Chapter 0702: Xia Kingdom's Monumental Changes

Seeing the youth bisected brought great joy to the people around. This entire situation had been caused by this beast, including triggering the disturbance in the depths of the Umbra Cave. In a way, this was the true culprit for the entire mess today.

However, their happiness was short lived as the two halves of the youth began to quickly melt down and combine, turning into a puddle of squirming flesh and blood.

"Hehe. Principal Pang is a vengeful fellow. He even dealt me a vicious blow." The youth's laughing voice rang out from the pool of flesh. The only difference was that it seemed a little bitter and weaker than before, testament to the fact that Principal Pang's final strike had left him with severe injuries.

"Kill him now! While he's heavily injured!" Vice Principal Su Xin exhorted with murderous intent. The countless Dukes immediately roused the resonant power within them and began to throw everything they had at that pool of flesh, determined to kick the youth when he was down.

Bang!

However, just as the group of Dukes struck out, two of the corrupted Violet Vibrance mentors pounced over, directly choosing to self detonate at that very moment.

Alarming amounts of energy surged out berserkly, destroying parts of the college.

Fortunately, the Dukes were already prepared, immediately taking action to reduce the collateral damage and preventing the college from being engulfed in a wave of destruction.

"Fiend!" Vice Principal Su Xin's eyes turned red. The two mentors were experienced teachers and friends who had contributed much to the faculty, and she had to watch them explode before her eyes. It was infuriating and heartbreaking.

As the wave of energy scattered, the flesh puddle that was the youth had spread out and completely encased Shen Jinxiao like a suit of armor. A pair of mocking eyes could be seen observing the Dukes from within the flesh.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Everyone, I'm afraid I have to end the show here today. I feel deeply sorrowful that the Astral Sage College will no longer exist in the Xia Kingdom! Ah, yes, that reminds me. I do have a piece of wonderful news to share! Now that the Umbra Cave is unsealed, corruption will constantly flow out of it and this land will undoubtedly be a paradise for Others! A time of chaos will soon commence!" With those last words, the flesh puddle that had encased Shen Jinxiao burrowed into the ground, vanishing completely.

"Damn it!" Seeing the two disappear without paying a price caused the Violet Vibrance mentors to feel frustrated and furious.

Vice Principal Su Xin could only grit her teeth. "Quickly restrain all of the corrupted mentors!"

The situation here was a mess, and they did not have the strength to chase after the youth. It was only due to the Principal's final strike that the youth had been injured. Otherwise, a single high-grade Duke could have wreaked uncontrollable havoc, leading to an unsalvageable result.

At the same time, the black plaque slowly came to a halt, floating above Li Luo's head as Principal Pang's voice resounded from it.

"Hello, everyone. I, Pang Qianyuan, would like to apologize for my inability, which has led to the situation we are in today. Now that things have transpired, it is useless to say more. I am unable to control the Umbra Cave's eruption of corruption and can only temporarily influence the speed and extent of its spread. However, the corruption will inevitably spread, and the region five thousand kilometers around the Astral Sage College will soon be unfit for the living." Hearing those words caused Vice Principal Su Xin and the rest to have a change of expression. In this case, the college could no longer be protected, and even Xia City would also be affected. This was the heart of the Xia Kingdom! This area was the home to tens of millions of people!

"Su Xin, now that the Tree of Resonant Power has been ruined, the Astral Sage College will lose its title as a sage college as per the rules... However, this is of minor concern. Surviving is the most important thing! In the future, you will have to lead and guide the people of the college to find a new location to rebuild. Once the foundations have been set, there will be an opportunity to regain the title of a sage college. You will possibly have to cooperate closely with the Xia Kingdom to ensure that it is protected."

Everyone quietly listened to the Principal's last exhortations. Even the Dukes had downcast looks on their faces as they understood that the Xia Kingdom's lasting peace had been upended by the monumental changes that had taken place today.

The Others would soon breed and flourish upon this land. And if they were not vigilant, the Xia Kingdom would end up like the Blackwind Empire, a territory overrun by Others. Countless people of the Xia Kingdom would be sacrificed without even a corpse left behind.

If the atmosphere of the Xia Kingdom yesterday was one of gentleness and warmth, then it would be like the coldest and harshest winter from today onwards.

Winter had come.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e glanced at each other and could similarly see the heaviness in their hearts. The Other Kings and the river of evil had been sealed by the Principal, but the door to the Umbra Cave had been left ajar with the Tree of Resonant Power's burning. There was nothing within the Xia Kingdom that could suppress and keep it sealed.

At the very least, an area thousands of kilometers wide with the Astral Sage College at the center would now become a no man's land.

"Things are going to become troublesome." Li Luo sighed.

House Luolan's Headquarters was situated within Xia City, and if the city became engulfed with corruption, they would have to think of a new plan.

This was something they could not avoid. Even a Duke had to retreat in the face of this situation.

The only exception was if they could invite a King to suppress the Umbra Cave.

"Is the Academic Federation simply going to sit by and watch a sage college collapse? Now that the Tree of Resonant Power has been ruined, what does it mean to lose the title of a sage college?" Li Luo asked Mentor Chi Chan.

"The Academic Federation's core resides within the inner divine continent. The outer divine continent is simply too far away and is frankly beyond their reach. Losing the sage college title is purely because cultivating a high-grade Tree of Resonant Power is simply very difficult. The resources that are required are beyond your imagination, and thus the Academic Federation has set these strict rules to ensure that sage colleges invest effort into protecting it." Mentor Chi Chan's beautiful face seemed a little dejected, but she nevertheless still answered Li Luo's question.

"Then can we seek help from the other sage colleges on the East Divine Continent?" Li Luo pressed on.

"Do you think the Blackwind Empire's sage college did not reach out for help? Every kingdom in the East Divine Continent has their own territorial considerations, and it's hard to gather them together. Their own sage colleges similarly bear heavy burdens, so who can truly and casually dispatch experts from their own homes to help others? Additionally, once news of the Ichythian King and the Cadaverous King appearing here spread, I'm afraid no other colleges will dare to help." Mentor Chi Chan sighed. Li Luo fell into deep thought and his heart sank.

He stretched his hand out and stored the black plaque in his pocket sphere.

With that, he raised his head and took a look at the ancient college that he had spent a year in.

The entire college was devastated. The majestic Tree of Resonant Power was still burning, and countless branches continued to wither and fall, some smashing into buildings. Yet no one stopped it, because they already knew that things were over. The college had to be abandoned.

In the vicinity of the college, innumerable students were standing in various states of grief and panic. Principal Pang's words had also been transmitted to each and every one of them.

Some were bawling their eyes out. They had always felt proud for being able to cultivate here. However, their sense of pride had crumbled.

All of them were full of sorrow and in various states of daze. No one knew what the future of the college was going to be like.

Li Luo managed to catch a glimpse of a few familiar faces, and he rushed towards them.

"Leader!" Bai Mengmeng waved her hand when she noticed that he was rushing over. Even she was unable to squeeze out her usual, sweet smile.

Li Luo took a good look at Bai Mengmeng, Bai Doudou, Yu Lang, Zhao Kuo, and the rest. "Are you guys alright?"

Everyone nodded, but it was evident that they were a little down. Even the sloppy Yu Lang seemed ill at ease.

"Leader, is the Astral Sage College doomed?" Bai Mengmeng softly asked.

Li Luo reluctantly forced out a smile. "There's no need to be too hung up over this. The Tree of Resonant Power might be wrecked, but the college itself has not collapsed irrecoverably. Vice Principal Su Xin will rebuild the college, and we can regain our title of sage college after a while. If you don't have any place to go now that the college is a mess, you can stay at House Luolan for a few days. I believe that the entire Xia Kingdom will be thrown into chaos shortly."

Bai Mengmeng and the rest quickly exchanged looks before nodding lightly in agreement.

Li Luo sighed deep down. Today’s developments had exceeded anyone's imagination. No one would have ever thought that the Xia Kingdom's almighty Astral Sage College would experience such an upheaval of fate, one that would affect the entire body, from students to mentors. The next few days would definitely be full of changes, perhaps ones that would even be extreme and full of violence.

He, too, would need to find a solution for House Luolan to escape from the current situation.