Chapter 394: Reward

Li Luo was nearly choked by Jiang Qing's words.

"That's not necessary, is it? Lu Qinger hasn't done anything," Li Luo said, scratching his head.

Jiang Qing gave a soft scoff in her heart. She hadn't done anything? Lu Qinger had already brazenly come to demand that she break off her engagement with Li Luo. Although Lu Qinger's reason was that she believed there was no real "love" between her and Li Luo and that the engagement was a burden to both, the fact that she dared to say this to her face was quite arrogant.

Compared to this, what did Zhao Huiyin's little tricks today even amount to?

However, with Jiang Qing's proud nature, it was impossible for her to say these things to Li Luo, and if there really were a problem, she would resolve it properly herself.

"I know Zhao Huiyin's goal, so I am happy to let her feel that her goal has been achieved. During the upcoming ticket matches, if she wants to play some tricks because of this, I don't mind playing along and seeing who ends up suffering," Jiang Qing said, setting down her teacup.

Li Luo was speechless; had he really become the focal point of a game between two women?

"With your strength, do you still need to play these games?" Li Luo asked helplessly.

Zhao Huiyin might be very strong, but Li Luo had absolute confidence in Jiang Qing.

"Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit; it's naturally good to save some effort. That Zhao Huiyin is very smart; if I can make her suffer for her own cleverness, that would also be a good result."

Jiang Qing chuckled and said, "However, this girl is exceptionally cunning. My previous performance might not have truly deceived her, but it doesn't matter. It's just a small game outside the arena; the true victory or defeat still depends on one's own strength."

"I actually hope she doesn't disappoint me too much. In the Three-Star Hall of the Astral Sage College, Duze Honglian has long been suppressed by me to the point where she has no temper left and can only occasionally do small things to highlight her presence. It's not interesting at all."

Looking at Jiang Qing's somewhat bored expression, Li Luo couldn't help but give a thumbs up. This is the flavor I have always pursued; how lonely it is to be invincible.

"For this ticket match, Sister Qing'e, what do you think our odds of winning are?" Li Luo asked with a smile.

Jiang Qing's slender jade finger tapped a drop of tea, then traced it across the tabletop; her Light Resonance power fell into it, forming faint glowing characters.

"There are seven ticket matches. Let's start with the Four-Star Hall; the representatives are already confirmed: Gong Shenjun and the Princess. These two are currently the strongest among the Seven Star Pillars. Do you think they will secure two wins?" she asked in return.

Li Luo hesitated for a moment and said, "They should be able to."

He had never seen Gong Shenjun in action, but he had roughly seen the Princess's strength; it was quite formidable. Since Gong Shenjun was even a notch stronger than the Princess, if these two took the field, could the two Four-Star Hall representatives from the Blue Abyss Sage College really stop them?

Jiang Qing shook her head and said, "Then you are underestimating that representative from the Blue Abyss Sage College named Zhongnan."

"I have studied Zhongnan's battle record. Do you know that ever since he entered the Blue Abyss Sage College, he has fought countless major battles, yet he has never suffered a single defeat?"

Li Luo was shocked upon hearing this and said, "Never defeated? Is he that strong?"

Jiang Qing smiled and said, "Because most of his battles end in a draw. To this day, no opponent of the same level he has encountered has been able to break his defense; they all end up exhausted of their resonance power. Even Wang Chao from our Astral Sage College's Seven Star Pillars is not as strong as him in terms of defense."

Li Luo's expression couldn't help but turn serious. That senior named Wang Chao from the Seven Star Pillars was known as the strongest defense in the Astral Sage College; he was actually not as good as Zhongnan?

"If Gong Shenjun encounters Zhongnan, there is a forty percent chance it will be dragged into a draw. If the Princess encounters him, the probability of a draw might be sixty percent. So, for the two Four-Star Hall matches, the best result is one win and one draw," Jiang Qing analyzed.

"As for the two matches in the Three-Star Hall, my winning one here should be a ninety percent probability. As for Duze Honglian, she is not very stable, but fortunately, there is no one else too formidable in the Blue Abyss Sage College's Three-Star Hall besides Zhao Huiyin, so Duze Honglian's match can only be called a toss-up."

"The two-star hall matches are basically a race to the bottom; it just depends on who is worse. There isn't much to see."

"As for the One-Star Hall..."

Jiang Qing's voice paused, her gaze turned to Li Luo, and she smiled: "What do you think?"

Li Luo said solemnly, "In terms of looks, the Astral Sage College's One-Star Hall wins by a landslide."

Jiang Qing gave him a look of annoyance. Is being good-looking something to be proud of? If I were like you, I would have declared myself invincible in the world already.

Li Luo smiled and stopped joking, thinking seriously instead: "Although I haven't had contact with Lu Cang and Lu Cang from the Blue Abyss Sage College, I always have a faint, strange feeling about them, so I really don't dare to be blindly confident. I can only give it my all when the time comes."

Regarding his caution, Jiang Qing showed a look of approval and said, "I am relieved that you think this way. The world is vast and full of wonders; just because you possess dual resonances doesn't mean there aren't other strange individuals. That Lu Cang and Lu Cang are slightly eerie; perhaps they are the true trump cards of the Blue Abyss Sage College."

"A trump card in the One-Star Hall? Are they going that hard?" Li Luo said in astonishment.

"It is precisely because they are hard for others to guess that they might become a surprise move. You must know that the Blue Abyss Sage College has been preparing for the Holy Grail War for many years. Their foundation of strength is already a notch weaker than our Astral Sage College; if they didn't have some surprise moves, it would be quite difficult for them to win," Jiang Qing said.

Li Luo nodded slightly and said, "I will be careful."

Afterwards, the two chatted casually for a while longer. Before they knew it, the sky had grown dark, and Jiang Qing rose to leave.

Li Luo walked her to the front of the dormitory building. At this moment, the moonlight spilled down, illuminating the girl with the slender figure before him. Her exquisite and beautiful face reflected faint glimmers of light. Under the soft moonlight, she seemed like a blooming night lotus.

Li Luo was momentarily dazed.

Being watched like this, Jiang Qing was not annoyed; instead, she smiled and said, "Is it pretty? How does it compare to that Zhao Huiyin?"

"If I said it was a difference between heaven and earth, that would indeed be an exaggeration, but with you here, Sister Qing'e, her little beauty trap will probably never be effective," Li Luo sighed and said.

Jiang Qing's red lips curled slightly, and she said, "You certainly know how to talk."

Then she waved her hand and was about to leave.

However, Li Luo suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist. Jiang Qing was startled, but she didn't pull away; she just tilted her head slightly and looked at him with some confusion.

"Is there anything else?"

Li Luo coughed lightly and said, "I have become the representative for the One-Star Hall."

"I know," Jiang Qing said, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"I defeated Qin Zhulu two days ago," Li Luo said again.

"I heard," Jiang Qing said, her eyes flickering slightly as she nodded.

Li Luo glared at Jiang Qing and said, "So I am now the genuine number one in the Astral Sage College's One-Star Hall. Jiang Qing, do you still remember the promise you made to me before?"

"You said that if I could become the number one in the Astral Sage College, you would give me a reward!"

"Now I have done it, where is my reward?!"

Jiang Qing froze, her eyes flickering a bit.

Li Luo looked at the stunned Jiang Qing and sighed with apparent disappointment, saying, "Forget it, I knew you were just saying it for fun. It's fine, you can go."

Hearing Li Luo's mournful words, Jiang Qing rolled her eyes at him in annoyance and said, "I really hadn't thought about it. So, what reward do you want?"

Li Luo rubbed his chin, his gaze scanning Jiang Qing's fair, jade-like cheeks, putting on a roguish look.

Jiang Qing didn't mind his gaze; instead, she let him look. The relationship between the two was too profound, and she had never had the slightest resistance toward Li Luo from beginning to end. So, even if Li Luo really wanted to make some very intimate moves, she would accept it.

However, seeing her calm posture, Li Luo sighed instead, and the roguish expression on his face faded.

"What is it now?" Jiang Qing asked, puzzled.

Li Luo said helplessly, "Sister Qing'e, you make me feel like I have no sense of accomplishment."

Jiang Qing said, "Then do I have to resist a little? I'm just worried that if I resist a little, I might accidentally injure you."

Li Luo felt as if a knife had been plunged into his heart. He rubbed his chest, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Sister Qing'e, I know that our relationship of so many years is extremely complex, but you should understand what I want, including the engagement I have always been striving to break off."

Jiang Qing stared at Li Luo's face. Of course, she had always known Li Luo's goal. The so-called breaking off of the engagement was not really about ending it, but about changing its meaning.

Looking back over the past year, Li Luo had indeed been growing at an astonishing speed. That boy with the empty resonance from Tianshu County had, unknowingly, become the most outstanding person of the younger generation in the Great Xia Kingdom.

He had always been working hard, striving to catch up to her footsteps. At the very least, now that he was here, no one could question his potential, and no one would react with the word "unworthy" upon hearing about their engagement.

"Sister Qing'e, actually, I don't need any reward. I just hope that while I am working hard to overturn the complex emotions between us, you can also slightly break free from the emotional shackles we have had for so many years. For example, treat me like an ordinary suitor who has feelings for you," Li Luo said.

"Think about it, if it were a suitor who had feelings for you, and he just showed you that kind of expression, what would your reaction be?"

Jiang Qing thought for a moment and said seriously, "Then he would be dead by now."

Li Luo was stunned and laughed dryly, "That's not necessary, is it?"

Jiang Qing chuckled and said softly, "Li Luo, I know what you want to say. Your improvement over this past year has made even me marvel. I have said before that you will not be inferior to anyone, including me."

"However, what you said about treating you as an ordinary suitor is something I truly cannot do."

And before Li Luo could get angry, she said slowly, "No matter what you want to do, given our relationship, if you were to become that suitor, you would definitely be the one with the most opportunity and strength."

At the same time, she added in her heart: "And the only one."

Li Luo was overjoyed, but at the same time, he sighed in sorrow; he had truly been completely handled.

Under the moonlight in front of the small building, ripples flowed in Jiang Qing's golden eyes. She gazed at Li Luo and said, "Li Luo, actually, you are right. Our relationship is too complex and deep, so it is indeed very difficult for me to step out of these shackles, but I will try my best..."

"And I can also give you a very clear promise."

"What?" Li Luo's heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Qing smiled slightly, a smile so stunning under the moonlight that it was breathtaking.

"The day your strength surpasses mine, we will break off that engagement."

(It's almost the New Year, there are many trivial matters, the stock of chapters is finished, only one chapter today...)