Chapter 314 — Poor Yaya

The light before his eyes vanished all at once, and Tang Tang's field of vision seemed to be yanked into darkness.

The sudden darkness left Tang Tang gaping.

Whoosh!

The darkness came fast and went fast; in a blink it faded like a phantom.

Yaya's little fist halted two centimeters from Tang Tang's nose.

Tang Tang stared, dumbstruck.

Yaya was plainly beside itself with glee at Tang Tang's expression, but it forgot it was in midair, and dropped to the ground with a smack, spreading out flat like a slab of jelly. In an instant its springy body recovered its shape and bounced up off the floor.

Tang Tang was slow to react, and stammered: "Light-Devouring Iron Fist..."

Yaya proudly flexed its arm like a strongman.

Suddenly the world spun — Tang Tang had scooped it up. Then its body was stretched into a thin film, then kneaded into a ball, while Tang Tang muttered: "Apart from being a bit blacker, no change at all. Could that black smoke be used simply to swallow things? Should I dissect it? See whether there's a Soul General card for the Light-Devouring Iron Fist inside?"

Yaya's body went rigid at once, its fleshy face full of dread.

"That was a peerless martial art, and a mere sprout soul general swallowed it — what a waste of heaven's bounty! So much money!"

The more Tang Tang thought, the angrier he grew, and the more his flesh ached at the loss. He stared at the Yaya in his hand with a most unfriendly look. Yaya hurriedly piled on a fawning, ingratiating smile — but its face was now coal-black, and nothing but the eyes could be made out.

In its heart it regretted bitterly: never show off, never court death!

"Now there is a chance for it to redeem itself by service." Bing's voice suddenly issued from behind Tang Tang.

Tang Tang turned his head, suspicious: "Redeem itself? How?"

"Your strength has now broken past the ceiling of the Recruit Camp. The Recruit Camp can no longer give you any new help; we need a real Legion camp," Bing explained, saying not a word about the battle of that day.

"A real Legion camp?" Tang Tang was instantly drawn in. He asked curiously: "Didn't you say all the real camps are in the Southern Cross?"

"That is so," Bing went on. "But near the Recruit Camp there is in fact another camp that was once abandoned."

"An abandoned camp?" Tang Tang was startled.

"Correct." Bing recalled: "That place used to be the front line, with a legion stationed there. But later our defense lines kept expanding outward, and the legion's station kept shifting outward with them, so that camp was gradually abandoned."

"I see." Tang Tang understood, then asked, puzzled: "What use is an abandoned camp?"

"It was abandoned not because anything was wrong with its functions," Bing explained patiently. "Besides, I can take over that camp as well, so I can open it. Many of its functions can be of great help to you. The camps of the Southern Cross Legion are thoroughly equipped. What is more, it can produce soul martial generals of lieutenant rank and above."

"Then wouldn't anyone who found the camp be able to produce soul martial generals?" Tang Tang asked.

Bing finally could not help putting on a mocking face: "You think just anyone can open it? Only someone with authority like mine can. The hierarchy of a legion is far more rigid than you imagine, rookie."

Seeing that "I am a big shot" face of Bing's, Tang Tang sneered: "Hey, Commander, then go open it."

Bing came to his senses at once and changed his tune, warm as a spring breeze: "With a camp, your martial cultivation will benefit enormously. Think about it — the [Hidden Wind] and [Air Shield Strike] you practice now both have the makings of peerless martial arts. With a camp, your chances of breaking through rise greatly. Many of the camp's training programs exist purely in pursuit of the limit."

"Really?" Tang Tang looked unconvinced.

"Of course." Bing knew the crucial moment had come and threw every ounce of energy into boasting: "You know, in our era the atmosphere was quite free. Especially in martial cultivation — none of today's rules and restrictions; pursuing the limit was the fashion. The fastest sword, the greatest strength, the sturdiest defense, the keenest perception, the most agile footwork. Whoever achieved any one of these became famous throughout the camp at once. Those bastards had energy to spare and no outlet for it, and they fiddled with this stuff every single day. Among the three great legions, ours — the Southern Cross — had absolutely the best atmosphere!"

Tang Tang was moved: "Where is that abandoned camp?"

Bing pointed to Tang Tang's left: "That direction. But we will have to open a path through the Sands of the Clock. Yaya's Light-Devouring Iron Fist is quite suitable."

Yaya promptly puffed out its chest and lifted its head, putting on a "you can absolutely trust me" expression.

"All right." Tang Tang casually stuffed Yaya into Bing's hands and asked offhandedly: "How far, roughly?"

Bing took it, beaming: "Not far. Cross the Clay Plateau and you're there."

"The Clay... Clay Plateau?" Tang Tang stammered.

"Yes. I remember in the old days, if we traveled by lightfoot skill, it took about two months," Bing recalled. "The Clay Plateau is vast, and the Clay Tribe lives there. Quite a few of our legion's people were of the Clay Tribe."

Tang Tang cast Yaya a look of sympathy — carving a path clear across an entire plateau...

Yaya had already fainted dead away from fright.

Full of pity, Tang Tang left the Recruit Camp and came to Xuanxiao City, where Pipa greeted him and led him to Fei Cheng's laboratory.

"Not bad conditions at all." Tang Tang looked about. The space here was wide and open, and all manner of secret treasures were laid out in a row, their radiance nearly blinding him. Secret treasures worth one and a half billion produced astonishing effects; any other bloodline expert who witnessed this scene would surely have coughed up blood on the spot from envy.

Fei Cheng chortled happily; he was utterly satisfied with the conditions here. At first he had worried about Xuanxiao City, a place he had never heard of — who knew what backwater it might be.

But when he followed Dingdang to Xuanxiao City and saw this vast base under construction, he was struck completely dumb.

A bronze base of such scale, such magnitude!

Fei Cheng privately guessed that the lord must come from some ancient clan; only such clans could command resources on this order. The bronze base had already shaken him, and Sai Lei's mechanism laboratory shook him again. He did not know much about mechanisms, but he could still tell that the configuration here was enough to make the vast majority of mechanism masters leap from a roof in envy.

Sai Lei simply allotted him an astonishingly large area. He was certain that if those bloodline experts in Yong'an City saw the conditions he had now, they would come running in tears without asking for so much as a single star coin.

Tang Tang looked at the empty surroundings and said: "If you need assistants, go recruit some."

"May I?" Fei Cheng was somewhat delighted. He knew a good many bloodline experts whose talents had gone unrecognized. Seeing this lavish laboratory, he thought of his old companions still chewing bran and gnawing on vegetables.

"Of course," Tang Tang said. "If there are suitable people, just bring them over."

Catching sight of Pipa, Tang Tang's eyes lit up: "Pipa, what do you suggest?"

Right — he himself did not understand, and was not clever enough; but here was a clever person.

Pipa pondered a moment, then asked: "My lord, what are your requirements for the laboratory?"

"Requirements?" Tang Tang blinked. "To crack my bloodline."

"Does it need to turn a profit?" Pipa asked further.