Chapter 447: The Sternest Warning

The first half of the academy-level battle was somewhat unexpected to Li Luo.

He had originally thought it would be at most a small-team alliance, but now it seemed his vision was too narrow; this actually required cooperation across the entire academy.

Upon careful reflection, however, it was normal: the Holy Grail Battle organized by the Academy Alliance, though fiercely competitive, was fundamentally meant to temper the students, and student unity was a crucial element, for sometimes the power of the collective ultimately surpasses that of the individual.

Although there were existences in heaven and earth whose strength had already transcended collective constraints, at the very least, Li Luo and the others were still far from that stage.

Cooperating with the other Purple Radiance teams posed no major issues, except...

Wang Wang Hejiu and Duze Duze Beixuan, those two troublemakers.

At this thought, Li Luo's gaze turned toward Wang Wang Hejiu and Duze Duze Beixuan; at that moment, they too were frowning, and upon sensing Li Luo's look, their expressions both became somewhat unnatural.

In past days at the academy, they had clashed frequently, and their relationship could hardly be called friendly.

Generally, in such a competitive environment, merely refraining from tripping each other up would be considered good; now they were expected to cooperate wholeheartedly? Wasn't that a joke?

"Students, I must repeat once more: this Holy Grail Battle is extremely important to our Holy Profound Star Academy, so I need you to consider the greater good and set aside all personal interests. If, during the academy-level competition, there are any malicious acts of obstruction, once we return to the academy, I will certainly impose the sternest punishment, and furthermore, the academy will no longer accept any students connected to you." While Li Luo and the others were each turning thoughts over in their minds, Vice Dean Su Xin spoke again in her usual calm tone.

The moment she said this, many students present paled, fear thickly rising in their eyes; no one had expected Vice Dean Su Xin, who was always gentle and approachable, to utter such harsh words and threaten such severe punishment.

This was practically collective punishment.

Even Li Luo could not help swallowing hard; the academy was the most top-tier cultivation ground in the Great Xia Kingdom, and if the academy truly banned members of a certain family or faction from entering to cultivate, that would absolutely be an extremely terrifying blow.

So this time, even Wang Wang Hejiu, his face pale, retracted all his schemes; his Wang family possessed deep roots in the Great Xia, and every year many of the Wang clan's young entered the academy. If, because of him, the academy ceased accepting Wang family students, his father would likely kill him with his own hands.

At that moment, Wang Wang Hejiu also sensed Vice Dean Su Xin's calm gaze sweep over his face; immediately, a chill ran through his heart. It seemed this vice dean, who had an excellent reputation at the academy, actually knew of the past grievances between him and Li Luo.

Now, this was a warning to him.

After all, Li Luo was now regarded as a contender for the strongest student of the Eastern Region Outer Shenzhou One-Star Academy; if he were held back by him, that would surely be intolerable to the academy.

Thinking thus, Wang Wang Hejiu could only suppress the grievance in his heart and, forcing a smile, declared: "Vice Dean, rest assured; all those past conflicts between Li Luo and me were merely playful. In the current situation, I certainly know where I stand, and I will definitely cooperate wholeheartedly with the other teams."

Duze Duze Beixuan felt too embarrassed to speak, yet he sensed an exceptionally sharp gaze projecting from beside him.

It was his elder sister, Duze Duze Honglian.

Duze Duze Honglian's eyes were somewhat terrifying, causing Duze Duze Beixuan's heart to tremble; his sister was also fierce in temperament, and if he truly provoked her, she might, before so many people, beat him black and blue. Thus, he could only quickly nod and say: "I will also fully cooperate."

Only then did Duze Duze Honglian withdraw her gaze; earlier, she had worried that Duze Duze Beixuan, young and impetuous, would not let go of his pride, but now Vice Dean Su Xin had made things so clear: anyone who dared to hold back during the academy-level competition would be directly blacklisted by the academy, a very serious consequence.

Even the Duze Manor could not bear such a thing.

"It seems Student Duze Honglian is quite sensible," whispered Tian Tian, a member of Jiang Jiang Qinge's team, from nearby.

Duze Duze Honglian ignored this tallest girl in the Three-Star Academy, her gaze calmly turning to Jiang Qing'e as she said: "During the academy-level competition, I will naturally cooperate fully. Jiang Qing'e, bring forth all your abilities and seize the title of strongest student of the Eastern Region Outer Shenzhou Three-Star Academy."

"I have never seen you truly display your strength seriously; this time, I do hope for the opportunity to see it."

Jiang Jiang Qinge glanced at Duze Duze Honglian, nodded slightly, and said: "I will do my best. Besides, you are also very strong; with your help, I will find it much easier."

Upon hearing this, Duze Duze Honglian could not help widening her beautiful eyes; then her nose tingled with emotion. She truly found it hard to believe that one day Jiang Jiang Qinge would say that her, Duze Duze Honglian's, help was also very important to Jiang Jiang Qinge.

Since the day the two women entered the Holy Profound Star Academy, Duze Duze Honglian had regarded Jiang Jiang Qinge as her greatest rival, but over these three years, the gap between them had grown ever wider; if not for a stubborn spirit within her heart propping her up, Duze Duze Honglian would truly have felt despair.

Yet competition aside, deep within Duze Duze Honglian's heart, she extremely recognized Jiang Jiang Qinge's strength; indeed, sometimes she could not quite understand whether her own desperate competition with Jiang Jiang Qinge was merely so that Jiang Jiang Qinge would value her a little more.

But soon Duze Duze Honglian forcibly suppressed her emotions, simultaneously chiding herself inwardly: "Duze Duze Honglian, Duze Duze Honglian, you are too weak; one sentence from someone else moves you to such tears—truly laughable!"

Compared to the One-Star Academy, the Three-Star Academy here, and especially the Four-Star Academy over there, were far more harmonious, for in recent years the Four-Star Academy had basically split into two factions: the Gong Gong Shenjun faction and the Gongzhuyi Sect; both possessed numerous followers, and both were extremely rational types, their relationship in daily life quite amicable, at least on the surface.

Thus, they quickly reached consensus.

As for the Two-Star Academy here, how to put it... they were slightly neglected.

Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan and Ye Ye Qiuding could clearly feel that Vice Dean Su Xin's gaze did not linger long on their side, nor did it carry any special warning.

This made their emotions very complex.

For this indicated that Vice Dean Su Xin held no great expectations for the Two-Star Academy; yet it was normal, for compared to the other three academy-levels, this year's Two-Star Academy of the Holy Profound Star Academy was indeed rather ordinary; during the Ticket Match earlier, they had even nearly caused the academy to lose an important ticket.

Under such circumstances, who could expect the Two-Star Academy to perform well in the Holy Grail Battle?

Probably, in Vice Dean Su Xin's mind, the Two-Star Academy was merely there to pad the numbers.

Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan and Ye Ye Qiuding exchanged glances, each seeing the bitterness in the other's eyes, their hearts resonating with shared feeling.

Is this the treatment of poor students?

It's really damn... uncomfortable.