Chapter 173 – Heavenly Ranking’s Rank 2, Li Xuantong
This place was like a fairyland. Within the clear blue skies, white clouds would float around, causing the entire world to seem like it was amidst a faint mist. This mist was extremely strange; it would float downwards, yet it would never disperse. Instead, it would occasionally be swayed by the breeze, and mysterious yet familiar fluctuations emitted outwards from it every so often.
The floating mist was entirely formed from the Spiritual Aura within the world!
In the depths of this fairyland, a gigantic waterfall surged through to the peak of a mountain — like a dragon before it descended straight down. Loud rumbling sounds echoed throughout the skies.
The waterfall was covered with magnificent colors, and a terrifying fluctuation was emitted from it. If one were to sense it carefully, they would discover that this waterfall was actually made of Spiritual Energy!
If this scene was seen by the freshmen within the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, they would probably be completely dumbfounded. Just the Spiritual Aura emitted out from this place alone, wasn’t something that an ordinary person could endure while cultivating.
Sometimes, it wasn’t better to be surrounded by dense Spiritual Aura. In a place like this, ordinary students probably wouldn’t be able to stay for long, before their meridians would swell up due to the Spiritual Aura. If they were to continue cultivating, it was highly likely that their bodies would explode from the Spiritual Aura…
This place was naturally one of the deepest parts of one of the ten Rank 7 Spirit Convergence Arrays that the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy possessed.
Beneath the waterfall was a blue boulder that protruded outwards. On top of this blue boulder, skinny figure sat cross-legged quietly. A powerful attraction force emanated outwards from him, as he absorbed the floating mist formed by Spiritual Aura into his body endlessly.
Faint lights enveloped the surface of his body, causing it to glow faintly like a rainbow. As he sat at this location, he emitted a peculiar feeling. Even though he could be seen with the naked eye, he seemed to have fused with the world, and was completely untouchable.
Only if someone approached him, would they then discover that the skinny figure was dressed in blue clothes, and had long loose hair. The breeze blew his hair, giving him a mysterious feeling of being completely free. His face was particularly handsome, and had decent proportions. This caused him to exude a unique manly charm.
After cultivating for a long period of time, did he suddenly opened his eyes. Within his eyes, a brilliant luster surged. Then, he slowly exhaled out a clump of white air, and immediately blew on it.
All of a sudden, the white air entered into a rampage — as if extraordinary Spiritual Energy had been injected into it. White light erupted out from within, and formed into a blade of light. It flew towards the waterfall and actually cut it apart.
The boy in blue clothes stared calmly at the gradually recovering waterfall, before lifting his head up to face the distant sky. In that location, a beam of light was rapidly approaching. In a few seconds, it formed into a figure that stopped above the blue boulder on which he was located.
“Is there any news about that guy, Shen Cangsheng?” The boy in blue clothes stretched for a moment as he asked.
“He accepted a Heaven Rank mission and ran off again. As far as I know, he’s probably tracking down the Jiuyin Sect. Those sneaky bastards killed a dozen students that were gaining experience in the Northern Heavens Continent.” The boy that came was a boy in black clothes. He shrugged his shoulders as he responded.
“Jiuyin Sect?”
The boy in blue clothes smiled, “Although it’s only a run-down force, it’s said that their Sect Leader has the strength of a Heavenly Transform Stage, right? Moreover, they’re specialized in hiding and sneak attacks. That should be a group mission; since Shen Cangsheng decided to hunt them down by himself, he truly is courageous.”
“Are you afraid that he won’t be able to resolve it?” The boy in black clothes smiled.
“That guy is a monster. He even managed to suppress me. For this mere Jiuyin Sect, it’s impossible for them to turn the tables on him.” The boy in blue clothes shook his head and replied.
“During the Freshmen Competition back then, you were only one move away from victory.” The boy in black clothes said.
“Sometimes, a tiny difference may mean that there’s a wide gap between us.”
The boy in blue clothes smiled faintly, “However, I haven’t faced him for nearly a year. I’ve been itching to fight him again. I really want to test how powerful his Divine Judgment Art has become.”
“It seems that you’ve made a breakthrough in your Tianxuan Divine Art.” The boy in black clothes replied in surprise.
“It’s only a little progress.” The boy in blue clothes smiled and asked, “Is there anything interesting that’s occurred recently in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy? I’ve secluded myself for nearly three months… Nothing restless occurred right?
“The Judgment Brotherhood is still as overbearing as ever. It can’t be helped. Who told Shen Cangsheng to be within their group? Otherwise, everything has been temporarily peaceful. It seems that everyone has been cultivating in preparation for the Hunting Battle six months from now.” The boy in black clothes pursed his lips and replied.
“Although the Judgment Brotherhood is overbearing, they wouldn’t dare do anything to our “Xuan Clan”. The boy in blue clothes waved his hand and said, “Instead, it’s the others that are quite troublesome. That guy, He Yao, has always been attempting to fight against me. Although he’s only Rank 4 on the Heavenly Ranking, if he were to take action, Su Xuan wouldn’t be able to stop him. However, it’s because he likes her, that he didn’t steal her position.”
“So that’s why he’s been targeting you?”
The boy in blue clothes smiled as he nodded his head. He had an exhausted expression as he spoke, “However, that doesn’t matter. The people ranked in at the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking aren’t weaklings. Every single one of them possesses hidden techniques. However, since I’ve managed to suppress him for so many years, it won't be easy for him to replace me…”
The boy in black clothes nodded his head as well. Although the other might seem to be exhausted, there was no doubt that he had spoken with confidence and arrogance. After all, the boy in front of him was currently Rank 2 on the current Heavenly Ranking, Li Xuantong.
Within the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, there was only that monster that could suppress him.
“Ah, right. This year’s freshmen has also arrived in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. The Freshmen Competition is tomorrow as well. It’s said that there are a few formidable individuals among this year’s freshmen.”
“Who are they?” Li Xuantong waved his sleeves and asked casually.
“To be precise, there are five individuals that are rather powerful. Yang Hong, Mu Kui and Mu Chen. The last one is rather peculiar. He managed to defeat Mo Lun, who was close to the Heavenly Fusion Stage Middle Phase, with the strength of a Spirit Stage Late Phase. Right now, he’s considered a black horse.”
“As for the remaining two, they are both girls, and are quite outstanding. One is Bing Qing from the Ice Spirit Clan, while the other one is a girl called Luo Li.”
When these words exited the boy’s mouth, he instantly detected that something was wrong. It was apparent that Li Xuantong, who had looked exhausted, immediately stiffened in front of him. Then, the latter slowly turned his head around and asked hesitantly, “Who?”
The boy in black clothes froze for a moment. Then, he repeated the last two names again. However, when he mentioned Luo Li’s name, he noticed that the boy in front of him opened his mouth slightly.
“Luo Li?” Li Xuantong turned his head: “Ah…How is this possible? Why would she come to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy? What does she look like?”
The boy in black clothes glanced at him strangely, before describing Luo Li’s appearance to him.
“It really is her… I never imagined this.” Li Xuantong smiled and the exhaustion in his face instantly vanished.
“Do you know this Luo Li?” The boy in black clothes asked in surprise. It was the first time that he’d seen the boy in front of him react like this just because he’d heard a girl’s name.
“Ohoho.” Li Xuantong smiled and nodded his head.
The boy in black clothes shrugged helplessly as he spoke, “If you’re interested in her, then I have bad news for you. It seems that she already has someone that she likes. It’s that freshman called Mu Chen. If I remember correctly, they’re currently living together.”
Li Xuantong frowned as he murmured, “How can this be…Ah, no wonder…So the things that I’ve heard before were really true.”
When the boy in black clothes noticed this, he thought for a moment and asked, “Do you need me to teach the freshmen a lesson?”
“If you were to do this, she’d probably get angry.”
Li Xuantong shook his head, and slowly stood up. He soon spoke, “She has a stubborn personality. I don’t want her to get angry at me.”
“This…” The boy in black clothes hesitated for a moment.
“You don’t have to bother with this.” He smiled and his long hair fell down. He looked towards the exit, and fell silent for a moment before speaking, “Forget it, I’ll meet up with her first. I haven’t seen her for a few years now. I’ll go and see what this is all about…I really dislike hearing this news.”
“A love rival? Could it be that she doesn’t like you, even with your outstanding qualities?” The boy in black clothes couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh… I’ve always treated her as if she was my younger sister.”
Li Xuantong smiled, but once he noticed that the boy in black clothes had curled his lips, he could only reply helplessly, “Although I do like her a bit, she probably dislikes me. However, her situation is rather complicated, eh, but… that Mu Chen really shouldn’t stay beside her.”
After he had spoken, he took a step forward and lights seemed to fluctuate around him. In an instant, he had appeared a kilometer away. Then, another light fluctuation appeared and he’d completely vanished.
When the boy in black clothes witnessed this scene, he could only shrug his shoulders in response. It seemed that he truly cared about this girl called Luo Li. He actually stopped his cultivation temporarily, just to meet her.
Freshmen Area.
Within the plaza, numerous freshmen were gathered. Mu Chen and Luo Li were situated at the center of the plaza, and smiled as they watched the members of the Goddess Luo Association cultivate.
At this moment, Luo Li lifted her hand to sweep away the hair that had fallen in front of her face. However, just when she was about to speak, her eyes suddenly focused, and she lifted her head. She stared outside of the plaza. At that location, there was a figure in blue clothes that slowly approached.
This figure was quite strange. Although she could see him clearly, the other individuals seemed to have completely ignored him. They allowed him to walk through the crowded plaza towards them.
Mu Chen was also aware of this scene. His eyes stared firmly at the figure that approached, and his expression turned serious. From this person, he felt a dangerous fluctuation.
The boy in blue clothes soon appeared in front of Mu Chen and Luo Li. Then, he smiled faintly at Luo Li and said, “Long time no see, Luo Li.”
After he appeared, the freshmen within the plaza finally noticed the uninvited guest and immediately gathered together. They stared in alarm at the boy in blue clothes.
Luo Li’s glass-like eyes stared at the boy in front of her, and she frowned for a moment. Then she gave a slight nod.
“Li Xuantong, long time no see.”