With the alliance between Li Luo’s and Qin Zhulu’s squads, the meta finally started to s.h.i.+ft.
Li Luo and Qin Zhulu took on the four Second Changing advanced absinthe puppets together, while Xin Fu,Bai Mengmeng, Lu Qing’er, and Yin Yue worked as a separate team to hold down the other absinthe puppets.
In truth, Li Luo and Qin Zhulu needed less than 10 minutes to finish off their side, destroying the advanced absinthe puppets as ruthlessly as if they had been removing weeds.
With the four advanced absinthe puppets taken down, the problem became much simpler. Li Luo and Qin Zhulu cut off manageable waves of absinthe puppets while leaving the rest with their teammates. As a result, the level which had stumped them all was now cleared easily.
As the voluminous absinthe energy descended upon them, they all cheered happily.
This alliance had changed the dynamic of the special training.
In one day, the two squads did not even stop at their usual one level per day. They continued to move on to level 37.
With this newfound speed, they started to pull further ahead of the other squads.
Bai Doudou’s and Yi Lisha’s squads started their own alliance, and they too found new speeds.
Surprisingly it was w.a.n.g Hejiu’s squad which continued their slow, individual crawl. Soon enough they were left far behind by the other four, who had no idea what they were thinking…
The next day, their questions were answered.
w.a.n.g Hejiu’s squad had cleared four levels in one day!
Originally, the Li Luo-Qin Zhulu squads had reached level 38, while w.a.n.g Hejiu’s squad was only at level 34. But in a single day, w.a.n.g Hejiu’s squad shot up to level 38, as though they had doped up on steroids or something.
The results were stupendous.
How had w.a.n.g Hejiu’s team suddenly become so strong? Impossible!
Staring over, they spotted a team with them that they had not seen before… It was the Violet Vibrance squad led by Ye Qiuding from Two Star Hall! w.a.n.g Hejiu was actually working together with a Two Star Hall in Angelwood Hollow! “d.a.m.n, that’s against the rules, isn’t it?!” Yu Lang swore.
The others were not happy about it either. After all, the absinthe energy quota in Angelwood Hollow was divided by halls. For example, 10 portions for One Star Hall, to be divided between five One Star Hall squads. That was the size of the pie. If now Ye Qiuding’s Two Star Hall squad joined them, then it was basically six squads fighting for the same pie!
He was basically giving away what belonged to One Star Hall!
Li Luo frowned. w.a.n.g Hejiu’s actions were bending the rules dangerously far.
He understood the thought – with the help of a Two Star Hall squad, they could clear more levels, and get more absinthe energy. Sure, maybe Ye Qiuding’s squad got the better end of the deal, but of course w.a.n.g Hejiu would rather help Ye Qiuding than the other One Star Hall squads.
They were his rivals after all. Plus, the personal grudges.
With Ye Qiuding’s squad in the mix, w.a.n.g Hejiu’s squad fought like hamsters put into cyborg suits. They could get the majority of the absinthe energy… that was bad news for Li Luo.
“That’s too much,” Lu Qing’er said angrily, stomping her food.
“Leader, since they want to play dirty, why not ask senior Jiang to help us as well?” Xin Fu suggested.
“Three Star Hall is not training in Angelwood Hollow,” Bai Mengmeng reminded him. “So it’s not possible.”
“What then?” Xin Fu moaned.
“Well strictly speaking, what they’re doing is unfair, but not against the rules,” Li Luo said thoughtfully. “Let’s see what the five Violet Vibrance mentors think about this.”
The others nodded glumly, settling back to wait.
Li Luo was right. While w.a.n.g Hejiu and Ye Qiuding teamed up, the One Star Hall Violet Vibrance mentors were indeed embroiled in a bitter argument.
“Shen Jinxiao, just how unscrupulous are your students? In order to get more absinthe energy, they would stoop so low and harm everyone? Or is this all just part of your plan?” Chi Chan was the first to fire an accusation.
“Mentor Chi Chan,” Shen Jinxiao said mildly. “Is this against the rules?”
“Shen Jinxiao, this is not a wordplay debate. Rules are guidelines for morals. As One Star Hall students, of course they should preserve goodness for One Star Hall. To give it away to others speaks of their traitorous hearts.” Chi Chan shouted.
“It seems like mentor Chi Chan does not see Two Star Hall students as part of Astral Sage College?” Shen Jinxiao countered.
“Preposterous!” Chi Chan thundered.
The other mentors frowned, unsure of how to deal with this. The matter was not clear-cut. Indeed, w.a.n.g Hejiu’s actions were over-the-top, but such conduct had not been explicitly banned in Angelwood Hollow. They might chastise w.a.n.g Hejiu’s squad for using unscrupulous means to get absinthe energy, but they could not stop it.
Therefore, after a heated discussion, Cao Sheng stepped in. “Let’s report this to the Gilded Palace first, and leave it to vice princ.i.p.al Su Xin to adjudicate.”
The other Violet Vibrance mentors nodded. Chi Chan gave a final cold sniff. She knew that this would be the final course of action, actually, but still she wanted to give Shen Jinxiao a piece of her mind before that.
The other Violet Vibrance mentors held their peace, but it was clear that they were not happy with Shen Jinxiao either. This had gone too far, and if word got out, the other Halls and mentors would laugh at their shame.
Li Luo’s and Qin Zhulu’s squads waited for a long time, and heard nothing from the mentors. They understood what it meant then.
Silence meant consent.
w.a.n.g Hejiu had found a powerful exploit that not even the Violet Vibrance mentors could stop by rescinding their cultivating privileges in Angelwood Hollow. They suspected that Shen Jinxiao had a strong hand in this whole affair.
“That son of a b*tch…” Li Luo swore inwardly.
Outwardly, he turned to Qin Zhulu’s squad. “Well, are you brave enough to go up against the Two Star Hall Violet Vibrance squads?”
Qin Zhulu gave him a lopsided grin, his eyes half mad and half determined.
“Exactly what I wanted!”