Chapter 470: Night Chat

After the great battle, the forest returned to silence.

Li Luo stood atop a towering tree, his palms resting on the hilt of his blade, motionless.

Behind him in the valley, a sky-filling radiance constantly bloomed, utterly captivating the eye.

But now, no one's greed was stirred again.

After all, though the Spirit Gathering Altar was excellent, one must act within one's means; paying the price of total annihilation for it was not worth it.

The Saint Profound Star Academy before them had revealed its formidable strength; this strength undoubtedly placed it among the top tier of this inter-academy competition, and ordinary Saint Academies were powerless to compete for it.

As time passed, night fell, covering the mountain ranges.

In the darkness, only that valley was extraordinarily brilliant.

In the left forest path, Qin Qin Zhulu sat cross-legged with eyes closed to rest, while others chatted in low voices.

Lu Qing'er and Si Si Qiuying, the two girls, sat together talking softly; their relationship had not been deep before, but after fighting side by side just now, it had drawn somewhat closer, so now that they had free time, they chatted intermittently to pass the time.

However, while chatting, Lu Qing'er's gaze more often fell upon Li Luo, who stood atop a distant tree, his hand resting on his blade.

A trace of heartache flashed in her eyes; previously, Li Luo had fought the three opposing squadron leaders, and now that the battle had ceased, he still did not rest, remaining standing high to intimidate the wolves eyeing them from all sides.

Si Si Qiuying naturally noticed Lu Qing'er's gaze and her distraction while chatting; the young girl was sensitive, vaguely sensing something, and immediately asked tentatively: "Qing'er, you... seem to have a very good relationship with Li Luo?"

"I have known Li Luo for many years; we were classmates back at South Wind Academy, so of course our relationship is very good." Lu Qing'er admitted frankly.

But Si Si Qiuying clearly did not mean that kind of relationship; she weighed her words carefully and finally said cautiously: "You... do you like Li Luo?"

Lu Qing'er paused, her thick, brush-like eyelashes fluttering gently; after a moment, she smiled: "What? Is that not allowed?"

If Yu Yu Hongxi had asked her, she certainly would not have admitted it, for she knew very well that Yu Yu Hongxi would oppose it, so she was too afraid to reveal her girlish feelings.

Si Si Qiuying was somewhat shaken; Lu Qing'er was also extremely famous in the One-Star Academy, and whether by status or by her own appearance and temperament, she was absolutely of the top tier; as far as Si Si Qiuying knew, not only did many male students in the One-Star Academy admire Lu Qing'er, but even the senior students in the High-Star Academies were secretly inquiring about many of Lu Qing'er's details.

Yet for nearly a year, no one had ever been heard to have made any obvious progress with Lu Qing'er, causing many senior students to feel that this beautiful junior was an iceberg difficult to approach; but now Si Si Qiuying realized that this iceberg in others' eyes actually already had someone she favored in her heart.

"But, but Li Luo has a betrothal," Si Si Qiuying could not help but say.

Lu Qing'er nodded slightly, saying: "I know."

Then she stared at Si Si Qiuying and asked seriously: "Do you think Sister Jiang Jiang Qinge really likes Li Luo? I mean the kind of liking between a man and a woman."

Si Si Qiuying was speechless; her relationship with Jiang Jiang Qinge was quite good, and in her eyes, Jiang Jiang Qinge was as dazzling as a star; Si Si Qiuying herself was, in a sense, also very excellent, with family background and talent that could be counted as first-class in this Great Xia, yet even as proud as she was, every time she saw Jiang Jiang Qinge, she felt ashamed and inferior.

It was precisely for this reason that when Li Luo first arrived in Great Xia City, she could not restrain the anger in her heart, ran outside the city to block him, and wanted to give this useless young prefect from Tian Shu Commandery a lesson.

And this matter was now Si Si Qiuying's most shameful memory.

But as for whether Jiang Jiang Qinge had that kind of feeling between a man and a woman for Li Luo, Si Si Qiuying found it hard to answer; although Li Luo was now extremely excellent, she simply could not imagine that a girl like Jiang Jiang Qinge would truly fall for a male.

However, although thinking this, she felt she still needed to defend Jiang Jiang Qinge: "The feelings between Li Luo and Sister Jiang Qinge are absolutely beyond doubt; Sister Jiang Qinge once told me that Li Luo is the most important person in her heart."

Lu Qing'er said softly: "I do not deny the feelings between Sister Jiang and Li Luo; after all, they grew up together from childhood; although they have no blood relation, in fact their bond is even deeper than that of real siblings."

Si Si Qiuying's eyes looked a bit strange; did she just slap the label of siblings on them directly?

However, Si Si Qiuying had to admit that even she could not quite understand the complex emotions between Jiang Jiang Qinge and Li Luo; before Li Luo came to Great Xia City for this, many people, including herself, thought Jiang Jiang Qinge was very resistant to this betrothal, that the betrothal existed only in name; but as understanding gradually deepened, she discovered that the emotions and bonds between Jiang Jiang Qinge and Li Luo were far deeper than anyone had imagined.

Even, their original emotions had long surpassed that paper betrothal.

But... within this deep bond, exactly how much belonged to that kind of love between a man and a woman, that was truly impossible to fathom.

"This betrothal is actually unfair to both Li Luo and Sister Jiang."

Lu Qing'er said calmly: "I have said this sentence to Sister Jiang face to face."

Si Si Qiuying was dumbfounded; she stammered: "You, you even told Sister Jiang about this??"

Talking about such a matter face to face with the person involved? How could Lu Qing'er, who usually looked calm and composed, do something so fierce? That was Jiang Jiang Qinge; ordinary people didn't even dare to speak when they saw her, yet Lu Qing'er dared to say such things to her face?

"That betrothal is a shackle for both of them; why can't it be spoken of?" Lu Qing'er said.

Si Si Qiuying rubbed her forehead, her heart filled with extraordinary admiration for Lu Qing'er's boldness and courage; within the entire academy, perhaps only she dared to provoke Jiang Jiang Qinge in such a way.

"Then, then how did Sister Jiang Qinge answer?" she could not help but ask curiously again.

She very much wanted to know how Jiang Jiang Qinge responded to such provocation.

Hearing this, Lu Qing'er did not answer, because she recalled Jiang Jiang Qinge's counterattack that day, which carried such powerful impact, making her own cheeks now involuntarily flush slightly.

At the same time, she could not help but sigh inwardly: No wonder it is Jiang Jiang Qinge; the strength of this opponent is simply too formidable.

However, even against such a powerful enemy, it was unlikely that she, Lu Qing'er, would retreat in the face of difficulty.

Because wrong things need to be corrected.

Lu Qing'er's beautiful eyes gazed at the figure standing atop the tree, her expression becoming firm: Li Luo, I will definitely rescue you from that shackle of a betrothal.

The night was long, and finally dawn arrived.

When the first ray of morning light tore through the clouds and cast itself upon this forest, suddenly the sky-filling radiance emanating from the valley grew abruptly stronger; vaguely, a strange fragrance also emanated from within.

Li Luo, standing atop the tree, opened his eyes immediately, his palm gripping the blade hilt tightly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surrounding forest.

Some commotion arose in those places, because everyone knew this was the sign of the Heavenly Spirit Dew's birth.

On the left and right paths, Qin Qin Zhulu, Bai Bai Doudou, Wang Wang Hejiu, and others, who had rested through the night, all became alert again.

Fortunately, the intimidation brought by yesterday's great battle still remained, so although many greedy gazes were cast over, no one dared to make a move rashly.

This continued for about ten or so minutes.

The sky-filling radiance suddenly vanished.

Immediately after, Bai Bai Mengmeng's slender figure trotted out from a crack in the mountain body, then waved toward where Li Luo was; on that pure and sweet little face was an expression of joy that could not be concealed.

Clearly, the Heavenly Spirit Dew of this Spirit Gathering Altar had already been collected by her.

A look of relief finally appeared on Li Luo's face; since entering the inter-academy competition, the first Spirit Gathering Altar had finally been secured with a scare but no disaster.

Twenty-six drops of Heavenly Spirit Dew.

And ninety-nine drops are needed to guarantee one person's entry into Dragon Bone Island.

So they still need to continue searching.

Li Luo waved his hand; Qin Qin Zhulu and others all retreated to Bai Bai Mengmeng's side, then figures leaped out one after another, heading directly beyond the forest.

Li Luo fell behind last; he clasped his fists toward the four directions, then let out a long roar, his figure leaping forth like a great eagle.

The first Spirit Gathering Altar defense battle had finally ended, but everyone understood this was only the beginning.

As more academies advanced, increasingly fierce competition would constantly erupt.

For the title of the strongest disciple and that "Divine Tree Golden Insignia."