Chapter 44: The Grand Examination Approaches

In a hall of the old residence, Li Luo strode in excitedly, and at first glance saw Cai Wei, whose slender, voluptuous figure and flower-like oval face radiated an endlessly charming smile.

However, Li Luo had long grown immune to Cai Wei's allure, so his gaze shifted and he immediately noticed an iron box placed on the table.

He darted up in two or three steps, opened the iron box directly, and a cold gleam shone out, revealing two short blades lying within, their cold radiance flowing.

The short blades were about a foot long; one was entirely azure, with faint water-ripple patterns flowing across it, while the other was a pale white, said to be forged from a metal called Sun-Spirit Iron, which would blaze with dazzling light under sunlight.

Both short blades were alloyed with metals imbued with water and light energy. When Li Luo wielded them as weapons, he could maximize the power of his own water-light phase force.

The hilts of the twin blades were shaped like some kind of beast's maw, with faint fangs protruding.

Looking at the twin blades as a whole, the blade arcs were somewhat deeper, the edges slightly curved, cold light flowing along them, extraordinarily sharp.

Li Luo gripped the twin blades and lightly brandished them; immediately a faint whistling of cutting wind arose, then he reversed his grip and hung them at his waist, which actually looked exceptionally dashing.

"Not bad." Li Luo nodded in satisfaction, then very casually named the two blades: "The azure one will be called the Water-Ripple Blade from now on, and the other will be called the Sun-Ripple Blade."

"This is only a set of qualified phase implements; it still hasn't reached the level of a treasure implement." Cai Wei's standards were quite high. Apart from their somewhat distinctive shape, Li Luo's two short blades couldn't really be considered all that precious.

Phase implements also had grades; the ordinary ones were common phase implements, and above common phase implements, they were called treasure implements.

However, compared to common phase implements, treasure implements were far more powerful and far rarer, and the price of each treasure implement was extremely steep, far exceeding that of common phase implements.

But treasure implements required rather formidable phase force to wield. The current Li Luo had only just reached the Seven-Seal Realm, so even if he were given a treasure implement, he would probably struggle to bring out its true might.

"This is enough for now. Once I break through to the Phase Master Realm later, I'll get a real set of treasure implements to try." Li Luo said with a smile. These two short blades were what he had prepared for the upcoming academy grand examination—just a stopgap.

"Thanks, Sister Cai Wei." Li Luo said gratefully.

Cai Wei waved her small hand and said, "Your academy grand examination should be coming up soon, right? These past few days, Southwind Academy has gotten a lot livelier; academies from every city in Tianshu Commandery have sent elite teams."

The annual academy grand examination was considered a grand event for every commandery. When the time came, the battles of the grand examination would draw countless people swarming in, tremendously lively.

Li Luo nodded and said, "Three more days."

A hint of worry in her beautiful eyes, Cai Wei asked, "Are you confident?"

Although Li Luo had now awakened his water phase, compared to the other students he had ultimately started later, and Cai Wei didn't know whether he could actually catch up.

And the importance of getting into the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, Cai Wei knew perfectly well. If Li Luo could enter, it would be an enormous boost to his own reputation. At the very least, some people in the Luo Lan Mansion would no longer dare to slight this young mansion master of his, which in turn could also share some of the pressure for Jiang Jiang Qinge.

Li Luo, with the twin blades at his waist, rested his palm on the hilts, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Don't worry, Sister Cai Wei. I have a reason I cannot afford to lose."

Because if he couldn't even reach this step, then "breaking the engagement" would be nothing but a fantasy for the rest of his life!

The holiday finally ended as scheduled.

Li Luo returned to the academy, and then he and Zhao Kuo were called aside alone by Xu Xu Shanyue and taken to where the dean was.

"You've reached the Seven-Seal Realm?" During idle conversation, Li Luo learned that Zhao Kuo had improved once more during this holiday, likewise stepping into the Seven-Seal Realm, and he couldn't help being a little surprised.

Zhao Kuo only had a fifth-grade phase; this grade wasn't particularly high nor particularly low, yet his reaching the Seven-Seal Realm before the grand examination was enough to show how hard he usually worked.

The burly Zhao Kuo scratched his head like a bear and laughed, "I didn't go home this holiday. I kept cultivating at the academy. Thanks to the academy's special training for us, I managed to break through at the last minute by cramming."

"Zhao Kuo spent these ten days cultivating like his life depended on it." Xu Xu Shanyue, who was leading the way ahead, overheard their conversation, turned his head and said a word, clearly very approving of Zhao Kuo's effort and diligence.

Li Luo also gave him a thumbs-up and said, "Impressive."

"How can I compare to you? You're handsome, your comprehension of phase arts is high, and now you've even awakened the water phase. From now on, you'll be the next legend of Southwind Academy after Senior Sister Jiang Jiang Qinge." Zhao Kuo said with an honest face.

"The reason I chose to be friends with you is mainly because you're an honest person who never lies." Li Luo nodded, his face full of emotion.

"That goes without saying. At the grand examination, please cover me, Brother Luo."

"Small matter. When the time comes, I'll take first place and bring you straight into the Sacred Mystic Star Academy."

"Brother Luo is so domineering!"

"."

Walking ahead, Xu Xu Shanyue listened to their shameless mutual flattery and couldn't help his face darkening. He turned his head and scolded, "Shut up, we're here."

Li Luo and Zhao Kuo immediately stopped talking and looked at a courtyard ahead. By now, over a dozen figures were already waiting there—precisely the top twenty of Southwind Academy this time.

In the crowd, Li Luo also saw familiar figures like Lv Qing'er, Song Song Yunfeng, and Ti Ti Faqing.

And at this moment, everyone was staring at the two of them with teasing smiles. Clearly, their mutual flattery just now had actually been overheard.

However, facing the crowd's teasing gazes, Li Luo's expression remained quite calm, showing no embarrassment at all. At times like this, as long as he wasn't embarrassed, the embarrassment belonged to others.

Zhao Kuo, meanwhile, put on a simple, honest smile, maintaining his straightforward and frank persona.

The crowd looked at the two of them, and ultimately all shook their heads and looked away.

Their skin really was too thick.

This Li Luo was getting a bit full of himself. Previously he only managed a draw against Song Song Yunfeng by exploiting the match mechanism, and now he actually dares to brag about taking first place in the grand examination—as if he never even asked whether Lv Qing'er agreed.

And at the front of the crowd, there was also the figure of the old dean. His gaze swept over Li Luo and Zhao Kuo with a smile, then he said to everyone with a grin, "Looks like everyone's here."

"Then let me first tell you all about this grand examination."

Hearing these words, everyone tensed up, waiting with full concentration for what the old dean would say next.

"This academy grand examination will begin three days from now, and the twenty of you will represent our Southwind Academy in the battle. I have only one demand of you: protect the reputation of Southwind Academy as the number-one academy of Tianshu Commandery."

"This time, the Sacred Mystic Star Academy has issued a total of fifty admission slots to Tianshu Commandery."

At these words, everyone pricked up their ears. Fifty slots—clearly a few fewer than in previous years—and with this, the competition would be even fiercer.

"According to past regulations, the top ten in the academy grand examination will each receive one admission slot to the Sacred Mystic Star Academy. The remaining forty will be distributed among the various academies based on the top ten's rankings."

"The academies represented by the eighth, ninth, and tenth places of the grand examination will receive one additional admission slot. The academies represented by the fifth, sixth, and seventh places will receive two additional admission slots."

"Third place and fourth place each receive five admission slots."

"Second place receives six admission slots."

"First place… fifteen admission slots."

This last sentence, falling on everyone's ears, immediately caused a wave of uproar. No one had expected that this time, the academy grand examination's first place would carry such enormous weight.

Although in every past grand examination, the academy represented by first place had received more extra slots than other ranks, it clearly had never been this exaggerated.

Before the crowd, the instructor of the first courtyard, Lin Feng, looked at Lv Qing'er with a warm and encouraging smile and said, "Qing'er, if Southwind Academy wants to hold onto its reputation this time, I'm afraid it'll have to rely on you to take first place."

The old dean also nodded with an especially kind expression.

Clearly, they all placed great hope in Lü Qing'er, but that was only natural—after all, she was currently the pillar of Nanfeng Academy.

Facing their eager gazes, Lü Qing'er's lovely face remained remarkably calm; she merely said softly, "I will give my utmost to compete."

The old dean nodded, then warned, "But be careful of Shi Kong from Dongyuan Academy—he is extremely powerful and may well be your fiercest rival."

Upon hearing that name, Lü Qing'er's beautiful eyes flickered with Solemn, and she solemnly nodded her head.

"Starting tomorrow, you need not come to the academy—you will move into 'Bailing Garden,' where teams from all academies of Tian Shu Commandery gather. Three days from now, you will enter 'Bailing Mountain,' the venue for this major examination."

The old dean gave further instructions, then finally summed up.

"For decades, Nanfeng Academy has been under my care—its honor matters more to me than my own life. So I ask all of you to strive hard in the examination and preserve this most important thing for me."

The old dean's face turned solemn as he bowed slightly to the crowd.

The twenty students were startled by his gesture and quickly bowed back in return.

Finally, the old dean waved his hand, and the group dispersed, each carrying different emotions.

Li Luo stepped out of the courtyard, gazing at the boundless blue sky, his heart stirring slightly.

The academy examination is finally here.

Too bad my father and mother aren't here.

But if they were, wouldn't they shake their heads in disgust while watching: "This son is too foolish—he can't compare at all to my beloved disciple."

It's said that during Jiang Jiang Qinge's cohort, other academies in Tian Shu Commandery were utterly suppressed, daring not to show even a hint of defiance toward Nanfeng Academy.

When they learned she had been pre-admitted to Shengxuan Star Academy, nearly every academy in Tian Shu Commandery celebrated wildly, tears of joy streaming down their faces.

In contrast to Jiang Jiang Qinge's dazzling, blindingly brilliant record, Li Luo's path has been far more turbulent.

Just a month ago, most people believed he likely didn't even qualify to participate in the examination.

Thinking of this, Li Luo's stirring heart cooled slightly, and he sighed.

"What a bore."

(End of Chapter)