"Li Luo?!" Chi Chan and Shen Jinxiao exclaimed together incredulously. If not for the fact that those words had come out of the very sane-looking First Princess, they would probably have dismissed it as a joke.

They gaped at her for a moment.

Seeing the two Violet Vibrance mentors in shock, the First Princess's heart stirred with a little self-interest. But she inclined her head. "Yes, Mentors. Strictly speaking, it was Li Luo who did it all.

"When I arrived, he already had the situation under control. He was the one who did the most, while all we did was get here."

Chi Chan looked at Gong Shenjun for confirmation. "I arrived later than Luanyu." He shrugged. "The great spirit beast was already sealed by the time I arrived."

"Great spirit beast?!" Chi Chan and Shen Jinxiao surfaced from their shock only to be thrown back down again. Especially the latter. What the hell had happened here? Wasn't it a Heavenly Disaster Class? What was this about a great spirit beast? What was going on? 

The First Princess explained the situation, including Li Luo's luring of the three-tailed beast from the forbidden zone over to fight the Heavenly Disaster Class Other. In the end, he had sealed the three-tailed beast away with the help of the principal's seal.

All the mentors were dumbfounded, including the two Violet Vibrance mentors.

You could do that?

What on earth had possessed Li Luo to make him provoke another monster?

Wasn't he afraid they would both turn on him?

He had to have guts for brains.

Also, he had some incredible luck. With the support of the principal's seal? The thought had never occurred to them before.

Most scarily of all, he had actually pulled it off.

He had single-handedly solved this entire crisis. If not for his mad plan, they would probably have arrived at a scene overrun with Others... and no survivors.

An approving murmur broke out among the mentors.

Chi Chan was smiling quite broadly now. Things had gone way better than expected.

That kid Li Luo had puffed her chest up with pride.

"Li Luo has done great work this time," Shen Jinxiao said. "Bring us to see the sealed great spirit beast. Even though we're at a purified spot, it's best to be prudent."

The First Princess and Gong Shenjun bowed, leading them out to general cheers and applause as they went to the statue.

Shen Jinxiao and Chi Chan looked at the statue.

"Indeed, that's the three-tailed heavenly wolf from the forbidden zone."

"I heard that it was already close to Duke. If it had succeeded, the school would probably have chosen to give up on purified spot 13 entirely. It's good that it was sealed away before that," Chi Chan remarked.

Shen Jinxiao was looking at the inscriptions closely. It was indeed a powerful ward, and the power had a familiar flavor to it—that of the principal.

Shen Jinxiao stepped suddenly forward, his resonant power crackling forth. "The three-tailed heavenly wolf is a wily beast. For safety's sake, we should let it out now, and then you and I should destroy it."

Shen Jinxiao's sudden movement had the students scattering backwards in alarm.

Although there were two Violet Vibrance mentors present, the three-tailed heavenly wolf would go on a rampage once let out. There might be casualties if it ran wild.

Chi Chan was surprised. She was about to object, but Shen Jinxiao had a point. It felt unsafe to leave such a beast alive here at the purified spot.

She did not object.

"Wait!" They turned to the direction of the yell, and saw Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e pushing their way out of the crowd.

It was Li Luo who had shouted.

"Li Luo, we are about to finish the wolf off for good. Do you have an objection?" Shen Jinxiao said.

Li Luo first bowed courteously to Chi Chan, then turned back to Shen Jinxiao with a smile. "Don't be so hasty, Mentor Shen. The seal cannot be touched." 

"Oh, and why not?" Shen Jinxiao said with a smile.

"Li Luo, I know you've done great work, and the seal is also your handiwork. But leaving the beast here is a time bomb. Destroying it is the best way."

The other students nodded. A seal was a temporary solution. If the beast could be killed once and for all, that would be a greater relief.

Li Luo swore inwardly. There was no three-tailed heavenly wolf in that piece of rock though. How would he explain it if Shen Jinxiao broke it open?

His entire situation could be rumbled, just like that.

Damn, this Jinxiao was really a pain in the butt, even when he wasn't trying. 

“When I grow stronger, I'm going to crush you like a bug!”

Li Luo spoke calmly. "We can't destroy it because the principal said so. As to why, I don't know either. You can go ask the principal yourself."

He was happy enough to pass the burden of proof on. Shen Jinxiao probably wouldn't run off and verify things. Even if he did, the principal would probably cover for him. 

The principal. It was a handy name to use indeed, and a very powerful one. The students accepted his words straight away, as the principal was like a god to them. Since he had chosen to work through Li Luo and his seal, it made sense that he would also leave Li Luo any warnings or advice regarding the seal.

Shen Jinxiao frowned. Li Luo had played a strong card indeed, one that he could not contend with.

Still, he found it fishy. There was no reason why the principal would give such an instruction.

"If that's what the principal said," Chi Chan commented neutrally, "then let's leave it be for now."

She found it odd as well, but when Shen Jinxiao and Li Luo clashed, she always preferred to side with the latter. He was her own student. The former was a scumbag.

Shen Jinxiao shot her a withering look of profound distaste, but he finally conceded. "As you wish."

He hadn't thought too much about it, dismissing it as Li Luo wanting to leave some memento of his crowning glory here for the students to idolize.

"And the body of the Heavenly Disaster Class?" Shen Jinxiao asked.

"What about it now?" Li Luo said irritably.

It was Chi Chan who answered. "For Others of that class, they leave behind corruption even when they die. The remnants need to be properly purged. Especially since this one died close to the purified spot."

"Well then..." Li Luo pointed it out. Somehow, he was always paranoid whenever Shen Jinxiao was involved.

Perhaps he was just too sensitive.

Shen Jinxiao ignored Li Luo, sweeping past him to the area he had indicated. With a powerful wave of resonant power, he evaporated all the lingering black mist and scoured the land of all traces of corruption.

Behind him, Li Luo looked on with deep suspicion. Somehow it looked like a criminal clearing up the scene of the crime. Shen Jinxiao turned back to them.

"Mentor Shen, doesn't it seem a bit strange that a Heavenly Disaster Class Other would appear here?" Li Luo suddenly asked.

"I wonder if there was potential for investigation. Somebody working in the shadows to bring it out, for example?" 

Shen Jinxiao's face was neutral as he waved a hand lazily. "Youngsters shouldn't get lost in their flights of fancy. The number of Heavenly Disaster Class Others appearing in the outskirts of Umbra Cave is low, but not zero.

"There are bigger problems to deal with in the deeper parts of the Umbra Cave, and no one has the time or patience to conduct such a baseless investigation.

"All of you should prepare to leave," he said, addressing the students in general. "Your purging mission is complete, and you can return to school to recover."

He turned, striding away to the center of the purified spot.

The students cheered at his announcement.

Among their cheers were frequent mentions of Li Luo's name.

Shen Jinxiao's eyelid twitched with irritation. Not only had he failed to accomplish his objective, he had even brought Li Luo's reputation to new heights.

What a bother.