their bodies, the patterns of the camouflage dress would also happen to change, giving a bit of stealth effect.
In addition, the three also carried multitudes of firearms.
The youth called Ma Jiao had a moderate build and carried an assault rifle. The other boy had a tall and stalwart build, lush hair, and carried a heavy machine gun. Whereas the female could be said to be far from being beautiful. She had a ponytail and her face was spotted with freckles. Two pistols hung on her waist and she also carried a rectangular case. God knows what kind of weapon was inside.
In this beast tide outbreak, students and teachers of all Nine Elite Universities came to participate in the battle. The largest participation came from the Grand Desolate War Institution and the Federation's First Military College.
The Grand Desolate War Institution was closest to the Verdant Tarn City and also had the Combat Department, a traditional combat course.
While the Federation's First Military College specifically fostered cultivators for the army. In the state of war, of course, it was duty-bound to participate.
Ma Jiao nodded and spoke with each word as fast as a firing bullets:
"Zhao Tianchong, we are old rivals and are well aware of each other's strength; I'm not going to speak nonsense!"
"Just like your Grand Desolate War Institution has a credit system and you will be awarded credits after the completion of the mission, our Federation's First Military College will reward handsomely with a higher amount of battle merits."
"However, only some shrimp soldiers and crab generals are left in the city's outer ring now. How much benefit can we actually obtain by killing a few common demon beasts daily?"
"Therefore, I wanted to take advantage of the end of the beast tide outbreak and head to the center of the city. Let’s. Do. It. Big!"
Chapter 177: So You're That Monstrous Genius? |
"Whoosh!"
Ma Jiao raised his wrist and a 3D blueprint of the city was projected from his crystal processor. An area full of high-rises was enlarged.
"Gold Phoenix Road is the financial street of Verdant Tarn City. There are high-rises on two sides of the road and interlinked walkways in the middle of the buildings. Underground, there are four crystal rail train lines passing through, extending in all directions. The shape is very complicated."
"This is the last stronghold for the demon beasts on the surface. Countless powerful demon soldiers lie in wait on the two sides of Gold Phoenix Road. This shall be the stage where we display our skills!"
"You want to go to Gold Phoenix Road?"
Zhao Tianchong's pupils suddenly contracted.
The financial district was certainly the last stronghold of the demon beasts of the surface. A lot of powerful demon beasts were congregated there. Even high-level demon soldiers were likely to exist. The danger was extremely high.
Of course, the likelihood of getting school credits and battle achievements was greatest in the financial district.
"You guys of the Federation’s First Military College haven't formed a team with your senior students?" asked Zhao Tianchong.
Ma Jiao bluntly replied with a faint smile.
"Of course we have senior students, but most of them aren't willing to form a team with us, freshmen. Even if someone is willing to take us to Gold Phoenix Road and kill demon beasts, they would take the bulk of the kills. We would have to split the few left overs. Why should we do that? It would be better to find a few powerful freshmen to go killing demon beast with and split the gains equally!"
Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan glanced at each other and nodded in secret.
Ma Jiao's words were correct. To form a team with powerful senior students would guarantee their safety to a large degree, but most senior students weren't willing to bring newbies to the battlefield where danger lurks on all side. The seniors would feel disdain for the newbies over the burden.
Even if someone was willing to take them, the distribution of combat achievements after killing the demon beast wouldn't be advantageous towards the students of the low grades.
After all, the seniors were strong. They would certainly kill most of the demon beasts. The lower grade students wouldn't be able to do well. They would only give moral support from the side and cheer the seniors on.
What was the point of that?
Ma Jiao saw the aura of flames within the eyes of these two. He knew he had moved them and he spoke emotionally and chuckled.
"Zhao Tianchong. You and I met each other in the Limit Challenge Competition. It was what I considered to be a life or death fight for several rounds. You should know my strength."
"This fellow student, Bei Jingjing, is a first class sniper. We also have our fellow student Chunyu Peng. He is the best heavy fire power user. By your side is Lu Tieshan from the Devil Fist Sect. I've heard rumors about him. He is an outstanding close-combat expert."
"We five are the cream of the crop of freshmen from our various universities. We have long distance firepower and we have close combat killing ability. If we form a team, we will absolutely be able to break through Gold Phoenix Road. What do you say?"
Zhao Tianchong swept a gaze at Lu Tieshan. The later whispered into his ear.
"How's this Ma Jiao's power?"
Zhao Tianchong nodded gently.
"He's very powerful. In the Limit Challenge Competition, I was almost knocked out by him several times. In the end, his score was only lower than mine by three points!"
Lu Tieshan's eyes flared.
"That's quite decent. Even though we had Li Yao's heavy suppressive fire in the past, in the end, he's not a professional gunman. We have to exert a lot of effort to handle long-range demon beasts. It is because of this that we haven't been able to enter dangerous areas amassed with demon beasts. Right now, there are three powerful gunmen. It should be easy to charge into Gold Phoenix Road, right?"
Zhao Tianchong thought for a long while before raising his head and speaking.
"Ma Jiao, there aren't any problems for us to team up. However, we still have one more member. Everyone must go together, otherwise, we won't go."
"Oh, your Grand Desolate War Institution still has another amazing freshmen?"
Ma Jiao eyebrows cocked up. He was a bit surprised.
However, based on the meaning behind Zhao Tianchong's words, this freshman should be quite the decent expert.
If so, Ma Jiao wouldn't mind.
These firearms cultivators were experts in long distance combat, but they had problems once high-level demon beasts broke through their defensive force.
Therefore, in the midst of battle, they needed protection from sword cultivators and body practitioners.
The Federation’s First Military College also had a combat department, but it was a long way from the Grand Desolate War Institution's combat department.
This was also another reason why Ma Jiao didn't recruit his classmates, seeking to form a team with Zhao Tianchong instead.
If it was a close combat expert on the level of Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan, Ma Jiao would naturally welcome him!
But for some reason, Zhao Tianchong's expression was a bit warped. He coughed for a while and spoke.
"He's not of the combat department. He's a freshman of the refining department."
"Refining Department?"
Ma Jiao and the three others were stupefied on the spot. The looked at each other, "The Grand Desolate War Institution still has a Refining Department? Oh, I remember now. It seems like they do. I saw some news about them online last year. Apparently, an accident happened in your Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department. Several people died."
"But why the heck should we bring on a student of the refining department? To help us maintain magical equipment? We won't need it. This operation won't last for a very long time. At most, it'll take a day and a night. As soon as the situation goes bad, we will retreat. The wear and tear on our magical equipment won't be too critical. Also, we can do the simpler maintenance ourselves!"
"That's right. Bringing an extra support member is just an extra burden. We will need to split our gains with him when we kill demon beasts. Do we have to bring him on?"
The female sniper Bei Jingjing spoke coldly.
The buff and sturdy firepower user, Chunyu Peng, was nodding his head over and over.
Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan were all young geniuses of the north with quite the reputation. They had heard rumors of them. They were assured by the power of Grand Desolate War Institution's Combat Department. Therefore, they were willing to team up with them.
But a freshman of the Grand Desolate War Institution's Refining Department?
What was the point of bringing such a person?
Bluntly speaking, what if they encountered a high-level demon beast and had brought along such a burden. Everyone wouldn't be able to escape!
Lu Tieshan saw the doubtful expression on these three faces. He hurried to explain.
"Even though he is a student of the refining department, he acts as the role of a heavy firepower user on our team."
It was better if he didn't explain, for this explanation caused the three to laugh. Ma Jiao could not recover from his laughter.
"It can't be. Do you still want to bring on your on heavy firepower user when forming a team with us firearms cultivators? I must have heard wrong, or have you misspoken?"
The firepower user, Chunyu Peng, cracked a smile. He slapped the heavy gun on his waist and spoke in a low and muffled voice.
"The Flaming Python Model 7 Heavy Machine Gun is the most popular standard heavy machine gun in the federation. Its firepower is the most ferocious. Its recoil is the strongest. A typical person wouldn't be able to control it at all. A firearms cultivator whose strength is on the weaker side won't chose this model. What do you think? Do you still believe we're lacking in firepower? That you still need to bring on your on heavy firepower user?"
