Chapter 1180 Climbing the Ladder to Heaven
"The leader has returned! The leader has returned!" The shouts of the disciples guarding the city spread like ripples. In just a few minutes, the streets were crowded with citizens and disciples who had rushed over after hearing the news.
In the crowd, there were old men with gray hair saluting tremblingly, and children jumping and waving small homemade flags, and the cheers reached the sky.
Luo Li stood in front of the city gate, looking at the familiar streets and enthusiastic people, and the corners of her lips unconsciously raised, "It's been a long time since we last met. I won't leave the city."
At this moment, several streaks of light streaked across the sky, and several powerful men with majestic auras stood in the air—they were none other than the elders who had never left the city.
"Congratulations, City Lord, on breaking through to the Saint King realm!" The leading Luo Family elder's beard trembled with excitement, his eyes filled with satisfaction. "Although the academy and Buli City have been stable in recent years, with you at the helm, Buli City truly has a backbone!"
Luo Li nodded slightly and was about to speak when she suddenly felt a violent fluctuation of spiritual power coming from somewhere in the city.
Then, a water-blue figure came rushing over, carrying a cool breath. Before it got close, a voice was heard: "Ari, why didn't you send someone to tell us if you were coming back?"
The person who came was Lan Xiaoxiao. There were tiny water droplets dotted in her hair, her eyebrows were curved, but her eyes were filled with unconcealable joy and resentment.
Before Luo Li could respond, Lan Xiaoxiao rushed over and gave her a big hug. The water power lingering around her gently wrapped Luo Li. "You don't know, there has been no news from you in the past two years. Everyone is so worried about you!"
Luo Li smiled helplessly yet dotingly, and gently patted Lan Xiaoxiao on the back: "I was in seclusion to break through to the Saint Sovereign level, so I really couldn't spare time. But now that I'm back, I won't leave again."
Lan Xiaoxiao pouted: "You said so."
"Of course," Luo Li said with a narrowed eyelid. "By the way, where are my master, brother, and Brother Wan Bai?"
Lan Xiaoxiao held Luo Li's arm and walked towards the City Lord's Mansion while saying, "Teacher Shi Heng went into seclusion three months ago to strive for the Saint King Realm. Wan Bai and the others have been busy recently reinforcing other cities in Buli City and the main cities of other forces. So, for now, only Brother Qinghuai and I are left in Buli City."
As he was speaking, a figure in white slowly walked towards him through the void, with an aura as warm as jade lingering around him. It was Luo Qinghuai.
He looked at Luo Li, and Luo Li looked at him.
The next second, Luo Qinghuai opened his arms and hugged her: "Little sister, welcome home."
Luo Li smiled and patted his back: "Third brother, long time no see."
Everyone was talking and laughing as they walked towards the City Lord's Mansion. The people on both sides of the street were still enthusiastic and presented the gifts they had prepared, including fresh spiritual fruits and carefully made cakes.
Luo Li accepted them one by one with a smile, her heart filled with warmth.
After returning to the City Lord's Mansion, it was indeed much quieter.
Before Luo Li could speak, Lan Xiaoxiao spoke up, "Most people are staying at the Alliance Academy right now, and quite a few are in seclusion. Feng Wuhen and the others returned to the Taixu Feng Clan's territory a year ago, so it's normal for the City Lord's Mansion to be a little deserted."
Luo Li nodded and asked, "Where are Ayu and the others?"
Lan Xiaoxiao sighed, "They've been working really hard, constantly traveling through various forbidden areas, only returning when they've sustained injuries that require recuperation. But now they've already broken through to the level of a six-star Grand Lord. The old men at the Alliance Academy are all saying it's unbelievable. They say even with the help of your elixirs, their advancement speed is incredibly fast."
Luo Li pursed her lips slightly, knowing what they were thinking.
She sighed, "Is everything okay in the alliance?"
Lan Xiaoxiao became more excited when she talked about this. "It's strange, really. There hasn't been any human activity in the past two years. The Mu and Ji families are as quiet as if they were dead."
Luo Li narrowed her eyes: "There's no movement from the Nine Heavens and the Demon God Palace, so naturally they don't dare to act rashly."
"That's right," Lan Xiaoxiao sighed, "but we still haven't been able to break through to the Saint Lord level in the past two years. If we all break through to the Saint Lord level, then what would we be afraid of the Demon God Temple?!"
Luo Li chuckled, "You're already a nine-star great lord, and you're still not satisfied."
Lan Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue. "I just made a breakthrough, so I'm always thinking about going one step further."
Luo Li patted her head: "There's no rush to break through to the Saint Lord level. You're already very powerful."
"That's right," Lan Xiaoxiao, who always had a good attitude, quickly continued, "Ah Li, why don't you go to the Alliance Academy? You don't even know how many disciples the Alliance Academy has now. It's even more than Jiuding Academy. Now our Alliance Academy is the number one academy on the continent."
Luo Li's eyes lit up: "Of course I have to go and see."
She raised her head slightly and looked towards the direction of the Sky Alliance Academy, feeling a little bit of anticipation.
Luo Li was about to fly up when she was stopped by Lan Xiaoxiao. Luo Qinghuai also smiled slyly: "Let's go up by the ladder."
Luo Li was stunned: "Climb the ladder to heaven?"
What the hell is that? How come she has never heard of it?
Luo Qinghuai smiled mysteriously, raised his hand and pointed towards the center of the city. Amidst the rolling clouds and mist, a dazzling staircase slowly emerged.
The stairs are formed by countless streams of light, and each step is engraved with ancient and mysterious runes, emitting a soft light, like a road to heaven leading to the clouds.
"This is the ladder to heaven that several elders of the academy jointly built after your retreat," Lan Xiaoxiao introduced enthusiastically. "Only the core disciples and elders of the Alliance Academy, as well as those who have made significant contributions to the academy, can set foot on this ladder. It's said that every time a spiritual master below the rank of Grand Lord takes a step up, they can feel a mysterious force tempering their body and mind, which is extremely beneficial to their cultivation!"
"That's right!" Luo Qinghuai said with a smile, "Why don't you come and feel it for yourself?"
Luo Li looked at the ladder in front of her with great interest, a faint smile on her lips: "It's quite interesting.
"As she spoke, she took the first step and stepped onto the first step. In an instant, a warm power spread from the soles of her feet.
As Luo Li climbed up step by step, the runes on the ladder became brighter and brighter, and the light intertwined into a gorgeous light curtain that enveloped her.
Lan Xiaoxiao and Luo Qinghuai followed closely behind, and the figures of the three were looming in the dazzling light.
Halfway up the mountain, Luo Li suddenly stopped and looked down at the Buli City below.
At this time, the city was shining in the sunlight, the streets were bustling with cars and people, and it was a prosperous scene.
The small city in the past has now developed into the most dazzling existence on the continent of gods.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, she would keep all of this.
"Ali, we're almost there!" Lan Xiaoxiao's urging voice brought Luo Li back to her senses.
She looked up and saw that the end of the ladder was shrouded in clouds and mist, and a magnificent building was looming, and faintly heard waves of powerful spiritual power.
When the three of them finally reached the top of the ladder, a magnificent gate of an institution of higher learning suddenly appeared before their eyes.
The four large gold-plated characters "Alliance Academy" on the plaque are vigorous and powerful, exuding a breathtaking majesty.
On both sides of the gate, two tall guardian stone statues are lifelike, with powerful spiritual energy lingering around them, as if they are guarding this holy place.
Luo Li looked at the familiar words and whispered, "Is this what Master wrote?"
"Yes," Lan Xiaoxiao also sighed, "This is the first time that Teacher Shi Heng has put pen to paper since Tianyuan College."
Luo Li gently stroked the words on the plaque, as if she could feel the majestic momentum of her master's brushstrokes through the gold.
She took a deep breath and slowly opened the door of the school.
The moment the door opened, a strong spiritual power rushed towards him, and what came into view was a wide square, accompanied by the shouts of duels and the roar of soul skills colliding one after another.
Looking around, countless disciples were practicing in the wide square.
Some sat cross-legged beside the spiritual spring to attract the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, some practiced martial arts in pairs, and some controlled spiritual weapons under the guidance of their instructors. The scene was extremely lively.
"Leader! The leader is back!" Someone shouted first, and the originally noisy square suddenly became quiet. Then, the disciples rushed in like a tide and surrounded Luo Li and the other two.
"Alliance leader!"
"Greetings, leader!"
"The leader is here!"
The shouts that came one after another were deafening, and the disciples' eyes were shining with reverence and excitement.
A young disciple in academy uniform said with a trembling voice, "Alliance Master, I've heard your legendary stories since I entered the Alliance Academy. I truly admire you!"
Just then, an anxious figure squeezed through the crowd.
He was a middle-aged man with a dignified face. He said apologetically, "Alliance Master, I'm so sorry. I was just instructing my disciples in their cultivation and only hurried here when I heard about your return."
Luo Li smiled and said, "No need to be so polite. Teaching my disciples is my top priority."
Elder Li said with emotion, "The Alliance Academy has been able to achieve such great success over the past two years, thanks to the foundation you laid and the treasures you left behind. Not only has the academy expanded in size, but the overall strength of the disciples has also significantly improved. It has also nurtured many talented individuals who have made their mark on the continent. Your hard work has truly lived up to your reputation."
Luo Li felt a little ashamed when he said that. Back then, she had only left some elixirs and spiritual weapons and went into seclusion. It was the master who was in charge of these disciples.
As soon as Elder Li finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd.
Several young men were crowded together and pushed to the front. The leading young man had a fiery look in his eyes, tightly clutching a yellowed ancient book in his hand. "Leader! I'm the leader of this class of freshmen. I've been having trouble mastering the spirit skills I obtained from the Trial Tower lately, and even asking the instructor didn't give me much information. So, I'm rashly asking you for some guidance!"
As soon as the young man finished speaking, there was a wave of echoes from all around. Many disciples looked at Luo Li eagerly, holding various soul skills secrets in their hands.
Seeing this, Luo Li smiled and gently waved her hand. The gentle soul power turned into an invisible barrier, pushing the enthusiastic disciples back slightly. "Don't worry, everyone. I will find time to answer all your questions about soul skills in the future. Today is my first time back, and I also want to take a look around the academy and see how it has changed."
Besides, she had one most important thing to do soon.
Although the disciples were somewhat reluctant to leave, they still gave way obediently.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
