Chapter 520: Red Sand Prefecture

As the dizzying sensation of teleportation gradually faded from his mind, Li Luo opened his eyes, and his expression couldn't help but shift.

The world before him was tinged a black-green, with faint black-green mist drifting through the air, bringing a cold, eerie atmosphere. Moreover, if one listened carefully, one could hear some inexplicable whispers coming from nowhere in particular, stirring up many negative emotions in the heart—irritation, oppression, and the like.

For an instant, Li Luo had the illusion that he had arrived at the Dark Cave.

"Is this Red Sand Prefecture?"

Jiang Jiang Qinge's voice came from behind; she was surveying their surroundings.

The Princess, without any hesitation, grabbed a handful of sandy soil, within which there was a faint reddish hue. She nodded and said, "Should be correct. Based on the intel, Red Sand Prefecture is rich in red sand ore—a special metal that has the effect of attracting thunder for tempering. Red Sand Prefecture is named for this very reason."

"Because of the special properties of red sand ore, thunder constantly rumbles over Red Sand Prefecture year-round. You could say it's one of the great features of the Black Wind Empire."

Li Luo smiled and said, "Captain, what's our plan from here?"

"Being called 'Captain' by the strongest student of the One-Star House is truly my honor."

The Princess smiled faintly, then took out her Spirit Mirror and channeled phase energy into it. The Spirit Mirror immediately bloomed with light, and these rays of light wove together above the mirror to form a map, upon which were dotted countless crimson points of light.

This was precisely the map of Red Sand Prefecture, and those crimson points of light represented the many cities within this prefecture.

"We are currently in the outer western region of Red Sand Prefecture."

The Princess's slender jade finger pointed to a certain spot, then her phoenix eyes swept around as she said, "The two of you, the towns of Red Sand Prefecture are places we must pass through. Look at the light points displayed on the Spirit Mirror—the larger the city, the more blood-red its color, which means the pollution there is stronger, and at the same time the grade and scale of the Other within should also be higher."

"Of course, correspondingly, once purified, the points obtained will also be higher."

"I took a look. Judging purely by the number of points obtained after purification, the towns within Red Sand Prefecture are roughly divided into three grades."

"First grade are some remote towns on the outskirts of Red Sand Prefecture. The pollution here is relatively light, and purification is easier. For these towns, as long as a Purification Spirit Pearl is successfully deployed within, you can obtain five thousand points."

"Second grade are some relatively large cities. These are worth more—if a Purification Spirit Pearl is successfully deployed, you can obtain twenty thousand points."

"Cities that reach third grade are relatively few in number. I counted—across all of Red Sand Prefecture there might only be a dozen or so. And these cities are worth fifty thousand points."

Li Luo said thoughtfully, "What a familiar feeling."

"This is the same system the academy uses in the Dark Cave. Looks like they thought it worked well, so they brought it over," Jiang Jiang Qinge said.

Li Luo then remembered—wasn't the purification tower in the Dark Cave graded the same way? Though perhaps the three-grade system here in Red Sand Prefecture would be a bit more dangerous than the one in the Dark Cave.

"Another friendly reminder: these points are not only used to determine the final champion, they are also tied to academy points. In other words, these points won't be erased even after the competition ends. When we return to the academy, we can still use these points to exchange for cultivation resources within the academy," the Princess said with a smile.

"How generous of them," Li Luo raised an eyebrow.

Such a massive haul of points—even split three ways among the team—as long as they purified a few more towns, it would surely be no small gain. This kind of generosity far surpassed the rewards in the Dark Cave.

"That's because this mission is also very dangerous," Jiang Jiang Qinge said coolly.

The Princess nodded in agreement: "But actually, although these points are quite important, compared to what the Holy Grail War champion receives, they pale in comparison. So I think our most important goal is still to win the championship."

Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge were also in strong agreement. The mixed-grade competition points being tied to academy points was only secondary—they had come to participate in the Holy Grail War, not for these points.

One had to set one's sights higher.

These tied points were, in truth, more like a consolation prize for those teams that failed to win the championship.

"What about this city? How many points?"

Li Luo suddenly pointed to the very center of Red Sand Prefecture. There was a point of light there, so blood-red it looked as if it might drip blood. He knew this was their ultimate destination—the prefecture capital of Red Sand Prefecture, Scarlet Stone City.

"Five hundred thousand," the Princess's red lips parted slightly.

Li Luo drew in a sharp breath of cold air and said, somewhat shocked, "Isn't that too high?"

Just the points from taking this city alone would practically exceed the total of all the third-grade cities before it, wouldn't it?

"These five hundred thousand points, I'm afraid a single team can't swallow them all," Jiang Jiang Qinge said thoughtfully, speaking up.

Li Luo was left speechless. Scarlet Stone City was where all teams would converge, and it was the endpoint of the mixed-grade competition. The pollution there was extremely severe. If a Great Calamity-grade Other really appeared in Scarlet Stone City, perhaps relying on just one team might truly not be enough to handle it.

And at that point, some cooperation would be unavoidable, and in that case, the five hundred thousand points would naturally need to be divided up.

"But even if we can't take all of it, if we can take half, that would already be a tremendous advantage," the Princess said with a smile.

"Looks like at Scarlet Stone City... they'll be fighting each other to the death," Li Luo remarked with a sigh.

Jiang Jiang Qinge and the Princess, upon hearing this, both shot him an exasperated look—wasn't that cursing them along with everyone else?

"By the way, did you see this city?"

The Princess pointed to a blood-red point of light, which represented a third-grade city. However, on top of the light point representing this city, there was also a faint yellow glow, making it look somewhat special.

"This third-grade city is a target we must conquer. Well, you can think of it as the... main quest set for us by the academy's higher-ups."

"If this city can't be conquered, we won't just fail to get points—we'll even have the corresponding points deducted."

Li Luo's mouth twitched. "There's point deduction too?"

The Princess nodded slightly. Her gaze at that city was somewhat solemn as she said, "For the academy's higher-ups to make such a mandatory arrangement, it can only mean that the location of this city is very important."

"It should be one of the key base points for deploying the grand formation," Jiang Jiang Qinge analyzed.

"Most likely."

The Princess nodded in agreement. If such a base point couldn't be conquered, it would cause no small impact on the entire grand formation later, which was why the academy's higher-ups had given it a mandatory assignment.

Li Luo, however, shrugged indifferently and said, "I'm just here to make up the numbers anyway. Everything is up to the two big sisters in charge."

"Mm, how obedient."

The Princess beamed and reached out to pat Li Luo's silver-white hair.

Li Luo quickly dodged and warned, "Careful, or my Jiang Jiang Qinge will get jealous."

Jiang Jiang Qinge said without changing expression, "With your flirtatious nature running all over the place, how could I possibly keep up."

Li Luo's expression changed and he rebuked angrily, "Don't slander me! Who in the academy doesn't know that I, Li Luo, am pure as ice and clean as jade, keeping my chastity intact!"

"Heh."

Jiang Jiang Qinge curled her lip slightly.

The Princess, meanwhile, watched the two of them bicker with a smile. The Jiang Jiang Qinge here was far more lively than the one usually encountered at the academy. Clearly, only when she was with Li Luo would that coldness she showed to others diminish so much.

But just then, the Princess's expression suddenly shifted.

Jiang Jiang Qinge also stopped talking with Li Luo, her gaze cast forward, a sharp glint surfacing in her eyes.

"There's movement over there."

The Eldest Princess's delicate form shifted, and she darted off in a blur.

Jiang Qing'e set off at the very same moment.

Li Luo lagged a step behind them, channeling his phase force and giving chase at full speed.

Several minutes later, the three of them swept up onto a high slope and looked ahead, only to see a small town appear in their field of vision. But outside the town right now, black qi churned in great billows, and within it eerie figures flickered, steadily closing in on the town.

Li Luo and the other two could also see that inside the town, chaotic human shadows were scurrying about. Even at this distance, they could still sense the fear and despair radiating from those people in the town.

The three exchanged a glance, each reading the solemnity in the others' eyes.

This is... an Other Corruption.