Capítulo 1077: Chapter 56: Cold Steel, Hot Blood (Part 2)
“What’s up, Ling?”
“Do you think all these martial artists have a screw loose or sothing?” Shiyu Ling couldn’t understand, “Traveling all the way here just to fight, what’s the point, even if they win a few matches? Not to ntion those bystanders caught up in the heat of the mont—none of the little girls could ever beat the champion, right? Isn’t it just setting themselves up to get beaten?”
Gongsun Ce recalled the words of Ninja Thunderbolt and mused, “So people don’t know the imnsity of heaven and earth, while others want to see just how high the sky really is.”
Shiyu Ling raised an eyebrow, “And seeing it ans they can reach it?”
“Out of a hundred people, one hundred might not reach it, and realizing the gap might prevent them from happily soaring at the bottom. But for them, having seen it and not having seen it are ultimately different.”
The snow outside the window engulfed the moonlit night, rendering the firelight of human habitation invisible. The Dawn Star had been flying through the silent night for a long ti until a wisp of white smoke drifted past the window.
“Look below!” Qiluo exclaid.
The crew mbers hurried to the window, and amidst the boundless monotonous snowfield, visible flas and smoke erged. The white mist rising skyward reminded Gongsun Ce of the hot springs in the center of Zero Island, but the warmth couldn’t possibly be coming from a re underground spring. It was flas, still vibrant in the cold wind, orange and red, encircling the snowfield like a ring of fire, lting ice and snow to create the city’s walls of steam. Beyond the walls, the silhouette of a rigid city appeared—an iron city standing tall in the polar region!
The surfaces of the steel-cast houses reflected the blazing firelight, such that the nurous golden lights flowing on the buildings’ exteriors resembled golden dragons spiraling through the snow. Silver paths extended like cobwebs outside the steel city, where people, holding torches, walked atop the steel, despite their thin clothes in the polar region. Gongsun Ce found this strange, “Didn’t they say the local steel causes extre cold?”
“The tal in Cold Steel State has another property,” Dawn Knight replied, “When the tal is in a place with a biological community, it automatically emits a faint warmth. The local ancestors discovered that striking the tal with physical force greatly enhances its warming efficiency, thus they have been striking the cold steel year after year, making it a heat source that protects life.”
“Certainly has the union style…”
Gongsun Ce gazed at the steel city in the snow, pondering the history of a thousand years ago. Warriors once braved the snow and wind to enter the polar region, extracting and building their cold steel hos. Their dug pathways lted the ice and snow, and their boiling blood built a steel city that never dims.
This is Burning Steel City, the capital of Cold Steel State, the hottest city in the north.
·
“Gongsun Ce, our winter clothes are wasted, huh?”
“Who’d have thought Burning Steel City would be this hot…”
The group disembarked from the airship, fanning themselves with small fans non-stop, as Burning Steel City was as warm as a heated indoor space. The city was bright with lights inside, and the residents on the street mostly appeared resolute and muscular, making the 5’3″ Qiluo look like a little dwarf among a sea of tough dudes.
Gongsun Ce was browsing local information on his phone, not understanding anything despite looking at it for quite a while: “Is this the domain of the Origin family or the Church?”
“Cold Steel State is a neutral zone,” Dawn Knight inford him, “The local totem is governed by the Cold Steel Arena, thus the managent rights have changed hands multiple tis throughout history, with no one being able to stabilize control.”
“Well, it seems very union-style, so what about local political inclinations?”
“Gaius Otimis has extrely high support here.”
That’s a surprising thing; compared to Gaius’s young people’s popular advocating of advanced ideas, the wildness and teachings of the Church should logically better fit this place’s temperant. Gongsun Ce intended to delve further: “Why?”
“Because both Gaius Otimis and Klein Aiman were military n involved in border conflicts, and having established military rits and been awarded dals, they are seen as war heroes. Many officers hail from the north here, and it is indeed the stronghold of the Radical Faction… I suppose you figured that out since you’re so smart, Mr. Demon.”
The familiar voice made Gongsun Ce perk up; he turned to see a blond youth leaning against a vending machine, holding a large cup of iced cola in one hand.
It took Gongsun Ce a mont to recall the person’s identity: “Ed Floss? Light Core’s Equipnt Minister?”
This person was a superpower user he had fought against years ago, from the forr ranks of Aorus. He now looked notably grown, wearing a casual shirt and shorts, no longer donning that pretentious white lab coat.
Ed took a sip of cola, “Wow, you really rember , no wonder you have good connections. Don’t worry, just a coincidence, no one’s trying to pick a fight with soone like leading the charge.”
Gongsun Ce adjusted his glasses, “You’ve left the City of Sky. Aorus’s pre-action arrangent?”
“You really read minds, huh?” Ed shrugged, “Let guess, the young lady from the Qin family looks pretty excited, I bet you’re headed to a casino.”
“Wrong guess, the destination is the Cold Steel Arena.”
“Then that’s a casino,” Ed discarded his finished cola bottle, “Want to show the way? Consider it an apology for the incident four years ago.”
·
Dawn Knight took the girls to find a place to stay, while Gongsun Ce and Qin Qianbai followed Ed to scout ahead. He led them to an outdoor parking lot, where open spaces had been temporarily cordoned off with circles of iron wire. Many young people peeked their heads out of cars, shouting loudly, like an alternative drive-in theater. The glaring car lights illuminated figures exchanging blows in the open area—a dark-skinned, bald, muscular guy was boxing with a man equipped with cybernetic limbs. The cyber-limbed man landed an uppercut to the muscular man’s jaw, raised his arm in celebration after knocking down his opponent.
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