Li Luo’s quiet-life self-recommendation earned himself an eye-roll from Xin Fu and a giggle out of Bai Mengmeng. Their leader was always so straightforward. He hid nothing, skipping and hooting straight for the gold-eye treasured artifact in the school’s vaults.
Chi Chan ignored his cheeky statement and coughed lightly to get their attention again. “And like I said, Fifth Pattern is not enough.”
“Don’t underestimate me, mentor,” Li Luo argued. “You don’t know what a savage fighter I am now.”
Chi Chan ignored him again. “Seven matches in the ticket match. Each is important. If there is one that we are confident of winning, that would be over at Three Star Hall.”
She smiled confidently. “Of course, I’m referring to Jiang Qing’e’s match.”
“Ninth-grade resonance, hardworking, and one of the most talented students that Astral Sage College has seen in a hundred years. The school has high hopes for her. Not just the ticket match, but she stands a good chance of being the strongest Three Star Hall student in all of East Divine Continent.”
“It’s basically a free win for Astral Sage College.”
“As for the other six matches, it’s hard to tell before the fight begins. Blue Abyss Sage College is not as strong as some of the others, like Enlightened Sage College. Still, they pour hard work and resources into their students, and it goes far. They might not have as good a batch of students compared to us, but from our intelligence, we hear that this iteration of Blue Abyss Sage College has two upper eighth-grade students.”
Li Luo, Xin Fu, and Bai Mengmeng s.h.i.+vered a little. Two upper eighth-grades… that was very strong indeed. Even in Astral Sage College’s One Star Hall, they only had Qin Zhulu at that level. Of course, they also had Li Luo’s unusual dual resonances.
The other sage colleges must have their own hidden talents as well. They could not let their guard down just because Astral Sage College’s reputation was slightly better.
“Still, resonance grade is important, but it does not mean everything. Strength is drawn from many different elements. In a fight to the death, a high resonance grade grants an advantage, but no guarantee.”
“Mastery of the resonance arts, mastery in usage, tenacity, and of course… luck. Seizing opportunities in battle.”
“We cannot be sure yet which of the upper eighth-grade One Star Hall students will take the field. But in a month both may well reach First Changing. Which means that they will step onto the field with an advantage over you. Don’t ask me how they did it – each sage college has its own advantages, and will surely use them as best they can to build strong students.”
“So if you want to defeat them, you have to reach the Evolving Resonance tier in a month as well! The gap between Pattern Genesis tier and Evolving Resonance tier is quite big. Even with your dual resonances, you might not be able to fully overcome an upper eighth-grade. And surely whoever steps onto the battlefield as your opponent will possess the same qualities of a good fighter.”
Li Luo nodded. Back at the Golden Dragon Dao Fields, he had been a Third Pattern. Although he had not feared First Changing opponents thanks to his dual resonances and Resonant Bubble art, but those opponents had seventh-grade or below resonances. Against someone of Qin Zhulu’s caliber, he would still be at a disadvantage. For example, Zhao Ziyang had a lower eighth-grade resonance, and was a Second Changing. Even with his full strength, Li Luo had only managed to tear down his defenses. If they had fought to the death, Li Luo would likely have lost… excluding the three-tailed heavenly wolf from the equation.
After all, those with eighth-grade resonances constantly lived and fought the best. Who among them didn’t have the will to win? Such opponents could never be underestimated.
Although Li Luo had defeated the Third Changing Lin Suo, but Lin Suo’s resonance grade was only seventh-grade. More, Li Luo had needed the power of the three-tailed heavenly wolf to defeat him.
Li Luo did not intend to use such a ghastly power for the ticket match. Firstly, the corruption had to be countered with Seraph’s Pearl, but even so some vestiges of corruption would linger, especially if he used it too frequently. Secondly, if he had to use his trump card even during the ticket match, he would be saving nothing for the main show!
Just as mentor Chi Chan had said – if he truly wished to become Astral Sage College’s One Star Hall representative, he would have to get to First Changing to win a nod of approval.
Also, if he reached the Evolving Resonance tier, he would only be one more stage away from the goal that Jiang Qing’e had set him: Second Changing.
Before he reached this point, he had thought her targets had been quite ambitious. But through his various opportunities, suddenly he found that he wasn’t too far away after al.
“Mentor Chi Chan, how strong can the One Star Hall students at the Holy Grail Meet potentially be?” Li Luo asked.
“The strongest One Star Hall students?” Chi Chan considered it. “If you want to be the strongest, you would probably need to be Second Changing, or better.” Li Luo’s eyes bulged. “Or better?! Wasn’t Jiang Qing’e only Second Changing herself at the end of the first year? You mean there are others who can compete against her from the other sage colleges?” Chi Chan looked at him. “She told you that?”
“Is that not the case?” Li Luo replied, puzzled.
Chi Chan laughed. “It is sort of true… Jiang Qing’e was indeed only a Second Changing at the end of One Star Hall. But there is a catch. It was not where she could reach, but where she chose to reach.”
“Mentor, are you saying she purposely suppressed her cultivation speed?” Li Luo said in disbelief.
“Mm. This was hotly contested even within the school. Although Second Changing is already a stupendous achievement at the end of One Star Hall, but it’s not the limit of a ninth-grade light resonance… When Jiang Qing’e was interviewed about it, the final conclusion pointed to her energy cultivation art as the reason.”
“She did not choose the energy cultivation arts of Astral Sage College… but instead the one that your parents prepared for her.” Chi Chan said.
“That energy cultivation art is incredibly profound… but strangely suppresses the cultivator’s power in the early stages of cultivation.”
Li Luo frowned. That was very confusing. All energy cultivation arts existed to make cultivation stronger. Why would his parents give her one that held her back instead?
“If I guess right, her energy cultivation art follows the iceberg theory – store a lot but show little. The suppression creates a pressure that will one day explode.” Chi Chan said, as if reading his mind.
Li Luo’s eyes narrowed. A long suppression, all for an explosive push someday? When would that day be? Clearly, Jiang Qing’e had not told him everything about this.
“In any case, there is no need for you to treat Jiang Qing’e as the gold standard for strength at the Holy Grail Meet,” Chi Chan continued. “It is not the maximum standard possible… besides, when Jiang Qing’e was a One Star Hall student, there was no Holy Grail Meet.”
“Without the Holy Grail Meet, the school will not lavish resources on the students. For example, the special training that you are undergoing. Natural individual talent is important, but the power of resources cannot be underestimated either. You should know this all too well.”
Li Luo nodded. Whether in Umbra Cave’s onyx lake or Golden Dragon Dao Fields’s dao-gold cultivation breakthrough, he had achieved enormous breakthroughs that had catapulted him onwards. Without them, Li Luo would probably only be at the Fourth Pattern.
“Also, I’m not the one with the final say on the One Star Hall representative. All the Violet Vibrance mentors are eying the position. Although you and Qin Zhulu stand the best chance, but it’s really a race in the next one month to see who can break through into the Evolving Resonance tier,” Chi Chan reminded him.
Li Luo nodded. Seven matches at the ticket match. Each played a part in determining if Astral Sage College could qualify. The school would definitely take this decision seriously. They would not casually recommend him without careful consideration.
“Mentor, what’s the special training lined up?” Li Luo asked curiously.
She smiled. “You guys are in luck. To have the Holy Grail Meet not even a year into your school life. The school has really brought out everything you could ask for. They’ve opened Angelwood Hollow for you.”
“Angelwood Hollow?” the trio asked.
“It’s a small s.p.a.ce carved out of the Tree of Resonant Power. The essence of the tree is collected there. It will greatly increase one’s cultivation speed, and does not harm one’s foundations or core.”
“Especially now that all of you are aiming for the Evolving Resonance tier – the hardest leap within the Resonant Master stage. Once you succeed, you will be at the peak of the Resonant Master stage, and begin your power acc.u.mulation for the uncharted territory of the General stage.”
“The energy essence in Angelwood Hollow has been stored by the Tree of Resonant Power for years. It is normally left alone, but only for a compet.i.tion as important as the Holy Grail Meet does the school unlock this special resource for the competing students to get a needed boost.”
“Furthermore, only Violet Vibrance students are granted the privilege of using it,” she told them.
The three nodded, humbled by their privilege. The world was not always and completely fair. The school wanted the best students, and would of course spend its limited resources on those with the greatest potential. The Gold Gleam and Silver Spark students would have to follow the rules. “Be prepared to move at any time. The other Violet Vibrance squads will also enter Angelwood Hollow at the same time. That is the final special training that the school has lined up for you.” She rose and moved to the door.
All three watched her go, eyes s.h.i.+ning with curiosity and antic.i.p.ation.