"Hello, Mr. Wang Lan! We et again." General Yi Zuguo, whom he had t last ti, was in Cheng Jianlong’s office. As Wang Lan pushed the door open, Yi Zuguo greeted him with a smile.
"Greetings, General." Wang Lan stood at attention and saluted.
"Wang Lan, you have contributed six super S-class Star Martial Skills and recovered the ancient Qi cultivation thods for Jade Country. Previously, you also developed the thod for producing the Star Martial Toxin vaccine and Soul Bead grenades.
After deliberation by the Military Commission, it has been decided to promote Mr. Wang Lan to the rank of Major, award the Azure Day dal, present a reward of ten million Jade Coins, confer the title of Fellow of the Jade Country Academy of Sciences, and bestow the Jade Country Outstanding Contribution dal..."
Yi Zuguo was a straightforward person. Without a second word, he stood up and rattled off the long list of awards all at once.
Witnessing these awards, even General Cheng Jianlong looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
Except for the promotion to Major, which he could sowhat understand, none of the other rewards made sense to him.
The Azure Day dal? What was that? It was the hardest dal to earn within the military system and the highest honor. Only those who perford world-saving feats, averting utter disaster, could receive it.
In the seventy years of peace after the war, only three people had been awarded the Azure Day dal, and only the Fla Emperor was still alive. Now, with the Fla Emperor having been missing for eight years, Wang Lan was the only living recipient of the Azure Day dal.
And a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences? So world-renowned scientists hadn’t received this title. Even so Jade Country scientists who had won the highest scientific accolades, like the Nobel Prize, weren’t Fellows.
Beyond that, the Jade Country Outstanding Contribution dal, the World Peace Prize? Was this a joke? These accolades had even crossed international borders.
Even the lightest award, promotion to Major—an eighteen-year-old Major, who the hell has ever seen that?
Just how significant were his achievents, and how much favor had he won from superiors to garner such a stack of honors?
Cheng Jianlong was so envious it made his teeth ache with bitterness. However, what Wang Lan truly cared about weren’t these awards themselves.
"Congratulations, Host, on your promotion to Major. Reward: 5,000 skill points."
"Congratulations, Host, on acquiring a special Sacrificial Offering item."
"Congratulations, Host, on earning the title of Scholar. Reward: 30,000 skill points."
"Congratulations, Host, on winning the World Peace Prize. Reward: 500,000 experience points."
A series of system notifications nearly overwheld Wang Lan. He clutched four or five boxes filled with rewards, his eyes glazed over.
"Wang Lan, snap out of it! Don’t be so happy you go dumb," Cheng Jianlong suddenly said sternly.
"Oh, huh?"
"Hahaha... Jianlong, he’s still young, and young people should have the vigor of youth. If he were as serious and lacking in youthful spirit as you described, I’d wonder if he were so ancient creature hundreds of years old," Yi Zuguo said, laughing.
"You’re joking, General. By the way, General, have you found out who is behind Mrs. Sun Li?"
"You still call her ’Mrs.’? She almost killed you."
"After all, she taught all she knew, and what she taught was substantial. Without her, there would be no Star Martial Toxin vaccine. Hatred is hatred, and gratitude is gratitude. My mother taught from a young age to clearly distinguish between the two."
"Hmm? That’s not Wang Ling’s style. As for the person behind Sun Li, I can only say I have a guess. But I can’t tell you who it is; I fear you’ll do sothing foolish in your youthful zeal. Against soone so powerful and of such extraordinary status, no one can act rashly without irrefutable evidence."
"I understand," Wang Lan said in a low voice.
"That’s good. You’re still in school, and I shouldn’t interrupt your studies. However, I have a plane to catch soon, so I had to interrupt your class ti. Now that it’s done, you can go back."
"Wang Lan, should I arrange for soone to see you out?"
"No need, Chief. I rode my bike here."
Wang Lan did not return to school; it wasn’t practical to take these items back to the dormitory. Not that he couldn’t, but it would attract too much jealousy. Any one of these award certificates was historic. Flaunting them in the dormitory? Wasn’t that just asking to be struck by lightning?
Moreover, the other items were manageable, but he couldn’t explain the Sacrificial Offering item. If he summoned sothing strange and He Jing and the others saw it, even with an IQ of 140, Wang Lan wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of it.
Back in his dormitory, Wang Lan first put away the pile of certificates. Then, he closed the windows and drew the curtains.
The Sacrificial Offering item didn’t require him to sacrifice his actual dals, but rather the dals within the system. The real dals would still remain.
He accessed the system and opened the dals page. Unbeknownst to him, Wang Lan’s dals page already displayed seven or eight dals, but only the Azure Day dal shimred with a multicolored light.
This dal was even more prestigious than the Glory of the Sun dal he had received before; he wondered what marvels it might conjure.
He focused his spiritual power on the dal and chose "Sacrifice."
Instantly, his vision beca blurry, and soon, the familiar carousel of images appeared.
The last ti he saw this scene was over six months ago, yet it felt like just yesterday.
Demons, Angels, viruses, Transforrs, dragons, deities, and various ani characters flashed before his eyes.
Because I knew the items from the exchange would be entirely beneficial, posing no hidden dangers, I wasn’t as terrified as last ti. Even seeing a wave of zombies, I rely wondered if I could exchange for a virus antibody.
The carousel of images slowed, gradually showing signs of stopping.
Hey, this Bumblebee car isn’t bad. I indeed lack a vehicle, and Bumblebee can drive, fight, and even be a pet. Not bad, not bad...
But it seed the carousel of images hadn’t heard Wang Lan’s thoughts; it suddenly skipped over the Bumblebee sports car and stopped on a katana.
A weapon? Do I bloody lack weapons? Such a high-grade dal, and you offer a blade? Even if it’s the Sky Cloud Sword, that’s not acceptable!
But the image finally froze.
BOOM—
A vast stream of information rushed into Wang Lan’s mind. In an instant, countless bizarre blades flashed through his thoughts. Eventually, an ordinary-looking katana paused in his mind’s eye.
This sword had no guard and looked like a long rod. The hilt and scabbard shared the sa color and pattern. The sword was 1.3 ters long, with a 30-centiter hilt.
To Wang Lan, it felt like a dark orchid, possessing a gentleman’s aura.
And the mont he saw the sword clearly, his eyes lit up. The sword’s na was Sword of Light, and it, along with its brethren, had a collective na: Zanpakuto.
This was a Zanpakuto, but not one from the world of Death Gods. After all, this was Wang Lan’s own Zanpakuto. Depending on an individual’s soul, a Zanpakuto manifests with a unique form, abilities, and true na.
Only by calling its true na can a Zanpakuto achieve its initial release—Shikai—a process requiring patient communication and mutual understanding with the Zanpakuto. However, Wang Lan didn’t need this, as this Zanpakuto’s true na was indeed Sword of Light.
Wang Lan’s eyes suddenly opened wide. As he reached out, a long rod materialized in his empty hand. The grip felt extrely comfortable—its length, weight, and feel were as if custom-made for him.
Wang Lan slowly drew the Zanpakuto. As the blade extended an inch, an inch of the sheath vanished, disappearing completely as the blade was fully drawn.
The body of the blade shimred like autumn water, its edge sharp as starlight.
With a light flick of a finger, the blade emitted a crisp, dragon-like ring.
The craftsmanship of this blade must have reached the pinnacle of cold weapons. Even the Dragon Spring Sword Pavilion couldn’t promise to forge a treasured blade of the sa quality. Yet, this is but a disguise for the Zanpakuto. Even the disguise is a masterpiece; the Zanpakuto’s reputation is well-deserved.
Because this blade was straight and only two fingers wide, it could be used as both a saber and a sword, making it versatile for either saber or sword techniques.
Wang Lan held the sword with both hands, his expression solemn, concentrating his spiritual power on the blade.
"Release—Sword of Light!"
Almost as soon as Wang Lan’s voice fell, the blade in his hand suddenly shattered, the fragnts turning into a sky full of starlight. The starlight converged, a dazzling white light erupted, and a sword ford entirely of light appeared in Wang Lan’s grasp.
The sword in his hand was both blade and light. It possessed all the functions of a sword; additionally, the light could extend, change shape, and unleash blades and showers of light.
The Sword of Light was a blade capable of piercing through darkness.
However, its Shikai form, the Sword of Light, consud Star Power, for the wielder is the ultimate source of all power.
When the Shikai was canceled, the glow faded, and the Sword of Light returned to its forr katana appearance. The mont Wang Lan thought of sheathing it, the scabbard instantly reappeared around the blade.
Like the Phoenix Constellation Saint Cloth, this sword could reside within the Star Palace. Of course, the Star Palace wasn’t its true destination; Zanpakuto normally dwell within the soul.
But then again, how do you explain suddenly pulling out such an odd sword without opening the Star Palace? It wouldn’t be easy to explain. At least the Saint Cloth erges from an opened Star Palace, but what about a Zanpakuto?
This trip to the Tianjian Bureau yielded 35,000 skill points. Adding to the 50,000 skill points he had previously received for developing the Star Martial Toxin Vaccine, he now had enough for a major skill upgrade.
Previously, after reaching the Gold Tier, I felt there wasn’t much point in upgrading normal skills. In fact, even so Star Martial Skill upgrades seed aningless. Now the situation is different; my combat style has also started to evolve. In the past, my power was too weak, so I had to be cautious with my Star Martial Skills. But now, I prefer to be more aggressive. Take Star Cloud Sword Dance, for example; it’s now at Gold Tier, Level Three. The main difference between the Gold and Silver Tiers was rely more afterimages and the addition of Sky Step techniques. But I already have Phantom Tracer at Gold Tier, allowing for six instantaneous shifts in any direction with no blind spots. This traceless spatial movent is far superior to re afterimages. Furthermore, Sky Step has been replaced by the flight from Weight Exchange. Now with the Zanpakuto, even Sword Qi is obsolete. I feel Star Cloud Sword Dance upgrades should stop here. Fla Sword is different, though. I need to improve it at least until I learn the Infinite Fire Skill. Who knows? Applying the five unique flas to Fla Sword after learning Infinite Fire Skill might yield unexpected benefits. I do use Crescent Arrow frequently, though. But I have a hunch Crescent Arrow will soon be replaced by Fla Sword. Fla Sword is already showing long-range capabilities. Beyond Platinum Tier, its range might rival Crescent Arrow’s. As for Thunder Snake, I feel there’s still a lot of room for improvent. I vaguely sense it’s connected to another domain: Elentalization. For skills like Sentient Beings, my current plan is to learn the basics first. I can always boost them later when needed.
As his strength increased and approached the state of Return to the Original, it all boiled down to the sa three fundantal elents:
Star Power level, speed, and power!
In gaming terms: Evasion, Defense, and Damage Output.
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