Chapter 296: The Dean's Request

Are you willing?

Li Luo stared blankly at Pang Qianyuan. He truly hadn't expected that the latter would actually need him to do something, but what puzzled Li Luo was, with his own strength, what could he possibly accomplish?

Pang Qianyuan was a King-tier powerhouse!

If he were to step out of the Dark Cave, the entire Great Xia would be shrouded under his pressure; no one would dare to act presumptuously in his presence, including those Marquis-tier powerhouses!

And yet, this King-tier powerhouse was now saying that he needed Li Luo to do something for him...

Li Luo's first reaction was that it sounded like a fantasy, but he ultimately suppressed the suspicion in his heart and asked, "What does the Dean want me to do?"

It must be said that the conditions Pang Qianyuan offered were very tempting to Li Luo. If he could truly draw upon the power of the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf to bolster himself, then he would have the qualifications to participate in the battle to protect Luolan Mansion half a year later, and he wouldn't have to let Jiang Qing'e bear all that pressure alone.

Facing Li Luo's inquiry, Pang Qianyuan did not answer directly, but instead said, "I will tell you about that in a moment. First, I must tell you that while the power of the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf is indeed very attractive, you are smart enough to understand that in this world, there is no power that comes for free without a price."

Pang Qianyuan said indifferently, "The Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf is extremely ferocious, and your strength is far inferior to it. Once you borrow its power to bolster yourself, that ferocity will gradually pollute your mind. Without you even realizing it, you will become bloodthirsty. I call this infection 'Wolf-ification,' and once the degree of 'Wolf-ification' becomes too deep, you will turn into a Wolf Slave. At that point, you will wish you were dead."

"So, I suggest that unless it is an absolute last resort, you should try to use this power as little as possible."

Li Luo's eyes narrowed slightly, and his expression became serious. In fact, he had thought about this before; how could such powerful strength come without flaws? Therefore, he had no intention of relying too much on that power, unless it was a truly critical moment.

He only viewed it as a trump card for a life-or-death struggle.

"Many thanks for the instruction, Dean."

However, although he had no intention of relying on that power, Li Luo was still very grateful for Pang Qianyuan's warning; after all, the latter was indeed doing it for his own good.

Pang Qianyuan nodded slightly and smiled, "You are a smart child. I assume you would have been vigilant even if I hadn't said this, but as your Dean, I still have an obligation to remind you. Of course, the most important thing is..."

"I don't want to be held accountable by your mother later because of this."

Upon hearing this, Li Luo could only show an awkward smile. Why did he make his mother sound so fierce? Actually, sometimes his mother was still very gentle... although those occasions were slightly too rare.

"As for what I want you to do for me..."

Pang Qianyuan brought the topic back. A look of contemplation appeared on his face as he said, "Actually, even if I didn't ask, you would likely do it anyway."

Li Luo was somewhat puzzled.

"At the end of this year, the various academies of the Eastern Divine Continent will open the 'Holy Grail Battle.' It is a grand event in the Eastern Divine Continent, and the participants are all the major academies within it."

"The champion of the 'Holy Grail Battle' will obtain a holy object called the 'Dragon Bone Holy Grail.' This holy object was passed down by the Academy Alliance and possesses immense power. Its greatest function is the ability to suppress the Dark Cave."

"If the Dragon Bone Holy Grail can fall into the hands of our Astral Sage College this year, then the Dark Cave will not stir for several years, the Black Tide will be suppressed, and the students in our academy will no longer need to sacrifice so many lives to purify the pollution."

Pang Qianyuan's expression was somewhat grave as he said, "Therefore, the 'Dragon Bone Holy Grail' is coveted and craved by all the major academies in this Eastern Divine Continent. After all, with its existence, suppressing the Dark Cave will become much easier for each academy. Do you realize how much in vast cultivation resources and student lives this would save?"

Li Luo's expression shifted slightly. Having experienced the depths of the Dark Cave this time, he naturally knew the dangers here. Even though their stronghold was ultimately defended, there were still casualties. These deceased students were of similar age to them; before entering the Dark Cave, they were still laughing and talking with classmates about the future, but when they left, they were already separated by life and death. These faces would never appear in casual encounters within the academy again.

Li Luo asked himself, if among these dead students there were people he was familiar with, such as Yu Lang, Lu Qinger, Zhao Kuo... then what would he do?

Once he thought of this, his heart became heavy.

The Dark Cave was a bottomless pit that required the Astral Sage College to constantly fill with students. Over these years, who knew how many students had been buried in this dim space.

But this burden could not be cast off, because this was the very foundation upon which the Astral Sage College was founded.

This was the responsibility of the Astral Sage College. If the Astral Sage College did not suppress it with all its might and allowed this Dark Cave to erupt, the Otherkind here would eventually rush into their world, and the resulting catastrophe would be devastating.

At that time, countless humans throughout the entire Great Xia would fall into despair.

Li Luo believed that it was not just the Astral Sage College; the other academies on the Eastern Divine Continent must also find the Dark Cave extremely troublesome.

And that so-called "Dragon Bone Holy Grail" possessed the ability to suppress the Dark Cave. If it were obtained, one could imagine how much loss the academy that obtained it would avoid in the coming years.

That loss was not just in cultivation resources, but also included the immense, unavoidable casualties within the academy.

For the various academies of the Eastern Divine Continent, this simply possessed a fatal attraction.

"Dean..."

Li Luo smiled bitterly, "You don't intend for me to go and compete for that 'Dragon Bone Holy Grail,' do you? In a tournament of that level, as a freshman, I'm afraid I would be powerless."

Pang Qianyuan smiled and said, "Of course it won't come to that... The competition for the 'Holy Grail Battle' relies on the most outstanding students of the entire academy. You might be one of them, but it won't truly depend on you alone."

"However, the thing I require you to do does indeed have winning the 'Dragon Bone Holy Grail' as a prerequisite."

"What you need to do..."

Pang Qianyuan looked at Li Luo and said slowly, "Is that if, by chance, our Astral Sage College truly wins the Dragon Bone Holy Grail, I need you to return to the academy and, at a specific place, inject some of your essence blood into the Holy Grail."

"Li Luo, this is my request."

"I need some of your essence blood."

Pang Qianyuan's face was solemn; he did not hide his need.

Li Luo's heart also trembled slightly, and his emotions surged. Clearly, he had never expected that the request Pang Qianyuan spoke of... would actually be for his essence blood.

What was this for?

PS: Soliciting some names for the academy. Does everyone have any good-sounding and imposing suggestions?