Chapter 233: Grandmaster Descends, Furious and Hideous!

Nanhuang Dao Guan, front courtyard open space, Qin Shi moved over a long bench, drinking Energy Liquid while guiding Zhou Ning in Standing Post.

"Stand steady, Little Zhou, your two legs aren't planted at all—how will you fight on the platform later? If someone attacks your lower body, you'll fall!"

Zhou Ning was drenched in sweat, his thigh muscles trembling, soft as two noodles swinging back and forth.

He was standing on Nanhuang Dao Guan's Honglu Stake; using Three-Stage Breathing from bottom to top, he guided Qi Life Force to his chest, then pumped it through his entire body via his heartbeat.

Every time his breathing slackened and failed to merge with the vibration of flesh and blood, Qin Shi would speak up to remind him.

"Tighten the Core, extend the trunk, imagine your breathing like flowing water, drawing outside energy into the body……"

The subtle changes within Zhou Ning's body completely escaped Qin Shi's "Fa Eye."

Under the cover of his Life Magnetic Field, no fluctuation could hide.

About fifteen minutes later, bean-sized sweat drops dripped from Zhou Ning's forehead, pattering down; the Life Breath tightly gathered into a single strand finally could not hold, suddenly vanishing.

"Too hard!"

Zhou Ning plopped down on the ground, not caring about his image at all.

He was soaked all over, as if he had just crawled out of a river.

"This Honglu Stake, standing it once is no different from being half-dead. Old Qin, I heard Ren Laoshi say you can stand for days and nights without stopping?"

Qin Shi nodded; for him, Honglu Stake was like elementary school addition and subtraction, no difficulty at all.

"A monster! I really want to be a genius once and experience this kind of Supermodel value!"

Zhou Ning sighed to the heavens, fell backward, and lay flat like the character "big."

"Practice well. Honglu Stake is a required course at Nanhuang Dao Guan, making muscles remember the rhythm of Three-Stage Breathing; once familiar, your stamina, strength, and power output will all make great progress."

Qin Shi glug-glug finished the last sip, throwing the sealed can into a bamboo basket not far away.

"My physical test a while back, my Qi Life Force rose quickly, Lao Qian even praised me."

Zhou Ning exhaled deeply, his breathing gradually evening out.

"Maybe I can get into a second-tier university, and find a high-paying foreign trade job in the future."

Qin Shi curled the corner of his mouth; as long as Zhou Ning maintained this stable Life Force Development speed, he could definitely reach the Ranking Score Line for first- or second-tier universities.

"Thank you, Old Qin. Without your face, I couldn't even enter Nanhuang Dao Guan's gates! Top students from Xin Yi High School's Elite Class, like Xu Mo and Zhao Yunzhu, can't even get in with connections!"

Zhou Ning said sincerely.

"Why say such polite words."

Qin Shi stood up and walked down the steps; he didn't need to deliberately assume a stance, every movement had Qi moving with his body, rich Light Radiance seeping through his body, strands winding around his limbs and trunk.

From afar, he looked like a bright pure white Cocoon, waiting for the moment of successful hatching.

"Old Qin, when do you plan to break through Professional Realm?"

Zhou Ning felt that wave after wave, like ocean tides slapping, vast Breath, and couldn't help but marvel.

Hard to imagine that a few months ago, Old Qin was still doing summer jobs with him.

In less than half a year, he was already Hengzhou's most dazzling Supernova, the most famous Genius Boy.

"Soon, wait for me to grind some progress."

Qin Shi released the Light Radiance within his body; at this step, he needed no deliberate adjustment to move his muscles, Nanhuang Dao Guan's Body Tempering Furnace had become instinct, firmly imprinted on his Mortal Body.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for Inner Vision; nearly eighty nodes had lit up across his body, exactly at his chest position, like a glowing ring flickering.

The Flesh Vitality refined by the Body Tempering Furnace poured in endlessly, then sprayed out thumb-thick brilliant beams of light.

After a few minutes, Qin Shi felt the sour refreshing taste Zhou Ning had just experienced from Standing Post to exhaustion; in terms of the Soldier Combat Method ravaging the Mortal Body and consuming reserves, it was indeed unique.

Even with this value template that made countless geniuses envy and hate, every time he ignited nodes with Life Light Radiance, he felt his body emptied out, a sense of weakness rising naturally.

"Huff, huff!"

Igniting two more nodes, breaking past ninety, Qin Shi stopped cultivating and sat on the ground to rest just the same.

"Old Zhou, why don't you and my big sister work together? She's never wanted to be idle, planning to start a long-distance freight company. I was thinking, if we don't do it, fine; if we do, we might as well make it big."

Zhou Ning asked doubtfully:

"How big do you plan to make it?"

Qin Shi's throat was dry and hoarse; he had Xuan Ming bring over two cans of Level 4 Energy Liquid to wet his throat, then said:

"A dozen or so vehicles with guns clearing the way, mainly docking with the Patrol Department, contracting their projects."

"Right now it's in the planning stage, no manpower yet, insufficient funds. If you're willing to buy shares, you count as a founding member, and you'll get a share of future dividends."

Zhou Ning shrugged and smiled:

"Old Qin, if you want to take care of your brother, just say so next time; I'm the least polite person, and my attitude toward hugging thighs is definitely positive."

He wasn't stupid; Old Qin said he was planning, but had nothing.

But actually, with his influence and sway, recruiting troops and buying horses was easy; pulling him in as a shareholder was just out of regard for their past dead friendship, giving him a better way out.

"Deal. As long as I have a mouthful of rice to eat, you'll have a bowl to wash; how does that sound?"

Qin Shi said jokingly.

"Pretty comfortable, pretty easy."

Zhou Ning answered seriously.

"We, the children of workers from Old Factory Street, the best future we could imagine was nothing more than getting permanent residency rights in the Taian Metropolitan Area—that was already promising."

"I originally planned to become head of the Security Department at the factory right after graduation; now you're letting me be General Manager of a transport company—that's bringing glory to our ancestors; at holiday dinners, my dad will have to actively offer a toast!"

Qin Shi's mouth corner twitched; Little Zhou was as filial as ever.

"Anyway, I have no big goals in this life, but lately following Old Qin you, my horizons have risen, and I've started fantasizing about entering Professional Realm; Old Zhou's family should give me a separate page in the genealogy."

Zhou Ning said happily.

"Ambitious! I'll talk to Senior Brother Ren later, have him increase the intensity, train you well, strive to solidify your foundation and rush into Professional Domain!"

Qin Shi raised his thumb, indicating he was willing to provide assistance.

"Spare me."

Zhou Ning, who had just sat up, instantly fell backward and lay flat again.

After resting briefly, Qin Shi recovered; his depleted life radiance was born and grew from flesh vitality, slowly filling his entire body.

Once the life radiance concentration exceeded half, he dusted himself off, turned away from Zhou Ning, and entered the backyard.

"Third Senior Sister, when will Zhang Shidi return?"

Qin Shi happened to run into Yu Weiwei, wearing an apron, in the Wind and Rain Corridor, and he couldn't help but miss Lao Zhang; the other man, at his age, driving a Divine Machine without a license through the Star Sea, was truly worrying.

"Who knows. Every time Master goes on a long trip, it's half a year at the shortest, three or four years at the longest. Little Qin Shidi, the Star Sea is vast, and Divine Machines aren't War Ships that can jump multiple times..."

Yu Weiwei shook her head and brought the freshly made Nutrition Meal to Qin Shi.

"Don't worry about Master; he pilots that King-level Divine Machine and can walk sideways across most of the Galaxy."

In the He Xie Star Region, a civilian cargo ship swaggered into the notorious "Magic Scorpion Corridor."

It was not equipped with powerful firepower, nor did it have escort ships following close by; such high-profile behavior was like a child holding gold walking through a busy market, leaving the Star Sea pirates stationed here unsure of its origins, and they were all somewhat suspicious.

"Boss, could it be bait from the Ninth War Corps' Professional Army?"

The fully armed pirates in the spaceship looked at each other, waiting for the leader to issue orders.

The Magic Scorpion Corridor was located in the central part of the He Xie Star Region, a vast asteroid belt covering an extremely large area.

Large-scale high-intensity battles had once taken place here, with the Ninth War Corps and the Xing Shen Attendants fighting fiercely; the former used orbital strikes to bomb several high-contamination planets into pieces.

Thus forming this death zone called the "Magic Scorpion Corridor."

Many miscellaneous people who could not obtain Dongxia Citizenship, or who had committed crimes and were stripped of lifetime citizenship rights, formed pirate teams that used this place as a den, coming and going year after year to conduct illegal transactions or fence stolen goods.

Because the Ninth War Corps' large destroyers or cruisers could not enter, the safety level was quite high.

Usually, experienced merchant ships either chose to detour or hired escort fleets.

Of course, there was a more direct method: pay protection money to the pirate band for safety.

"Wait and see! Watch above! If it's some gilded Young Master playing Pig Eating Tiger, we have no need to bite the hook!"

The pirate band leader pondered briefly and made a conservative choice.

To survive between the stars, compared to risking everything for wealth with small bets for big gains, doing nothing at all was survival wisdom.

That civilian merchant ship was like swimming into a school of piranhas, in pitch-black deep waters, who knew how many fierce carnivorous creatures lurked within.

The captain and first mate were not as calm and composed as other pirate band leaders imagined, and their ship cabin did not have armed and trained Professional Army waiting to strike.

"Too exciting! I swear, I've never experienced anything this exciting in my life!"

The bearded captain held a pipe in his mouth; his burly body and rough voice made him look like an old hand who had seen it all.

But beneath his burly body, his two thick legs trembled slightly, and his rough voice contained a trace of quiver, as if he was about to piss himself from fear.

"The radar is full of red dots! Captain! At least seven or eight pirate bands are loitering nearby!"

The first mate held a portable detection instrument, its display screen synchronized with the radar.

He had a mournful face, devoid of the will to live, as if planning to write his will in advance.

"Don't panic! We might become the first merchant ship to pass through the Magic Scorpion Corridor smoothly without paying protection money!"

The bearded captain forced his spirits up, as if brainwashing himself, constantly saying inspiring words.

The two left the command room and took the elevator down to the lower launch bay, where escape pods were stored; once the merchant ship came under fire and could not sail normally, passengers could use them for emergency avoidance.

But as the elevator landed with a "clang," the first mate discovered all the escape pods had vanished, as if the place had been emptied.

The thick dust piled on the ground also showed obvious traces, as if heavy objects had been dragged, leaving a series of marks.

The further they followed the bearded captain inside, the stranger the first mate felt; when the hatch opened and they entered the innermost launch bay space, a huge shadow like a mountain range pressed down, making one's breath catch.

"Divine... Machine!"

The first mate raised his head, his face filled with utter astonishment.

Although this Divine Machine had shrunk to normal size and did not display the terrifying posture of legendary contempt for gods and demons, the flesh-formed colorless outline, the machine body resembling a celestial being's eye-catching form, and the energy particles dispersing... all told the first mate that this Divine Machine's level was not low.

"Captain! Why is there a Divine Machine on our ship?"

The first mate did not think they were saved; instead, he believed this might be the source of disaster.

You know, the requirements for piloting a Divine Machine were extremely high; even in the War Corps' Professional Army, only the most excellent elites could match and serve as pilots.

"Don't ask so much!"

The bearded captain turned around, casting a stern gaze to stop the first mate from continuing to investigate.

He took a deep breath; the temperature at the bottom layer of the launch bay was very low, with a chill surging.

"Sir! I followed your requirements, did not change the route, and passed directly through the Magic Scorpion Corridor to the Ninth War Corps' Number Four Satellite Fortress..."

The bearded captain's posture was humble, like a servant facing his master.

He and the first mate had not entered the maintenance room at the innermost part of the launch bay; voices mixed with tension and unease passed back and forth like a swing, sounding especially loud.

When the lingering sounds faded into silence, a tall and thin figure stepped out of the darkness and appeared before the two.

It was a bald man, skin and bones, with long arms and long legs.

His face was quite haggard, with two deep dark circles under his eyes, as if he had not rested properly for several weeks or months.

"Don't worry about those pirate bands; you are fish bait, and if a fool really bites the hook, it's just right to pass the boredom of the long voyage."

The bald man's voice was very deep, like a baritone singer, inexplicably giving people a great sense of stability.

"Esper path! It seems we are really saved!"

The first mate was ecstatic, with the joy of surviving a disaster rising in his heart.

From this bald man, he felt extremely powerful spiritual fluctuations.

Without a doubt, the other party was the pilot of this Divine Machine!

"Then, sir! When do you plan to deal with those offensive fellows?"

The first mate asked excitedly.

"You may be mistaken."

The bald man shrugged, raising the cleaning tool in his hand:

"I am not the owner of this Divine Machine, nor its pilot. I am only responsible for cleaning it and doing routine cleanup."

The first mate was stunned, and the bearded captain was also surprised.

The "mysterious guest" he had contacted from the very beginning was this bald man.

"The Predecessor you are looking for is probably enjoying food and strong wine in first class right now."

The bald man said helplessly.

……

……

Lao Zhang finally stood up from his wheelchair, wearing brightly colored loose short sleeves and oversized shorts, like a tourist going on vacation to a tropical region.

Holding a glass of juice, wearing slippers, he walked through the first-class dining hall.

Boom!

The merchant ship, which had been sailing smoothly, suddenly shook and swayed violently.

In the dining hall, glasses clinked as the upper-class people in suits and leather shoes all looked out the window; the observation deck, originally meant for admiring the scenery of the Universe, was now occupied by fighter jets resembling piranhas!

"Jie Lue Pattern!"

Someone cried out, triggering panic and commotion.

"Fishing for so long, and finally a bite! These fish these days have become clever; it's hard to recreate He Lanchan's wonderful play of 'Grandmaster Descends from Heaven, Furious and Hideous'!"

Lao Zhang finished his juice and slowly walked to the observation deck.

Everyone looked at that old man on his last legs; the next moment, the passage opened, and this decaying figure wearing slippers and big shorts stepped forward with a boom, actually crossing Outer Space with his mortal body!

In just a moment, the pitch-black vast Universe bloomed with brilliant fireworks!

(Chapter End)