The world here was warped, twisted in a constant doomsday state. The natural elements had gone mad, an endless conflict of water, wind, earth, and fire throwing up natural disaster after natural disaster. Not even Duke experts dared to set foot here.
There was a single golden lotus amidst the chaos, on which a person quietly sat.
He was clad in the Astral Sage College's uniform, although his uniform was lined with stars made of gold thread.
Principal Pang Qianyuan.
His eyes slowly opened, deep and thoughtful. They surveyed his surroundings for notable changes while a smile slowly spread across his face.
"The House Luolan kid is quite an interesting one. His personality is completely different from Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan’s."
Back when he had met Li Luo's parents, they were only at the Duke Stage. But with his Heavenly King Li bloodline, Li Taixuan had shown him not an ounce of deference at all.
Li Taixuan was naturally brilliant, and there wasn't much of a doubt that he would eventually make it to the King Stage. The two treated each other as equals.
As for Tan Tailan... She was another special one. She seemed to have come from humble stock, but her talent was beyond doubt. Even someone as brilliant as Li Taixuan bowed before her talents. It was said that she had raised waves in the divine continent even before she had become a Duke. She was a woman to walk the world with, and even someone as proud as Li Taixuan had bent his head and followed her to the rural East Divine Continent.
Both Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan were bold, bright characters, naturally born to talent and brilliance that burst out of them at every turn. It gave them a confident swagger in their demeanor.
Compared to them, Li Luo was a lot more cautious. But from the events at the purified spot, Pang Qianyuan knew that he had a lot more hidden under the surface.
He was the complete opposite of his parents, and yet he was not one to be bullied easily either.
Pang Qianyuan turned his attention back to the dystopia around him. There was a huge fracture in the earth, revealing a yawning abyss that roared with the sound of rushing water. He was strong enough to see past the darkness to the dark river than ran within.
The dark river water moved sluggishly, thick with corruption.
Any amusement from thinking about Li Luo vanished. This was a river of evil, where all the evil in the world eventually ended up.
It was said that at the heart of the shadow world was a sea of evil, where all the rivers of evil flowed to.
Even a King like himself was wary of the river of evil. Even Dukes would lose themselves within, turned into monsters.
The river of evil was the root of all the problems here in the Umbra Cave.
From within its meandering length, a pair of eyes peered out, meeting Pang Qianyuan's own.
They were a good distance apart, but sparks of tension still flew.
In its state of chaos, the worldly natural energy churned up more disasters for thousands of kilometers.
"Krrk krrk."
Hints of malicious, mocking laughter came at him from the dark waters.
Pang Qianyuan noted it impassively. He had fought the being in the dark river for many years now, and they understood the other well.
They were closely matched, still waiting to see who would make the first slip up.
Privately, Pang Qianyuan felt that the scarier thing was humans. They were a complicated mess of goodness and evil. They were hard to classify, and therefore he didn't know how to act upon them.
And for all these years, he had been trapped here against his own will.
Although within the Xia Kingdom, within the school...
Dark forces were stirring too.
He wondered if they would be able to bring the Dragon Bone Holy Grail back this time. Life would be much easier with it.
Sighing to himself, he closed his eyes again.
...
When Li Luo regained consciousness, he was already out of the black space. Well, all in all it had been a productive talk with Pang Qianyuan.
He looked up to see a pair of clear, golden eyes watching him tenderly.
"Well, how are things?" Jiang Qing'e asked casually.
"It's indeed a present from the principal," Li Luo said. He was about to tell her what had happened, but she cut him off with a wave.
"Since the principal chose such a subtle method, he must have his reasons. Better not tell me anything for now."
Li Luo paused, then nodded. Whether the three-tailed heavenly wolf or the matter of his blood essence, both seemed like they would just make Jiang Qing'e worry anyway.
She might even control the bracelet to prevent him from using it with disastrous consequences.
As for his blood essence, that was another big question. For his safety, it was likely Jiang Qing'e would tend towards overprotection.
Li Luo decided he would judge these things for himself. He could always tell her when he got a little stronger also.
"Ah, do you know about the Holy Grail Meet?" he asked instead.
"Holy Grail Meet?" She nodded, surprised. "Of course. It's one of the most intense clashes between schools in the East Divine Continent. It might well be the highlight of one's school life.
"The Holy Grail Meet is usually held once every four years. The next one should be at the end of this year."
"I heard that the winner gets the Dragon Bone Holy Grail," Li Luo continued. "Who won the last one?"
"Last time it was the Enlightened Sage College, from the Holy Sun Dynasty. A very strong school that often dominates. We have had many clashes with them in the past," Jiang Qing'e answered. "Most of the time, they win," she added.
"Holy Sun Dynasty, Enlightened Sage College, eh..."
Li Luo frowned. He hadn't followed such news closely before. A school much stronger than the Astral Sage College? Their own school seemed powerful enough already.
Just how strong was this Enlightened Sage College?
"There are a total of five sage colleges in the East Divine Continent. Besides the Enlightened Sage College, the other three are pretty strong too. And of course, it won't just be these five schools competing. There are also many other darkhorse schools that should not be underestimated, even if they haven't won the title of sage college yet."
It seemed like the Holy Grail Meet was much tougher than he had expected. "Has the Astral Sage College even won this thing before?" he asked, dismayed.
Jiang Qing'e thought it over. "I think so... but maybe not in the last 30 or so years."
Li Luo's jaw dropped.
“Damn, Principal, not even once in the last 30 years? Why the hell would you think we stand a chance this time? Forget the second half of the Heavenly Libation Chant. I'll just play around with the first half... because that seems like all I'll ever get.”
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