Chapter 173: Brothers
Nan Yu quietly watched Yu Lanfeng's sleeping face before carefully slipping out of bed and heading into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Perhaps because it had been so long since he'd last cooked, his skills felt a little rusty. Still, after tasting the finished dishes, he found they were actually pretty good.
They weren't quite as delicious as Yu Lanfeng's cooking, but they came close.
Just as he carried breakfast out, he found Yu Lanfeng already standing in the bedroom doorway, watching him.
"So I finally get the chance to try your cooking."
Nan Yu smiled.
"Come and taste it. It's been a long time since I last cooked, so I'm not sure whether it'll suit your palate."
Yu Lanfeng walked over and took a seat, sampling every dish on the table before finally commenting,
"It tastes great. You're a very good cook."
"It looks like you'll have to cook more often so I can eat your food more frequently."
"One time is nowhere near enough."
Nan Yu laughed.
"Sure. Whenever you want to eat something I make, just tell me."
"Actually, why don't we take turns cooking? Your cooking is excellent too."
"Were you also someone who couldn't get used to eating other people's food?"
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"That's right. I always preferred cooking for myself."
"It tastes better, and I can make exactly what I feel like eating."
Nan Yu suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, when you went out earlier, you went to see Wu Zhengting, didn't you?"
"Is it really okay to reject him like that?"
"He's still the Marshal of one of the Empire's major legions. Officially, he holds the same rank as you."
Yu Lanfeng replied calmly,
"There's absolutely no problem."
"He's the one with the real problem."
"After all..."
Nan Yu naturally understood what he hadn't said.
"If you say there's no problem, then there isn't."
"Later I'll go check on those three patients again."
"I've already reduced their Mental Contamination from S-rank to A-rank."
"If my estimate is correct, they should gradually regain consciousness."
Yu Lanfeng frowned.
"You don't have to push yourself so hard."
Nan Yu shook his head.
"I do."
"I have to become a High-Tier Mental Power User as quickly as possible."
"Otherwise..."
"There are many things I'll never be able to accomplish."
"I have to make the most of every moment."
Yu Lanfeng looked at him.
"But becoming a High-Tier Mental Power User isn't something you can simply rush."
"You have to seize the right opportunity."
"If you miss that opportunity, then no matter how many times you exhaust your mental power and cultivate it again, you still won't break through."
Nan Yu couldn't help recalling how he'd broken through in his previous life.
Back then...
It had happened completely naturally.
At the time, every ounce of his attention had been devoted to Bai Zhouyun.
He hadn't focused on cultivation at all.
And yet, before he knew it, he'd become a High-Tier Mental Power User.
Because of that, he now had absolutely no experience he could use as a reference.
Did that mean...
He should stop forcing himself to cultivate so relentlessly and simply let nature take its course?
But he was genuinely anxious.
Reality wasn't going to wait for him.
Was he really supposed to slow down under circumstances like these?
He could clearly feel that his current training method was still producing results.
Every cultivation session strengthened his mental power.
There was just one thing he hadn't realized before.
The current intensity of his mental power...
...had already reached the level he'd possessed when he broke through in his previous life.
So why...
Why hadn't he sensed even the slightest sign of a breakthrough this time?
Could Yu Lanfeng really be right?
Was it because he had never relaxed?
Because instead of allowing things to happen naturally, he'd been obsessively chasing speed and deliberately forcing himself forward?
Sometimes things were exactly like that.
The harder you chased something...
...the more impossible it became to catch.
But once you stopped chasing...
...it would quietly appear on its own.
After realizing that, Nan Yu suddenly understood something else.
Ever since his rebirth—
No.
Ever since the very moment he'd returned to the past—
He had been constantly anxious.
All he'd wanted was to become a High-Tier Mental Power User as quickly as possible.
That way, he could break off his engagement with Bai Zhouyun.
Later, the reason he wanted to advance so desperately had changed.
He wanted to stand beside Yu Lanfeng.
He wanted to fight shoulder to shoulder with him.
But now...
Something invisible seemed to be blocking the path of his growth.
It left him unable to find the right direction.
So what exactly was this situation trying to tell him?
Yu Lanfeng noticed his silence.
"What is it?"
"You've been quiet."
Nan Yu smiled faintly.
"It's nothing."
"I just think what you said makes some sense."
"Maybe..."
"I really should slow down a little."
"Maybe take a proper break."
Ever since arriving at the military base, he'd been constantly moving.
Helping in the treatment rooms.
Working with all kinds of people.
Following Yu Lanfeng everywhere.
Little by little, it really had begun to feel as though they were fighting side by side.
But the reality remained unchanged.
Nan Yu was still a Mental Power User who needed protection.
His mental power was undeniably powerful...
...but that power wasn't meant for attacking.
It was meant for healing.
If all of his abilities were devoted to healing...
How many Ability User soldiers could survive the battlefield?
But if those same abilities were used for combat...
How many enemies could he actually kill?
And after those healed soldiers returned to battle...
How many more enemies could they eliminate?
The answer was obvious.
It wasn't even a fair comparison.
Anyone could see that the greatest value lay in having Mental Power Users heal Ability Users.
No matter how one looked at it, that was the optimal choice.
But Nan Yu didn't want to accept that.
He still wanted to find out whether the possibility he'd imagined for Mental Power Users truly existed...
...or whether it was nothing more than his own fantasy.
He genuinely wanted to test it.
Even if it meant failing over and over again.
After all...
If you never moved forward...
How could you know the road ahead was truly a dead end?
Right now, he was exactly the sort of person who refused to turn back until he'd crashed into the wall himself.
Only after personally confirming that there truly was no path forward...
...would he quietly give up and live an ordinary life.
And it had to be something he verified with his own eyes.
He wouldn't believe it simply because someone else told him so.
Even if Yu Lanfeng himself told him that Mental Power Users only needed to focus on healing...
...he still wouldn't give up.
Nan Yu waved the topic away.
"Let's stop talking about this."
"We originally planned to visit Border Region Six's military base."
"But Wu Zhengting's situation delayed everything."
"Are we leaving in a few days instead?"
Yu Lanfeng continued eating breakfast while nodding casually.
"Yes."
"Although Wu Zhengting and his son have undeniably committed crimes and the evidence is conclusive, this isn't something that can be resolved overnight."
"Over the next few days, the Imperial Family on the Capital Star will contact us."
"Especially the judges and jurors from the military court."
Nan Yu blinked.
"But haven't you already submitted all the evidence?"
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"They still have to conduct the standard questioning."
"It's part of the official procedure."
"They have to ensure there aren't any problems with the case."
"The sooner everything is processed properly, the better."
Nan Yu set down his utensils, gathered the dishes, carried them into the kitchen, and handed them over to the cleaning robot.
"Let's go."
"I'm heading over to check on the patients."
"Are you coming with me?"
Yu Lanfeng shook his head.
"I'll have Yuan Qiyang accompany you."
"I still have a few things to take care of."
"I'll come find you once I'm finished."
Sure enough, after eliminating virtually every spy and infiltrator within the base, Yu Lanfeng had become much more comfortable letting Nan Yu move around without him.
He clearly believed Nan Yu would remain perfectly safe even if they acted separately.
Nan Yu nodded without saying anything.
After chatting for a little longer, he left the lounge.
Before long, he spotted Yuan Qiyang waiting around a corner ahead.
For some reason, Yuan Qiyang looked unusually restless today.
Standing there alone, he seemed distinctly uneasy.
Nan Yu walked over.
"What's wrong?"
"In a bad mood today?"
Yuan Qiyang shook his head.
"Not really."
"I just have this strange feeling."
"My heart feels unsettled."
"It's like something is wrong..."
"But I can't figure out what it is."
Yu Lanfeng frowned slightly.
"Have you been overdoing your special training lately?"
"If you're exhausted, go back and rest today."
Yuan Qiyang immediately shook his head.
"No, Marshal."
"I'm really not tired."
"I just can't shake the feeling that something isn't right."
Nan Yu suddenly asked,
"Could it be your sixth sense?"
"Maybe something really is about to happen."
"What you're feeling could be a premonition."
The moment he said that, Yuan Qiyang's uneasy feeling disappeared completely.
What replaced it was overwhelming embarrassment.
"I... I don't think that's it."
"I'm fine now."
"Let's get going."
Nan Yu looked disappointed.
"What?"
"It disappeared that quickly?"
"I was planning to have you think a little harder and see if you could figure out where something might go wrong."
Without giving it much more thought, he turned and headed toward the ward.
Meanwhile, Yu Lanfeng walked in the opposite direction toward his office.
Qin Wenxing had probably been waiting for him there for quite some time.
Nan Yu resumed his work.
Still...
Yuan Qiyang couldn't shake the feeling that something about Nan Yu had changed.
His movements hadn't slowed.
His work efficiency remained the same.
But the overwhelming sense of urgency that had always surrounded him...
...seemed to have disappeared.
Now he looked far more relaxed.
Well...
That wasn't really Yuan Qiyang's concern.
His only responsibility was ensuring nothing happened to Nan Yu while they were here.
Following Nan Yu around had cost him quite a bit of training time.
But Yu Lanfeng would more than make up for it afterward.
So he certainly wasn't losing out.
In fact...
He rather liked the arrangement.
It gave him more opportunities to secretly learn techniques from Yu Lanfeng.
Once he'd learned them...
They became his own.
At the same time, a mysterious group quietly appeared on the Capital Star.
"Are you certain this won't be a problem?"
"Of course."
"Didn't we cooperate once before?"
"We won't drag you into this."
"We only hope you won't interfere with our operation."
"Even if we're discovered and captured, we'll commit suicide immediately."
"We'll never admit you were involved."
The other person sighed.
"Fine."
"Those are the usual rules."
"I understand."
"Go handle your business."
"But don't forget what you promised me."
"See our guests out."
"We remember everything you requested."
"Since you're going to rest now, we'll take our leave."
"Hopefully we'll meet again in the future."
The person they'd been speaking with had no intention of ever seeing them again.
He merely waved them away.
Someone immediately entered to escort them out.
They had arrived through a secret passage.
Naturally, they left the same way.
They would have preferred to walk openly through the front entrance...
But reality didn't allow it.
After confirming they had left safely, the person who had escorted them returned.
"They're gone."
"But..."
"Are we really going to do this again?"
"What if the things they gave us are just leftovers they didn't want anymore?"
The person seated behind the desk lowered his head slightly, making his expression impossible to read.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"Just this once."
"This is the last time."
"We won't have any further contact."
The subordinate standing behind him let out a deep sigh.
No matter how they looked at it...
There was no way this would truly be the last time.
If cooperation continued smoothly, everything might remain manageable.
But if they ever refused to cooperate...
Those people undoubtedly possessed enough evidence to hold over them.
At that point, refusing would no longer be an option.
They would simply be threatened into cooperating again.
And every additional collaboration would leave behind even more evidence.
Round after round...
They would eventually become trapped forever.
"There really is no way to get rid of them."
"I wonder why they've come to the Capital Star this time."
"Could they be planning to plant something dangerous while everyone's focused on the Ability Beast outbreak?"
"They probably wouldn't."
"They promised us..."
Both men fell silent.
Promises from people like them...
Were those worth anything at all?
"Did we send someone to accompany them?"
"Yes."
"Someone is following them."
"But that person won't be released until after they've left."
"Otherwise we'd learn what they're intending to do beforehand."
"And that could interfere with their operation."
Neither of them spoke again.
Things had already reached this point.
All they could do now...
...was conceal everything for as long as possible.
If the truth could no longer be hidden...
They would deal with it when that day came.
Royal Military Academy of the Capital Star.
Training Grounds.
"Whoa! Are they about to start?!"
"Is the fight finally happening?"
"Not yet."
"They're still getting ready."
"So who are you betting on this time?"
"I'm putting my money on the older brother again."
"What about you?"
"Still betting on the younger one?"
"What's wrong with betting on the younger brother?"
"They're basically evenly matched."
"They've both won and lost before."
"It's not like I lose every bet to you."
"I'm betting on the younger brother."
"Oh?"
"Confident today, huh?"
"Fine."
"We'll see whose prediction is right."
"Quiet!"
"They're starting!"
"Watch!"
A huge crowd had gathered around the arena.
Standing in the center were Nan Yu's two older brothers—
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen.
Nan Yu's early departure from the academy had dealt both of them a tremendous blow.
Originally...
Their plan had been simple.
Graduate as quickly as possible.
Join one of the Empire's top legions.
Build connections and pave the way for their beloved younger brother.
Then, once Nan Yu graduated...
Everything would be smooth sailing for him.
Instead...
Reality had developed in exactly the opposite direction.
Their little brother had entered one of the Empire's elite legions before either of them.
He might even end up paving the way for his two older brothers instead.
The thought alone filled them with shame.
Later, the academy announced new requirements allowing students to graduate early.
The brothers eagerly went to read them.
Afterward...
They silently returned to their classrooms to continue studying and training.
Because those requirements were simply impossible.
People with no hope of qualifying merely treated them as entertainment.
Those who still believed they might succeed if they worked hard enough...
...threw themselves into relentless training.
Every single day.
Without exception.
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen were the most extreme examples.
They trained harder than anyone else.
Aside from the minimum amount of sleep, meals, and rest needed to survive...
Every remaining moment was devoted to studying and special training.
Not a single day was skipped.
Their almost insane training schedule quickly attracted attention throughout the academy.
Many students became their admirers.
Especially after witnessing the brothers' first public sparring match.
Everyone had been utterly astonished.
Honestly...
Once Ability powers were added into the equation...
Their fighting style looked almost identical to the soldiers everyone had seen in battlefield footage.
When the two brothers fought...
It didn't look like sparring at all.
Their eyes.
Their movements.
Everything about them made it seem as though the person standing opposite them was a mortal enemy who had murdered their entire family.
Anyone who met those eyes would probably have their legs shaking.
Fortunately...
Despite how ruthlessly they fought, both brothers knew where the limit was.
Neither of them ever suffered serious injuries.
Half an hour in the medical ward was usually enough for them to recover most of the way.
They fought once every week.
As word spread throughout the academy, the audience grew larger and larger.
Sometimes even instructors came to watch.
The instructors offered them extremely high praise.
Although neither of them had ever set foot on an actual battlefield...
Their combat ability was exceptional.
As long as nothing unexpected happened after graduation...
They should have no trouble passing the entrance assessment for Yu Lanfeng's legion.
Coming from instructors, such praise carried far more weight than students' opinions.
As a result...
Even more spectators began showing up.
Those who had originally come only out of curiosity found themselves completely captivated after witnessing the brothers' savage battles.
Watching them made everyone realize something.
During ordinary training matches...
Most people subconsciously held back.
Because the opponent was a classmate.
A friend.
Someone familiar.
No one could truly let loose.
Even when attacking fiercely, they instinctively restrained themselves.
But during Nan Yun and Nan Zhen's battles...
No one saw even the slightest trace of restraint.
Each knew the other's abilities perfectly.
They understood that even if they attacked with their full strength...
The other wouldn't be killed or seriously crippled.
That was trust.
Trust in themselves.
And trust in each other.
Honestly...
Everyone felt they simply didn't have someone they could fight like that.
They lacked confidence in themselves.
They lacked confidence in their opponents.
They feared that using their full strength might accidentally kill someone.
Or that both fighters would end up hospitalized with severe injuries.
So instead...
They could only satisfy themselves by watching.
Nan Yun and Nan Zhen, however, paid no attention whatsoever to what others thought.
At that moment, both brothers were lying in the medical ward receiving treatment.
The doctors there had long heard about their weekly battles.
After examining them, they found that the injuries only looked frightening.
None of them were truly serious.
Because of that, no one tried to stop them.
Responsible combat deserved encouragement...
Not interference.
"You two controlled yourselves very well again this time."
"The injuries look serious, but they're actually all minor."
"Just lie here for thirty minutes."
"You'll be fine."
"Thank you, Doctor."
"You're welcome."
"I'll get back to work."
"When you're done, just leave on your own."
"You don't need to notify me."
"Understood."
After the doctor left, only the two brothers remained, quietly receiving treatment from the medical equipment.
The moment Nan Zhen tried to speak, he accidentally pulled at the wound on the corner of his mouth.
"Hiss..."
"Did you do that on purpose?"
"Why do you keep aiming for my face every single time?"
Nan Yun snorted.
"I learned it from you."
"Of all the places you could hit..."
"Why'd you have to start with my face?"
Nan Zhen immediately remembered the very first time he'd punched his older brother square in the face.
A guilty expression appeared.
Back then...
For some inexplicable reason...
He had simply wanted to punch his big brother in the face.
So he'd done exactly that.
And honestly...
The moment his fist connected...
It had felt unbelievably satisfying.
Absolutely incredible.
Unfortunately...
That satisfaction hadn't lasted long.
Because from then on...
Nan Yun had started aiming for his face too.
This time was no different.
Although Nan Zhen's facial injuries looked more serious...
Nan Yun's face wasn't in much better shape.