As a result, the Astral Sage College had seized and expanded upon Southwind Academy and was now bustling with people.
However, the atmosphere within was completely different from the past.
The college was once a peaceful and carefree place, but times had changed. There was a sense of tension in the air, and all of the students were anxious. If they weren't rus.h.i.+ng for cultivation lessons, they were bitterly practicing their resonance arts.
Things were no longer the same as before.
The kingdom had been severed into two by a black river of corruption that expanded with each pa.s.sing day. As a result, Others sp.a.w.ned relentlessly, leading to terrifying situations. The towns and villages that were unable to evacuate in time were exterminated. The number of deaths was spine-tingling.
The entire Xia Kingdom was full of unrest.
The terror of the Others had been contained by seals in the past, so the average individual did not have a good understanding of them. Unfortunately, now that an Other Disaster had occurred, everyone had first-hand experience with how frightening those creatures were.
The Xia Kingdom had undergone a schism, but the First Princess had managed to turn the tide on the separatist royal court. With the aid of the Astral Sage College and the Golden Dragon Bank, she had stabilized the situation and set up defenses to prevent the corruption from spreading.
The numerous powers had dispatched elite individuals to form Exorcism Squads. They constantly hunted Others across the long defensive line that had been setup.
Although it had merely been two years, no one knew how many died at the hands of the Others.
However, no one s.h.i.+rked from their duty. What lay behind them was their homes, and they had already experienced the loss of their old homes in the city due to the corruption. In order to ensure that this would not happen to them as well, the citizens were doing their best.
The young students of the Astral Sage College were no exception.
They were the ones who had the most combat experience against the Others and were saddled with a large portion of the burden. As a result, the college had also paid a heavy price.
At this moment, a long, drawn-out horn was heard across the campus.
When the familiar blare resounded, the students stood at attention. At the same time, a look of sorrow could be seen in their eyes as they looked towards the gates.
A large group was entering, and they were carrying dozens of white caskets.
They were the remains of an elite team that had been dispatched to defend the lines, and what returned were the cold corpses of their companions.
The students bowed their heads towards the white caskets respectfully, with pained but numb expressions on their faces. This was a sight they had seen many times. As the caskets were brought into the field, a group of the college's elders were already awaiting. The one in front was the gentle and beautiful Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin.
Beside her was Mentor Chi Chan.
There was also someone that would have been familiar to Li Luo. It was Southwind Academy's Dean, Wei Sha.
They all had sad expressions as they looked at the white caskets. Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin strode forth and, with practiced and pained familiarity, proceeded to baptize and purify their corpses. Finally, as the silent and depressed atmosphere reached its peak, she informed the rest to send the caskets to the back mountain to be buried in the Heroes' Tomb.
As she watched the students heft the caskets away, a hint of exhaustion flickered in Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin's eyes. She had done her best to keep the school running for the past two years and was now drained in both mind and body.
However, she calmed herself and turned towards Mentor Chi Chan. "Thank you for bringing back these resources. Otherwise, I'm afraid we would have been unable to even reward the students."
Without ample resources, the Astral Sage College would lose its attractiveness to students. Coupled with the fact that their high-grade Tree of Resonant Power had been destroyed, it was insufficient to rely on Southwind Academy's low-grade Tree of Resonant Power to attract prospective students.
Quite a few of the Dukes that had been mentors had chosen instead to resign and leave the Xia Kingdom.
Duke experts would be welcomed no matter where they went, and numerous powers would extend a generous olive branch towards them. Plus, it was not advisable to stay in the Xia Kingdom now that Other Disasters were commonplace.
The bright side was that these mentors were the minority; otherwise, the Astral Sage College would exist in name only.
Mentor Chi Chan shook her head. "It was all thanks to Li Luo. When I arrived at the Heavenly Origin Ancient College, no one was interested in speaking to me. If not for him and his extraordinary background, I would not have resolved this th.o.r.n.y issue."
Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin sighed. "I suppose only those with powerful backgrounds are able to s.h.i.+ne so brightly. Even the Princ.i.p.al treated him politely."
She then changed the topic. "It's a pity we weren't able to get our hands on a high-grade Tree of Resonant Power sapling."
To the college, the high-grade Tree of Resonant Power was their most important foundation. Only with it could their college grow and strengthen itself.
Mentor Chi Chan said, "When I left, Li Luo represented the Astral Sage College to join the ancient college's mobilization mission. I heard that it was incredibly dangerous, and even their Heavenly Star Hall was called in. He said that if he managed to contribute enough, he could obtain a high-grade Tree of Resonant Power sapling for us."
"Li Luo values his relations.h.i.+ps. Our college is lucky indeed," Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin replied.
Shen then turned towards Wei Sha, the old dean. "I heard that Li Luo came from Southwind Academy. Dean Wei, you have indeed given us a great seedling."
Hearing Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin's words filled Wei Sha with numerous emotions. Who would have expected that the youth with a blank palace would reach the heights he had today? As Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin spoke with Wei Sha, she sighed gently. If the ancient college's Heavenly Star Hall students had been called on, it meant that the mission was of incredible danger. Li Luo was at the Heavenly Pearl Tier, but that was nothing in the eyes of those students. Thus, she did not get her hopes up.
But what could she do but hope when they were in such dire straits?
As she was lost in thought, two young people approached them from the team of elites that had returned.
One was male and the other female.
The young lady was carrying a Cherry Blossom Spear. She was tall and her short hair brushed her ears, giving her a heroic temperament. It was Bai Doudou.
The other one was a young man with an uninhibited smile on his face. Obviously, it was Yu Lang.
The only thing was that Yu Lang had greatly matured in the span of a year. He had seen and experienced far too much, yet the look in his eyes remained the same. If Li Luo were here, he would remark that his gaze was resolute but filled with a hint of stupidity. The duo seemed to have gotten a lot closer since Li Luo’s departure.
They respectfully greeted Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin.
"Things must have been tough for the two of you," Su Xin said gently. The two had partic.i.p.ated in the mission and had managed to return safely.
She knew that Yu Lang was Li Luo's good friend, and if anything happened to him, it would be hard to explain things. However, who could guarantee anything when they were risking their lives on the front lines against the Others? Excluding him from these missions wouldn't be possible, considering his personality.
"Mentor Chi Chan, I was busy with the mission, so I didn't have time to hear about that brat Li Luo yet." Yu Lang immediately flashed a grin towards her.
"Did you tell him that I am the strongest Three Star Hall student that tied with Qin Zhulu? Once I enter the Four Star Hall, I'll break into the Heavenly Pearl Tier too."
Bai Doudou's gaze was complicated as she looked at the happy-go-lucky Yu Lang. Since he had cultivated Mentor Mi Er's secret art, his resonance could no longer exceed the sixth-grade, but it allowed his personal strength to advance by leaps and bounds.
She blamed herself for that. If not for the fact that her family looked down upon him, he would not have chosen such a path.
At the end of the day, he simply wanted to be a suitable match for her.
With that thought, she bravely stretched her hand out and grabbed Yu Lang's hand before everyone.
Yu Lang's eyebrows jumped and he immediately felt his spirit lift. It was a pity Li Luo wasn't here. Otherwise, he would definitely sing praises about Yu Lang's charming personality, and even Bai Doudou would undoubtedly be impressed...
Just as Yu Lang was dreaming of these fanciful thoughts, the expressions of Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin and Mentor Chi Chan suddenly changed and they turned their heads towards the center of the college. A pillar of light had shot out into the sky from the low-grade Tree of Resonant Power.
Everyone was shocked by this sudden development.
Just what was happening?
When the pillar of light appeared, all of the students stopped in their tracks with expressions of shock.
Even Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin, Mentor Chi Chan, and Dean Wei Sha were taken aback.
"Did something happen to the Tree of Resonant Power?" Wei Sha hurriedly asked.
All of the students were currently relying on the Tree of Resonant Power, and although its effects were not comparable to the Astral Sage College's old one, it was something that supported the students' hearts and minds. If something were to happen to it, the Astral Sage College would descend into the depths of despair.
Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin frowned slightly. "It doesn't seem like it."