Chapter 55

As the academy's major exam gradually entered the elimination stage, the massive crystal wall outside Bai Ling Mountain began to show increasingly rapid changes in points, revealing the intense competition taking place.

Countless gazes were fixed on the crystal wall, occasionally bursting into exclamations of amazement and groans of despair, as everyone paid close attention to the performance of their academy's students.

Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing were also closely monitoring their young lord. When they saw Li Luo's points steadily increasing, smiles appeared on their faces.

"The young lord is doing pretty well," Cai Wei said, gently waving a flower-patterned fan and giggling.

"It's probably because he hasn't encountered strong opponents yet. As the elimination stage progresses, the remaining competitors will all be tough opponents. Only then will we see his true strength," Yan Lingqing analyzed cautiously.

Cai Wei nodded slightly, her smile blooming like a flower. "But I believe the young lord can do it."

"Are you that confident?"

"Because good looks mean justice," Cai Wei said with a serious expression.

"Boring," Yan Lingqing adjusted her silver-rimmed glasses and ignored her.

In the dense forest.

Ding!

Li Luo and his two companions surrounded a poor soul. With a look of despair, the three of them stripped him of all his points and then left, leaving the poor soul in tears.

"Our points have reached 1,500," Li Luo glanced at their crystal badges. The 1,500 points were the result of their efforts for most of the morning, and beneath that were a group of greedy and unfortunate fish.

"But it's getting harder to catch them," Zhao Kuo said with some worry. In the last hour, they had only caught one poor soul.

"Because our reputation for fishing has spread," Li Luo said.

During the morning of fishing, they hadn't always been successful. Some of the fish were very slippery and quite capable, so a few had managed to escape. These escapees had also spread the word about Li Luo and his companions' fishing activities.

So, the students in this area would not easily fall for their tricks.

"Continuing to fish isn't realistic. As more and more people are eliminated, we'll need to fight hard to gain more points," Li Luo said, not really expecting to keep fishing indefinitely.

Zhao Kuo and Yu Lang nodded, understanding this as well.

While chatting, the three of them continued to move forward cautiously. However, as they advanced, they suddenly noticed a thin mist spreading through the forest.

The mist quickly became thicker.

Li Luo stopped, furrowing his brow. "Something's not right, let's get out of here."

Immediately, the three turned and quickly retreated along the way they came.

After running for a few minutes, Li Luo suddenly turned his head and realized that Yu Lang and Zhao Kuo, who had been following him, had disappeared.

Li Luo pondered for a moment, then searched the nearby bushes. He finally saw gray mushrooms, which were continuously emitting the mist.

"These are fog mushrooms."

Li Luo was somewhat frustrated. The mist emitted by these mushrooms could disorient people, and they had unknowingly entered an area filled with fog mushrooms.

Yu Lang and Zhao Kuo had likely lost their way while running and fallen behind.

"This is really troublesome."

Li Luo stepped on the fog mushrooms, crushing them. Although the mist was troublesome, it should have a time limit. As long as he waited for the mist to clear, he should be able to find them.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mist.

Zhao Kuo and Yu Lang were walking together. They had also realized they had lost Li Luo and were a bit confused. They could only continue to move forward cautiously.

After walking for a while, they heard footsteps coming from ahead. They were delighted, and Zhao Kuo tentatively called out, "Brother Luo?"

The footsteps became clearer, and a figure appeared in their field of vision. When they saw who it was, their expressions changed slightly.

It wasn't Li Luo, but someone they had encountered before.

It was Lian Zhong from Dong Yuan Academy, who had previously tried to snatch their ghost-faced fruit.

Lian Zhong, with a cold smile, stared at the two of them. "I didn't catch Li Luo, but I found two little followers first."

Without hesitation, Zhao Kuo and Yu Lang split up and ran. Lian Zhong was clearly waiting for them, and his target was Li Luo.

However, as they started to run, two more figures appeared in their escape routes, blocking their way.

There were four of them in total.

And from the crystal badges on their chests, they were all from Dong Yuan Academy.

"Let's fight them!" Zhao Kuo's eyes glinted with a fierce light.

But Yu Lang raised his hands and quickly said, "Surrender, surrender, we surrender!"

Lian Zhong was taken aback, a mocking smile appearing on his lips. "Are the people from Nan Feng Academy so weak?"

Zhao Kuo roared, "Yu Lang, what are you doing?! Do you think they'll let you go if you surrender?!"

"Zhao Kuo, they're after Li Luo, not us," Yu Lang said.

"Damn, you scumbag!"

Zhao Kuo, his face flushed with anger, threw a fierce punch.

Yu Lang quickly dodged, his expression turning sour. "You're overreacting. We're not really Li Luo's subordinates."

Then he looked at Lian Zhong, who was watching the scene with amusement, and said, "Brother, let me off this time."

Lian Zhong laughed. "Didn't you tell me before that you and Li Luo were life-and-death friends?"

Yu Lang, embarrassed, said, "I was joking. It was just talk. If you let me go, I can help you find Li Luo. He set up a special way to contact us."

Zhao Kuo's eyes were about to pop out of his head as he charged at Yu Lang, trying to beat him to death, but was intercepted by two Dong Yuan Academy students.

Lian Zhong narrowed his eyes, staring at Yu Lang. "Do you think I'll believe you?"

Yu Lang, tears in his eyes, said, "If you had heard, you'd know that Li Luo and I have a deep-seated grudge. During the Nan Feng Academy preliminary exam, he used ruthless means and severely injured me, leaving me bedridden for many days. Even now, my body aches when it rains."

"Previously, I unfortunately met them and was coerced into joining their team."

One of the Dong Yuan Academy students whispered in Yu Lang's ear, "I've heard of this guy. He's known for being greedy and willing to do anything for money. During the Nan Feng Academy preliminary exam, he was indeed beaten badly by Li Luo. My friend from Nan Feng Academy told me that Li Luo beat him so badly that blood was everywhere, and it was truly heart-wrenching to see."

Lian Zhong frowned, then heard Yu Lang say, "Actually, I hinted at it before."

"Hinted at what?"

Yu Lang smiled coyly. "I told you to pay more. If you paid more, I could help you."

Lian Zhong was taken aback. Yu Lang had indeed said that, but he hadn't believed him. Now, considering Yu Lang's reputation, could it be that he was really hinting at something?

If so, this guy was truly despicable.

Lian Zhong crossed his arms and said coolly, "If you can really bring Li Luo here, I'll let you go."

Regardless of whether what this guy said was true, as long as he could bring Li Luo, it would be fine.

Yu Lang was overjoyed. "No problem!"

"Zhao Kuo has a very close relationship with Li Luo. We can use him as a hostage. When we lure Li Luo here, we can use him to threaten Li Luo, making him hesitate to act," Yu Lang suggested helpfully.

Lian Zhong stared at Yu Lang for a moment. "You betray your teammates so easily?"

Yu Lang smiled awkwardly.

"Yu Lang, you'll pay for this! I won't let you off!" Zhao Kuo roared in fury.

"Bind him and gag his mouth," Lian Zhong waved his hand.

Four Dong Yuan Academy students rushed forward and tied up Zhao Kuo.

Lian Zhong stood next to Yu Lang, a sword at the latter's neck, and smiled. "Now, use your contact method to bring Li Luo here."

"If he doesn't come, you'll be eliminated."

Yu Lang patted his chest, his face serious.

"Brother, rest assured. Li Luo will definitely fall for it. When you capture him, make sure to beat him up. I've hated his stunning good looks for a long time!"

Lian Zhong, hearing this, touched his rough, ordinary face, then thought of something, and anger and hatred flashed in his eyes.

Because he hated these pretty boys who relied on their looks the most!

Yu Lang's words struck a chord with him.

Losing a fight is acceptable, but a handsome guy must die! And someone as handsome as Li Luo must be torn to pieces!