Chapter 593: Activating the Wang Hou Brand Mark

"Your figure's looking better and better."

When Li Luo stripped off his shirt, revealing his well-built body, Mentor Xi Chan teased with a half-smile in her eyes, getting back at the brat for saying she wasn't gentle enough earlier.

siluke.

Li Luo felt a bit awkward. Standing bare-chested in front of a woman always made one a little uneasy, so he could only treat Mentor Xi Chan's teasing as wind passing by his ears.

Mentor Xi Chan merely laughed it off, then took hold of the "Wang Hou Brand Mark." Slender fingertips pulsed with phase-force light, and the scroll instantly crumbled apart. Countless cyan light-runes shot out, dense as a flock of whirling birds.

Mentor Xi Chan first extended a finger and tapped casually a few times on Li Luo's back.

Yet this seemingly casual touch made every hair on Li Luo's body stand on end. His skin tightened, his muscles turned hard as bedrock—because his flesh had sensed an extremely intense aura of danger.

This left Li Luo secretly horrified. He had a feeling that if Mentor Xi Chan pressed just a little harder, those slender jade-scallion fingers might just punch a few bloody holes straight through his back.

"Is this the power of a Marquis-level strong one?" Li Luo trembled inwardly, shivering like a little quail beneath Mentor Xi Chan's jade fingers.

"Oh? Your flesh seems to have gotten stronger."

Mentor Xi Chan hadn't noticed Li Luo's mood, and instead spoke up in some surprise.

Because in her earlier probing, she discovered that Li Luo's physical strength had clearly improved by a huge margin compared to before the Holy Grail War.

"Mm, in that Thunder Mountain Range I was lucky enough to cultivate the Thunder Body that only the imperial family of the Blackwind Empire possesses," Li Luo said honestly.

"Not a bad opportunity."

Mentor Xi Chan said with some surprise: "The Blackwind Empire royal family's 'Thunder Body' is quite renowned among the many powers of the Eastern Region's Outer Shenzhou. They say the one who developed this Thunder Body to its utmost limit was the founding emperor of the Blackwind Empire. Legend has it that his physical strength alone was enough to rival a Fifth Rank Marquis. He once used his fleshly power to smash straight through a mountain range ten thousand li long, carving a waterway for the empire. He counts as one of the more famous top-tier powerhouses in the history of the Eastern Region's Outer Shenzhou."

Hearing this, Li Luo couldn't help but swallow hard. Smashing through a ten-thousand-li mountain range with sheer physical strength—that founding emperor of the Blackwind Empire really was ferocious. He was practically a human mountain-smasher.

He wondered when he himself would ever become that strong.

As they spoke, Mentor Xi Chan's fingers never stopped. Her slender fingertips guided those countless bird-like streams of energy along specific trajectories. The fluid, masterful technique was like threading a needle, carrying an air of elegance.

Li Luo, meanwhile, felt a constant faint stinging on his back, followed by a tingling numbness in his flesh and blood, as if something were burrowing its way in.

If one observed Li Luo's back at this moment, one could see that as wisp after wisp of cyan light-birds kept descending, a pair of cyan wing tattoos gradually formed on his back. The tattoos flowed with cyan light, while a light, airy ripple emanated outward, causing the surrounding air to seem to quicken its flow.

After a moment, Mentor Xi Chan stopped and said: "Alright, channel your phase-force to your back and try to activate it."

Li Luo obeyed, and his heart stirred. Phase-force circulated within him to his back. The next instant, cyan light blazed behind him, and those cyan wing tattoos slowly spread their wings like awakening butterflies, forming a pair of light-wings roughly a zhang across on his back. The light-wings fanned gently, and instantly a gale rose around him. Li Luo felt as if even his vision had gone a little blurry, as though he were about to pierce through space and vanish.

"Phantom Spirit Wing Escape Art..."

Li Luo's eyes shone with delight. This was his first time experiencing such a powerful movement-escape art. Truly worthy of a "Wang Hou Brand Mark" that only a Marquis-level powerhouse could refine—its effect was simply unbelievable. With such a treasure in hand, below the Marquis level, probably no one would be able to keep him pinned down.

"Your 'Phantom Spirit Wing Escape Art' is quite exceptional in speed. Below the Marquis level, few could catch you. However, with your current phase-force, I'm afraid you can't truly activate it." Mentor Xi Chan's voice came from behind him.

Li Luo nodded. He had felt it too. Just now, when he poured his own phase-force in, those cyan light-wings only stirred lazily—clearly because his phase-force wasn't thick enough. But that wasn't urgent; once he successfully broke through to the Earth Sha General Stage, the problem of insufficient phase-force should be solved.

After all, between the Earth Sha General Stage and the Phase Master Realm lay a truly transformative change.

"Also, although the 'Wang Hou Brand Mark' is useful, it is ultimately a consumable item. By my estimate, it can only be activated five times. After that, it will dissipate." Mentor Xi Chan reminded him.

"Only five times?"

Li Luo was immediately a little disappointed upon hearing this, but on reflection he understood. The "Wang Hou Brand Mark" was, after all, an external item; it couldn't really be without limits—otherwise, why bother cultivating at all? Just buy the whole set.

"How much does this Wang Hou Brand Mark cost?" Li Luo asked.

"A Third Rank Wang Hou Brand Mark like yours should be worth around three million Sky-Quantity Gold. And in a place like Daxia, you might not even be able to buy one, because refining this thing requires not only a Marquis-level powerhouse to personally take action, but also a great many rare materials. Add to that the failure rate and so on, and the finished product naturally becomes expensive."

Mentor Xi Chan teased: "You're the dignified young mansion master of House Luolan Mansion, with a great house and a great business—you should be able to afford it. Why not buy a few more for protection?"

"Three million?"

Li Luo's face twitched. That basically meant each use cost sixty thousand Sky-Quantity Gold, equivalent to the value of two bottles of Ping Qi Pin Spiritual Water Marvelous Light. That was way too extravagant.

"Forget it, my rundown House Luolan Mansion can't afford to play with this stuff," Li Luo said ruefully. He had originally thought that if the price was right, buying a few Wang Hou Brand Marks with offensive capabilities wouldn't be bad, but at this price, it really was daunting.

Although House Luolan Mansion was thriving now, its annual income was only around ten million or so. Meaning this could only buy three or four Third Rank "Wang Hou Brand Marks"?

Mentor Xi Chan smiled and said: "Wang Hou Brand Marks were originally something popular in the Inner Shenzhou. In our Outer Shenzhou, they indeed don't seem cost-effective to many people."

"Inner Shenzhou..."

Li Luo's expression shifted slightly. This Inner Shenzhou truly was the central region of this vast world. The heaven and earth energy there was purer and denser than in the other Shenzhou, which led to the birth of countless rare treasures of heaven and earth. In such a cultivation holy land, naturally more prodigies were born. Add to that the many cultivation resources they in the Outer Shenzhou had never even heard of, and one could imagine just how prosperous that Inner Shenzhou must be.

"The Wang Hou Brand Mark has been successfully activated. Put your clothes back on first." Mentor Xi Chan clapped her hands and said.

Li Luo did as he was told, then told her about Vice Principal Suxin agreeing to let him go to the Phase Arts Tower to look for a "Marquis Art."

"A Marquis Art... you really are an ambitiously overreaching little fellow." Mentor Xi Chan couldn't help being a little astonished upon hearing this, and looked Li Luo over.

"The cultivation of a Marquis Art is different from that of a Dragon Tiger General Art. Even for a Marquis-level powerhouse, each Marquis Art requires a long time of immersion. One could say that any Marquis-level powerhouse who masters a Marquis Art cultivated to the Great Perfection level—no matter the grade of the Marquis Art they practice—their combat power would absolutely count as outstanding among peers."

"However, you are a dual phase wielder, so you do have a bit of an advantage in cultivating a Marquis Art. And you yourself are quite talented in phase arts. There's no harm in trying. After all, if a mere little Phase Master Realm cultivator truly mastered a Marquis Art, that would indeed be an unimaginable trump card. Even in a place like the Inner Shenzhou, where prodigies gather, someone with such an achievement would be considered rare."

Mentor Xi Chan didn't try to block Li Luo's ambition. She pondered slightly and said: "Rest up for two days first, then I'll take you to the Phase Arts Tower to try. If we really can find a Spirit-Connect grade Marquis Art that suits you, I'll teach you how to cultivate it."

Li Luo hurriedly thanked her and agreed. Although time was tight now, he couldn't be too hasty. He and Jiang Qing had been away for over a month, and he needed to return to House Luolan Mansion first to check on the current situation.

"Heh heh, Mentor..."

Thinking of House Luolan Mansion's situation, Li Luo's eyes shifted, and he put on a flattering smile toward Mentor Xi Chan.

"What is it now?" Mentor Xi Chan, seeing his expression, knew he had another request.

"Ahem, you must know about House Luolan Mansion's Mansion Sacrifice in two months, right? My House Luolan Mansion is having a hard time. Earlier I wanted to take advantage of having Li Le Da Gong for the school to ask the Vice Principal for help, but she ruthlessly refused me." Li Luo sighed.

Mentor Xi Chan laughed: "Your request really was a bit excessive. Holy Mystic Star Academy's neutral stance won't change for anyone—after all, that's its foundation."

"Then, Mentor, can you give me some help? A drop of kindness shall be repaid with a gushing spring. In the future, my House Luolan Mansion will definitely serve you with all our might!" Li Luo voiced his inner thoughts.

"Do you think Vice Principal Suxin would allow me to meddle arbitrarily in the power struggles within Daxia?" Mentor Xi Chan shot him a look.

"I have an idea."

"What?"

"Mentor, you resign first, and after House Luolan Mansion's matters are settled, rejoin!" Li Luo said.

Mentor Xi Chan faltered, stared at Li Luo, and said: "You really are a little clever devil. Are you trying to rub Vice Principal Suxin and the leaders of Daxia's other powers' intelligence into the ground?"

Li Luo laughed heartily. Of course that was really just a joke. He also knew it was absurd to ask Mentor Xi Chan to help in defiance of the school's rules, so this request had been purely a probe to begin with—win or lose, he wouldn't lose out.

After that, he chatted with Mentor Xi Chan a little longer, then waved goodbye and left.

Inside the cool pavilion, Mentor Xi Chan watched Li Luo's departing figure, shook her head slightly, and murmured, "Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan really are unreliable — tossing this kind of mess to two children."

Li Luo had clearly truly felt the pressure two months from now, which was why he was trying every means to win over more forces; truth be told, it really wasn't easy.

Mentor Xi Chan gently set down the hot tea in her hand, her eyes watching Li Luo disappear at the doorway, and finally her gaze flickered slightly.