Dark Moon Era

Chapter 173: Dark Turbulence (2 in 1)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Tang Ling opened his eyes.

He noticed the bright lights, the bodybuilding machines and the thin energy in the room…

Hmm? Has the energy in the air thinned out?

Tang Ling seemed to have thought of something as he turned around quickly and saw the timer behind him. It had only been ten minutes.

During the test dream, Tang Ling felt like he had spent hours inside, but in reality, it had only been less than ten minutes.

This time during an official dream run, the three days spent in the Dream Domain and the time in the Mysterious Store combined were also less than ten minutes in reality. It was a magical experience.

Tang Ling could not help but think of a theory that he read about. There was no such thing as time. In a simple explanation, there are no atoms in this universe that constructed time.

Humans did not have a precise definition of time. When one saw something, you would know its material and how it was constructed, so what constructed time?

Therefore, time was just a reference and was not precise. The old civilization invented a device called the atomic clock that used the spectrum of atoms to define a precise timekeeping function, yet time was not precise even with such an intricate device.

It was magical, but not entirely accurate.

Human time was always used to describe movements such as the time used for running, the time used for eating, the time from birth to death, and so on.

However, when humans looked at the blinking stars in the sky, they were actually looking at the stars from a few hundred million years ago because time had to travel across space. The sky was actually blinking with stars that were a few hundred million years old.

If one could relate to the theory of it, the existence of the dream would not seem that magical.

The dream should exist in its own precisely defined dimension with its own time-space continuum. Therefore, regardless of the time spent inside, it would always be less than ten minutes in reality.

Using the words of reality to define it would sound like “something that happened in less than ten minutes”.

Tang Ling knew a thing or two about the deep scientific knowledge about defining dimensions and the time-space continuum. He only had a vague idea of the concept. The essence of physics was to define things with the most precise language, hence Tang Ling defined the dream as such.

He had a feeling that in this era, when he reached a certain level of power, he would have to gain knowledge with muscles, brains and brawns. Muscle without brains was stupid.

With that thought in mind, he stood up.

He walked around the training room and savored his feelings. The energy level in the atmosphere of the room had really thinned out.

What did it mean? The Dream Domain was closely related to reality.

While he was moving around and fighting in the Dream Domain, he had absorbed the energy in the training room and did not stop in the past ten minutes.

Tang Ling accidentally put himself in an advantageous position by entering the dream in the Tower.

So, where is the Dream Domain? Tang Ling scratched his head. He had only given the Dream Domain a definition because using the time in the real world to measure the time spent in the Dream Domain was foolish and inaccurate.

Many things could happen in less than ten minutes, and the situation and location might vary depending on the people.

How could the definition be precise? Tang Ling was still unable to provide an appropriate answer, but if he could precisely define everything in the Dream Domain, he might be able to locate the Dream Domain in the real world.

Tang Ling got a little carried away by these thoughts as he walked around until he bumped into an exercise machine and hit his injury, making him gasp in pain. He looked down at where it hurt and bitterly chuckled. With his torn battle uniform and the wounds he got from the dream, how would he explain it to the others when he got out?

Thankfully, he had expected this. Having brought everything with him into the training room, Tang Ling had an extra clean uniform set in his luggage.

The training room was also equipped with a simple shower. It was logical and reasonable to shower after an intense workout. He cleaned himself up and changed into the new uniform.

I should be good to go, shouldn’t I?

Tang Ling furrowed his brows. Discomfort lingered in his heart. He only wished for the guesses in his mind to remain as guesses.

******

“Deputy Speaker, how do you view this?” Aber Agnes was sitting casually in the deputy speaker’s office. He was pointing at a piece of equipment that connected to the Tower’s control center and asked the deputy speaker’s viewpoint.

Deputy Speaker Velacrux looked a little upset, and his gaze was complicated as he fixed his sight on Aber. He did not comment on his question. Instead, he asked, “Aber, don’t you think you are crossing the line?”

It was true that as a noble family in Safety Sector No. 17, the Agnes family enjoyed many privileges, but privileges did not equal authority and power.

There were members of the Agnes family who held positions and authority in the respective departments, but as a person who had not attained any power and authority, Aber was able to watch the most important place in all Safety Sector No. 17, the Tower, at all times. If that was not crossing the line of authority, what was it?

Aber had no intention to explain. He smiled sincerely and said to the deputy speaker, “Lord Deputy Speaker, you still haven’t voiced your opinion about this incident.”

“Opinion? I don’t know what happened.” The deputy speaker frowned. Aber then took a device that resembled a smart tablet from the old civilization out for display.

The screen displayed many neatly organized squares. Every single one of the squares represented a training room in the Tower.

Aber was pointing at the training room on the lower level, training room No. 136. The box representing training room No. 136 was a dark maroon color.

The box turning maroon meant that the energy in the training room had been depleted.

But…was that not natural? Should the energy in the training room not be consumed by the warriors in training?

“Ten minutes ago, a New Moon Warrior entered this training room. What I’m trying to say is this New Moon Warrior hasn’t even started official cultivation, yet after a mere ten minutes in the training room, the energy levels in the room were reaching its end,” Aber explained before he added a question, “What do you think this means, Lord Deputy Speaker?”

“Meaning…there is a genius among the New Moon Warriors?” Velacrux did not feign ignorance, but was it something that he should take note of?

The era had shifted dramatically and it was not all that bad. At least, the environment in the world had greatly recovered from the old civilization’s grasp. All the flora and fauna and even the mineral properties mutated, hence gifting this era something that the old civilization could only dream of—a serendipitous encounter.

Increasing one’s strength via a rare serendipitous encounter was definitely allowed, so why would Aber have his eyes on a New Moon Warrior?

In comparison, the deputy speaker was more concerned about the tides in the safety sector. After all, he was not an idiot since he was capable enough to occupy a high position.

After the garage mission, the Agnes family seemed to have discarded the last veil of mystery. However, the castellan seemed to allow them to have their way. It had been days since his return, yet the whole Parliament did not receive any stern and tough cleansing and reformation order.

What happened was that many clowns had eagerly come out from the water as if they were declaring something.

Where does their faith lie? Do I have to pick a side now?

With the thought in mind, Velacrux’s gaze toward Aber was a lot kinder. Aber appreciated the subtle kindness of the deputy speaker, but it was far from enough.

He continued pointing at the screen in his hand. “Safety Sector No. 17 is no longer peaceful. In the past, I ‘d surely have given my blessing to the sector for having another genius. However, in times of turmoil, any unusual activity is noteworthy. Therefore, I suspect that there’s something wrong with this New Moon Warrior, Tang Ling.” Aber immediately convicted Tang Ling.

Velacrux planned to keep quiet but ultimately nodded before he asked, “Aber, what do you want us to do? Immediately prosecute this cadet?”

“No, no, no, no.” Aber smiled and bowed at Deputy Speaker Velacrux. “The Agnes family serves the safety sector with all our hearts, and I thank you for your kindness on my family’s behalf, but I think rather than prosecute Tang Ling now, we should gather more powerful evidence to prove his ill intentions.”

“What evidence?” The deputy speaker finally got a hint about the matter, but he had to wait for Aber to continue.

“That day, during the garage mission, there was high definition footage from the Level 2 Sector Protection Machine.” Aber looked up and fixed his gaze on Velacrux. As a matter of fact, the Agnes family had strongly requested the high definition footage from the parliament four times, but the parliament was able to give them all sorts of excuses.

The fools in the parliament had no idea about the true forces in the safety sector. Even the great castellan, Worf, might end up as a strung puppet.

However, Aber was a good man. Rather than wait for the mysterious speaker of the parliament, he decided to approach the deputy speaker first and issue a reminder. He wanted Velacrux to know that the Agnes family had the power to even control the Tower.

What would that mean?

Whatever that was exposed during the garage mission was not suppressed by the Agnes family. Instead, they brought it on display righteously…The rest was self-explanatory.

Velacrux was a smart man.

“Is this high definition footage that important? Is it a crucial piece of evidence?” Velacrux did not agree to Aber’s request right away and feigned concern about the matter instead.

“It is very important. The Agnes family and its allies are all waiting for this important piece of evidence.” Aber’s eyes did not show any trace of humor.

However, as a matter of fact, other than Aber Agnes, no one knew how important the footage would be, let alone the other forces on the Agnes family’s side. Nevertheless, Aber needed this to be to his credit since he had to intimidate others with his presence.

Velacrux did not know anything about that. He accepted Aber’s false intelligence and believed that the other mysterious force on the Agnes family’s side needed this evidence.

He cleared his throat and acted all pretentious. “Hmm, everything about the Level 2 Sector Protection Machine has to go through discussion in parliament. We will hold an emergency meeting in the afternoon, and I think you will get the footage soon, the latest by tomorrow.”

“I thank you for your goodwill and cooperation.” Aber showed a meaningful smile. If he could find something crucial in this upcoming footage, the whole Safety Sector No. 17 would be nothing to him.

Aber did not think that Tang Ling could provide such a huge surprise, but if he really found the evidence to elevate his speculations and plans, it would be enough for Aber to rise in the ranks.

After all, Aber’s ambitions were never about Safety Sector No. 17.

******

Nothing happened after Tang Ling returned from the dream. He carried on with the training in the Tower and brought all his things back to the First Reserved Camp after the training ended.

However, Tang Ling did not view it as something celebratory. He started to feel uneasy instead. He felt like he should take some necessary precautions, but since he did not know who his enemy was and their talons and fangs were hidden, what should he be cautious of?

Tang Ling thought of a certain scheme that he was almost done planning. It was time for him to think about it and connect all the dots.

“Yo, how’s your training?” Orton welcomed Tang Ling with a punch back in the Fierce Dragon Squad cave.

Orston seemed like he was carefree. His silly smile and upbeat personality always made Tang Ling feel better.

Tang Ling dodged the punch in a flash and grabbed Orston’s wrist.

“Ouch! It hurts!” Orston screamed like a little girl.

Tang Ling released him and covered his mouth. He still wanted to keep his strength a secret, but Orston was a little too dumb to notice that.

The few seniors who shared their dorm should be out on a mission. Amir said that he had a mission tonight, so he would not be sitting around either. Meanwhile, Andy, Vian, and Christina were reading a literature book from the old civilization, and they would chuckle frequently. Yu was doing push-ups single-handedly in the cave.

What a bunch of carefree jokers!

“Tell me, how powerful are you?” Orston asked, feeling how real the pain on his wrist was although all Tang Ling did was simply grab him.

When Orston asked the question, Yu also shifted his attention to the both of them. Tang Ling dragged Orston into the cave and said, “I’m not really that strong but powerful enough to kick your ass.”

“Tsk! I can’t be too free either. I must go get some mission,” Orston exaggerated his answer. He then looked into Tang Ling’s eyes and said, “Just you wait and see. When we start our official cultivation, you’ll know who’s the man here.”

“Why not I beat you up first, big man?” Tang Ling smirked.

“No!” Orston ran.

The whole cave simmered in laughter. Amidst the laughter, Tang Ling told everyone to go for the test at Yang Kong tomorrow so that they would be able to start their official cultivation.

******

“Passed.” After Tang Ling completed the last test, Yang Kong pushed his glasses up and put a tick on the memo. That meant that all of the Fierce Dragon Squad had passed the test to officially start their cultivation classes.

“Fantastic. Everyone is able to grow in a month’s time. It must be related to you guys participating in the garage mission, but you shouldn’t take the rewards for granted. At least, it proved your courage.

“As for you, the test results aren’t ideal and you did come out of the Tower. Your goal in the future is to keep up with the others. Do you understand?” Although Yang Kong was encouraging the whole squad, he purposely voiced his reminder to Tang Ling with furrowed brows.

Orston could not help but grunt at the scene. Tang Ling is faking the test. He is far from ideal, my ass!

Nevertheless, Tang Ling answered seriously and loudly, “Yes, Sir!”

“Good. Prepare yourself. Your squad’s cultivation class will start in 15 minutes,” announced Yang Kong.

“We start that soon?” Andy was confused because the instructor sounded rather anxious.

“We start soon. Timing is everything,” Yang Kong responded gravely.

A strange atmosphere veiled the entire safety sector. If they could start cultivating earlier, they might be able to become a little stronger to protect themselves.