628 – Lan Bing, Ruo Ye
The current her was calm and dignified, beautiful and full of warmth. Her skill in playing the zither had gradually surpassed her father’s. She had completely fused her soul skills with the zither.
To a zither fanatic like Ruo Ye, this made him even happier than seeing how strong his daughter had become.
Behind the father and daughter stood a lady with a head of white hair. She looked to be around 30 years old, but Lan Mengqin looked 70 to 80 percent like her.
She was the current leader of the Ice Clan, a Titled Douluo-ranked powerhouse. Sky Ice Douluo Lan Bing was also Lan Mengqin’s mother and Ruo Ye’s wife.
As Lan Mengqin had to inherit her position of clan leader, she could only inherit her mother’s surname. But her name was filled with Lan Bing’s love for Ruo Ye. (TL note : Mengqin literally means “Dream of Zither”)
For this, Lan Bing felt guilty towards Ruo Ye, but Ruo Ye didn’t care too much about it. He didn’t use his surname much and in his eyes, other than zither, love and familial love were the most important things in his life. For Lan Bing, he was able to live in the snow-covered North Star City, so why would he care about his daughter’s surname?
Lan Bing would often tell Lan Mengqin, ‘In the future, if you can find someone as good as your father as a partner, Mommy will be satisfied.’
Lan Mengqin’s Jade Phoenix Zither had indeed changed because it was now the Emerald Phoenix Zither, a change that occurred after fusing the Emerald Swan’s bloodline. And this was in a state where the Emerald Swan had yet to completely become her Spirit Soul.
The reason why Nana had them suppress their cultivation and not rush to breakthrough was also a very important reason.
To them, the Great Beasts were simply too strong, to the extent that their current cultivation was unable to bear it. But as long as they improved, as they had already signed a contract, they would definitely merge.
Hence, Nana asked them to suppress their cultivation and infuse more soul power into their bodies to strengthen themselves. At the same time, they had to accumulate more soul power until their bodies could withstand their Spirit Soul before they could break through.
Although she had yet to break through, Lan Mengqin had already benefited greatly from Bi Ji. Her zither music was full of healing effects and could even increase the potential of a person’s life.
Hence, every time she returned to the Ice Clan, she would play her zither for her own clansmen and this little princess would gain the love and respect of all her clansmen. Here, Lan Mengqin was the true favored daughter of the heavens and was everyone’s focus of attention.
The performance lasted for almost two hours before it ended. When Lan Mengqin was done playing, the entire plaza was filled with people cheering for her name, but they made way for her in an orderly manner and let the family of three go home. There was no need for anyone to maintain order.
Lan Mengqin’s home wasn’t luxurious, but it was very warm. This warmth was naturally for Ruo Ye. With Lan Bing’s cultivation, she didn’t need such a warm environment at all. Instead, she preferred the cold world.
“Baby, if this goes on, Mommy might have to step down early.” Lan Bing smiled at her daughter.
“You played really well. Daddy was almost unable to keep up with you.” Ruo Ye praised his daughter.
Lan Mengqin laughed. “I know you guys want to give me the position of clan leader as soon as possible so that you can go out and play, right? Don’t even think about it. I’m not doing it. I’m still young, I still have to continue learning.”
Lan Bing said, “You’re so heartless. Anyway, the position of clan leader will be yours sooner or later.”
A sly look flashed across Lan Mengqin’s eyes. “That might not be the case! With your physical condition, it wouldn’t be a problem for you to be the head of the family for another 100 years. By then, I would have descendants already. Wouldn’t it be better for my child to take over your position as the head of the family?”
Ruo Ye said in surprise, “You’re trying to shirk responsibility just like that? Daughter, you’re wrong. Don’t you think you should give Dad and Mom more time? Dad is afraid of the cold. I’ve long wanted to bring your Mom out to play.”
Lan Mengqin pursed her lips. “You guys went out quite often too! You guys went to the Elven Planet last year, right? You also went to Heaven Luo Planet this year. And then to the Mother Planet to visit me the year before.”
“That’s different. But speaking of which, daughter, you don’t have someone you like, do you? Otherwise, why would you talk about something as distant as giving birth for you?” Lan Bing asked very sharply.
“Ah? No! I don’t have a boyfriend, I’m still a child. I’m against puppy love.” Lan Mengqin raised her head arrogantly. But for some reason, a robust figure appeared in her mind. Although it was just a flash, she blushed unconsciously.
She thought to himself, ‘Pui, pui, pui, why would I suddenly think of that guy?’
Lan Bing looked at Lan Mengqin doubtfully and said, “Next semester, it will be time for you guys to go on a mission. Speaking of which, I’m really worried!”
Lan Mengqin said, “What’s there to worry about? Don’t you trust my ability? Although I haven’t broken through to five-ring, I’ve been stuck at rank 49 for a few years. I can break through at any time. The seniors can complete the missions, how can we not? And we have Xuanyu to lead the team!”
“En, but you still have to be careful. You can’t be careless at all. Dad and Mom only have you.” Lan Bing knew a little about Shrek Academy because she had studied in Shrek Academy’s Outer Court before and only returned to the Ice Clan after graduating.
There were many reasons why she didn’t enter the Inner Court. It wasn’t because she wasn’t talented enough, but because she got to know Ruo Ye later on. It was because she spent too much time with him that it affected her. When she graduated from her sixth year, she didn’t complete her Two-Word Battle Armor and thus lost her qualifications to enter the Inner Court.
Lan Mengqin had always been curious. Mom was so beautiful and strong, why would she like Dad and be with an ordinary person like him?
In fact, she had always been looking forward to entering the mission period as soon as possible so that she could break through and completely merge with the Emerald Swan. Also, it was so interesting to go on missions! It was too boring to cultivate every day.
She would be going back in two days. At the thought of this, she was filled with motivation.
***
Shrek Academy.
“Di di di, di di di.” His soul communication device rang. Tang Zhenhua answered the call impatiently. “Who is it?”
Yin Luohong’s voice came from the other side. “What is it?”
“Oh, you! What, what’s wrong?” Tang Zhenhua quickly put down his work and smiled apologetically.
Ying Luohong said, “On behalf of the academy, I officially inform you that the academy has approved of the Sky Wing Mecha. We will be working with the Tang Sect, so you will give the patents to the Tang Sect and let them produce it on their behalf. This way, they will be able to fully equip the Star War Experimental class in the shortest time possible.”
“Give the patents to the Tang Sect too?” Tang Zhenhua was stunned.
“I know you’re unwilling, this is the result of your hard work. But in terms of production and manufacturing, the Tang Sect is indeed stronger than us. The academy mainly focuses on research, but we don’t really participate in actual production.” Ying Luohong’s voice was much gentler. She naturally knew how much effort Tang Zhenhua had invested in these aspects.
Tang Zhenhua hesitated for a moment before saying, “Alright, we’ll give it to them then. After all, we’re a family. The most important thing is to let the children use the Sky Wing mechas to ensure that they’ll be safer when they embark on their mission.”
Ying Luohong replied, “We won’t let them use it directly. They’ll need to use merit points to exchange for it. The academy is fair and we cannot give them any preferential treatment in this aspect. Otherwise, it would be unfair to the other years.”
“Then what’s the point of making it in advance?” Tang Zhenhua couldn’t help but ask.
“At the very least, we can guarantee that when they have enough contributions, they will immediately have the Sky Wing mechas,” Yin Luohong said in a low voice.
Tang Zhenhua sighed and nodded. “Let’s do it this way then.” Ying Luohong was right. If he was only going to help out with the production, he would have to wait for the students to accumulate merit points and use the merit points to exchange for the emblems, then the resources, and then he would create it himself. This process was very long. After all, not everyone could earn merit points like Lan Xuanyu.