Forty Millenniums of Cultivation - Chapter 275
Chapter 275: Brutal ALKAID
“Lu Feng! Lu Feng!”
“Guan Dong! Guan Dong!”
With the desperate cheers of the crowds, two ace drivers walked out onto the truck, which immediately set the super shuttle fans on fire.
Fiend Fire Lu Feng was thin, with a pair of smart eyes. He looked like an unpredictable breeze.
Battle Axe Guan Dong, on the other hand, was tall and strong with a body size that was much bigger than ordinary professional super shuttle drivers. He had bushy eyebrows, scary eyes, and a square face, releasing an intimidating scent from him. He was truly like an unstoppable battle axe.
The match was about to begin. Yet the two of them were still chatting and laughing in comfort.
“Lu Dong, I didn’t expect that you would challenge me again after only three months. Are you sure you’re ready? If it turns out that you are slower than me by that much again, it will be quite shameful.” Fiend Fire grinned.
“Neither did I.”
Battle Axe Guan Dong smiled and said confidently, “Half a month ago, I was told that there was this super shuttle modifier in Serpent City that was super awesome. Therefore, I paid a visit to him hoping that he could help upgrade my shuttle, only to find that he was biting the ground in a match with Jiang Shaoyang, the ‘Solar Eclipse’. I had the honor to invite Master Jiang to redesign a super shuttle specially for the Hell Storm Racetrack for me. That’s why I decided to challenge you again. Be very careful when the match begins. Master Fang is far more skilled than you will have expected.”
“Isn’t Jiang Shaoyang, the ‘Solar Eclipse’, originally the ‘Tenth Star’ of Deep Sea University?”
Fiend Fire Lu Feng said very proudly, “My modifier is Master Mei Ze, the ‘Void Wing’ of the Novem Stellae. I believe he is sort of Jiang Shaoyang’s senior brother, if we get to the bottom of it. This time, when he heard that Jiang Shaoyang was your modifier, he did a comprehensive upgrade to my super shuttle. You’ll know what I mean a moment later.”
While they were debating, Jiang Shaoyang and Mei Ze were also confronting each other behind them.
“Shaoyang, you have disappointed the entire Refining Department of the Deep Sea University!”
‘Void Wing’ Mei Ze was a serious man in his thirties. Although he was not very old, he had several deep wrinkles on his forehead that seemed to be carved by a knife.
Mei Ze had been a student of Jiang Sheng when Jiang Shaoyang was only seven or eight. He had witnessed Jiang Shaoyang’s growth from a child to a young man, and he didn’t hesitate to teach him a lesson when he thought a lesson should be taught, “Never have we thought that you would end up in a lawless, chaotic place such as Serpent City and be corrupted like this!”
Jiang Shaoyao was quiet.
He used to be a radiating man that was the center of attention wherever he went.
But right now, all his brilliance had been absorbed by the annular eclipse tattoo on his forehead, making him more eccentric than ever.
He was speechless for over half a minute after Mei Ze finished his sarcastic speech. Then he slowly said, “I’ve been thinking of a question lately.
“If the Refining Department of the Deep Sea University represents the peak of the elite refining ideology and the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution represents the peak of the grassroot refining ideology, what path and ideology should I pursue in order to beat them both?
“I had contemplated the question for a long time without any answer, until I accidentally came to Serpent City.”
Mei Ze squinted.
“Did you find a third ideology in this place?”
Jiang Shaoyang smiled, his white teeth glaring.
“No.
“As you said, Serpent City is a lawless, chaotic place. Refiners here do not care for styles or ideologies. There is only one thing that they care about.
“Victory!
“Victory at any cost!
“I realized that Serpent City would be a very suitable place for me. So, I stayed.
“All the refiners in Serpent City are my teachers. You will see their ‘tireless’ teaching in a moment, Senior Brother Mei.”
Mei Zei didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he sighed.
“Shaoyang, there’s still a chance for you to turn back. Let’s make a deal. Come back with me if you fail today. How about it?”
Jiang Shaoyang’s eyes bulged. He couldn’t help but laughed.
“Senior Brother Mei, why are you academics always so childish?
“What is failure? Failure only means that victory has not come yet. That’s all!
“I’m no longer the ‘Tenth Star’, the guy who had never failed a single time since childhood and therefore couldn’t bear the thought of failure!
“I have failed thousands of times in the past three months. Many a time I was beaten like a stray dog!
“It was not until then that I discovered that failure could teach you so much more than success!
“It doesn’t matter if you defeat me this time. In fact, it’s quite possible. But I will rise up again and challenge you for another hundred, another thousand, another ten thousand times until I finally beat you!”
Mei Ze was rendered speechless for a while. He was shocked by Jiang Shaoyang’s eyesight and starting to feel that the guy standing in front of him was not the junior brother that he knew at all.
Jiang Shaoyang smiled.
“That’s about enough, Senior Brother Mei. Let’s take the chance and see who’s the better one between us.”
Two super shuttles drove slowly out onto the track, catching all the attention of the field.
The super shuttle that Mei Ze modified for Fiend Fire Lu Feng had a weird name, which was a KALLIMA[1].
It was a super shuttle most distinguished for its lightness, which was extremely slim, like a dancing butterfly, or a leaf that was flowing with wind.
Lightness was Mei Ze’s refining style.
His nickname ‘Void Wing’ was based on his masterpieces that were as light as the hollow feathers of birds.
As for the super shuttle that Jiang Shaoyang modified for Battle Axe Guan Dong, it was an…
“ALKAID!”
Li Yao lost control and screamed out. He didn’t know what to feel.
Never had he expected that Jiang Shaoyang would design a vehicle based on an ALKAID, too. The universe must enjoy the show when Jiang Shaoyang and himself were put together.
Jiang Shaoyang’s ALKAID was full of spirit, like an irritated fierce beast. Li Yao could smell the scent of the irresistible force from it even though it was almost a hundred meters away.
On the shell, besides the hundred or so air paths which could stabilize and thrust the vehicle in the wind, the super shuttle was also installed with more than a hundred auxiliary fins that resembled the fins of sharks.
The sharp-edged auxiliary fins added to the toughness of the ALKAID, making it look like an unstoppable battering ram.
The modification was almost exactly the same as Li Yao’s first plan.
No, not exactly the same. It was much better than that!
In a fair distribution, the shark fins were embedded perfectly into the shell of the vehicle without the slightest trace of joints. The whole super shuttle seemed to be refined all at once in a large-scale furnace without any post-modification at all!
“Jiang Shaoyang is stronger than three months ago. No. He has undergone a qualitative change and has become a whole new person!”
His heart beating fast, Li Yao felt so thirsty that he couldn’t wait to jump on Jiang Shaoyang’s ALKAID and feel it with his own hands.
But before he was able to take action, the two super shuttles, as well as the drivers and the modifiers, were escorted out of the place under the protection of the staff of the Aurora Autos.
The time of ace drivers and top modifiers was very precious.
It was just a personal competition today and not a formal match which usually sold tickets.
Therefore, only a moment later, the two ace drivers, in their KALLIMA and ALKAID, appeared at the start line of the Hell Storm Racetrack.
The audience were instantly ignited. The site was already on fire before the super shuttles were launched.
Countless super shuttle fans were craning their head up outside of the Aurora Autos, trying to jostle into the stereoscopic light beams.
The Hell Storm Domain seemed to be even more furious than usual, with smoke blowing and wind growling like ghost.
Fiend Fire Lu Feng versus Battle Axe Guan Dong!
Void Wing Mei Ze versus Solar Eclipse Jiang Shaoyang!
As the last of the three red lights floating on the sky turned green, the dual competition officially began!
In a moment, the booming of the two super shuttles overwhelmed the passionate commentary and the enthusiastic exclamation of the audience, crushing all the other noises into pieces, while the two super shuttles turned into two thin light belts.
Half a second later, the light belt changed into a series of blurred shadows, which didn’t disperse until another half a second later.
Right then, the roars of the super shuttles tearing the air apart finally reached the ears of the audience, indicating that the two super shuttles were already beyond the supersonic speed when they were just initiated.
Fiend Fire Lu Feng and Battle Axe Guan Dong were both among the best super shuttle drivers, yet their driving styles were completely different.
Steered by Lu Feng, the KALLIMA was like a small boat on a surging sea. Although it seemed to be sailing hopelessly and ready to be overturned at any moment, the super shuttle continued on the racetrack in strange curves and cut into the gap of wind from various oblique angles. Not only had it avoided the assault of the wind, it even managed to be boosted by them.
The ferocious wind seemed to have become a giant hand carrying the KALLIMA forward.
In the meantime, the ALKAID, steered by Battle Axe Guan Dong, directly slashed into the wind as if it were a heavy battle axe, not bothering the wind at all.
The ALKAID that had been fully strengthened by Jiang Shaoyang boasted brand new air paths and stabilizer fins, which transformed the blowing wind that supposed to be an interference into impetus that boosted the vehicle forward!
The KALLIMA was looking for the gaps of wind in a curve, whereas ALKAID was going in a straight line.
A straight line is, of course, always shorter than a curve. Together with the boost of the wind, ALKAID was suppressing KALLIMA the whole time in the first two minutes.
“Solar Eclipse Jiang Shaoyang is indeed impressive! The air paths and stabilizer fins are so delicate!
“It seems that the record will surely be broken this time. Might be an improvement of—an entire second!”
“Solar Eclipse! Solar Eclipse! Solar Eclipse!”
Jiang Shaoyang was more or less considered as a local refiner of Serpent City right now. Many young man looked up to him as their idol.
Seeing that ALKAID modified by him was so remarkable in the game, his fans all shouted in excitement.
Inside the Hell Storm Domain, the two super shuttles had entered a floating stone belt.
KALLIMA made best use of its lightness and swiftness. It danced countless small arcs in the limited space, as if it were drawing pictures of fish scales in the air. By the dancing, it avoided the randomly moving stones that were everywhere.
Such dodging skill was known as “Fish Scale Dance”. It was a very professional technique in super shuttle racing.
The audience had recognized the technique, and all applauded for Fiend Fire Lu Feng’s amazing ‘Fish Scale Dance’.
In the meantime, slowing down a little bit, the ALKAID crashed into the floating stone belt at a subsonic speed with vague greenness around its body.
“Guan Dong is crazy to ride into the floating stone belt at a subsonic speed! How daring!”
“Look at his auxiliary fins!”
The stabilizer fins of ALKAID started vibrating at a high speed the moment the super shuttle entered the floating stone belt.
The scattered stones that luckily broke through the spiritual shield of ALKAID were all minced into powder by the auxiliary fins.
It was then that everyone realized the auxiliary fins of ALKAID was only partly for the guidance of wind. More importantly, they were meant to crumble the stones!
How many rune arrays had been carved inside the auxiliary fins to make them capable of both?
Solar Eclipse Jiang Shaoyang’s design was truly inspiring!
[1] A genus of butterflies of the family Nymphalidae, also known as the oakleaf or oak leaf butterflies. See more details on Wikipedia.
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