Chapter 467: Long Time No See |
June 8th. The Interval Period was almost over. In two days, the Fire Thief would release new rules.
During this time, aside from meeting Ye Dang once and going to Black Star’s place to collect Flowable Mind Power, Guan Tong had basically spent all his time alone, keeping company with his own Shadow.
Ever since the last Interval Period when he had tinkered with the “elasticity” trait on the Shadow, he had been using it every few days.
Not only did he use the Shadow as a slingshot, but he also tried using a long pole shaped from the Shadow to pole-vault, or pressing different volumes of heavy objects on it to test how much it could bend.
The core goal of all these actions was to continuously develop the elasticity attribute, making it more and more “bouncy,” and also making himself more and more adapted to that elasticity.
What could an ultra-elastic Shadow be used for? Guan Tong had been thinking about that question over the past few days as well.
Aside from what he had previously considered—using the Shadow Armor as battle armor to enhance his own combat ability—he had also thought of another aspect: its application in a space environment.
Earlier, when he had boarded the Spaceship to go into space to eliminate the Scarlet Fear, he had tried releasing part of the Shadow outside the ship to materialize it. He had then discovered that the Shadow in the space environment would be eroded by radiation, bent by gravitational forces, and so on.
Later, he had watched the Dialoguer’s live stream discussing “Meltstar,” and after the rules ended, he had looked up related popular science, learning that with humanity’s current technological level, there was no way to reach it in the short term. Mind Power item assistance would be necessary.
Teleportation-type items couldn’t be used in space, but the Body Swap ability was unaffected. If Guan Tong could find a way to first get the Shadow, or any Mind Power item belonging to him, onto Meltstar, he could activate the ability and arrive on that planet in an instant.
Of course, it was easy to think about roughly. Actually putting it into practice was a different story. Not to mention that his Shadow couldn’t extend infinitely; trying to stretch it from Tianshui Star all the way to Meltstar was pure fantasy. Even if he could swap positions to get there, Meltstar was simply unsuitable for human habitation. Its surface temperature of several hundred degrees would completely roast a person.
But regardless, the stronger the Shadow’s adaptability in various environments, the better. Just like Guan Tong was constantly improving, it too needed to keep strengthening to keep up with demand.
After waking up in the morning, Guan Tong ate something and was about to continue his regular training. He hadn’t expected to receive a phone call right at the start.
Seeing the caller, he answered with some surprise: “Sigaochin?”
“Teacher Guan, good morning.” The unmistakable voice of Sigaochin came through the receiver.
Although the two of them had exchanged contact information, they had never reached out unless it was something important.
“Is something up with Yelanka?” Guan Tong asked. He knew the only possibility for Sigaochin to contact him was if there was some situation with Yelanka’s side.
“Yes,” Sigaochin said. “I’d like to ask, Teacher Guan, do you have any free time in the next couple of days? If you do, I hope you could come to Xisiya and help the Administrator with some combat training.”
“What? Combat training?” Guan Tong was very puzzled upon hearing this. “Does Yelanka... still need to fight people right now?”
Earlier, the internal enemies within Xisiya had been swept clean under their joint efforts. Yelanka’s position as Administrator had been completely stabilized through this period of time. Could there still be a situation requiring the nation’s highest decision-maker to personally go into battle?
“The Administrator places great importance on her own strength. Especially recently, when she discovered that her Mind Power... I’d better not go into the details over the phone. Anyway, Teacher Guan, do you have the time?”
Hearing Sigaochin’s hesitant tone, Guan Tong grew curious. He didn’t really have anything to do in these two days before the rules were released. Making a trip would be fine.
“Alright, I’ll come over in a bit.”
“Good. The Administrator will be resting today. Just come directly to the Koniya Manor,” Sigaochin added, “Oh, and before you come, give the Administrator a call and tell her you want to help on your own, okay?”
“You mean, you don’t want her to know you contacted me?”
“Yes. The Administrator doesn’t want to trouble Teacher Guan easily, and she wouldn’t want me to do so either. But out of my own selfish reasons, I think she needs some of your help right now.”
“...Alright.”
“Thank you.”
After hanging up Sigaochin’s call, Guan Tong called Yelanka.
The phone was answered after just two rings. Yelanka’s voice carried a hint of pleasant surprise: “Teacher?”
Her extremely crisp Beixing pronunciation had always left a deep impression on Guan Tong.
Guan Tong asked, “Yelanka, long time no talk. How have you been?”
“I’m very well. And you, Teacher?”
“Not bad either.”
Guan Tong thought to himself, since Sigaochin said not to mention her contacting him, how could he reasonably come up with a reason to offer to help Yelanka train?
“You...”
“Teacher, did Sigaochin ask you to contact me?”
“...”
“I guessed it,” Yelanka said.
“Alright, then she can’t blame me,” Guan Tong admitted. “She asked me if I had free time to come to Xisiya and help you with some combat training. I agreed, and I was also thinking, since it’s been a while, I might as well come to Xisiya and see you. What do you think?”
“Sure.” Yelanka seemed very happy hearing Guan Tong say that, her tone lifting noticeably. “Then come on over, Teacher. Do you need me to arrange someone to pick you up?”
“No need. You’re at the manor, right? I still remember the location.”
After settling that, Guan Tong used Body Swap, first moving to Black Star and White Star’s bar base, then heading to the manor.
On the other side, Yelanka hung up the phone and thought for a moment. In the end, she still didn’t call Sigaochin to talk about it. She knew that Sigaochin, at the end of the day, was doing it for her own good, believing that Guan Tong could help her improve.
And besides, there was no time to say anything now. She knew Guan Tong had long-distance movement abilities and would probably arrive at the manor very soon. She needed to prepare herself at least.
She got up and went to the dressing room. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was still wearing her usual work clothes—a shirt and trousers that reeked of office monotony.
“...I need to change!”
......
After Guan Tong arrived at the manor, the tall, black-uniformed Sigaochin was waiting near the entrance. Seeing him arrive, she directly led him into the manor.
As the two walked toward the inner courtyard, Guan Tong asked, “What was it that wasn’t convenient to say on the phone? Does it have to do with Mind Power?”
Sigaochin nodded. “To be honest, as the Administrator’s Mind Power continues to rise, I—as her combat sparring partner—have been increasingly unable to keep up with the pace of her strength growth. The effectiveness of our sparring sessions has also been getting worse and worse.”
“Although the Administrator has never expressed disappointment to me, I know she very much wants to further improve her strength. But I can’t rest assured about finding other top-tier Ascendants to spar with her. After all, she is the Administrator of Xisiya. Safety concerns must always come first. So I thought of you, Teacher Guan. You are trustworthy and would never harm the Administrator. And with your strength, helping her with combat training is definitely no problem.”
So that’s how it was...
Guan Tong nodded. What Sigaochin said was correct. If Yelanka needed to find a combat sparring partner or trainer, the available options were far too limited.
As the Administrator of Xisiya, safety was the most important issue. Even top Ascendants within the country could be bribed by enemies. If someone were to suddenly launch a killing move during training, the consequences would be unthinkable.
But Guan Tong remembered that Sigaochin, as Yelanka’s number one expert, was at least at the top-tier level. If even she was no longer effective as a sparring partner, then Yelanka’s strength... had improved that quickly?
He suddenly thought of something and asked, “Does this have to do with faith power?”
Sigaochin had been hesitant on the phone when mentioning Yelanka’s “Mind Power.” It was obvious that the latter’s rapid strength increase was directly linked to her rapid Mind Power growth. The Dialoguer had only proposed the “faith power” theory a few days ago, so Guan Tong certainly wouldn’t have overlooked it.
Faced with the question, Sigaochin didn’t answer. She simply said, “Please ask the Administrator herself about that.”
The two arrived at the inner courtyard. Yelanka was just coming out of her room.
On her feet were a pair of sheepskin short boots. She was wearing a velvet long dress, the color of which resembled deep autumn leaves—a dark, mossy green. The high-waist design flowed smoothly down her slender figure. The hem and cuffs were embroidered with red and white patterns—simple yet adding accents to the serene dress.
She seemed like she hadn’t worn this outfit in a long time and was slightly stiff. But she still walked over with a smile. Her light golden hair, reaching her neck, drifted in the breeze, occasionally brushing against those amethyst-like pupils. The whole person seemed like an elegant maiden stepping out of a classical oil painting.
Guan Tong had originally wanted to greet her but found himself momentarily at a loss for words. Sigaochin beside him was also very surprised by Yelanka’s attire. The look in her eyes as she regarded her was both amazed and very complicated.
“Teacher, you’re here. Sigaochin, thank you for bringing Teacher over.”
“It’s nothing... Administrator,” Sigaochin said in a low voice. “Forgive my bluntness, but this outfit of yours is not suitable for combat training.”
A trace of surprise flickered across Yelanka’s pure face. Clearly, she herself had forgotten that Guan Tong had come to help her with combat training.
“Ahem, it’s fine. I think... it’s very beautiful. As for combat training, we can change into something else then,” Guan Tong said after snapping back to reality. “Besides, it’s been a long time. There’s no need to start swinging swords and guns right away. Let’s sit down and talk first. What do you think, Yelanka?”
“That’s what I was thinking too,” Yelanka said, feeling very lighthearted hearing Guan Tong say that. “Then let’s go sit in the garden pavilion for a bit.”
“Since Teacher Guan is here, there’s no need to worry about the Administrator’s safety,” Sigaochin said. “Please allow me to excuse myself to deal with some leftover work.”
Yelanka gave a slight nod. “Alright, go ahead.”
After Sigaochin left, the two walked along the garden path toward the pavilion.
The sunlight filtering through the tree canopy cast dappled spots of light and shadow over them. After a few seconds of walking in silence, Yelanka turned her head to look at Guan Tong. “Teacher, thank you for coming to see me.”
Guan Tong felt a little embarrassed hearing that. “Actually, if Sigaochin hadn’t called, I might not have thought to come see you. It’s not that I didn’t want to, but since you’re the Administrator and usually very busy, I didn’t want to disturb you casually.”
Yelanka said softly, “Actually, I also... thought that Teacher was usually very busy and didn’t know when would be a good time to reach out.”
“I’m a free man, so it’s fine.”
“A free man wouldn’t go into space to eliminate the Scarlet Fear.”
“......”
Well, there was no arguing with that.
“By the way, what you said earlier about this dress being very beautiful—was that true?”
“Of course it is. The dress is beautiful, but you’re even more beautiful.”
Yelanka bit her lip gently, her eyes shimmering with joy. “I’m very happy to hear you say that.”
......
Guan Tong looked at the girl’s pure, snow-like profile, with a few strands of light golden hair clinging to it. His heart stirred slightly. He felt a surge of impulse to reach out and brush the stray hair away for her. But after his arm lifted slightly, he lowered it again.
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