Chapter 479: Madman Le Buleng
Translator: TYZ Editor: X, TYZ
The Spear of Heavy Cloud’s camp was silent. Only Le Buleng’s voice could be heard.
"I don’t know what pointers I can give you. I never practiced the power of lightning before, and I don’t really understand it. I can only give a rough account of how I train. I hope this can be of some help to you."
Le Buleng looked as if he was recalling something. However, most of time, he looked indifferent, as if he was chit-chatting about ordinary daily life. At this point in time, his tone became much more gentle. "I can’t really remember much about my past. The last time I failed, it was five years ago, around the time when the blood catastrophe broke out. The last time I failed, the outcome wasn’t really that bad. Only my Path of Master was destroyed."
Path of Master destroyed… the result wasn’t really that bad…
Ai Hui couldn’t help but ask, "Is there an outcome that is worse than this?"
"Yes." Le Buleng nodded his head. "There was a time where I was severely injured and in a desert. Six of my palaces were destroyed, so I couldn’t move at all. My elemental energy was completely depleted as well. I laid in the desert for five days without encountering anyone. Subsequently, I was discovered by a colony of white ants and half of my left arm was bitten off. Luckily, my bones were intact. At that moment, I still thought I was going to die. Haha. Fortunately, a huge sand storm arrived and saved my life. I was buried under a sand dune for… four or six months? I have forgotten about it. However, at that time, I managed to come up with the [Cold Embers] and [Earth Elemental Inverse Flames] techniques. Ultimately, I made a gain."
When Le Buleng talked about training, he seemed to have become an entirely different person. His skinny and dried face loosened up and looked as if it was giving off radiance. His aged eyes became sharp and bright.
"At that moment, I was actually going to lose consciousness, but I wanted to survive. Suddenly, I thought of how embers could sustain for a long period of time without being extinguished. I didn't think too much at that time. All I wanted to do was to buy more time for myself. I didn't expect my idea to be so useful. After another two months, I finally regained some of my elemental energy. With my surroundings covered in sand, I could not absorb any fire elemental energy. Therefore, I had to think of another idea. Finally, I was able to come up with [Earth Elemental Inverse Flames]. It took me another few more months to recover."
Ai Hui looked blankly at Le Buleng. He could not imagine himself being severely injured with his arm bitten off by white ants while buried under a sand dune for several months.
Ai Hui was considered an individual that had been through hardship. He had built up his endurance through the time he spent in the Wilderness. This had given him an extremely huge advantage. His training intensity had always been very high. The elementalists in Sword of Lightning were tortured by him to the point that they were going to collapse.
However, he still paled in comparison to Senior Le Buleng.
Le Buleng became very talkative when he talked about training. He was completely different from the cold and reticent old fogey from before. He did not even need other people to liven the conversation.
"Subsequently, I found a Path of Master through [Cold Embers] and [Earth Elemental Inverse Flames]. However, that Path of Master was not good enough and I failed in making a breakthrough to the level of Grandmaster." Le Buleng shook his head, looking as if he had come to a dead end. Then, he continued, "Oh, oh, oh, we were talking about five years ago just now. Five years ago, when I failed, I quickly began to think of an idea. However, before I could come up with an idea, the Elders Guild was incompetent and lost the Fire Prairie. By that point, I knew it would be troublesome to obtain fire elemental materials in the future. Ordinary methods definitely would not work. Then, I thought of a new method."
Everyone was listening to Le Buleng attentively. A chance to hear an exceptional elite like Senior Le Buleng talk about his training path was hard to come by.
Sitting in the fire reservoir, Faty could not help but ask, "What method?"
Fatty’s form of respect and admiration toward Le Buleng was different from the others. He also felt that the old fogey was rather formidable, but treated him like a storyteller as well. When he heard the story reached a critical junction, he could not restrain himself.
Le Buleng was not annoyed by Fatty’s question. Instead, he asked Fatty cheekily, "You’re also a fire elementalist. Can you guess what the method was?"
Fatty did not expect the old fogey to throw the ball back at him. However, when he saw the cheeky look on the old fogey’s face, he was annoyed. Fatty snorted, "Without the Fire Prairie, you can’t use the ordinary methods. Five years ago, the Wilderness Expansion Order had not been announced yet, so it has nothing to do with the Wilderness. Just now you mentioned that your base level had collapsed and you had to re-cultivate your elemental energy. At that time, the only source that could produce an endless amount of fire elemental energy was…"
Fatty muttered to himself for a while. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said, "I know! The sun!"
Le Buleng was stunned. He had not expected Fatty to be able to come up with the answer. He could not help but examine Fatty closely. Fatty’s aptitude was rather good, but his strength still paled in comparison to Zu Yan.
When Fatty saw the facial expression of Le Buleng, he knew he had guessed correctly. Feeling immensely proud of himself, he said, "How hard can such an easy question be?"
At this moment, everyone suddenly realized what was going on. Fatty was right. The sun was able to produce an endless amount of fire elemental energy.
"But isn’t the fire elemental energy from the sun weak?" Shi Xueman felt puzzled.
People had tried using the fire elemental energy from the sun to train a long time ago, but the fire elemental energy from the sun was extremely weak, making it very difficult for one train with it. By comparison, the fire elemental energy from lava in volcanoes was easier to absorb and use.
"The fire elemental energy from the sun is indeed very weak. Ordinary methods definitely will not work," Le Buleng replied. "However, I know where the fire elemental energy from the sun would be very strong."
"Where?" Fatty asked.
"The depths of the sky."
Hiss. Everyone drew in a breath of cold air.
The depths of the sky was an extremely dangerous place. A moment of carelessness would cause one to be shredded to smithereens. Even with Ai Hui and Shi Xueman’s current strength, they could not survive long in the depths of the sky.
"I thought Senior’s base level had collapsed? With the strength of a Master, how could you ascend to the depths of the sky?" Sang Zhijun interrupted.
"I am familiar with that place. That place might seem dangerous, but once you get used to it, it’s not that dangerous. Of course, it was rather painful at the beginning. Subsequently, it got better."
At this point in time, everyone was filled with immense admiration for Le Buleng. Le Buleng’s perseverance and zealotry far exceeded their expectations. If one went to the depths of the sky without attaining the level of Master first, he or she would most likely die. Shi Xueman, who had been to the depths of the sky under the protection of her master, clearly knew that the danger of that place had been downplayed by Le Buleng.
Even if one had rich experience, the amount of pain that his or her body had to withstand remained the same.
"This time around, the Path of Master that I came up with was the [Grandmaster Obliteration Flames]." Le Buleng’s eyes flickered, looking as if there were flames burning within them. "At that time, I felt that I had a high chance of becoming a Grandmaster. Before me, no one was able to utilize the sun to such a level. My [Grandmaster Obliteration Flames] technique is unique."
Le Buleng’s tone was proud and domineering, but everyone was filled with admiration toward him.
The name "Grandmaster Obliteration Flames" could cause one’s heart to palpitate in fear. Flames that could obliterate a Grandmaster!
Le Buleng suddenly shifted his gaze to Ai Hui and said with a deep voice, "Your lightning is also very unique. I have seen your sword pagodas, and they are very interesting. However, coming up with sword pagodas is not enough. You have to reach your full potential! Right now, you’re like a sissy. Look at your training programs. What kind of bullsh*t are they?"
Le Buleng’s ruthless words suddenly pelted Ai Hui in his face, stunning everyone.
At the next moment, everyone’s facial expression changed. Ai Hui might appear cheeky all the time, but his temperament was actually absolutely terrible. He was someone that was amenable to coaxing, but not coercion!
However, the thing that caused them to become dumbstruck was when Ai Hui bowed respectfully and said, "Senior, thank you for your pointers!"
Le Buleng did not smile just because Ai Hui treated him with respect. Instead, he knitted his eyebrows and said, "I have already given you the pointers that you need. It will have to depend on you, yourself, to determine what to do next. Your path is different from others. No one can teach you anything."
When Le Buleng recalled that his disciple still had to work under Ai Hui, he stopped in his tracks, glanced at Ai Hui, and said, "I feel that you’re like me: someone who has desire. My desire is to become a Grandmaster and defeat Dai Gang. I don’t know what your desire is and whether it is easier or harder to achieve than mine, but if you have a desire, you have to be hard on yourself. Mediocrity is not enough to make your desire come true."
Ai Hui’s body trembled.
"I will leave Zu Yan here. I need to go and train now," Le Buleng turned around and told Shi Xueman.
After Le Buleng finished his sentence, he flew up and disappeared into the sky.
Everyone was at a loss. Le Buleng’s words gave them a huge shock. No one expected Le Buleng, who had been regarded by many as a loser, to be so tenacious.
Yes, he was tenacious.
Even now, Le Buleng had not become a Grandmaster, and he was still a loser who had yet to succeed. In the future, after many years had passed, everyone would still remember Dai Gang, but no one would remember that Le Buleng failed eight times to break through to the Grandmaster level.
Yet, his failure to become a Grandmaster did not stop the crowd from respecting and revering him at all.
Ai Hui was still at a loss. His mind was filled with the words that Le Buleng had just said.
When the others saw Ai Hui’s facial expression, a look of pity appeared on their faces. In their eyes, Ai Hui was already very hard on himself. He trained without knowing what fatigue felt like. He was perfect in the diligence department. No ordinary individual could train crazily and recklessly like Le Buleng.
Le Buleng was a madman!
Jiang Wei and the rest were about to console Ai Hui, but were stopped by Shi Xueman. They looked at Shi Xueman, and she shook her head at them.
Ai Hui stood there with a blank look on his face.
…..
On the ridge of the Blackfish Mouth Volcano, there was a huge quagmire that had a diameter of a few miles.
The exhausted Wang Xiaoshan laid in a pool of mud with half of his face submerged. He was panting heavily, and his mind was blank. He looked at the sky with emptiness in his eyes.
Every now and then, the black volcanic plume from the Blackfish Mouth Volcano would drift past the azure sky in his eyes.
His elemental energy and physical strength were completely depleted.
He was single-handedly building a city. Wang Xiao’s face twitched with bitter agony.
He had overestimated himself.
Everyone had relied on him.
With his physical strength completely depleted, his mind drifted like the volcanic plume in the sky. Suddenly, he thought of the day in the Garden of Life when Ai Hui led them to avoid the blood fiends.
"Who is an earth elementalist?"
He would never forget the question that Ai Hui asked on that day for the rest of his life. That moment was the turning point of his life. They hid under the rocks and soil, waiting for their reinforcements to arrive in the darkness. No one knew Wang Xiaoshan was feeling more touched than fearful. That was the first time he had realized that he was capable of helping other people.
Fast forward to the present day, he was very glad that he could be together with everyone.
Countless times, he would think about how lucky it was for a useless man like him to survive the blood catastrophe.
Patter.
A drop of pea-sized rain fell on his face. Extreme pain spread over his face.
More and more raindrops fell on his face. Soon, torrents of rain fell from the sky. He could not even open his eyes.
It was painful…
Suddenly, the image of Ai Hui kneeling before the graves of Han Yuqin and Wang Shouchuan amid the torrential rain in Central Pine City appeared in his mind.
It must be very painful…
The grief and shame from that day gushed into his mind. He remembered he had told himself that day, Wang Xiaoshan, you must be able to help everyone in the future.
Raindrops fell on his face with a scorching sensation.
From an unknown source, a surge of strength gushed through Wang Xiaoshan’s body. He struggled to pick himself up and build his city amid the rain.