Chapter 1: I Have Three Resonance Palaces

Great Xia Kingdom, Tianshu Prefecture.

In June, the south wind of the city, the scorching sun was like fire, roasting the earth.

Nanfeng Intermediate Academy.

A spacious and bright training ground.

Numerous young boys and girls with youthful, vibrant faces wore training uniforms, sitting cross-legged all around, their gazes fixed on the center of the field, where two figures were engaged in a rapid exchange, the crisp sounds of wooden swords colliding echoing throughout the training ground.

Both individuals in the field were about fifteen or sixteen years old; the youth on the right had a slender build, a handsome face, and spirited eyes beneath his brows, with an excellent physique and temperament. Setting everything else aside, this top-tier appearance alone caused some of the young girls in the field to cast bright, shimmering glances his way, their eyes filled with affection and a hint of shyness.

"Li Luo, go for it!"

There were even bold young girls calling out in support.

Standing before the youth named Li Luo was a burly boy, whose features appeared much rougher, and with his dark skin, compared to Li Luo, he truly looked like a human standing next to a black bear.

So, when he heard the voices of those girls cheering for Li Luo, he immediately grinned with a bit of jealousy and shouted, "Li Luo, I'm not going to hold back anymore!"

He took a step forward, the floor trembling slightly, and his wooden sword sliced through the air, faintly bringing with it the sound of wind-breaking as he slashed toward Li Luo in front of him.

As the sword shadow descended, Li Luo’s gaze flickered; he tapped his toes and his figure darted out, his footwork as agile as a flying sparrow, directly evading that heavy and fierce strike.

"It's the Wind Sparrow Steps!" someone in the field called out, filled with admiration. This Wind Sparrow Steps was a low-grade Resonance Art, and while many present knew it, few could execute it as skillfully as Li Luo.

Li Luo’s figure, like a flying sparrow, closed in on the burly boy, and the wooden sword in his hand was suddenly drawn in a sword-drawing stance. In that instant, a flash of light seemed to pass, stabbing toward the burly boy's chest with extreme speed.

"Small Spirit Light Sword!" someone else exclaimed. This strike from Li Luo was like an antelope hanging its horns—a flash of spirit light, fast and ruthless—making them sigh that this person with the best comprehension in Nanfeng Academy was truly worthy of his reputation.

As the sword shadow stabbed forward, the burly boy’s expression changed, but his strength was not ordinary. At the critical moment, he forcibly steadied himself, stomped his foot, and retreated several steps in a hurry.

At the same time, a layer of silver light faintly flickered on the surface of his body, and the palm holding the wooden sword seemed to transform into a blurry, silver bear-paw light shadow.

Simultaneously, low bear roars could be heard, appearing and disappearing from within the burly boy’s body.

Seeing this, the many students in the field exclaimed, "That is Zhao Kuo’s fifth-grade Silver Bear Resonance; it looks like he’s getting serious!"

Amidst the many exclamations, Zhao Kuo took a step forward, cracking the floor, and the heavy sword in his hand, wrapped in fierce, savage power, brought up a wave of wind as it slashed viciously toward Li Luo.

Silver light rose upon the wooden sword, and the sound of wind-breaking rang out piercingly.

"Violent Slash!"

The burly boy roared, the red light descending, colliding directly with the incoming sword shadow.

Bang!

The next instant, the two swords clashed hard against each other.

In the violent collision, the wooden sword in Li Luo’s hand shattered upon contact; a savage force like that of a violent bear surged over, and the entire wooden sword was forcibly shattered.

The great force transmitted, sending Li Luo’s figure stumbling back more than ten steps.

Li Luo steadied his footing, looked down at the broken wooden sword in his hand, smiled helplessly, and said, "Alright, Zhao Kuo, you win."

"Sigh."

As soon as these words were spoken, some of the girls in the field let out sounds of regret, while many of the boys revealed snickers; after all, as hot-blooded youths, they were naturally envious and jealous of Li Luo being so popular with the girls.

"It's a real pity. Clearly, Li Luo’s offensive was sharper, and in the application of Resonance Arts, he is also much stronger than Zhao Kuo. If it weren't for him having no Resonance, he would definitely have won this match," someone commented.

"That's right. Zhao Kuo possesses a fifth-grade Silver Bear Resonance, his strength is astonishing, and his Resonance Power has likely reached the five-seal level. He truly deserves to be the strongest person in our Second Academy right now."

"Li Luo’s comprehension and talent in practicing Resonance Arts are indeed formidable, but he was born with an Empty Resonance, which is simply a fatal flaw. Without sufficiently powerful Resonance Power to support it, no matter how refined his Resonance Arts are, they are of little use."

"Haha, don't pity others. Who is Li Luo? He is the Young Prefecture Master of the 'Luolan Prefecture', one of the four great prefectures of our Great Xia Kingdom. His parents are the youngest Marquis-level experts in our Great Xia Kingdom. In just ten years, the Luolan Prefecture they founded has ranked among the four great prefectures of Great Xia. They are not just famous in Great Xia, but even outside of it, their reputation is not small."

"Hey, what time is it now to be talking about old history? Ever since Li Luo’s parents went missing in the 'Marquis Battlefield' three years ago, the Luolan Prefecture has not been what it used to be. And from the news I've heard, there is a huge division within the Luolan Prefecture now; it might split up in the future. I'm afraid he won't be able to hold onto this Young Prefecture Master position for long."

"Oh? Is that so? The current helmsman of the Luolan Prefecture should be... Senior Sister Jiang Qing, right?"

Once this name was mentioned, the eyes of all the youths present became much more fervent, because that name was a legend in their Nanfeng Intermediate Academy.

However, when they thought about the relationship between this legendary senior sister and Li Luo, their gazes toward the latter couldn't help but become a bit strange.

While the many boys and girls were whispering, Zhao Kuo walked over to Li Luo, patted the latter on the shoulder, and grinned, "Are you alright? Don't blame me for winning unfairly."

Li Luo smiled. This Zhao Kuo had a straightforward personality, they usually had a good relationship, and there was nothing against the rules in this matter.

After all, being born with an Empty Resonance was his greatest flaw, and it couldn't be blamed on Zhao Kuo.

On the sidelines, a middle-aged man withdrew his gaze from the two in the field; his name was Xu Shanyue, and he was a teacher of the Second Academy.

His eyes were also filled with regret.

Li Luo’s comprehension was extremely outstanding; any Resonance Art in his hands could be practiced faster than by ordinary people. In this regard, he clearly inherited the advantages of his two talented parents, even surpassing them.

But what was regrettable was... Li Luo was born with an Empty Resonance, which made his cultivation of Resonance Power quite troublesome.

Human cultivation relies on one's own Resonance, which is the fundamental element of cultivation.

Using the Resonance to absorb the energy of heaven and earth, the final product formed is called Resonance Power.

Human Resonance has countless types, but they are generally divided into two major categories: Elemental Resonance and Myriad Beast Resonance.

Elemental Resonance consists of the many elements between heaven and earth, such as water, fire, wind, thunder, etc. As for the so-called Myriad Beast Resonance, it is said that at the beginning of the human race, there were supreme experts who wanted to strengthen the power of the human race, so they took the spirits of ten thousand beasts and integrated them into human bloodlines, thus giving birth to the so-called Myriad Beast Resonance.

Regardless of whether it is Elemental Resonance or Myriad Beast Resonance, there are grades, discussed in simple and easy-to-understand terms from one to nine grades.

When a human child grows to about ten or so years old, an aperture will naturally open within their body; this aperture is called the Resonance Palace.

And when the Resonance Palace appears, it will naturally derive its own Resonance.

Like this Zhao Kuo, in his Resonance Palace, he awakened a fifth-grade Silver Bear Resonance, which belongs to the Myriad Beast Resonance category.

The characteristic of this Resonance is that it possesses great strength, and when combined with his own Resonance Power, the destructive power is quite astonishing.

But Li Luo’s problem appeared right here, because after the Resonance Palace in his body opened, it did not reveal any Resonance; it was empty inside, which is why it is called the extremely rare Empty Resonance.

And without a Resonance as a fundamental element to absorb and refine the energy of heaven and earth, it is naturally difficult for Li Luo to cultivate powerful Resonance Power—this is the most fundamental reason why he lost to Zhao Kuo.

Because his Resonance Palace has no Resonance.

Regarding Li Luo’s Empty Resonance problem, the academy has conducted many tests. After all, because his two parents were so outstanding, the academy’s higher-ups had high hopes for Li Luo’s enrollment, feeling that he would definitely be able to enter the most top-tier higher academy in the Great Xia Kingdom, the Saint Profound Star Academy, in the future.

In the first year of his enrollment, Li Luo did not disappoint; he showed astonishing talent in the practice of Resonance Arts and was directly promoted to the First Academy of Nanfeng Academy, where the most gifted youths of the entire Tianshu Prefecture gathered.

But as time passed, when the students reached the stage where the Resonance Palace appeared, he revealed the most awkward situation.

That was that while everyone else possessed their own Resonance, his Resonance Palace had been born, but it was empty inside.

Lacking his own Resonance, although Li Luo was always one step ahead in the practice of Resonance Arts, his own Resonance Power improved quite slowly; after a year, it was even lower than the average level of the First Academy.

The practice of Resonance Arts is to be able to exert Resonance Power more strongly, but if the Resonance Power is weak, the power of even the most advanced Resonance Arts is limited.

After repeated tests, the academy’s higher-ups reached a conclusion: this should be due to Li Luo’s constitution.

This type of constitution lacks Resonance within the body, so it is difficult to absorb and refine the energy of heaven and earth, making future cultivation exceptionally difficult.

Once this result came out, the Resonance Master of the First Academy directly submitted an application to the academy’s higher-ups to demote Li Luo from the First Academy to the current Second Academy.

This was actually normal; after all, the First Academy is the pride of Nanfeng Academy, and that Resonance Master naturally did not want Li Luo to hold them back. Of course, most importantly, Li Luo’s parents had been missing for a long time by then, and having lost these two pillars, the Luolan Prefecture, which had the weakest foundation among the four great prefectures, had found its situation in the Great Xia Kingdom becoming somewhat awkward over these years.

Thus, Li Luo eventually came to the Second Academy.

Xu Shanyue sighed inwardly. When Li Luo first came to the Second Academy, Zhao Kuo was actually not his match, but now, in just half a year, Li Luo had already begun to be suppressed by Zhao Kuo.

At this rate, I am afraid that in the next half year, Li Luo’s ranking in the Second Academy will continue to slide.

If Li Luo’s results end up like this, the Saint Profound Star Higher Academy in the Great Xia Kingdom, which everyone yearns for, will likely be out of his reach.

Xu Shanyue looked at Li Luo’s slender figure and handsome, calm face, feeling even more regretful. In fact, this youth had already worked very hard, but because his parents were too excellent and outstanding, it caused others to have very high expectations of him. Now, those excellent parents had instead become a kind of pressure for him.

After all, others would only say "a tiger father has a dog son" and would not try to understand deeper things.

Facing the many regretful gazes, Li Luo brushed off all the wood shavings from his body and then sat down cross-legged to the side. He, of course, knew what everyone was thinking at this moment.

Empty Resonance, huh...

This simply indicated a bleak future.

Li Luo just curled his lips slightly, his palm involuntarily touching his lower abdomen. In fact, except for himself, no one knew that his special feature was not just the so-called Empty Resonance.

Practitioners in this world only open and give birth to one Resonance Palace in their bodies initially. If they step into the Marquis Realm in the future, they will give birth to a second Resonance Palace; at the King Realm, they will possess a third Resonance Palace... However, Marquis Realm experts are few and far between in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, and as for the King Realm, it is rarely heard of even within this powerful Great Xia Kingdom.

Of course, this is not absolute. It is rumored that people with extraordinary talent have a very low probability of giving birth to a second Resonance Palace before reaching the Marquis Realm when their Resonance Power level advances, but this probability is also extremely rare.

And Li Luo’s other special feature lies here: although he is currently only at the initial Ten-Seal Realm, his body does not have one Resonance Palace... but three, which is unheard of!

That’s right, this is a level that only peak experts who have stepped into the King Realm can reach, but it happened to appear in Li Luo’s body.

But what makes one’s mood rise and fall even more is that these three Resonance Palaces are all empty!

So, if one Empty Resonance has no future, then may I ask, do three Empty Resonances count as having a future or not?

Li Luo sighed, his expression somewhat melancholy.

While Li Luo’s thoughts were complex, Zhao Kuo also sat down beside him and asked in a low voice, "Has your Empty Resonance problem still not been solved?"

Li Luo just shook his head upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Zhao Kuo also sighed helplessly. He knew he seemed to have asked a rhetorical question; Resonance is innate, and he had never heard of it being filled in later.

This problem of Li Luo’s was clearly a huge difficulty.

While the two were talking, Xu Shanyue walked into the field, encouraged Li Luo with a few words, and finally said to the many students, "Everyone, starting next month, we will enter the most important stage of the grand examination. Whether you can enter a higher academy in the future depends on this assessment, so everyone, work hard on your cultivation."

Upon hearing this, the many students all looked solemn. They had studied hard for several years, and all they were doing it for was that grand examination next month. If they could use this to enter a higher academy, their future achievements would also be greatly improved.

After Xu Shanyue finished speaking, he announced the end of the class.

Li Luo and Zhao Kuo also walked side by side out of the training ground with the flow of people.

"I'm going to practice Resonance Arts again. I was hit hard by you today. You pervert, if your Resonance Power were a little stronger, I would probably be hung up and beaten by you." Zhao Kuo sighed melancholically after leaving the training ground, then waved goodbye to Li Luo.

Li Luo looked at his back and smiled. He actually understood that Zhao Kuo was afraid that the previous victory or defeat would affect his mood, so he walked away first.

It’s just that, after such a long time, he had long since gotten used to it.

Li Luo withdrew his gaze and then walked toward the outside of the academy along the small forest path.

He could meet many students along the way, but regardless of gender, they would all cast their gazes upon him. After all, even apart from this handsome appearance, Li Luo was considered a person with an alternative legendary reputation within this academy.

As for those gazes, Li Luo appeared quite indifferent. He walked along the path all the way until he stopped at the academy gate.

In front of him, there was a large crowd of people gathered, noisy and bustling.

The place where those students were gathered was a bluestone wall; that was the Honor Wall of Nanfeng Academy, recording all the talented people who had walked out of Nanfeng Academy.

The students of Nanfeng Academy have looked at this Wall of Honor more times than they can count; logically, they should be tired of it, yet this place remains the liveliest spot every single day.

Li Luo pursed his lips; he certainly knew the reason, for the vast majority of people here had come for her.

Li Luo’s gaze turned toward a spot at the top of the Wall of Honor, where a crystal stone emitted rays of light that wove together into a slender, tall, and lifelike figure.

It was a girl wearing the Nanfeng Academy uniform: a simple white blouse with a deep blue short cape over it that swayed in the breeze, and a black short skirt below, revealing a pair of straight, slender legs that were dazzlingly fair.

She had exquisite features, a pert nose, and long, thick eyelashes, with skin as white as snow; yet, while every detail was worthy of admiration, what left the deepest impression was the girl’s eyes.

They were a pair of golden pupils, radiating a purity that was hard to describe; if one stared into them for too long, they would even feel a sense of oppression.

Her expression was somewhat cold as she gazed forward, one hand resting on her slender waist while the other held a heavy sword, and in an instant, a sense of dashing, sharp intensity rushed toward the viewer.

This was a girl whose appearance and temperament were enough to make anyone’s heart skip a beat.

On the wall behind her light-projection, the girl’s name was engraved.

Jiang Qing’e, the brilliant pearl who emerged from Nanfeng Academy, possessed a Ninth-Grade Light Resonance, and her talent was so great that it drew sighs of wonder from countless people across the Great Xia Kingdom.

Two years after enrolling, and even before the final graduation examination, she was specially recruited by the Astral Sage College of the Great Xia Kingdom, becoming the first person in Tianshu Prefecture in a hundred years to receive such an honor.

She had become a legend of Nanfeng Academy, with countless students looking up to her, and now, she was even incredibly famous throughout the entire Great Xia Kingdom.

Li Luo stared blankly at Jiang Qing’e’s light-projection, and then he noticed several gazes from those around him landing on him; those students, both male and female, looked at him with a mix of resentment, envy, and oddity.

Li Luo remained indifferent to their gazes, for he understood the source of these looks.

Because of Jiang Qing’e.

This person, whom both male and female students of Nanfeng Academy regarded as a goddess, was not only a disciple taken in by his parents when she was young, but she also had a marriage contract with him.

To put it bluntly, Jiang Qing’e was his fiancée.

(The new book has launched; thank you all for your support. Whether you are a new reader or an old one, I hope *King of Manifestations* can accompany you all again in the future.

Haha, writing this new book and writing about Li Luo gives me a sense of being an old father; perhaps it’s because I’ve become a dad myself?

Well, I hope you all like the new book; that would be my greatest honor.)

(End of chapter)