Chapter 1118: Strong Support

As Li Luo and Li Hongyou were walking back, Li Luo still felt a little gobsmacked. How had the most popular support from the Heavenly Origin Ancient College's Heavenly Star Hall fallen onto his lap so easily?

And looking at Li Hongyou, it seemed like she was the one who felt relieved and excited?

Wu Changkong and Feng Lingyuan had been trying to pull Li Hongyou over to their sides using every method they could. With her great support, their strength would increase significantly.

Wu Changkong was unable to recruit Li Hongyou, so he had settled for Xu Xi in the end.

Besides, Li Hongyou was at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier in addition to her top tier support resonance. Although she was slightly weaker than her peers when it came to fighting, her strength undeniably deserved respect.

With her help, the strength of Li Luo's team had skyrocketed.

Li Luo felt ecstatic and chatted enthusiastically with Li Hongyou, sizing her up at the same time.

Li Hongyou was tall, and her well-fitting school uniform accentuated around her unusually plump curves. The most unique charm she possessed was her long, red hair, which rested on her shoulders like waves of fire. When she moved, her long hair danced lightly like a flickering flame, an exotic sight to behold.

Perhaps it was a result of her resonance. There was a faint redness concealed underneath her white skin, and her face appeared particularly radiant. She also had a refreshing fragrance around her that left people at ease. Those who smelled it all felt an urge to get closer to her.

Unfortunately, Li Hongyou had a frigid personality. Anyone who stepped too close to her would be scared off by her deathly stare. As a result, the feeling of not being able to bridge the distance despite having a deep desire to do so left one's heart itchy.

Due to her experiences, she tended to be more withdrawn. She was clearly not good at talking to others. Therefore, she did not know how to react to the sudden enthusiasm shown by Li Luo. If it were anyone else, she would have ignored them. However, she would have to rely on Li Luo in the future. She would have to follow him back to the Dragon's Fang Guardians and would need his protection. Thus, she tried her best to reply... at least a little.

As the two of them walked back, Feng Lingyuan, Deng Changbai, and the rest found the scene baffling.

What was Li Hongyou doing? She never gave anyone the time of day in the past. Why was she acting all chummy with Li Luo now?

"Damn it. Did Li Hongyou really fall for someone like Li Luo? Why would she? He's just a brat with middling talent, an average background, and average looks to boot..." Deng Changbai commented with a face full of jealousy. Honestly, Li Hongyou was a gem in the Heavenly Star Hall. She was also not as thorny as Feng Lingyuan. As such, she had attracted more guys than Feng Lingyuan. In fact, she was the type that Deng Changbai loved.

Feng Lingyuan took a glance at him. The contempt coming from men was indeed divorced from reality. Li Luo truly possessed looks, talent, and background. It was tough for anyone in this generation to compete with someone as amazing as him. If a girl had expectations so high that they wouldn't fall for him, would they even give Deng Chengbai a passing glance?

However, Feng Lingyuan did not voice those thoughts. "It probably has nothing to do with love; Li Hongyou is not that type of person. Besides, she's only seen Li Luo a couple of times. How could she have developed feelings for him? I think it's related to her family, considering their similar family names."

Deng Changbai was startled. He asked in surprise, "Could it be that Li Hongyou is also from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?"

Feng Lingyuan casually replied, "The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li is huge, with multiple branches. It is not surprising if they are somehow related."

"Even so, there's no need to be so nice to Li Luo. The Heavenly Origin Ancient College is not any worse than the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li," Deng Changbai complained.

Feng Lingyuan did not speak any further. She knew that there was something going on between Li Luo and Li Hongyou, but it did not matter. As long as Li Hongyou was willing to team up with them, it was a piece of great news.

Li Luo looked pleased as he announced to the others, "Let me share something worth celebrating with everyone. Senior Hongyou will be teaming up with us for the rest of the mission."

Although the others could have guessed that this would happen, they were still shocked to hear it.

Feng Lingyuan spoke first to welcome her. "With Hongyou in our team, we'll have much more confidence in completing the remaining missions."

Li Hongyou replied politely, "My battle strength is far from yours, Lingyuan. I can only support you from the side."

Although they had known each other for quite some time, they had not interacted much at all.

"With your support, I won't even be afraid of facing off against Wu Changkong," Feng Lingyuan said as she looked at Li Hongyou with passionate eyes. In the past, she had tried to woo Li Hongyou over to her side multiple times. However, she had always been turned down. Li Hongyou must have been actively trying to avoid getting caught up in their conflict.

Feng Lingyuan never would have guessed that Li Luo's presence would help her win Li Hongyou over.

On the side, Deng Changbai joined in on the conversation, not wishing to be left out. He smiled warmly at Li Hongyou as he said, "Haha, Hongyou. How have you been? We once worked together about a year ago. Do you still remember?"

Li Hongyou turned to take a look at Deng Changbai. She had an almost confused look on her face as she asked, "Who are you?"

The guy seemed familiar, but she could not recall his name in the slightest.

Deng Changbai felt tears welling up in his eyes in pure indignation.

Li Luo kindly introduced him. "This is Senior Deng Changbai. His team members have all been captured by the enemy, so he's joined us."

"God damn it."

Deng Changbai was about to explode with rage. Couldn't he have just introduced him normally? Why did he have to include all those unnecessary details?

Li Hongyou gave Deng Changbai a sympathetic look. With all his team members kidnapped, he would likely be at the bottom when it came to scoring at the end of the mission.

Deng Changbai's heart died a little when he saw the pitiful gaze coming from Li Hongyou.

However, Feng Lingyuan did not care about Deng Changbai's feelings. A rare smile appeared on her face as she said, "Li Luo, Hongyou, let's rest a little more and then prepare to set off. With our speed, it'll take almost another day to arrive at our destination."

Li Hongyou took it easy as she walked back to her team and explained the situation.

On Li Luo's side, Zong Sha, Jiang Wanyu, and the rest could not help but question him curiously. Just what had he offered Li Hongyou to draw her over? However, Li Luo's lips remained sealed and he did not reveal the agreement between them. After all, they were on a mission from the Heavenly Origin Ancient College. If the higher-ups learned about this, they would surely be unhappy.

Due to her special resonance, the Heavenly Origin Ancient College was naturally very interested in getting Li Hongyou to join the Academic Federation.

It was common to see the major forces fighting for talent.

Li Luo also took some time to look at Deng Zhu. He was the only one injured in their team. Fortunately, his skin was thick and his luck was good. He had been stabbed by Feng Lingyuan, and the Greater Evil Spirit was a distance away. As such, he did not get captured by them. After everyone had rested, they began to move once again.

Li Luo's team was now exceptionally impressive with the addition of Li Hongyou and her team. They had top-tier battle strength covered with the presence of Feng Lingyuan and Li Hongyou, two of the top ten students in the Upper Hall. Deng Changbai was also at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier. Coupled with a significant number of Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier students bolstering their team, they would have no problem finishing their foes off, even if they came across three Greater Evil Spirits again.

As the group moved out, resonant power surged in all directions, blowing away some of the fog in the forest. Others that had been spying on them secretly did not dare to reveal themselves anymore.

The rest of their journey was smooth. They found a couple more Devil Heart Pillars on the way, but they were merely Hundred Skin Devil Heart Pillars. There was no sign of any Evil Spirits.

After nearly a day of traveling, Li Luo and the group finally arrived at their destination.

When they looked far ahead, they could see a big, black swamp that was simply boundless. It was filled with thick, white mist that seemed to be alive, slowly expanding and contracting as if it were breathing.

Additionally, they could faintly make out some islands that sat within the black swamp.

In the center was the outline of a giant, silent city. It was an extremely daunting sight, like a strange giant beast that had hidden half of its body in the swamp.

Li Luo and the rest looked at the city filled with fog. Their faces turned serious. They could clearly feel a strong sense of danger coming from it.

Who knew how many frightening Others were hiding within it?

When Li Luo and the group approached the area, they suddenly saw a green lantern light up on a hill not too far away. It was like a guiding light.

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat. That was the light that emanated from the Ancient Spirit Leaves. It seemed other teams had arrived before them.

But which team was it? Feng Lingyuan, Li Luo, and Li Hongyou took a look at each other. They then flew into the sky and headed towards the hill.