Chapter 1059: Meeting an Old Friend in a Foreign Land

"Xi Chan."

This name, familiar to the extreme, suddenly burst into his ears, causing Li Luo to freeze for an instant; several breaths later, his eyes widened sharply as he stared at Senior Zong Sha.

"The instructor from Saint Profound Star Academy is named Xi Chan?!!"

Li Luo never expected to hear this name within the Ancient Academy of Tianyuan.

His intense reaction caused Senior Zong Sha and Jiang Jiang Wanyu to pause; Senior Zong Sha then understood, saying, "That is correct, that instructor is named Xi Chan. It seems Brother Li Luo is very familiar with her?"

Li Luo's eyes overflowed with joy as he smiled, "This Instructor Xi Chan was my squad instructor when I was at Saint Profound Star Academy!"

Senior Zong Sha and Jiang Jiang Wanyu finally realized; no wonder he was so joyful; for Li Luo, this truly counted as meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

"However, your Saint Profound Star Academy is a bit strange; this evaluation actually sent only one instructor, not even bringing any students. How can you participate in the evaluation?" Jiang Jiang Wanyu asked in confusion.

Li Luo fell silent for a moment; Saint Profound Star Academy had been destroyed, the Mutual Force Tree had been damaged, and even the pillar Dean Pang had performed Zi Wo Feng Yin to delay the time and steps of those King-level anomalies invading Great Xia; furthermore, Shen Shen Jinxiao's rebellion had brought extremely heavy casualties to the academy.

Under these circumstances, the strength of Saint Profound Star Academy had been severely weakened; now, even survival was a struggle, appearing to barely hold on while striving to maintain itself, so where would there be enough energy to attend to such an evaluation?

According to his guess, the academy sending Instructor Xi Chan to travel thousands of miles was probably not for the evaluation, but to request that the Ancient Academy allocate some resources.

Originally, Vice Dean Su Xin had also requested Li Luo, but because he could not come to the Ancient Academy of Tianyuan this year, it could only be delayed; but it seems Vice Dean Su Xin could not wait any longer after waiting a year, so she sent Instructor Xi Chan over.

It seems the situation of Saint Profound Star Academy in Great Xia is very dire.

Many thoughts flashed through Li Luo's mind, and then he said, "Saint Profound Star Academy encountered a change; powerful anomalies burst out from the Dark Cave, destroying the Mutual Force Tree..."

He briefly explained the situation.

Senior Zong Sha and Jiang Jiang Wanyu were both startled upon hearing this, then said with some sympathy, "So that is why only this instructor came."

Li Luo asked, "With such a change in Saint Profound Star Academy, does the Ancient Academy or the Academy Alliance not provide any aid?"

Senior Zong Sha hesitated for a moment, saying, "Brother Li Luo, incidents where a Saint Academy is breached by Dark Cave anomalies actually happen not only to your Saint Profound Star Academy... Every year, the Academy Alliance should receive quite a few similar reports; the Alliance generally takes some measures, but sometimes, there truly are not enough personnel."

"In recent years, news of Saint Academies being breached has come from time to time, especially in Outer Shenzhou, with a frequency much higher than before; I heard from an instructor that there might be a power secretly pushing this behind the scenes."

Jiang Jiang Wanyu opened her red lips slightly and said, "This power is actually not hard to guess; it is most likely the 'Return One Society'; they are mortal enemies with the Academy Alliance."

Senior Zong Sha nodded, saying, "So in these years, the Academy Alliance has been busy to the point of being overwhelmed, rushing everywhere to provide aid, truly running themselves ragged; after all, the academies under the jurisdiction of our Ancient Academy of Tianyuan number well over a hundred, big and small."

He looked around, then lowered his voice, saying, "Our Dean, along with several Vice Deans, have not appeared in the academy for some time; it is said they went to handle problems."

Li Luo fell silent, finally helplessly nodding; no wonder, with such a change in Saint Profound Star Academy, Dean Pang and Vice Dean Su Xin did not really expect the Academy Alliance to send much aid; their greatest hope was actually that the Ancient Academy could maintain resource supply, so that the academy would have a chance to rise again.

"What is the process for this academy-level evaluation?" Li Luo asked again.

Senior Zong Sha smiled, saying, "Actually, it is simple; we are all academies, so naturally, we judge their cultivation ability based on the students' capabilities, and how to judge? Naturally, it is... strength rules all."

"Each major Saint Academy will send four top-tier academy-level students to conduct some team-based competitions; finally, the Ancient Academy will make an evaluation here to decide the resource allocation quota for the next two years."

Li Luo frowned slightly; as expected, they were required to send four academy-level students, yet Instructor Xi Chan came alone, obviously not expecting to pass the evaluation... This could only mean that the situation in Saint Profound Star Academy was even worse than imagined.

"Two of you, can you take me to see Instructor Xi Chan?" Li Luo thought for a moment; since he met Instructor Xi Chan here, he must meet her, after all, Instructor Xi Chan had helped him so much back then.

"A small matter." Senior Zong Sha said cheerfully.

Afterwards, he controlled the "Emerald Flying Leaf" beneath his feet, slicing through the sky, while quickly shuttling through the air above the complex roads formed by countless branches like giant dragons.

Ancient Academy of Tianyuan, a small building area in the North District.

In a courtyard that appeared relatively simple compared to other small buildings, a graceful figure stood cutely, her eyes somewhat absent-mindedly gazing at a flower bed in the courtyard; on her smooth forehead, a trace of worry was visible.

This graceful figure was none other than Xi Chan.

She still wore the instructor's dress of Saint Profound Star Academy; her curves were exquisite and well-proportioned, her soft long hair hanging down, gently swaying around her slender waist; her face was covered by a black veil, and her cold eyes made her exude an intellectual, quiet, and chilly temperament.

However, at this moment, looking at the gorgeous flower bed before her, she was obviously somewhat distracted.

Thump, thump!

Suddenly, the small courtyard door was knocked; Xi Chan returned to her senses and hurried to open the door.

Opening the courtyard door, a somewhat aged face came into view; seeing this person, joy immediately appeared in Xi Chan's eyes as she said, "Elder Wang Ling, can Vice Dean Wu Yu see me now?"

The old man known as Elder Wang Ling chuckled, shaking his head and saying, "Instructor Xi Chan, Vice Dean Wu Yu is busy with myriad affairs; there are truly too many things. You know we are an Ancient Academy; the matters here are not comparable to those of a Saint Academy from Outer Shenzhou like yours."

The joy in Xi Chan's eyes instantly turned to disappointment; she had heard similar words many times over the past ten days; but even though she felt some anger in her heart, she could only suppress it, saying, "I know Vice Dean Wu Yu is busy, but our Saint Profound Star Academy really needs the aid of the Academy Alliance; please, Elder Wang Ling, help notify him."

Wang Ling smiled, saying, "No rush. By the way, this is Instructor Chen Yun from Shengze Academy."

He pointed to a middle-aged man beside him.

Xi Chan's gaze turned, seeing a middle-aged man in a blue robe smiling at her, so she nodded slightly.

"Hehe, Shengze Academy, located in the Western Region, is considered one of the academies our Ancient Academy of Tianyuan focuses on supporting," Elder Wang Ling said with a smile.

"Instructor Chen Yun came specifically to find Instructor Xi Chan this time, saying there is something to discuss."

Xi Chan's willow eyebrows furrowed slightly as she said, "I wonder what Instructor Chen Yun wants with me?"

Chen Yun smiled faintly, saying, "Then I will not beat around the bush; I heard Saint Profound Star Academy failed to guard the Dark Cave, and now the Mutual Force Tree has been destroyed, reaching the brink of collapse?"

Xi Chan's eyes instantly grew cold as she said, "What do you mean?"

Chen Yun did not mind Xi Chan's anger, saying, "With your Saint Profound Star Academy's situation, I imagine the 'Saint' title cannot be saved; as for the resources of this evaluation, they are probably difficult to obtain. I can offer you a choice: if you are willing to transfer Saint Profound Star Academy's evaluation qualification to our Shengze Academy, our Shengze Academy can operate from within, then obtain a batch of resources from the Ancient Academy; at that time, we will share thirty percent of the resources with you, so you can take it back to report."

Upon hearing this, anger surged in Xi Chan's heart, her voice like frost: "Your Shengze Academy is kicking someone when they are down!"

Chen Yun frowned, saying, "Instructor Xi Chan, those words are excessive; do you think your Saint Profound Star Academy can still pass the evaluation? By me doing this, you can at least get a share; otherwise, you will definitely return empty-handed this time!"

Elder Wang Ling beside them smiled faintly, saying, "Instructor Xi Chan, the Dean of Shengze Academy is Vice Dean Wu Yu's clan younger brother."

These words were spoken lightly, yet the meaning within was very clear.

And Xi Chan finally understood at this moment why, after coming to the Ancient Academy of Tianyuan for over ten days, she could not even see Vice Dean Wu Yu; it turned out that their dilapidated Saint Profound Star Academy had been targeted.

Xi Chan's slender jade hands clenched tight; staring at Elder Wang Ling, she said coldly, "I want to see Vice Dean Lan Lan Lingzi!"

Elder Wang Ling said indifferently, "Vice Dean Lan Lan Lingzi is not in the academy at the moment."

Xi Chan trembled slightly with anger; only now did she realize that in this Ancient Academy, she was alone and weak, and no one would pay attention to her or a dilapidated Saint Profound Star Academy; this was reality; even between academies, there was no lack of interests and filth.

Elder Wang Ling continued, saying, "If you have no interest in Shengze Academy's proposal, then you can return; you are an outsider and cannot stay in the academy for too long."

Xi Chan bit her silver teeth, saying, "I will not leave; our Saint Profound Star Academy will participate in the academy-level evaluation."

Chen Yun sneered, saying, "Your Saint Profound Star Academy didn't even bring a single student; how can you participate in the academy-level evaluation?"

Xi Chan's jade hand clenched tight; her slender figure appeared somewhat thin and helpless at this moment. Before coming, Vice Dean Suxin had told her this journey would be difficult, yet she never imagined it would be this hard.

Yet, just as Xi Chan felt both angry and helpless, a voice that seemed somewhat familiar yet appeared quite distant suddenly rang out.

"Who told you that the Holy Profound Star Academy has no students?"

Xi Chan looked up in some confusion, her gaze following the sound, and then she saw a handsome youth with a tall, slender figure walking slowly toward her from a patch of green flying leaves not far away.

Gazing at that familiar young face, Xi Chan also froze for two seconds before speaking out in some disbelief.

"Li, Li Luo?!"