The top of the Tree of Resonant Power was clustered with numerous large and sturdy branches that were clumped together, forming a wooden platform. A gaze coming from the top of the wooden platform had arced down, staring right at where Li Luo was sitting.
"This Li Luo disappeared for a week and seems to have come back to school." Difa Qing had her arms around her waist, her close-fitting school uniform snugly wrapped around her figure. That body combined with her cute, charming face and snow-white skin, it was no surprise she was the object of many youths' affection.
She continued to stare at Li Luo's silhouette, lightly pouting her lips. "Is he trying to avoid Bei Kun and hiding himself away?"
"It's such a pity. He's soooooo dreamy and handsome!" Beside her, a group of her fellow sisters sighed in regret as they ogled at him.
"Hehe, little lass, I can still remember when Li Luo was still in the First School. You were his biggest fangirl!" another one of them mocked.
The girl who had been laughed at had her face turn beet red, quickly retorting, "Please! It's not like you girls weren't smitten by him as well!"
The gaggle of girls continued to laugh, their gazes possessing a trace of pity. The Li Luo of the past was an untouchable and incomparable existence within the First School. Not only was he handsome, but his comprehension abilities were top tier. To add the cherry on top, he was the scion of House Luolan when it was in its heyday, a house with two dukes, a behemoth unto itself.
Looks, talent, and a wonderful background. Just what sort of girl wouldn't fall for him?
It was just a pity that with the turning of time, Li Luo's luster had gradually faded. First, his parents had disappeared, and House Luolan took a huge blow as a result. Then he was "blessed" with a blank palace, further knocking him off his pedestal.
Thus, the once-influential figure of the First School had been relegated to the Second School.
At this point, fangirling over him blindly was no longer as appropriate as before.
Difa Qing listened to the chattering of her fellow friends before shaking her head in disgust. "Just a group of superficial wenches."
...
Meanwhile, Li Luo had just managed to sit atop a Silver Leaf when he heard a commotion in the vicinity around him. Turning around to look, the dreaded Bei Kun was stomping over towards him, surrounded by a group of his lackeys.
Bei Kun was built tall and strong with a fair face. The only thing that detracted from him was his overcast pupils, giving him a gloomy vibe.
"I thought you were never coming back to school, Li Luo." Bei Kun stared at Li Luo with a smile that was not a smile.
Li Luo batted him a look. He simply couldn't be bothered to answer.
His nonchalant attitude infuriated Bei Kun. When House Luolan was at its prime, he would often fawn over Li Luo and be answered with that very same attitude. He wouldn't have dared to do anything then, but what about now? Just who did Li Luo think he was now?
"I spent an entire day waiting for you at Tower Qingfeng. Pray tell, how should we settle this?" Bei Kun spoke with clenched teeth.
"Hey! Don't blame me if you're dumb. Please keep your stupidity to yourself. What sort of mentally deficient fool would ACTUALLY think that I would go to Tower Qingfeng just because they wanted me to?"
Bei Kun's gloomy eyes seemed to have become even more despondent as he replied, "The audacity of you. I will let you off if you apologize right now. Otherwise..."
Li Luo waved his hand like shooing a fly. "Scram."
The other students who were witnessing this altercation started to laugh. This Bei Kun could be considered a tyrant within Southwind Academy, often finding others to bully. It was a pity for him that Li Luo had not chosen to give in.
Bei Kun glared at Li Luo, immediately threatening, "Such a hardass. Do you dare to spar with me to back up your words?"
Li Luo shook his head. "Uninterested."
This Bei Kun was just too dense. The him of the past didn't want to bother with Bei Kun, and nothing had changed since then. If he accepted every provocation, wouldn't he be no different from Bei Kun?
Bei Kun gave a cold smile. He did not continue speaking but signalled to his goons. It was as though they had rehearsed their part in a play, immediately announcing, "Are all the people of the Second School such scaredy cats?"
After which, even more taunts and jibes followed from the group.
The people of the Second School who were nearby started to seethe with anger. Unfortunately, Bei Kun's savage reputation preceded him, so most of them did not dare to even let out a squeak.
"Li Luo, you wouldn't want your problem to implicate the entire Second School, would you?" Bei Kun asked ominously.
Obviously, this blockhead was a little scheming, clearly trying to rile the emotions of the other students. These other students may not dare to take the issue up with Bei Kun directly, but they would definitely apply some pressure onto Li Luo to settle things.
"All of you shut up!" At this very point, a furious roar echoed as Zhao Kuo strode over. Angrily staring at Bei Kun, he challenged him. "If you want to fight, I'll give you a fight!"
"It's you!" Bei Kun frowned.
"It looks like the beating I gave you the last time was insufficient," Zhao Kuo retorted. Yet before he could finish his sentence, he was dragged away by Li Luo. "Why are you messing around with dog poop? Stop degrading yourself," Li Luo drawled. At this point, he scowled at Bei Kun and his group of friends before sighing. "Help me take note of all those that are here. I will get someone to violently teach them a lesson in peaceful coexistence once I go back.” Although House Luolan was still riddled with trouble, it was still one of the five Great Houses of the Xia Kingdom. The old manor had numerous protectors that weren't considered weak. Picking a few cultivators to assist him with minor troubles wouldn't be an issue.
The moment the students heard his words, their jaws dropped. Bei Kun's lackeys were also left astonished and bewildered.
Could you not do this my brother? We are just kids playing around! Why would you escalate matters and bring out the big guns!?
This didn't seem very logical!
The group faced each other nervously before taking a few steps back. Their taunts immediately died down as they knew that Li Luo indeed possessed the power to do so.
He might have a blank palace, but he was still House Luolan's Young Lord. Getting a few expert resonance cultivators to bring the beatdown would be as easy as breathing.
Bei Kun was also shocked at the series of events. Composing himself, he started to scold, "How shamless of you! To use such underhanded methods!"
Li Luo frowned. "If you aren't happy, then dispatch your Bei family's experts. Fight me!"
Bei Kun's jaw dropped and he was left speechless. House Luolan might be filled with internal turmoil, but a skinny camel was still larger than a horse. Before the house actually fractured to pieces, the Bei family could only sneakily take a few bites. In terms of the experts from his family, he wasn't even sure if he could mobilize them! Even if he could, would they dare to take Li Luo on? He wouldn't be able to bear such a result.
Thus, a sudden silence descended upon the field, the situation slightly chaotic…
...
At the absolute peak of the Tree of Resonant Power was a treehouse. Within the treehouse could be seen several individuals quietly observing the students squabbling.
"Keke. This brat from House Luolan is a little interesting." An old man with a head of white hair, dressed entirely in black and white, chuckled.
This old man was the dean of Southwind Academy. He was known as Wei Sha, and he had an illustrious reputation within the Tianshu Province.
"Threatening to bring in his family's might to deal with childish arguments isn't interesting. How could the two house lords of House Luolan have given birth to such a hoodlum?" another voice said.
This came from a skinny male. Although he exuded a refined and cultured demeanor, his face contained an uninhibited expression of arrogance.
This was the teacher of the First School, Lin Feng
He was one of the teachers who had proposed for Li Luo to be kicked out of the First School and sent to the Second School.
"Teacher Lin Feng speaks a little too crudely. That Bei Kun clearly knows that Li Luo has a blank palace, yet he still goes to find trouble for him. Truly a person of poor character," Xu Shanyue, who was standing beside them, retorted savagely.
Lin Feng emotionlessly replied, "Troubles between students should be settled between themselves. Why the need to escalate the situation?"
Still, he was uninterested in continuing to argue with Xu Shanyue over this small matter. He turned his gaze towards the dean beside him. "More importantly, do you remember what I previously suggested? Do you agree with what I've said?"
Dean Wei turned and blinked at him. "What suggestion?"
Lin Feng seemed a little helpless before he answered, "The final examination is about to arrive. Our First School does not have enough Golden Leaves, and we would like to request for another five Gold Leaves to be provided to our First School."
"I disagree!" The one who raised the objection was Xu Shanyue. He furiously glowered at Lin Feng. Only the First and Second Schools had access to Gold Leaves, and the Second School only had ten. If five were given, where else would they come from? Clearly, the Second School!
This chap was truly overreaching his boundaries.