The Holy Grail Meet had concluded happily for all concerned.
Next, all the schools were going to leave.
In the courtyard, the students were divided up into their schools, but there was a lot of cross-talking as they made their farewells.
Li Luo, Jiang Qing'e, and the First Princess were thronged by the Astral Sage College students, and of course they were being cheered on like crazy. Such was the adoration of the students for their heroes. If not for Jiang Qing'e’s reserved and aloof reputation and the First Princess' status as royalty, they would already have been thrown into the air in celebration.
"Li Luo, how does it feel to be famous throughout the East Divine Continent?" Lu Qing'er asked with a sunny smile. His handsome looks and silver hair marked him with an exotic handsomeness, and many girls from other schools had been looking at him openly since a while ago. Li Luo smiled back modestly at the beautiful girl. "I just went along for a ride. It was Her Highness and Qing'e who made sure we won."
Lu Qing'er scrunched up her mouth. "Hmm, that would usually be the case. But somehow, I feel like that isn't the truth."
"Why is that?" Li Luo asked, eyes wide and innocent.
Lu Qing'er just smiled at him. "No real reason. A woman's instinct."
Li Luo cringed inside. Damn, he had created a perfect cover, all for it to be ruined by womanly instinct? Was his light already so bright that it could not be hidden?
"Li Luo, you were just lucky to have Senior Jiang and Her Highness with you. A lucky dog getting luckily good results," a sour voice stated. Li Luo turned to see Duze Beixuan.
Li Luo beamed gratefully at him upon hearing those salty words.
Thank goodness there were still normal people around.
Duze Beixuan thought he was being mocked, and his hackles immediately rose. "You cocky little..."
"If someone was crowned champion across the continent and still couldn't be cocky, then when could they ever feel proud?" someone beside him asked.
Duze Beixuan turned to see Li Luo's teammate, Xin Fu, and jumped. When had this mysterious guy appeared beside him?
"Haha, as incisive as always, Xin Fu. Where did you go just now? I didn't see you at all," Li Luo asked.
Xin Fu looked at him morosely. "I was waving at you throughout."
Li Luo jumped. "Er, really? Well! Erm, your shadow resonance is getting better and better by the day."
Xin Fu said nothing, but he quietly made another note in his heart.
"Leader, can the rest of the Fairness & Justice Squad ride your coattails to greatness?" A girlish face popped up behind Xin Fu, fresh as a flower. She was looking at Li Luo with large, liquid eyes filled with adoration.
Who else but Bai Mengmeng could be this cute?
Being praised by someone this cute, it was hard not to let it get to his head.
"Li Luo, the dual name of Luo-Lang is rising in reputation. They expect great things of us," Yu Lang boomed, slapping Li Luo hard on the back as he turned him away from the adoring gaze of Bai Mengmeng.
"Yes," Li Luo said lazily, "I hope the Lang half holds up his side of the name as well. I highly admire your potential, so after this, I intend to make a personal and urgent request to Vice Principal Su Xin to send you to the Umbra Cave to cultivate for half a year to develop that potential. When you come out, our name will be famous throughout the Xia Kingdom."
"Fuck, that's cruel!"
Yu Lang jerked his hand back quickly, as though Li Luo were covered in spiders and lizards. He quickly yielded space to Bai Mengmeng.
Bai Mengmeng blinked, then she continued chatting with Li Luo, ignoring what had just happened.
Yu Lang stood forlornly at the side, closing his eyes in pain. "Oh, my dream girl..."
"Your what?" Yu Lang jumped, then he cracked open one eye nervously. "Oh... er, my dream goal was achieved by Li Luo before I could! Haha! Oh noo...."
Bai Doudou glared at him. "I think Li Luo's suggestion was superb. The Umbra Cave is a good place to train someone up. If you stayed there for half a year, you'd improve a lot. Yu Lang, you only have a sixth-grade wind resonance. If you don't work twice as hard as others, you're not going to see results."
She suddenly sighed, speaking more softly. "You can't compare to your friend in either background or talent. If this keeps up, you'll be left further and further behind. I don't doubt that Li Luo will think no less of you, but the dynamic of your friendship will inevitably change."
Yu Lang looked at her in surprise. This short-haired amazon was not as beautiful as her younger sister, but she had her own charms.
"If you think I'm belittling you, then just ignore me," Bai Doudou said snappily, reading Yu Lang's surprise as discomfort.
"Oh, that level of insult, belittle me? You underestimate how thick Yu Lang’s skin is," he said, hurriedly shaking his head. "I'm just surprised that Leader cares that much about my future."
"It's my job as your leader to manage your health and progress. It benefits the squad, and it would help us if you were stronger as well."
Yu Lang nodded glumly. "Thanks, Leader. All that you say, I already know. My family is modest, and I've only come this far thanks to humble methods and scraping together meager resources. Li Luo comes from a different background, but he has never looked down on me because of it. He is a good friend, a true friend. But you are right as well—I should try harder so I'm not left behind.
"Perhaps it's time for me to consider Mentor Mi Er's proposal."
Bai Doudou looked at the uncharacteristically serious Yu Lang. He was usually jolly and carefree, but he did have a serious side to him when the situation called for it.
"Mentor Mi Er's suggestion is very extreme. It's risky," she warned him.
Mentor Mi Er had become a Duke with a sixth-grade resonance, a highly unusual feat among the many mentors of the Astral Sage College. He also favored Yu Lang, a highly unusual opinion to have. Perhaps he saw a younger version of what he used to be.
Only, if Yu Lang wished to walk the same path as Mentor Mi Er, then he was in for a steep challenge.
Yu Lang nodded with a smile.
This world was full of commoners trying to chase the geniuses. If he didn't risk his life to go for it, how could he ever hope to stand out?
While Bai Doudou and Yu Lang were discussing the future, someone else had pushed their way through the crowd to reach Li Luo.
Lu Ming.
Tall and slender, with her alabaster complexion and cool confidence, Lu Ming moved through the crowd that parted before the famous illusion-lightning dual resonance user.
Beside her was an escort, the Heavenly Inferno Sage College's Zhao Beili.
Lu Ming walked straight up to Li Luo. "Li Luo, I've come to say farewell, although I don't know when we might meet again. I am very interested in your dual resonances as well. I hope we can share more knowledge on it again."
Beside her, Zhao Beili looked extremely displeased by the way the conversation had begun. He shot a warning glare at Li Luo. This kid might be handsome, but Lu Ming was not acting how she usually did. She was as distant as the moon in school, but after spending a short time with Li Luo, the two had already built a relationship.
Luckily, the Holy Grail Meet was ending soon, thank the heavens. Otherwise, they'd be married already.
The moment he saw Lu Ming make her way over to the Astral Sage College side, he had accompanied her immediately.
Li Luo smiled back at her. "Lightning-illusion is a much stronger combination than water and wood," he said graciously.
It was true. Li Luo was quite envious of the versatility that her combination afforded her. Used well, it could confound any opponent.
"Watch yourself. Hopefully, you'll have reached the third level of dual resonances the next time we meet. I sense I'm getting close myself."
Her eyes swept once across the coolly smiling Lu Qing'er, then she turned to leave.
Li Luo waved to her retreating back.
"Li Luo, what charms you have. It's been such a short time, and already the ice flower of the Heavenly Inferno Sage College has come to settle in the garden of the Astral Sage College," Lu Qing'er said sweetly even while she ground her teeth.
Li Luo waved it away modestly. "Not at all, not at all."
Lu Qing'er sighed. Men couldn’t be too handsome, or they would attract too much honey.
The final event was the handing over of the Dragon Bone Holy Grail to the Astral Sage College, which proceeded smoothly, and then the various school leaders led their own students away.