Chapter 240: Chapter 67 News of the 7-nations Tournament
At that moment, Kast had stepped forward before his instructor, yet he dared not scan the faces of those around him. Never before had he envisioned a day when he would be driven to such a state. Moreover, he never could have fathomed the extent of Ai Lin’s strength!
Among the full class of more than thirty students, they had been defeated under a blitzing attack by a single girl!
How could Ai Lin be this powerful?
The instructor presided over the entire battle. Honestly speaking, the performance of his students hadn’t been too shabby, their mistakes were few. Yet, every minor misstep was seized upon sharply by Ai Lin. In terms of combat ability alone, the Magic Fighters were like a glitch in the game, each punch, carrying a variety of magical effects, left their enemies agonizingly incapacitated. In particular, there were a few occasions when Ai Lin, seemingly cornered, managed to kick a student’s armor flat with the sharp heel of her shoe. Additionally, the explosive magic she employed ruthlessly blasted her enemies back, clearing the way for her retreat.
This girl’s fighting skills were simply inhuman.
Then, the instructor turned to look at Kast. He could clearly see a hint of cowardice in Kast’s eyes.
"Kast, you know what you have to do!" The instructor hated wasting words, nothing disgusted him more than a coward. If Kast couldn’t prove himself, the instructor would have to awaken his courage with his fists.
Kast glanced at Long Yi, who was still sitting at a distance. His expression twisted into a blend of anger and fear, a common reaction to seeing one’s group being knocked down by a single opponent. What was worse, it wasn’t even Long Yi who had done it.
Long Yi shook his head, stood up, and came before the instructor.
"Forget it, there’s no point. He’s no match for me," Long Yi said.
"Only through battle can this be proven," the instructor responded.
"A competent commander does not send his soldiers to their deaths," Long Yi retorted.
"This is not a battlefield," the instructor replied.
"But I’m not interested in fighting him," Long Yi countered.
In the end, Long Yi did not agree. Kast’s face paled from shame, but he was also oddly relieved. However, the changing expressions of his classmates as they looked upon him were far from kind.
In the following period, Long Yi and Ai Lin would always appear punctually on the training ground. They very quickly honed most of the basic ground fighting skills, so they began to train individually.
This time, including Kast, everyone understood why they had lost.
Even the instructor was dumbstruck.
At that moment, Long Yi was helping Ai Lin with her training. The predominant fighting style for Magic Fighters was hand to hand combat. Long Yi, stripped to his waist, fought in an unrestrained and brutal manner with Ai Lin who hit back strongly. Their fists danced in the air, sending out countless spells. To the side, Little Zi would occasionally comment, offering advice on when Ai Lin should release specific spells and the rules regarding the combination of spells. On the other side, the Golem continuously taunted Long Yi, likening his weak punches to wet noodles.
Their attacks often resulted in explosions cratering the ground under them. Ai Lin’s power had not only not diminished but was even stronger than when she challenged the senior class single-handedly!
In particular, there were a few moments when Ai Lin and Long Yi exchanged punches! Although Ai Lin was lighter and was knocked back, the violent explosion produced by the collision sent Long Yi flying as well.
Such intense combat lasted for nearly ten minutes before both stopped and began to discuss what they had learnt.
Ai Lin panted heavily, and her ample chest heaved with every breath she took, much to the stupefaction of the bystanders. Long Yi, on the other hand, was only slightly out of breath. It appeared that the bastard wasn’t tired yet!
Next, it was time for Long Yi’s training.
This time, Long Yi had many more opponents.
Not only was Ai Lin there, but so were Mina, Little Zi, the Golem, and surprisingly, Bajie and Xiaoyou joined in too.
Soon, Long Yi’s side was a blur of tricks and light effects.
Ai Lin’s powerful spells, Mina’s magical ocean spells, Little Zi’s mental magic, Bajie’s Dragon’s Breath, and Xiaoyou’s high-speed assault, all thundered towards Long Yi.
But the most powerful and hair-raising sight was the back-and-forth between Long Yi and the Golem.
With one punch, Long Yi and the Golem each landed a hit on the other’s chest. Long Yi grunted and took two steps back, while the Golem emitted a resounding clang.
"This shit is absolutely insane!" the instructor muttered.
Facing such intense bombardment, even the instructor understood he wouldn’t be able to withstand a single round. Yet Long Yi had already persevered for five minutes, and the onslaught continued!
No wonder Kast was so terrified. This guy called Long Yi was undeniably a monster!
Turning to look at Kast, the instructor saw that he was still looking at Long Yi, his face a sickly green. He couldn’t help but shake his head. Kast was probably scared out of his wits by the sight of Long Yi. In a short period, it was unlikely Kast would accomplish much.
An enemy stripped of their will to fight is a dull enemy. Since there was no amusement to be had, Long Yi didn’t bother to waste more time dealing with him. Every day was peaceful for Long Yi - study, eat, sleep, train. There wasn’t much fun to be had, but life was fulfilling.
Then, one day, when Long Yi was so bored he felt like he was sprouting hairs, the dwarf Golden Hammer returned from Furnace Fortress.
Long Yi immediately went to Golden Hammer’s blacksmith shop.
Golden Hammer was now an elder and couldn’t run his shop anymore. So, the workshop was handed over to another dwarf. It wasn’t called Golden Hammer’s Blacksmith Shop in Golden Hammer’s absence, so Long Yi had not visited. But he rushed over as soon as he heard of Golden Hammer’s return.
Then, he saw someone he absolutely did not recognize.
A dwarf.
His thick beard was filled with intricate braids adorned with gold and gems.
Exquisite fur coat, exquisite belt, exquisite boots.
"Who are you?" Long Yi pretended not to know.
"You rascal! I’m your Uncle Golden Hammer!" Golden Hammer burst into hearty laughter.
"Uncle, you’ve really embraced the rotten, decadent upper-class style of capitalism. You’ve changed a lot." Long Yi couldn’t help but comment.
"Ha ha ha! I had no choice. As an elder, I must set a good example! I must keep myself clean!" Golden Hammer said, yet he couldn’t hide his delight. Although he didn’t quite understand what Long Yi meant by ’the rotten smell of capitalism,’ he instinctively took Long Yi’s remark as a compliment.
It turned out that thanks to owning a complete set of machine tools gifted by Long Yi and his extensive study of this equipment, Golden Hammer naturally became a star attracting attention. Despite the dwarves’ dislike of his bad temper, their respect for his technical skills made him popular and successful.
Golden Hammer selected some smart people in Furnace Fortress to begin an intense training process. He brought out all the mechanical drawing techniques that Long Yi had taught him. He instilled the current concepts of mechanical manufacturing into the minds of dwarves who were just starting to explore machinery. This immediately made the dwarves admire Golden Hammer even more. As for Long Yi, who had taught Golden Hammer these skills, they regarded him as a pioneer and looked up to him. Almost every person who learned this knowledge wanted to meet Long Yi. They were very curious about what kind of excellent blacksmith could invent such superior knowledge.
At this, Long Yi could only smile and remain silent.
Golden Hammer brought Long Yi a lot of good news. The dwarves had already made a batch of machine tools. Although the accuracy was far from the refined version finalised by Long Yi over many years, it was already very good. Once this group of natural artisans truly grasped the knowledge of machinery, Long Yi believed they would surpass him.
And the good news that Golden Hammer brought to Long Yi was, of course, gold coins.
Listen! What’s that jingling?
It’s gold coins!
Look! What’s that sparkling brightly?
It’s gold coins!
What’s sweet?
It’s gold coins!
What smells good?
It’s gold coins!
Give me a gold coin, and I can move the entire continent!
This is a song popular amongst the dwarves. Humans always thought it was just a joke, but in the eyes of the dwarves, it was an honest reality.
In this world, the dwarves possess the largest treasure trove on land. Their powerful mining skill allowed them to dig mines all around the world.
Dwarves are greedy. Dwarves are stingy. But when they earn great benefits, they will generously hand over more gold. They also respect those who happily accept their gold.
Long Yi gladly received two huge bags of gold coins, which were sewn from two layers of beast skin to prevent them from tearing under the weight of the gold.
When he opened them, the golden coins dazzled him.
Cool!
Without a word, Long Yi stashed both bags into his private space. The dwarves thought that Long Yi had a space device, so they didn’t mind. For a long time, this private space was unusable, but as Long Yi’s health recovered, the private space did too. However, Long Yi did not insist on shoving the Golem into this space. Everyone was already familiar with it, so there was no need to hide it.
However, at this moment Long Yi was alone. There were already too many people present, and it wouldn’t be convenient for him to bring along the fine gold Golem. If Golden Hammer saw it, wouldn’t his eyes bulge out in surprise? Others might not realize the Golem was made of fine gold, but Long Yi wasn’t sure he could fool the discerning eyes of a dwarf.
Seeing Long Yi pocket the gold coins, Golden Hammer laughed heartily. He hated when humans were falsely modest. They were clearly overjoyed at the sight of gold but still pretended to decline, which was simply a waste of time! Was it because they looked down on him or the dwarves? Long Yi accepting the gold graciously was just what Golden Hammer liked.
"But Uncle Golden Hammer, you wouldn’t have come such a long way from Furnace Fortress, leaving your position as an elder, just to hand-deliver me two bags of gold coins, right?" Long Yi asked with a smile.
"Haha, you’re a sharp lad!" Golden Hammer laughed, took off his gorgeous coat, and picked up a rhino-skin work suit next to him.
"In two months time, in May, it’ll be time for the annual Seven Nations Grand Tournament. After I left, there weren’t any good blacksmiths left in Academy City. The weapons needed for the contest participants have almost been counted, so the Dean sent an order to Furnace Fortress. I happened to be a bit idle lately, so I took a leave from the Council of Elders to exercise my muscles!" Golden Hammer said while donning his blacksmith’s outfit. Of course, this set was also new. His old one had long been disposed of.
"Seven Nations Grand Tournament? Weapon inventory?" Long Yi, hearing these unfamiliar terms, looked at Golden Hammer in confusion.
"Huh? You don’t know? I thought you would’ve already signed up!" Golden Hammer asked.
"I’m hearing about the Seven Nations Grand Tournament for the first time," Long Yi answered.
"Come here, let Uncle teach you a thing or two!" Golden Hammer laughed. (To be continued. If you like this story, please vote and donate at Qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
