Chapter 407: Proof
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Proof?" The middle aged man was stunned for a moment, his rigid face breaking into a thin smile. "As expected of her student! You think just like her. Well, what proof do you have in mind?"
Guan Qingheng and Shi Mingbei were both very, very surprised. The rigid middle aged man had shown such open emotions. It was unthinkable. Even more unthinkable was the fact that someone actually asked for proof of their identities as Ridge residents!
Well, how should they prove themselves? Ye Chong began to think.
The middle aged man studied Ye Chong with interest.
If Lunatic Guan was really from May's Night Ridge, then she must have been a member of the alchemy school here. If this man was really from May's Night Ridge, then he must come from the same school as Lunatic Guan.
The information in Lunatic Guan's chip had a huge variety, and knowledge from other schools such as Green Tempest were abundant. Ye Chong had studied long and hard before identifying information that were from her own school.
If they were indeed from the same school of alchemy, then the man must be well versed with this information.
"I'll ask you three questions. If you can answer them, I'll know you are from May's Night Ridge," Ye Chong said calmly. Skill based knowledge cannot be faked, after all.
"Oh," the middle aged man seemed interested as he replied, "Alright, ask away." Guan Qingheng and Shi Mingbei were still shell shocked as they stared at the middle aged man.
"The questions must not be too easy," Ye Chong thought to himself. However, he quickly came up with his first one, "What is the core principle of the Supplanting technique in alchemy?"
This question was one that Ye Chong had spent a long time studying Lunatic Guan's chip before realizing the answer to it. In terms of difficulty, it was not the hardest problems presented in the chip, bu Ye Chong found it to be an important principle in Lunatic Guan's school of alchemy.
The silence that followed was so intense that you could hear a pin drop!
The middle aged man's expression was focused. He bowed his head in thought, his eyes shining brightly. He grinded his feet against the floor unconsciously, but to the people who knew him like Guan Qingheng and Shi Mingbei, it was a sign of him in deep thought.
However, both Guan Qingheng and Shi Mingbei did not study the man closely. They too lapsed into thought. The two of them were not as learned as the middle aged man, but they were still far more capable than the average alchemist. They too were trying to answer this question.
After 10 minutes, the three of them stayed as they were without moving at all.
After 30 minutes, Guan Qingheng's forehead was covered with sweat, and Shi Mingbei's pale face grew paler still. The middle aged man continued to grind his feet against the ground, digging a shallow depression in the ground.
After one hour, Guan Qingheng was the first of them to give up. He was drenched in sweat, and he was no longer looked alert, his face drained of blood. Prolonged deep thinking exhausted one's energy at an astonishing rate. He sat down heavily on the ground and panted, without care for his image. Only his eyes looked at Ye Chong intently.
After another half an hour, Shi Mingbei gave up as well. Her beautiful eyes were full of puzzlement. Just who was this young man? Was his teacher really from the Ridge? To her, the young man seemed more and more mysterious.
After three hours, the middle aged man inhaled deeply, his eyes clearing up and he shook his head and said, "I'll need about half a year of research to answer that question, and only if things proceed smoothly. I cannot give you an answer right now." He sounded tired. The long thinking session had exhausted him greatly.
Ye Chong was patient as a saint. He watched the middle aged man think for three hours straight without even a trace of impatience, and his expression was still calm and composed.
Ye Chong shook his head. "If you can't answer this question, the next two are a lot harder. I'm sorry, you failed to prove your identity with by providing an answer." His calmly delivered verdict made the middle aged man blush, but he quickly got himself together.
Ye Chong did not mean to be sarcastic. He was only stating a fact. His next two questions were so hard that even he himself had not managed to solve them. He had wanted to build up the difficulty of his questions, but did not expect them to fail at the first question.
They had failed to answer such a simple question. Ye Chong was a little disappointed by them He was convinced at this point that the middle aged man was not from May's Night Ridge. He believed that anyone from Lunatic Guan's school should at least be able to answer that question, even if that person was not on the same level as his teacher.
Ye Chong did not know it, but May's Night Ridge was completely different from what he imagined it to be.
Now, Ye Chong was interested with another question - why did these three people try to get on his good side now? Ye Chong felt wary.
That woman in particular had attacked him, and he saw her vengeful eyes from earlier clearly. He knew her type. Given the chance, she would not hesitate to exact revenge on him.
Ye Chong had initially thought that they were from May's Night Ridge, so he tried to prevent the situation from escalating. Now that he was convinced that they were not of the Ridge, Ye Chong felt the need to eliminate them. He did not want to leave any loose ends that would haunt him later.
His entire body tensed up in an instant to a state of preparation. Ye Chong looked at the three people with the eyes of a hunter.
Guan Qingheng's long harboured negative feelings evaporated. He felt refreshed like never before, and his heart was filled with joy. If this young man was really her student, then there was hope still for the Guan Family. Guan Qingheng believed that the young man would not ignore the Guan Family's situation. Perhaps that was why she had asked him to come here.
Unlike the other two, he was a true member of the Guan Family. Ye Chong's question may have stumbled him, but it further reaffirmed his assumption. He remembered clearly that right before she left, the only project that she had not completed yet was on the Supplanting method. To think that she had reached such heights in her research!
As expected of her student!
Even this student of hers was not an average joe! Guan Qingheng looked at Ye Chong with approval. What a calm and steady young man. No matter how he looked at it, Guan Qingheng was fond him.
"Tsk tsk, such a young talent, you don't see them everywhere! I say, he'll probably rise into one of the Guan Family's leading characters," he thought to himself.
Guan Qingheng's eyes never left Ye Chong.
Huh, what's with him?
Guan Qingheng was shocked. Killing intent! The words came to him immediately, and he was caught off guard. However, with his sharp mind, he instantly understood the importance of this moment.
"Wait!" Given the urgency, Guan Qingheng cried out loud without care for appropriateness.
Everyone looked to Guan Qingheng, and even Ye Chong held back his next move.
"Err, em, err, that … That …" Guang Qingheng did not make any sense. Suddenly, an idea came to him, and he spoke more fluently, "I know how we can prove our identities."
"Oh?" Ye Chong's eyes were fixed at Guan Qingheng. The other two looked to him as well.
"If your teacher is really the one we're talking about it, I believe you'll know these." Guan Qingheng looked proud.
Ye Chong watched him silently.
Guan Qingheng's fervent eyes focused on Ye Chong as he pronounced his next words slowly, "Tassleflower Red, Ghue Solution, Blue Thread Cultivation Method, Bilayered Liquid Tempering Technique!"
As Guan Qingheng spoke every name, the middle aged man's expression turned more and more respectful, while Shi Mingbei looked confused. She had never heard of any of them.
Ye Chong's calm expression did not change. Guan Qingheng turned anxious. If this young man had never heard of these terms, then …
"What can these prove?" Ye Chong asked.
It was the middle aged man who explained, "If you are really her student, then I believe you must have heard of these terms. These are the May's Night Ridge Guan Family's most famous inventions in the last century. If I remember correctly, the Bilayered Liquid Tempering Technique is your teacher's work."
Shi Mingbei realized then what they were talking about. She immediately felt self conscious. The Shi Family had only joined May's Night Ridge for a short time, and could not compete with the older residents such as the Guan Family.
Ye Chong looked at all three of them quietly, and they began to feel nervous.
Guan Qingheng's heart was racing. His mouth felt dry, and it was difficult to breathe.
"Alright, you have given your proof." Ye Chong nodded. The terms that Guang Qingheng had said were all in Lunatic Guan's chip. They were quite special compared to the other contents in the chip. From their records, he could see that Lunatic Guan had never stopped working on improving on them. Of all of them, the Bilayered Liquid Tempering Technique was modified the most. Ye Chong could see no less than five versions of the technique, and the latest version had an unmistakable influence from the Five Galaxies.
To think that they all originated from the Guan Family! Ye Chong gained a much better understanding of the reasoning behind the organization of information in the chip. Many of his earlier confusions were now cleared up.
Hence, he nodded.
At that moment, Guan Qingheng nearly died of happiness!