Chapter 454: A Small Space
This time around, the teleportation took even longer than Li Luo had expected. The beryl-green energy stream carried him onwards like a leaf on a river.
The howling energy all around them was overwhelming, and soon their senses began to shut down, putting them into a sort of pseudo-coma. Only Vice Principal Su Xin was completely unaffected, while Gong Shenjun, the First Princess, Jiang Qing’e, and a few other powerful students could battle it with a bit of success.
But all journeys eventually came to an end.
When Vice Principal Su Xin saw a white light ahead in the distance, she knew that they had arrived.
She used a finger’s worth of energy to prod at the dozing students.
It helped them gradually recover from their sleep, and by the time they were conscious again, they had already exited the warp tunnel.
The first thing that Li Luo saw when he opened his eyes was a green tower made of wood that had the gnarled surface of an ancient tree.
There was no sun or moon in this place, but the lack of natural light was substituted by ethereal lights that hung in mid-air, interspersed with wisps of cloud that dressed the air in white cotton. It looked like some sort of paradise.
As his eyes adjusted, he realized that the green tower was but one of many that rose up in the distance.
And far away, he could hear the sounds of a crowd.
Vice Principal Su Xin led them all to the nearest green tower in front. As they approached, they saw a moat around the tower, only it was filled not with water but with worldly natural energy, moving in its natural, vortex-swirl flow.
“This energy vortex is where you will compete.
“When the Holy Grail Meet starts for real, you will all jump down and reach your respective proving grounds,” Su Xin explained.
They looked down curiously at the energy vortex in the water.
“Do you know… where we are?” Su Xin suddenly asked them.
They looked around at each other, puzzled. How would they know?
Jiang Qing’e hesitated and then spoke up. “A small, isolated space… we are in some sort of rare treasured artifact with an inner space, so could it be the Dragon Bone Holy Grail itself?” The others gasped. They were inside the Dragon Bone Holy Grail itself?
Su Xin’s surprise was plain to read on her face. “Qing’e, sharp as always. I’m surprised you managed to guess this one.”
“It had to be something that we are already familiar with, and also very special, since you went out of your way to ask us. Only the Dragon Bone Holy Grail comes to mind,” Jiang Qing’e explained.
“Indeed.” Su Xin nodded. “We are within the Dragon Bone Holy Grail itself. See those spires? Each of them is a base camp for one school. The one we are at is the tower designated for the Astral Sage College.” They were suitably amazed. If it was capable of creating such a wondrous space, it was believable that it could have the power to suppress the Umbra Cave itself.
They soon noticed a signboard attached to a pole in front of the tower that had “Astral Sage College” written on it.
Vice Principal Su Xin pushed open the doors. “I give you all 10 minutes to choose your rooms. Then meet me in the main hall on the first floor. I need to explain the rules of the Holy Grail Meet to you.”
They left in a mad rush, shouting and bustling around the tower. Yet 10 minutes later, they were all gathered obediently in the main hall.
Vice Principal Su Xin sat cross-legged on a futon and told them all to take up seats on futons that faced her. “Dear students, there are about 12 hours left before the Holy Grail Meet starts in earnest. Time is of the essence, so we will divide up the work. Each hall should select one student to go scout for information. Since all the student representatives from the various schools are gathered in one place, it is the best time for intelligence-gathering.”
The four halls converged among themselves, then each selected a representative.
For the One Star Hall, Yu Lang was chosen.
He was the ideal choice in two ways. Firstly, he was the weakest among the Violet Vibrance students, and hence the most expendable. Secondly, he was precisely the sort of sneaky sneak that was suited to the sneaking nature of the job that intelligence-gathering required.
Yu Lang stepped out reluctantly. “Hmm, maybe Mengmeng should come along?”
Bai Doudou snorted. “Not a chance, boy. Off with you.”
Her tone promised a swift kick to his bottom, and so he cringed and stepped out obediently.
“And now, let’s get down to business,” Su Xin said seriously. “The Holy Grail Meet is divided into two parts. The first is a hall-wide battle. The four halls will compete to decide the four strongest students.
“When the battles start, you will each be transported to your own areas. There, you will need to use the anima gourds given to you to collect anima dew. Anima dew is a special substance filled with an energy unique to the Dragon Bone Holy Grail. It can protect you from the Dragon’s Belly that you must pass through.”
With a gesture, Su Xin summoned an image of a sea of flames before them.
“The Dragon’s Belly is special because no one below the Duke Stage can last more than 10 seconds inside. That is why you need sufficient anima dew. They say that 99 drops will get a person through safely.
“Once you pass through, you will have reached the core area: Dragonbone Island. There, the final fight will commence, and whoever manages to sit on the Dragonbone Throne in the end will be crowned the final winner and strongest student.
“That is the Hall fight.
“It is always a group effort. All of you need to work together, and no one has ever succeeded alone before. Your goal is the same—to form a supply chain that collects anima dew and feeds it forward to the strongest students. Only then can we send the greatest number of strong students to Dragonbone Island and hold an advantage in the showdown.
“Which means,” she said severely, “it is time to put aside all of your past quarrels. For now, at least, you are all in this together. Everyone must treat everyone else as a true companion, if you wish to make it to the end.”
There was silence while they took in her words.