Chapter 511: 465 Partners

Several days passed in a flash; it was already nearing the end of the second month.

On this morning, Tang Zhao woke up on his bed in the camp, staring at the rafters for a long time, feeling his mood improve slightly.

In recent days, as time grew tighter with each passing day, Tang Zhao had gradually entered a state of anxiety, often unable to sleep at night.

He rarely felt such pressure; the last time he was this anxious was when he was chosen as the Authority Sword Envoy of the Xiezhi Sword, having to face the unknowable Demon Cave and Heavenly Demons at the age of twelve.

But back then, what he needed to worry about most was his own life, and he was facing an unpredictable path ahead; he had never considered the consequences of failure, and the pressure of the Demon Cave was not on him. Yet now, he bore the lives of the common people of an entire province, the expectant gazes of the many Sword Guests and Sword Heroes inside and outside the team, and a result that remained distantly unknowable.

Given Tang Zhao's personality, the latter gave him even greater pressure.

Moreover, this pressure came not only from the outside but also from within himself, and the less anyone urged or pressured him, the more pressure he placed upon himself.

It could only be said that it was fortunate he was already a Sword Hero, his body having undergone a rebirth, so he would not easily contract the ailments of mortals; otherwise, his hair would be falling out in clumps, and he would sooner or later become bald or gray-haired.

Such anxiety was not because he could not handle pressure; on the contrary, he was actually doing quite well.

In front of others, his emotions remained stable, his expression amiable, and he could excellently complete tasks such as studying, coordinating, and decision-making, showing not a hint of nervousness.

No one would ever guess that this sunny youth could not sleep at night, and upon waking in the morning, dared not open his eyes, feeling as if he owed a mountain of debt the moment he did, just like an ant on a hot pan.

However, his mood was a little better today, because there was finally some extra good news.

In the morning, he routinely went to the Workshop for Fu Formula research—it was a converted classroom where Xue Xianyun and his Disciples were now stationed to conduct research on the Fu Formula Array. Here, there were Fu Formula classics collected from all over, rare materials transported back from the front lines and the Demon Prison, and the assistance of the Illusion Prop that Tang Zhao had previously developed; the conditions were even better than those at Zhuoyu Villa.

Under Xue Xianyun's leadership, the research on the Fu Formula could be said to be advancing by leaps and bounds; at least it was a success academically this time, but in terms of the task's timeline, it was not yet rapid enough and had not yet displayed any considerable results.

Tang Zhao routinely made a patrol and expressed his hope for speeding up progress as gently as possible. After all, Xue Xianyun was his own master and was not rushed by him; instead, he comforted him, saying, "At most, one or two days. We will strip the information exchange array from this Teleportation Array, and then it will be just like that... Communication Device you developed. You can unilaterally transmit information over and shout into the ear of that thing for twelve hours a day: 'Message, are you receiving? Message, are you receiving?'"

Tang Zhao thought to himself: That sounds far too annoying; I'm not going there to be hated, am I?

After chatting with his master for a few sentences and receiving comfort in return from Xue Xianyun, his mood improved a bit more, and he left the research hall.

Once he stepped out, he was about to go to the Wen Shi Guan, which had been converted from the original library, to find Zhang Rong, when he heard someone behind him say, "Tang Commander!"

Tang Zhao turned around and saw a young woman running over.

This woman was only about twenty years old, with almond-shaped eyes and curved brows, a sweet appearance, and hair that was slightly yellowish—a "yellow-haired girl" in the true sense of the word.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Sword Guest Li."

This woman was Sword Guest Li Rongrong of the Land Inspection Division, a Sword Guest from the same batch as Mai Shiyu; she had become a Sword Guest only within the last year or two, about the same time as Tang Zhao.

The batch of Sword Guests that included Mai Shiyu had relatively shallow seniority in the Land Inspection Division, all starting from the baseline Sword Official rank of the Sixth Rank. Take Mai Shiyu, for example; if it weren't for the fact that she happened to encounter the Xun City Incident and performed meritorious service, and that her direct superior Feng Zhilie was gone, she probably wouldn't have been able to become a proper Town Guardian. Li Rongrong did not have such luck, so she naturally remained a Deputy Envoy of a region.

This time, because her Sword Image was suitable, she was selected for the team and was originally supposed to be Tang Zhao's reserve teammate. But Tang Zhao had never chosen teammates, and this place was strictly confidential, with personnel only entering and never leaving, so this batch of selected Sword Guests remained in the Training Camp to work, effectively serving as Tang Zhao's temporary subordinates.

Nowadays, the Zhaoyang Camp could be considered highly staffed; even those cooking and sweeping were Sword Guests.

Tang Zhao had been working with this Sword Guest Li for over a month and they were familiar with each other; his impression of her was that she had Mai Jie's feistiness but lacked Mai Jie's maturity, and her personality was still like a child's.

Yes, although Li Rongrong was three or four years older than Tang Zhao, Tang Zhao felt that her temperament was childish and not mature at all.

Li Rongrong arrived in front of Tang Zhao, her expression solemn and her spirit high, and said, "Tang Commander, I have made progress again today. I am only three steps away from that light in the hall."

She stared at Tang Zhao, seemingly waiting for his praise, and Tang Zhao responded, "Is that so? That's really good."

Although it was praise, the tone was flat, just a polite remark.

Li Rongrong was somewhat disappointed, but immediately picked up her spirits and said, "Before, I was ten steps away; since then, I have moved one step closer every three days, never stopping. Sooner or later, I will be able to touch that light. Just you wait, I will become your teammate." Having said that, she turned and left.

Tang Zhao called her back and said, "Deputy Envoy Li—"

Li Rongrong turned back, and Tang Zhao said, "Sorry, I said before that you are not suitable to be my teammate."

Li Rongrong said lightly again, "I know. When you left that light in the hall, you said early on that only those who could approach and touch that light could become your teammates. I couldn't get within ten steps before, so of course, I wasn't qualified. Now I am adapting step by step, moving forward step by step; after these days of effort, I am now only three steps away from the light, and I will definitely be able to touch it before the task deadline. At that time, we will be teammates."

Tang Zhao sighed and said, "Deputy Envoy..."

Li Rongrong said, "I am not a Deputy Envoy when I come here. If you don't want to call me by my name, you can call me Xiao Li."

Tang Zhao was a few years younger than Li Rongrong, so he naturally would not call her Xiao Li, and said, "Miss Li, actually you don't understand. The purpose of me setting up that light was not to screen for a teammate who could approach step by step through effort, but to screen for a teammate who is naturally compatible with that light. That is to say, one must be able to touch the Sunlight from the very beginning, and even treat it as if playing with it, without the slightest fear from the root. If one cannot approach it the first time, there will never be another chance."

Li Rongrong was greatly disappointed and said, "How can that be..."

Tang Zhao explained, "The target we are going to face is a thousand or ten thousand times stronger than the light I set up; it can be said that there is no comparison at all. Therefore, only those who are completely immune to the damage have a chance to get close; any damage taken here would mean being reduced to ashes over there. This is not something that can be changed by effort."

Seeing Li Rongrong becoming increasingly dejected, he said slowly, "Not just you, that Sword Guest Fang from two days ago, he was also rejected by me."

Li Rongrong muttered, "I heard about that. Was he also eliminated because his ability wasn't good enough? They also said..."

There was only one Sword Guest surnamed Fang in the Zhaoyang Camp, who was called up in the second batch a few days ago. Because Tang Zhao had told the first batch of Sword Guests clearly that there were no suitable teammates among them. He had thought it would end there, and the camp personnel were sufficient, with the inside and outside temporarily sealed, just waiting for the time to come for him to go into the water alone; he did not expect the Gaoyuan Marquis to immediately screen a second batch of Sword Guests for him.

This second batch of Sword Guests was not limited to the light and fire directions. Instead, all kinds of special Sword Images were included, and anyone who might be able to dodge the power of the sun with special abilities was called to try.

For example, Sword Guest Fang; his Sword Image was related to space. He had a Sword Art that could hide himself in a special independent space, disconnected from the outside space, but still able to see each other. In other words, he was "etherealized," and when hidden in a special space, he was invincible; no attack could harm him.

Because his Sword Image and Sword Art were special, even unique in Yunzhou, and his talent was high, and he had performed meritorious service, this kid was a bit arrogant; Li Rongrong did not have a good relationship with him, and they were not from the same batch, so she didn't know much about his affairs.

Tang Zhao said, "Outsiders discussed that he didn't listen to orders and angered me, so I didn't want him? That's not it. He just didn't pass the test. At first, he hid in space and could easily approach the light. But that was only the first stage. Later, I condensed the light into a single point, and the mass and energy surged simultaneously; then, because of gravity, the surrounding space became distorted. His space could not be avoided either."

If Tang Zhao hadn't rescued him in time, Sword Guest Fang would have almost been torn into fragments by his own space.

Li Rongrong whispered, "After the first stage, there is a second stage?"

Tang Zhao said, "Yes, it's just that my ability is limited; otherwise, if I increased the mass by a hundred or a thousand times, there could be a third or fourth stage, and only then could a result truly be screened out. I am not deliberately making things difficult for anyone. I am just adjusting the test to be closer to the state of the target. Even with such adjustments, the power is still less than one ten-thousandth of the target. In the face of absolute power, space collapse and instantaneous vaporization are no different. Only by not getting close is the only safe method."

Li Rongrong's heart sank as she listened, and she suddenly said sternly, "But with such danger, can you, Commander, be safe and sound?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "I can't say it's a sure thing. But I'm not necessarily going to die, am I? When it comes to matters concerning the common people, it is right for our generation to take risks, but taking risks is to achieve something, not to show off bravery while being of no help. There is a difference between giving it a go and throwing one's life away, right? Miss Li, you doing your own work well is a huge help to me."

Li Rongrong was dejected, unable to accept the loss of hope for a moment, and had no strength to argue; she bowed slightly and turned away.

Tang Zhao looked at her back, suddenly feeling a bit melancholy, and said softly, "I suppose I won't be able to find my companions in this world, will I?"