Chapter 1942

NO. 562: Words buried deep for a long time

NO. 562 Words buried deep for a long time (monthly ticket bonus

【Emperor's Prize (Spring)】

【608】

The exquisite yang-carving technique depicted Ludaofu Xiangzheng's steadfast gallop.

The unparalleled yin-carving technique depicted the Qianming representative's tenacious perseverance.

This was not the end of the former, yet it could be said to be the conclusion of the latter; in the months that followed, the Qianming representative completed the retirement ceremony in the rain.

The era wholly belonged to the Emperor; even the Gechengwangpai, hailed as the Jidong ace, had once stirred up waves, but after the Qianming representative's retirement, its condition gradually declined, ultimately treading the same path.

The King's era certainly brought joy and excitement.

Countless lower-tier subsidiary industries of the whole sector could thereby be injected with a shot of adrenaline, and the entire horse racing world seemed immersed in that heavily promoted prosperous age, yet the flourishing-then-declining development proceeded faster than many had anticipated.

Because pursuing a horse racing king while maintaining the spectator appeal of sporting events is itself a somewhat contradictory development.

Especially after the strong horse girls of the same generation each withdrew into seclusion.

Having lost the Qianming representative, having lost the battlefield of the Gechengwangpai, even if there were successive challengers to the Emperor, players achieving the demon king's aspect, the Ludaofu Xiangzheng could only, in the process of consecutive victories, endure its own gradually emerging condition fluctuations.

Holding fast to a battlefield without opponents, and in that waiting process enduring its own conspicuously evident weakness—such a future was visible at a glance; thus, amid the lamentations of the multitude, the Ludaofu Xiangzheng retired.

After that came a year-and-a-half blank period.

A meteor named Narita Shirojin swept across the sky, then came the legacy history of the Dazhenhan to the golden master.

This is both a fortune for contemporary horse racing and the ultimate bliss for spectators.

The more one looks back on the past, the more one feels moved by the recent years' scene of strong contenders gathering like clouds; it is practically like the age of great contention in some Dongyan webnovel, where heavenly pride and heroes appear one after another in full regalia, enough to elicit the remark 'We've eaten too well.'

But eating too much of such big fish and meat inevitably leads to a group of people yearning for an earlier past.

After all, in the Holy Terra Federation, it's easy to have that sense of temporal confusion.

That kind of feeling: 'What? That game is actually that old?', 'Huh? That animation is from that era?', 'What do you mean I'm already an old-timer?'

While a rapidly changing life preserves a sense of freshness, it often also preserves, even erodes, memories of the past, making you feel that some things still happened just recently, making you feel that some people still seem to be galloping on the Saichang, making their era seem as if it were still yesterday.

Then you truly see them appear on the screen.

The illusory essence of the Dream Cup lies precisely here.

Even if some people have been retired for many years, as long as they still have popularity and the audience's memory, this echo can bring them back to the Saichang.

Even if they are no longer worthy of speaking of the peak period, even if some of them in terms of hard strength have even fallen behind the leading figures of contemporary ancient horses.

But as long as they are willing to respond to the summons and willing to prepare for this.

The three goddesses will also personally bestow baptism and blessings upon them, thereby constructing a foundation just like that of former years.

To baptize and bless clansmen and believers, to regain new life.

This is a miracle that even the deity of a non-omniscient, non-omnipotent sole god ought to achieve.

Moreover, the three goddesses, though not deities relying on faith and incense, indeed possess ample faith power from numerous followers, and have long been idle with nowhere to use it; throwing it into the Dream Cup event like this can also be seen as giving back to the believers.

But these are all objective factors.

They are external conditions, as well as an impartial fair foundation, and also the core foundation enabling the establishment from short to medium to the forthcoming long distance.

Yet such a core foundation is not unique.

There is also one on the inside.

It lies within their own hearts.

It requires their own touch to be considered a complete foundation.

That is desire.

It is fervent fighting spirit, and also a decision so bone‑deep and soul‑rend ing that it cannot be abandoned.

Its manifestation varies among many players: some call it the original intention, some regard it as a dream, and others simply personify it as a concrete individual—if one can surpass it, one is considered satisfied, and desire thus gains a more concrete expression.

To touch such a thing, to pick it up and turn it into the power for unbridled galloping—this ought to be the most basic of basics for every horse girl willing to set foot on the Saichang, as natural as drinking water, yet the Dream Cup is different.

Indeed, there are many horse girls here who have left the Saichang.

When you think that two matches have already been held, and even someone has already won a victory, you might readily dispel this doubt and believe they are fine—but you usually overlook a fact.

That is, they were inherently strong.

When the players are strong enough—strong enough to represent the forefront of an era—the battlefield intensity they construct by gathering together ought also to be at the forefront, and also the most testing episode for hosts and commentators.

——Just watching for fun is no matter, but to truly understand requires an extremely high threshold.

Even in the months after those two completed matches, those viewers who persistently repeatedly study and ponder the replay footage can still extract some new details from it.

This allows some vague tactical plans to be established, also causes the scores of some horse girls to continue fluctuating, and further makes the Dream Cup match research a hot topic that can generally last over a year recently.

Under such circumstances, even if the Saichang mixes in individuals lacking basic competence, the audience would hardly notice.

Especially the kind where lacking basics can still begin from the middle—

«Sirius Symbol and Extreme Peak still maintain high-speed competition, entering the third turn! Start decelerating, start decelerating! Yet the relentlessly pursuing Rice Bath surges straight up! Very dangerous! »

Amidst a clamor of noise, Aomo's gaze remained calm and undisturbed.

As if daydreaming.

Holding a commemorative coin, he daydreamed with a subtle expression.

Yet the horse girls on either side of him appeared that attentive to the racecourse, their eyes tightly following the runners on the Saichang, which made him sigh.

«You don't intend to say anything? Or you just don't know how to say it? »

«…Wasn't it said we were going to solve Luna's problem? » Qianming muttered.

«…Huh? » Ludaofu Xiangzheng blinked in surprise.

But even though she was thus surprised, she did not directly turn her head to size up the two's meaning. Due to each's different persistence, such a strange scene arose, everyone's field of vision being as if pulled by the Saichang's magnetism, only the verbal expressions being distinct.

«Isn't it actually being solved? » Aomo said lightly.

Although everyone's tone was quite light, the private room indeed captured the outside movements, but this does not constitute an obstacle to this light-hearted chat at the moment.

I just know that while you also have this core problem, the two of your problems are also intertwined.

Just like this commemorative coin.

He said, and with a swipe of his fingertip, the nickel coin with intricate patterns on both sides stood up and split into two, turning into two single-pattern coins that could be joined by magnetic attraction.

This is the power of capital.

Capital makes for gradations among commemorative coins, from the Rudolf edition, the Qianming representative edition, to the Double Star edition, and there is also this detachable edition in Aomo's hand. Although they all sell cheaply, selling cheaply itself is part of commercial law.

It allows that even after countless years, nowadays one can still see many resale activities and not-low resale records.

Of course, this Aomo coin is a first edition that has been maintained for many years.

While possessing considerable collectible value, it can also reach the hands of the person it commemorates in this way.

Rudolf has the Qianming version stuck in his hand, while Qianming has the Rudolf piece stuck in his hand.

Although Aomo thinks that the commemorative coins of Gechengwangpai and others should be added here to give his words more weight, it seems spending too much effort in such a place would not be very meaningful.

Better to continue relying on words to make up for it.

This is that solidified time.

"Some people's forgotten past and time indeed remain in many people's hands, because so many people miss the way they looked when they ran."

?? tips:

? Guild battle third-tier rewards have been distributed, thank you all for your support!

? This may perhaps be the second-to-last guild battle of this book; please everyone stay until the very end.

? Yes.

? It is expected to be in the middle of next month (originally it should have been earlier, but I think I can still use a few leave slips (x)), to finish this book.

? As for whether there will be time to write some free side stories then, that will also be decided later depending on spare time and interest.

? (End of chapter)