Chapter 1077: Battle Between Two Colleges

The venue for the academic evaluation was somewhere in the east of Heavenly Origin Ancient College.

It was like the colosseum; spectators sat around a circular elevated platform that was grand and spacious. In the middle was an empty area where the battles would take place.

The area appeared extremely vast with signs of faint distortions in the world space surrounding it. It had clearly been built using a special method, making it so that the battlefield inside was larger than one could imagine.

There were countless giant, green tree trunks wriggling about like pythons in the battlefield. As if they were alive, they moved into position and formed the stage for the fight.

Some of them were large enough to form mountains and rivers while others were very small. It was truly magical.

When Li Luo and Mentor Chi Chan arrived, they moved towards the spot allocated for the Astral Sage College. They immediately drew the gazes of the crowd.

The academic evaluation had yet to begin, but Li Luo was already a well-known figure.

He did not care about those gazes. His eyes scanned the surroundings and paused on a familiar figure.

Lu Ming waved to him from the distance. Her cute face was full of excitement.

Sun Dasheng had a wide grin. However, his expression was far more friendly than the battle-hungry look he had shown Li Luo in the past. Since the gap in their strength was so wide now, there was no need for him to compete with Li Luo anymore.

Beside them, Jing Taixu's face remained impassive as he stared at Li Luo. It seemed like he was trying to figure out just how powerful Li Luo had gotten.

Further from their spot were the teams from the inner divine continent sage colleges. They were all paying close attention to Li Luo as well.

The most eye-catching ones from that group were the three sage colleges that had the highest chance to secure the first tier spots.

Thunder Sage College. Lake Sage College. Lunar Sage College.

"So, that's Li Luo from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li? Who'd have expected him to become the representative of Astral Sage College with such a background?" a charismatic young man commented with a laugh. Just like thunder, his voice was clear and loud. Quite a few beside him even frowned a little as he spoke.

However, no one dared to express their dissatisfaction. This guy was none other than Gu Jing, the titled student from the Thunder Sage College.

He was nicknamed the Thunder Caller in his college. With his exceptional strength, he was seen as the main pillar that would carry the Thunder Sage College in the evaluation.

"His father is Li Taixuan and his mother is Tan Tailan. They had to leave the inner divine continent many years ago for some reason. That must be why Li Luo ended up being born in the outer divine continent instead," a petite girl explained.

She had a fair and childish face, but if one were to look down, they would realize just how shocking her naturally endowed fruits were. This girl was known as Tong Yan or, as her nickname went, Hercules. She was one of the students from the Lunar Sage College.

"No matter what his background is, it won't help him in the academic evaluation," a guy dressed in dark blue robes calmly commented from the side.

This was Gao Xuhan, also known as the Poison Tank from the Lake Sage College.

These three were the strongest students participating in this iteration of the academic evaluation. They were all at the Illusory Seal-grade of the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier, a notch above the others.

"His achievements in the Spiritual Resonance Cave were largely obtained due to external means. He will not be allowed to utilize those during the evaluation, so Li Luo isn't as scary as the Empyrean Chronicle makes him out to be."

"Invincible? Without the assistance of those external powers, he's at most invincible in the Three Star Hall," Gao Xuhan said with a laugh.

On his side, Gu Jing and Tong Yan could not help but to snicker along with him when they heard his remark. Being invincible in the Three Star Hall was meaningless when pitted against titled students like themselves.

Li Luo was a three-pearl in the Spiritual Resonance Cave. Even though he had two more months to cultivate, he would at most be a four-pearl by now.

This was a far cry from their Illusory Seal-grade.

Back in the circular grandstand, countless people had gathered. It was bustling with so much noise that the clouds seemed to have dispersed in the sky above from the sheer clamor of the crowd.

After a while, a clear and loud chime resounded in the air. Everyone watched as two rays of light fell from the sky, directly landing on the highest visible spot.

They were none other than the two vice principals of the Heavenly Origin Ancient College, Wu Yu and Qing Man.

All the mentors and students from the various sage colleges greeted them respectfully. After all, their status as Kings was enough for them to demonstrate their admiration, even if not for their positions.

Wu Yu's eyes scanned the surroundings. As his gaze passed through the crowd, both students and mentors could feel an uncanny sense of fright rising up within their hearts. Their legs shivered uncontrollably, as if they were about to give way.

He was not trying to show off his might. After all, there was no need to do so at his level... It was simply because a King was too powerful of an existence. Every single move from him elicited waves in the space around him and was enough to make even Dukes fear for their lives. A primal and instinctive fear naturally overtook their bodies. As Wu Yu's gaze swept across the area, his eyes landed upon Li Luo and Chi Chan.

However, just as he was about to make eye contact with them, he could see from the corner of his eye that Li Luo had sneakily taken out the Heavenly Emperor's Writ from his pocket sphere.

The green veins on Wu Yu's forehead bulged. His gaze then skipped past Li Luo's area completely.

He did not want to trigger the protective mechanism of the Heavenly Emperor's Writ with his aura yet again. After all, it might cause a huge commotion that could lead to the academic evaluation being delayed.

On his side, Vice Principal Qing Man had noticed this as well. The corners of her lips twitched a little in amusement.

In the end, Wu Yu withdrew his gaze. Then his voice thundered in the air. It seemed to contain an inexplicable sense of authority as the surrounding cultivators listened in silence.

"Everyone, it's about time. I will not waste your time with unnecessary words. The academic evaluation will be similar to previous years. Let's proceed with the drawing of lots now."

He waved his sleeve, and a giant, green tree trunk rose from the center of the stage. Countless branches grew out of the trunk, stretching towards each team.

At the end of each branch was a wooden construct that was shaped like a lottery box. They emitted mysterious light that shrouded the interior from the outside.

With this, each of the sage colleges sent a representative up to draw lots.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Li Luo went up as well. He rubbed his hands a little and then casually drew his lot.

He looked at what he had fished out.

A black lot. There seemed to be some numbers written on it.

Li Luo smiled.

His first fight would be a battle between two colleges.