Chapter 72: Why Must You Force Me

The stone pillar Li Luo was on was exceptionally tall, and the ground below was covered in sharp, jagged rocks. Of course, it wasn't that he truly couldn't jump, but that last arrow had drained him of all his strength. At this moment, there were still many eyes in the shadows watching him; if he showed any signs of weakness while jumping down, there was no telling what ideas others might get. After all, there were far too many easy points to be had right here.

So, Li Luo simply sat there, striking a pose to intimidate those people.

Lu Qinger swept up, bringing a fragrant breeze with her as she arrived at Li Luo's side. Her beautiful eyes swept over him, and she immediately extended her small hand.

"You're wearing gloves, right?" Li Luo took a look. Fortunately, she was, so they wouldn't both end up crashing down.

Lu Qinger cast a sidelong glance at him, her youthful charm as poetic and picturesque as a painting, before she grabbed Li Luo's palm and gracefully leaped down from the top of the stone pillar.

Landing on the ground, Li Luo immediately felt much more secure. He looked at Xiang Liang, Zong Fu, and the third person trapped by Lu Qinger, and smiled: "So the three of you have fallen too?"

Xiang Liang and Chi Su looked listless and said nothing, though the wariness in their eyes as they looked at Li Luo now exceeded that which they felt for Lu Qinger.

After all, the scene before them was just too terrifying.

Zong Fu, however, sighed and said: "I said before, Li Luo, that you might be the biggest variable in this final exam. It seems I wasn't wrong."

Xiang Liang and Chi Su were silent. They had previously dismissed Zong Fu's speculation with a laugh and had never truly considered Li Luo a threat. But looking at it now, Zong Fu's caution had been correct; if they had carefully planned and fully grasped Li Luo's strength beforehand, the situation wouldn't be as miserable as it was now.

Li Luo waved his hand, then walked over to drag Song Yunfeng, who was pinned to the wall, over and tossed him beside Shi Kong.

At the same time, he thoughtfully helped Shi Kong stop his bleeding, lest he die from too much blood loss, which would only add to his troubles.

Shi Kong opened his weak eyes, stared at Li Luo, and gritted his teeth: "Li Luo, you really know how to hide your strength."

Li Luo smiled, then said with a pained expression: "Why did you have to force me? I clearly only wanted to get into the top ten. Why did you have to push me to this point?"

Behind him, Zong Fu, Xiang Liang, and the others gulped. This was too ruthless and soul-crushing; it was going too far.

Sure enough, Shi Kong was so enraged that his whole body trembled, and he couldn't help but spit out another mouthful of blood.

"Don't be in such a hurry to spit blood."

Li Luo hurriedly stopped him, then used his crystal plaque to check the leaderboard. He found that there were still thirteen people left on the board—no, wait, as he spoke, one more disappeared, so there were twelve left.

"Oh my, that was close, almost didn't make it," he laughed.

"Do you know what I'm going to do next?" Li Luo looked at Shi Kong and Song Yunfeng and smiled faintly, though the chill in his smile was extremely intense.

"I said I would make sure both of you are eliminated before the top ten."

Shi Kong's face turned ashen, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes as he roared: "Li Luo, you are so cruel!"

Being eliminated before the top ten meant losing the automatic admission quota; he might not even be able to enter the Astral Sage College. For Shi Kong, this was undoubtedly a devastating price to pay.

Song Yunfeng, standing to the side, also roared: "Li Luo, you can't do this! You are provoking our Song family and the Viceroy's Office!"

"Childish."

Li Luo shook his head and said in a gentle voice: "If you do something wrong, you have to pay the price. And now, it is time for you to pay for your previous actions."

He took off his crystal plaque, directly swiped all of Shi Kong's points, and then took Zong Fu's crystal plaque to swipe Song Yunfeng's points, as people from the same school could not steal points from each other.

Shi Kong and Song Yunfeng's points instantly returned to zero.

At this moment, Li Luo even started clapping: "Let us congratulate Shi Kong and Song Yunfeng for bravely taking eleventh and twelfth place in the final exam!"

Shi Kong and Song Yunfeng looked deathly pale.

Xiang Liang and the others on the side were as silent as cicadas in winter, trembling, feeling that Li Luo was terrifying at this moment.

Lu Qinger watched Li Luo quietly. She didn't know why, but seeing Li Luo in this state made her feel a hint of joy.

The usual Li Luo was too low-key, appearing harmless to humans and animals alike, but Lu Qinger loved seeing him radiating dazzling light, just like that time when they first entered the Nanfeng Academy, when Li Luo was pointing out her arts and scolded her until she felt incredibly aggrieved.

"The final exam should be entering the countdown now," Lu Qinger smiled.

Li Luo's gaze turned back to Xiang Liang, Zong Fu, and the third person, and he frowned: "It's too bad for you three guys."

Because only two people could be eliminated from the top ten, and in terms of hatred, Shi Kong and Song Yunfeng clearly had absolute priority.

This resulted in Xiang Liang and the others still making it into the top ten; even if their points were cleared now, they would at most just be at the bottom of the rankings.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Liang, Zong Fu, and Chi Su immediately put on ingratiating smiles: "Brother Luo, we were also forced into this. It was mainly the idea of the school's higher-ups. We've consumed so many of the school's resources, we have to listen to them."

"But don't worry, once we enter the Astral Sage College, you will be our boss. Whatever you tell us to do, we'll do!"

Li Luo ignored them and looked at Lu Qinger, saying: "You should clear their points first, otherwise I just don't like the look of them."

Lu Qinger heard this and gave a faint smile: "No."

Li Luo was stunned, unable to react for a moment.

Zong Fu, standing to the side, calmly pointed out: "Brother Luo, she means that if she takes our points, she will surpass your current points and become the first place in the final exam."

Xiang Liang and Chi Su's eyes lit up, their gazes shifting between the two. Lu Qinger had defeated them, so their points naturally belonged to her. Yet, with such a legitimate reason to become first, she preferred to stay behind Li Luo—what kind of relationship was this?

Is there something going on here?!

Even Zong Fu looked at Li Luo with some admiration. Brother Luo is amazing; he has a marriage contract with a peerless genius like Jiang Qing'e, yet he can still have other romantic interests?

Hearing what Zong Fu said, Li Luo finally realized that after obtaining Shi Kong and Song Yunfeng's points, he had actually become first place. He panicked immediately: "Qinger, hurry up, I have a phobia of being in first place right now."

"You'll get used to it," Lu Qinger chuckled.

Li Luo said indignantly: "Lu Qinger, don't go too far. What grudge or grievance do I have with you that you would harm me like this?"

"Hurry, hurry, I don't want to be in first place, I beg you."

Lu Qinger sat down on the nearby jagged rocks, letting the sunset pour down and drape a rosy glow over her slender, graceful figure. She rested her chin on her hands and watched Li Luo, who was angrily accusing her, with a smile.

And it was at this very moment that a melodious bell chime resounded throughout the White Spirit Mountain.

In the White Spirit Ruins, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and looks of wild joy appeared on their faces.

But Li Luo's face turned ashen. This was the bell signaling the end of the final exam.

Unfortunately, he had ended up in first place.