Chapter 536: Selfishness?

Although Qiao Yi felt that Lingtian being in possession of the chameleon system would increase the difficulty for Leiting, he still believed that they had higher odds of winning. The reason he was mistaken, however, was that Ling Lan had kept herself too well hidden; from his impression of her, no matter how strong Ling Lan was, she couldn’t be stronger than his own pupil, Tian Jiajun.

“It’s okay. Not every one of Lingtian’s members has the chameleon system. I saw that there were still three mechas going through the forest that haven’t camouflaged yet.” The instructors that were watching the battle finally managed to breathe a sigh of relief. After so many years, the number of cadets that these instructors had once nurtured were countless. There were finally some pupils that they were proud of. However, it was only these pupils who were able to get their hands on the chameleon system before graduation.

In the past, they could explain why the mission was perverted in nature. If the chameleon system became like corn in a field, like a piece of standard equipment for Lingtian, the instructors would definitely feel terrible about it. They might all become furious to the point of spitting blood.

“Oh yeah, did you guys see which one of the mechas belongs to Lingtian’s commander, Ling Lan?” asked an instructor who was very interested in Ling Lan. He had originally thought the mecha operated by the commander would be different from the others. He remembered that one year ago, Ling Lan had operated a modified special-class mecha that was different from standard special-class mechas. This time, however, Lingtian’s 12 mechas were roughly the same in appearance; he couldn’t figure out who was who.

“Not sure.”

“I can’t make it out which mecha it is.” The others around him also didn’t know the answer and shook their heads at his question.

“Look at the serial numbers. Number one should be the commander’s mecha,” one person reminded everyone.

“I found it. Coordinates: (xx, xx). The mecha that is currently moving is Lingtian No. 1.” One person had already found the mecha that had Lingtian No. 1 shown on its serial number.

Everyone’s focus was on Lingtian No. 1. They saw the mecha fly quickly and move forward with finesse. Its movements were smooth and graceful. Many of the spectators praised the operator piloting Lingtian No. 1. “As expected of a mecha clan commander. This kind of piloting has already reached the level of a fully experienced pilot.”

Seeing this, the principal asked, “Tang Yu, No. 1 is Ling Lan, isn’t it?”

Tang Yu closely observed the movements of Lingtian No. 1, but three seconds later he shook his head and replied, “That’s probably not Ling Lan.”

The principal asked in surprise, “How can you tell that No.1 isn’t Ling Lan?”

Tang Yu smiled slightly. “The movements of the mecha are too elegant.”

“Doesn’t elegance show that the pilot has good operating skills?” the principal continued to ask confusedly.

“Yes, it indeed does show that the pilot has good operating skills, but it’s not limited to just that.” After saying this, Tang Yu couldn’t help but smile before continuing. “In fact, a cadet that is able to perform to this level can be considered to be quite outstanding already. Unfortunately, after having seen Ling Lan’s operating skills, I actually don’t think this cadet’s skills are very good.”

“Ling Lan’s operating skills have already reached that high of a level?”

“Simple and one with nature!” Tang Yu’s words shook the principal. This was the foundation for advancing to imperial level. Had Ling Lan already progressed so far?

“There is no longer the pursuit for elegance in Ling Lan’s operating techniques; instead, it has become simpler,” Tang Yu stated proudly. Thinking back to the past, Tang Yu’s dazzling operating skills had begun to evolve into the simpler and more precise realm only after countless life-or-death battles. He began to understand it then, but Ling Lan had managed to gradually learn about it in the military academy. How monstrous was this type of mecha operating talent? It was as though there weren’t any barriers for Ling Lan, as though he could easily find the correct direction to evolve in.

“His movements won’t give you the impression of beauty or elegance. Instead, they will appear normal and uninteresting. However, each motion is even faster, stronger and more accurate while simultaneously not wasting any time,” explained Tang Yu. “If no one pays attention to those movements, they would be overlooked. Only if you focus on observing operating skills would you able to discover this secret. I’m very confident when it comes to Ling Lan. All the other cadets that I have taught might die on the battlefield, but I believe that only Ling Lan would be able to come back alive, even if he were put in a bad situation.”

At that moment, the principal was still focused on his statement that Ling Lan’s operating skills was simple and one with nature. He quietly asked, “Tang Yu, tell me honestly. Can Ling Lan advance to imperial level before his fifth year?” If the First Men’s Military Academy had a cadet that advanced to imperial level, which of the other schools would dare to meddle with the title of number one military academy? Thinking up to this point, the principal became jittery and excited.

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“Not possible!” Tang Yu answered with confidence.

The principal was so disappointed that it was as though he had a bucket of ice water poured over him. He looked towards Tang Yu and discovered that his expression was stern. Surprised, the principal calmed himself down and said, “Sorry, Tang Yu. I got greedy.” He had promised to protect Ling Lan, yet after finding out that Ling Lan was capable of advancing to imperial level, his greed took over his common sense and almost made him do something stupid.

“You are concerning yourself with too much. Ling Lan will advance to ace level in his fifth year and that’s as far as he can go,” Tang Yu said meaningfully.

The principal smiled with regret and didn’t keep on going around in circles on the subject. He suggested, “Since you said Lingtian No.1 isn’t Ling Lan, then let’s see who is actually who.”

The audience could search up the detailed list of the battle team members for both sides. The principal inputted Lingtian No.1 in his communicator and it displayed a list of simple details regarding Lingtian No.1.

“Lingtian No.1—Name: Xie Yi; Background: Descendant of an elite family; Age: 19; Physical Skills: Qi-Jin beginning level; Mecha Piloting: Special-class; Advancement Evaluation from Advanced to Special-class: Outstanding!”

“Xie Yi? I never heard of this name before. Tang Yu, do you know about him? Who knew Lingtian had this kind of expert in their clan.” The principal wondered with marvel.

For most students, those who had good physical skills were weaker in terms of talent in mecha piloting. If their mecha piloting talent was good, they wouldn’t focus on physical skills. Usually, those who had high levels in physical skills had lower levels in mecha piloting compared to others and vice versa. However, the information of Xie Yi that was on display, whether it be his physical skills or mecha piloting, showed that he had already reached the highest level for his age. He had truly managed to improve both at the same time. The only reason the principal marveled at Xie Yi was that only after reaching this level would an individual understand that those capable of becoming top mecha operating experts also had similarly strong physical skills.

For example, the Federation’s 12 god-class mecha operators; their physical skills had reached the level of Domain. It could be seen that the two skills complemented each other. If an operator only focused on mecha operating and neglected their physical skills, they would have no chance of reaching the highest level of mecha operating in the end.

“Xie Yi is a member of Ling Lan’s battle team. Currently, he is given the role of right-wing vice-captain. His mecha operating skills are ranked among the top 50 in the entire military academy.” Tang Yu gave the principal some details about Xie Yi.

“He’s still in his third year, isn’t he? He’s definitely a genius if he managed to get into the top 50 in only his third year. Who’s his mecha instructor? Why didn’t you take him as your pupil back then?” The principal’s face was full of regret. Another genius had been held up by their circumstances.

Tang Yu couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He could only take 5 students in one semester. His very own pupil, Lin Zhong-qing, was taken in through a backdoor because he enjoyed teaching geniuses. Afterward, he discovered that everyone in Ling Lan’s battle team all had great potential. He also wanted to take them as his pupils.

However, the rules of the military academy weren’t that easy to override. Since they already had instructors, no matter how much Tang Yu loved teaching geniuses, he wouldn’t be able to break the rules and be their instructor. If that was to happen, the entire military academy would be in a mess. Not only would the other instructors have disagreements with him, but it would also make all the cadets in the military academy become discontent. They would think this—since Tang Yu could give pointers to cadets taught by other instructors, then why couldn’t he give some pointers to them as well?

“Don’t worry, Mr. Principal, his instructor is Luo Jinan. He is also an outstanding ace operator and is extremely attentive to Xie Yi. He has mentioned many times that Xie Yi is his most prized pupil and that he wouldn’t hold him back.” Even if Instructor Luo’s teaching were not good, there was still Ling Lan looking out for Xie Yi. Tang Yu knew clearly that Ling Lan always held small training sessions for her teammates. Otherwise, could the instructors really have raised such outstanding cadets with their capabilities alone? Even Tang Yu himself didn’t feel confident about that.

“So, someone as outstanding as him can only be the right-wing vice-captain? Does that punk Ling Lan have selfish motives?” Every battle team had their confidants and they would be usually given positions that didn’t reflect their real potential due to the relationships and feelings between everyone. The principal was worried that Ling Lan was giving out positions based on her emotions.

Tang Yu’s lip trembled for a second. Just Xie Yi alone had excited the principal this much. If he came to know that the rest of Ling Lan’s battle team was entirely composed of monstrous individuals, perhaps the principal would be so excited that his heart wouldn’t be able to take it and instantly faint.

He was very much inclined to see principal’s reaction after telling him the truth. Tang Yu smiled slyly as he began, “Ling Lan’s battle team’s vanguard is called Qi Long. His physical skills level has reached the late stages of Qi-Jin in the beginning tier. His mecha operating level is special-class. Yes, he advanced in his second year, earlier than Xie Yi by 8 months or so. And the left-wing vice-captain, Luo Lang, possesses a physical skills level in the mid-stages of Qi-Jin in the higher tier. His mecha operating level is special-class and he also advanced during his second year, earlier than Xie Yi by around 4 months.

“There’s also my star pupil, Lin Zhong-qing. His physical skills are at the beginner stage of Qi-Jin mid-tier. The time he took to advance was only later than Xie Yi by one day. However, because of that one day gap, he could only get a position as a backup guard,” Tang Yu explained regrettably. “Even their battle team’s strategist has similarly reached the beginner stage of Qi-Jin lower-tier. His mecha operating level is similarly special class. Of course, his time of advancement was later than Xie Yi by two months. However, even though it was that late, he still managed to advance into special-class in his third year. His talent in piloting isn’t too far off from the others.”

The principal took in a deep breath. Where had Ling Lan found these insanely strong individuals? Each one of them had the potential to become the valedictorian.

However, these details wouldn’t be the only things he would be stunned by; Tang Yu’s following words rendered the principal completely dumbfounded.

“These are the members that remain in the military academy. I previously mentioned that Xie Yi only managed to become the right-wing vice-captain at this stage. In the past, he wasn’t even qualified because Ling Lan had three other members. They are now sixth-year cadets and have already joined the 23rd Division for their one-year internship. One of them advanced into an ace operator in their fifth year. He had the position as the main vanguard of the battle team at the time. Another one also advanced to ace level in his fifth year, but he couldn’t fight for a long time, so he was given the title of Spurious Ace. At that time, he had the position of the left-wing captain of the battle team!”

The principal couldn’t control himself and his jaws dropped in shock—Tang Yu finally saw the expression he wanted to see. He was satisfied but afraid that the principal might take revenge on him; thus, he contained himself and tried his best to keep a serious face, following which he tossed out one last strike. “Oh, right. Mr. Principal, do you remember the Flying Dragon medals that the military gave us last year to give out to the fifth-year military medicine major valedictorians in hopes of having them join the Flying Dragon Special Forces?”