Chapter 0694: Gathering Strength

Her words had caused everyone's expressions to change.

No one had expected that someone would have the gall to do something as insane as destroying the Astral Sage College's Tree of Resonant Power!

Just who would be so despicable and mad?

"The college's Tree of Resonant Power suppresses the Umbra Cave. Once the tree is destroyed, the Umbra Cave will be unsealed. Although the Principal is holding down the depths of the Umbra Cave, he has similarly been kept at bay by the Ichythian King for all these years. Someone choosing to act now is definitely plotting an even larger conspiracy!" Vice Principal Su Xin's expression turned icy, and fury could be seen within her usually genial gaze.

"Whoever dares to carry out such a plot must definitely be a power beyond our imagination that is targeting the Xia Kingdom! Everyone, once the Umbra Cave unseals, it will cause an Other Disaster. At that point in time, countless Others will flood our lands and the entire Xia Kingdom will never again have a day of peace!" This stark warning caused solemn expressions to form on the people present. The pressure of the Others was frightening, and they were very clear of the consequences. Other Disasters occasionally erupted in the East Divine Continent, and even a flourishing and mighty kingdom could be reduced into a barren wasteland in a short span of time.

This was the most frightening calamity that could descend upon the land, more so than any natural one.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e looked at each other with a frown. They had just returned from the Blackwind Empire during the Holy Grail Meet. The horrific scenes were still fresh in their minds, and they didn't want to imagine the consequences if the same were to happen to the Xia Kingdom.

The Xia Kingdom was their homeland, and they held deep feelings and memories for it. Thus, they were unwilling to see the bustling and flourishing Xia Kingdom turn into hell on earth.

"Everyone, I hope you will put down your weapons and set aside your struggles to assist the Astral Sage College wholeheartedly." Vice Principal Su Xin swept her gaze across the crowd, giving an extra look towards the Regent and the First Princess. "This includes today's coronation ceremony. I would suggest postponing it to a future date."

A power that was not afraid to plot against the Astral Sage College would not have come from the Xia Kingdom. The powers within the Xia Kingdom that could compare with them, the royal court and the Golden Dragon Bank, didn't have such overbearing might and had no reason to destroy the Tree of Resonant Power to unseal the Umbra Cave.

Once the Others came spilling out, every single power within the Xia Kingdom would be affected as those creatures blindly rushed at them.

As a result, there was only one possibility: it was a power from outside the Xia Kingdom.

Additionally, the strength possessed by this power had to be terrifying. This sudden chain of events must have definitely been planned for quite some time, and the college hadn't even caught wind of the situation at all. This spoke volumes about their strength, able to conceal information even at this crucial point in time.

Vice Principal Su Xin could already imagine that a massive black hand already held the entire college in its grasp.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

This was a chilling thought.

Unfortunately, she did not have much confidence in warding off this hand in the shadows alone. The Astral Sage College was one of the most mighty factions in the kingdom, and they were in trouble despite their deep foundation. Thus, she had to rely on the assistance of the other powers in the Xia Kingdom.

The First Princess paused for a moment before nodding in agreement. "The Tree of Resonant Power's protection is of utmost importance. I'm willing to accede to the Vice Principal's suggestion."

The coronation ceremony was important, but the Umbra Cave was even more so.

No matter how bitter the struggle between she and Gong Yuan was, the royal court was still surnamed Gong. If the Others were let to run rampant and an Other Disaster struck the Xia Kingdom, then both the Gong family and the kingdom would be left in ashes. At that point in time, she would be too ashamed to face her ancestors if she died.

The Regent's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was not as calm. The others may not know who the culprits were, but he definitely knew.

His allies had clearly taken action.

However, this was also out of his expectations as he never expected them to act against the Tree of Resonant Power.

The Regent's heart was shaken. He knew that the dual pupil youth was backed by an unimaginably powerful faction. At the same time, the youth had given his word that Pang Qianyuan would not be able to be present at the coronation ceremony. Even if Pang Qianyuan had other means to interfere, they would ensure that he would be stopped.

Could it be that their plan to restrain him was to completely remove the Tree of Resonant Power from existence? If that was the case, what about the Umbra Cave?

If the Others were to pour out, then the resulting calamity would be hard to fathom. Countless prosperous and thriving kingdoms throughout the East Divine Continent had been ravaged by Others in recent years, leaving their populace in a terrible state.

"What are they trying to do?" the Regent asked himself. The current situation seemed to be out of his control, but he couldn’t let Vice Principal Su Xin know about the gold and silver pupil youth. Once it was known that they were of the same faction, they would all rally against him and he would no longer have any standing amongst the group. "What Vice Principal Su Xin says is right. We need to be able to differentiate what's important, and the Xia Kingdom's very existence is related to the Umbra Cave's stability. No matter who is behind this, they will become an enemy of the Xia Kingdom!" The Regent declared his stance as Su Xin continued to stare at him. If he did not agree at this point, it would naturally arouse suspicion.

Yu Hongxi looked at Vice Principal Su Xin as she said, "We of the Golden Dragon Bank will do our best to assist."

"Thank you, President Yu," Vice Principal Su Xin said sincerely.

The Golden Dragon Bank was equally mighty, and their assistance would bolster their forces immensely.

The rest of the powers similarly declared their intention to assist.

"Li Luo, you currently have a connection with the Principal. I need you to relay the information regarding the situation here to him," Vice Principal Su Xin sternly said to Li Luo.

The current predicament was on a scale unlike anything ever seen before. The opponent had come well prepared, and even if she gathered half of the Xia Kingdom's strongest forces, she would be confident that they would succeed. Thus, she definitely had to reach out to the Principal.

"I don’t think there's a need to do so," Li Luo replied as he hefted the Onyx-Elephant Blade in his hand. Everyone could see that the Triple Resonance Saintly Ring had already quietly dissipated and that the frightening energy that intimidated even Dukes had receded.

Clearly, Principal Pang had retracted his power on his own.

Looking at the situation, he must have known that something had happened in the outside world and was determined to deal with the problem on his end wholeheartedly, possibly to return quickly.

Vice Principal Su Xin pursued her lips when she saw this. She felt a sense of heaviness deep within her heart. Today’s events were simply too massive, and even someone as resilient as her could feel a pressing sense of foreboding pressure.

The Astral Sage College was now in a time of crisis.

"Everyone, let us go. No matter who it is, whoever wishes to open the Umbra Cave will face our wrath!" Vice Principal Su Xin's visage was frosty like the deep of winter as a baleful look appeared in her eyes, her tone full of murderous intent.

As her voice resounded throughout the crowd, mighty resonant power burst out from her body before she flashed away like a beam of light, directly headed towards the Astral Sage College.

The rest of the Dukes similarly took action and turned into beams of light that arced across the sky in close pursuit.

"Li Luo, thank you for what you've done." Mentor Chi Chan was one of the last to leave, and she expressed her gratitude to Li Luo.

"Mentor, there's no need to be so polite. You've helped me out of so many predicaments, while all I’ve ever done was borrow the Principal's power." Li Luo hurriedly explained.

She faintly touched her pristine, white cheek, which now showed the Ichthyic curse mark being surrounded by a ring of tri-colored light, her expression a little dismayed. The Ichythian King's curse was frightening. Ever since she had been afflicted by it, it was like gangrene that had infected the bone, bringing about endless torture.

If not for Li Luo being able to wield triple resonance power, it would have been very hard to suppress the outbreak of the Ichthyic curse. The likely result would have been her death at the hands of Vice Principal Su Xin, all to prevent the corruption from leaking any further.

"Mentor, can't you get rid of it?" Li Luo asked. He knew that the Ichthyic curse had also become a blight upon her soul.

"This is the Ichythian King's Origin Fate Curse. Cleansing it completely would require the assistance of a King Stage expert. Principal Pang is the only one in the Xia Kingdom who could do it. Alas, the Principal has spent all these years in the depths of the Umbra Cave, and there was no opportunity to dispel it." Chi Chan bitterly smiled.

Li Luo sighed, not knowing how to console her.

"Do you want to go to the college to take a look?" Mentor Chi Chan no longer harped on that topic, changing it to something else. Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e faced each other momentarily and then nodded. The situation with the Umbra Cave was critical and would determine the survival of the Xia Kingdom. Thus, even though they knew that they would not be very helpful, they would still like to be kept abreast of any developments. This was why they made the decision to go there.

"I'll bring you over, then." Chi Chan stretched out her hands and grabbed both their wrists before zooming into the sky like a beam of light.

As they dashed through the sky, Li Luo looked down upon the now tiny-looking Xia City with complicated thoughts. Similarly, the people of Xia City were looking into the sky whilst remaining in the dark about what was happening. The city continued to bustle with activity as though nothing was wrong. Li Luo simply didn't know if this wondrous city of memories would continue to remain as peaceful and prosperous as it was today.

Everything that had happened was completely beyond anyone's wildest expectations.