Chapter 128 – Family Inheritance
This feeling was really mysterious and ambiguous.
"Let me scan your skylink code!" Sharmie said in an unquestionable tone. It was obvious that she meant for him to listen obediently. If he didn't give it, others would.
Wang Zhong could only open his skylink. So long as he didn't admit it till the end, even Sharmie wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
"Student Wang Zhong, I think we can become friends!" Sharmie exclaimed in an extremely happy manner.
"Flame City seems far from Tianjing."
"Distance isn't problem. Furthermore, there are some things that aren't definite. One day we may even be schoolmates," replied Sharmie.
Wang Zhong didn't feel the same way since he wouldn't go to Flame City. But it seemed this was said with meanings within meanings. Though, Wang Zhong knew this wasn't the time to delve too deeply into such a discussion.
"This afternoon's meal is my treat." Sharmie was a very straightforward person. In fact, she didn't feel like there was any connection between Wang Zhong and All-Mouthy King. Wang Zhong gave off a feeling of vitality and dreams. In other words, he was a youth who fought and struggled for his dreams and ideals. For All-Mouthy King, he exuded the atmosphere of a deep and mature person.
Wang Zhong didn't possess a single cent of relation with maturity. In fact, Sharmie's thoughts on this was all just to fulfil a few small fantasies she had. She never imagined Wang Zhong to be that interesting. Him not sticking to every woman he sees, along with that exceptional combat understanding, made him a good person to befriend!
This was the genuine Sharmie.
She simply didn't care for how people interpreted her actions, or how they gossiped about it. It was like how she was too lazy to care how they looked at her. If she did care about it, what would her life change into?
Wang Zhong could see in Sharmie's eyes that she was just trying to recognize him as a friend. It seemed he thought too much into this.
"Let me treat you. If I get the opportunity to go to Flame City, I won't be polite!"
Sharmie was a bold and uninhibited girl. This was also characteristics of Flame City. If you liked someone, then say you liked them. If you hated them, then say you hate them.
After their first conversation, the two chatted for a long time and Wang Zhong felt a whole new level of respect for her. Frankly speaking, his initial impression of SharmieSharmie's initial look was that of an elite division expert from an aristocratic clan. He'd assumed she paid more attention to fighting than anything related to theories. After interacting with her, however, he found that her experiences were exceptionally broad and vast.
Elite clans possess exceptionally an excellent and refined family education. This included lessons and combat techniques that cannot be found within the academies. Of course, this meant the clans were very selective of which junior entered the acadamies. In fact, this was a good way to allow Sharmie and the others to efficiently improve without being under a serious environment.
For the majority of people, energy and interest both had their limits.
While Sharmie was a ranged soldier, she possessed a reasonable level of understanding for close combat, the coordination between various occupations, and even of mutated beasts and dimension creatures. She was a very passionate and cordial person. If she felt a person was worth being friends with, she would become exceptionally calm and not the least bit artificial.
Truthfully, Sharmie was even more amazed and shocked than she let on. She'd read through Wang Zhong's profile and he was the typical example of a normal citizen. His parents were both normal humans qualified to become citizens due to their involvement with technology. While his opinions were truly original ideas, it was easy to note he had deficient access to confidential grade information. Yet, even then his understanding and keen sight for openly available information was very astonishing.
A few of his odd thoughts and clever ideas gave Shamie quite a number of surprises. Yet, it was regretful that Wang Zhong's soul power growth rate was too low. It hadn't even reached a hundred yet. This was a deal breaker that would make anyone feel helpless. Such a matter was common, however, and a regular phenomena.
Within the various great academies of the Freedom Federation, those with the fastest growing soul power were seemingly all from clan juniors. The reason behind this lay in their bloodline. If one's bloodline was good, then one's inheritance would be good. The various great clans all had successors who were noted as the most outstanding of new humans during the dark era. Marriages between clans were also chosen with optimization at its core. With this method, it guaranteed that their later generations would inherit the best powers.
Closer to the current era, the human population had increased substantially and the clans have grown larger. Naturally, it was impossible for one to perfectly guarantee the optimal purity being inherited, but the foundation of an outstanding inheritance had still been preserved. One still needed strong talent to guarantee the proper use of one's inheritance, however. An example would be Sharmie. She had the special ability of fire creation, which wasn't much. The most critical point was her unceasingly growing soul power. In addition, the rate it grew was also very fast. When she casts her heroic soul, this rate would only increase to an even greater degree. By then her inherited power would have been truly unleashed.
Even someone like Milami, with her collateral ancestry and diluted bloodline, benefited from an inheritance of good soul power growth rate. Ma Dong was another example, though his willingness to improve was the issue there.
Most citizens wished to become experts and would invest astonishing levels of hard work. They might manage to trigger a mutation, but those were exceptions. The Freedom Federation relied on an order based upon inheritance. As for the power differentiation in place within the Federation, it was mainly held up by the strong experts nurtured by the various great clans.
Right now, the entire government was seemingly filled with members of the various great clans, or by those associated with the great clans.
Sharmie was very clear of these matters. She didn't need to ponder them too much, and intelligent people wouldn't waste time on such unintelligent questions. When she saw Wang Zhong, however, she felt pity for him. He was clear-headed, sensible, and possessed a logical mindset.
In fact, up till now Sharmie felt Wang Zhong couldn't possibly be All-Mouthy King. His 'student' aura was just too strong. Still, he was an interesting person to befriend. Letting go of such thoughts, Sharmie freely spoke whatever she wanted and even teased and made fun of Wang Zhong from time to time.
All of this was still a bit difficult for Wang Zhong. When they talked about serious matters, Sharmie was a pretty good person to interact with. But once it turned to gossip, her tastes were a bit too heavy for him.
After eating their meal, Wang Zhong was dragged away by Sharmie. She said she wanted to guide him in some real combat. The two arrived at the Prodigy Society's training grounds since there were too many people at Black Rose. When Ma Dong found this out, he immediately cancelled all other use of the grounds.
Sharmie had already changed into a training outfit, which was quite the astonishing view for a person like Wang Zhong. The pitiful President Ma Dong could only cry unshed tears behind closed doors. He had wanted to accompany them but was chased away.
"Mi Mi, does your younger cousin want a boyfriend and took a fancy to my brother?" Ma Dong slowly asked over his skylink.
Milami smiled and replied, "Not possible. Sharmie has had this kind of carefree personality since she was little. If you must know, she's also the direct successor of our clan."
Ma Dong gawked, his fiery heart instantly cooling. All jokes aside, regardless of whether it were Scarlet or Sharmie, both of them could help change Wang Zhong's life. In reality, however, there existed a very large problem. The other half of a clan's direct heir must have an equal status to the clan's bloodline. Only with this could the clan's bloodline be guaranteed. The inheritance of a clan was greater than the heavens. All other matters had to give way.
"This brother of mine is an honest, sincere person. It's best if you can repeat this reminder to Sharmie," Ma Dong said earnestly.
Chapter 129 – Intrinsic Nature of Flames
Milami gawked as she heard this. She rarely saw Ma Dong being this serious. As she thought about Sharmie's personality, she realized there was a chance she had completely underestimated Wang Zhong. This wasn't good. Wang Zhong… was a fellow that seemed to take his studies seriously. Based on that alone…
It seemed she would have to remind Sharmie repeatedly.
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On the contrary, Wang Zhong and Sharmie didn't give much thought to such matters. Sharmie admittedly had a carefree personality, but everyone else was belittling Wang Zhong a little too much.
Sharmie shot ten arrows, all of them hitting the bullseye.
"How's that? My aim isn’t that bad, right? Those fellows keep jabbering about how I only completely rely on soul powered explosions, but my fundamentals are still exceptionally strong and solid," Sharmie said in an extremely self-satisfied tone. Once she became familiar with someone, she no longer minced her words.
Wang Zhong rubbed his nose. He had shot ten arrows at his target rapidly, every one of them never missing the mark and always hitting the bullseye.
Sharmie smiled upon seeing Wang Zhong's level of skill. "Interesting. Wanna compete for a bit? We won't use any soul power, just our basic skills. Each person gets ten arrows. Whoever misses the bullseye first loses."
Naturally, Wang Zhong wouldn't reject such a competition. In fact, the results gained from such competitive training was usually much better as compared to training by one's self.
Sharmie sent out ten successive arrows, with Wang Zhong followed closely with his own ten…
Even after five bouts, the victor still couldn't be determined. It was needless to say that Wang Zhong had perfect accuracy. Coupled with Sharmie's inability to accept defeat, both of them were constantly hitting the bullseye, each not willing to lose out to the other.
"If we keep taking turns, we won't be able to determine a victor. Let's go at the same time," said Wang Zhong, taking the initiative to break the stalemate.
Sharmie nodded. Ignoring their earlier bout, she was now getting serious. Thought the bow was seen as the simplest and most basic weapon of ranged combat, the amount of concentration to use it effective is one of the highest among all available weapons. Both a steady hand and firm concentration was needed.
Furthermore, any interference would easily hinder the potency of the bow.
The two pulled back their bows at the same time. One's own tempo and breathing could easily disturb the rhythm of the other.
Without further thought, both parties had released their nocked arrow.
Sharmie spontaneously used her soul power to increase the firing rate of her arrows. She wanted to see Wang Zhong's skills when being disturbed. The bow's accuracy was the hardest to attain and maintain, and the even the faintest slip would made the accuracy pummel.
Wang Zhong felt Sharmie's increased speed, but contrary to her expectations there was no other change to his technique. He continued at his own rhythm, methodically shooting out arrow after arrow.
Sharmie could feel the stability being emitted from the person standing beside her. A sliver of a smile creased the corners of her mouth. Her firing speed began to undulate. One moment it was quick, and the next slowing down. She truly believed that Wang Zhong would get disturbed by her unstable firing rate.
One's soul sea was the basis of everything. Only by possessing a strong and stable soul sea would one be able to possess overwhelming power. This kind of strength was comprehensive in nature. The strength of a person was typically based on the one's soul power.
Sharmie used all kinds of disruptive techniques across three rounds, yet none of it had fazed Wang Zhong. Stunned at his level of concentration, her impression of him rose. In this era, respect between soldiers were oftentimes derived from one's comabt prowess.
"Alright already. Let's stop the competition. There won't be a victor if we keep going on like this." Sharmie comfortably stretched her body.
Wang Zhong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Sharmie, it's best that you don't do such actions in front of others. I am still a man you know."
The issue wasn't whether or not he were a gentleman. If Sharmie paid no attention to such a matter, her actions could easily affect people around her.
Sharmie smiled and said, "I am, in fact, quite frustrated about them. If they were a bit smaller, my combat prowess could increase by quite a bit."
Her physique had a negative impact on her nimbleness in combat and had limited her to the role of a ranged soldier. This tyrannical genetic inheritance brought forth such power, but it also magnified specific feminine traits suited to attract the opposite sex. This all boils down to the fact that the main goal of life was to give birth to future generations to ensure the continuity of the species.
"That frustration of yours may well be the eternal dream of many others." Wang Zhong mentioned this point with confidence.
There weren't many who had a personality similar to Sharmie's. If his opponent were any other person, he or she would have continued competing without any thought about Wang Zhong. Being fully aware of his weak soul power, Sharmie had ended the competition as she knew that it would be disadvantageous to Wang Zhong in the long run. Though Sharmie appeared relatively carefree and unrestrained on the outside, she was sensitive to needs of others.
"If you want, I'll give it to you."
Upon hearing her words, Wang Zhong immediately lost his footing. When girls behave in such an unbridled manner, it comes to no surprise that the guys would lose their composure. Sharmie had a habit of teasing her friends. This led to Mario and the other male members to suffer quite abit.
"Cough, cough. Sharmie, I've seen videos of your fights. Your ranged attacks are quite formidable. Combined with that close ranged hammer attack, beating you would be a hard time to do," said Wang Zhong.
"No need to flatter me. Aren't you very good at theoretical analysis? I heard from my elder cousin that you entered the Tianjing Squadron due to your capabilities as a combat analyst. What weakness do you think I possess and what can I do to rectify it?" Sharmie asked with a smile. After reseating herself and taking a casual sip of water, she continued, "You should know about the rivalry between Laura and I. If we were to fight, what are my chances of victory?"
Wang Zhong pondered the matter for a while before replying, "It would be different based in the circumstances. If it were a group fight with the terrain favourable, you could have a 50% chance of winning. If it were a duel… can I speak my mind?"
"Of course!" Sharmie replied with a smile.
"You… seem to have no chance at victory," he said.
Flames seemed to instantly ignite from within Sharmie's large eyes, and the temperature around them increased by a few degrees.
However, after a few moments Sharmie sighed helplessly and the temperature returned back to normal. "I am well aware of that fact. That's why I feel so helpless. The Potter Clan's trump card is in its ancient martial arts. It's hard for me to suppress her in a duel, and once I enter her killing zone, I would be instantly finished by her newly acquired combat technique. This is so damn frustrating. Even after all this time I've not figured out a way to break that move."
Ever since Laura comprehended that absolute killing technique, her fame had shot up and exceeded Sharmie's. Ranged soldiers always had the disadvantage in duels, yet accepting duels was expected of a soldier.
On her own, Laura was strong. She was also powerful as the core of her squadron. Not only was Laura individually strong, but once she was in a squadron battle, the combat prowess of the squadron was multiplied by many fold. With her powerful dimension beast added in, she became a nightmare for opposing squadrons. Furthermore, the duration she could control her dimension beast each summon increased as she matured, and the power of that dimension beast was steadily growing stronger and stronger.
One could say Laura would definitely become an influential figure in the future.
Laura also had access to the world of dimensions. This meant that she was already walking ahead of others.
"I feel as though your flame attribute isn't any weaker than the power of a soul beast master. It might actually be a problem with your application… actually, I really want to see your techniques. Is it possible for you to demonstrate it for me?" Wang Zhong suddenly asked. It was usually impossible to inspect such a high tier special ability in close proximity. Even if he could, he would usually be beaten up by others for making such a request.
Sharmie immediately nodded her head and replied, "No problem!"
Due to that small mix-up with All-Mouthy King, she had come to know this strange and weird fellow. She felt completely comfortable and relaxed when interacting with him. He also gave off a feeling of confidence that made him seem easy to rely upon. An ability user like Sharmie was exceptionally sensitive to this.
Sharmie released her soul power and a fiery red energy gradually appeared. It was exceptionally warm and pure. Curious, Wang Zhong extended a finger to touch it. The flames burned his fingers. Inducing a rise in temperature was the most basic feature of the fire creation special ability.
Sharmie's fire ability, however, actually contained an abundance of energy, brimming with life force amongst the numerous factors from within. This unique trait of her fire ability signified that there was room for growth, should there be sufficient comprehension. Sharmie's growth capabilities were exceptionally high, something the average fire wielder couldn't compare with.