Chapter 1105: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Chapter 1105: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
On the next day, the Heavenly Origin Ancient College was bustling with activity. All the students who were going to participate in the mission were nervously making their final preparations.
The whole college was filled with a tense atmosphere.
Li Luo led Lu Ming, Jing Taixu, Sun Dasheng, and group into a giant square into the depths of the college. The square looked like a gigantic tree leaf that was dyed jade-green.
The space itself was extraordinary. The ground seemed to have a life of its own, slowly expanding and contracting as though it was breathing.
When they arrived, the square was already full of people.
"Li Luo, over here!"
Li Luo heard Jiang Wanyu calling out to him as soon as he arrived. He looked over and saw her, Feng Lingyuan, and Zong Sha.
Cutting through the crowd, he led Lu Ming and the rest to meet up with the three of them.
As he walked through the crowd, he could sense the strange gazes directed at him. There were also faint mentions of the word "Spirit Tide." Clearly, his performance had caused another uproar in the Heavenly Origin Ancient College.
Nonetheless, Li Luo was not bothered by it. He scanned the surrounding area and felt a slight chill in his heart. He could feel the presence of numerous strong fighters. Without a doubt, they were the top elites within the ranks of the Upper Hall of the Heavenly Star Hall.
"This mission is of utmost importance. Many of our Heavenly Star Hall students have been summoned back. Thinking about it, it's the first time I've seen so many students from the Heavenly Star Hall ever since I entered the college three years ago," Jiang Wanyu said as she noticed Li Luo scanning the area.
"Seems like a pretty big mission," Li Luo replied with a smile.
It was clear how much the Heavenly Origin Ancient College valued the Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm.
As they were chatting, Li Luo's eyes landed on an area at the front. It was in the middle of this square, Wu Changkong's location.
Standing amongst the crowd, Wu Changkong appeared tall and charismatic. As he chatted and laughed, he attracted the admiration of many beautiful female students, especially the girls from the One and Two Star Halls on the edge of the field. Although they were not participating in the mission, they had all rushed over to catch a glimpse of the various famous figures from the Heavenly Star Hall. These people were rarely spotted during ordinary times. Amongst them, Wu Changkong was naturally at the top.
Although Li Luo had a few amazing feats recently, he was simply a dark horse in their eyes. They did not really compare him with Wu Changkong. After all, one was a new star, while the other had been at the top of the Heavenly Star Hall for years. There was simply nothing to compare between the two.
Standing beside Wu Changkong, Xu Xi with the Divine Lingzhi resonance also had a remarkable presence. She was a beautiful girl closely followed by numerous admirers.
As if he had noticed Li Luo's gaze, Wu Changkong turned around. Their eyes met, and Wu Changkong smiled at him, slowly making his way towards Li Luo.
When he started moving, everyone's gazes followed.
Jiang Wanyu, Zong Sha, Lu Ming, and the rest tensed up immediately when they sensed Wu Changkong walking over. Their nervousness could be seen clearly within their eyes. After all, his reputation was too great.
As Wu Changkong made his way over, there was a friendly smile on his handsome face. He looked directly at Li Luo and said, "It's been a number of years since we've seen someone as talented as you in the Heavenly Origin Ancient College, Junior Li Luo. You've really outshone your predecessors. Perhaps before long, you'll have a seat in the Upper Hall too."
Li Luo stared back at Wu Changkong's green eyes. After staying at the top of Heavenly Star Hall for so many years, this guy emitted an indescribable sense of pressure. It was a kind of confidence that was born from being undefeated after hundreds of battles.
As such, he had a domineering presence even without revealing his resonant power. Ordinary students would feel extremely nervous simply by looking into his eyes.
Unfortunately, this would not work on Li Luo. After all, how much pain did he have to get through before he became the Dragon's Head of the Twenty Banners of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?
"I'm sorry, I'll have to forgo the Heavenly Star Hall. I am just a mere passerby. My grandfather has said that if I do not go back and take over the Dragon's Fang Guardians, he might very well break my legs," Li Luo replied humbly.
When he said that, the mouths of many students at the side twitched a little. Their hearts were full of complicated feelings. The Heavenly Star Hall that they had regarded as a badge of honor didn't seem to be worth much in Li Luo's eyes.
Previously, they were feeling a little resistant and wary of Li Luo after hearing Wu Changkong's comments about him. After all, the Heavenly Star Hall was like a carrot and a stick. If Li Luo had gotten into it, there would naturally be one person falling out of it. However, they were a little angry now that they had heard that he had no interest in the Heavenly Star Hall. That was the holy land that they had all longed for. Nonetheless... what Li Luo had said was not wrong.
The Heavenly Dragon's Five Guardian Armies of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li was also a renowned place full of talents; it was definitely on par with the Heavenly Star Hall.
Wu Changkong was a little shocked by his reply as well. He responded with a grin, "Naturally, the Dragon's Fang Guardians is full of geniuses as well. However, I believe the Heavenly Star Hall from the Heavenly Origin Ancient College isn't any worse than them."
"Perhaps," Li Luo said with a smile.
Wu Changkong did not talk to him any further. He turned his eyes towards Feng Lingyuan and said with a smile, "Classmate Lingyuan, the mission is going to be extremely dangerous. Perhaps we'll have a chance to work together later."
Feng Lingyuan smiled back coldly. "Forget about working together. Who doesn't know about the insatiable appetite of Wu Changkong? If we worked together, you'd just take all the merits for yourself."
Wu Changkong replied helplessly, "You seem to have a huge misunderstanding, Classmate Lingyuan. There was no other choice back then."
When he saw the cold and indifferent expression on Feng Lingyuan's face, he did not speak any further. He turned around and left with the crowd.
Li Luo's curiosity was naturally piqued as he wanted to find out more about what had transpired between them in the past. However, he soon noticed a commotion not too far away. A team of about ten people came running out of the crowd.
He looked at the front of that team.
The leader had a slender figure and was wearing the uniform of the Heavenly Origin Ancient College. Her skin was as white as snow and her facial features were delicate. She had emerald-green hair that reached her shoulders, and her peach blossom-like eyes exuded an enchanting aura. Yet there was also a kind of coldness in her eyes that kept people thousands of miles away. Having both of these temperaments, she was truly eye-catching.
Her hands were in her pockets and she appeared really impressive.
"Stop looking," Jiang Wanyu said when she noticed Li Luo looking at her.
"Who's that?" Li Luo asked curiously. He could tell that Jiang Wanyu was acting a little weird.
"Duan Mu, lower ninth-grade wood resonance. They're the third strongest in the Heavenly Star Hall and is at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier. They have earned the nickname 'Emerald Wood Buddha's Hand.'"
"Oh?" Li Luo was surprised. "The Heavenly Star Hall is indeed a place full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. What a beautiful maiden."
He was genuinely praising her.
However, Duan Mu had a surprisingly sharp sense of hearing. She glanced over fiercely when she heard his words.
Li Luo was puzzled by her gaze. He felt like people in the Heavenly Star Hall were incredibly difficult to please.
On his side, Jiang Wanyu shook her head and whispered to him, "Senior Duan Mu hates it the most when people say he's beautiful."
Li Luo was stunned for a moment before he responded, "He?
"She... I mean, he's a guy?!"
He finally understood why Duan Mu had given him such an angry stare earlier. However, the man was simply far too feminine. If any man were to look at this individual without knowing his gender, he would likely fall in love!
Li Luo sighed. Right at this moment, he noticed several more teams with their own impressive presences entering the stage.
The one that caught Li Luo's attention the most was a guy with dark yellow skin. His appearance was ordinary, even a bit aged when compared to the rest. He placed his hands in his sleeves and always had a grimace on his face, as if others owed him money.
"That's Zheng Jiang, the fourth seat in the Heavenly Star Hall. He has an upper eighth-grade earth resonance and a lower eighth-grade Spiritual Thorn resonance," Jiang Wanyu whispered.
"Dual eighth-grade resonances." Li Luo was surprised.
Then he noticed a young girl with short hair. She was extremely sexy with a hot figure and wore a red skirt that outlined her plump and charming curves. Her lips were flaming red, and when she bit them gently, there was a fiery charm from her.
"She is Hou Ying, fifth seat in the Heavenly Star Hall. She has a ninth-grade fire resonance," Jiang Wanyu whispered to him.
It seemed like Li Luo had seen all the top students of the Upper Hall now. Of course, this did not mean that they knew about him.
The Heavenly Star Hall was truly a gathering ground for the gifted. If any of them were to enter the Heavenly Dragon's Five Guardian Armies, they would definitely stand out there too.
As Li Luo sighed again, he noticed another commotion coming from the crowd. A beautiful girl entered the stage, surrounded by people.
She was an extremely cold and charming young girl. She had long hair as red as fire, and a strange fragrance lingered around as she walked by, pleasing the people around her.
Her entry attracted even the attention of Wu Changkong.
Li Luo stared at the cold, young girl. For some reason, he felt like she looked a little familiar.
"That is Li Hongyou, rank ten," Jiang Wanyu said as she stared at the cold yet attractive girl. Her eyes seemed a little... jealous?
"Tenth seat? Why does it feel like she's getting even more attention than the others?" Li Luo asked.
This time, it was Feng Lingyuan that answered. She calmly explained, "It's because she has a quasi ninth-grade Crimson Heart Vermilion Fruit resonance. It is an extremely rare support-type resonance. When used with specific resonance arts, it can protect people's minds from the corruption of Others. At the same time, it can boost the overall strength of her teammates. If you look around the whole Heavenly Star Hall, she is actually everyone's first choice for a team member.
"If she weren't in the Upper Hall, it's likely that a fight over her would've broken out."
Li Luo was startled. "Crimson Heart Vermilion Fruit resonance?"
He had heard that support-type resonances had weak offense and defensive capabilities. However, it was highly desired by every team leader.
It was no wonder she was so popular.
She could support her teammates very well and allow their performance to reach a higher level. There was no disadvantage to that.