Chapter 321: Chapter 321 My Name is Mu Fanghua
"What is your relationship with Xiao Qing?" Wang Lan asked in a deep voice.
"Fifteen years ago, in the Northwestern Military Region, the Seventh Battalion of the Third Star Martial Army received orders to rescue a squad trapped in a Different Dimensional Space. The Exotic Beasts inside were far more powerful than we had imagined, and we paid the price of fifty casualties before we finally found the besieged squad.
"The battalion commander ordered us to cover their retreat and wait for reinforcements while holding off the enemy. For three days, we held the line in the Different Dimensional Space. But in the end, what we received was the closure of the portal, with only two of us left out of thirty brothers.
"My younger brother, dying in my arms, asked me, ’Have the reinforcements arrived yet? When will they come?’ Heh heh heh... Hahaha... He was worried about reinforcements until his last breath. But the higher-ups had already abandoned us.
"Thirty brothers, along with the fifty who died fighting their way in—their lives were exchanged for the life of a young master from the Yu Family. The military’s initial plan was to trade our lives for one person’s.
"Why? Are the lives of those of us who fight and die for the country not lives? Are they worthless?
"You ask if I knew Xiao Qing? Heh heh heh... We are just lonely ghosts returned to the world of the living."
"So that’s how it is. You lurk in the shadows while Xiao Qing was out in the open. Xiao Qing died, and you’re seeking revenge for him?"
"No. Taking this path, we all knew we’d have to pay eventually. We hold no grudges against anyone for Xiao Qing being captured and executed. Until his death, Xiao Qing kept his promise and did not betray us.
"We, who are like betrayed wandering spirits, hate traitors the most. Yet they still refused to let him go; they even aimed to eradicate his family completely.
"If Xiao Qing’s lover had died, fine. Even if the woman and child he had overseas had died, fine. But they shouldn’t have touched Bai Ji! We had hidden Bai Ji so well, yet they still refused to let her be.
"If that’s the case, then don’t blame us for a fight to the death. Since you’ve found this place, you can take whatever Xiao Qing left behind. However, you must let me go first."
"Huh? It’s not even dark yet, and you’re already this drunk?"
"Then die—"
In an instant, Wei Laohan’s twin weapons danced, blade light gleamed, and Sword Qi surged forth, forming a wheel of sword light that he hurled at Wang Lan.
Wang Lan swiftly raised his sword to his chest. In a flash, he unleashed fifteen bursts of Sword Qi, ultimately shattering the oncoming sword energies.
But his Zanpakuto could no longer bear the strain and was covered in alarming cracks.
Wang Lan took a deep breath. Due to the small area, his Star Martial Skill didn’t offer much advantage. Fortunately, the same limitation also constrained Wei Laohan. Moreover, close combat was where Wang Lan excelled.
Wang Lan held his sword horizontally before him. "Bloom, Sword of Light."
As his words fell, the Zanpakuto exploded into a sky full of starlight. When the starlight converged, it formed a long sword made of pure light.
This scene appeared astonishingly before Wei Laohan. He looked at Wang Lan with an unnatural expression. Is this a Star Martial Skill or a Star Palace Artifact? If it’s a Star Martial Skill, that sword was clearly transformed from the blade just now. But if it’s a Star Palace Artifact, how can a Star Palace Artifact also unleash a Star Martial Skill?
With a flash, Wang Lan instantly appeared at Wei Laohan’s side, and the Sword of Light slashed down.
CLANG—
Wei Laohan raised his saber to block, and light burst forth in all directions.
Wang Lan’s sword instantly danced again, its path leaving a trail of luminous afterimages. The blade of light swiftly attacked Wei Laohan, who hastily defended with his own sword. However, as he blocked, Wang Lan’s thrust was already piercing towards him.
Wei Laohan was forced to block with the saber in his left hand. If it weren’t for Wei Laohan’s ability to use different bladed weapon techniques with each hand, that move would have killed him instantly.
"Arrow Rain!"
Suddenly, Wang Lan leaped backward, soaring into the sky. With a flick of his sword, countless beams of light transformed into a dense volley of arrows raining down on Wei Laohan.
Seeing this, Wei Laohan’s face turned pale with fright.
He had seen Sword Qi before—a thrust of the sword would produce a burst of Sword Qi. To instantly launch multiple streams of Sword Qi would require several thrusts. Thus, anyone able to instantly unleash more than ten streams of Sword Qi was definitely a Sword Dao pinnacle expert.
But Wang Lan had clearly only thrust once, yet countless arrows fell like a torrential downpour.
What the hell is this?
Although filled with terror, Wei Laohan’s movements didn’t slow. He frantically wielded his weapons to ward off the arrow rain. But just as he blocked it, Wang Lan’s Zanpakuto danced again, and numerous crescent-like blades of light carved arcs as they blitzed towards him.
Not only were there many, but they were also fast.
In that moment, Wei Laohan had three words stuck in his throat. Even though Wang Lan’s Star Power rank was two levels lower than his own, he felt as if he were being crushed by a Titled Strongman, utterly powerless to fight back.
BOOM—
The saber in his hand shattered, turning into a sky full of starlight.
The sword in his hand broke, its tip falling helplessly from the fractured blade.
Wang Lan gently thrust his sword. It instantly extended three meters, the golden blade of light piercing deeply into Wei Laohan’s chest, shattering his heart.
Wei Laohan stared at Wang Lan with wide eyes and suddenly opened his mouth, vomiting a mouthful of black blood.
"You actually beat me in close-quarters combat with bladed weapons? Hahaha... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH—"
Wang Lan sheathed the Sword of Light, which once again returned to its disguised katana form. The scabbard closed slowly. At this moment, shouldn’t I softly say, "Moon Falling Snow"?
Unfortunately, Yue Jifeng was already dead.
From the moment Wang Lan released the initial form of his Zanpakuto to killing Wei Laohan, the entire process took no more than a minute. Moreover, this victory wasn’t a fluke; it was a solid, head-on defeat of a Star Sea realm expert.
If his teammates had any concerns about Wang Lan’s strength before, all those worries had now completely dissipated.
Defeating a Star Sea realm expert head-on? Go ahead and try if you think you can. Although this Star Sea realm expert seemed to only be skilled with blades and his movements were restricted, wasn’t Wang Lan under the same limitations?
Bai Xu gazed at Wang Lan, her eyes sparkling like a myriad of stars, completely a smitten fangirl. Even Zhang Xiao’s look towards Wang Lan had become notably different.
"System prompt: Defeated higher-level opponent. Reward: 1,000 experience points, 80 skill points," the system’s notification sounded, but Wang Lan didn’t care at all. This meager amount of experience and skill points wasn’t even worth mentioning.
"The barrier’s down, huh? What, did you plan on dragging me back?" Once Wang Lan came back to his senses, he was immediately irritated. These four were actually still maintaining the barrier.
It wasn’t that his teammates were slow to react due to incompetence. Wang Lan’s battle had simply been too masterful, and they were still replaying it in their minds. If they had been in Wang Lan’s situation...
The conclusion was stark: they would have been utterly, irrevocably dead.
"Quick, everyone search carefully! We must find the recording Xiao Qing left behind, even if we have to dig three feet into the ground!"
In truth, there wasn’t much need to dig three feet down. Using his earth-attribute Star Martial Skill, Zhang Xiao indeed found seven or eight metal boxes hidden in the cement floor. Upon opening them, they were stunned. All the boxes contained average-quality Soul Beads, except for one which held a dozen or so low-quality Soul Beads.
Wang Lan walked over to the box of low-quality Soul Beads with a puzzled look, examining them before picking one up. After a mere glance, understanding dawned on his face.
Indeed, it seemed odd to have one box of low-quality Soul Beads among so many average-quality ones. But to Wang Lan, these low-quality Soul Beads were the most valuable items.
"Take these things and go back," Wang Lan commanded grandly. "Also, notify the police to come and manage the scene and confirm if he was the killer. We’ve confirmed it, but objective evidence is still needed."
"Understood!" one of his teammates confirmed.
Wang Lan walked to the window, looking out at the peaceful neighborhood, suddenly feeling a bit sentimental. It has been eighteen years since I came to this world, and I’ve always felt like I don’t quite fit in. Perhaps it’s a certain sense of belonging that I’m missing.
Suddenly, Wang Lan’s eyes narrowed slightly. In the distance, on the internal road of the complex, a faintly familiar figure appeared at the entrance, walking slowly towards them.
Why has he come? A sharp light flickered in Wang Lan’s eyes.
"I’ll leave this to you. I’m going to step out for a bit."
"Captain, did you discover something?" Bai Xu hopped over to Wang Lan’s side. Her liveliness made one wonder if she was born in the Year of the Rabbit. That’s not right, though, I mused. She’s three years older than me, so she should be a Tiger. A Tigger, perhaps?
"No, I just bumped into a senior. I’m going to say hello."
Duanmu Fanghua carried a convenience store bag, walking leisurely along the internal road. His somber face seemed to conceal his thoughts, and his brow furrowed occasionally as he walked.
"Senior Fanghua!" Suddenly, a call interrupted Duanmu Fanghua’s reverie. Duanmu Fanghua stopped and turned his head to look, his face immediately breaking into a smile.
"Wang Lan."
Perhaps at this moment, a voice sounded simultaneously in both their hearts: Pah! Honeyed words, but a belly of swords.
Each knew that their relationship was not harmonious; on the contrary, they had previously had a significant falling-out.
That time with Duanmu Yi, Wang Lan had intended to kill two birds with one stone. Duanmu Yi deserved to be dealt with, and he suspected this Duanmu Fanghua was no good either. However, Duanmu Fanghua was Vice President Nangong Meng’s disciple, and since Duanmu Yi’s actions were found to be unrelated to him, he was released that same night.
After that, Wang Lan never saw Duanmu Fanghua at school again. He’d heard from classmates that Duanmu Fanghua was still in the student council, but Wang Lan hadn’t seen him because Duanmu Fanghua had been actively avoiding him.
When the two met, it was impossible for them to show genuine smiles of a long-awaited reunion. Yet, both being passable actors, they instantly put on a show of old friends unexpectedly meeting in a foreign land.
"Wang Lan, what are you doing here?"
"I’m here to visit a friend. What about you, Senior Duanmu? Are you also here to visit a friend?"
Duanmu Fanghua lifted the convenience store bag slightly. "Green onions, ginger! Who brings these things when visiting a friend? I live here."
Huh? Isn’t Duanmu Fanghua from the Duanmu Family? Why is he living here? Could it be a rented place? That’s not right either; this place isn’t close to the school.
"Live with the Duanmu Family? Who told you that?" Duanmu Fanghua’s smile seemed forced. "I’m not fit to live with the Duanmu Family. My mom and I have always lived here."
"It’s rare to run into you, Senior Duanmu. Aren’t you going to invite me to your place to take a look?" Wang Lan asked with a smile.
Duanmu Fanghua’s expression changed slightly, his smile faltering, but he still nodded. "Alright. But when you see my mom later, please don’t call me Senior Duanmu or Duanmu Fanghua. Call me... Mu Fanghua."