Chapter 289 - 261: The Great Expert and His Partners
After saying goodbye to Fatty An, Li Lanying, and Tu Jiaojiao, Li Qian and his parents headed straight for the underground Teleportation Array.
Tu Jiaojiao and Li Lanying watched Li Qian’s departing figure, their eyes shimmering with unreadable thoughts.
They glanced at each other, then quickly looked away. The atmosphere grew a little awkward.
The awkwardness was so palpable that even Fatty An, who was standing nearby, could clearly sense it.
Seeing this, Fatty An couldn’t help but feel a surge of dejection.
It seemed both of his female classmates were focused entirely on Li Qian, completely oblivious to his own presence.
He wanted to say something to ease the tension, but someone else spoke first. "I know a senior, a Saint Spirit Level expert. He and my father were good friends when they were young."
"Huh?" Fatty An listened to Li Lanying, completely baffled. ’What on earth is she trying to say?’
Confused as he was, his curiosity was piqued, and he gave Li Lanying a questioning look.
Li Lanying didn’t hesitate and continued, "My dad and that Saint Spirit Level senior were classmates in high school. Back then, they were so close you could say they were inseparable. But now, they barely have any contact."
As Tu Jiaojiao listened to Li Lanying’s story, she too looked curious, wondering what the other girl was getting at.
Hearing Li Lanying’s story reach this point, and since they weren’t in a rush to catch the Teleportation Array, Fatty An played along and asked, "Why?"
"Because the gap between them became too vast!" Li Lanying said in a serious, solemn tone.
Fatty An was stunned for a moment. He wasn’t a fool; he naturally understood the implication behind Li Lanying’s words.
Fatty An looked at Li Lanying and asked for confirmation, "Are you saying that if I don’t work hard enough, I might not be able to keep up with Qianzi?"
Although Li Lanying hadn’t said it outright, Fatty An was certain that was exactly what she meant.
Shaking her head, Li Lanying glanced at Fatty An and Tu Jiaojiao, then continued, "No, not just you. All of us."
Without pausing, she decided to be blunt. "By following Li Qian, we have the chance to reach greater heights, witness more magnificent sights, and live more brilliant lives—just like many great Beast Masters and... their partners."
Letting out a long sigh, Li Lanying’s brow furrowed. "But becoming his partners... that won’t be an easy task."
"But Qianzi’s chosen path is that of a Breeder, not a Beast Master, right...?" Fatty An asked, looking at Li Lanying in confusion.
But Li Lanying shook her head, refuting his point directly. "It doesn’t matter what profession it is. Once you reach a certain height, the situation is the same. All roads lead to the same destination."
After a moment of silence, she revealed a secret that stunned both Tu Jiaojiao and Fatty An. "My Spiritual Power has already broken through to the Mid-Tier Elite, but when I look at Li Qian, I still get the feeling that he is unfathomably deep."
"This..." Although Li Lanying’s words were speculation, her tone was utterly certain. Fatty An was left speechless, at a complete loss for words.
’According to Li Lanying, doesn’t that mean Li Qian’s Spiritual Power has already reached the Elite High Order?’
’Just how long has it been since the day Li Qian awakened his Beast Taming Talent? He’s already advanced to the Elite Level? And he’s even reached the Elite High Order?!’
When he considered his own Power Level, Fatty An’s heart skipped a beat, and a true sense of crisis washed over him.
He pursed his lips and said uncertainly, "Qianzi wouldn’t abandon his friends..."
Li Lanying shook her head and stated bluntly, "It has nothing to do with him intentionally distancing himself. When the gap widens to a certain point, you’re simply on different tiers of existence. The time you have to interact will naturally decrease."
What she said was the truth. It was exactly what her father had told her.
Now, whenever they had a chance to meet, that Saint Spirit Level senior would still chat and laugh pleasantly with her father.
But it was limited to reminiscing and making small talk; they could barely even find common topics to discuss anymore.
Furthermore, that Saint Spirit Level senior spent most of his time away from the Ancestral Star, stationed in a city within a Dimension Plane.
At this thought, she no longer hesitated and continued, "People from two different worlds are destined to have very little overlap in their lives."
Glancing at the other two again, Li Lanying didn’t hold back and directly stated her purpose. "The reason I applied to Shazhou Beast Taming University is because I saw this very potential in Li Qian."
"If he’s destined to become the bright moon in the sky, then I hope to keep up with him and become one of the stars in the firmament. Even as just one star among many, I might still be able to shine over my own patch of sky."
As Li Lanying spoke, a wave of emotion churned within her. Her father had said something similar, and it remained his greatest regret to this day.
According to her father, if he had just gritted his teeth and kept up with that Saint Spirit Level senior’s pace back then, he might have already become an Emperor by now, a renowned figure in some great city.
Instead of being stuck in mediocrity as he was now.
Finally, Li Lanying fixed her gaze on Tu Jiaojiao. "The rise of every expert pulls a group of people up with them. I imagine, Tu Jiaojiao, that you came here with a similar goal."
Finally, she offered a profound conclusion, "Our reasons for applying to Shazhou Beast Taming University are nowhere near as shallow as they might appear on the surface."
In truth, she didn’t have to say all this in front of Fatty An and Tu Jiaojiao.
She chose to be direct partly to avoid being misunderstood, but there was another reason: if Li Qian’s rise was destined to be accompanied by the glory of a group of people...
...then why couldn’t a few of their old high school classmates be among them?
After all, they had spent three years together and knew each other well. This wasn’t a case of speaking too intimately with mere acquaintances.
"So that’s how it is..." Hearing Li Lanying’s words, Tu Jiaojiao also fell into a thoughtful silence.
Now, she finally understood why her parents, for all their complaining, had never actually tried to stop her.
Nine times out of ten, it was because of this very same consideration.
At this thought, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. She hadn’t been aware of any of the implications Li Lanying had just laid out.
She had applied to Shazhou Beast Taming University purely for Li Qian; her motive had been incredibly shallow.
Of course, after hearing what Li Lanying had to say, she would never admit to that thought again.
And while the three of them were talking, Li Qian and his parents had already taken the Teleportation Array and arrived in Zhonghai City.