Chapter 1067: A Kindred Face in a Foreign Land

"Chi Chan."

Li Luo froze the instant the familiar name tumbled into his eardrums. After a few breaths, he stared at Zong Sha with wide eyes.

"The mentor from Astral Sage College is called Chi Chan?!"

Li Luo had never expected to hear her name in the Heavenly Origin Ancient College.

Zong Sha and Jiang Wanyu noticed his extreme reaction. Zong Sha immediately understood, so he replied, "That's right, that mentor's name is Chi Chan. Are you familiar with her, Brother Li Luo?"

Li Luo shook his head in disbelief and laughed. "Mentor Chi Chan was my squad mentor back in the Astral Sage College!"

Zong Sha and Jiang Wanyu finally realized why it was such a surprise to Li Luo—it was truly like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

“But the Astral Sage College is a little strange; they only sent a single teacher for the evaluation. How will they participate in the evaluation without a single student?" Jiang Wanyu asked curiously.

Li Luo was momentarily silent. The Astral Sage College was in ruins, the Tree of Resonant Power was damaged, even Principal Pang had sealed himself away to delay the invasion of the King-stage Others. Shen Jinxiao's rebellion had also brought grievous harm to the college.

With the current Astral Sage College barely struggling to survive, how could they have enough resources to participate in the evaluation?

His best guess was that the college had dispatched Mentor Chi Chan this far not for the evaluation, but to beg the ancient college for more resources.

Vice Principal Su Xin had originally requested Li Luo's participation, but he simply had not found the time to come to the Heavenly Origin Ancient College over the past year. It seemed like Vice Principal Su Xin could not wait any longer and was forced to send Mentor Chi Chan over.

It looked like the Astral Sage College was in dire straits.

Li Luo went through many scenarios in his head before saying, "The Astral Sage College hasn't been doing well ever since a frighteningly powerful Other emerged from the Umbra Cave, destroying the Tree of Resonant Power..."

Zong Sha and Jiang Wanyu were both taken aback at his words, then said with some sympathy, "So that's how it is. No wonder only one mentor could make it."

Li Luo asked, "Considering the tragedy that took place in the Astral Sage College, would the Ancient College or Academic Federation provide some aid?"

Zong Sha hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother Li Luo, many other sage colleges have been infiltrated by Others as well... The Academic Federation does take some action after receiving such news, but there isn't always enough manpower. In recent years, the number of sage colleges that have been destroyed has jumped up, especially in the outer divine continents. I've heard from my mentor that there might be a force that's secretly masterminding such developments."

Jiang Wanyu's vermilion lips parted as she chimed in. "The mastermind is not difficult to guess—it's most likely the Origin Reversion Institute, since they are the Academic Federation's mortal enemies."

Zong Sha nodded and said, "Thats why the Academic Federation has been stretched too thin recently. After all, the academies under the jurisdiction of our Heavenly Origin Ancient College number in the hundreds."

He looked around before continuing in a low voice, "The principal and several vice principals haven't shown their faces in the college for a while. It is rumored that they have gone out to deal with these problems."

Li Luo was silent and finally agreed despondently. It now made sense why Principal Pang and Vice Principal Su Xin had not even considered asking for aid from the Academic Federation when the Astral Sage College was sent into turmoil. They instead pinned their hopes on the ancient colleges' supply of resources to aid in their recovery.

"How does the academic evaluation work?" Li Luo asked.

Zong Sha chuckled. "It's actually rather simple. We are all academies, so we find out which students are most talented. How do we determine that? Naturally... strength reigns supreme.”

"Each of the major sage colleges send out four of their most outstanding students to compete in a group system, and the ancient college then produces a rating to determine the amount of resources to be allocated for the next two years."

Li Luo frowned slightly. It was surprising that Mentor Chi Chan had come alone even though only four students were required. It was obvious that she thought that they would not do well in the evaluation... This could only mean that the situation in the Astral Sage College was even worse than he had imagined.

"Seniors, can you take me to meet Mentor Chi Chan?"

Since chance had brought them together, he had to meet her in person. After all, she had helped him a lot in the beginning of his cultivation journey.

"Of course," Zong Sha replied breezily.

After that, he maneuvered the jade-green leaf under his feet and shot towards the sky, quickly shuttling along the complicated roads atop countless branches.

......

In the northern district of the Heavenly Origin Ancient College.

The area was full of small buildings, and one of them looked more simple than the others around it. A tall and slender woman stood inside, gazing at the flower garden in the courtyard with a worried expression on her face.

The slender figure was Chi Chan.

She was wearing the Astral Sage College's mentor dress. Her curves were exquisite and her long, silky hair fell down gently to her slender waist. Her cheeks were covered by a black veil and her cool gaze emitted a sensual and ethereal temperament.

However, she was obviously distracted while staring at the colorful flowers before her.

Knock, knock!

A knock on the front gate of the courtyard suddenly jolted Chi Chan back to her senses, and she hurriedly went out to see who it was.

She was greeted by a wizened face when she opened the gate. Joy immediately surfaced in her eyes, and she asked, "Elder Wang Ling, can Vice Principal Wu Yu see me now?"

The old man known as Elder Wang Ling laughed and shook his head, saying, "Mentor Chi Chan, Vice Principal Wu Yu's schedule is too packed. You know that we are an ancient college and the things that happen here are incomparable to one of the sage colleges in an outer divine continent."

The joy in Chi Chan's eyes instantly turned into disappointment. She had heard similar words many times in the past ten days or so, but she had no choice but to suppress the frustration in her heart as she said, "I know that Vice Principal Wu Yu is very busy, but the Astral Sage College really needs the assistance of the Academic Federation. I beseech you to assist in rushing the matter, Elder Wang Ling."

Wang Ling smiled and replied, "No need to hurry. By the way, meet Mentor Chen Yun from the Lake Sage College."

He gestured towards a middle-aged man beside him.

Chi Chan looked over and saw a middle-aged man dressed in blue robes smiling faintly at her. She nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

Elder Wang Ling grinned as he said, "The Lake Sage College is the college that has the most support from the Heavenly Origin Ancient College in the Xiyu Province.

"Mentor Chen Yun has come here because he has something to discuss with you, Mentor Chi Chan."

Chi Chan frowned slightly and said, "Why would Mentor Chen Yun be looking for me?"

Chen Yun let out a faint smile and said, "I won't beat around the bush. I heard that the Astral Sage College failed to secure the Umbra Cave, their Tree of Resonant Power has been destroyed, and the college is on the brink of disappearing?"

Chi Chan's eyes instantly narrowed as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Chen Yun ignored Chi Chan's anger as he replied, "Regarding the Astral Sage College's situation, I doubt you will be able to continue holding onto the title of sage college. It is also rather impossible for you to gain resources from the academic evaluation. But I can provide you with a lifeline. If you are willing to transfer the academic evaluation rights of the Astral Sage College to the Lake Sage College, we can utilize your slots to obtain more resources from the ancient college. At that time, we will divide 30% of the resources from it to you to bring back to your college."

When Chi Chan heard this, anger surged in her heart and she said in an icy voice "So the Lake Sage College is hitting us when we're down!"

Chen Yun frowned, replying, "Your words are rather harsh, Mentor Chi Chan. Do you think the Astral Sage college can pass the evaluation? If I do this, you guys can at least get a small share of the profits. Otherwise, you're bound to return empty-handed!"

Elder Wang Ling smiled lightly and said, "Mentor Chi Chan, the principal of the Lake Sage College is a relative of Vice Principal Wu Yu."

These words were spoken lightly, yet their meaning was obvious.

Chi Chan finally understood why she had been unable to meet Vice Principal Wu Yu even though she had been in the Heavenly Origin Ancient College for ten days. It turned out that the dilapidated Astral Sage College had already been blacklisted.

Chi Chan's slender hands were clenched tightly as she stared at Elder Wang Ling and said in a chilling tone, "I want to see Vice Principal Lan Lingzi!"

Elder Wang Ling replied indifferently, "Vice Principal Lan Lingzi is not in the college at the moment."

Chi Chan was so angry that she was trembling slightly. At this moment, she realized that she was alone and weak in the ancient college. No one would pay attention to her and the broken Astral Sage College. This was reality, and there was no shortage of nasty politicking even within the colleges.

Elder Wang Ling continued, "If you're not interested in the Lake Sage College's offer, then you can pack up and leave. You're an outsider, so you can't stay on college grounds for too long."

Chi Chan clenched her teeth and retorted defiantly, "I won't leave. The Astral Sage College will participate in the academic evaluation."

Chen Yun sneered and said, "The Astral Sage college didn't even send a single student, so how are you going to participate?"

Chi Chan clenched her fists, her slender body looking frail and helpless. Vice Principal Su Xin had warned her that this trip would be quite difficult, but she never expected it to be this difficult.

However, just as Chi Chan was fuming helplessly, a distant yet familiar voice suddenly rang out.

"Who told you that there are no students from the Astral Sage College?"

Chi Chan looked up in bewilderment, her eyes following the direction of the voice. Not far away on a jade-green leaf, a young man with a handsome face and well-built figure slowly approached.

Seeing that familiar face, Chi Chan froze for two seconds before crying out in disbelief, "L-Li Luo?!"

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