Chapter 374: Ticket Match

The young girl's hug of gratitude soon came to an end. Bai Meng wiped away her tears, holding the finished Rainbow Cloud Pastry in both hands, her cheeks filled with a look of lingering desire for more.

"Don't rush, there will be plenty of opportunities to slowly eat all kinds of delicacies in the future," Li Luo said with a smile, comforting her.

Bai Meng nodded vigorously, her large eyes looking at Li Luo as she expressed her most sincere gratitude once again: "Captain, thank you so much!"

"Hey, what's there to thank? You've helped me so much; you deserve at least half the credit for Xiyang House's performance this past month. Besides, this was something I promised you I would do; just don't blame me for taking so long to get it done," Li Luo waved his hand and laughed.

Bai Meng shook her head. Everyone has a different value system for different things in their hearts. Perhaps in Li Luo's eyes, helping her treat her sense of taste wasn't a big deal, and its value was far less than a four-star Spirit Liquid or Light formula, but in her heart, the two were simply incomparable.

In the past, her daily eating was merely to maintain her body's needs. That sensation of chewing wax was a torture every single time, yet she was unwilling to reveal these emotions, lest she attract strange looks.

"Captain, all the Spirit Liquid and Light formulas I research in the future will definitely be prioritized for Xiyang House!" she said.

"How could I be so bold? You don't need to give me all of them... eight or nine formulas would be enough; any more and I'd really feel ashamed to accept them." Li Luo wore an expression of shame, yet the words he spoke were not the least bit modest.

Bai Meng covered her mouth and chuckled; talking to the captain always made one feel cheerful.

"By the way, speaking of which, do you have any research on things like Secret Technique Source Water or Source Light?" Li Luo suddenly remembered what Cai Wei had mentioned two days ago and asked immediately.

"My Water Nightmare Butterfly resonance is biased toward the Water resonance, so I have dabbled in the research of Secret Technique Source Water. However, my focus in the past has been on researching formulas, so I have rarely touched upon Secret Technique Source Water."

Bai Meng looked at Li Luo and said: "Captain, do you still need Secret Technique Source Water? That level of purity of Secret Technique Source Water from Xiyang House is something you can barely find anywhere in the entire Great Xia."

"The production cost of that Secret Technique Source Water is extremely high. In the future, Xiyang House will still need some other Secret Technique Source Water to support it," Li Luo explained.

Bai Meng nodded slightly and smiled: "Since the Captain needs it, I can also research this when I have time in the future to see if I can achieve some results."

Li Luo was deeply moved and said: "Don't worry, Mengmeng, I will definitely give you a satisfactory purchase price when the time comes."

Bai Meng smiled slightly, though she didn't really care about that.

While the two were talking, the door to the refining room was suddenly pushed open a crack, and Xin Fu's voice drifted in eerily: "Instructor Xi Chan is here; she wants you to go up."

Both Li Luo and Bai Meng were startled by this elusive fellow. The former immediately glared at Xin Fu outside the door crack with unkind eyes—when exactly had this kid been there? He was practically a voyeuristic maniac.

However, this was not the time to dwell on such things. He and Bai Meng tidied up a bit and left the refining room, arriving at the first-floor living room. There, at the tea table by the window, they saw Instructor Xi Chan, who appeared intellectual and elegant under the morning light.

"Oh? Truly the fifth pattern, then. It seems you gained quite a lot of benefits in the Golden Dragon Dojo." Instructor Xi Chan held a cup of hot tea with her fair fingers, glanced at Li Luo, and raised her eyebrows slightly, saying with some surprise.

Li Luo smiled and replied: "Just got lucky, I was just tagging along."

"I heard Qin Zhulu also reached the fifth pattern?" Instructor Xi Chan asked.

Li Luo nodded.

"In that case, among our Astral Sage College's first-star halls, you and Qin Zhulu are the strongest, followed by Wang Hejiu and Bai Doudou. After this month of cultivation, they have also reached the level of the fourth pattern," Instructor Xi Chan said.

"Theoretically, that is the case." Li Luo smiled. Before his Water-Light resonance reached the seventh grade, if they were at the same resonance power level, his combat strength might have been on par with Qin Zhulu's. But now that his Water-Light resonance had evolved to the seventh grade, producing a near-metamorphic improvement, if the two were to fight again now, Li Luo should have a significant advantage.

Especially his archery attacks; Qin Zhulu might not be able to defend against that kind of instantaneous burst.

Of course, this was all under the premise of not using the power of the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf.

So in a sense, he could now truly be considered the number one person in the Astral Sage College's first-star hall.

However, Instructor Xi Chan shook her head gently at this moment and said: "But that is not enough."

Bai Meng and Xin Fu were both shocked. Is the fifth pattern still not enough?

Li Luo also asked in surprise: "Is it not enough to compete in the Holy Grail Battle?"

Instructor Xi Chan seemed to smile and said: "Li Luo, when did you become so naive and cute? With just this fifth pattern, you want to count on standing out in the Holy Grail Battle? What I mean by 'not enough'... refers to the ticket match a month from now."

"Ticket match? Isn't it a training match?" Li Luo asked, puzzled.

"You could call it a training match, but the cost of this training match is quite high, because only the winner of the training match can obtain the ticket to participate in the 'Holy Grail Battle'. This is a new rule for this Holy Grail Battle. In a sense, this so-called ticket match can be considered the prelude to the Holy Grail Battle," Instructor Xi Chan nodded slightly and said.

"And the competitor assigned to our Astral Sage College this time is the 'Blue Abyss Holy College'. This holy college is not weak; it is quite famous among the many holy colleges in the Eastern Divine Continent."

Li Luo, Xin Fu, and Bai Meng looked at each other. In that case, if they couldn't defeat that "Blue Abyss Holy College", wouldn't they not even have the qualifications to participate in the Holy Grail Battle?

This was no child's play.

They were all very clear about how much these major holy colleges on the Eastern Divine Continent valued the Holy Grail Battle. It was not just a simple struggle for fame, but also a struggle for the "Dragon Bone Holy Grail". This holy object could help them suppress the Dark Caves beneath the holy college. With this object to suppress them, each college would save countless cultivation resources and even the lives of students.

These were real and non-negotiable interests!

And right now, this so-called training match would result in only one of the two holy colleges obtaining the ticket to the Holy Grail Battle.

This was the rhythm of directly eliminating one side in advance.

Li Luo's expression gradually became solemn. The rhythm had instantly changed from a relaxed training match to a bloody elimination tournament.

Is this the sign of the start of the Holy Grail Battle?

Before it has even truly begun, the flames of war are already spreading.

"What is the mechanism of this ticket match? After all, we are only students of the first-star hall; the pressure shouldn't reach us, right?" Li Luo asked.

"You thought wrong there. Whether it is the ticket match or the Holy Grail Battle later on, students from the first to fourth-star halls cannot be absent, and each has their own role. After all, as a member of the college, regardless of the hall level, everyone will participate and contribute to their respective college."

Instructor Xi Chan put down her teacup and said: "Of course, if you're talking about pressure, it will definitely be more on the high-star halls like the fourth-star and third-star halls, but that doesn't mean the students of the low-star halls have no role. Your existence is also a very important link."

"Not to mention the Holy Grail Battle, for the ticket match a month from now, the two holy colleges will each select seven people. These seven people will come from the four hall levels. Except for one person from the first-star hall, the other three star halls will each send two people as representatives."

"The seven people will take students of the same hall level from the opposing side as opponents. The one who wins four out of seven games wins the ticket to the Holy Grail Battle."

Li Luo thought for a moment and said: "Looking at it this way, only the strongest person in each hall level can become this representative."

"Instructor, I heard that if we help the college obtain the ticket in this competition, the college will give a heavy reward?"

Instructor Xi Chan nodded and smiled faintly: "If the ticket is obtained, the college will open its treasury, and the Golden Eye Treasures within can be chosen at will."

Li Luo sighed.

"Although I have always upheld the principle of keeping a low profile, as a member of the Astral Sage College, my love for the college is so deep, so for this representative of the first-star hall, the strongest one—me—will have to take on the responsibility."