New student zone, Tree of Resonant Power.
Many students were finishing up their first cultivation session. The ones that were done were staring in shock at a particular violet jade leaf. There was still a two-colored resonant luminescence going on.
Even the elite students like Qin Zhulu and Bai Doudou were surprised. Their own resonant luminescences had only lasted for about ten minutes, which was rather decent. Even the legendary Jiang Qing'e had only managed 20.
Even so, 20 had already broken the record.
But Li Luo had already managed 18 minutes.
Was he going to surpass Jiang Qing'e?
Those last two minutes ticked by quickly enough. At the 20-minute mark, the light from Li Luo's body still did not cease.
“Hua!”
Students all over the tree were shouting.
Li Luo had actually surpassed Jiang Qing'e in duration!
She had a ninth-grade light resonance, for crying out loud!
"Li Luo!" Duze Beixuan hissed with jealousy. Why was Li Luo there every time he turned around?
"Li Luo is lasting so long…" Si Qiuying murmured in surprise, looking at the two spheres of overlapping blue and green light.
She had not expected that. He had not made an impression at all during their first meeting.
Which made her recall Jiang Qing'e's words.
That Li Luo might one day top the newcomers at the Astral Sage College.
Si Qiuying had not dared to retort to Jiang Qing'e openly then, but she hadn't thought much of it. Jiang Qing'e was just defending Li Luo.
But now…
She bit her lip. No way. Li Luo had indeed taken an unusual win over Duze Beixuan, but top newcomer? He still had a ways to go. Qin Zhulu, Wang Hejiu, Bai Doudou… none of them were going to be lying down.
Lu Qing'er smiled when she looked over, seeing a whole crowd of students gawking over Li Luo's light.
Back at Southwind Academy, he had developed a meekness in his personality, a defensive mechanism in response to his blank palaces.
It wasn't a bad thing, but her heart went out to him sometimes. He was brilliant, and he didn't lose to anyone… not even Jiang Qing'e.
Someone with his skills should be popular as well.
Therefore, she watched his rise in the Astral Sage College with quiet enjoyment. He had started to make waves left and right.
"Damn, Brother Luo's owning it."
Yu Lang whistled. "I guess he's going to be known as the man who can last the longest in the Astral Sage College."
He nodded proudly. He would talk it over with Zhao Kuo and the others. Maybe they could make a signboard with "Longest Lasting Man" on it or something. Hang it at Li Luo's place and let all of the Astral Sage College know.
The five Violet Vibrance mentors were silent as the new students went wild, but on the inside, their minds were equally blown. They stared in utter silence.
All of them wanted to know just how long he would last.
Time ticked on.
Another 10 minutes.
And still his resonant luminescence was going strong. Only after another 10 minutes did it start to dim, before fading away.
A total of 40 minutes.
Twice as long as Jiang Qing'e!
The sound of the students' collective exhales of amazement was heard all across the zone. Some were sniffling.
40 minutes was ridiculous.
Another record at the Astral Sage College, and this one left second place in the dust. It seemed like this record might never be broken.
There was a stunned silence among the five mentors.
Chi Chan's eyes were bright, and one could only imagine that she was smiling widely under her veil. This was joyous news indeed.
"I guess there's something special about Li Luo's dual resonances after all," she said with a hint of mockery.
Shen Jinxiao knew that there was nothing he could say to flip the situation to his favor. He poured himself one last cup of tea and downed it alongside his anger.
"Haha, that kid's something special. He might not have the brightness that Jiang Qing'e did, but that stamina—it's like he is a damn tree, man. I wonder who's stronger overall," Cao Sheng said before belching.
"In all these years, it's my first time seeing a resonant luminescence last that long as well." Mi Er agreed.
"So this is why dual resonances are special? But it still shouldn't be this long," Chu Zi said, puzzled.
Li Luo's dual resonances were not of a high grade. Together, they were maybe an eighth-grade. He hadn't even mastered proper duality in his cultivation yet. How had his resonant luminescence lasted so long?
The other mentors shook their heads in puzzlement as well, eventually accepting that they still did not fully understand how dual resonances worked at the Resonant Master Stage.
"Whoo!"
Li Luo took a long, lazy stretch. He felt a rare snugness in his own skin, a good feeling all over, as though he had just soaked in a spring of spirit liquids until even his bones were saturated.
He took a look at his resonant palaces. Both of his resonance seeds had become much fuller, and there were resonant power marks all across them with petal-like patterns.
…The Flowering Seed Tier.
His resonant luminescence had helped him jump from the Clear Seed Tier straight to the Flowering Seed Tier. That was quite significant.
"Settle down, students. The Tree of Resonant Power is active only for a limited time each day. Use it wisely. Cultivate," a mentor reminded them.
The students eventually calmed back down, quickly returning to their own training.
As for Li Luo, his resonant luminescence might have ended, but he was not yet done with cultivating. There was still time left, and he was feeling good. He should draw in some worldly natural energy to firm up his resonant power.
He closed his eyes.
Before he knew it, six hours had passed.
A disruptive crackle sounded, signaling the end of the cultivation time. The students relaxed.
"Not bad. It was worth the wait."
Li Luo was pleased. His first visit to the tree had been extremely fruitful. He had probably covered a couple of months' worth of cultivation.
He stood up and stretched.
His eyes narrowed.
They had landed on a violet jade leaf some distance away, which students were surrounding. It was Lu Qing'er's position.
She had probably just finished her cultivation, and her pretty features were currently in a neutral expression. Which meant that she was irritated.
And the source of her irritation was not hard to pin down. It had to be the fan-waving, greasy, smiling "nice guy" who was doing his best to talk her ear off.
Wang Hejiu.
Li Luo frowned.
It was natural to chase pretty girls, but one had to consider if the other party was willing, right? Otherwise, it was harassment.
And in Lu Qing'er's case, it sure looked like harassment.
Are you messing with my friends, little poison birdie? In all my years of life, I've never met someone as obnoxious as you.