Chapter 104 – Damn it, now the whole empire knows that laozi is having a teacher-student relationship.

Translator: Rin    Editor: Mars    Proofreader: Ume

Jiang Li was invited up by Qiao Xi at the end of the three-out-of-five game.

Considering the reason why Qiao Xi wouldn’t let Lu Heng pilot the mecha before, he initially thought that the other party wouldn’t pay attention to the competition, but he didn’t expect that she was just upstairs.

“I take the liberty of inviting Major Jiang over. I hope I’m not abrupt.” Qiao Xi said to Jiang Li with a smile and raised her hand to signal him to sit down.

“It’s Jiang Li who was rude and didn’t come over in time to greet the queen.” Jiang Li saluted her and then sat down.

From the conversation, Jiang Li learned that Qiao Xi had been present since the previous day’s preliminary round, but she just didn’t tell Lu Heng, presumably because she was afraid of putting pressure on him.

At first, Jiang Li and Qiao Xi just chatted casually. Jiang Li could probably guess the reason why she invited him there. After all, Lu Heng told her the news the day after their relationship was confirmed. But since she didn’t take the initiative to mention it, he pretended not to know.

After Qiao Xi asked about Lu Heng’s situation at the military academy, a voice came from the electronic screen, indicating that the two-out-of-three match was about to begin. The contestants in the first match were: Lu Heng vs. Lou Jia.

Hearing the sound, Jiang Li and Qiao Xi looked at the screen at the same time, tacitly ending the conversation.

Those who could enter the top three were relatively powerful contestants. The contestant named Lou Jia left quite a deep impression on Jiang Li. His performance in the previous few games had been very outstanding. But for Lu Heng, there was not much of a difference between encountering Lou Jia and Qiao Chen.

During Lu Heng’s competition, Jiang Li noticed that Qiao Xi was a little nervous. She looked at the screen with her brows furrowed tightly. When Lu Heng was almost struck by the opponent’s long sword, she even stood up from her seat and shouted towards the screen: “Be careful!”

Lu Heng piloted the mecha to dodge the opponent’s attack, opened its tail, and rushed directly into the air. At the same time, the wings on its shoulders opened, white light and shadow gathered, and fired a particle cannon at the opponent.

The opponent dodged the particle cannon and fought with Lu Heng in the air.

Jiang Li saw Qiao Xi’s hands clenched tightly into fists and said to her: “Don’t worry, with Lu Heng’s strength, nothing will happen.”

Hearing this, Qiao Xi turned back to meet his eyes. Seeing the confidence and calmness in his eyes, she suddenly relaxed, smiled, and sat back again: “Sorry, it was embarrassing.”

She paused and then added: “For certain reasons I forced Lu Heng to give up the mecha for a long, long time, so I couldn’t help but be scared when I saw him fighting with others.”

Jiang Li nodded: “I can understand.”

Jiang Li’s words had two meanings. First, he understood her current fear, and second, he understood her previous fear.

Qiao Xi is a smart person and understood what he meant: “Lu Heng should have told you these things, right? After all, he likes you so much.”

Jiang Li saw the teasing in Qiao Xi’s eyes. If it had been anyone else, he might have felt a little awkward or embarrassed, but Jiang Li had also lived several lifetimes, and he admitted openly: “He had told me.”

Qiao Xi’s eyes fell on the black mecha fighting on the screen. It was the mecha driven by Lu Heng. The black mecha was like a sharp sword. It gradually gained the upper hand in the competition and caused the opponent to retreat in defeat.

Qiao Xi felt mixed emotions in her heart and stared at it intently. It wasn’t until the three characters “Victor: Lu Heng” appeared on the screen that she slowly let go. She turned to Jiang Li and asked, “Major Jiang, I would like to ask you about something.”

“Please.”

“As a soldier, are you really not afraid of death? Aren’t you afraid every time you go to the battlefield?” Qiao Xi asked.

“Of course.” Jiang Li smiled, “No one is not afraid of death, but sometimes, one’s belief is more important than life.”

“Belief? You mean…”

Jiang Li looked at her and spoke softly but with unquestionable firmness: “The nation.”

He was not talking about his own beliefs, but about his original host, Major Jiang, who dedicated everything to the empire and regarded protecting the empire as his mission.

The other party loved this planet, Norman Star, so much that even if his soul had disappeared in this time and space, his last wish was still to protect this planet and this nation.

Qiao Xi felt the determination in his eyes and couldn’t help but freeze, her thoughts uncontrollably going back to many years ago.

She thought of her two sons.

During the Battle of Egret, she saw them off at the palace’s entrance. They turned back, hugged her, and told her that they were the princes of the empire and had the responsibility to protect the country, the defenseless people. More importantly the King, their Father, was not around so they should protect her even more.

Her two sons were the pride of the empire and kept their promise.

But they failed to fulfill their promise of “coming back safely”.

Whenever Qiao Xi thought of the scene where their bodies were sent back, her heart could not be at peace. Time could not erase the pain. Every memory felt like a knife piercing her heart, stabbing her at her most vulnerable place, making her unable to control herself.

However, this time with Jiang Li’s presence, she quickly calmed down her emotions and said a little apologetically: “It’s embarrassing.”

Jiang Li shook his head, still saying the same thing: “I can understand.”

He understood how desperate a mother would feel when she saw the bodies of her two sons being returned. Anyone who was not strong enough might already have crumbled down.

She wanted to protect Lu Heng, but not in the way Lu Heng wanted.

Qiao Xi was silent for a moment: “Actually, I invited you here this time because I hope you can do me a favor.”

Jiang Li knew what she wanted to say and shook his head: “I’m sorry, I can’t promise you.”

“What if I say that I can let you return to the military?” Qiao Xi looked at him, trying to persuade him, “As long as you help me convince Lu Heng not to join the army or enter the battlefield, I can guarantee that all your previous honors will be returned to your hands.”

“Are you making a deal with me?” Jiang Li said with a smile, but the smile did not reach the depth of his eyes. “As before, I can’t promise you.”

“Didn’t you say this is your belief?” Qiao Xi frowned, seeming a little unhappy.

“Yes.” Jiang Li nodded, “But that doesn’t mean it can be exchanged for Lu Heng.”

The two looked at each other quietly, and the originally harmonious atmosphere became a bit depressing, with both sides refusing to give in to each other.

After a while, Qiao Xi suddenly chuckled, shook her head, and said, “That brat really got it right.”

Jiang Li didn’t understand: “Huh?”

“I made a bet with that brat Lu Heng on whether you would agree to the exchange. He was very sure that you would never agree.” Qiao Xi explained, took a deep breath, and said in a sighing tone, ” My son is too old to listen to his mother, I am also at my wits’ end.”

There was relief and a little bitterness in her tone. Jiang Li was about to say a few words of comfort when he heard Black Eagle say: “Queen, you don’t have to worry. The fourth prince has grown up now and he has the ability to protect himself. I am also capable of protecting him, please rest assured.”

Normally, Black Eagle gave Jiang Li the impression of being “careless” and “coquettish”. Suddenly, he was a little uncomfortable hearing him speak in such a cautious tone. Even Silver Sparrow gave Black Eagle a strange look.

While the two were chatting, there was a knock on the door outside. They turned around and saw Lu Heng walking in.

Qiao Xi saw him and waved: “Come here.”

Lu Heng walked over, sat down next to Jiang Li, and asked Qiao Xi, “When did Mother come? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You are only looking for your Instructor Jiang, how do you know if I am coming?” Qiao Xi glanced at him and said in a sour tone.

Jiang Li: “…”

Such half-sour and half-ridiculing words left Jiang Li speechless for a moment. On the contrary, Lu Heng did not feel embarrassed at all and said matter-of-factly: “Didn’t Father say that? The world is big and the wife is the biggest.”

Jiang Li: “…” Just shut up.

Black Eagle: “Yeah!”

Silver Sparrow: “Yeah what?”

“That’s right.” Lu Heng suddenly remembered something, slapped his thigh, looked at Jiang Li, and said, “Mother is here, let’s discuss when to get married.”

“Puhh!”

Jiang Li almost spit out a mouthful of tea. Lu Heng quickly pulled out a tissue and wiped his mouth while saying, “I know you are happy, but don’t be so excited!”

“…”

Jiang Li saw the indescribable look Qiao Xi gave him and thought to himself, I’m not excited, I was scared by you!!!

“What about Major Jiang…?” Qiao Xi hesitated to speak.

“Ahem!” Jiang Li slapped Lu Heng’s hand away, “Let’s talk about it after Lu Heng graduates.”

Lu Heng: “…” I just started school, and you’re talking about graduation??

After the three-out-of-two match, Qiao Chen entered the finals like Lu Heng. This result could be said to be what Jiang Li and Lu Heng expected.

Before the start of the final, the contestants had half an hour to rest. When Lu Heng left, he took advantage of Jiang Li not paying attention and held the back of his head with one hand, kissed his forehead quickly, and said softly: “Wait until I get the trophy back.”

Qiao Xi was still near by, so Jiang Li couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed and coughed lightly: “Good luck.”

Lu Heng smiled, turned around, and hugged Qiao Xi. Qiao Xi patted his back and warned, “Be careful.”

“Okay.”

When the match was about to start, the audience burst into cheers as soon as Lu Heng and Qiao Chen entered the stadium. One of them was the fourth prince of the empire, and the other was the grandson of the military general. Both of them had extremely noble status and were very powerful.

“Fourth Prince! Fourth Prince! Fourth Prince!!”

“Master Qiao! Master Qiao! Master Qiao!!”

Supporters from both sides shouted passionately, and each cheer became louder and louder than the last, which almost overturned the entire venue!

In the VIP audience seats, the students in Area D held up a huge sign saying “Lu Heng will win!” and waved their fists in a uniform manner, which was in sharp contrast to the students in Area A who were trying hard to maintain their image.

Lu Heng’s mecha was still black, while Qiao Chen’s was dark blue. The two mechas were the same height and shape.

When the host announced the start of the game, both sides moved at the same time, so fast that they almost became shadows. Before the audience could react, the figures of two mechas, one black and one blue, appeared in the air, the collision of the light sabers and spears produced huge sounds and brilliant sparks.

The audience fell into a brief silence and then burst into louder cheers.

“Victory for the fourth prince! Victory for the fourth prince! Victory for the fourth prince!!”

“Go, Master Qiao! Go, Master Qiao! Go, Master Qiao!!”

The weapons intersected for only a short moment. The two mechas quickly retreated under the pressure of the opponent’s weapons and then fought together again.

They all seemed to have given up on long-range attacks and had been choosing to fight in close quarters. It was hard to tell who had the advantage among the attacks that went back and forth, and everyone was dazzled.

The black mecha swerved beautifully, dodging the blue mecha’s lightsaber, and then struck the opponent away with a horizontal kick. Then, at the speed of light, he appeared above the opponent, raised his fist, and smashed it to the ground!

The blue mecha smashed the playing field into a huge pit, sending broken bricks and dust flying everywhere.

The black mecha was suspended in mid-air. The light bombs on both arms were opened and fired towards the large pit on the ground. In the next second, a blue light shadow flew out from the dust and quickly avoided the light bombs. The lightsaber in his hand was raised from bottom to top, suddenly carving out a sharp white light towards the black mecha. The black mecha was unable to dodge, and half of its shoulder armor was cut off!

The two mechas were equally powerful, and the battle was inseparable. Every attack they made carried a thunderous momentum.

The fight between the two was beyond everyone’s expectations. The strength of the two sides did not look like freshmen at all. When the blue mecha fell to the ground and stopped getting up, almost the entire audience stood up. The words “Fourth Prince” resounded throughout Jiada Square!

Three big characters were displayed on the huge electronic screen – Victor: Lu Heng.

Lu Heng won the mecha competition. It could be said that he slapped the faces of those in the three areas of the military academy A, B, and C who looked down on Area D. The students in Area D shouted and cheered as if they were crazy. Some even shouted, “Fourth Prince, I love you”.

During the award ceremony, all contestants formed a team under the podium under the leadership of the head coach, and the top three contestants stood on the podium.

The person who presented the awards to the contestants was a lieutenant general from the military. He handed the championship medal and trophy to Lu Heng, said a few words of encouragement, and then left. The host asked Lu Heng to give a speech.

Lu Heng held the trophy in one hand and the microphone in the other: “I have nothing to say, I just have one thing to ask my instructor.”

His words made everyone present turn their attention to Jiang Li who was standing in the audience.

The curious looks from thousands of people gave Jiang Li a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next second he heard Lu Heng ask loudly: “Instructor Jiang Li, it’s still too long before I graduate. Can I apply to marry you first?!!!!!!!!!”

Jiang Li: “…”

Damn it, now the whole empire knows that laozi is having a teacher-student relationship.