Chapter 46: Road Less Traveled

After chasing away the irritant known as Yu Lang, Li Luo took the information and went back to his room, carefully pouring over it’s contents.

However, the more he read, the more attentive he became. He realized that a lot of the information was useful and legitimate. 

It seemed as though Yu Lang had indeed put in quite the effort. This was not a casual attempt to swindle the naive, but a true repository of knowledge!

Of course, with regards to the information on Li Luo, other than him looking handsome, which he begrudgingly admitted was true, the rest was all false! 

His attention was then focused on the information regarding who was speculated to be the top 10 strongest individuals in this competition.

First place, Southwind Academy, Lu Qing’er, upper seventh-grade ice resonance. Suspected to be at the Ninth Seal Stage. Beauty and strength coexist in this female. She has never lost a single battle in Southwind Academy.

Second place, Eastpool Academy, Shi Huang, upper seventh-grade lightning resonance. Suspected to be at the Ninth Seal Stage. Likey the only person able to compete with Lu Qing’er. Has the potential to be number one in the final examinations.

Third place, Dawn Academy, Xiang Liang, lower seventh-grade fire resonance, Eighth Seal Stage. An elite student nurtured with all of the resources at Dawn Academy’s disposal. His strength is not to be underestimated.

Fourth Place, Southwind Academy, Song Yunfeng, lower seventh-grade Crimson Eagle resonance, Eighth Seal Stage. During Southwind Academy’s preliminary examinations, he was victorious in all rounds save two. One was a loss against Lu Qing’er and the other a draw against Li Luo. 

Fifth Place, Dusklight Academy, Chi Su, lower seventh-grade Poison Ivy resonance, Eighth Seal Stage.

Sixth Place, Zenith Academy, Zong Fu, lower seventh-grade water resonance, Eighth Seal Stage. 

Seventh Place…

Li Luo continued to scrutinize the entire list before sighing in admiration. If he had not read this, he would’ve still been in the dark, unaware of the Tianshu Province’s numerous crouching tigers and hidden dragons. However, this seemed reasonable in retrospect. The Tianshu Province’s numerous academies might not have foundations as deep as Southwind Academy, but they still possessed the ability to nurture an elite student or two. Even a blind cat would eventually catch a mouse, and their efforts might one day bear fruit and they might just obtain the top position if the stars aligned. If that happened, their academy’s reputation would soar into the skies and all their efforts would bear fruit.

Additionally, all of those contending for the top 10 positions were minimally at the Eighth Seal Stage. There were no weaklings amongst them! 

“It looks like entering the top 10 will be a challenge,” Li Luo muttered as he rubbed his chin. He currently had Seventh Seal Stage resonant power and was slightly weaker than those contenders. The bright side was his unique waterlight resonance, which would provide him with certain advantages when push came to shove.

If he had to face Song Yunfeng openly again, he would no longer have to resort to his previous methods of trickery and forcing things into a draw.

In the top 10, Lu Qing’er and Shi Huang were on a separate level of their own as they were potentially at the Ninth Seal Stage. Both were exceptionally proficient in resonance arts and were likely to be the only two able to win first place.

However, Li Luo was also temporarily uninterested in attaining first place. Why? He was simply not strong enough!

He had a sixth-grade waterlight resonance, but those two possessed upper seventh-grade resonances. Their backgrounds were also not to be scoffed at, ensuring that they had received ample resources not inferior to his own. Perhaps if the two of them were inanimate objects, he would be able to leapfrog and beat them!

Furthermore, he wasn’t Jiang Qing’e with a ninth-grade light resonance, able to completely suppress them. Others wouldn’t even dare to raise a finger against her!

Even when Pei Hao wanted to find trouble, he had to wait till he had reached the late stage of the Earth Fiend Stage. Yet even when faced with the early stage Jiang Qing’e, he found no advantage! From this example alone, one could clearly see how tyrannical a ninth-grade light resonance was. 

Thus, Li Luo’s current goal was to muddle into the top 10 positions of the final examinations. Securing a slot in the Astral Sage College would suffice. He wasn’t too interested in being at the top, as it was firstly impossible, and secondly just too eye-catching! It would draw the ire and lust of his enemies! After experiencing what it was like in the past, he had determined that developing steadily in obscurity was the way to go!

If the conditions were right, Li Luo wanted to achieve his goal quietly. He wanted to enter the Duke Stage and hold on to his dear life!

Furthermore, he only had five years left, and this acquired resonance was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over him, always leaving him in anxiety and unrest. 

Whilst Li Luo was engrossed by Yu Lang’s compiled information, the sky gradually turned dark. Zhao Kuo wanted to grab a bite with him, but when he saw Li Luo’s focused expression, he decided to leave him be. He snuck out by himself and planned to bring some food back for him.

“This information is quite comprehensive, and full of useful insights.” Li Luo, who had finally finished assimilating the information, let out a sigh of praise. After screening through this information, he had a better understanding of the numerous elite students from other academies and their abilities.

Additionally, he could sincerely feel that Yu Lang had deliberately left out information on him, to prevent anyone else from making preparations against him. Otherwise, he would have been able to write quite a comprehensive summary on him based on the information that was available, and not just leave that line of rubbish in.

“It seems I’ve truly made a mistake in thinking badly of Yu Lang…” Li Luo muttered. At the same time, his stomach began to churn out rumbling sounds and he finally realized that the sky was already pitch black. 

“Why is that guy Zhao Kuo not back yet? Does he want me to starve to death and then get the entire dormitory for himself?” Li Luo questioned. 

At this point, hurried knocks could be heard on the door. Yu Lang’s voice could be heard coming from outside. “Li Luo! Your friend Zhao Kuo has been intercepted by some individuals.”

Li Luo opened the door with a frown. “What are you talking about?” 

Yu Lang shrugged his shoulders. “That brat seems to have gotten into an altercation with people from Zenith Academy. The one leading the group is Zong Fu. If you’ve read my information, you should know who he is.”

“People from Zenith Academy? What are they trying to do?” Li Luo asked in surprise. 

“Well, Zong Fu has deliberately shown himself. If I said that they are targeting Zhao Kuo, I don’t think you would believe me,” Yu Lang grumbled. 

“So they are targeting me?” Li Luo asked with a pensive look on his face.

“They probably want to feel you out,” Yu Lang explained.

“I’ve been keeping to myself this whole time! Just why?” Li Luo was a little astonished at this development. This Zong Fu guy was in the top 10. Why would he bother with small fry like him?

“It looks like he’s being cautious, which totally seems to fit his character,” Yu Lang explained. Li Luo was truly someone who held a low profile. His most outstanding achievement was being able to force a draw against Song Yunfeng.  

“Well, since he dares to bully my brother, I don’t care who he is! I won’t take this lying down!” Li Luo said furiously while walking out of his room.

Yu Lang scratched his head. Judging by what Li Luo was saying, wasn’t he simply being played like a fiddle by his enemies?

…

At the Whitespirit Garden’s western side, a significantly large group had stopped to watch a commotion that was currently taking place, forming a blockade amidst the bustling crowd. 

In the sea of people, numerous Zenith Academy students had surrounded Zhao Kuo, loudly arguing. Everyone else was watching in interest.

“What’s going on?”

“I heard someone from Southwind Academy molested a girl from Zenith Academy.”

“Was it really that bad? Where is the girl?” 

“Where? Hmph. The girl was pretty ordinary… Are the people of Southwind Academy so thirsty that they set their grubby hands on every girl they see?”

“…”

In the midst of the raucous laughter, Zhao Kuo was feeling extremely frustrated. His eyes were ablaze with fury as he physically bashed his way through the encirclement, immediately breaking out into a sprint after that.

However, just as he started running, he could feel vigorous resonant power surging from behind him. A frigid palm was placed directly on his back, and the undulations of resonant power directly forced Zhao Kuo’s body to come to a halt, unable to move any further.

He turned his head and saw an elegant and skinny youth. “What are you trying to do?”

Zong Fu replied with a wry smile, “Brother, the situation has not been resolved. You need to get someone from Southwind Academy to give us an explanation about this.” 

“Are you trying to coerce me?” Zhao Kuo asked gloomily.

Zong Fu smiled. “If Southwind Academy doesn’t dispatch someone with enough face to provide an explanation, I will simply have to take matters into my own hands and fix you up. We need to provide an explanation to our fellow disciples after all.”

“My ass. She looks even manlier than me, and I look like a bear. Who in the right mind would want to molest her?” Zhao Kuo fumed.

Zong Fu ignored him, simply keeping him in place. The crowd who was watching the scene gradually grew in size.

As the two continued to exchange verbal barbs, some movement could be seen in the crowd. Zong Fu’s gaze lit up with excitement when he saw Li Luo stride in heroically.

“He really came.” Zong Fu started celebrating internally. Now that Li Luo had appeared in person, he would be able to finally get an idea of how strong he really was. He would be able to determine if he was truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing… or someone who was worthless.

Whilst he was still relishing in happiness, he saw Li Luo immediately turning around to shout. “This way, Supervisor. This bastard is clearly violating the rules, trying to start an unapproved fight! Quickly catch him and strip him of his right to participate in the final examinations!”

The smile on Zong Fu’s face instantly froze and his joy was quenched by a figurative bucket of cold water. He immediately saw a teacher garbed in a supervisor’s uniform standing there emotionlessly.

“F*ck,” the originally refined and polished Zong Fu uttered an unimaginable vulgarity. He would never have thought that this Young Lord would act so… lawfully! The past two days were filled with all sorts of scuffles in the Whitespirit Garden as the numerous students competed against each other in secret. Yet no one would actually utilize the rules to solve their problems! Who had ever met someone who would run bawling to a teacher whenever there was conflict? 

Wasn’t this just too shameless?

This Young Lord was truly one that traveled the road less taken.