Chapter 560 - Embarking on a Journey
“Do you guys have no humanity?” Yue Zhengyu exclaimed, his arrogance shrinking down into a inkling of fear. No matter how conceited he was, he knew that he stood no match one against twelve.
The Star Luo students walked toward Yue Zhengyu with sinister expressions on their faces. “Please wait a minute.”
Yue Zhengyu thrust out his hands to stop them and shouted, “Hold up! Let me jump off and we can let bygones be bygones, okay?” Before the Star Luo students could stop him, he turned tail and jumped off the deck. At over seventy meters above sea level, any ordinary person would die from the impact!
The Star Luo students rushed over to look over the railings. They saw Yue Zhengyu free-falling, but a couple meters before he crashed into the water, pure white wings spread out from his back and he began gliding over the sea. It took a few seconds for the Star Luo students to process what was happening, but by then it was too late to catch Yue Zhengyu. He could fly, and fly quite fast at that. At the sight of his four purple soul rings, they knew they had lost their chance to beat him up.
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Yue Zhengyu stomped through the hallway that had the cabins they were assigned in. “Damn it! These guys have no loyalty! None at all I swear!” he said, banging on the cabin doors as he passed by them.
Suddenly, one of the doors swung open and Wu Zhangkong walked out with a chilling expression on his face. “Who are you talking about?”
“Uh… I was talking about myself!” Without turning back, Yue Zhengyu ran away.
At that moment, Tang Wulin opened his door and stuck his head out to see Yue Zhengyu running away. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. What’s with this guy? He’s normally so uptight on campus, but the moment we leave he’s become all crazy. He can’t go a single day without causing trouble!
The cabins that the Star Luo delegation arranged for them were quite nice. Each was about forty square meters in area, with a personal bathroom and a balcony that looked out onto the sea. Basking in the sea breeze and watching the churning of the sea was quite an enjoyable experience.
Tang Wulin had been reluctant to go on this exchange, but now that he was on the ship, he was excited for what was to come. His tense mood loosened as he thought about the marvels he would see.
At noon, the horns were blown three times and the two ships departed from the dock. The ships quickly picked up speed, setting off toward to brave the vast sea.
As the massive ship cut through the water, not swaying in the slightest, Tang Wulin leaned against the railing of his cabin’s balcony and peered out toward the horizon. He took in a deep breath of the aromatic sea air and enjoyed warmth of the sun kissing his skin.
“Hey!” someone shouted at Tang Wulin from the side.
Tang Wulin turned to see Gu Yue on the balcony neighboring his, only two meters away, then the two shared a smile.
“You know, I’m starting to think this trip isn’t all that bad. Somehow I spent my entire childhood living by the sea, yet I never actually went out on a ship,” Tang Wulin said.
“I haven’t either,” Gu Yue said pleasantly.
The two settled into a lull of silence as they watched the land shrink behind them. The land quickly became no more than a speck and disappeared over the horizon, then they were surrounded by nothing but calm sea and gentle waves. Through the clear waters, they could see schools of fish swim by, and the occasional large predator chasing after those smaller fish.
Wulin…” Gu Yue called out.
“Hm?” Tang Wulin looked at her, raising a brow curiously.
“Nothing,” Gu Yue said, smiling and shaking her head. “I’m going back in and sleeping now. Bye.”
Gu Yue’s incomprehensible actions left Tang Wulin flabbergasted, but he did not pursue it any further and retreated from the balcony as well. No matter how relaxing it was to watch the sea, he had to cultivate! He wasn’t going to reach rank 40 by just lazing around after all! The pressure weighing upon him was enormous and he could not afford to slack off. A minute later, he sat on his bed cross-legged, mind focused on cultivating.
On the other side of the wall they shared, Gu Yue sat on her bed and stared out the window toward the sea. She pressed her lips tight together and her eyes shone with a turbulent light. “He really is too good. Na’er, maybe you were right. But no matter what, I won’t let you two be together.” Heaving a sigh, her eyes cleared up and began to shine with resolution.
The two large ships continued cruising toward their destination, each separated by a few kilometers. Thanks to the pleasant weather, both ships had a clear line of sight on the other and could help one another at a moment’s notice.
Soon the blue of the sky bled into twilight, painting an enchanting scene across the sea.
“Attention all passengers. Attention all passengers,” sounded a voice from the ship’s broadcast system. “Welcome aboard the SLS Seafarer. Tonight, we will be having a grand reception to welcome everyone. Please attend in formal attire. We’ll be hosting some friendship exercises and interesting games to foster a good relations between our two continents. We invite everyone to attend.”
Friendship exercises? Tang Wulin roused from meditating and wondered at the meaning of those words. A satisfied smile formed on his lips as his mind moved back to cultivating. Perhaps due to the release of al the stress he had accumulated over the semester, he had made clear progress during this cultivation session and felt that he was on the verge of breaching rank 39. Once he reached rank 39, it would just be one more small step to rank 40 and his fourth soul ring. When that time came, he would have the soul power necessary to truly proclaim himself a sixth-rank blacksmith!
At the thought of blacksmithing, passion blazed in Tang Wulin’s heart. Earlier he had confirmed that there were blacksmithing workshops on the ship for the guests to use. Of course, there was a fee. But disregarding that and his burning desire to go hit things with his hammers, he had to at least wait until after the evening party.
Hmm… Formal attire? Do I even have any? After a moment of thought, he realized that the only clothes he possessed were a few sets of his school uniform.
Right at that moment, someone knocked on his door and he got up to answer. On the other side stood Gu Yue. “Did you hear the broadcast?” she asked.
“Yeah. The friendship exercises might be fun, but I’m more interested in what food they’ll be serving,” Tang Wulin said, nearly beginning to drool at the thought of food.
Gu Yue’s eyes glazed over. “All you know is how to eat.”
All Tang Wulin could do was shrug. “What else would I do there other than eat?”
“We need formal clothes to attend. Do you have any?” Gu Yue asked.
“Uh, do you think our uniforms count as formal attire?” Tang Wulin asked, scratching his cheek.
Gu Yue scoffed. “I knew you wouldn’t have any. Here, take this.” In a flash of light, a set of clothes appeared in her hands.
“These are…” Tang Wulin stared, dumbstruck.
Gu Yue giggled. “It’s formal clothing!”
After receiving the clothes in his hands, Tang Wulin could feel just how exquisite the craftsmanship for them were. There were several pieces to the full outfit, and each piece was of impeccable quality.
“Where did you get these?” Tang Wulin asked, gawking at her.
The corner of Gu Yue’s mouth quirked up in nearly a smirk. “I bought them of course. I got them custom made for you since I guessed we would be having an event like this. In fact, I got you several sets.”
Tang Wulin’s eyes were as wide as humanly possible. She got these made for me?
With a hint of a blush on her cheeks, Gu Yue raised her head haughtily. “I didn’t want you to embarass me! Now hurry up and go change.” Then she turned and left for her room.
Clutching the clothes as he closed the door, it took a full minute for Tang Wulin to snap out of his stupor. Warmth rushed to his cheeks as he gazed at the clothes warmly. How many years has it been since someone got me clothes like this?
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“Wulin, Mom made you some new clothes. Wear it for the new year. Look, it’s a brown suit. Don’t you think you’ll look charming in these?”
“Wow! My son is the most handsome boy ever! You look so cool! I’ll have to make you a suit every year from now on. Then when you’re finally all grown up and get married, I can look at those suits as a record of your growth.”
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Mom and Dad are gone. I couldn’t fulfill Mom’s wish. The suits she made me are still back home in Eastsea.
Gu Yue… she made me clothes. She got these made for me. A few teardrops fell onto the clothes as a warm smile formed on Tang Wulin’s lips and he held the clothes to his chest.
To Gu Yue, perhaps this was a simple gift of clothes, but to Tang Wulin it was so much more. It brought back sentimental memories of his parents and childhood home. This gift reminded him of what having a family felt like.