When Li Luo recovered his vision, he found himself on the side of a mountain, surrounded by huge trees. It was a wild and untamed world.
Deep in the jungle, occasional bestial cries sounded, followed by rising flocks of alarmed birds.
Li Luo took out his shortswords from his bag, strapping them to his waist. He picked a direction and moved swiftly.
He occasionally ran across other students, but they simply moved on with no intention of conversing.
Keeping up his hurried pace for a few minutes, Li Luo ran into a black spirit beast that looked like a cross between a tiger and a leopard.
A weak spirit beast, a black panthera.
Spirit beasts were classified into several categories. Weak spirit beasts were at the Ten Seals Stage in strength, while average spirit beasts were roughly at the first-tier of the Resonant Master Stage. Strong spirit beasts were at the second or third-tier of the Resonant Master Stage.
Spirit beasts beyond that level would undergo a metamorphic change. They would be a lot more sentient, and their strength was stupendous.
They were simply dubbed General spirit beasts, for their commensurate strength.
Higher than them were the legendary Duke spirit beasts, each one powerful enough to raze a city by themselves.
Li Luo spotted a faint, silver gleam on the black panthera's head. He looked more closely. A silver talisman.
"So defeating this weak spirit beast gets you a silver talisman and a Silver Spark mentor."
It was likely that the gold talismans were on the average spirit beasts. A first-tier Resonant Master beast was roughly what he could handle.
What about Violet Vibrance mentors?
Was he supposed to defeat strong spirit beasts? Those had to be at least at the second-tier of the Resonant Master or above. Was the system forcing the elite students to challenge themselves?
High standards... as the Violet Vibrance mentors deserved to set.
Li Luo did not attack the black panthera. He had no interest in wasting time getting silver talismans that he did not need. He turned and left.
Back in the Newcomers' Hall, the sea of heads had disappeared, now replaced with light screens projected through crystals. They reflected where the new students were, including Li Luo, who had turned in search of his next target.
Yan Lingqing watched the screen with mixed feelings. "I wonder if Li Luo can catch the eye of a Violet Vibrance mentor."
"With his abilities, he'll be fine," Jiang Qing'e reassured her.
She knew that Li Luo's dual resonant palaces were a rare talent comparable to her own ninth-grade resonance. If everything was just a matter of strength, she was not at all worried about a Violet Vibrance mentor taking a liking to Li Luo.
But...
There was worry in her golden eyes. She was worried about Shen Jinxiao, one of the Violet Vibrance mentors.
She was wary of this man who had once mentored her. He was a man who had kept his true self behind a wall, concealed so cleverly that even her ninth-grade light resonance had barely helped her glimpse the true nature of that person. She knew that he was cunning.
And he bore ill will against her.
That was why she had decided to change mentors. Given the immense potential of her 9th-grade light resonance, the Astral Sage College had consented.
And if Shen Jinxiao was going to take a hand to interfere with Li Luo, it would be much harder to deal with.
He knew all too clearly that her Achilles’ heel was Li Luo.
...
Tang!
Sounds of heated battles echoed in the forest.
Li Luo had his swords in hand, charging them with blue resonant power. Shaping them into Water Edge, he sent his power slicing forth with a shrill whistle.
His swords glinted dangerously as he launched a barrage of attacks on the average spirit beast before him.
Ting! Tang!
Sparks flew as steel clashed against scale. Charged with light resonant power, his Water Edge was even sharper than before. Soon enough, he cut his way through the scaled armor, leaving the average spirit beast’s blood streaming out.
“Roar!”
Infuriated by its injuries, the average spirit beast grew more violent, swinging and smashing with its heavy, spiked tail. In its wild thrashing, the tail whipped up to some serious speed.
"Waterlight Demon Mirror!"
A mirror of water shimmered into existence before him. Now that he was at the Resonant Master Stage, it was much brighter than before.
Boom!
The ponderous tail slammed into the Waterlight Demon Mirror, breaking it. Still, the backlash of energy ran right back up the beast's tail.
“ROAR!”
The spirit beast howled painfully as the tail was pummelled from the counterattack. It knew fear now, and it turned to flee.
Shoosh!
Li Luo gave it no such opportunity. A Waterlight Bullet burst before its eyes, blinding the miserable beast.
It ran blindly, crashing into trees as it went.
It was a hopeless escape. When it recovered its vision, the first and last thing it saw was a blue blade lancing towards its shoulder.
A clean skewer through its brain from the side.
It buckled one final time in a death throe and then ceased.
Li Luo wiped his brow in relief, then he took the gold talisman from its tail. With this, he had at least secured a Gold Gleam mentor.
With his insurance in place, he could now turn his attention to the problem of securing a Violet Vibrance mentor.
He continued forward until the trees gave way to a pristine lake, then suddenly he stopped on his tracks.
Beside the lake was a person holding a bunch of leaves. He was folding each one into a little leaf boat and then floating them down the lake.
Li Luo did not know who it was, but he recognized this person’s clothing.
The robes of an Astral Sage College mentor. With purple light.
A Violet Vibrance mentor.
Finished with the leaves, the Violet Vibrance mentor stood up and turned to him with a genial smile.
"There you are, Li Luo. I've been waiting for you for so long.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm one of the five Violet Vibrance mentors... Shen Jinxiao."