Chapter 283: Dean Pang Qianyuan

Gulp.

Li Luo swallowed hard, his eyes filled with a trace of shock as he gazed at the middle-aged man in the green shirt with white eyebrows before him; under the man's gaze, which felt like an abyss, all his secrets seemed to have nowhere to hide.

The middle-aged man on the bluestone watched Li Luo's startled expression and smiled gently, saying, "Li Luo, is it? My name is Pang Qianyuan, and I am the Dean of the Holy Profound Star Academy."

Li Luo blinked; Pang Qianyuan, so this was the Dean's name.

He put on a smile: "Dean, your great name is like thunder to the ears of students. I have long heard everyone in the academy say that the Dean is a god-like man. Seeing you today, it is truly well-deserved."

This was his first time meeting a King-level powerhouse, and Li Luo didn't know what posture to adopt, but regardless, flattery was the safest bet.

"Oh? I haven't appeared in the academy for many years now. Surely not many students in the Holy Profound Star Academy have actually seen me?" Pang Qianyuan laughed.

"Uh..."

Li Luo felt a bit awkward; I was just saying that, why does this old man have to be so serious?

Pang Qianyuan looked at Li Luo with a smile, saying, "The kid has a sweet mouth. No one has ever called me a god-like man before; instead, some have cursed me as a charlatan."

Li Luo frowned: "That person must have been jealous of your achievements, Dean. You need not take it to heart. As for such a person, wait a few years and see what becomes of them."

Pang Qianyuan nodded and said, "That person's name is Li Taixuan."

"Li Tai..."

Li Luo was just about to say something when his voice stopped abruptly. He looked at the smiling Dean with a remarkably colorful expression and gave a bitter laugh: "Li Taixuan... my old man?"

Pang Qianyuan nodded.

Li Luo didn't know what to say, so he could only laugh dryly: "My old man certainly has a lot of nerve."

The old man seems a bit wild. Pang Qianyuan is a King-level powerhouse, after all; he actually cursed him as a charlatan, wasn't he afraid of getting beaten up?

"Li Taixuan, well... a fierce dragon crossing the river; his courage is naturally extraordinary," Pang Qianyuan laughed.

Li Luo laughed dryly again. His old man only had the strength of a Marquis; in front of a King-level powerhouse like Pang Qianyuan, how could he be called a fierce dragon crossing the river?

Seeming to see through Li Luo's thoughts, Pang Qianyuan smiled slightly and said with deep meaning, "A King-level powerhouse may be a cut above your old man, but your old man's background is not weak either."

Li Luo was stunned and said with some disbelief, "No matter how strong the background, can it compare to the Academy Alliance?"

Pang Qianyuan laughed: "The Academy Alliance is indeed one of the top forces in this world, but... it is not invincible. There exist some forces in this world that can stand on equal footing with it."

Li Luo was surprised. In the information he had known previously, the Academy Alliance was a behemoth that guarded this world, but listening to the Dean now, were there forces in this world no weaker than the Academy Alliance?

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is my old man's so-called background one of them?"

Pang Qianyuan pondered slightly and said, "It seems your father and mother really haven't told you anything at all."

Li Luo gave a bitter laugh: "Maybe I was picked up."

Pang Qianyuan chuckled, then shook his head: "Since they haven't said anything, there is no need for me to tell you these things. Perhaps before long, you will have the opportunity to know yourself."

"Regarding your old man's background, I can only say..."

He paused and said slowly, "The Li Heavenly King Lineage, how could it be simple?"

Li Luo was stunned. The Li Heavenly King Lineage? What did this mean? Was it saying where his old man was supposed to be? And what was a Heavenly King?

He had never heard of it.

Pang Qianyuan looked at the bewildered Li Luo and laughed: "This world is even more vast than you imagine. The Great Xia you are in, and even the vast Shenzhou where Great Xia is located, are only a corner of this world. Others even refer to the Shenzhou we are in as the Outer Shenzhou. The sense of superiority and condescension in that is evident."

"Outer Shenzhou..."

Li Luo murmured. Since there was an Outer Shenzhou, did that mean there was an Inner Shenzhou? He had truly never heard of this before.

A brief exchange with this Dean today had revealed quite a bit of information that was hard to access before, and it sounded like his old man had some unimaginable background?

Then why did his old man come to this backwater place considered an Outer Shenzhou?

And his parents had never mentioned a word of this to him before; clearly, they didn't want him to know.

Although he didn't know their intentions, Li Luo understood that there must be their own considerations in this. Perhaps knowing this information might not necessarily be a good thing for him.

Li Luo's thoughts turned, but he eventually suppressed them. No matter what background his parents had, it was of no use to him right now. The most important thing now was to follow the plan and lure out that Forbidden Zone spirit beast.

"Dean, you should know the purpose of my coming here, right?" Li Luo stopped wasting words and turned to the main topic.

Pang Qianyuan nodded slightly.

"It is a Great Disaster-class Otherkind that slipped out from the depths of the Dark Cave, right? For the outer perimeter, this is indeed a disaster," he said.

"Can the Dean take action?" Li Luo asked hopefully.

With Pang Qianyuan's vast supernatural powers, if he could take action, wouldn't it be easy to wipe out that Great Disaster?

Pang Qianyuan said helplessly: "Right now, this is only a wisp of my will. My true body is in the deepest part of the Dark Cave, confronting some extremely terrifying Otherkinds. If my true body were to take action, it would affect the whole situation, and the resulting turmoil might far exceed your imagination."

Although he had expected this, Li Luo was still a bit disappointed; after all, this was the simplest method.

"However, although I cannot take action directly, I am already aware of your plan. Hehe, you were just saying your old man had enough courage, but I think you are no worse than him."

"Using yourself as bait to lure this Forbidden Zone spirit beast to fight that Great Disaster, and taking the opportunity to relieve the stronghold—such a dangerous plan, others would be afraid to even think of it," Pang Qianyuan smiled, his gaze toward Li Luo filled with appreciation.

"I will support your plan. I will lift the seal here for you. At the same time, to thank you for saving the students in this stronghold, I will also give you a small gift."

Li Luo's spirits lifted as he looked at Pang Qianyuan, but the latter only smiled slightly, and then his figure began to gradually dissipate.

Whoosh!

The whistling of the mountain wind suddenly entered his ears again. Li Luo came back to his senses, and it was as if the surrounding world had come back to life. He stood on the mountain peak, and Pang Qianyuan's figure on the bluestone had long since vanished.

Moreover, along with him, the ancient seal on the bluestone had also disappeared.

Li Luo felt something and opened his palm, only to see an ancient "Seal" character faintly appearing in the center of his palm.