Chapter 374: Ticket Match

The girl's grateful embrace soon ended; Bai Bai Mengmeng wiped her tears, her hands cupping the finished Rainbow Cloud Cake, her cheeks full of lingering reluctance.

"Don't rush; there will be plenty of chances later to slowly eat all kinds of delicacies." Li Luo smiled and comforted her.

Bai Bai Mengmeng nodded vigorously, her large eyes looking at Li Luo, expressing her most sincere gratitude once more: "Captain, thank you so much!"

"Hey, what are you thanking me for? You helped me so much; at least half the credit for Xiyang House's performance this month belongs to you. Besides, this was something I promised to do for you anyway; just don't blame me for taking so long to fulfill it," Li Luo said, waving his hand and smiling.

Bai Bai Mengmeng shook her head; everyone assigns different values to different things. Perhaps in Li Luo's eyes, helping her cure her taste disorder wasn't a big deal, its value far less than a recipe for a four-star Spirit Water Miracle Light, but in her heart, the two could not be compared at all.

In the past, her daily eating was merely to maintain her body's needs; that feeling like chewing wax was torture every time, yet she was unwilling to reveal such emotions, lest she attract strange looks.

"Captain, in the future, all the Spirit Water Miracle Light recipes I research will definitely prioritize Xiyang House!" she said.

"How can I accept that? You don't need to give all of them... having eight or nine recipes would be enough; having too many would make me feel undeserving." Li Luo looked ashamed, yet his words held not a shred of politeness.

Bai Bai Mengmeng covered her mouth and chuckled lightly; talking with the Captain always made people feel happy.

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

"My Water Nightmare Butterfly Phase leans toward the Water Phase, so I have some involvement in researching Secret Method Source Water, but in the past, my focus was on researching recipes, so I rarely dealt with things like Secret Method Source Water."

Bai Bai Mengmeng looked at Li Luo and said, "Captain, do you still need Secret Method Source Water? The purity of the Secret Method Source Water at Xiyang House is something you can hardly find a few of in the entire Great Xia."

"That Secret Method Source Water has an extremely high refining cost; the future Xiyang House will still need some other Secret Method Source Water to support it," Li Luo explained.

Bai Bai Mengmeng nodded slightly and smiled: "Since the Captain needs it, if I have time in the future, I can research this as well and see if I can achieve any results."

Li Luo was deeply moved and said, "Bai Mengmeng, rest assured; when the time comes, I will definitely give you a satisfactory purchase price."

Bai Bai Mengmeng smiled slightly, not really caring about this.

While the two were talking, the door to the refining chamber was suddenly pushed open a crack, and Student Xin Fu's voice drifted over eerily: "Instructor Xi Chan has arrived and asked you to go up."

Both Li Luo and Bai Bai Mengmeng were startled by this ghostly figure; immediately, the former fixed a hostile gaze on Student Xin Fu outside the door crack. When exactly had this kid been here? He was practically a peeping tom.

However, this was not the time to dwell on such things; he and Bai Bai Mengmeng tidied up slightly, then left the refining chamber, went to the first-floor living room, and saw Instructor Xi Chan by the window-side tea table, looking intellectual and elegant under the morning light.

"Oh? Indeed the Fifth Mark, it seems you gained quite a lot of benefits in the Golden Dragon Dojo." Instructor Xi Chan held hot tea in her fair-skinned fingers, glanced at Li Luo, raised her dark eyebrows slightly, and said with some surprise.

Li Luo smiled and replied, "Just lucky, I just went along for the ride."

"I heard Qin Qin Zhulu also reached the Fifth Mark?" Instructor Xi Chan asked.

Li Luo nodded.

"In that case, in our Sheng Zhu Xuan Star Academy's One-Star Hall, you and Qin Qin Zhulu are the strongest; next are Wang Wang Hejiu and Bai Bai Doudou; after a month of cultivation, they have also reached the Fourth Mark level," Instructor Xi Chan said.

"Theoretically, that is correct." Li Luo smiled; before his Water Light Phase reached the Seventh Rank, if their Phase Power levels were the same, his combat power and Qin Qin Zhulu's might be evenly matched, but now that his Water Light Phase had evolved to the Seventh Rank, producing a near-transformational improvement, if the two fought again now, Li Luo should have a considerable advantage.

Especially his bow and arrow assault; that kind of instantaneous explosion, Qin Qin Zhulu might not be able to defend against.

Of course, all this is under the premise of not using the Three-Tailed Celestial Wolf's power.

So in a sense, he can now be considered the true number one in Sheng Zhu Xuan Star Academy's One-Star Hall.

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

Both Bai Bai Mengmeng and Student Xin Fu were startled; even the Fifth Mark is not enough?

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

Instructor Xi Chan seemed to smile and said, "Li Luo, when did you become so innocent and cute? With your Fifth Mark, you still expect to stand out in the Holy Grail Battle? What I mean by 'not enough'... refers to the Ticket Match one month from now."

"Ticket Match? Isn't it a training match?" Li Luo asked in confusion.

"You can call it a training match, but the price of this training match is quite high, because only the winners of the training match can obtain tickets to participate in the 'Holy Grail Battle'; this is a new regulation for this Holy Grail Battle. In a sense, this so-called Ticket Match also marks the premature opening of the Holy Grail Battle." Instructor Xi Chan nodded slightly and said.

"And the opponent assigned to our Sheng Zhu Xuan Star Academy this time is the 'Blue Abyss Holy Academy'; this Holy Academy is not weak and is quite famous among the many Holy Academies in the Eastern Region Outer Shenzhou."

Li Luo, Student Xin Fu, and Bai Bai Mengmeng looked at each other; in that case, if they cannot defeat that "Blue Abyss Holy Academy," wouldn't they not even have the qualification to participate in the Holy Grail Battle?

This is no child's play.

They all knew very well how heavily the various Holy Academies in the Eastern Region Outer Shenzhou valued the Holy Grail Battle; it was not merely a contest of reputation, but also a struggle for the "Dragon Bone Holy Grail"; this holy artifact could help them suppress the Dark Caves beneath their Holy Academies; with this artifact suppressing them, the various academies would save countless cultivation resources and even the lives of their students.

This is a tangible and irreplaceable benefit!

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

This is directly setting the pace to eliminate one side in advance.

Li Luo's expression gradually became solemn; the pace instantly changed from a relaxed training match to a bloody elimination match.

Is this the sign of the Holy Grail Battle beginning?

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

"What is the mechanism of this Ticket Match? After all, we are only students of the One-Star Hall; the pressure shouldn't reach us, right?" Li Luo asked.

"You are mistaken there; whether it is the Ticket Match or the later Holy Grail Battle, students from One-Star to Four-Star Halls cannot be absent, and each has their own role; after all, as members of the academy, regardless of hall level, they will all participate and contribute to their respective academies."

Instructor Xi Chan put down her teacup and said, "Of course, if we talk about pressure, it will definitely be higher for the Four-Star Hall and Three-Star Hall, the high-star halls, but this does not mean students of the low-star halls have no role; your existence is also a very important link."

"Let's not talk about the Holy Grail Battle for now; for the Ticket Match one month from now, the two Holy Academies will each select seven people; these seven will come from four hall levels, with one person from the One-Star Hall and two representatives from each of the other three star halls."

"The seven will face opponents from the other side of the same hall level; the one who wins four out of seven rounds wins the Holy Grail Battle ticket."

Li Luo pondered and said, "Looking at it this way, only the strongest person in each hall level can become this representative."

"Instructor, I heard that if one helps the academy obtain a ticket in this competition, the academy will give a heavy reward?"

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

Li Luo sighed.

"Although I have always adhered to the principle of keeping a low profile, as a member of Sheng Zhu Xuan Star Academy, my love for the academy is so deep, so for this One-Star Hall representative, the strongest me, I must step forward without hesitation."