Chapter 40: Jesting (1/2)

Chapter 40: Jesting

Translator: OneshotwonderEditor: Tehrn

Wang Tong left DREAM-heaven as soon as he had finished the fight. On the way home, he lamented over Wang Ben's misfortune and felt content about his own life. The miraculous mind opening event on Norton was a stark contrast to the cruel joke that life had played on Wang Ben.

This fight, like all other fights, gave Wang Tong new insights about his mental and physical abilities. He had noticed that his body was exceptionally vigorous even when it was not under the influence of the EMF.

Ever since the discovery of the EMF, physical strength had become irrelevant, fighters had been putting the matter on the back burner and focused solely on strengthening their EMF. This practice was also backed by scientific researches that had concluded that the effect of physical conditioning on improving the METAL fighter's power was inappreciable.

However, ever since he returned to earth, Wang Tong had felt an undeniable sensation as if there was a force within his body that had fallen into slumber. Only today, when his body was under immense pressure from the relentless attack of Wraith III, did he felt the slumbered force had awakened to fill his body with vigor.

Wang Tong started to entertain the thoughts of connections between physical and mental strength and eventually pieced all evidence together. He remembered that on planet Norton, where constant battles and grueling gravity had toughened him up considerably, he had also felt the workings of this force facilitating him during his fights. Things hadn't changed until he had arrived on Earth, where his body was no longer under demanding conditions.

This insight had provided a clear direction in Wang Tong's future training, but first thing first, he wanted to celebrate this discovery. For a warrior like Wang Tong, there was no better celebration than filling his belly with food.

”Keep up the good work my dear princess warrior, we will be counting on you next month,” Samantha interrupted Ma Xiaoru's physical exercises with a smile. She stood at the threshold; half leaned against the door.

The Tactics of the Enchantress focused entirely on the mental cultivation without any physical strengthening. The thorough advisers of House Li had addressed this shortcoming in the cultivation guide by emphasizing the importance of physical conditioning. Unlike a real fighter who would naturally gain physical strength as he or she undergone fights, an academy student rarely had the opportunity to do so. Therefore the need for a physical exercise was apparent to Ma Xiaoru.

Ma Xiaoru had noticed Samantha at the door. She paused to grab a towel and wiped the sweat off her face. Her gym shirt clad tightly against the skin, outlined elegant curves that were accentuated by her lively and beautiful face. The sight had caught Samantha off guard, as she gasped at Ma Xiaoru's beauty.

”Look at you, you are gorgeous! I wonder if any dude out there really deserves you, might as well spare him for me,” Samantha poked fun at Ma Xiaoru.

”Sam! Don't make fun of me. You are turning into a real Enchantress!”

”Haha, I am just kidding. Anyhow, things at school seemed to be more complicated than I had initially thought. It had been draining me for days on end, look here, can you tell the wrinkles under my eyes?”

Samantha didn't wear the eyeglasses like she always did at work. The glasses made her look pragmatic and mature, a convenient façade when it came down to running school business, but there was no need for it when she was alone with Ma Xiaoru. Not only they were similar in age, but she also knew that Ma Xiaoru was a friend in whom she could confide.

”How so? I thought everything had been coming up roses. Would it be the tournament next month with the Bernaue?”

”What else could it be. They are not our friends, that's for sure, but I can feel that they are brewing something. They are too anxious about this fight to my liking.”

”Curious and curiouser. We are of a lower rank school compared to Bernaue, defeating us should be taken for granted, what are they anxious about? Anyways. Let's go grab some drink first, I'm thirsty!”

The air around the floating mansion was clear and crisp, thanks to meticulous filtration and cleansing. The central climate control system worked even outdoor to alleviate the discomfort of heat as Ma Xiaoru enjoyed the bathing of sunshine while savoring a cup of synthesized drink. Life might have seemed mundane to her, but she had lived a life that only a few could afford.

”They are anxious about you and Hu Yangxuan,” Samantha continued, ”you two combined with the funding I had brought to Ayrlarng had evidently stepped up our game, that was enough to disquiet them. They want to stop us before we gain any momentum.”