Chapter 428 - April 28th (I)
Chapter 428: April 28th (I)
No one would doubt that Tang Ling was a smart kid. Even Boss Huan,g who lied to him and bullied him for as long as he could remember, would also acknowledge how intelligent Tang Ling was.
Therefore, Tang Ling bought a translated version for the manual that he acquired from the black market as a reference.
It was no surprise that Lucar’s combat arts was a messy read, but Tang Ling was serious about it.
He was already working round the clock, and even so, he squeezed out the time to translate the manual and even spent more Black Sea coins for a few trips to the library at the deck area.
He was confident and certain that his translation of the manual was accurate, but being able to translate it accurately was one thing, and utilizing the ultimate it contained was another.
The theory of Lucar’s combat arts was valid but whenever Tang Ling meticulously practiced it, he realized that the strength and aura that he gathered for the ultimate would scatter away before he even unleashed it.
What was he lacking?
Tang Ling had no answer. In this world, no one was more succinct than Lucar in explaining. If he could explain it in a single word, he would never write the second.
Besides, the explanation mattered only to Lucar himself. He was never a considerate person who would care whether his explanation worked for other people or not.
This manual only had one ultimate—the Void Slash.
Until now, Tang Ling had only experienced the void of the scattered strength and aura, and had yet to slash anything.
It frustrated him slightly. He was not stubborn, but he resiliently believed that this Void Slash was an ultimate with practical value and that he must be lacking something.
Would he be able to figure out what he was lacking before the 28th of April?
…
On the 28th of April, the weather already felt like it was May.
Darkness Port was a port city by the sea, so it started to feel hot. The high temperature in the morning tormented even the people of the Purple Moon era who had already adapted to the high temperature.
Krovsky [1]was a normal janitor at the cabin area, but he did not have any luck in the lively arena area because of his status. Instead, he got the most boring job of cleaning the special-made colosseum which was the stadium for viewing the Hell Ledge Challenge.
Tsk!
He clicked his tongue and spat on the floor. Why did he have to clean the place? There had not been a single spectator for quite some and even if he wiped all the seats clean and swept all the dust on the floor, no one would appreciate his work.
However, since there was no spectator at all, his job was rather easy. In less than an hour, he cleared every single seat and box in the block that he was in charge of. The other unlucky janitors took almost the same time as well.
Lastly, Krovsky still had to clean that ranking monolith at the entrance of the Hell Ledge.
He had been cleaning this place for quite some time now, so he could already memorize all the names on the ranking. The one in the last place was said to be some high-profile young genius named Tang Ling, but why would a high-profile genius rank last?
Krovesky was just a low-level janitor, thus he had limited access to news and could never get in touch with the higher circle. Although he could not find the answer by himself, no one would ever provide him with one either.
However, when he was halfway done with the monolith, he heard some noises in the colosseum.
A group of decently dressed 20 spectators entered.
“Sir, Madam, did you get your tickets? There hasn’t been a match here for a long time. You can go to the counter for a refund,” Krovsky attentively and humbly reminded the spectators.
What if his humility won the fondness of some seemingly rich spectators?
Unfortunately, no one except for a noble answered him with a pitiful look and a twitching face. The noble’s expression was not exactly an insult. It was more of a sympathetic gaze like a human feeling pity towards a helpless animal.
Krovsky was confused. Did he say something wrong? Would this day be an exception?
The moment the thought popped in his mind, another group of people came into the colosseum.
There were a hundred of them this time, and by the looks of it, they were not the locals of Darkness Port. Every one of them had an anticipatory expression on their face and they seemed to be well-mannered. They then searched to search for their respective seats without making too much noise.
“Could there be a match today?” Krovsky wondered, but he dared not simply speak anymore and just continued cleaning the monolith.
The day was still early and the spectators who came into the colosseum looked rich. Could Tang Ling be coming down here for the competition today?
It was another of his questions that no one would answer.
All Krovsky knew was that by the time he was done cleaning the monolith, the whole colosseum was almost full. The strange thing was that even the worst seats in the colosseum were filled with seemingly rich people.
The curiosity in Krovsky’s heart almost exploded. He suddenly felt extremely lucky because as the maintenance worker cum janitor, he had the right to stay in the colosseum until all the matches were over.
If the competition was happening today, his curiosity would be satisfied and it felt fantastic.
…
“Baby, have another one. This sea anemone is a local specialty and it’s good for you.”
A huge wagon with a white awning overhead and a glamorous design rolled in one of the avenues of Darkness Port.
There was just a young teen in a traditional white Huaxia robe in the carriage, but a Level 3 vicious beast was used to pull the lavish carriage around. The speed of the wagon was ludicrously slow to the point that the servants could catch up with it just by walking.
The teen did not feel like anything was wrong since he was concentrating on the little peacock beside him. He was trying to persuade his treasured peacock to eat a few more clumps of sea anemone.
While it might be a local specialty, it was also considered precious. Nonetheless, he used it to feed his peacock.
However, it was fitting for the young Peacock Sovereign, Abu Sheikh.
Those who were familiar with the Hell Ledge Challenge and had studied the young challengers would never underestimate this low-profiled teen.
Who exactly was Abu Sheikh?
He was the youngest son of the Blue Peacock Prince, one of the eight princes of the Peacock Emperor. As one of the top-ranked geniuses of the massive and powerful Peacock family, that tri-colored peacock, which had been his partner since young, was not an average bird as well.
Until now, he had yet to show off in the slightest even at the challenge.
However, he had been staying in Darkness Port for quite some time now and no one knew what he had done in the past few months. They only noticed that after a few months in Darkness Port, his already brown skin had turned darker and the glossy look that he once exhibited was less glistening. There were even two obvious scars on him now.
Of course, if Abu Sheikh did not want to leave a scar on himself, he could have easily erased them, but since he kept them, there must be meaning behind it.
Those amber eyes on his youthful face had always been mischievous, but now, they looked sharper than before.
His outing today was rather high-profile, but he was fine with it.
It was the 28th of April after all, was it not?
…
Back at the deck area where the nobles lived, there was a house at the corner, forever straying away from direct sunlight. It was dark and eerie, and even when the sun was at its brightest, the interior of the house remained dark.
People used to say this dark and eerie house did not belong in the noble district but unbeknownst to them, this house was one of the Dracula family’s assets. People from the mysterious blood-sucking family hated sunlight, hence this dark corner was the best for its people.
Inside the large dining area of the house, candles were lit even when breakfast was being served in the morning.
A handsome silver-haired teen was elegantly eating his breakfast. The breakfast was by no means scrumptious. It seemed restrained and bland but meticulously and reasonably suitable.
“Lord Quentin, it’s time.”
When the servant reminded him about the time, Quentin was putting a slice of egg into his mouth. After that, he put down his fork and knife and wiped his mouth with the white handkerchief beside the plate.
When he raised his hand, the servant served him a glass of red liquid. He swirled the glass a few times, admiring the scarlet color of the liquid before he drained it to the last drop.
The edge of his mouth was dyed slightly red before he wiped it away.
He then stood up and removed his sleeping gown. The servants quickly brought over some clean clothes and helped him get dressed.
Quentin was the nephew of the honorable Lord Dylan II, yet he was being tormented.
Even the servants felt sour when they helped Quentin change. They were the most loyal blood slaves in the world and their master was their everything. Their master’s emotions would also affect them, even if it was just a smidge.
As the master’s blood slaves, how could they put up with their master’s wound?
Indeed, Quentin’s body was covered with wounds, and because of the genes of the Dracula family, he could not heal easily.
Nevertheless, he chose to come to Darkness Port and gamble all his pride. The wounds on his body were nothing. He wanted the Dracula family to rise to the top among the geniuses and this would be the cost that he had to pay.
The formal attire he wore was blanketed with intricate stitching, but they were just useless decoration.
Two of Quentin’s servants, who looked extremely strong, brought in a heavy black leather box that contained their master’s real battle armor.
Quentin once thought he would never have the chance to don his armor, but he soon realized he had underestimated the geniuses of the world.
Among Tang Ling, Tang Long, the Cardinal Four, and Han Xing, who would be his opponent?
Regardless, it did not matter because it was the 28th of April.
When he put on the honorable armor, the effort that he paid would give him the final answer.
[1] The name Krovsky has already appeared in the previous chapters as a Purple Moon Warrior who was killed by the demon apes. This Krovsky is not the same Krovsky. He is only a person who shares the same name.