Chapter 15

When Li Luo walked into Nanyang Academy again, although it had only been a week, he felt as if he had entered a different world.

He looked at the crowds of people coming and going, the bustling noise, and the youthful vigor of the boys and girls.

However, Li Luo also noticed that many peculiar gazes were fixed on him, and he could faintly hear some discussions.

"Isn't that Li Luo? He finally came to the academy."

"What happened to his hair? Did he dye it?"

"He seems to have taken a week off. The final exam is only a month away, and he still dares to take a leave. Is he just giving up?"

"I heard that Li Luo might be about to drop out. He might not even participate in the final exam."

"Is it that bad?"

"......"

Hearing those low murmurs, Li Luo was speechless. He had only taken a week off, but it seemed that rumors of him dropping out had already spread.

However, he had no interest in defending himself. He walked straight through the crowd and quickly headed towards the Second Academy.

When he reached the entrance of the Second Academy's training ground, Li Luo's steps slowed down because he saw the Second Academy's mentor, Xu Shanyue, standing there, staring at him with a stern look.

Li Luo's face showed an awkward smile as he hurriedly greeted, "Mentor Xu."

Xu Shanyue stared at Li Luo, his eyes filled with disappointment, and said, "Li Luo, I know the problem with your Kōngxiāng has put a lot of pressure on you, but you shouldn't give up at this time."

Li Luo quickly replied, "I haven't given up."

Xu Shanyue said sternly, "Then why did you take a week off at this critical moment? Everyone else is working hard, but you took a leave to rest?"

Li Luo was helpless, but he knew that Xu Shanyue was doing this for his own good, so he didn't argue and just nodded obediently.

After scolding him for a while, Xu Shanyue could only sigh inwardly. He gave Li Luo a deep look and then turned to walk into the training ground.

Li Luo quickly followed. The training ground was spacious, with a platform in the center that was several dozen meters long and wide. The surrounding stone steps formed a ring around it, layering up from near to far.

On the stone steps, there were stone cushions.

On each stone cushion, a boy or girl was sitting cross-legged.

When Li Luo walked in, he naturally drew the attention of many people, and whispers erupted.

Li Luo, who had been absent for a week, had clearly become a topic of discussion at Nanyang Academy again.

Li Luo remained calm in the face of those gazes and went directly to his stone cushion. Next to him was Zhao Kuo, a tall and muscular figure. Seeing him, Zhao Kuo asked in surprise, "What happened to your hair?"

Li Luo glanced at him and casually replied, "I just dyed it. It's called 'grandma gray.' Isn't it pretty trendy?"

Zhao Kuo: "..."

Li Luo suddenly noticed that Zhao Kuo's face seemed to have some bruises. Just as he was about to ask, Xu Shanyue's voice, full of energy, echoed from the center of the training ground: "Students, the final exam is getting closer. I hope you all will work hard in these final moments. If you can enter a high-level academy, there will be many benefits in the future."

"I also want to commend Zhao Kuo and Yuan Qiu. They have both reached the Sixth Seal in their Xiangli. If they work a bit harder, they might even reach the Seventh Seal before the final exam."

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There were some sighs of admiration in the training ground. Li Luo also looked at Zhao Kuo in surprise, realizing that he wasn't the only one who had made progress during the week.

After praising Zhao Kuo, Xu Shanyue didn't say much more and began the day's lesson.

Li Luo focused intently. Xu Shanyue taught three Xiangshu techniques: two low-level and one mid-level. He patiently explained the key points of each technique, showing great dedication.

The classification of Xiangshu techniques is similar to that of guiding techniques, except that the entry-level guiding techniques are divided into low, mid, and high levels.

After these three levels, there are the same three levels of Xiangshu techniques: General, Marquis, and King.

Of course, such high-level Xiangshu techniques are still too distant for beginners like them, who are at the Tenth Seal. Even if they learned them, they would likely find it difficult to use them with their current Xiangli.

Li Luo's talent in Xiangshu is well-known. If it were just a matter of Xiangshu, he was confident that there were very few students in Nanyang Academy who could surpass him.

So, when Xu Shanyue had barely finished explaining the three Xiangshu techniques, Li Luo had already grasped them.

"Alright, that's it for today's Xiangshu lesson. This afternoon, we have the Xiangli class. You all need to practice well." Two hours later, Xu Shanyue stopped the lesson, gave some instructions, and then announced a break.

Li Luo sat in his seat, stretched, and yawned. Zhao Kuo came over and said with a smile, "Brother Xiaoluo, can you help me understand those three Xiangshu techniques later?"

Zhao Kuo was well aware of Li Luo's talent in Xiangshu. In the past, whenever he encountered difficult techniques, he would always seek Li Luo's help.

Li Luo teased, "You only call me Brother Xiaoluo when you need help?"

Zhao Kuo smiled, but the pain from the bruises on his face made him wince.

"What happened to you?" Li Luo asked.

Zhao Kuo frowned and said, "It's all because of that Bei Kun from the First Academy. He's been acting strange lately, always causing trouble for us in the Second Academy. I couldn't stand it and ended up fighting him a few times."

He pointed to the bruises on his face and said proudly, "That guy hits hard, but I didn't let him off easy either. I almost smashed his pretty face."

At this point, some other students from the Second Academy gathered around, indignant. "That Bei Kun is despicable. We didn't provoke him, but he keeps picking fights with us."

"Thankfully we have Zhao Kuo, or no one could have stopped him."

Zhao Kuo waved them off and then asked in a low voice, "Have you recently offended that Bei Kun? It seems he's targeting you."

Hearing this, Li Luo suddenly remembered that before he left the academy, Bei Kun had sent him a message through Tifa Qing, inviting him to a banquet at Qingfeng Tower. He had dismissed it as a joke, but could it be that the fool really waited at Qingfeng Tower for a whole day?

And since he hadn't come to the academy for a week, Bei Kun had taken out his anger on the Second Academy students?

Li Luo smiled and patted Zhao Kuo's shoulder, saying, "It might be true. Looks like you've taken a few hits for me."

"I don't mind. If I hadn't fought him, I might not have broken through to the Sixth Seal."

Zhao Kuo shrugged and then said, "But now that you're back, he'll probably come for you during the Xiangli class this afternoon."

He thought for a moment and then patted his chest, saying, "I'll handle it. Let's see if a few more fights can help me break through to the Seventh Seal."

Li Luo smiled. Zhao Kuo was straightforward and loyal, a rare friend. However, he couldn't let his friend take the hit for him.

So, he just said, "We'll see."

...

In the afternoon, the Xiangli class.

To the north of Nanyang Academy, there was a vast forest. The forest was lush, and when the wind blew, it seemed to create waves of green.

In the center of the forest stood a giant tree, about 200 meters tall, with a dark yellow color. Its branches were thick and extended like a huge net.

The branches of the giant tree were thick, and the most peculiar thing was that each leaf was about two meters long and wide, and about a foot thick, like a platform.

This was the Xiangli Tree.

The Xiangli Tree was not naturally grown but was made from various unique materials, neither entirely metal nor wood.

Inside the Xiangli Tree, there was an energy core that could absorb and store vast amounts of natural energy.

The large leaves of the Xiangli Tree served as cultivation platforms, each providing a place for a student to practice.

Such Xiangli Trees were essential in every academy, though their sizes varied.

In a sense, these leaves were like the golden rooms in Li Luo's old house. While the golden rooms were better in terms of individual effects, not all students had such cultivation conditions.

The leaves of the Xiangli Tree were divided into three levels: gold, silver, and bronze.

From a distance, more than 60% of the Xiangli Tree was covered in bronze leaves, with 30% silver leaves and only about 10% gold leaves.

The gold leaves were concentrated at the top of the Xiangli Tree and were rare.

Naturally, practicing on the gold leaves was more effective than on the other two types.

However, most of the gold leaves were occupied by the First Academy, which was understandable since the First Academy was the face of Nanyang Academy.

The entire Second Academy, with hundreds of students, had only ten gold leaves. As for the Third and Fourth Academies, they didn't even have the qualifications to enjoy them, showing how rare the gold leaves were.

The Xiangli Tree was only open for half a day each day. When the large bell at the top of the tree rang, it was time to open the tree, which was the most anticipated moment for all students.

At this moment, with the bell ringing, the students were excited and flooded into the forest, then climbed the giant tree along the winding wooden stairs.

Li Luo followed the crowd to the Xiangli Tree and looked up at the ten gold leaves. He felt a bit awkward because one of those gold leaves used to belong to him. According to his strength, he was second only to Zhao Kuo in the Second Academy.

However, due to the Kōngxiāng issue, he had voluntarily given up his gold leaf, which left him without a place now. He didn't feel right asking for it back.

"Never mind, I'll make do for now."

Li Luo thought for a moment and then walked to a silver leaf in the Second Academy.

As Li Luo walked to the silver leaf, some gazes from the upper part of the Xiangli Tree fell on him, filled with various emotions.