Chapter 0524: Choices

The hall was dreadfully silent.

Many students were in shock at the idea of facing Greater Heavenly Disaster-class Others.

Now they knew why this mixed-level competition was different. Indeed, weaker students like themselves would only come to harm if they participated.

Although the school would definitely provide some protection, Others were just too deadly and tricky. Corruption could strike from any direction.

It was not just them—even Li Luo was worried by the idea of Greater Heavenly Disaster-class Others. He had faced one before, the grinning demon in their own Umbra Cave. Back then, Jiang Qing'e had given everything she had, ending up seriously injured while barely being a minor inconvenience to it.

If not for the three-tailed heavenly wolf that he had lured over in the end, all of the students would have died at its hands.

Although they eventually dealt with it, Li Luo would involuntarily flinch whenever he saw anybody smile for the longest time after that. A bit of leftover trauma.

That was how scary a Heavenly Disaster-class Other was.

And now they were supposed to cleanse a province with such monsters? Were the schools really lacking manpower?

He sighed. Well, at least there were going to be two major carries in his squad. At this sort of level, they would be the main fighters, while a puny Resonant Master cultivator like himself could back them up at best.

Of course... he had his own backup of sorts.

Li Luo touched the dark red bracelet on his wrist. In it was trapped the three-tailed heavenly wolf that had beaten the grinning demon.

According to Principal Pang, this three-tailed heavenly wolf was something special. It was already at the peak of Heavenly Dipper General power, equivalent to a Heavenly Resonance Stage cultivator... Back at the Umbra Cave, when the First Princess had rushed to his "rescue," he felt that she would have died to it as well if not for the seal that Principal Pang had given him.

"It is a dangerous and risky task, but as members of sage colleges, purging Others is part of our duty. There's no need to overthink this. Just treat it as another mission to the Umbra Cave.

"The two squads will be led by Gong Shenjun and Gong Luanyu."

Hearing her nomination, both Gong Shenjun and the First Princess stood up calmly. Although they were also intimidated by the notion of taking on Heavenly Disaster-class Others, they handled the news with aplomb, as befitting of their status as royalty and the two strongest students present.

They had experience dealing with Others of that class before.

"Next the two squads need two more members each. According to the rules, there cannot be two members at the same hall level."

"Jiang Qing'e, Li Luo, you two don't want to be separated, I assume?" she said a little mischievously.

There was a smattering of envious laughter from the others, directed mostly at Li Luo.

Although Li Luo's performance was superb, many still regarded him as inferior to their goddess, Senior Jiang. Not like anyone gave a rat's ass about what they thought though.

Gong Shenjun was looking in their direction as well. He smiled warmly and extended his invitation again. "Junior Jiang, Junior Li Luo, if you two are willing to join my team, I think the three of us stand a good chance of winning the championship."

This was no surprise to anybody present. Of course, his main target was to secure Jiang Qing'e to his team. She was definitely the strongest person present outside of the Four Star Hall.

Definitely a great asset for the team.

Li Luo's usefulness was a little more debatable. Even though he was the strongest One Star Hall student, there were also Two Star Hall options available.

Zhu Xuan, for example.

Even though he had not fared too well in the Two Star Hall, he was still a Fourth Changing, whereas Li Luo was a Third Changing. Of course, he had shown that he could temporarily increase his level to the Fourth Changing as well.

In any case, Li Luo was not an immediate choice like Jiang Qing'e.

But...

Everyone knew that the pair was inseparable. They came as a package deal.

Vice Principal Su Xin was waiting for their reply too. In terms of strength, the two of them and Gong Shenjun would form the strongest possible team, which would increase the chances of them winning. This was both a competition against Others and other schools.

Still, she remained silent. Choosing teams was the privilege of the members, and not even she could force any team to form, even though she was the vice principal.

The First Princess' face was carefully neutral, although there was tell-tale tightness in the rims of her phoenix eyes. She was not sure whether to believe what Li Luo had said to her at the staircase earlier.

The strongest choice was Gong Shenjun after all.

Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo exchanged a look, and then Li Luo smiled apologetically at Gong Shenjun. "Sorry, Senior Gong, Qing'e and I cannot join your team.

"We have to join Her Highness' team."

There was an astonished gasp from the crowd.

Gong Shenjun looked genuinely shocked as well. When Li Luo had dodged his request last night, he had suspected that something of the sort might happen, but he had not judged it that likely.

“Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e have chosen the First Princess...

“Is this just a simple choice that stands by itself?

“Or do they mean that House Luolan stands with the First Princess?”

"Senior Gong, you might be the best choice in the eyes of the others, but we already accepted the invitation of the First Princess before the Holy Grail Meet, so..." Li Luo's voice trailed off with apologetic appeal, then he turned back to the First Princess with a broad smile.

"First Princess?"

She recovered quickly, not missing a beat. "Royal Brother, there has to be order in all things. I have laid down many efforts in the past to win over Qing'e to my team. I'm afraid you won't be able to poach her from me so easily."

"Luanyu," Gong Shenjun said impatiently, "is this the time to talk about order? Winning the championship and upholding the school's reputation and honor is what's important here."

The First Princess smiled sweetly but dangerously. "Are you implying I don't have what it takes to win, Royal Brother?"

"I wouldn't dare," he said courteously, shaking his head. "Junior Jiang, I respect your desire to uphold your promise to Luanyu, but this concerns whether we can bring the Dragon Bone Holy Grail back home with us. I hope you can reconsider. I know that Luanyu is also a good choice, but I do feel that the odds are slightly better with me instead."

He spoke with tact and fairness, and many students found themselves nodding in agreement with his reasonable proposition.

Surely power was king here, and Jiang Qing'e and Gong Shenjun made the best team.

Jiang Qing'e's face was as still as a lake. She looked at him calmly, waiting for him to finish before she spoke at a measured pace.

"In our house, Li Luo makes the decisions. He has spoken. We work with the First Princess. I would not dare to shame him. Sorry, Senior Gong, I look forward to working with you in the future."

Her words left them all speechless.