Chapter 531: First Place in Points

"We successfully set up the purification device in Zhenjiang City and earned fifty thousand points. On top of that, this city was a mandatory mission, so we got an extra forty thousand points. Additionally, this small Calamity-level Other is worth fifty thousand points. Counting what we earned before, we now have roughly two hundred thousand points in total."

Li Luo held the Spirit Mirror, grinning brightly. Their points had surged for the first time, and they had overtaken every other team. Even the Lan Lan Squad from the Holy Light King Academy was now far behind them.

"It looks like we're the first squad to complete the important mission given by the Academy Alliance," Jiang Jiang Qinge said.

Li Luo nodded. At this moment, none of the other teams had experienced a surge in points, which meant they had not yet completed the important missions assigned by the academies, and clearly they had not successfully slain a Calamity-level Other either.

"But it should be soon."

The Eldest Princess said: "Given the strength of people like Lan Lan, if it's only a small Calamity-level Other, they may not be able to stop them. Right now they're just slightly slower than us."

Li Luo agreed. Lan Lan's strength was plain for all to see, and the other teams were also the most elite students of their respective academies. He couldn't afford to look down on them.

"By the way."

Jiang Jiang Qinge suddenly said: "Just now, when Li Luo was setting up the purification barrier, he was ambushed by a man in black armor. His strength was around the Earth Fiend General rank."

"A man in black armor? Not an Other?" The Eldest Princess's pretty face changed slightly at this.

Li Luo shook his head and said: "Not an Other. A real person."

The Eldest Princess's expression gradually turned Solemn as she said: "It seems Elder Elder Ling Yu's earlier warning wasn't baseless. The collapse of the Black Wind Empire may very well have human factors behind it."

That man in black armor was very likely one of them; otherwise there'd be no reason to obstruct Li Luo.

"But you were actually able to Bu Zhi Cheng Gong the purification barrier while being blocked by an Earth Fiend General rank expert. That's truly surprising." The Eldest Princess recalled something and felt a bit of lingering fear. That man in black armor had clearly been beyond everyone's expectations. If Li Luo had been stopped by him back then and failed to set up the purification barrier, today's ending would likely have been a completely different one.

Although they wouldn't necessarily have been assassinated here, at the very least this mission would have failed.

So Li Luo had clearly Li Le Da Gong this time.

Thus the Eldest Princess's gaze toward Li Luo held a hint of surprise.

If that man in black armor had been hiding and waiting for an opportunity, he must have had his eyes on Li Luo. Yet not only did the latter emerge unscathed, he even managed to successfully set up the purification barrier right under the man's nose. This was not something an ordinary Phase Master Realm cultivator could accomplish.

"The other party just got careless, that's all."

Li Luo was rather modest and didn't think there was anything to be proud of.

The Eldest Princess smiled. Being targeted by an Earth Fiend General rank expert who came prepared couldn't be explained by mere carelessness. This guy Li Luo, although he seemed to be just a Phase Master Realm cultivator on the surface, for some reason always gave people the feeling that he was hiding some trump cards that even she would be wary of.

"I just now swept the city with my senses and didn't detect any trace of that man in black armor," Jiang Jiang Qinge said at this moment.

"He must have fled. With only Earth Fiend General rank strength, he wouldn't dare truly appear before us. Moreover, now that the Four-Armed Demon-Eye Serpent has been eliminated, he wouldn't dare show himself even more," the Eldest Princess said, unsurprised by this.

Jiang Jiang Qinge nodded, then turned her gaze toward the city that was beginning to stir, and said: "Those strange serpent Others are waking up."

The suppression time the purification barrier could provide was quite limited, so at this moment the Earth Calamity-level strange serpent Others were already waking up one after another. However, with the Four-Armed Demon-Eye Serpent slain, the threat these strange serpent Others posed was greatly reduced.

"Let's take action and clean up the city first. After all, it's still some points," the Eldest Princess said with a smile.

"Mm, the strange serpent Others will be handled by me and Your Highness. Li Luo, you focus on clearing out those Erosion-level Others, and don't stray too far from us, in case you run into another ambush," Jiang Jiang Qinge said.

Li Luo nodded. Although it sounded a bit embarrassing to need protection, after experiencing the earlier ambush by the man in black armor, so-called face could be temporarily set aside.

Then the three of them spread out to their positions and began a sweeping cleanup of the city.

Without the hidden threat of the Four-Armed Demon-Eye Serpent, and with the suppression effect of the purification barrier, the cleanup of the city went extremely smoothly. In just half a day's time, the vast majority of the Others in the city had been cleared out completely.

At this moment, the miasma of malice that had permeated Zhenjiang City finally dissipated along with it, and the originally gloomy sky had brightened up.

The setting sun hung in the west, the evening clouds like fire.

The three of them, who had been busy until they were exhausted, gathered once more, rested properly for a while, and took out food to casually fill their stomachs.

"Another sixty thousand-plus points added," Li Luo took out the Spirit Mirror and said with a smile.

There were quite a few Earth Calamity-level Others in the city, so after clearing them out, they had harvested another haul.

"Lan Lan and the others have caught up," Jiang Jiang Qinge glanced at the points ranking on the Spirit Mirror and found that the Lan Lan Squad had also experienced a points surge, reaching around two hundred and thirty thousand—only about thirty thousand less than them, placing second.

At the same time, on the fourth position, they saw the Gong Gong Shenjun Squad.

"Five squads have appeared with over two hundred thousand points," the Eldest Princess's phoenix eyes swept across and said: "It seems they've all completed their respective missions."

Li Luo nodded. Only by completing important missions like their Zhenjiang City one would they receive extra points rewards, so the differences in points would quickly start to show here. Only sufficiently strong squads could push their points to around two hundred thousand in the shortest time, and board the train of the first tier.

However, including themselves, only five squads had independently completed the missions given by the Academy Alliance. This number was somewhat fewer than Li Luo had expected.

But thinking about it, it was normal. On their side, they had Jiang Jiang Qinge and the Eldest Princess. When the two women joined forces, even something as strong as the Four-Armed Demon-Eye Serpent couldn't hold out for long before being slain by them. In a sense, if one were to talk about two people from different academy tiers joining forces, the combination of the Eldest Princess and Jiang Jiang Qinge should be considered the strongest in the Mixed Tier Competition.

As for him... a soy sauce-bringer didn't need to be counted.

"After completing the Zhenjiang City mission, our route can be much more free. Do you have any suggestions for the next route?" The Eldest Princess tapped the Spirit Mirror with her jade finger, activating the map, and asked.

Li Luo shook his head.

Jiang Jiang Qinge tore off a strip of the steamed bun in her slender fingers, placed it into her rosy little mouth, chewed it slowly and methodically, then pondered slightly and said: "I want to go take a look at that Thunder Roar Mountain. It should be considered a place of opportunity in Red Sand Prefecture. I'm also a bit interested in that so-called Thunder Roar Fruit."

The Eldest Princess smiled and said: "Thunder Roar Mountain? It's not far from Zhenjiang City. It's said that the Thunder Roar Body nurtured by the Thunder Roar Fruit is the symbol of the Black Wind Empire's imperial family. In the past, this place was monopolized by the imperial family and treated as forbidden meat; outsiders couldn't approach it. Now that we have such an opportunity, it would indeed be a pity to give it up."

Li Luo, upon hearing this, also felt some curiosity and said with a smile: "This imperial family is really overbearing. All the good things have been taken by them."

"Cough."

The Eldest Princess beside him coughed lightly, then looked at Li Luo with a smile and said: "Junior Li Luo, it seems you have quite a big opinion of the imperial family?"

Li Luo's smile stiffened, and he hurriedly said: "I was talking about the Black Wind Empire. Your Highness is different. Who doesn't know that Your Highness loves her people like her own children? The people of Great Xia adore you immensely, wishing they could be your vanguard, ready to be driven by you."

The Eldest Princess smiled lightly, not taking Li Luo's words too seriously.

"Since there are no objections, then let's make a trip to that Thunder Roar Mountain."

Jiang Jiang Qinge ate half of the steamed bun, then patted her still-flat little belly, and forcibly stuffed the remaining half into Li Luo's hand. The latter, under duress, could only gnaw on it resentfully.

Jiang Jiang Qinge then rose gracefully, her golden eyes suddenly becoming somewhat heavy.

"But before we leave, let's first release the people in that manor."

The Eldest Princess and Li Luo were taken aback upon hearing this, then finally nodded silently, their expressions growing heavy.

This matter, after all, couldn't be avoided forever.