Chapter 431: 431
Chapter 431: Goading Qiao Ting!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
Thunder King Qiao Ting had been having a hard time lately . Even though he knew that he would certainly receive some flak after his defeat at the hands of Lingtian, he had not expected the impact of the defeat to be so significant . He was so affected by it that he could hardly bear it .
Those vice regiment commanders of Leiting who had been so reverent to him before were now flippant and disrespectful, blatantly and subtly conveying their wish for him to abdicate his position on his own . Even those major battle clan leaders he had personally cultivated had also begun to be disobedient behind his back . In the eyes of the regular members, Qiao Ting had even perceived some discontent and distrust .
Was losing such an unsalvageable catastrophe? Qiao Ting was a proud person — since Leiting could no longer abide him, he simply resigned from his post as the regiment commander of Leiting . If not for the fact that he still wanted to represent Leiting to fight against Lingtian again next year and wash away this debt of shame personally, he definitely would have quit completely and left Leiting . . .
However, Qiao Ting did not expect that things did not end with his resignation from the post of regiment commander . Very soon, a rumour spread across the campus, saying that while he had been the regiment commander of Leiting, not only had he oppressed the talented juniors in his faction, keeping them from being able to shine, he had also abused his authority to practise nepotism . The rumours also said that he was very high-handed, completely suppressing all views which opposed his own, causing the Leiting Mecha Clan to be constantly filled with anger and resentment .
Under the purposeful instigation to spread the rumours, Qiao Ting's reputation continued to fall . Now, every time Qiao Ting stepped outside, he could feel the scornful gazes of the people around him, many of which were also tinged with schadenfreude .
Qiao Ting was not a stupid person . After some quick investigation, he found out that this was the handiwork of the current regiment commander of Leiting . Qiao Ting did not feel much anger, only some disappointment . In order to completely supplant him, the other had actually employed such an underhanded method . How could someone like this lead Leiting to greater heights? Thinking about that cold regiment commander of Lingtian's with his outstanding abilities, Qiao Ting began to fear for Leiting's future .
At the thought of Ling Lan, Qiao Ting's feelings were extremely complicated . Not only because of his defeat at Ling Lan's hands, but also because of Ling Lan's ability to subdue her subordinates . Ling Lan's actions and behaviour were actually very much like his own, domineering to the extreme — and yet, his own subordinates were only loyal and obedient on the surface, having their own private schemes and plots in secret, while those other regiment commanders of Lingtian were serving under Ling Lan whole-heartedly . Regardless of any mistakes Ling Lan may commit, or however great the losses those mistakes may cause to Lingtian, Qiao Ting believed that those regiment commanders would only blame themselves for their shortcomings and not harbour any resentment towards Ling Lan .
Was this the difference between a king who had created his own kingdom and a king who was only defending the kingdom his predecessors had handed down? Truth be told, Qiao Ting was very envious of Ling Lan . He envied how the other could make decisions so wilfully, never ever being checked by anyone . In contrast, even at his most glorious hour, he still had to bend and compromise for the sake of the larger picture . If possible, Qiao Ting too wanted to be like Ling Lan and be a king who had forged his own kingdom, with everything within his control .
Qiao Ting did not know that although Ling Lan was the first regiment commander of Lingtian, Ling Lan had always been a free-rein general who had left everything in the faction to be handled by the other three regiment commanders . This attitude of absolute trust 1 was also the main reason why Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie, and the others were so loyal in their support of Ling Lan . . . since you trust me so, I will return it a hundredfold .
Despite the rumours circulating around the campus, Qiao Ting carried on as usual . When his mecha group training was over, he led his battle clan to the canteen for food . As soon as he entered the canteen, as other times before this, the noisy canteen abruptly fell silent before bursting into susurrations of whispered discussions . Many people began hissing into another's ear 2 — the heat of the rumours around Qiao Ting had not dissipated yet .
With his sensitive hearing, Qiao Ting naturally could not avoid hearing some of those rumours about him . However, having already heard much prior to this, he was now immensely calm . Expressionless, he strode into the large canteen, found an empty table, and sat down .
"Boss Qiao, let me bloody go teach them a lesson . " One of the members of Qiao Ting's battle clan was not as calm . Face filled with indignation, his fists were clenched in anger as he asked if he could go educate those juniors who did not know how to respect their seniors . Knowing Boss Qiao well, they knew that a majority of the rumours flying around were false .
"What's there to teach? This world, has always been a world where the winners reign . Since I've lost, it's normal to be laughed at," replied Qiao Ting calmly . In the past, he had always been arrogant and domineering, but because he was standing at the peak, even if there were those who disliked him, they would keep it concealed and not show it outright . But now, he was a tiger who had tumbled down from his mountain — it was perfectly normal for those people who were dissatisfied with him to take the opportunity to stomp on him a few times . If he became angry at all the people who did so, he would not be able to continue living properly . Qiao Ting smiled self-deprecatingly . These three months had smoothened out some of his sharp edges; he now knew how to reconcile things with himself .
"So what? Boss Qiao, you're still the strongest mecha operator in the academy!" Prevented from venting his frustration on those students, the team member could only sit down huffily as he grumbled .
Qiao Ting did not say anything . So what if he was the strongest mecha operator in the academy? Everyone could only see his current sorry state now — when would they even think about the strength he possessed? It was funny to think about: an ace operator like him actually being laughed at and mocked by these weaklings who were not even special-class operators themselves . However, it did not matter anymore . As long as he could endure past the Mecha Grand Tournament, the enlistment for army divisions would open up . When his battle clan passed the assessment, they would be able to leave the military academy, and then everything here would no longer have anything to do with them .
Perhaps because the gazes of everyone were just too irritating, Qiao Ting's battle clan had no interest in lingering . After scarfing down their lunch, they prepared to leave the canteen . The group had just reached the door when a large group of people streamed in . The one at the head of the group was a cold-faced youth in a white uniform . It was Ling Lan shrouded in cold air .
How Ling Lan became the dux of her specialization for the second-years was actually quite a funny story . As she had been absent from all the physical conditioning courses in her first year, Ling Lan was actually not qualified to become the dux . In the end, Qi Long, who had the best grades, was chosen to be the dux, but Qi Long immediately went to meet the instructor and declined the position . This was because he did not think he could beat his boss . After the first-ranked Qi Long rejected becoming the dux, the instructors had no choice but to offer the position to Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie, and the rest, in order of their ranking . Unfortunately, Wu Jiong and the rest also refused to become the dux . . .
In the end, all of the top-ranking students had refused the position, because all of these students were members of the Lingtian Mecha Clan . If their own boss did not become the dux, how would they dare to take the position?
This caused the instructors of the second-year Mecha Piloting specialization to be teased by the other instructors, laughing at how no one was willing to be the dux of the second-year Mecha Piloting specialization . This annoyed the instructors of the Mecha Piloting specialization, and so they made a shocking decision . They threw the treasured position of dux to Ling Lan who had no achievements to her name . Since all those students believed that Ling Lan was deserving of the dux position, as instructors, who were they to refuse?
In this manner, Ling Lan became the only student to become dux without any actual results, once again making history . Even though this was history that Ling Lan had had no intentions of making .
When Qiao Ting saw Ling Lan, his footsteps paused . The two of them drew closer, and just as they were about to brush by each other, Ling Lan suddenly halted, and Qiao Ting reflexively stopped as well .
The two of them faced each other . This unusual scene caused the entire canteen to fall still and silent . Everyone had their eyes pinned on the doorway, unsure what would occur between Ling Lan and Qiao Ting . . .
"Senior Qiao, how have you been recently?" Ling Lan was the first to speak .
Qiao Ting smiled coldly, asking, "Why? Are you here to laugh at me as well?" Senior Qiao? It looks like the other already knew he was no longer the regiment commander of Leiting .
"What is there to laugh about, Senior Qiao?" asked Ling Lan with a raised brow as if completely clueless as to what Qiao Ting was alluding to .
Qiao Ting did not reply, but his expression turned even colder . He was the hot topic all over the academy right now — it was unbelievable that Ling Lan truly did not know anything about the rumours .
"It's so rare for our academy to produce an ace operator . I really don't know what there is about you, Senior Qiao, for others to laugh about," said Ling Lan casually, completely ignoring the stony expression on Qiao Ting's face .
Ling Lan's words made Qiao Ting's gaze narrow . He peered intently at Ling Lan's eyes, trying to discern the true meaning behind Ling Lan's words . Unfortunately, Ling Lan's eyes were clear and untroubled, extremely calm — there was no hint of anything untoward within them .
Since he could not tell what Ling Lan was plotting, and because Qiao Ting did not want to play around with Ling Lan, he asked directly, "You specially stopped here not simply just to chat like this with me, right? Speak, what do you want?"
Ling Lan did not bother with courtesies either; she stated her purpose outright, "Senior Qiao, I would like to collaborate with you . "
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