Chapter 0633: Mentor, Traumatized?

"You want this one?" Mentor Chi Chan couldn't believe what she was hearing when Li Luo made his choice. She looked at her student with a hint of shock. "Don't be enthralled by the complete Duke Art's grade. Let's not even talk about whether you will ever have the opportunity to obtain the other two segments of this art—you only possess a water resonance and lack a dragon resonance. Although you might be able to borrow the aid of dragon blood essence to cultivate it, the difficulty will no doubt skyrocket. This is not suitable for your current situation." She felt that Li Luo had been led astray by the potential Destiny-grade this Duke Art could attain some day. Despite its rarity and preciousness, which even she felt tempted by, the facts remained that one had to be able to cultivate it!

The Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner was not a Duke Art that only the Astral Sage College possessed. The rest of the divine continents also possessed this segment of the art as it was passed down by the Academic Federation. Li Luo was not the first one to have made this choice, and yet she had never heard of anyone successfully cultivating it! Faced with Mentor Chi Chan's questioning gaze, Li Luo attentively replied, "Well, Mentor... I am not choosing it out of lust for a potential Destiny-grade Duke Art, it is a calculated decision!"

This was faced with an inquiring frown. "Li Luo, out of all these Duke Arts, I believe that the one that you hold the strongest affinity with is Nature's Son's Arboreal World. You already possess water and wood resonances, and they are mutually supportive. If you were to cultivate it successfully, the mini realm that you could create in the palm of your hand would be extraordinarily lush and full of vitality, much stronger than those of others who have cultivated this!"

At this point, Mentor Chi Chan continued to lecture Li Luo like a concerned grandmother, not wishing for him to make the wrong decision. After all, he had limited time, so it was not wise to squander this opportunity.

Li Luo helplessly sighed. "Mentor Chi Chan, you have forced me into this... Please keep whatever you see next a secret. I don't wish to let my radiance spread any further and completely outshine every student of the college." These wild words forced Mentor Chi Chan to lightly grit her teeth, resisting the urge to beat some sense into this braggart. However, she crossed her arms quietly and focused upon Li Luo, interested to see what sort of shenanigans he was up to.

With a thought, Li Luo emitted his resonant power. This was a completely different beast compared to the other forms of resonant power he had summoned before as it exuded a unique pressure, eventually condensing outside his body into an illusory, draconic shadow.

Roar!

A low, guttural roar reverberated around the chamber.

The calm, unmoving eyes of Mentor Chi Chan finally widened like saucers.

This was something that even surprised the wizened and well traveled teacher!

"A dragon resonance?" she stammered in confusion.

"H-how could you possess a dragon resonance?" she continued to sputter in disbelief.

Faced with this, Li Luo casually shrugged as he lightly commented, "Well, it just popped up out of nowhere when I broke into the Earth Fiend General Stage."

"This means that right now, you..."

"Yup, I have three resonances. What did I tell you?" Li Luo nodded and smirked confidently.

This revelation left Mentor Chi Chan dumbstruck for quite some time. When Li Luo had revealed his dual resonances, she had already been slightly taken aback, but it wasn’t an unheard of talent. Besides, what Duke didn't already have dual resonances? However, now that a third one had popped out of nowhere, the news came like a bombshell.

A third resonance was something that all Dukes desired!

Although Li Luo had triple resonances and he probably couldn’t fuse all three like a King Stage expert, it was still three of them! This meant he could work on fusing all three different resonant powers together, and even the most rudimentary success would bring him great benefits.

This would set the foundation for entering the King Stage.

This was the root of why she seemed completely overwhelmed.

There was nothing to envy about having dual resonances... but triple resonances was something that even she craved!

Shouldn't an abomination who could possess triple resonances at the Earth Fiend Stage only be found in the depths of the ancient colleges in the inner divine continent? How could one have appeared in the outer divine continent sage colleges?

It took a while for her to recompose herself, and she gave Li Luo a complicated look. "I never thought I would take on such an electrifying student. Li Luo, you have the qualifications to become a King."

"Well, Mentor, a teacher for a day is a teacher for a life! Even if I eventually reach the King stage, I will always be your student!" Li Luo cajoled.

"You have a silver tongue indeed." Mentor Chi Chan's beautiful eyes held a trace of amusement at his honeyed words.

"However, my curiosity has been piqued. Now that you have attained three resonances, does this mean that you will possess four resonances at the Duke Stage? And if you become a King, will you possess five resonances?" she queried, an unusual sparkle in her eyes.

Hearing those words caused Li Luo to feel a little taken aback. He had no idea if he would be able to open yet another resonant palace when he reached the Duke Stage. It was hard to tell if his natural resonances were simply being born ahead of time...

Additionally, those new resonances would just possess a singular affinity, without any of the main and supporting affinities his current resonances had. Well, even then, this was more than sufficient.

"Mentor, have you ever encountered anyone with more than three resonances?" Li Luo asked.

Mentor Chi Chan paused to think. "Well, such individuals have definitely existed in the past. Hmm, even in the current inner divine continent, there should be countless hidden experts with more than three resonances. Although people like you might be rare, you shouldn't be the exception."

Li Luo nodded. The world was vast and wide, full of unknown mysteries. If he possessed such a special opportunity at birth, there might be even more individuals who could open up more resonant palaces every time they broke through.

"So… Mentor, can I pick the Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner now?" Li Luo asked with a smile.

Mentor Chi Chan lightly nodded. "Well, since you have a dragon resonance, this Duke Art is particularly suitable for you."

One needed to have a water resonance and a dragon resonance after all.

She understood Li Luo's choice. Both the Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner and Nature's Son's Arboreal World were well fitted for him. However, the potential of the former outshone the latter, especially if it held the possibility of turning into a Destiny-grade Duke Art.

Thus, Li Luo took out the plaque provided by Vice Principal Su Xin and thrusted it into the stone lotus.

As the plaque floated above the stone lotus, it released countless runes that soared into the air, coming into direct contact with the light barrier that shrouded the banner. Immediately after, ripples were seen on the barrier itself before it gradually started to dissipate.

A brief moment later, Li Luo gingerly stretched out his hand and grasped the dark-red banner with the black dragon imprinted upon it.

"Alright… So, now what?" Li Luo asked.

Based on what Vice Principal Su Xin had said, they would utilize a special cultivation method that would increase his odds of cultivating this Duke Art successfully.

Just to take advantage of this benefit, Li Luo had cleanly exhausted his massive pool of school points, probably one of the highest valued exchanges ever made.

"Well then, follow me." Mentor Chi Chan walked into the middle of the room, and atop the floor was an inscription that seemed to act as a formation. Her fingertips touched in the form of a hand seal, and her resonant power turned into a rune that descended upon the inscription.

Immediately after, the inscription on the floor seemed to have come to life, and the numerous lit-up lines intertwined into a door.

Glancing at Li Luo, Mentor Chi Chan directly strode into the door, disappearing into empty air.

Knowing that this was where he had to go, he looked at the black dragon banner in his hand and sucked in a deep breath before grumbling, "I hope these school points weren't squandered in vain..." Then he took a step of faith through the portal.

After the two individuals entered through, the door made of light dissipated and turned back into an inscription on the floor.