Chapter 651: Something Weird
Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97
Xie Anan's diary:
March 20.
Sand Scorpion is truly a mystery.
Yesterday, he was having a long conversation with Master Xue Yuanxin, who praised him, calling him one of the most brilliant geniuses of his generation. But he made a big joke of himself today!
This morning, I led him to the library of ancient classics of the Refining Department. All the copies of the precious books found and produced over the past thousands of years have been stored inside. Normally speaking, faculty and students have to ask for permission to go inside. Only the most experienced professors and scholars can go to the library anytime they want. But even they cannot borrow the ancient books and can only read them inside the library.
Sand Scorpion, on the other hand, tilted his head and fell asleep after browsing through twenty ancient books at an amazingly high speed!
Sleeping in such a sacred place as the library of ancient classics… Many experienced refiners immediately noticed him.
When they learned that he was the 'barbarian' from Iron Plateau, everybody burst into laughter. Somebody even belittled the barbarians, saying that they should not act like intellectuals when they knew nothing about the discipline.
I was very embarrassed at the time. I meant to explain for Master Sand Scorpion, but he was already in the deep sleep state, and I couldn't wake him up. It was not until three hours later that he stretched his arms in satisfaction. I didn't know what to say.
The story quickly spread. Before noon, everybody in the Refining Department had heard the story and considered him a joke.
However, four o'clock in the afternoon, his research plan was announced. When everybody discovered that he has joined Master Xue's Ares Laboratory, their facial expression was quite complicated!
I happened to run into a refiner who mocked him in the library in the morning. I knew that the refiner had applied for the Ares Laboratory but was turned down by Master Xue.
When he learned the news, his face was gloomier than a rainy day. I tried my best not to laugh out aloud.
Some of them were secretly discussing whether or not Master Xue was cooperating with the magnate from Iron Plateau because of a shortage of funding after major setbacks.
Of course, I know that is not the case, but it is not wrong that Master Sand Scorpion was sleeping soundly in the library in the morning, either.
I don't know how to comment on him now.
…
March 22.
I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!
Master Sand Scorpion remained exactly the same in the past two days. He slept for three hours in the library of ancient classics in the morning, spent his afternoon in the Ares Laboratory, and did his training in seclusion at night.
The whispers that I overhear have grown louder and louder now. People were saying that somebody sleeping in the best library of the best university of the Flying Star Sector is not a pleasant view.
But naturally, nobody dared whine in front of the 'best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau'.
I, of course, secretly mumbled dissatisfaction to myself. Maybe he noticed it, because he started playing tricks on me today!
He said that he found a secret art from the ancient classics that could mutate the Purple Ring Sword Ants and 'slightly increase the pain of biting'. As a result, the training would be more effective.
I believed him like an idiot and trained the Purple Ring Sword Ants according to the secret art.
As it turned out, the pain was not 'slightly' increased; it was literally doubled! I was almost killed by the agony!
Is this what the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau and a master of refiner should be like? He was too mean! I gave him so much help by showing him around the campus over the last couple of days!
However, I'm not sure whether or not it's my imagination, but my hand speed does seem to be a little higher after the training. Is it true?
…
March 30.
I was shocked today!
As it turned out, Master Sand Scorpion was not sleeping in the library of ancient classics every day. He was training himself in the deep sleep state!
Today, I noticed by accident that he had memorized quite a few ancient classics. I asked, and he told me that he had remembered and digested one tenth of all the ancient books stored inside the library in only one week. That was horrifying!
Training in the deep sleep state sounds like a marvelous skill!
In my excitement, I blurted and asked whether or not he could teach me.
With a mysterious smile, he said that he would teach me the secret art when I could withstand the biting of ten mutated Purple Ring Sword Ants at the same time.
Is that a joke? The Purple Ring Sword Ants strengthened according to his secret arts are even more ferocious than tigers. How can anybody endure ten of them simultaneously?
But I won't give up. Normal people might, but I am a dummy. Somebody told me that dummies deal with pain better.
Well, now that I think of it, he was the one who told me that…
…
April 25.
Hooray!
Hahahaha. Hahahahahahaha. After more than one month, I'm finally able to withstand the biting of three mutated Purple Ring Sword Ants right now. I can even sing songs with my face color unchanged while my body is cramping.
Master Sand Scorpion's dumbfounded expression was the most satisfying reward for me. My suffering over the past month was entirely worth it!
Master Sand Scorpion fulfilled his promise.
Although he did not teach me the secret art of training in the deep sleep state, he taught me two fundamental skills: 'Art of the Swallowing Whale' and 'Chaos Gale Hammer Technique'.
Master Sand Scorpion said that he would like to teach a course if possible, despite only being a visiting scholar.
But since he had never been a teacher before and he did not know how good his teaching was, he planned to experiment on me first.
According to him, my body was rough and wouldn't crack down anyway.
That was too mean. Is body roughness something to be proud of?
But anyways, the two fundamental skills were not very complicated, although the training process was quite exhausting. I did not experience the drowsy feeling when I read the other Cultivation arts.
Master Sand Scorpion said that he had gone through a lot of trouble to simplify the secret arts in light of my perception.
Why do his words always sound so malicious?
…
May 29.
UNBELIEVABLE!
Without me knowing, Master Sand Scorpion has been in Flying Star University for more than two months.
Since he has been keeping a low profile, and I am used to his identity as a refiner, I almost forgot that he is also the 'best warrior of six tribes of Iron Plateau'.
Today, Master Mo Tianlu from the Combat Department came to challenge Master Sand Scorpion!
I know Master Mo Tianlu quite well. He is a pure combat-type Core Formation Stage Cultivator. It is said that he encountered space pirates hijacking the starship he was in when he was young, and he slayed almost a hundred of them all by himself. He is quite a brutal guy and one of the most fearsome teachers in the Combat Department!
The two of them entered a world fragment and practiced. Ten minutes later, they were out. Master Mo Tianlu was sweating, crippled, and coughing.
But Master Sand Scorpion was as healthy as before. He saw the challenger off with a smile!
After Master Mo Tianlu left, a more appalling incident took place. Master Sand Scorpion found several wasted sets of armor and punched them into perfect iron balls barehanded!
I was dumbfounded and asked him the reason. His answer was that his fighting will was aroused by Master Mo, but he couldn't do his best because his opponent was not an enemy. Therefore, he could only vent his fighting will on the scraps.
Good heavens! A Core Formation Stage Cultivator was crippled and ran away covering his face, and he was saying that he did not do his best! I wonder, what would the outcome be like if he was doing his best?
Later, we chitchatted for a long time, and I learned that teachers from the Combat Department, the Flying Sword Department, and the Battlesuit Department went to challenge him every few days.
I asked him the total number. He tilted his head and thought for a while, replying that he could not remember the specific number, but there should be thirty to fifty.
Honestly speaking, although he is indeed strong, the casual countenance on his face made me want to punch him hard for the honor of Flying Star University.
…
June 22.
Something uncanny happened today.
Sister Long Yunxin has been acting weird since Master Sand Scorpion came to the Refining Department.
She is beautiful and very fashionable, but she is now even more lovely and elegant.
She often comes to visit me, hoping to have dinner with me and Master Sand Scorpion.
But Master Sand Scorpion does not want to have dinner with her.
Or rather, other than me and Master Xue Yuanxin, Master Sand Scorpion does not want to waste his time on anybody.
He has been researching or training himself every day. When he is free, he always figures out various methods to torment me.
Today is Sister Long's birthday.
She did not invite anybody else but demanded that I bring Master Sand Scorpion through whatever method possible to have dinner with her in a very expensive cafeteria on campus. The Scallions Chicken in the cafeteria is really delicious!
She was extremely, extremely, extremely pretty today. Right. Important things must be highlighted.
However, while I was enjoying the food with the Art of the Swallowing Whale, she talked with Master Sand Scorpion about a lot of stuff that was incomprehensible for me.
At first, she asked Master Sand Scorpion about his personal life, whether or not he had a girlfriend and whatnot.
Master Sand Scorpion said that he did not have a girlfriend. Sister Long looked quite happy.
But then, Master Sand Scorpion added that he had a fiancé who was waiting for him in his hometown. Sister Long immediately frowned and drank her wine silently.
That was the part where their dialogue turned weird.
Master Sand Scorpion was having beef noodles, but Sister Long chopped a lobster and dropped it to Master Sand Scorpion's bowl. She said, "There are a lot of delicious foods in the world. One can always have some lobster even if they love beef noodles."
But Master Sand Scorpion simply replied that his stomach was small, and a bowl of beef noodles was enough to keep it full for a long time.
What the heck was he talking about?
His stomach is much larger than mine. I've seen in person that he swallowed twenty bowls of beef noodles without breaking a sweat.
Besides, he never refused lobsters and crabs, either!
Sister Long poured wine for him and asked why he could not have a lobster when he seemed so hungry.
Master Sand Scorpion replied that it was not a matter of his appetite. Beef noodles were delicious, and lobsters were delicious, too. But if the two foods were combined, their flavors would affect each other. Both the beef noodles and the lobster would be ruined. He would feel sorry for his stomach.
Sister Long was even more disappointed and kept drinking.
She did not dissolve the alcohol with her spiritual energy even though she is a Cultivator. When she was half drunk, she said, "Your fiancé is in your hometown. Are you never lonely?"
Then, Master Sand Scorpion said the most sophisticated, incomprehensible sentence of the night.
He opened his hands, his palms facing the ceiling, while he looked Sister Long in the eye and said solemnly, "As you can see, I'm a very awesome refiner.
"All my expertise is based on my hands.
"There are 34,482 muscles on my hands in total, 78% of which have been repetitively trained by me.
"These two hands are much more agile than any organ on your body. They can do whatever I want them to.
"These two hands can do whatever you can do.
"But you may not be able to do what these two hands can."
After hearing his words, Sister Long's face turned from red to pale, from pale to green, and from green to purple, as if she had been seriously wounded and was about to vomit blood. She left the table and ran away quickly.
Sister Long has always been smart and elegant. I'd never seen her so agitated before.
I asked what Master Sand Scorpion meant by his final words while attacking a drumstick.
But Master Sand Scorpion only smiled and did not give an answer.
Later, I went to Sister Long. She was weeping in her dormitory.
I comforted her for a long time, and she finally stopped crying.
Then, I asked her the same question. Why was she compared to a pair of hands?
Sister Long started weeping again, her tears flooding out like a broken dam.
This time, there was absolutely no way that I could stop her from crying.
I have no idea what the intelligent people were talking about. It might not be a bad idea to be a little dummy. After all, I have no worries and can focus my attention on refining.
I feel that I've made great improvements over the last two months. Maybe, one day, I can surpass Sister Long.
It will be good enough if I can be better than her for one day, one hour, one minute, or even just one second!