Chapter 129

If Song Junlang’s previous expressions were that of shock and horror, his was absolutely petrified when Xiao Lin mentioned that name. His expressions froze in an instant.

Xiao Lin did not notice it and continued, “Professor Brown gave us a few days off. The name was discovered on the excavated stone slabs earlier today. At that time, everyone—including the professor—seemed a little strange. Um, Department Head Song…”

Xiao Lin discovered that Department Head Song’s expression was similar to that of Professor Brown. After calling out for a long time, Song Junlang rubbed his eyebrows and his tone suddenly became solemn. “Are you really sure the name Ivanovich was written on that stone slab? Could it be a translation error? I remember you telling me that there’s no one from Russia’s Voyna Akademiya there. None of the others understand Russian, do they?”

“It’s a transliterated word, but it’s just a guess really. Professor Brown seemed to believe it.” Xiao Lin briefly explained the situation at the time and could not help asking, “You haven’t told me yet. Who is this guy? Was he really strong like Tang Ken?”

Song Junlang’s expression was very strange; he could not tell whether it was disbelief or doubt. After considering it for a moment, he explained: “Tang Ken, Ouyang Ming? No, compared to Ivan, they’re not on the same level. All colonists must have this name etched forever into their memories.”

Department Head Song looked at Xiao Lin with a never-before-seen seriousness and said with clarity, “Ivanovich is the only person with a clear historical record of having an SS-level talent. He’s also the creator of the resurrection law!”

Xiao Lin was stunned. Even though he was just a freshman, he immediately understood the implications of that name. The resurrection law had the effect of deducting one’s lifespan after death. Colonists were only able to come thus far with that indispensable law. In fact, the entire world’s colonial academies ought to thank the person who created that law.

1

However, that did not explain Professor Brown’s near-terrified expression at that moment. Xiao Lin thought for a moment and suddenly had a realization. He asked, “Wait. When was the resurrection law created? And when did Ivanovich die?”

Song Junlang smiled wryly. “Do you finally get it now? That’s right, if the name on the stone tablet is really the legendary Ivan, then the time span won’t make any sense. The Thunder Kingdom’s capital was invaded in the year forty-eight N.C. In that same year, the high priest disappeared and all members of the royal family were sent to their deaths, but the resurrection law was only created in the year sixty-eight N.C. Ivan also died because of that.”

“It’s impossible to know when Ivanovich enrolled and how he spent his days at the academy. These are all listed as top secret by Russia’s Voyna Akademiya. What is certain is that there can’t possibly be anyone who knew who he was during forty-eight N.C.!”

1

Xiao Lin then said, “So, those slates must have been placed after the destruction of the Thunder Kingdom? But that’s difficult to explain away too. Why put those slabs there?”

Department Head Song sighed, “Things are more complicated than you think. The dark room may have existed a long time ago. You said two days ago that the palace was the palace of the last queen, and the last queen was the priest’s sister who disappeared during that time. The only thing we can be sure of is that the high priest didn’t die.”

Xiao Lin found it quite incredible. “He even lived under the noses of the Americans and quietly made these slates to put into the palace’s dark room.”

“Yes. This is hard to make sense of, but if the person who made the slab is the high priest, then he must be alive and knew about Ivan, since his name is engraved on the slab. Even though Ivan was a SS-level talent during that time, he was still not very well-known. It was only when the resurrection law came to being that even Norma’s native tribes knew his name.”

“That means the earliest time the high priest could have engraved and placed the slate there must have been after sixty-eight N.C.” Xiao Lin then remembered something. “I remember Hank saying that the high priest was already very old at the time, and there was no potion or spell that could prolong his life. How did he live to sixty-eight N.C.?”

2

“That’s not important. The question is why did the high priest do this? Put yourself in his position and think about it, Xiao Lin. If you were that high priest, what would you do if you were in the same situation?”

“Me?” Xiao Lin was taken aback. He thought for a moment and said, “If my country was destroyed and everyone else was killed except for me, I definitely won’t be able to accept it and I’ll find ways to retaliate.”

“Exactly. In such a situation, a normal person would definitely wait for an opportunity to retaliate. There are be many forms of retaliation: assassination, sabotage, or instigating a rebellion. With the high priest’s ability and prestige during that period, he could do any of those things as he pleased, but he didn’t. Instead, he hid in the shadows and carved out that slab, with Ivan’s name appearing there too. All of this is just too strange.”

The two of them deliberated for some time and were still at a loss. In fact, the crux of the matter was still the slates. It was important to figure out what contents were recorded on them, and as far as Judge Academy was concerned, they had to face a more embarrassing problem—they had no way to determine whether the high priest still existed to that day.

Indeed, the phrase used was ‘still exist’, not ‘still alive’.

Logic dictated that it was impossible for the high priest to remain alive until the present, but there was a possibility that he used some method unknown to the colonial academies, or perhaps even prolonging his life in another different form altogether.

Those were the speculative theories put forth when the Thunder Kingdom was invaded and the high priest was nowhere to be found. The man never showed up, even after many years, so it was natural that everyone thought he was dead. The initial disclosure of the slate’s contents, however, forced America to reconsider all those possibilities.

Song Junlang’s expression remained solemn after learning about that. He did not even have any time to take care of his just-acquired little dragon-eagle. Instead, he left it to Xiao Lin and told the latter to feed it on his behalf. Meanwhile, he told Xiao Lin that he wanted to talk to Dawn Academy via trans-spatial communication. He was elusive all day long and often disappeared without a trace.

Xiao Lin did not bother too much about Ivan or the high priest, since they were of no importance to him. The longest he would stay in New Washington was about a month at most, after which he would have to return.

1

During his hard-to-come-by two-day paid leave, Xiao Lin chose not to continue shopping, but instead did gravity training in his room. However, there was no central computer like Dawn Academy that could record his body’s various attributes and monitor his progress in real-time.

As a result, Xiao Lin was unsure how effective his training would be, but judging from the number of push-ups he could do each time, he felt that he was slowly adapting.

2