Chapter 131: Growing Youths

At this very moment, within a peculiar, hidden chamber of the Blue Flame Pavilion.

"How many materials have we tested now?" Li Haoran asked, his gaze fixed tightly upon the smelting furnace before him, which pulsed from time to time with the brilliant radiance of spiritual energy.

"One hundred and sixty-eight types in total," replied Chen Rong, who stood beside him, continuously recording data onto a jade slip. "Ordinary copper and iron are unsuited for incising array formations. Among the available materials, Wind-Vein Iron is closest in nature, but its hardness is too high, and it lacks sufficient ductility..."

Firearms were, every single one of them, instruments of extreme precision; from the selection of materials to their structural design, they had undergone ages of filtration, surviving through the survival of the fittest to reach this current stage. Yet it was painfully evident that none of these materials were suited for the incising of array formations.

Transforming firearms into the spiritual artifacts of cultivators was clearly no simple task.

"We have tried so many weapon-smithing materials, and yet not a single one is sufficiently fitting...?" Li Haoran was visibly lost in thought. "Didn't Proprietor Fang mention last time that he wanted to teach us high school physics and chemistry...? And what was that other thing, the Five-Year College Entrance Examination and Three-Year Simulation? Let us put other matters aside for now and have them study first, so they can master more of the fundamentals of this new weapon-smithing knowledge..."

"You are saying that last night, a large-scale dormitory raid was conducted across your academy?" Fang Qi’s face twitched.

At this moment, he sat with Xu Zixin and Shen Qingqing in a restaurant located not overly far from the East View Book Forest.

Though this establishment could not compare to the Clear Wind Bright Moon Pavilion, its scale was by no means small.

On a side platform of the second floor stood an elderly gentleman clad in a blue tunic, his hair dappled with grey. Waving a folding fan in his hand, he struck his wood gavel with a sharp crack: "Does everyone know just who the 'Three Saints' in this *The Martial Immortal* truly are?"

"The Three Saints?" Hearing this, many in the audience were slightly startled. "Could it be he is about to recount 'The Three Saints' Bitter Battle at Immortal Severing Ridge'?"

"I heard that particular segment is quite spectacular."

"Who knows if such figures actually exist beneath the heavens!"

"..."

Fang Qi poured himself a cup of wine, listening with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, a natural consequence of being a man from the information age: "Uh... is this the most popular biographical novel around here?"

Evidently, the others were merely using it to pass the time while eating and drinking, not particularly captivated by it either.

Shen Qingqing felt a touch embarrassed; though she had indeed been quite fond of it in the past, ever since she played games like Diablo and Legend of Sword and Fairy, the grand and novel worldview of Diablo, as well as the love, hatred, and various powerful, exquisite sword techniques of Legend of Sword and Fairy, could leave the existing biographical novels more than a dozen streets behind.

What did a duel among three saints amount to? People were already writing about Immortal Lords battling Diablo, the Lord of Terror.

Gimmicks like the Three Saints had fallen out of use long before Fang Qi crossed over to this world; it was not novel in the slightest.

"These next few days... we probably will not find it easy to go to the shop to play games." Xu Zixin was clearly somewhat unwilling. "Lately, the academy has been inspecting far too strictly."

"Even a killer move like dormitory raids has been brought out..." Fang Qi nodded. "We truly ought to be a bit careful recently."

"Proprietor, how is it that you seem neither angry nor surprised at all?" Shen Qingqing asked in great wonder.

"Uh... this is all quite normal, isn't it?" Fang Qi appeared exceedingly calm, minding his own business as he ate the dishes.

"Proprietor, try this! The Mandarin Duck Nine-Patterned Fish here is exceptionally delicious!" Shen Qingqing seemed to be not only fond of gaming but a true gourmet at heart.

"By the way, Proprietor, will your shop continue to introduce any more delicious things?"

"Delicious things?" Fang Qi picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and thought for a moment. "There should be, I suppose."

"Really?" Shen Qingqing appeared somewhat overjoyed, though she quickly grew disheartened again. "I truly hope a day comes when we can once more enter the internet cafe openly to eat delicious snacks and play games, just like before."

"Indeed." Speaking of this, and recalling those happy, pleasant days of the past, Xu Zixin likewise felt a bit lost and nostalgic.

"That day will come," Fang Qi said.

After the three of them departed, a young waiter stepped forward to clear the bowls and dishes from the table. Right at that moment, he suddenly discovered that a book had been left behind on the tabletop.

"Did those guests leave it behind?" After finishing his cleanup, he glanced at the storyteller currently delivering his commentary. He had already listened to these segments in the shop until his ears were nearly calloused; with nothing to do, he casually flipped open this strange book titled *Diablo*.

"It is the Wanderer... yes, that is... the Dark Wanderer..."

"My days in the Rogue Encampment seem like a very long time ago..."

Looking at this reminiscent beginning, the waiter gasped, "Hiss—! Is it a biographical novel?"

Bored out of his wits, he began to read onward with a touch of curiosity.

Yet after only a few paragraphs, he discovered that this biographical novel was entirely different from *The Martial Immortal*, which he usually listened to until his ears grew calloused!

"Demons? To think there could be such formidable things!"

"There are even angels...? How could such a world exist?"

"The encampment was actually destroyed? Then... does it not mean humanity has no place left to stand!? What is to be done hereafter...?" Without realizing it, the waiter became utterly engrossed in the reading.

...

Inside the internet cafe, Xue Daolv was rubbing his hands in anticipation: "Come, come, come, let's play a few rounds of Counter-Strike."

Behind him followed a man dressed in a white Daoist robe and another in a deep blue dharma robe. "Two Junior Brothers, today your Senior Brother shall teach you what is meant by the RUSH B tactic!"

Su Tianji’s face twitched. He had known enough to wear a mask yesterday, yet today he carried himself with the profound, unfathomable air of a veteran player.

"Old Master, how is it that your girl didn't come today?" Xue Daolv had originally intended to contend against the grandfather and granddaughter duo again, but who could have known they would be short of a person today?

"The Lingyun Academy...?" Hearing the explanations from the people around him, Xue Daolv fell into contemplation.

He, Xue Daolv, did indeed possess an exceptionally high status, but to say he could interfere in another's internal affairs, his hand was not yet long enough to stretch that far.

"Forget it, forget it! Today we shall play a match among ourselves!"

"Hmph! If you ask me, that old fellow Qin Bing has acted truly dishonorably!" Ouyang Zhen snorted coldly. "He simply cannot bear to see others thrive, can he?"

Everyone knew the effect this shop’s existence had on cultivation, but it was glaringly obvious that if it were permitted to expand unchecked, the status of the Lingyun Academy's Lingyun Martial Arts Tower would assuredly be compromised in the future.

"Those young little fellows..." An Huwei said, "Will they still be able to come in the future?"

Those figures who used to crowd around the large screen crying out in delight, who gathered behind them to clap and marvel at the brilliant displays, and who called upon their friends to game together, seemed to have already become a part of this small shop. Now that this part was abruptly missing, everyone felt as though something was absent.

"I say, Old Master, concerning your granddaughter’s situation, are you not going to inquire about it?"

"Her own matters, she will handle well herself." Nalan Hongwu's eyes narrowed slightly.

...

"Miss Nalan, do you think... we will ever have the chance to enter the internet cafe openly to play games like before?" Sweat had soaked through her clothes, and Lan Yan bent over, breathing heavily with exhaustion, a black precious sword having already fallen to the ground.

In the past, it would have been utterly impossible for her to match swords with Nalan Mingxue for such a long duration and still remain standing, but now, she could feel her own long strides of progress.

Opposite her, Nalan Mingxue’s smooth, fair forehead was likewise beaded with fine, dense sweat, her fragrant perspiration trickling down. A silver-white precious sword hovered precisely three feet above her right shoulder.

The Sword Control Technique!

Though she was still a far cry from a level of mastery like Fang Qi's, it was evident that she was now capable of adeptly controlling a sword to battle!

"Of course we can!" She nodded with certainty, a divine light flashing within her beautiful eyes. "I heard that the national examination is about to be held? I had some thoughts previously, and they should be ready for implementation now."

...

When Song Qingfeng emerged from the cultivation chamber, the aura upon his body was already entirely different from before!

Not only had his cultivation become considerably more robust, but even his gaze had become more restrained and filled with spirit!

.

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PS: If no accidents occur today, there should be two chapters after midnight.