Chapter 114 Steam, Second Gear (Requesting Full Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

On the second floor of Qiao Xing’s house, Bai Yuetong and Qi Xinzhu slept back-to-back.The bed was small, and Bai Yuetong’s petite frame simply couldn’t compete with Qi Xinzhu’s, so she was at a disadvantage in such a cramped space. Since she didn’t have a strong body, she could only resort to spiteful language. "Why is your butt so big? Can you not squeeze me? Just trying to make yourself look bigger, aren’t you?" Qi Xinzhu carefully looked at the bed. She wasn’t crossing the line! "It’s supposed to be half each, right? It’s your movements that are too big." Qi Xinzhu turned over again and was about to continue sleeping, but Bai Yuetong had no intention of letting Qi Xinzhu off just yet; she poked Qi Xinzhu’s back. "Hey, Qi Xinzhu, how did you and your sweetheart meet? You two seem pretty close. How far have you progressed?" "I met him through Lady Han Shiyu, the Believer of Light. I’m just a companion, not a sweetheart. Can you not spread rumors?" Bai Yuetong simply turned around and started to draw circles on Qi Xinzhu’s back with her slender fingers, her tone gradually becoming more suggestive. "I’m not spreading rumors. When he was caught in the rain this afternoon, that worried little look in your eyes, tsk tsk, was just like Aunt Li Lan looking at Mr. Qiao Xing." "You’re thinking too much. That was concern for a companion. Even if Lu Luo were a woman, I would still worry about him." "Hmph, boring. You’re still in denial at this point. Let’s sleep." Bai Yuetong pulled the blanket over and squeezed Qi Xinzhu a few times, claiming she wanted to sleep, yet she couldn’t fall asleep. Qi Xinzhu was in a similar situation. She also wanted to ask Bai Yuetong how she knew Lu Luo, considering the two of them were even able to link arms and put arms around each other’s shoulders. But her restraint prevented her from asking such questions aloud, leaving her to imagine things on her own. And so, the two women chatted from time to time, mostly about topics related to Lu Luo, continuing late into the night. 「...」 Compared to the Wastelanders lying on warm beds, Lu Luo’s situation was far more miserable at this moment. He had grossly underestimated the amount of Qi He needed to release a single Steam Sword Qi. Qiao Xing’s demand was to perform a normal empowered sword swing, and the word ’normal’ seemed commonplace enough, but once multiplied by 60,000 repetitions, it became anything but normal. Even if his Qi He was at full capacity, with the minimum consumption at the third-level steam pressure, releasing one Steam Sword Qi would require about five units of Qi He. Lu Luo had only one seven-unit Qi cavity, containing a hundred units of Qi. Although the quality of his Qi cavity was high and his Qi He recovery was fast, no amount of speedy recovery could keep up with such consumption. At most, he could swing his sword 22-23 times before needing to rest and recover his Qi. In that case, how long would it take to perform 10,000 sword forms? Not to mention the 100,000 repetitions of sword intents that were to follow. By this time, day had fully broken. Lu Luo, who hadn’t cut his hair in two months, now had hair much longer than his usual buzz cut. Now, with his hair matted with mist, sweat, and steam sticking to his face, he looked utterly disheveled. The surrounding grass had become somewhat muddy from his footsteps, an indication of how long he had been practicing. Throughout the night, for over ten hours, Lu Luo had managed to perform empowered sword swings a total of 1,600 times. The process was: generate steam, empower, thrust, repeat 20 times, then rest. He had pushed his Qi He recovery to the limit, and his body was utterly exhausted. However, even with such effort, his rate of empowered sword swings was only around 150 times per hour. It was very tedious, and there were no shortcuts to take. What Qiao Xing meant was to train to death, to make sword swinging second nature, to achieve instantaneous empowerment, to practice until the feeling of sword swinging became completely ingrained. By such calculation, each movement would require 60-70 hours of time, and the six forms of swordsmanship would take about 400 hours in total. Even without eating, drinking, or sleeping, it would still take more than 10 days. This isn’t a viable way to continue training! Lu Luo had originally thought that cultivation was something that could be completed with his own will and effort. Now, he realized he was wrong. Apart from will and effort, cultivation also needed resources, and the resource he needed most now was money! As long as he had money, he could quickly open his second Qi cavity, break through to the Second Tier, or even directly spend money to open his third Qi cavity. To get enough money, the crucial point was whether Qi Xinzhu was willing to help him make the little red potions! 「...」 "Hey, there’s someone practicing swordsmanship over there?" "He should be from our Fourth Ring, right?" "Hmm, the one who didn’t collapse after being in the rain all day yesterday? This guy is tough." At this time, some people had already arrived at the Church’s swordsmanship Training Ground. These newcomers, although also Church personnel, were members of the Fourth Ring Church. Their talents were average; unlike Lu Yang with his high aptitude who was selected for the Inner Ring, their individual abilities were quite good. Joining the Church was not a problem for them. "Good morning!" these people greeted Lu Luo. "Good morning." If it were the usual Lu Luo, he would definitely have walked up to get acquainted with these people, then chatted and joked around. But now he was just too tired. He felt his eyelids were heavy, and he lacked the energy and interest to do anything else, so he just nodded briefly in response. Seeing that Lu Luo did not wish to continue the conversation, these people didn’t try to force it and started to review the swordsmanship taught by Qiao Xing the day before. The Fourth Ring Church suffered from a lack of resources, so they were also deficient in basic knowledge. Now that they had the opportunity to learn from a master swordsman, they were definitely as earnest as Lu Luo. A few minutes later, the second wave of people arrived: the reservists of the Knight of Justice. To Lu Luo, this group was practically unwelcome guests. The scene of Lu Luo thrashing them yesterday was still vivid in his mind. As soon as they entered, they saw Lu Luo. After exchanging glances, they walked towards him. It was still early; according to Qiao Xing’s habits, he was unlikely to arrive so soon. So, there was a generous amount of time for them to interact with Lu Luo. Lu Feng, whose arm bone Lu Luo had broken yesterday, had already healed completely. Just as the members of the Knights Group had said, these people likely knew many Priests. Such injuries could be easily healed by them and weren’t a problem at all. "Hey, Fourth Ring trash! Our battle from yesterday isn’t over. I was careless. Let’s continue today!" Normally, Lu Luo wouldn’t spare a second glance for his defeated opponent, but now it was different; his condition had deteriorated to an extreme. Lu Luo’s vision was already a bit blurry. He was too exhausted; his First-Tier Qi He and physical constitution were not yet capable of sustaining such prolonged practice. These young punks have no martial honor! Is this any different from launching a sneak attack? It was clear they were looking for trouble, insisting on stepping over Lu Luo. Lu Luo found it somewhat laughable. Are all the members of the Knight of Justice of this caliber now? Seeing me weak, they think they have me cornered? Lu Luo glanced at Lu Feng. He was serious about his promise to Han Shiyu to thrash the Inner Ring’s four knights. He was already considering where to break his opponent this time. A Second-Tier Knight of Justice was definitely not weak, and the man’s Holy Seal from yesterday had left a deep impression on Lu Luo. Since he had decided to fight, Lu Luo naturally wouldn’t be burdened by any psychological concerns. He was prepared to get hurt, but the outcome of getting hurt would merely be needing Qi Xinzhu to treat him. I guess I’ll owe Qi Xinzhu a favor. As for causing a fatality here, Lu Luo felt that unless he had a decade-old cerebral hemorrhage, he wouldn’t be capable of doing such a thing. "Looks like you want another broken arm," Lu Luo said, standing up and, using his height, looking down slightly at the other man. "I was careless yesterday, not knowing you were so strong. Today, it won’t be so comfortable for you." Just as this Knight of Justice reservist was getting into a fighting stance, another knight stopped him. "Lu Feng, you already lost yesterday. Don’t embarrass yourself today. If you lose again, the Knight of Justice will lose all face because of you. Let me do it." A man nearly two meters tall, at least half a head taller than Lu Luo, walked over to them. He had bulging muscles, dark skin, and a formidable aura. This man was arguably the strongest peer Lu Luo had ever encountered. Lu Feng glanced back at the newcomer, his expression somewhat fearful. He naturally took a step back, having already made the choice to yield in his heart. However, there was still competition among the Knight of Justice reservists, so he definitely wouldn’t admit defeat so easily with words. "Qi Gefei, this was originally my fight, but since you want to take it, I’ll let you. Anyway, judging by his looks, he doesn’t have much strength left. Winning against him would be no true victory." None of them were weak, nor were they untalented oafs; anyone could see how exhausted Lu Luo was. But they still chose this time to challenge him, clearly aiming to frighten or cripple him in one go. A knight’s mercy was only reserved for people of the Inner Ring. For Fourth Ring people like Lu Luo who defied them, they wouldn’t hold back or show any mercy. They were Inner Ring people. The class distinction was clear. In the eyes of Inner Ring people, those from the Fourth Ring were like a malignant tumor clinging to the Alliance, mere slaves. The only purpose of the Fourth Ring people was to charge at the frontline after the Outburst of the Dark Tide, to become cannon fodder for the Wasteland Alliance. Was it necessary to show chivalry to a Fourth Ring person? Most Inner Ring people would think not. Just like Qi Gefei at this moment; he had no intention of letting Lu Luo get up again. "My name is Qi Gefei, a member of the 400th reserve cohort of the Knight of Justice. However, they prefer to call me the Chief Reserve Knight." Lu Luo squinted and ignored him. Villains always die from talking too much, he thought. He actually appreciated it when opponents wasted time with idle chatter before a fight. This gave him the most chance to recover his strength and allowed him time for a brief analysis of the opponent using Observer. [The Holy Light within the opponent is exceptionally dense. Its strength has already surpassed Qi Xinzhu’s; he is likely at the peak of the Second Tier.] "Overclock." [Host’s condition is extremely poor. Overclocking will place additional strain on the host’s body. Continue overclocking?] "Overclock." [Overclocking has been activated.] "Bullying a mute is no fun." Seeing that Lu Luo kept silent, Qi Gefei also reined in his smile. He suddenly clenched his fist and charged. Powerful Holy Radiance emanated from his body; this intensity was at least twice as strong as Lu Feng’s from yesterday. "Revenge!" A red blood seal spread across Qi Gefei’s chest, and a strong sense of crisis welled up in Lu Luo’s heart. The Observer immediately provided a prompt. [Revenge Holy Seal: One of the Twelve Holy Seals. Trigger effect unknown. Typically, the Revenge Holy Seal is a technique of the Life Knights Group.] As expected, when Qi Gefei released the Revenge Holy Seal, the other Church members let out a gasp of surprise. "He knows the Revenge Holy Seal!" It was clear that they were also extremely surprised that Qi Gefei could use the Revenge Holy Seal of the Life Knights Group. On Lu Luo’s side, there was no time left to think, as Qi Gefei’s fist had already arrived. BOOM! [The Power of Revenge has dealt multiple hits: Revenge of Envy, Revenge of Insult, and Revenge of Resentment have all inflicted a certain amount of damage.] [Your Toughness Effect has reduced the damage from the Revenge of Envy.] [Your Toughness Effect has reduced the damage from the Revenge of Insult.] [Your Toughness Effect has reduced the damage from the Revenge of Resentment.] It was still fist against fist. In his poor condition and using only his normal Qi He, Lu Luo was sent flying by Qi Gefei’s punch, crashing heavily to the ground. This was the first time since gaining strength that he had lost so completely to a peer in a burst of power. Although his poor condition was a factor, Lu Luo knew that even if he had been in good shape, he still would not have been able to withstand that move under normal circumstances. SPIT! Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Lu Luo stood up again. His appearance was somewhat ragged, but his expression remained calm. In this state, he looked remarkably cool. "Continue." The only silver lining was that this multi-hit attack hadn’t dealt as much damage to Lu Luo, who was like a "blood cow," as it appeared. With a Constitution of 20, the defense from his Qi He, and the percentage-based plus final damage reduction from his Toughness Effect, the damage Lu Luo received was completely acceptable. Lu Luo felt so drained primarily because he was exhausted from the previous night; now, he was like a depleted battery in desperate need of recharging. "He can still stand? This guy’s constitution... there’s something off about it, huh?" Qi Gefei muttered, dissatisfied. His anticipated one-hit kill, which was supposed to shatter Lu Luo’s arm and completely disable him, did not happen. This was because as time passed, more and more people were arriving. As the top reservist of the Knight of Justice, taking so much time to deal with a Fourth Ring person would make him a laughingstock. "It seems my mastery of the Revenge Holy Seal is still lacking! In that case, I’d better use the Holy Seal of Justice!" The Holy Radiance gathered again. With yesterday’s combat experience, Lu Luo knew that the Holy Seal of Justice could greatly increase an opponent’s strength. Unlike the multi-hit attack of the Revenge Holy Seal, the effect of the Holy Seal of Justice was a single, powerful impact, which was undoubtedly very difficult for the current Lu Luo to withstand. THUD! THUD! An intense heartbeat sounded from Lu Luo’s body. Qi Gefei, being so close, could even hear this vigorous thumping. How can a human heartbeat be so loud? What has he done? Qi Gefei was somewhat astonished. The thunderous heartbeat pulsed six times. With each pulse, the steam pressure augmented Lu Luo’s strength and speed by 30%, totaling a 1.8-fold increase in both. "Steam, Second Gear!"