Chapter 470: Night Chat

After the great battle, the mountain forest returned to peace.

Li Luo stood atop a towering tree, his hands resting on the hilt of his blade, standing in silence.

In the valley behind him, rays of light continuously bloomed across the sky, a truly eye-catching sight.

Yet now, no one was stirred by greed.

After all, while the Spirit Gathering Altar was good, one had to act according to their ability; paying the price of total annihilation for it was not worth it.

The Astral Sage College before them had already revealed its formidable strength; such power certainly placed them among the top tier of this Academy Tournament, and ordinary Sage Colleges were no longer capable of competing with them.

As time passed, night fell, covering the mountains.

In the darkness, only that valley remained exceptionally brilliant.

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

Lu Qinger and Si Qiuying sat together, talking softly. The two girls had not been close before, but after fighting side by side just now, their relationship had drawn a bit closer. Now that they were free, they chatted idly to pass the time.

However, while chatting, Lu Qinger's gaze was mostly fixed on Li Luo, who stood on the treetop in the distance with his blade.

A flash of heartache crossed her eyes. Li Luo had just fought three opposing team captains, and now that the battle had ceased, he still did not rest, continuing to stand on high to deter the wolves watching with covetous eyes.

Si Qiuying naturally noticed Lu Qinger's gaze and her distraction during their conversation. The young girl was sharp and vaguely sensed something, so she immediately probed, "Qinger, you... seem to have a very good relationship with Li Luo?"

"I have known Li Luo for many years; we were classmates back at Nanfeng Academy, so of course our relationship is good," Lu Qinger admitted candidly.

But Si Qiuying clearly did not mean that kind of relationship. She weighed her words and finally said cautiously, "Do you... like Li Luo?"

Lu Qinger was startled, her thick, brush-like eyelashes blinking gently. A moment later, she smiled and said, "Why? Is that not allowed?"

If Yu Hongxi had asked her, she certainly would not have admitted it, as she knew very well that Yu Hongxi would object, so she dared not reveal her girlish feelings.

Si Qiuying was somewhat shocked. Lu Qinger had great fame among the first-year students, and whether in terms of status or her own appearance and temperament, she was absolutely top-tier. As far as she knew, not only did many male students in the first year admire Lu Qinger, but even the seniors in higher years were secretly inquiring about her.

Yet, in nearly a year, she had never heard of anyone making any significant progress with Lu Qinger, leading many seniors to think this beautiful junior was an unapproachable iceberg. But now, Si Qiuying realized that this iceberg in others' eyes actually had someone she favored in her heart.

"But, but Li Luo is already betrothed," Si Qiuying could not help but say.

Lu Qinger nodded slightly and said, "I know."

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

Si Qiuying was speechless. Her relationship with Jiang Qing'e was decent, and in her eyes, Jiang Qing'e was as dazzling as the stars. Si Qiuying could be considered quite outstanding in some respects, with a family background and talent that could be counted as first-class in the Great Xia, yet even as proud as she was, she felt inferior every time she saw Jiang Qing'e.

It was precisely because of this that when Li Luo first arrived in Great Xia City, she could not suppress the resentment in her heart and ran outside the city to block him, wanting to give this "useless" young manor lord from Tianshu County a show of force.

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

But as for whether Jiang Qing'e had those romantic feelings for Li Luo, Si Qiuying found it hard to answer. Although the current Li Luo was also extremely outstanding, she truly could not imagine a girl like Jiang Qing'e falling for any man.

However, while thinking this, she felt she still needed to defend Jiang Qing'e: "The bond between Li Luo and Sister Qing'e is absolutely beyond doubt. Sister Qing'e once told me that Li Luo is the most important person in her heart."

Lu Qinger said softly, "I do not deny the bond between Senior Sister Jiang and Li Luo. After all, they grew up together. Although they have no blood relation, their bond is actually deeper than that of biological siblings."

Si Qiuying's expression was a bit strange; had she just labeled them as siblings?

However, Si Qiuying had to admit that even she could not quite understand the complex emotions between Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo. Before Li Luo came to Great Xia City, many people, including her, thought Jiang Qing'e resisted this engagement and that it was merely a name without substance. But as she learned more, she discovered that the bond between Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo was deeper than any of them had imagined.

In fact, their original bond had long since transcended that paper engagement.

But... how much of this deep bond belonged to romantic love was truly impossible to fathom.

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

Lu Qinger said calmly, "I have said this to Senior Sister Jiang's face as well."

Si Qiuying was dumbfounded. She stammered, "You, you even said this to Senior Sister Jiang??"

Talking about such things to the person involved? Lu Qinger usually looked calm and composed, so how could she do something so bold? That was Jiang Qing'e! Most people didn't even dare to speak when they saw her, yet Lu Qinger dared to say such things to her face?

"That engagement is a shackle for both of them; why can it not be said?" Lu Qinger said.

Si Qiuying rubbed her forehead, feeling extra admiration for Lu Qinger's nerve and courage. In the entire college, she might be the only one who dared to provoke Jiang Qing'e like that.

"Then, how did Sister Qing'e answer?" she asked, unable to suppress her curiosity.

She really wanted to know how Jiang Qing'e responded to such a provocation.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qinger did not answer, because she remembered the powerful, impactful counter-attack Jiang Qing'e had delivered that day, which made her cheeks flush slightly even now.

At the same time, she could not help but sigh inwardly: as expected of Jiang Qing'e, the strength of this opponent was truly too formidable.

But even against such a strong enemy, it was unlikely that she, Lu Qinger, would retreat in the face of difficulty.

Because wrong things needed to be corrected.

Lu Qinger's beautiful eyes gazed at the figure standing on the treetop, her expression firm. Li Luo, I will definitely rescue you from that shackling engagement.

The night was long, but dawn finally arrived.

When the first ray of morning light tore through the clouds and cast itself upon the forest, the sky-filling glow radiating from the valley suddenly intensified, and a faint, exotic fragrance began to emanate from it.

Li Luo, standing on the treetop, opened his eyes at the first moment, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade as his sharp gaze swept across the surrounding forest.

Some commotion came from those areas, as everyone knew this was the sign of the Heavenly Spirit Dew being born.

On the left and right flanks, Qin Zhulu, Bai Doudou, Wang Hejiu, and the others, who had rested for the night, all became alert once more.

Fortunately, the deterrence brought by yesterday's great battle still remained, so although many gazes filled with greed were cast their way, no one dared to act rashly.

This continued for about ten minutes or so.

The sky-filling glow suddenly vanished.

Immediately after, Bai Mengmeng's slender figure trotted out from a crack in the mountain, and she waved toward the direction where Li Luo was, her pure and sweet face filled with irrepressible joy.

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

A look of relief finally appeared on Li Luo's face. Since entering the Academy Tournament, the first Spirit Gathering Altar had finally been secured without any mishaps.

Twenty-six drops of Heavenly Spirit Dew.

And it took ninety-nine drops to guarantee one person a spot on Dragon Bone Island.

So they still needed to continue their search.

Li Luo waved his hand, and Qin Zhulu and the others retreated toward Bai Mengmeng, then one figure after another leaped out, heading directly out of the mountain forest.

Li Luo was the last to leave. He cupped his fists toward the four directions, then let out a long whistle, his figure soaring out like a great eagle.

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

As more colleges pushed forward, more and more intense competition would continue to erupt.

For the title of the strongest student and that "Divine Tree Gold Badge."