Chapter 0600: Popularity
On the way to Mentor Chi Chan's abode, Li Luo continued to ponder over Vice Principal Su Xin's warning.
“Be wary of the Golden Dragon Bank?
“What in the world does that mean? Could it be that the Golden Dragon Bank covets the secrets of House Luolan as well?
“Or perhaps she was referring more specifically to President Yu Hongxi.
“Based on our previous interactions, Yu Hongxi has treated me quite well. Could it all have been an act?”
Li Luo's forehead creased with wrinkles as he continued thinking over this new dilemma. The Golden Dragon Bank was a titanic beast with a background that far exceeded that of House Luolan. When it came to riches, they were the preeminent faction in the Xia Kingdom. Even the Astral Sage College and the Royal court could not compare.
With such monetary prowess under their control, they prioritized harmony and business. On the other hand, any mistaken fools who took them as a fat sheep would awaken the dragon and be struck off the annals of history.
Although Yu Hongxi was the Xia Kingdom's president, she was just one of many forces within the organization. Could there be another faction within that lusted for the secrets of House Luolan?
Li Luo's imagination went wild before he eventually sighed. There was no point to this mental exercise. He would worry about the problem when it came.
Finally raising his head and looking forward, he realized that countless students were eyeing him. Even some of the higher starred hall students were glancing at him with a renewed degree of respect.
This was the result of winning the Holy Grail Meet.
He had received the title of the strongest One Star Hall student, which spoke volumes of his own capabilities. Although the public didn't know how much he had contributed in the mixed-level competition, they knew that as a member of the winning team, he must have done something significant.
As such, he had now become one of the Astral Sage College's influential figures.
In some ways, he had even reached the stature of the Seven Astral Pillars.
Plus, they had obtained the Dragon Bone Holy Grail, and with it suppressing the Umbra Cave, the Others within would be duly weakened, resulting in significantly less danger when they had to enter it. Just how many lives would be saved as a result?
Therefore, the students felt a deep sense of gratitude towards the trio.
Faced with the curious and respectful gazes, Li Luo flashed a stunning smile without seeming arrogant or overbearing, giving others a good impression of him.
These were all the shining talents of the Xia Kingdom's younger generation. Once they graduated, they would inevitably become people of standing and wielders of might. Building a good relationship today would pay dividends in strengthening House Luolan's future foundations.
Especially those from the Resonance Artificers Hall... every one of those genius artificers were treasures that Li Luo yearned for. If he wanted to make the Suncreek Villa the best resonant artificing shop, these resonance artificers were critical.
Otherwise, without a steady stream of talent, even a significant amount of his high-grade secret watersource and recipes would be worthless.
Looking at it in a different way, especially from the students' point of view, House Luolan seemed to be gradually ascending once again, and he was not the only one representing it. The Three Star Hall possessed the indomitable Jiang Qing'e. Once she graduated to the Four Star Hall, she would truly cement her legendary ascension as the overlord of the Astral Sage College's students... At that point, her reputation would probably eclipse even that of Gong Shenjun and the First Princess.
At that point, there would probably be a frightening army of helpers at her beck and call.
Of course, this was if they could tide over the crisis of their Housemeet in the coming two months…
"I'll have to uproot that white-eyed wolf Pei Hao!" A cold hint of killing intent surged through him. Pei Hao was the root of all the problems in House Luolan. He had already taken control of half of their forces and businesses and was now gunning for the title of house lord. He had finally orchestrated an elaborate scheme to take over the house in a supposedly upfront manner to achieve the goals he'd always wanted.
Only by being rid of this irritant could House Luolan's internal turmoil cease. The house would finally be whole again and regain some semblance of its previous prosperity.
The Housemeet would be the crucial turning point. Pei Hao, that piece of crap, would definitely struggle with all his might as House Luolan was showing signs of revitalization in Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e’s hands. Eventually, there would no longer be any further opportunity to launch his coup. This would also be his final chance. Frankly speaking, a single Pei Hao was not worth Li Luo's concern. What was more troubling were the hidden forces behind him.
The hand hidden within the shadows was the true enemy.
Two months was, frankly, not much time.
He would have to resolve many problems in this period of time. Breaking through to the Earth Fiend Realm was one as he would be able to grasp his third resonance. He would also look to upgrade both his existing resonances and to cultivate a new resonance art. The Holy Grail Meet had demonstrated that his means were insufficient in keeping up with his growth, and dragon-general resonance arts were now necessary.
And lastly, the possibility of wielding a Duke Art.
Though this might be an idle pipe dream due to the extreme difficulty. Li Luo himself did not have much confidence in succeeding. He could only give it his all and hope for the best. Success was best, while failure meant that he would just move on and focus his efforts on dragon-general resonance arts. They were more suitable for him anyway.
Eventually, he arrived at Mentor Chi Chan's lodging with a head full of ideas and plans. Knocking on the door lightly, he stepped into the silent courtyard. His mentor was sitting within a pavilion adorned with windchimes and bamboo furnishing, calmly watching him.
Taking wider strides, he pretentiously spoke out. "Where should the strongest student of the One Star Hall make himself comfortable?"
"Why are you so proud of your achievement? You merely split apart some melons and cracked some seeds. Is there a need to be so ostentatious?" Chi Chan sniped back after shooting Li Luo an unimpressed gaze.
"Jing Taixu and Lu Ming aren't random cannon fodder! A quasi ninth-grade and a dual resonance user! They aren't even considered weak when we compare them to other incarnations of the One Star Hall competition! In fact, I've brought great face and respect to you, Mentor Chi Chan! You don't need to thank me though, just pouring me a cup of tea to show your gratitude would suffice." Li Luo grinned as he plonked himself on a seat opposite his mentor.
"Oh? Someone has grown in audacity too? Let's see... since you're such an overachiever, don't you think it's a good idea if I hang you atop the Tree of Resonant Power for all the other students to study and emulate your excellence?" Mentor Chi Chan completely disregarded the young lord's pompous behavior, only laughing coldly. “Pouring him a cup of tea? He should be keeping his tail tucked between his legs!” Li Luo shivered upon hearing that suggestion. If that really happened, all of the hard work in building his newfound reputation would be for nought! Of course, the ever-nimble and flexible Li Luo wasn't going to stubbornly insist... only bitterly complain.
"Mentor, Vice Principal Su Xin is much more caring than you! Don't you want to be my favorite mentor?"
"Scram and find her, then," Chi Chan icily replied.
“Did this brat dare to say I’m not caring enough? Hmph! You definitely didn't say this when you were trying to get my assistance to refine something!”
"That's definitely impossible. We have an unbreakable alliance to murder that dog named Shen," Li Luo solemnly replied.
"If you dare to let the caring Su Xin hear of a single whisper of this, just sit tight and watch me get rid of you," Mentor Chi Chan snapped.
"Of course not! This is a secret between us and us only! That beast has forced you to be veiled whilst squandering important resources. He deserves death!" Li Luo continued with his tirade.
Mentor Chi Chan then gave a light sigh and her gaze seemed to soften a little. When it came to matters of Shen Jinxiao, the two were definitely in agreement in more than just words.
Seeing this change in his mentor, he beamed happily and quickly took out the Royal Engraving. "Esteemed Mentor Chi Chan, I just have one tiiiiiiiiny request of you."
Mentor Chi Chan grabbed the Royal Engraving before inspecting it quickly. "A third-grade Royal Engraving. The Academic Federation does have quite the stash of nice treasures. The previous Holy Grail Meets only gave out second-grade ones at best. It looks like things really escalated this time."
After which, she turned to glance at Li Luo before lightly raising her chin.
"Take off your clothes, then."