Ding Ling and Ding Dong cried for the whole day. They only managed to fall asleep late at night due to exhaustion. Before they fell asleep, the two little meatballs patiently asked Han Xing one more time.
Did Tang Ling and Higan really fall into the pool?
Was it possible for them to climb out after falling in?
Han Xing did not want to lie to the two innocent little girls, but reality was a little too cruel, was it not?
In the end, it was Boss Huang who came to the rescue. He told the two little meatballs that nothing in the world was absolute. As long as they held onto hope and waited, good things would happen.
But what good things were? Tang Ling might not necessarily survive. If they could slowly let go of the sadness one day, would that not be a good thing?
Night fell.
In Dvesha Moha, Monty's pond.
Han Xing sat at the edge of the pond. His eyes were a little absent-minded, while Monty lay by Han Xing's feet. Ever since he returned, he had been crying and looked very pitiful.
After all, it was an octopus that had fallen in love with Tang Ling at first sight. It had also gone on an adventure with Tang Ling and had gotten a lot of benefits from him. Speaking of which, it had a lot of memories.
"So, an octopus can be sad too?" Han Xing touched Monty's big head.
Monty let out two very strange whimpers that sounded very sorrowful. In the past, Han Xing would definitely have laughed, but today, he was not in the mood to do so.
Footsteps sounded.
Han Xing did not turn around. He had been in Dvesha Moha for quite some time now, so he was very familiar with Boss Huang's footsteps.
"From tomorrow onwards, you can stay in Tang Ling's room." The lights in the pond were off, so Boss Huang's expression could not be seen in the shadows.
All he could see was the faint light from the smoking pipe in his hand.
Han Xing turned around. Even though he held back his tears, he could not help but glare at Boss Huang.
As a matter of fact, ever since Boss Huang got the news that Tang Ling and Higan were dead, he had been calm. Even when Han Xing told him that the two of them were not coming back, all he did was stay silent for a few seconds before he grunted. That was all he could express.
Before this, Han Xing assumed that Boss Huang was holding back because he did not want to show his sadness in front of others. Others might not know, but Han Xing knew very well that Boss Huang actually treated Tang Ling as his disciple. Otherwise, why would the shrewd Boss Huang allow Tang Ling to take advantage of him?
Good food, good drinks, and patient teaching might seem like they were squeezing him dry, but they were actually training him.
Others might be sad because of their emotions, but shouldn't Boss Huang be sadder? Even if he didn't have any emotions, he had given his all.
How could the disciple that he had painstakingly nurtured be gone!
Han Xing clenched his fists, then loosened them.
As a matter of fact, Boss Huang was beyond reproach even though he could not find an excuse for him. If he was really sad, why would he be so materialistic? Since Tang Ling was gone, his room was also …
But in this era, not being sad and living rationally was the norm.
"Are you blaming me?" Boss Huang walked to Han Xing.
Han Xing nodded, then shook his head. "It's normal that you're not sad. I'm just childish. "
Boss Huang remained silent.
Han Xing continued, "I've thought it through. I'm going back to Holy Tree City. Thank you for your kindness. "
"You can't go back." Boss Huang was very direct.
"Why?" Han Xing raised a brow in dissatisfaction. He did not understand what Boss Huang was thinking.
He had to return to Holy Tree City. He had to practice his swordsmanship. He had to … become stronger! Next time, no matter what the reason was, he would not abandon his companions.
Even if he could not be Tang Ling, he would at least be like Higan. Of course, it was not love, but the thought of being able to stand back to back with Tang Ling and fight until the end was something to be happy about.
The more Han Xing thought about it, the more he regretted it. Why did that day come?
Therefore, he had to return to Holy Tree City and bring the pain and regret back with him!
"From tomorrow onwards, I'll officially announce you as my disciple and I'll nurture you with all my heart. Of course, you can't go back. "Boss Huang sat down beside Han Xing. The pipe in his mouth flickered, but his expression was as calm as ever.
"I …" Han Xing was a little upset. Boss Huang was being too practical. Did he really need a disciple? If one died, he'd find another to replace him?
However, Boss Huang quickly interrupted Han Xing, "You don't have a choice. From tomorrow onwards, you are my disciple. Every day, every hour, every minute, you must work hard to become stronger. Tang Ling used to be like that. Even if you can't do better than him, at least you can't be too far behind.
"Only then …" Boss Huang's tone changed a little. "Only then can you become strong enough to make the Stardust Council suffer!
"The Stardust Council destroyed one of my disciples and also my hope. They destroyed the fighting spirit that I worked so hard to build up. They ruined a lot of things … How can I lose? How can I let them live a good life?
"Don't you think so?" Boss Huang then turned to Han Xing and smiled. His eyes were terrifyingly red and burning with a burning hatred.
Han Xing was stunned. He looked at Boss Huang's eyes and realized that the man before him was very sad because of Tang Ling's death. He was even devastated by it … Crazy? Crazy, isn't it?
"Fine, I'll stay and I'll do my best," Han Xing said in a heavy tone. Han Xing said in a heavy voice. Since he did not fight alongside Tang Ling that day, would replacing him to fight in the future be considered as making up for it?
"Fine. Go to Tang Ling's room and sleep. From tomorrow onwards, you'll be facing hell. Tang Ling … Hmm, Tang Ling … "Boss Huang seemed to want to say something in the end, but nothing came out. But he didn't say anything. He just stood up in the darkness and walked out of the pond room with his back that seemed to have been through a lot.
At that moment, Han Xing felt like Boss Huang had aged a decade in an instant.
**
Tang Ling was dead.
The news was out of everyone's expectations. It spread all over the world at lightning speed and even triggered a huge discussion.
Everyone thought that after the whole world fell into a dream, everything would be covered up by this incident, but it did not.
Maybe it was because Tang Ling had done a lot of earth-shattering things in the past year or so, or maybe it was because Tang Ling had protected the future of mankind in the end and prevented them from dying to the vicious beasts when they were isolated and helpless.
Therefore, they still knew about the Fierce Dragon Squad that left Safety Sector No. 17 together that year. They worked hard to grow and hoped that one day, they could fight side by side with Tang Ling again.
"Yu didn't join the exam?" Instructor S asked with a frown in the top warrior academy of the Purple Moon era, Purple Edge Academy.
The 20 students who stood in a row in front of the instructor did not say a word. In the warrior academy with strict rules, gossiping and reporting other students would be looked down upon.
Perhaps anticipating the situation, Instructor S glanced over the students in front of him and simply waved his hand to dismiss them. He then walked to the intelligence room of the academy.
"He's in the training field. He's been sitting there for a whole day," the intelligence officer in the intelligence room told Instructor S, who came to ask about him.
It was without a doubt that the person who had been sitting in the training field for a whole day was Yu.
Purple Edge Academy was a secret academy whose mission was to nurture the second tier of geniuses for mankind. It could not be helped. In this era, almost all the top geniuses came from powerful factions and families, and most of them were commoners. Although the chances of geniuses appearing among the commoners were much lower than those powerful factions and families that focused on the combination of genes, the chances of geniuses appearing among the commoners were much lower.
However, the huge base number would occasionally produce geniuses among the commoners.
Unfortunately, even if these geniuses appeared, they would die prematurely due to the lack of resources. The most they could achieve was a limited Purple Moon Warrior.
Under such circumstances, Purple Edge Academy was born.
Its founder was a mystery, but it did not stop it from quickly becoming the top academy because the academy was not only supported by rich resources, but many mysterious and powerful Purple Moon Warriors would also come to the academy to be instructors during their free time.
However, for some unknown reason, when these powerful instructors came to the academy to teach, they would usually use simple codenames and wear masks to hide their identities.
It was different from the regular instructors of Purple Edge Academy.
Therefore, these mysterious instructors with high mobility rarely paid attention to a single student. They were only in charge of teaching, and how much they could understand was up to the student themselves.
If they could not keep up with the pace, they would not be fit to be the second tier of humanity in the future.
It was rare for Instructor S to specifically come to the intelligence room to inquire about a student's whereabouts.
Looking at Instructor S's departing figure, the intelligence officer was slightly curious. Driven by this curiosity, he could not help but search for information about this student named Yu.
In the end, he found out that Yu's talent was only average among the students of Purple Edge Academy. The higher-ups of the academy suddenly gave him a special recruitment slot and recruited him from a second-tier famous warrior school.
However, after he came to the intelligence room, Yu performed well. The evaluation was that he had a tenacious will and decent comprehension. Most importantly, even though his talent was average, his cultivation speed was faster than others.
On top of that, his talent (Note: Family's mysterious ability, limited development) was worth paying attention to and exploring.
"Hmm, but there's nothing special about him," the intelligence agent muttered to himself and stopped talking about Yu.
Instructor S arrived at the training field and saw the lonely figure. As a matter of fact, Yu did not fit in with the group, but Instructor S knew why he did so. There was a reason why he paid special attention to him.
But now, Tang Ling was dead. With that in mind, Instructor S's heart became heavy. He wanted to go and comfort Yu, but in the end, he turned around and left.
As a man in this era, he could only endure the pain by himself.
Time flew and the night was over in the blink of an eye. It was the darkest dawn of the day.
The figure sitting at the side of the training field finally stood up.
"I hope to fight side by side with you one day. Why are you dead?"
"Fine, it's fine. I won't die anyway. Then, continue to grow stronger, along with your share. "
**
The world's top mercenary group, the Eternal Peak Mercenary Group.
An inconspicuous little mercenary was injured. The terrifying wound stretched from his chest to his abdomen. If the Eternal Peak Mercenary Group was not rich and powerful with top-notch healing potions, the little guy would have died on the spot.
Outside the tent, two mercenaries who looked slightly weary were chatting by the fire.
It was summer, but it was snowing heavily in Ji Xing Ridge outside Iron-Blooded City. It was freezing cold.
"Orston's condition has stabilized," one of the mercenaries, A, said to the other with a sigh after taking a sip of liquor.
"That's good. He was recruited into this group for some reason back then, but I don't really like the little guy." Mercenary B took the liquor from A's hand and took a sip before he said, "Does he have to be taken care of since he's related to Tang Ling?"
"Of course, he has to be taken care of, but …" Mercenary A's tone suddenly turned heavy.
"Let's not talk about this. It makes people feel like the future is hopeless. If, and I'm just saying if, that little guy Tang Ling didn't stir up any trouble in the past year, we wouldn't have any hope, would we? That little guy … How did he die? Why did he let us dream? " As he spoke, Mercenary B gulped down a mouthful of liquor. He told himself not to talk about Tang Ling, but he did.
On the other hand, Mercenary A did not continue. He forcefully suppressed the heaviness in his heart and changed the topic. "But you like Orston now, don't you?"
"He's quite likable. I thought his talent was average and he wouldn't fit into this group. It seems like I've underestimated him. Besides, his family's talent is quite interesting, "commented Mercenary B." Indeed.
"Indeed, I'm curious. I heard that Yu, Andy, and a girl named Christina all look ordinary, but they're not. What do you think?" A narrowed his eyes and wrapped his coat around himself in the wind and snow.
"What do I think? With the leader's son around, nothing will be strange. " Mercenary B cleared his throat and continued calmly, "It's just that … the leader's son will die. Even the leader didn't expect that, did he?"
"Then, who would have thought that the leader would die in that battle?" A suddenly felt sad.
"Forget it. Let's not talk about it. Orston's condition has stabilized, but he has lost his fighting spirit in the past two days. Otherwise, he wouldn't have almost lost his life this time. "Mercenary B turned around and glanced at the tent behind him.
"No one can do anything about it. As a man, especially a mercenary, there are things in his heart that he has to solve himself. He can't place his hope on others. Tang Ling's death obviously isn't the reason for him to break down." A sighed.
The two of them glanced at the tent behind them at the same time, and fell silent in the rushing wind and snow.
"Tang Ling's death obviously isn't the reason for him to break down." It was the first thing Orston heard when he woke up.
Tang Ling felt like crying when he heard the name, but it had been two days, yet Orston did not cry out.
Therefore, he could not cry now.
All he could do was cover his swollen eyes with his arm. The painful wounds reminded him that he was lucky enough to survive the Level 5 vicious beast's claws.
Since he did not die, he could only continue living. Even if Uncle A was right and Tang Ling was gone, it was not a reason for him to break down.
Should I continue to grow stronger and fulfill my promise to Tang Ling as well?
Somehow, when the thought crossed his mind, the tears that he had been holding back for two days started to flow uncontrollably. His heavy sobs sounded like a wounded lion in the snowy night.
**
"Is Christina still locking herself in her room?" the leader of the Braid family asked worriedly.
Inside the spacious room, the curtains fluttered in the night breeze, just like how the leader of the Braid family was feeling at the moment.
"Yes, she …" In front of the leader's desk, another high-ranking member of the family answered worriedly, but before she could finish, the leader waved his hand and dismissed her.
The room became quiet again. Only the sound of the wind blowing against the curtains could be heard. With a heavy heart, the chief picked up a cigar and absent-mindedly cut it open. However, he was not in the mood to put it down again.
The Braid family might seem like a big family in a normal safety sector, but in fact, in a normal safety city, they were just a second-tier family.
Why? It had been five generations since the true talent ability was passed down in the family.
The Purple Moon era was less than 200 years old. What did it mean for the family to not have a true talent inheritor in five generations?
It meant that it was not easy for the family to maintain its position as a second-tier family.
With that in mind, the leader of the Braid family lit up the cigar. As the smoke curled up, he furrowed his brows even deeper.
From the outsiders' point of view, the most amazing thing about the Braid family was the uncertain probability of giving birth to a double talent.
However, only the leader of the family knew that the double talent was just a pretense. What the family really cared about was the third talent. Only the double talents had the probability to awaken the third talent, and the third talent was undoubtedly the true talent ability of the Braid family's bloodline.
It was a secret.
However, it was not a secret to some other factions.
Christina had awakened the third talent, and there was a mysterious faction behind the scenes that had been providing resources to Christina for free. The resources were not something the Braid family could provide.
Why did the mysterious faction do this? It was not just because Christina awakened the true bloodline of the family, but also because of Tang Ling.
"Fine, why did Tang Ling die?" With that in mind, the leader of the Braid family could not help but sigh. He was not afraid that the mysterious faction would stop providing resources to Christina if Tang Ling was gone, but he also believed that Christina should follow Tang Ling from now on. It was the best path for her to take.
Tang Ling was a dazzling figure. Only a person like him could bring the Braid family to a new height of glory.
It was a pity.
Aside from the ice-cold benefits, the leader of the Braid family truly thought so.
What he was more afraid of was that Christina would fall into despair because of this. He knew how strong the girl's wish was and how tenacious her will was to endure all kinds of cruelty until now.
Her wish was not a secret either. It was to one day have the right to fight side by side with Tang Ling.
"Sigh …" The leader of the Braid family stood in front of the window. The family could not afford to lose Christina because she was already the biggest hope of the family.
However, as mature as he was, he knew that other than himself, no one else could help.
Christina opened her eyes in the dark.
She had been in a daze for a few days, but when she fell asleep, she dreamed of Vian.
In her dream, Vian was still as gentle as ever. She was singing that song, "Meet again after 10 years …"
She then asked Christina softly, "If I leave and Tang Ling leaves, are you going to give up on the Fierce Dragon Squad?"
Christina woke up crying. She could not give up.
Without Vian, everyone had a promise, but without Tang Ling, would it be useless?
No, it was not. Vian's dream must be reminding her that she had to move on.
"Sob, sob, sob …" The night breeze was accompanied by Christina's sobs.
When she first heard the news, she was afraid that she would stand in front of Vian's grave one day, not knowing how to tell her that Tang Ling had died in such a horrible way.
However, today, Vian had told her what she should do!
Even without Tang Ling, the promise in her heart was to fight side by side. Could she not keep Tang Ling alive in her heart? She still had to become stronger.
**
Pak! Andy's pen broke on the paper again.
On the paper was the half-finished blueprint of a set of armor. Andy had been designing it for a long time, but ever since he received the news, everything became meaningless.
The armor was designed for Tang Ling, and he hoped that one day, Tang Ling could wear it in battle. It was a way for Andy to fight side by side with Tang Ling.
However, Tang Ling … Andy laid his head on the table in pain.
Outside the door, Andy's mentor, Hudisi, who was known as the master of scientists in the era and one of the fifty masters of science and technology, sighed softly.
He was also disappointed, similar to the day Tang Feng died. He did not have to be that disappointed because he had never met Tang Ling before. However, in the past year, Tang Ling's brilliance was as bright as the sun, even brighter than Tang Feng. He gave people great hope.
What was behind the hope? Hudisi knew, but he could not say it out loud.
Now, the hope was gone. It was as despicable as Tang Feng.
However, Andy was a pleasant surprise. The timid and self-abased child had an unexpected spark in the path of science and technology. It surprised Hudisi, who had taken Andy in out of gratitude.
Tang Feng might have arranged everything, but Andy was really an accident. His birth was too ordinary and too clean. He was not the kind of person who could be arranged.
As a master of science and technology, Hudisi somehow believed in the metaphysics of fate. He believed that it was Tang Ling's luck that someone like Andy would be around Tang Ling.
Some people were born to be protagonists, and there was no way to explain it.
Now, the protagonist was dead?
Hudisi found it ironic.
Maybe if he continued designing the armor, Tang Ling would not have died. It was Andy's obsession.
He had been working so hard for the past few days, but he could not find any inspiration. He was so tired that he almost fell asleep.
Hudisi walked into the room. He knew Andy had to solve the knot in his heart, but he could not help but caress Andy's hair and say, "Isn't it good to wear Tang Ling's name on everyone who wants to be by your side?"
Andy bolted up and jumped into Hudisi's arms.
Then, he turned around and threw himself into Master Hudisi's arms. "Master, I, I want to continue becoming stronger … But I'm the least courageous one. I, I …"
"Then, from now on, you must be brave. There will be no Tang Ling for you to hide behind anymore. "
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