The next day, Li Luo attended Southwind Academy as per usual.
When he entered the Second School's training field, he could distinctly tell that the originally rowdy field had quietened down by quite a bit, numerous respectful gazes looking at him.
The old Li Luo was not considered weak within the Second School; only Zhao Kuo could beat him after all. Truthfully speaking, what everyone felt towards him was only pity and nothing else. Why would they respect him? That made no sense.
The way they saw it, Li Luo was decently strong, but he still had a blank palace. This meant that his resonant power was limited. It was just a matter of time before they would surpass him.
However, Li Luo had demonstrated his acquired resonance in the competition yesterday, furthermore sweeping all three opponents from the First School in a single bout. This led them to understand that Li Luo was truly not on the same level as them.
Although a fifth-grade resonance was not considered high, it was more than sufficient. This combined with his talent in resonance arts was like adding wings to a tiger. The future Li Luo may not necessarily reach the absolute peak, but he would definitely rank in the upper echelons.
Thus, who would dare to pity Li Luo even now? On top of that, he was also House Luolan's Young Lord. Just who had the right to pity someone so much better than them in every way?
As they saw Li Luo walk past, certain students even took the initiative to greet him. "Brother Luo."
There were even some daring girls who complimented him directly. "Brother Luo looks extraordinarily handsome today."
Taking these greetings in his stride, Li Luo merely smiled at them before returning to his usual seat. At this point, even Zhao Kuo was looking at him with a burning gaze.
"You're a man, right? Can you not look at me that way?" Li Luo frowned.
Zhao Kuo chuckled as he feigned a melancholic expression. "It looks like I have to give up my title of number one in the Second School..."
"Who cares about such trivialities!? Set your sights further," Li Luo snapped.
"Further? In that case, all the best! Once you bring glory to Southwind Academy's males, we will cheer for you from the sidelines!" Zhao Kuo retorted.
"What do you mean?"
Zhao Kuo angrily explained, "Didn't you know? The other academies of the Tianshu Province have been constantly insulting us, saying that we are all feminine sissies, that we lack any form of manly vigor. Eastpool Academy is exceptionally hateful. They always take the initiative to mock the males of Southwind Academy. We first produced the legendary Sister Qing'e and now the strongest one of our generation is Lu Qing'er. It's as though we can only hide behind girls!"[1]
Of course, there were other academies in the Tianshu Province. It was just that most of them were not as famous as Southwind Academy. In recent years, Eastpool Academy had risen through the ranks dramatically and was looking to contest for the title of the best academy in the Tianshu Province.
As the two were bantering, Xu Shanyue entered the training fields. It looked as though his mood wasn't bad, his usual, serious expression replaced with a smile.
"Good morning, students. The First School has kindly provided ten Gold Leaves for the Second School's use. From today onwards, we will have ten more to distribute." Hearing Xu Shanyue's words, the class cheered in excitement. The final examinations were approaching and these leaves might very well provide them with an opportunity to take another step forward.
"These Gold Leaves were obtained by Li Luo's solo victory. All of you should express your gratitude directly." After which, the entire class broke out into raucous applause. There were even some delicate and good-looking girls who shouted out bravely, "I'm willing to have lunch with you to express my thanks!" Everyone could only stare in envy at his good fortune.
Li Luo helplessly smiled, but deep down he sighed. He could not understand where their fascination in him lay and could only ignore their teasing.
Xu Shanyue clenched his fist, signalling for everyone to settle down before proceeding on to the day's lesson.
Three hours later, the class ended and Li Luo approached Xu Shanyue, looking to take the afternoon off.
"You're taking leave again?" Xu Shanyue queried as he thought about the request. If this was in the past, he wouldn't have hesitated to reject his request. However, Li Luo had managed to beat the First School and had given him the credibility to stand tall against Liu Yang. Hence, he acceded to it. "Sure. Do remember that the final examination is about to arrive and you've already missed out on a week of training. You need to quickly catch up, or there will be no hope in entering the Astral Sage College." Li Luo smiled and agreed, waving goodbye before quickly taking his leave.
Outside the academy gates was a luxurious carriage, akin to a moving palace. As Li Luo made his way into it, he realized that Cai Wei was already sitting within, by the window.
In her hand was a round laced fan, lightly fluttering. Beside her was also a cup of piping hot tea, the entire scene accentuating her mature beauty. This coupled with her beautiful curves and exquisite features would absolutely captivate any mortal man.
One could clearly see that Cai Wei was a lady with refined mannerisms. The choice of carriage was not only luxurious-looking but also comfortable, demonstrating her exceptional taste that was even better than Jiang Qing'e's.
Li Luo had a feeling that Cai Wei's background was not simple. The only question here was why had she chosen to run all the way over to House Luolan to handle miscellaneous tasks?
"Have you eaten? I've prepared lunch for you." Cai Wei batted a glance at Li Luo, her slender, jade-like fingers beckoning at the table in front, which was currently laid with a sumptuous feast.
"Elder Sister Cai Wei is truly too considerate. Whoever marries you will truly be blessed," Li Luo praised. Cai Wei was capable at managing the affairs of a family whilst being beautiful and mature. No matter how one looked at it, she was truly outstanding.
Amongst the women he had met, in terms of attractiveness and temperament, Jiang Qing'e was the most extraordinary. Lu Qing'er and Cai Wei were both equal, with their own redeeming features.
"Your words are truly sweet." Cai Wei smiled as she beckoned for Li Luo to eat. At the same time, she continued to explain, "Our House Luolan has a specialized department whose purpose is to refine spirit liquids and purifying lights. It's known as the Suncreek Villa, and it is decently well known throughout the market for their tempering treasures when we look within the Xia Kingdom. The Suncreek Villa's headquarters is in Xia City and it has three branches spread throughout the Xia Kingdom. Coincidentally, one of these branches can be found in the City of Southwind. The Suncreek Villa is responsible for a significant amount of the profits House Luolan rakes in yearly. Hence, within House Luolan, Pei Hao has also fought the hardest to take control of them, trying all means to do so. The president of this particular branch left some time ago for some reason and the position was left vacant for a while as a replacement could not be easily found. Pei Hao recruited the vice president and attempted to use him to take control of this branch. Luckily, Qing'e realized his plans and very quickly dispatched someone to clamp down on those moves. As a result, this branch of the Suncreek Villa has some internal complications, ultimately affecting the amount of spirit liquids and purifying lights it produces."
"Pei Hao, that bastard! Truly a waste of air." Li Luo couldn't help but vent. He previously wasn't interested in these matters, but now that he had to utilize significant amounts of resources from the house, he realized just how much trouble that white-eyed wolf really was.
If House Luolan had actually been united, then the amount of resources he could mobilize wouldn't just be this piddling three hundred thousand skygold!
Slightly depressed, the feast in front of him seemed to have lost some of its fragrance…
The carriage passed through the crowded City of Southwind, eventually stopping at the northern part of the city.
Li Luo and Cai Wei both got off the carriage. They could see a humongous pavilion in front of them with a Suncreek Villa sign hung right in front.
The Suncreek Villa possessed strict security with numerous protectors, but they immediately made way and let the duo through once they spotted them.
They entered the building unobstructed, and at this moment, a group arrived to receive them.
Li Luo could see that this group was split into two factions. The group on the left was led by a smiling middle-aged man, while the group on the right was led by a lady that was amazingly beautiful, such that any man who saw her would instantly perk up with attention.
She was an elegant young lady with a pretty complexion; a pert, high nose; and a pair of silver circular glasses. She had long hair that cascaded down her back and she carried an air of undisguised arrogance.
At this moment, Cai Wei quickly brought Li Luo up to speed.
"The one on the left is Zhuang Yi, he's the vice president dispatched by Pei Hao. The beauty on the right is Yan Lingqing. She is a genius resonance artificer from Astral Sage College. She is also Qing'e's close confidante. She is currently a fourth-grade resonance artificer and also one of Qing'e's reinforcements."
Li Luo seemed a little shocked at this as he couldn't help but to stare at the slender, glasses-wearing, cold, and arrogant beauty.
He would never have expected that she was also from Astral Sage College, the place he had always dreamed of attending.
1. What Zhao Kuo actually says is that the men of Southwind Academy possess strong Yin energy and feeble Yang energy. Because females are traditionally Yin and men Yang