Chapter 44: First Generation Message Tree

Hearing her cry out in surprise, Ai Hui could not help but ask, “Is there a problem?”

Shi Xueman shook her head and only spoke a moment later . “It’s nothing . I just didn’t expect the pattern of veins on this message tree to be this ancient . “

“Ancient?” Ai Hui was muddled .

Shi Xueman raised her head and looked at him strangely . “You didn’t learn this in school?”

“I am a new student!” Ai Hui exclaimed .

He had a poor foundational knowledge and a low base level, yet his swordplay was strangely brilliant . Shi Xueman glanced at him, wondering who could have groomed such a freak .

She began to explain . “Message trees were invented by wood elementalists from the Jadeite Forest . These wood elementalists discovered that trees communicated using a unique language, which allowed them to transmit very fragmented information . Building on the language of the trees, the wood elementalists developed a message tree that possessed a greater informational capacity and an increased transmission range . Message trees differentiate from one another through the patterns on their veins . As the trees became more widely used, the wood elementalists in the Jadeite Forest realized that trees’ venation was not complex enough to handle the increasing demand . As a result, they developed the second generation of message trees which have a more complex pattern of veins . As of today, there are already three generations . “

Ai Hui asked thoughtfully, “So is this a first generation or second generation message tree?”

“First generation,” Shi Xueman concluded .

“What an antique,” Ai Hui said, as he gazed at the message tree in admiration . Perhaps he was influenced by the noodle shop girl’s words, but he suddenly felt that this sprawling tree had a very simple, yet desolate feel to it .

“Looks like this training hall has been here for quite a while,” Shi Xueman noted as she scanned her surroundings . “What about the owner of this training hall?”

“He left twenty years ago,” Ai Hui said flatly . “It was already abandoned when I arrived . Could it have been of some importance?”

“Definitely,” Shi Xueman nodded . “The first generation of message trees were not extensively popularized and were only used by a rather small circle of people . The original owner of this training hall must have been a rather remarkable person . “

When it came to life-and-death experience, Ai Hui was miles ahead of Shi Xueman, but with regard to historical and scholarly knowledge, Shi Xueman was naturally much more advanced .

“Regardless of its past, can it still be used?” asked Ai Hui .

He did not care an ounce about the training hall’s past . So what if it was of historical importance? Would he get some money out of it? Certainly not . Ai Hui felt nothing for its potentially glorious history .

No one could compete with the swordsmen when it came to talking about history and romanticism .

Just look at those large swordsmen schools—they were easily around for thousands and thousands of years . Although the swordsmen were masters with realms many times higher than those of the Avalon of Five Elements, they could hardly claim to have ruled over the entire Cultivation World .

In the end, they were still wiped out, swept away by the tide of history .

Ai Hui was hence not interested in any of the ‘history stuff’ that the noodle shop girl was talking about . First generation or not, the most important matter was whether it could still be used .

“It can be used,” Shi Xueman answered, a little bit astonished . Someone who found out that he was staying in a training ground of such historical significance should be excited and curious to find out more, and maybe even hope to uncover an absolute art or two .

The person standing in front of her, however, was completely aloof .

“It’s settled then,” Ai Hui said, nodding .

Shi Xueman shut her book . Looking at the time, she also nodded . “Okay, keep a watch on your message tree . If you have any information for me, you can send it to me via the message tree as well . Here is a leaf from my message tree, although I doubt you’d know how to use it . ”

Shi Xueman placed her own leaf on the branch from which she previously plucked a leaf . A soft, green light appeared between the leaf and the branch, joining the two .

“To send me a message, simply write on this leaf, but try to limit your word-count . Messages that I send you will appear here as well . Remember to take note and receive them . “

Ai Hui turned his head and called out, “Lou Lan, I’ll leave this to you! Come find me at the usual place if there’s anything . “

“Alright, Ai Hui,” Lou Lan replied happily .

Shi Xueman glared at him and commanded coldly, “You’d better practice hard . The more powerful you become, the sooner you’ll be able to repay your debt of eighty million yuan . “

With that, she swiftly departed .

Ai Hui let out a huge sigh, as he collapsed into the rattan chair . He whined, “Lou Lan, why am I so unlucky?”

A yellow light flickered in Lou Lan’s eyes as he deeply pondered the question . A few moments later, he returned back to normal and stated truthfully, “This question is too profound for me, Ai Hui . I don’t have any answer . “

“Eighty million yuan . . . “

Ai Hui felt his eyelids grow heavy, and the regular sound of his sighs lulled him into dreamland .

Lou Lan had already left when Ai Hui suddenly woke up in the dead of night . The moment he opened his eyes, he was met with a sky full of stars . He lost himself for a moment, deeply awed by the boundless and mysterious night sky .

It took a good while before he snapped out of it, and he then promptly sat up in his chair .

During his training in the Suspending Golden Pagoda, his biggest change was that he was able to fall asleep because the intensity of his training would completely exhaust him . Resting against the walls of the pagoda, he would often fall asleep without even realizing it .

The seed of the sword embryo came to his mind . Although that detestable thing had absorbed the Calming Indigo Silk, which was worth eighty million yuan, it had allowed him to unleash such an amazing sword technique .

. . .

His first thought was to reach for his sword, but he soon let out a bitter laugh .

His only grass sword was already destroyed .

He shook his head and couldn’t help but let out another laugh . Since he was not able to sleep, he would train .

Two days later .

Ai Hui was carrying travel bags that were bursting with blood-and-bone strengthening cake as he waved farewell to Lou Lan . “Goodbye, Lou Lan!” he shouted .

Lou Lan dissolved into a pile of sand, subsequently transforming into a huge clenched fist of yellow sand . “Ai Hui, all the best!” Lou Lan shouted in return .

The sun’s warmth enveloped everyone on the streets . Ai Hui had gotten rid of the misfortune of the past two days, sweeping the debt to the back of his mind . He was now filled with hope for the future and self-motivation .

“Did you know? Two nights ago, an extremely skilled pervert appeared here!”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard of it . A naked man reportedly ran onto the main street . “

“Indeed, it’s so scary! What’s more, the pervert was highly skilled . Seriously! What if he takes a fancy to me? How am I supposed to retaliate? I’m so worried! A pity it’s not our Huanghun, otherwise I would gladly not resist . “

“What nonsense! Our Huanghun is such an upright young man!”

“I haven’t seen our Huanghun for the past few days though . “

“Our idol is injured, I heard he needs to rest for at least ten days . Have you forgotten that he tired himself out too much when he entered the city and fell as a result? He must have been injured since then . I don’t even know how serious it is, how worrying!”

“Yes, he’s so delicate yet he still went to challenge Gu Tianning and the others . It’s so heart-wrenching that he’s so stubborn!”

“That’s what I love about him!”

. . .

Listening to the bunch of young girls chattering away, Ai Hui sneered in his heart . That childish, delinquent brat! That double-crossing backstabber! He was such a disgrace! He deserved to be spurned!

Ai Hui raised his head loftily and walked out the city gate, full of disdain .

When he eventually reached the Suspending Golden Pagoda, Ai Hui felt stirred up quite a bit .

Such training may be seen by others as dull and arduous, but to Ai Hui, it instead made him excited and gave him a feeling that he was steadily progressing .

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