Chapter 471: The Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster

The academy-level competition continues to rage on fiercely.

Before anyone realized it, a full week had passed.

During this week, countless battles erupted in the academy-level competition; every appearance of a Spirit Gathering Altar drew the attention of multiple academies, followed immediately by major clashes.

Amid this constant warfare, increasingly powerful students began to stand out, gaining fame throughout the academy-level competition and drawing attention from all sides.

Among them, Li Luo, the Dual Phase cultivator of Shengxuan Star Academy, shone the brightest.

Some enthusiasts dubbed him the fourth favorite to win this year's First-Star Academy competition.

Yet Li Luo cared little for such reputations, for what he sought was not merely the title of fourth favorite—he aimed for the title of the strongest student in the First-Star Academy.

The reason was simple: he coveted the Divine Tree Gold Badge.

Of course, there was also the task Jiang Jiang Qinge had given him.

Moreover, Jing Tai Xu still needed to be taught a lesson.

This concerned the honor of the Young Lord of Lu'an Mansion.

During this week, Li Luo and his team had not been idle; they had found four small Spirit Gathering Altars and one medium Spirit Gathering Altar, and with their aid, they had finally filled one Spirit Gourd with Tian Ling Dew—exactly ninety-nine drops.

This meant that at least one student from Shengxuan Star Academy's First-Star Division could be guaranteed passage through the Sea of Fire to Dragon Bone Island.

But this was clearly insufficient, for Li Luo's goal was to guarantee at least three or four students from his division entry into Dragon Bone Island.

After all, as the overall team leader of the First-Star Academy, he could not abandon the others just because he himself had secured safety; the more students who entered Dragon Bone Island, the more assistance he would receive, for this academy-level competition required collective strength—and even after entering Dragon Bone Island, with Qin Qin Zhulu, Bai Bai Doudou, and others aiding him, his burden would be far lighter.

Yet locating Spirit Gathering Altars was no easy task; they had already spent a full week just to gather this first batch of ninety-nine drops, and at this rate, even a month might not suffice to collect enough Tian Ling Dew to guarantee three or four students' entry.

And the academy-level competition would not last that long.

Clearly, this methodical approach was no longer viable.

To leap forward in one bound, only a high-grade Spirit Gathering Altar could achieve it.

Unfortunately, high-grade Spirit Gathering Altars were exceedingly rare; despite their week-long efforts, Li Luo and his team had received not a single clue about them. Still, Li Luo was not anxious, for he knew that as they advanced deeper into the academy-level competition grounds, high-grade Spirit Gathering Altars would inevitably appear.

And as he had predicted, on the ninth day of the competition, they finally received an explosive piece of intelligence.

"The Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster has finally appeared?"

On the sandy shore of a roaring river, Li Luo stared at Seeing Yu Lang, who had sprinted up, breathless; after hearing his panting report, he immediately rose to his feet, while the others resting nearby also looked up in surprise, their eyes filled with delight.

The so-called Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster, as the name implies, did not refer to a single altar, but to a cluster of altars appearing in the same region.

Within a Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster, high-grade Spirit Gathering Altars would invariably emerge—sometimes more than one.

Spirit Gathering Altar Clusters appeared only in the depths of the academy-level competition grounds; in a sense, this was orchestrated by the Academy Alliance, for once such a cluster appeared, it signaled that competitors had drawn near the core region—Dragon Bone Island.

The first half of the academy-level competition would now witness its greatest gathering.

All academies that received word would rush at full speed toward the cluster's location.

This was precisely the news Li Luo had been waiting for these past days—and perhaps not just him, but every academy had been waiting.

If he wished to guarantee more students' entry into Dragon Bone Island, the Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster was his only chance.

Seeing Yu Lang nodded and said, "We encountered a team from another academy ahead, exchanged intelligence, and learned this from them. This is likely not false, for such news would spread rapidly, and the disturbance caused by a Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster's appearance is immense—impossible to conceal."

"According to the direction they provided, it's not far from us—roughly a day's journey."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy.

Li Luo beamed: "The big feast has finally arrived."

Compared to the Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster, even the medium altar they had consumed was merely an appetizer.

"But I heard the Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster is unusually special—I wonder what kind of challenge mechanism this year's will have?" Bai Bai Doudou remarked beside him.

Li Luo shook his head and smiled: "We'll find out when we get there."

"Everyone, if you're rested, let's move out."

Upon hearing this, all nodded, and after a brief preparation, the group set off at full speed toward the direction where the Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster had appeared.

Soon after they began their journey, they spotted numerous other academy teams—each heading in the same direction, clearly aiming for the Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster as well.

The various academy teams traveled separately, avoiding conflict.

Perhaps due to the rule that Tian Ling Dew, once sealed in a Spirit Gourd, cannot be stolen, the academy teams remained relatively amicable when not competing for altars, rarely turning hostile; without profit to drive them, no one wished to trigger unnecessary battles and waste their own strength.

This stood in stark contrast to the outside world.

Yet over these past days of the academy-level competition, Shengxuan Star Academy had fought countless battles, and now its reputation had truly been forged—especially that of its overall team leader, Li Luo, whose name had become widely known; as they traveled, other academy teams, upon recognizing them, could not help but cast curious glances toward Li Luo.

Naturally, no one would be foolish enough to provoke them.

Thus, with smooth passage, by the morning of the second day, Li Luo and his team finally arrived at the region where the Spirit Gathering Altar Cluster had appeared.

It was an immense lake marsh, dotted with countless small islands like chess pieces on a board; now, each island bore a flag emblazoned with the emblem of a different academy, and as the lake breeze swept across, the flags fluttered loudly.

A cacophony of voices swelled, echoing all around.

From all directions, more teams leapt in, landing on the islands, the scene bustling with activity.

Li Luo gazed toward the lake's depths, where thick mist swirled through the heavens; within the mist, faintly visible were towering structures resembling palaces, suspended in midair, radiating waves of vast, majestic heavenly energy that filled the entire lake marsh.

Especially the four central palace structures—the energy they emitted was astonishing; based on his prior measurements of other Spirit Gathering Altars, Li Luo deduced these four palaces must be high-grade Spirit Gathering Altars.

The sight made Li Luo involuntarily lick his lips, his longing impossible to conceal.

Throughout their journey, they had found not a single high-grade Spirit Gathering Altar—yet here, four appeared at once…

This was the largest prize of the academy-level competition.

If they could claim even a bite of it, all their goals would be achieved.