“I don’t think Ya Ya is schizophrenic.”
Mo Tan pondered for a moment, then seriously told the three of them, “Actually, it’s not even a drastic change in personality. Hmm, although it certainly looks that way, what I mean is, Ya Ya is very clear about who she is and what she’s done. She hasn’t shown any signs of incoherence; it’s just, uh…”
He lowered his head, trying to remove any words related to intelligence from his phrasing. After a long while, he continued, “It’s just that she’s become a relatively normal state. Oh, I’m not saying she wasn’t normal before, but how should I put it, you know, Ya Ya seems a bit… compared to most of us.”
“Naive?” Lu Jiang tilted her head.
“Dumbfoundingly cute.” Ji Xiaoge nodded affirmingly, smiling wryly, “And her language function also seems to have a slight… impediment.”
Mo Tan gave them both a grateful look, nodding, “Exactly. The characteristics Ya Ya displays aren’t like schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. She just has a certain impediment in most situations, not just in language function, but in many other areas…”
“Like intelligence?” Jia Deka subconsciously interjected, and Ji Xiaoge shot him an annoyed glare from beside him.
Mo Tan also disagreed, shaking his head slightly, “It has nothing to do with intelligence. Ya Ya has never been dumb. Of course, she doesn’t really like to think now, but I think that’s just because we’re around her.”
“Simply put, she’s a happy-go-lucky simpleton.” Lu Jiang fiddled with the corner of her clothes, a hint of confusion in her voice.
Ji Xiaoge flapped her wings uneasily, her gaze at Ya Ya’s door filled with worry, “I’m still very worried if that berserk state will have any side effects.”
“Didn’t we discuss it many times before, but without any results?” Jia Deka tugged at his ill-fitting robe, saying with a troubled expression, “But Feimi has examined her many times, and each time the conclusion is—she’s so healthy it’s unlike a dog.”
Indeed, Feimigeer had examined Ya Ya many times from a while ago until now, but he had found no explanation for why the latter could learn Dragon Language Magic, nor could he understand why Ya Ya would go berserk. The only conclusion was that this girl was very healthy, extremely healthy. Other than that, there was nothing special about her; she was just an ordinary Half-Orc girl with canine blood.
“But we all know Ya Ya is not ordinary at all.” Ji Xiaoge was still flapping her wings, her dazzling black hair gently swaying behind her, “We need to figure something out. If it’s a benevolent anomaly, that’s fine, but if there are any side effects no one knows about… whether it’s her dog language magic or her berserk state, we will definitely regret it.”
Mo Tan nodded, answering briefly and firmly, “I agree. This matter is entrusted to you.”
“Huh?” The girl, a dozen centimeters off the ground, swayed in mid-air, looking like she was about to fall directly to the ground. She widened her eyes, “Me, alone?!”
Mo Tan chuckled and nodded, “Yes, yes.”
Ji Xiaoge’s gaze immediately sharpened, and her small hand slowly reached into the satchel at her waist, “Hey, I’m going to feed you something!”
“Ahem, that’s not what I meant.” Mo Tan’s expression instantly turned serious, and he explained earnestly, “I don’t mean for you to figure out what to do alone. Think about it, among the acquaintances we know, who would be more powerful, reliable, and experienced than Feimi?”
Ji Xiaoge was stunned, “More powerful and reliable than Feimi?”
“That’s right.” Mo Tan nodded as a matter of course, wagging his finger, “Feimi is a knowledgeable, powerful, and experienced dragon, but even it can’t figure out what’s wrong with Ya Ya. We ourselves are even less likely to figure it out, so the best and fastest way is to find someone even more formidable than Feimi to take a look at Ya Ya.”
Jia Deka was dumbfounded, “Where is there such a person?”
“Mr. Long is definitely stronger than Feimi,” Lu Jiang said thoughtfully, then shook her head, “But we’re not familiar with him either. Feimi rarely even sees him.”
Just then, Ji Xiaoge suddenly folded her wings and landed on the ground, smiling brightly at Mo Tan, “I know what you mean.”
Mo Tan gave a thumbs up.
Lu Jiang / Jia Deka: “What do you mean?”
“Master Lu Wei,” Ji Xiaoge winked at the two, saying with a giggle, “My mentor, Lu Wei · Feizierban, he meets all the conditions Mo Tan just mentioned.”
Jia Deka looked very shocked, “Master Lu Wei? But he’s an Engineer, and Feimi is a dragon that has lived for thousands of years…”
“Master Lu Wei had been here for who knows how many years when Feimi arrived at Tian Zhu Mountain.” Mo Tan shook his head, saying softly, “I believe Master Lu Wei is not a conventional goblin, and his status is on par with those thirteen High-Rank Observers. If anyone is most likely to figure out what’s going on with Ya Ya, it’s him.”
Jia Deka made a face, “Alright, I really don’t know any goblin who can live for over a thousand years. This is a good idea.”
Ji Xiaoge took out her 【Lu Wei’s Teleportation Beacon: Obedient Disciple Ye Ge Luxury Limited Edition】, “Then I’ll go discuss it with my teacher now.”
“No rush.” Mo Tan smiled, gesturing towards Ya Ya’s door, “Ya Ya is still asleep. Even if we’re going to examine her, we’ll have to wait until she recovers.”
Ji Xiaoge shrugged, “I’m just going to say hello to my teacher first. Mo Tan, are you coming? Your favorability with the teacher seems to be almost…”
“What favorability?” Jia Deka, the only NPC present, was a bit confused by what he heard, and then his gaze towards Mo Tan suddenly became startled.
Mo Tan immediately cleared his throat awkwardly and waved his hand, “Nothing, Ye Ge, you go by yourself. I have something else to do later. Oh, wait a minute…”
“Huh?” Ji Xiaoge, who was about to start casting her teleportation, hastily interrupted the beacon and looked back, “What else?”
“Didn’t Ya Ya mention earlier that her weapon wasn’t handy? You can bring it up to Master Lu Wei later; I forgot to mention it just now.” Mo Tan smiled apologetically, then pulled out the greatsword from his back and swung it, “This is already my heaviest weapon. She can use this as a one-handed weapon after using dog language magic, and if you add the berserk state… I really don’t think I have anything suitable for her here.”
Ji Xiaoge nodded briskly, “I know~”
Then she vanished in a flash of silver light.
The remaining three chatted for a little while longer in front of Ya Ya’s room, then went their separate ways. Jia Deka planned to practice the Fireball elemental sequence two hundred more times, feeling that his burst output capability was still insufficient (Mo Tan actually wanted to suggest he just practice uppercuts or something); Lu Jiang was going to the Great Salt Lake on the Third Outer Mountain to swim with the saltwater fish, hoping to increase her healing ability in aquatic (i.e., saltwater fish) form, so she needed to deepen her transformation proficiency in that area; Mo Tan returned to his room to summarize the gains from this battle, and then disconnected.
At the same time,
Tianzhushan Grand Arena, Level 5 Arena
This was a space similar to the Noob Arena, but its area was at least ten times larger than the former. Tens of thousands of chairs were evenly distributed around the oval-shaped field, with countless fanatical spectators shouting restlessly from them. The waves of enthusiastic, frenzied, deafening cheers echoed continuously throughout the venue like a series of thunderclaps. People with slightly weaker strength risked being stunned just by walking in. Several figures in silver cloaks floated above, constantly observing the movements below. They were residents of Tian Zhu Mountain, staff of the Grand Arena, whose sole duty was to stop matches and provide immediate medical attention to the injured before anyone died. It wasn't that the spatial displacement barrier, which was there for contingencies, was ineffective; it was just that the possibility of various bizarre incidents occurring in the Level 5 Arena was simply too high, and no one knew what kind of mischief these monsters might cause~
Clearly, unlike the playful Noob Arena, this place belonged only to true powerhouses.
“That’s right! It’s quite obvious, our King of Thunder is starting to falter!”
A booming voice, loud enough to drown out countless clamors, echoed within the Arena. Its owner was a Half-Orc man with a rooster comb hairstyle, wearing a golden-yellow robe and a pair of not-so-large brown wings on his back, shouting and darting through the air, “Grand Blast is further compressing his range of movement, and I think this is just the beginning… Oh! Here it comes! Explosions! Explosions everywhere! I swear the tips of my wings have been scorched! The King of Thunder’s figure has been completely engulfed by the explosions, dear spectators, do you know~ at this very moment, the fire element concentration surrounding the King of Thunder has exceeded the quasi-forbidden spell 【Blazing Inferno】, and the instantaneous impact force of each explosion is seven times that of the High-Rank spell 【Explosive Meteor】! Seven times, my friends! Alright, let’s see the King of Thunder, I guess he’s not in mortal danger, oh… what a pity…”
He appeared in the center of the Arena as if teleporting, raising his hand to disperse the stirred-up dust and the fire elements so dense they were almost visible to the naked eye. He picked up a dwarf, armed to the teeth, and shook him vigorously, “King of Thunder? King of Thunder?”
“Shut up, he’s not dead, just concussed.”
A young man with spiky, yellowish-brown hair said coldly from the side. He was a somewhat slender human male, wearing a sleeveless black leather armor on his upper body. His forearms were encased in two large, rapidly spinning, smoke-billowing, spark-emitting red shields that looked anything but defensive. His lower attire consisted of loose-fitting leather pants and red knee-high boots, with two metal plates embedded with red crystals at the knees, also sparking and emitting thick smoke.
“I think you’re right, Grand Blast!” The Half-Orc, presumably the host or commentator, grinned, threw the dwarf called ‘King of Thunder’ to the ground, and chuckled, “That’s right, of course I can tell the King of Thunder isn’t dead~”
‘Grand Blast’ clenched his fist, and a chilling fiery glow burst from his palm. He looked coldly at the Half-Orc in front of him, “Then hurry up and announce the result!”
The latter shrank his neck, smiled sheepishly, then lightly tapped his neck with his index finger. The next second, his passionate voice once again resounded throughout the entire Level 5 Arena~
“Alright, ladies, gentlemen, and monsters of unclear or no gender, I announce that the winner of this battle is—the mighty Monk, Blacksmith, High-Rank Archmage ‘Grand Blast’ Grandezron!! To date, Mr. ‘Grand Blast’s record is four hundred and twenty wins! Eleven draws! Zero losses! Yes, incredibly powerful, incredibly shocking, never defeated! It’s been a pleasure to commentate this match for everyone, I am your loyal Nois Hua Shao!”
The cheers almost tore off the Arena’s dome, terrifying sound waves came from all directions, every supporter of Grand Blast was roaring to their heart’s content, their idol was so powerful, so brave, so…
Boom!!!!
A sudden explosion appeared above the Arena, interrupting the cheers and temporarily deafening hundreds of people. Everyone looked closely and saw the young man named Grand holding his right hand high, with a wisp of unscattered fire still in his palm. Clearly, the deafening explosion just now was created by him.
“Too noisy.” He said coldly, and created a small sonic boom to make his voice reach every corner. Then he turned to the host, Nois, who had been stunned into sitting on the ground, and said in a deep voice, “Two hundred consecutive wins, am I qualified now?”
Nois Hua Shao shivered, “Qualified… qualified for what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, you noisy chicken!” Grand impatiently clenched his fists and shouted, “The qualification to challenge the strongest in the Arena! And the qualification to be engraved in the Arena Hall after that! I’ve seen those guys, everyone has one loss, don’t they? Except for that Stone Throat, hurry up, let your strongest one come out, I want to fight him!”
The panic on Nois’s face suddenly disappeared. He slowly stood up, opening his mouth like an imbecile, “You mean… you want to fight the top-tier champion?”
“Of course, I came here to fight strong opponents!” Grand showed a fanatical smile, and the ‘shields’ on his arms spun faster and faster. Then he looked contemptuously at the unconscious King of Thunder on the ground, “Of course, not these trash…”
The surrounding temperature gradually rose. Nois wiped sweat from his brow with his sleeve and took two steps back, “You probably need to wait. The highest challenge requires an appointment. I’ll ask which champion has time recently…”
“Which champion?” Grand’s eyes flickered with fiery sparks, and he grabbed the other’s collar, “You have many champions?!”
Nois nodded calmly, “Uh, yes, but they don’t always have time, so you might have to wait a bit. I didn’t know you… hmm?”
He suddenly slapped Grand’s arm away (the latter showed a very surprised expression), covered his ear with his right hand, and whispered, “Huh? Now? Aren’t you guys being… Oh, alright.”
“What’s wrong?” Grand said impatiently, “Who are you talking to?”
Nois smiled, “Nothing, Mr. Grand Blast, I want to tell you some good news…”
“What good news?”
“A champion just happens to have time, so he has accepted your challenge. Well then, starting now, you have thirty minutes to three hours of rest time. When you’re ready, you can call me, and then the battle will begin~”
Chapter 249: End
