Chapter 44

In a hall of the old house, Li Luo excitedly walked in, and the first thing he saw was Cai Wei, her tall and plump figure more beautiful than flowers, her oval face smiling charmingly.

However, Li Luo had long been immune to Cai Wei's allure, so he quickly shifted his gaze and saw an iron box on the table.

He rushed over in a few steps, opened the iron box directly, and a cold light emerged. Inside lay two short knives, their blades shimmering with a cold glow.

The short knives were about a foot long, one entirely azure with faint water patterns flowing on it, while the other was pale white, said to be made of a metal called Sun Spirit Iron, which would emit a blinding light in the sunlight.

Both short knives were made of metals containing water energy and light energy, allowing Li Luo to maximize the power of his Water-Light Phase when using them as weapons.

The handles of the two knives were shaped like a beast's mouth, with fangs slightly protruding.

Looking at the two knives as a whole, their curves were more pronounced, the blades slightly bent, the cold light flowing, and they were exceptionally sharp.

Li Luo held the two knives and lightly swung them, immediately producing a faint sound of breaking wind. Then he casually slung the knives on his waist, looking particularly handsome.

"Pretty good," Li Luo nodded in satisfaction. Then he casually named the two knives: "The azure one will be called the Water Pattern Knife, and the other one will be called the Sun Pattern Knife."

"These are just a set of qualified phase tools, not yet at the level of treasure tools," Cai Wei had high standards. Apart from their slightly special design, these two short knives were not particularly valuable.

Phase tools also have different ranks, generally divided into ordinary phase tools, and above them, treasure tools.

Compared to ordinary phase tools, treasure tools are much more powerful and rare, and each one is extremely expensive, far exceeding the price of ordinary phase tools.

However, treasure tools require a stronger phase power to wield. Li Luo was currently only at the Seventh Seal Realm, so even if he were given a treasure tool, he would find it difficult to unleash its true power.

"This is enough. When I advance to the Phase Master Realm, I'll get a set of real treasure tools to try out," Li Luo said with a smile. These two short knives were prepared for the upcoming academy exam, just a temporary measure.

"Thanks, Cai Wei." Li Luo expressed his gratitude.

Cai Wei waved her hand and said, "Your academy exam should be coming up soon, right? The Southwind Academy has become much busier these days, with elite teams from various cities in the Tian Shu Prefecture being sent here."

The annual academy exam is a grand event for each prefecture. The exam's competition will attract countless people, making it a very lively affair.

Li Luo nodded and said, "There are three days left."

Cai Wei's beautiful eyes carried a hint of worry, "Are you confident?"

Although Li Luo has awakened the Water Phase, he is still behind other students. Cai Wei was unsure if he could catch up.

The importance of being admitted to the Holy玄Star Academy was clear to Cai Wei. If Li Luo could get in, it would greatly enhance his reputation. At the very least, some people in the Luo Yan Manor would no longer dare to ignore him as the young master, thus also reducing some pressure on Jiang Qing'e.

Li Luo, with the two knives slung on his waist, stroked the handles and smiled.

"Don't worry, Cai Wei. I have a reason not to lose."

Because if he couldn't even achieve this, "breaking the engagement" would be impossible for the rest of his life.

...

The holiday finally ended as scheduled.

Li Luo returned to the academy, and he and Zhao Kuo were called out by Xu Shanyue to go to the dean's office.

"Have you reached the Seventh Seal?" During the casual conversation, Li Luo learned that Zhao Kuo had improved again during the holiday, also reaching the Seventh Seal Realm, which surprised him a bit.

Zhao Kuo, with his bear-like build, scratched his head and smiled, "I didn't go home this holiday. I've been practicing in the academy. Thanks to the academy's special training, I managed to break through at the last minute."

"Zhao Kuo has been practicing hard for the past ten days," Xu Shanyue, who was leading the way, heard their conversation and turned back, acknowledging Zhao Kuo's efforts and diligence.

Li Luo also gave him a thumbs up, "Impressive."

"How can you compare to me? You're handsome, have a high aptitude for phase techniques, and have awakened the Water Phase. You'll be the next legend of the Southwind Academy after Senior Jiang Qing'e," Zhao Kuo said with a sincere face.

"I chose to be friends with you mainly because you're honest and never lie," Li Luo nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Of course, I hope Brother Luo can take care of me during the exam."

"Small matter. I'll get first place and bring you into the Holy玄Star Academy."

"Brother Luo is so cool."

"..."

Xu Shanyue, walking in front, couldn't help but frown at their shameless mutual flattery, turning back and scolding, "Shut up, we're here."

Li Luo and Zhao Kuo immediately stopped talking and looked at a courtyard ahead, where about a dozen figures were already waiting, the top twenty of the Southwind Academy.

In the crowd, Li Luo also saw familiar faces like Lu Qing'er, Song Yunfeng, and Tifa Qing.

At that moment, everyone was staring at them with teasing smiles, clearly having heard their mutual flattery.

However, Li Luo remained calm, showing no signs of embarrassment. In such situations, as long as he wasn't embarrassed, the embarrassment would be on others.

Zhao Kuo, on the other hand, wore a simple and honest smile, maintaining his straightforward and cheerful persona.

Everyone looked at the two of them, then shook their heads and turned away.

Their faces were too thick.

Li Luo was also a bit overconfident. He had forced a draw with Song Yunfeng in a competition, and now he was boasting about getting first place in the exam, without even asking if Lu Qing'er agreed.

In front of the crowd, the old dean was also present. He looked at Li Luo and Zhao Kuo with a smile and said to everyone, "It seems everyone is here."

"Let me explain the upcoming exam to you."

Upon hearing this, everyone became serious, focusing on the old dean's words.

"The academy exam will start in three days. You twenty will represent the Southwind Academy in the competition. I have only one requirement: maintain the Southwind Academy's reputation as the top academy in the Tian Shu Prefecture."

"This time, the Holy玄Star Academy has allocated fifty admission slots for the Tian Shu Prefecture."

This statement made everyone perk up their ears. Fifty slots were fewer than in previous years, making the competition even more intense.

"According to the rules, the top ten in the academy exam will each receive an admission slot to the Holy玄Star Academy. The remaining forty slots will be distributed to the academies based on the top ten's rankings."

"The academies represented by the eighth, ninth, and tenth places will receive one additional slot. The academies represented by the fifth, sixth, and seventh places will receive two additional slots."

"The academies represented by the third and fourth places will receive five additional slots."

"The academy represented by the second place will receive six additional slots."

"The academy represented by the first place... fifteen additional slots."

The last statement caused a stir among everyone. No one expected the first place to have such a significant advantage in this exam.

While the first place in previous exams also received more slots than other ranks, it was never as exaggerated as this time.

In front of the crowd, Lin Feng, the mentor of the Southwind Academy, looked at Lu Qing'er with a warm and encouraging smile, "Qing'er, if the Southwind Academy wants to maintain its reputation, it will depend on you to secure the first place."

The old dean also nodded with a particularly kind expression.

Clearly, they had high hopes for Lu Qing'er, which was understandable, as she was the pillar of the Southwind Academy.

Facing their earnest gazes, Lu Qing'er remained calm, only saying softly, "I will do my best."

The old dean nodded and then warned, "But be careful of Shi Kong from the Dongyuan Academy. He is very strong and might be your formidable opponent."

Hearing this name, Lu Qing'er's beautiful eyes showed a hint of seriousness, and she nodded seriously.

"Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come to the academy. Instead, you will stay at the 'White Spirit Garden,' where teams from various academies in the Tian Shu Prefecture will gather. In three days, you will enter the 'White Spirit Mountain' from there, which is the venue for the exam."

The old dean gave some more instructions and then concluded.

"The Southwind Academy has been in my hands for decades, and its honor is more important to me than my life. So I ask you all to work hard in the exam and help me maintain this most important thing."

The old dean's face was solemn as he bowed slightly to everyone.

The twenty students were taken aback by his gesture and quickly bowed in return.

Finally, the old dean waved his hand, and everyone began to leave with different emotions.

Li Luo walked out of the courtyard, looking at the clear blue sky, his heart surging with excitement.

The academy exam is finally here.

Unfortunately, his parents couldn't be here...

But if they were, would they shake their heads in disapproval, thinking, "This son is too foolish, not even comparable to a well-behaved disciple."

It is said that in Jiang Qing'e's class, the other academies in the Tian Shu Prefecture were completely suppressed, not daring to challenge the Southwind Academy.

When she was admitted to the Holy玄Star Academy in advance, the other academies in the Tian Shu Prefecture almost celebrated, shedding tears of joy.

Compared to Jiang Qing'e's dazzling record, Li Luo's journey was clearly more tumultuous.

Even a month ago, most people thought he wouldn't even qualify for the exam.

Thinking about this, Li Luo's surging heart cooled a bit, and he sighed.

"Meaningless."