Chapter 300: The Two Mentors Arrive

"Li Luo?!"

Mentor Xi Chan and Shen Shen Jinxiao spoke almost at the same moment, their voices thick with disbelief. If it weren't for the fact that the Eldest Princess had an excellent reputation within the academy, even they would have suspected she was joking—and clearly, this was no time for jokes.

Yet even knowing all this, they still couldn't quite come back to their senses.

Seeing the two Purple-Glory mentors looking so utterly incredulous, the Eldest Princess felt a little mischief rise in her heart, but she still gave a slight nod and said, "You heard correctly, mentors. The trouble here wasn't resolved by us. Strictly speaking, it was Li Luo."

"By the time I arrived, the situation had already been brought under control by him."

"So if we're talking about who deserves the credit, Li Luo is the one who contributed the most. We're at most just the ones who did the hard work of rushing here."

Mentor Xi Chan gradually came back to herself, but her eyes were still full of doubt. Her gaze shifted to Palace Shen Jun beside her, and the latter said with a bitter smile, "I arrived a step later than Luan Yu. By the time I got here, that Great Spirit Beast had already been sealed."

"Great Spirit Beast?!"

Xi Chan and Shen Shen Jinxiao were shocked again—especially the latter, whose gaze couldn't help but flicker. What was going on? Wasn't it supposed to be a Great Calamity-class Other? How did it suddenly become a Great Spirit Beast? What on earth was happening here?!

Seeing their reaction, the Eldest Princess once again recounted in detail everything that had happened here: how Li Luo had lured the Forbidden Zone's Three-Tailed Giant Beast to break the stalemate, letting it and the Great Calamity Other fight it out, and how he had finally used the Principal's seal to bind the Three-Tailed Giant Beast.

After the Eldest Princess finished, the inside of Gao Ta fell quiet. Not only did Xi Chan and Shen Shen Jinxiao fall silent, but the rescue mentors who had arrived later also exchanged uncertain glances.

You could even play it like that?

How on earth did Li Luo think to lure that Great Spirit Beast out of the Forbidden Zone to fight the Great Calamity-class Other?

Wasn't he afraid the two tigers would turn on him?

What tremendous courage that must have taken.

And his luck was absurdly good too—to actually receive the Principal's seal in support... that was something none of them had ever imagined.

The most terrifying part was that Li Luo had actually pulled it off in the end.

He had almost single-handedly resolved this enormous crisis. Without his plans, when they arrived they would likely have found nothing but a stronghold breached by the Other, with not a single survivor left.

Many of the rescue mentors couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

The tightly knit willow-brows of Mentor Xi Chan finally smoothed out completely, a trace of a smile appearing between them. This outcome had far exceeded her expectations.

That boy Li Luo had really done her proud.

Shen Shen Jinxiao also came back to himself and sighed, "Truly unexpected. Li Luo has rendered great service this time."

"Take us to see that sealed Great Spirit Beast. This is still a stronghold, after all, so we must be cautious."

The Eldest Princess and Palace Shen Jun both agreed. Then the group filed out of Gao Ta, passing through the stronghold amid cheers, and arrived at the seal outside the stronghold.

Shen Shen Jinxiao and Xi Chan spotted the stone sculpture of the Three-Tailed Giant Beast at first glance.

"It really is that Great Spirit Beast from the Forbidden Zone—the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf."

"It's said this Great Spirit Beast had already begun exploring the path of Marquis. If it had succeeded, the academy would likely have chosen to abandon the entire area of Outpost Thirteen. Being sealed in advance is actually a good thing." Mentor Xi Chan recognized it at a glance, clearly quite familiar with it.

Shen Shen Jinxiao, meanwhile, fixed his gaze with deep, dark eyes on the complex light patterns covering the Three-Tailed stone sculpture. It was indeed a strange sealing array, and the power within it was not unfamiliar—vast and overwhelming, it came from the Principal.

Shen Shen Jinxiao's eyes flickered. He suddenly stepped forward, astonishing phase force surging through his body, and said, "This Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf is quite cunning. To be cautious, I think we should take this chance to release it and then join forces to slay it."

Shen Shen Jinxiao's sudden move startled the surrounding students, who hurriedly retreated.

Although two Purple-Glory mentors were present, if the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf were released, it was bound to go berserk, and innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire would not be good.

Mentor Xi Chan was also taken aback. She instinctively wanted to object, but then thought that this really was a chance to slay the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf—after all, leaving such a creature near the stronghold was unsettling.

Thinking this, she did not stop him.

"Wait!"

Though she had not spoken up, a shout rang out from the crowd. The crowd parted, and Xi Chan saw Li Luo, Jiang Jiang Qinge, and the others.

And the one who had shouted was Li Luo.

Shen Shen Jinxiao turned his gaze, swept a glance over Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge, and said with a faint smile, "Student Li Luo, we intend to slay this Three-Tailed Giant Wolf ahead of time. Do you have any objections?"

Li Luo first bowed to Mentor Xi Chan, then turned his eyes to Shen Shen Jinxiao and smiled. "Mentor Shen, don't be so impulsive. This seal cannot be touched."

"Oh? Why not?" Shen Shen Jinxiao asked with a smile.

"Li Luo, I know you've rendered great service this time, and this seal is your masterpiece. But leaving this Three-Tailed Giant Beast here is still a hidden danger. If we have the chance to eliminate it now, that would be the most proper course of action."

The other students also nodded, seeming to agree with this reasoning. After all, the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf was terrifying—even sealed, just standing here made their legs go weak. So if it could be completely removed, that would be reassuring.

Li Luo cursed inwardly. There wasn't even a Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf inside the seal—if Shen Shen Jinxiao really opened it, how would he explain that?

Someone might guess something, and that would inevitably cause trouble.

This bastard, always making things difficult, disgustingly so. Once I have the strength, I'll stomp him dead.

Li Luo raged in his heart but showed nothing on his face. He said calmly, "Because that's what the Principal said. As for why, I don't know either. Go ask the Principal."

He couldn't be bothered to explain further. Just throw every pot at the Principal—Shen Shen Jinxiao couldn't possibly run off to verify with the Principal, and even if he did, the Principal would surely help cover things up.

Still, the Principal's name carried great weight. At least the surrounding students, hearing this, didn't say much more. After all, the Principal was like a god in their hearts. Li Luo had previously communicated with the Principal's seal, so it was perfectly normal for the Principal to leave him some kind of reminder.

Shen Shen Jinxiao's brow furrowed slightly. Li Luo invoking the Principal really left him speechless—after all, in terms of authority, he obviously couldn't compare to the Principal.

Still, he couldn't think of any reason the Principal would have said that.

Beside them, Mentor Xi Chan glanced at Li Luo and said, "Since the Principal has said so, let's leave it alone for now."

Although she was also a bit puzzled, when Shen Shen Jinxiao and Li Luo were arguing, she clearly had to side with her own student—and she was equally displeased with Shen Shen Jinxiao.

Seeing Xi Chan speak up, Shen Shen Jinxiao's expression turned a little unsightly. But after a moment's thought, he suppressed his emotions and nodded. "As you wish."

He didn't think too much of it, just figured Li Luo was young and proud, treating this as his own masterpiece and wanting to leave the seal here for the other students to look up to and worship.

"Where did that Great Calamity-class Other die?" Shen Shen Jinxiao asked again.

"What now?" Li Luo asked impatiently.

This time it was Mentor Xi Chan who spoke: "Generally, with an Other of this level, even after death it leaves behind a miasma of malice. At this point, the residual malice needs to be completely purified. This place is too close to the stronghold, so it must be thoroughly cleansed."

"I see..."

Li Luo nodded then, pointing to a location. It wasn't that his attitude was bad—he just didn't know why, but every time he saw Shen Shen Jinxiao here, he couldn't help overthinking.

Perhaps he was just too sensitive.

Shen Shen Jinxiao paid Li Luo no heed. His figure appeared directly at the spot Li Luo had indicated, and then astonishing phase force swept out from within him, inch by inch scouring the ground. Moments later, faint black mist seemed to rise.

Shen Shen Jinxiao glanced at the black mist, his eyes cold and dark, then blew out a single breath—as if a rolling blaze—that swept the black mist away cleanly.

Li Luo, watching from behind, felt for some reason that the bastard was destroying the evidence.

Only after finishing this did Shen Shen Jinxiao turn and head back.

Li Luo looked at his face and suddenly asked, "Master Shen, this Greater Calamity-class Other suddenly appearing on the outer perimeter—isn't that a bit strange?"

"Can we look into it? For instance, could someone have been scheming in the shadows and released it from the inner perimeter?"

Shen Shen Jinxiao's expression was calm. With one hand clasped behind his back, he said noncommittally, "Young people shouldn't spend all day letting their imaginations run wild. Greater Calamity-class Others appearing on the Dark Cave's outer perimeter is rare, but it's not unheard of."

"Right now the Dark Cave has plenty of troubles inside, and no one has the patience or the time to investigate something with no clear cause."

His gaze swept the four directions as his flat voice rang out.

"Everyone at this outpost, prepare yourselves. Your purification mission is temporarily over. From here, you may return with us to the academy to rest and regroup."

With that, he turned and walked into the outpost.

And the surrounding students all erupted in thunderous cheers.

Within those cheers, Li Luo's name rang out again and again.

This made the corner of Shen Shen Jinxiao's eye twitch slightly, a surge of pent-up frustration welling up inside. This time, not only had he failed to achieve his objective, he'd instead given this Li Luo a big boost in prestige within the academy.

Truly a bit of a nuisance.