Chapter 1073: Wu Yu and Qing Man
Chapter 1073: Wu Yu and Qing Man
After gleaning all the information about the teams from the other sage colleges that would be participating in the academic evaluation, Li Luo called Mentor Chi Chan before following Zong Sha to the central grounds of the college.
A huge pagoda sat there, but upon closer inspection, the building was actually a branch that had grown out of the Tree of Resonant Power. The branch was gargantuan, towering at about a hundred meters high, and the academy had sculpted it into a soaring, mossy, emerald pagoda.
This was the Heavenly Origin Ancient College's control center, accordingly named the Heavenly Origin Pagoda.
Zong Sha led the two to the entrance of the pagoda before bidding them farewell. After all, regular students like him could not enter the Heavenly Origin Pagoda without special permission. Fortunately for Li Luo and Chi Chan, the guards stationed outside the pagoda seemed to have been informed of their arrival beforehand and ushered them into a discussion hall on one of the upper floors.
As soon as they stepped into the discussion hall, they felt an extremely terrifying pressure surrounding them from all sides. At that moment, the two of them felt as if they had been cornered by some sort of savage ancient beast.
Li Luo frowned as his gaze focused towards the very end of the spacious discussion hall. Someone was sitting atop a large stone throne there. The terrifying pressure was coming from him.
He was a well-built middle-aged man. Wisps of flame constantly wafted from a flame pattern that was etched between his eyebrows. He leaned against the backrest of the throne, rotating two scarlet pearls within one of his palms. The void showed signs of shattering whenever the pearls collided against each other.
Li Luo knew his identity the moment he laid his eyes on him.
It was the vice principal of the Heavenly Origin Ancient College, Wu Yu.
Vice Principal Wu Yu stared straight at the two of them like a hawk eyeing its prey.
The terrifying pressure he exuded did not seem to recede, instead showing signs of increasing.
Mentor Chi Chan's eyebrows furrowed. She was also bearing the extremely strong pressure, but she took half a step forward to protect Li Luo. A Duke Bergfried invisibly materialized behind her.
She could tell that Vice Principal Wu Yu wanted to threaten them.
As soon as Mentor Chi Chan stepped forward, the pressure became even more oppressive. After just a few breaths, a fine line of cold sweat emerged from the center of her elegant eyebrows.
A spark of anger appeared in Li Luo's gaze. Just as he was about to speak, his expression changed and he immediately raised his palm. A beam of shimmering light emerged from the pocket sphere next to his wrist.
An ancient plaque appeared from within the shimmering light. In the center of the plaque was the ancient "Li" character, which glowed with a mysterious and inexplicable luster.
When the plaque felt the pressure from the King Stage expert, it seemed to have awakened from its slumber. It's imposing aura emerged at the same time as well.
Upon meeting that imposing aura, the King-level pressure emanating from Vice Principal Wu Yu melted away rapidly like snow touching lava.
Moreover, the aura quickly expanded towards Wu Yu.
A tinge of emotion finally appeared on Vice Principal Wu Yu's expressionless visage and he fiercely stood up, withdrawing all of his tempestuous King aura until there was none left.
Only then did the vibrating Heavenly Emperor's Writ finally calm down and retreat back into Li Luo's pocket sphere.
An icily silent atmosphere befell the discussion hall.
Vice Principal Wu Yu's expression was dark. He had not expected that merely trying to intimidate Li Luo and Chi Chan would provoke a reaction from a plaque containing the aura of a Heavenly Emperor.
He also recognized that the Heavenly Emperor's Writ represented Heavenly Emperor Li.
But how could such a precious item be in the possession of a junior at the Heavenly Pearl Tier? Was it just a child's toy in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?
Li Luo was also taken aback by the appearance of the Heavenly Emperor's Writ. After all, he normally had trouble activating it. Could it be that only a King Stage expert's presence could cause it to react?
Then again, the Heavenly Emperor's Writ represented Ancestor Li Jun, who was an existence at the peak of heaven and earth. Regular cultivators would not be able to stimulate the self-preservation abilities of the plaque that easily.
Li Luo stared at Vice Principal Wu Yu and said, "Vice Principal Wu Yu, is this how the Heavenly Origin Ancient College expresses its hospitality?"
Upon hearing Li Luo's question, Vice Principal Wu Yu's brows furrowed. Considering his position in the college, not even a Duke would dare to speak up in front of him. But now that he found himself being questioned by a junior at the Heavenly Pearl Tier, he reflexively wanted to exhort Li Luo.
"Hehe, don't be angry, little friend Li Luo. It's just that you seemed too young to be representing the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li; I just wanted to confirm your identity."
Just then, a gentle peal of laughter rang out.
Raising their eyes to the second floor, Li Luo and Chi Chan spotted a beautiful lady swathed in emerald finery walking down. The beauty's pupils were a dazzling turquoise and her body radiated wild surges of energy. Her long hair, which cascaded down her crown like a waterfall, was tied neatly by green vines. Verdant vines sprouted from the ground with every step she took as she walked down the stairs.
Smiling at Li Luo and Chi Chan, she stated, "I'm Vice Principal Qing Man."
Li Luo and Mentor Chi Chan both nodded respectfully. "Greetings, Vice Principal Qing Man."
Li Luo's gaze then turned towards Vice Principal Wu Yu, and he calmly asked, "Then I wonder, have you confirmed my identity now?"
Vice Principal Wu Yu's expression recovered before he replied frankly, "I am perplexed as to why the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li has come to the Heavenly Origin Ancient College with a greeting letter. What could be the matter?"
Li Luo replied, "I am both a member of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li and also a student of the Astral Sage College."
Mentor Chi Chan chimed in. "Vice principals, the Tree of Resonant Power at the Astral Sage College has been destroyed by Others, and in order to slow the advance of the Other King, Principal Pang has blocked them off with a self-sealing technique. Therefore, I'd like to ask the Heavenly Origin Ancient College to lend a helping hand."
"Pang Qianyuan." Vice Principal Qing Man's expression changed slightly and she let out a sigh. "That fellow..."
Vice Principal Wu Yu's eyes darkened. "The Heavenly Origin Ancient College can't afford to spare any manpower nowadays, and your continent is too far away for us to mobilize any assistance."
Provoked by his formulaic reply, Mentor Chi Chan exasperatedly replied, "Does the ancient college really not care about the sage colleges in the outer divine continents?"
Vice Principal Wu Yu didn't care enough to formulate a reply.
While Vice Principal Qing Man sighed and explained, "Don't be too hasty in your assessment of us. Although the ancient college is a humongous organization, the problems we face are also beyond your imagination. Even now, there are only two vice principals in the college. It's not that we don't want to help, but there are too many places where things have gone wrong in the past few years, and we've been stretched too thin from putting out fires all over the place. "
Chi Chan was crestfallen.
Hearing this, Li Luo knew that reinforcements could not be acquired for the time being, so he backed down and asked, "Then can the ancient college provide us with a batch of cultivation resources to help the Astral Sage College tide through this critical period?"
Vice Principal Qing Man was about to speak when Vice Principal Wu Yu plainly asked, "Vice Principal Qing Man, I am the one in charge of the college these days, am I right?"
Vice Principal Qing Man glanced sympathetically at Wu Yu and answered with a faint smile, "Naturally."
Vice Principal Wu Yu looked at the two of them and said, "I truly sympathize with the situation of the Astral Sage College, but the ancient college has its own rules, and the sage colleges are all observant of our resource allocation. If I were to make an exception and specially hand some over to you, how could I appease the rest of them in the future?"
Mentor Chi Chan could sense that Vice Principal Wu Yu had been opposing them from the start, and her eyes were full of icy malice.
Li Luo maintained his composure and asked, "Then what do you think we should do, Vice Principal Wu Yu?"
Vice Principal Wu Yu shook his head and replied, "It's not about what I think. As long as the rules are followed, all will be fair game."
He scanned Li Luo and said, "Aren't you going to represent the Astral Sage College in the academic evaluation alone? I think your courage is commendable, it's a good thing."
His last two words carried some level of disregard.
Li Luo smiled. "I also feel that it's a good thing."
After a short pause, Li Luo added, "Vice Principal Wu Yu, I have to ask, are you interested in a bet?"
Vice Principal Wu Yu was noncommittal and did not reply.
With his strength and status, he wouldn't even have said half a word to Li Luo if it wasn't for Li Luo's background.
Li Luo, on the other hand, muttered to himself, "I come from the Astral Sage College, and I do think that Principal Pang is extremely capable, so I reckon that even though I'm alone, I should be able to end up in the first tier in the academic evaluation."
Hearing the words "Principal Pang is extremely capable" from Li Luo's mouth, Vice Principal Wu Yu finally swept an expressionless glance at him and said, "What if you can't get the first rank, you young and impetuous boy?"
"If I can't get it, then the Astral Sage College will return empty-handed," Li Luo answered.
"But... what if I do get it?" Li Luo asked with a mischievous smile.
The flaming pattern on Vice Principal Wu Yu's brow began to burn hotter, and the red pearls in his hand rotated a bit more quickly, emitting a crisp cracking sound.
Several breaths later, he replied in an indifferent voice, "If you get it, I'll give you double the resources, with the extra amount coming from my own pocket."