Chapter 158 – Departure, Human Limits

“Galaxy Cup National Mathematical Olympiad Formula Competition.”

“The list of finalists is as follows…”

In a black car parked at the entrance of No. 4 Middle High School, Lu Yuan, sitting in the passenger seat, took out his mobile phone and searched online. He indeed found his name on the list of finalists for the so-called Galaxy Cup National Mathematical Olympiad.

Next to him, Zhou Ling unbuttoned the first button of his shirt collar and exhaled, looking as if his neck was a bit uncomfortable.

“Stop looking. The competition is real. The two months of training is real too. I just made a call and had them add your name to the list of finalists… If you’re still worried about being exposed, I can have them send a whole set of trophies and certificates to the school.”

Zhou Ling said half-jokingly.

Lu Yuan put down his mobile phone and said nothing, just quietly looked at Zhou Ling in front of him.

After a moment of silence, he solemnly said, “Thank you.”

Zhou Ling was taken aback.

He quickly reacted and said casually with a wave of his hand, “No problem!”

Lu Yuan didn’t know if Zhou Ling really didn’t mind or was just pretending, but he was genuinely grateful to him.

The scene of Zhou Ling holding off the ambushing Powerful Divine Servant of the Crow Deity sect, shouting “Run!” to him, was still vivid in his memory.

If their roles were reversed, Lu Yuan doubted he could do the same having a hole poked in his head and still thinking first to warn another person to escape and stay out of danger.

Regardless of Zhou Ling’s mindset and personality, Lu Yuan felt… Zhou Ling was someone worth befriending!

Not to mention, Zhou Ling later sent things proactively, remembering to help him solve the threat of the Rat Monster in the Cavern.

Lu Yuan’s initial positive impression of Yellow Bear was mostly earned by Zhou Ling.

“…My consciousness has long been backed up and uploaded. ‘Death’ isn’t that scary to me. Actually, I should thank you. If it weren’t for you in that last mission, my ‘death’ would have been in vain. But instead, I earned considerable merit and a handsome bonus… Haha…”

Zhou Ling laughed as he patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder and said, “Alright, let’s go back to your place once more. After that, we can set off.

You need to perform well in this new blood trial assessment. Both Gao Qing and I are counting on you…”

Saying this, he started the car, made a smooth U-turn at the entrance of No. 4 Middle High School, and sped off with a “whoosh.”

When they arrived at Lu Yuan’s house, Zhou Ling, disguised as a teacher, repeated the story he had just told at the school.

As expected, Zheng Qiuling was both surprised and delighted, grinning from ear to ear.

She agreed to the two months of training without consulting Lu Xinghua and urged Lu Yuan to quickly go upstairs and pack his things, not wanting to keep the competition leaders waiting.

Lu Yuan watched Zhou Ling being surrounded by Zheng Qiuling, who was serving him tea and offering him cigarettes, and felt reassured as he headed upstairs.

He thought Zhou Ling’s idea of using the competition as a pretext was quite clever.

Last time at the apprenticeship banquet of the Crane Style in Weishan, he received a bunch of bank cards and had been unsure how to use them.

Now, he could use this opportunity to take out a portion as “competition prize money” and hand it over to his mom, making it seem legitimate.

After hastily packing a few change of clothes in his room, Lu Yuan was about to leave when he noticed Lu Jing peeking around the door, looking hesitant.

Lu Yuan’s expression changed, and he quickly walked over.

“Xiao Yuan, are you really going away for two months?”

Lu Jing hesitated, as if she had something to say to him.

“It probably won’t take two months. I might be back soon. But don’t tell Mom and Dad about this.”

Lu Yuan noticed Lu Jing’s expression, his eyes flashing, and asked directly, “Is there something wrong with the archaeological team again?”

“Yes.”

Lu Jing nodded slightly, looking worried. “Professor Xia, who went missing last time, still hasn’t been found, and now two other archaeology professors leading the team are out of contact… Do you think it’s really the curse of the Elephant Deity sect coming true?”

Lu Yuan frowned and thought for a moment.

“Not being able to contact them doesn’t necessarily mean they’re missing, and being missing doesn’t necessarily mean something bad has happened. If something serious does happen while I’m away, just call the martial arts gym and ask for Qin Feng…”

“Okay.”

Lu Jing nodded, but still seemed somewhat distracted.

Lu Yuan couldn’t comfort her any further.

The lead with Xia Weimin had already been cut off by Liu Si.

However, now that he had reconnected with Zhou Ling, he could ask him about it.

Taking Lu Jing downstairs and saying goodbye to his mom, Lu Yuan was ready to leave with Zhou Ling.

They were already in the car when Zheng Qiuling suddenly rushed out and stuffed a package into his pocket, instructing him to study hard, eat well, and call home if he needed anything.

Once the car was far enough away, Lu Yuan took out the package that Zheng Qiuling had insisted on giving him.

He found it was a hastily wrapped red plastic bag.

Opening it, he found two bottles of milk and a small stack of cash inside.

Counting the money, he saw it was exactly five thousand yuan.

…

“Those two people you asked about are being protected. As for the one before, he really did die, but the news hasn’t been made public.”

In the car, Zhou Ling spoke to Lu Yuan while driving, his eyes glowing with a blue light.

“What kind of archaeological team did Lu Jing join? The matters they’re involved with are beyond my clearance level to access.”

Zhou Ling was curious.

Lu Yuan shook his head and said, “I’m not sure either. All I know is she mentioned encountering a monster during an archaeological dig and has been having nightmares ever since.

I privately asked someone to investigate and found out it’s related to an ancient sect called the Elephant Deity sect…”

“Elephant Deity sect…”

Zhou Ling’s eyes flashed with blue light as he replied, “I’ll look into it for you and let you know if I find anything.”

“Alright.”

Lu Yuan trusted Zhou Ling’s promise.

He casually checked his mobile phone and saw that the avatar of White Glowing Grass was still grayed out.

This person had told him earlier that they would come to Xia State this month to discuss the Elephant Deity sect, but it seemed like they had forgotten about it.

Zhou Ling drove Lu Yuan straight to the outskirts of Jiaoyan City.

They finally stopped at a desolate open field.

This place was likely bought by developers and was prepped for construction.

There was no one around except for a yellow excavator parked in the field.

Zhou Ling motioned for Lu Yuan to get out of the car and then walked directly to a mound covered with rubble and weeds.

Without knowing where exactly he pressed on his arm, a beam of blue light projected from it.

Immediately after, a small silver-grey shuttle materialized.

With a sound like air escaping, the shuttle’s outer hatch automatically opened.

Several white panels flew out, assembling themselves mid-air into a short floating staircase, giving the whole scene a sci-fi feel.

“Let’s go.”

Zhou Ling took off his gold-rimmed glasses and gestured for Lu Yuan to follow, leading the way onto the floating staircase.

Lu Yuan had flown on planes before, but facing this futuristic flying craft, which he had only seen in sci-fi movies, filled him with intense curiosity.

He extended his Mental Power to envelop the entire shuttle and then began to penetrate it little by little.

It was like carefully appreciating a finely crafted piece of art.

Occasionally, ripples of awe rose in his heart.

The interior of the shuttle wasn’t particularly surprising, resembling a business class cabin on a plane.

Zhou Ling’s shuttle was much smaller than the ones Lu Yuan had seen before, with only the two of them inside.

“This is a small shuttle shared by a few of us white bear Team Leaders, used for handling private matters. You’re in luck; no one else needs it at the moment… Otherwise, you might really have to fly to the assessment site.”

Zhou Ling walked over from the front cabin, holding two bottles of cola, and handed one to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan took it with thanks and noticed that the shuttle had already started to move.

Looking out the window, he could clearly see that they were quickly leaving the ground.

Back on the desolate land where they had been, a person had appeared next to the yellow excavator at some point.

With his pants held up, the man was staring at their departure in astonishment.

“Pop”

Zhou Ling opened his cola and sat down across from Lu Yuan.

The spot was right by the window, with a small table between them, creating a slightly cozy atmosphere.

“It’ll take about four or five hours to get there with the autopilot. If you want to rest, you can take a nap first…”

Zhou Ling sipped his cola and spoke to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and asked, “Where are we heading now?”

“Xiabang. The final assessment location hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s most likely in Xiabang.”

“Xiabang…”

Lu Yuan chewed on the words lightly.

Gao Qing had once told him that Xiabang and outside Xiabang were two completely different worlds.

The new world and the Old City Circle were divided by this boundary.

Lu Yuan couldn’t imagine the so-called “new world,” but now… he finally had the chance to see it for himself.

“Actually, you don’t need to be nervous… I heard you’ve recently received the Core Legacy of the Sky Water Stream Crane Style, and your strength has increased significantly. Performing normally, passing the assessment shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Zhou Ling put down his cola and pondered, “Comparatively, I think you should consider more about the path you want to take in the future.”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, “What do you mean?”

“You’re not seriously planning to stick to pure martial arts, are you?”

Zhou Ling smiled and said, “Pure martial arts have no future… To be precise, pure martial arts have been rendered obsolete by the times. Now, there are stronger paths available for you.”

“Like…”

Lu Yuan glanced out the window; the shuttle had already started entering the clouds.

“Modification? New Martial Arts?”

“Exactly.

It seems Gao Qing mentioned some of this to you last time.”

Zhou Ling nodded and then asked, “Have you ever heard of the concept of human limits?”

Lu Yuan shook his head.

“It’s a theoretical maximum capability value calculated based on countless sample data that the human body can achieve.”

As Zhou Ling spoke, his eyes emitted a blue light, projecting a palm-sized virtual 3D figure into the air between them.

A large amount of data scrolled out from both sides of the figure.

“…Ancient Martial Arts were exceptionally glorious decades ago. The initial research topics in various countries around the world were focused on how to dig deeper into potential based on pure martial arts.

During this process, many mysteries of the human body were unraveled, and numerous methods and drugs for human enhancement emerged.

However, as the research progressed, everyone discovered one thing.

The human body has limits. These limits restrict the body’s advancement to higher levels.

It’s like an ant no matter how much you develop, enhance, or train it, it can never attain the size and strength of an elephant!

This…”

Zhou Ling looked directly at Lu Yuan and said each word seriously, “is determined by our innate talents, by the genetic code within us from the very beginning.”

Lu Yuan blinked and replied, “Oh?!”

…