Chapter 547: Parting

On a high slope on the outer perimeter of the Thunder Roar Mountain Range.

The three squads looked back, and as they left Thunder Roar Mountain, they could now see at that towering peak countless violent bolts of lightning pouring down from the thunderclouds, as if forming an extremely terrifying curtain of thunder that shrouded both Thunder Roar Mountain and the Thunder Roar Tree at its summit.

"It seems Thunder Roar Mountain is going to become a forbidden zone from now on." Qin Yin Yue gazed at the scene and sighed.

That thunder curtain drew upon the power of the thunderclouds, and this power would only grow more violent with the passage of time. Under such a level of power, probably only a titled marquis-level expert could tear the curtain apart and walk in.

Clearly, this was the Thunder Roar Tree doing it on purpose, so that in the future no one would lightly set foot inside and disturb its existence.

So before the Thunder Roar Tree fully dissolved all the evil-thought contamination, this Thunder Roar Mountain would likely no longer welcome outsiders.

Li Luo withdrew his gaze from the distance, also somewhat sighing. The Thunder Roar Tree, a wondrous tree of heaven and earth, possessed a simple spiritual intelligence, and its life force was extremely long. Perhaps a thousand years later, it would still stand here, quietly watching the vicissitudes of the human world.

He wondered what kind of scene it would be when he came here again one day in the future.

Hopefully by then the Blackwind Empire would have begun to recover its former prosperity.

"Everyone, let's part ways here. This cooperation was very pleasant." The Eldest Princess's phoenix eyes looked toward Qin Yin Yue, Zhao Zhao Beili, and the others as she said with a smile.

Now that the mission was complete, the three squads naturally had no reason to keep going together. After all, they all still had the task of competing for points, and staying together would only cause problems with the distribution of points.

Moreover, the Eldest Princess's goal was first place in the Mixed-Level Tournament, so she could not possibly choose to split points evenly with other squads—that would slow them down.

Qin Yin Yue and Zhao Zhao Beili expressed understanding at the Eldest Princess's words.

"Pleasure cooperating. But I think when we reach Red Stone City later, if we meet again, there may still be a chance to cooperate." Zhao Zhao Beili of the Skyfire Sacred Academy cupped his fists and said with a smile.

That Red Stone City was the capital of Red Sand Prefecture, and also the endpoint of this Mixed-Level Tournament. They all knew it contained tremendous danger and terrifyingly powerful enemies. Facing such a hellish difficulty, probably no single squad could take it on alone, so when the time came they would most likely still need to cooperate.

As for the intelligence on that mysterious Red Armor General, Li Luo and Lu Ming had previously shared it without holding anything back, so they understood that the danger level of Red Stone City had risen another notch.

Qin Yin Yue was actually a little reluctant. The look in his eyes toward the Eldest Princess carried some undisguised emotion, which was clearly something he deliberately let show. But it was normal—Qin Yin Yue's own conditions were not bad, and now facing such an outstanding member of the opposite sex as the Eldest Princess, it was only natural that his heart would stir.

But he also knew that now was not the time for romance, so he could only smile and say, "Then I hope to cooperate with Your Highness again at Red Stone City."

Facing his lingering gaze, the Eldest Princess's elegant and beautiful face maintained a faint smile as she gave a slight nod.

Li Luo took the opportunity to wave at Lu Ming as a farewell, and the latter, seeing this, gave him a slight smile. Between her red lips her pearly teeth were very white, and her aloof temperament thawed just a little.

"We'll be leaving first."

Seeing this, Zhao Zhao Beili's brow immediately twitched, and he cast a wary, guarded glance at Li Luo. This kid was really a threat—already able to make their Skyfire Sacred Academy's aloof flower smile at him so quickly, and it had only been how long? If they were really allowed to spend more time together, Zhao Zhao Beili felt there might be nothing left for him.

So he immediately cupped his fists to bid the Eldest Princess farewell, then turned and quickly led Lu Ming and the other away.

Qin Yin Yue, seeing this, could only lead his people in taking his leave as well.

"Your Highness's charm is really extraordinary. If we stayed any longer, that Qin Yin Yue would probably not be able to help bringing the people of North Sea Sacred Academy along with us." Li Luo looked in the direction Qin Yin Yue had left and teased with a smile.

Hearing this, the Eldest Princess said with a smile, "Young Mansion Master Li Luo's charm is not small either. That Lu Ming of Skyfire Sacred Academy seems to have a pretty good attitude toward you—did your feelings warm up quickly during the adventure in Thunder Roar Mountain?"

Li Luo was startled and hurriedly defended himself, "Your Highness must not frame me. Lu Ming and I are completely innocent."

The Eldest Princess said with a light laugh, "That girl called Lu Ming has outstanding talent, and she also carries dual resonances. Her future prospects are limitless. If you really can lure her back to House Luolan Mansion, it's possible that not only would Jiang Qinge not get angry, she might even praise you for being capable."

Li Luo looked toward Jiang Jiang Qinge, but the latter had not interjected in the argument between the two, only wearing a somewhat amused expression.

Li Luo felt a headache coming on and hurriedly begged for mercy, "Your Highness, I was wrong. I shouldn't have teased you."

The Eldest Princess revealed a charming smile, reached out and patted Li Luo's shoulder, and said gently, "Knowing your mistake and correcting it—you're still a good child."

In her narrow, alluring phoenix eyes, a trace of smugness flashed. You little rascal, you still dare to provoke me? When I was scheming against those old foxes in court, you were still in the academy tricking those naive little girls.

"Our points are still in first place."

Jiang Jiang Qinge paid no attention to the two of them and instead took out the Spirit Mirror.

This trip to Thunder Roar Mountain had brought them fifty thousand points, so their total points had now reached three hundred and ten thousand. This kept them in first place, but the lead was extremely slim, because the second-place Blue Wave Squad had also reached three hundred thousand points.

Between them, there was only a ten-thousand-point gap.

"That fellow is chasing pretty closely." The Eldest Princess also leaned over to take a look.

Li Luo took out the Spirit Mirror and projected the map's light image. By now, many of the light dots representing cities on this map had been lit up—these were the marks of cities that had already been purified. Clearly, during this period, the other squads had not been idle, but had been advancing at full speed.

"If we choose this route to advance, before reaching Red Stone City, we should be able to take in three Tier-3 cities, five Tier-2 cities, and some less important Tier-1 cities. This is the highest-yield route, though of course the difficulty will increase accordingly." Li Luo pointed at a route on the map, then tapped forward. The gazes of the two girls followed his finger, and both nodded in agreement.

"Mm, the route Li Luo chose is essentially the maximization of points." The Eldest Princess said.

"Then let's push forward at full speed along this route." Jiang Jiang Qinge was even more decisive. They didn't care about difficulty—with their strength, as long as they didn't encounter a Great Calamity-level anomaly, they could basically steamroll through.

The squad leader, the Eldest Princess, waved her hand, her long hair fluttering, and issued the order in high spirits.

"Let's go!"

"For our first place."