"Of the 4,000 first-years who entered, only 2,738 came out. 1,252 died."
"Of Wei Daocheng's 800 passengers, 58 died on Qin Mountain, 18 withdrew because their masters had died, leaving 724 enrolled. Now, only 11 remain."
"Not only did 713 people from Wei Daocheng's ship die, but 539 innocent people died as well!"
"All because of a great figure's single thought!"
Yang Ning looked at Ming Yuxiu, who was smiling at him from ahead. He understood that this was a gesture of goodwill, as if she were telling him: I saved you!
But what essential difference was there between Ming Yuxiu and Lin Tianheng?
There was none!
She knew the inside story behind this trial, yet she had still sat by and watched it happen.
On the other hand, the other Inner Disciples might not have known the truth. They had truly believed it was an accident.
Yang Ning noticed the lingering sorrow and relief in Lin Yuanxi's eyes.
This girl is very kind. She must have been well protected since childhood! Yang Ning thought.
He had been the same. The state had protected Yang Ning well since childhood, making him willing to treat the world with kindness. Only after speaking with Tuo Buchuan had his attitude begun to slowly change.
"This trial was an experiment by our Ascension Academy, but from the looks of it, the risks were still too great!" Fang Zhuo sighed from above. "You are unfortunate, but compared to those classmates who died, you are fortunate as well. Go claim a Treasure Essence Pill shortly. Everyone gets one; you deserve it. That is all. Xun Hu's team, stay behind!"
The first-years had just been trembling with fear. But after hearing Fang Zhuo say that, and seeing how many people around them had vanished, they suddenly felt that they were indeed quite fortunate.
As for reasoning with Fang Zhuo? Don't be ridiculous. Royal children were heartless by nature. They could kill even their own blood brothers, so how could they possibly seek justice for unrelated dead people?
What, your servants, pageboys, and maids had died? Was that even a problem? Just write a letter home and have more sent over.
As for those whose masters had died, then sorry—you were no longer disciples of the Ascension Academy and had no right to speak.
The crowd swiftly dispersed. Before long, only Xun Hu's group of four remained on the field.
Unlike the others' bedraggled, miserable state, the four were neatly dressed and rosy-cheeked. Only sweat beaded their foreheads, because there was no air conditioning in the tank and it had been too hot.
When there had been many people around, the four had not felt much. Now that only they remained, facing seven or eight Inner Disciples, the pressure immediately descended upon them.
"What is that mobile fortress?" an Inner Disciple asked.
"This lord is Li Yuan, the Inner Disciple most skilled in artifact forging!" Fang Zhuo introduced.
Oh, one of my own. My name was Li Feiyu, after all!
"That is called a Kun-12 Mobile Infantry Combat Vehicle, or tank for short!" Xun Hu answered.
"I understand Mobile Infantry Combat Vehicle, but where does the name tank come from?" Li Yuan asked.
"Uh..." Xun Hu scratched his head, then turned to Yang Ning. Right, why was it called a tank?
"Uh..." Yang Ning was speechless too. Why was it called a tank? Because it was a transliteration of Tank!
"Tan means safety, while ke means defeating enemies and securing victory. Thus, a tank protects its own safety while also defeating its enemies!" Fortunately, Yang Ning's mind worked quickly, and he explained without hesitation. "It means it is both durable and capable of dealing damage!"
"Durable?" Li Yuan scratched his head.
"It has lots of bulk and strong defenses!" Yang Ning answered.
"So that was it!" Li Yuan nodded. "That is quite fitting. Those body cultivators have both powerful defenses and high damage output. Could they be called humanoid tanks?"
"My lord's comprehension is excellent. That is exactly what it means!" Yang Ning praised.
"Mhm, tank. It is a good name!" Li Yuan nodded.
"Of course it is good. Yang Ning is one of the rare cultivators with soaring literary talent!" a female voice behind Li Yuan said.
"Hm?" Li Yuan froze. Wasn't this the young woman in green from earlier? Why was she speaking up for him?
Yang Ning looked toward Lin Yuanxi and cupped his hands. "Thank you for your praise, miss. Yang Ning does not deserve it."
Lin Yuanxi's expression remained calm. She thought Yang Ning did not recognize her.
But although she had changed her face, and her looks and bearing were completely different from before, her maid had not changed! It was still the same one, even wearing the same outfit as before!
Upon hearing this, Lin Tianheng sharply turned his head. His younger sister normally cared about nothing, so why was she suddenly speaking for an artifact refiner?
Something was wrong. This was not right!
If he had wanted to kill the people from Wei Daocheng's ship before only because they had seen him make a fool of himself, then his killing intent now had another reason entirely!
With a thought from him, Wang Yi immediately stepped forward. "Xun Hu, could you take out your tank and let us have a look?"
"Certainly!" Xun Hu hurriedly pulled out his storage pouch and released the tank.
A deep hum sounded, and Li Yuan's eyes lit up. No wonder even that bear had been unable to budge it. So this thing was that heavy?
"This thing!" Wang Yi walked up to the tank and circled it once. Then she suddenly asked, "This bears quite a resemblance to Tianyi Sect's Meng Qingyun's Dao artifact, the Eight Treasures Dragon Chariot. Have you seen that Dao artifact before?"
The four shook their heads in unison. "We have not seen it. We have never even heard of it!"
"Never heard of it?" Wang Yi sneered. "I am afraid that may not be true. Ten years ago, Meng Qingyun came to Taiheng for Senior Brother Lin Tianheng's Golden Core ceremony. Yet when he left, he vanished within Taiheng territory for half a month. I had wondered what he had been doing. So he had planted spies within our Taiheng territory? Yang Ning, tell me—did you invent the Curved Shaft Plow ten years ago?"
"Yes." Yang Ning nodded. "But I have never met that Meng Qingyun. I invented the Curved Shaft Plow myself!"
"You, Yang Ning, were born into a farming household, utterly unworldly, with no family legacy. You were not even two years old then. How could you normally invent the Curved Shaft Plow unless someone taught you?" Wang Yi demanded sharply.
"You misunderstand!" Yang Ning hurriedly said. "I did invent the Curved Shaft Plow, but it did not appear from nothing. It was improved from the short Straight Shaft Plow. The difference between the two is not that great."
Was that so?
Wang Yi had only just pulled Yang Ning's file and had merely seen the words Curved Shaft Plow. How could she have known it had a predecessor?
Before becoming a maid, she had been a Saintess of the Thousand Illusions Sect. Her fingers had never touched the waters of spring. Forget Curved Shaft Plows and Straight Shaft Plows—she might not even have been able to tell chives from wheat shoots.
But her mind was not slow either, and she immediately asked, "Fine, even if you improved it, tell me this: at barely two years old, how could you improve something that no one else had discovered for thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of years? Was it not still because someone taught you?"
"You just said no one had improved it for thousands or tens of thousands of years. Then who could have taught me?" Yang Ning spread his hands. "Could it be that Tianyi Sect uses Curved Shaft Plows for farming?"
How would she know what kind of plow Tianyi Sect used? If she knew, would that not make her the spy?
Wang Yi had never imagined that Yang Ning, who looked so dull and foolish, would be so eloquent. She was immediately left speechless, then turned to cast a pleading look at Lin Tianheng.
"What a useless thing!" Lin Tianheng rolled his eyes. She had so many honeyed words when competing for favor, yet when it came to serious business, she could not even outargue a little brat.
He turned his gaze toward Wang Luo, signaling her to go.
Wang Luo sighed, then descended the viewing platform with graceful lotus steps. A gentle smile rested on her face as she looked at Yang Ning.
"Yang Ning, I just heard that young lady say your literary talent is astonishing. I think so too. I have read all the poems you wrote!"
"Hmm?"
Before you continue