Exotic Battlefield: I Can Activate Dual Talents
Chapter 62 - 60, artist

Chapter 62: 60, artist

Saturn was huge.

After the Federation incorporated Saturn into its territory, for convenience, the four largest landmasses on Saturn were named after the cardinal directions: East Forest, West Sand, South Sea, and North Hill.

Among them, the East Forest Continent was considered a place on Saturn with a relatively good environment and a more developed economy. Many of Saturn’s wealthy were willing to buy houses and land on the East Forest Continent, raise their children, and so forth.

In a small coastal city on the East Forest Continent, there was a painting studio called Falling Phoenix Pavilion.

The owner of the studio was a slim, bookish-looking young man who wore a pair of non-prescription glasses. Many of the residents living around the Falling Phoenix Pavilion would send their children here to learn painting from the owner.

The owner’s surname was Chang, affectionately called Teacher Chang or Mr. Chang by the children.

However, today, the children who arrived at the studio on time for their lessons found the door tightly shut. An artistic-looking notice was posted on the sliding glass door.

"Family emergency, will return soon."

At that moment, Chang Feng, with an easel on his back, was sitting in the bus station’s waiting room in the small city.

He was the person Wang Lihe had contacted—the artist.

People with such an air about them were always welcomed wherever they went. During the twenty-minute wait for the bus, three young girls carrying snacks or drinks had already approached Chang Feng to ask where he was going.

However, Chang Feng politely replied each time that he was going on a sketching trip and didn’t have a fixed destination.

A simple white round-neck T-shirt, paired with Chang Feng’s slightly longish hair, gave him the subtle air of an artist.

His destination was none other than Green City!

「...」

Watching the video his mother was playing, Lu Lin’s face changed drastically.

It was the video of his fight from that night. It even included the scene where he severed Zhang Haibo’s four fingers with an iron spike.

This is going to be big trouble!

There had been many onlookers at the barbecue stall that night, but Lu Lin had forgotten that people could record videos with their Personal Terminals and upload them to the Internet at any time.

Looks like if I get into fights in the future, I’d better find a secluded spot. That way, Mom and Dad won’t worry.

"Speak up!" Meng Yu’s voice was stern. "Go on, laugh! Weren’t you so capable? You said you were just going out for dinner, didn’t you? Who is that in the video?"

"Tell me, is that you?!"

Lu Ping quickly chimed in, signaling Lu Lin with his eyes to apologize to his mom immediately.

"I’m sorry, Mom. I won’t let you see me fight and worry you anymore."

"What?!"

Meng Yu shot up from the sofa. What kind of nonsense is that? Is he saying he’s still going to go out and fight?

Facing his mom’s gaze, expression, and posture, Lu Lin knew he couldn’t back down. He had to brace himself.

"Mom," Lu Lin began, Your son is a Star Core Warrior now; fighting a few bad guys is nothing. "I still have to enter the Exotic Battlefield and fight life-and-death battles. Otherwise, Mom, why do you think Star Core Warriors hold such a high status? It’s because every single one of them fought with blades and spears, bled, and made sacrifices! I know you and Dad worry about me; I’m your only son. But as a Star Core Warrior, if I don’t go to an alien world, if I don’t experience the Exotic Battlefield, could I ever be content with my life? Besides, there’s the Federation’s Five Impositions and Three Calls Order, which compels Star Core Warriors onto this path."

"Mom, Dad." Lu Lin looked at his parents with sincerity. "I am a Star Core Warrior. Going to the Exotic Battlefield is my undeniable duty. The peace and stability we Humans currently enjoy exist only because Human Martial Artists fight to the death in the Exotic Battlefield, sacrificing their lives. Do you remember forty-two years ago, when alien races invaded the Solar System and slaughtered over a billion people in a short time?"

"I know... I know..." Meng Yu started to cry as she listened. "But the Federation has so many Star Core Warriors Awakening every year. Why does it have to be you? Son, you’re our only child. If anything were to happen to you, how could we possibly go on living?"

"Live? Of course, we have to live." Lu Lin walked over and gently hugged his mom, patting her back as if comforting a child. "Mom, there’s something else I haven’t told you."

Lu Lin had his parents sit down and told them about the house he had prepared for them on Blue Star, their hukou (household registration), their jobs, and the passage tickets from Saturn to Blue Star.

"How did you get all of this?"

"As rewards," Lu Lin said matter-of-factly. "Mom, you have no idea how talented your son is. The Federation’s top Star Martial Arts University and the Alien Academy of Iron and Blood call me practically three times a day, inviting me to their academies for advanced studies. Song Qianjun, the City Guard of Tongyuan, frequently has his secretary pick me up to have drinks with him. Look, this is a photo of me with City Lord Song Qianjun at the Governor’s Mansion. And there’s Zuo Zhenyu of the Tongyuan City Defense Army; he’s the father of my good friend Zuo Yiming. Their family is a renowned large family on Blue Star; they have no fewer than three elders at the Seventh Level Golden Body Realm alone. And this man, Master Jiang Yueming, ranked eleventh among Blue Star Star Skill Instructors, is my teacher. Since my Awakening on June 1st, I’ve officially become a Star Skill Instructor. These are snapshots of me with many high school principals in Tongyuan. This is President Jiang Ye of the Tongyuan Star Skill Instructor Association, and these are photos taken while I was Guiding Star Skills for students at other high schools. These things only demonstrate my talent and the potential others see in me. But what I forgot to tell you this morning is that my real strength is my actual Talent."

"Mom, Dad, sit tight, wait for me a second."

Lu Lin went to the kitchen and came back with a kitchen knife.

As Lu Ping and Meng Yu watched in confusion, Lu Lin raised the kitchen knife and brought it down on his own arm.

"No!"

"Son!"

The old couple leaped up frantically and rushed to Lu Lin’s side.

"Mom, Dad, I’m fine." Lu Lin held up his arm, practically thrusting it in front of their faces for them to see. "See? Look, not a scratch! This is Stone Skin, one of the two Star Skills I’ve comprehended. My skin is harder than stone. Forget our ordinary kitchen knife from home; even bullets won’t make a dent. Dad, where’s your little handgun? Go on, shoot me."

"Get lost! Waste one of my bullets on you? I’m not doing that!" Lu Ping quickly refused. Whatever the reason, he would never dream of wasting one of his precious handgun bullets on a joke.

"Alright, alright, I was just kidding. Look how worked up you are." Lu Lin guided his parents back to the sofa and sat them down.

"So, now you understand. Talent, potential... your son sees more clearly than anyone that no matter how great they are, those are for the future. They’re of no use right now. That’s why I focused on acquiring a life-saving Star Skill: Stone Skin. No matter where I go in the future, the first priority is to ensure my own safety. Don’t worry, your son is afraid of dying too," Lu Lin said with a smile.

At this point, his parents couldn’t say anything more. Lu Lin had gone so far as to slash his own arm with a kitchen knife to prove his point. What more could they say or do?

His dad nodded at Lu Lin, satisfied, ready to let him off the hook.

His mom, however, turned her head away and snorted. "I don’t care. Tomorrow, you have to fix the wall in the house."

"Yes, Mom!" Lu Lin snapped to attention and gave his mom a military salute.