Chapter 0555: The Parting Squads

On a mountain slope at the periphery of Thunderpeal Mountain.

The three squads turned for a last look as they left, and they could see thunderclouds descending across the whole mountain, forming a protective veil with the Thunderpeal Tree at its core.

"Looks like no one will be able to get in from now on," Qin Yue said with a satisfied nod.

The veil was powered by the thunderclouds that constantly fed energy to it, and it would probably take a Duke to be able to break through it.

It was definitely engineered by the Thunderpeal Tree, to prevent any more invaders from molesting it.

The tree was sealing itself off from the outside world until the corruption within its territory was completely purged.

Li Luo looked back reflectively as well. The miraculous entity had some sentience, and it would continue to grow with each passing year. Perhaps a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, it would still be standing, quietly learning and observing the comings and goings of humankind.

He wondered what the tree would be like when he came back again.

He hoped that the Blackwind Empire would be in a better state at that time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we part ways here. It was nice working with all of you," the First Princess said, smiling at each of the squads.

Now that their mission was over, the three squads had no reason to continue traveling together. Each had their own missions to complete and their individual points to chase. Sticking together would cause more problems in terms of point allocation.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Besides, the First Princess was aiming to win first place in this competition. Of course she would not want to split rewards with other teams—that would only drag them down.

Qin Yue and Zhao Beili nodded in understanding.

"It was nice working with all of you. But I think if we meet again at Russet Rock City, we might be working together again," Zhao Beili from the Heavenly Inferno Sage College said. He cupped his fist in farewell.

Russet Rock City was the capital of the Red Clay Province, and also the final stage of the mixed-level competition. They all knew that a powerful enemy awaited them there, and it was on a level of difficulty that far exceeded the power of any individual squad. At that time, there would have to be cooperation.

Besides, there was the information on the mysterious crimson knight-general. Li Luo and Lu Ming had announced it to all the squads. It increased their appraisal of Russet Rock City's danger up a notch.

Qin Yue was quite unwilling to move on. He stared a bit longer at the First Princess and made sure she noticed his feelings for her. He was quite a good catch as well, and it was understandable why he thought he stood a chance to be a good match for her.

Still, he understood that this was not really the time for romance. "I hope to be able to work together again at Russet Rock City, Your Highness."

The First Princess met his ardent look with a polite smile and nod.

Li Luo waved goodbye to Lu Ming as well, and she smiled at him, pearly-whites peeking at him from between her cherry lips. Some of her aloof demeanor had melted away.

"We'll be taking our leave first," Zhao Beili grunted, pumping his eyebrows meaningfully at Li Luo. “That kid is a huge threat. He melted our school's ice queen? In such a short time?” If they spent any more time together, Zhao Beili would be able to see the babies popping up.

He bid a hasty fist-cup farewell to the First Princess, then almost shooed Lu Ming and his other teammate away in his haste.

Qin Yue took the cue and left as well.

"Your Highness, your charm is truly of another world. If you wanted it, I think Qin Yue would happily become your minion and lead the North Sea Sage College behind us," Li Luo chuckled.

"Young Lord, real recognizes real, I see. Your own charm has made that prickly Lu Ming of the Heavenly Inferno Sage College warm to you really quickly. What was the quote? Danger is an aphrodisiac?"

"Your Highness, please!" Li Luo quickly protested. "My relationship with Lu Ming is perfectly platonic!"

"Lu Ming is a talented girl, and she has dual resonances as well," the First Princess said loudly. "Her future is bright. If you could pull her over to House Luolan, maybe Qing'e wouldn't be angry. Maybe she would praise you for doing well instead."

Li Luo looked over at Jiang Qing'e, who was merely watching the banter with a half-amused smile.

Li Luo backed away hastily. "Your Highness, I was wrong to tease you. I surrender."

The First Princess gave him a superior smile, then she patted him on the shoulder. "It's alright, you can turn over a new leaf. That's a good boy." “You little fool. Fencing against me with words?! I was fighting foxy, old politicians since you were in diapers. Don't think your charm against schoolgirls is going to work against me!”

"Our points still put us in first place," Jiang Qing'e said, paying no attention to their conversation.

Their excursion to Thunderpeal Mountain had netted them an extra 50,000 points, and now they had 310,000 points in total. This was only a small lead over the second team led by Lan Lan, who had about 300,000 points.

Only a 10,000 point difference.

"That bugger is really persistent," the First Princess said calmly.

Li Luo pulled out his own spirit mirror and studied the map. Many more cities were lit up now, indicating that they had already been cleansed. It looked like the other squads had been keeping busy as well, pushing ahead with full speed.

"If we continue along this route, we can hit three level three cities before reaching Russet Rock City. There'll also be five level two cities and a bunch of level one cities. That's the highest reward route. Of course, the difficulty is highest too," Li Luo said, pointing it out with his finger. The two girls followed the route he traced and nodded in approval.

"Mm, I think Li Luo's plan gets us the most points," the First Princess agreed.

"Let's do that, then," Jiang Qing'e said decisively. "With full speed." They did not mind the harder difficulty that much. They were a strong squad that could blaze through anything easier than a Greater Heavenly Disaster Class.

The First Princess waved them on as the squad leader, making the final order.

"We go!

"To secure number one!"