"Let's go!"

At Li Luo's whispered command, the three charged. Li Luo took the lead, his wood resonant power summoning green vines that held the blue light tiger down.

Swish! Swish!

It gave a growl. Its keen claws made quick work of the vines, as if they were made of shredded paper.

It then leaped at Li Luo.

"Waterlight Demon Mirror!"

His waterlight mirror shimmered into place. The mirror shattered, but he successfully repelled the tiger claw.

"Chaos Shadow Blade!"

A black light streaked past Li Luo's shoulder, a keen dagger headed straight at the tiger.

The blue glow around the tiger slowed the shadow blade down, and it cut down the attack with the other paw.

During this time, Li Luo had leaped high into the air, drawing his shortswords and combining them in one smooth move. He drew his bow, channeling his resonant power into an arrow of light.

Swoosh!

The arrow of light flew at the tiger.

As it neared, it slowed down in an unnatural manner.

"Mengmeng!" Li Luo yelled.

A crystalline resonant power appeared as she waved her tiny hands. A twinkling cloud of pollen started to fall over his arrow of light.

"Butterfly Powder!"

Her powder seemed to have a cleansing effect that removed the delaying effects on the arrow.

Shoosh!

Its speed now unhindered, the light arrow continued straight on its journey, towards a certain scale on the glowing tiger's left breast.

Ding!

It hit the scale, and Li Luo's eyes widened. Another layer of defense on the tiger fur was triggered, rippling out as it absorbed the impact.

The arrow strained against the defense and finally penetrated just as it split.

Chi Chan smiled into her teacup.

From within the light arrow, another concealed bolt of black light, a hidden arrow that punched straight through the weak spot that its shell of light had opened. It buried itself deeply in the scale.

“Roar!”

The glowing tiger froze, then it exploded into a shower of light.

The three looked at the drifting light specks with delight.

"Did we do it?" Bai Mengmeng cried. It was too good to believe.

Li Luo blew out his cheeks. Behind him, Xin Fu hunkered down in his shadow, a slight quirk on his lips.

Chi Chan walked on to the grounds. "Three days, and finally you show some semblance of basic cooperation. I feel like I'm teaching three little pigs."

They hung their heads in embarrassment.

"Still, you're not completely hopeless."

She turned to Li Luo. "As the leader, you should have a basic understanding of your teammates' strengths and traits. Only then can you orchestrate the perfect attack.

"The three of you need to find your own roles.

"Li Luo has water and wood resonances. His water resonance sustains him in the fight, so he isn't afraid to draw it out. His wood resonance helps him control the field, locking down the opponent. His offense is varied and decent.

"Xin Fu has the shadow resonance. He can only keep to the shadows and cannot execute head-on attacks. Only while Li Luo is attacking can he slip in through the shadows and deliver a critical strike.

"Bai Mengmeng's Nightmarish Water Butterfly resonance is not suited to offense, but it has cleansing properties and can induce slumber and drowsiness. It is also a special form of control.

"As for general tactics... If the three of you were to form a complete team, Li Luo would be your main offense, with Xin Fu waiting to strike, while Bai Mengmeng supports you from the back. You need to watch the situation and alert each other, or render aid when needed."

They absorbed this intently. Her analysis of their strengths and weaknesses was spot on.

Perhaps only when they could execute her vision could they reach their true prowess.

"Continue training like that when you have spare time outside of cultivation. I'm sure you know how strong the other squads are. How well you can synergize will determine your result in the competition.

"That's it for today. Go rest."

...

Astral Sage College, Bank of Points.

The hall was a popular place. There was a constant flow of people both in and out of it.

Jiang Qing'e and Yan Lingqing had just arrived.

Many pairs of eyes were trained on the pair, distracted by Jiang Qing'e. She walked to the exchange counter and pulled out a special badge.

The mentor accepted the badge. "What would you like to exchange it for, Student Jiang?"

"12 Step Weave," she said calmly.

"What are you doing with that?" Yan Lingqing asked, puzzled.

"For Li Luo. He only has a sixth-grade resonance, so he can't use Duke energy cultivation arts yet. The 12 Step Weave is one of the few Duke energy cultivation arts that don't need a seventh-grade resonance," she explained.

Yan Lingqing's eyebrows shot up. "So that's why you've been taking on so many missions in the last few days. You've been so busy, I've barely seen you around. You were earning points?"

Although Jiang Qing'e accumulated many points every year, she used them all up regularly. These two weeks had been particularly rough.

"It can't be helped. Li Luo's just entered the school, so he can't even take on missions. It'll be a huge time sink if he's the one to collect 3,000 points," she said.

"You're too nice to him," Yan Lingqing said almost sourly.

"Am I not nice enough to you?" Jiang Qing'e teased her. She was in a good mood as she waited for the 12 Step Weave to be handed over.

Yan Lingqing pushed her spectacles up. "Not nearly enough."

The mentor looked up from his checking. "Student Jiang, someone else has taken the 12 Step Weave," he said, shaking his head in apology. "If you need it, you might have to wait for quite some time."

She frowned. The 12 Step Weave was a niche item. There were not many people who would buy it. Who could have taken it so coincidentally at this time?

"Mentor, can you help me check which student bought it?" Jiang Qing'e asked.

He did not mind. A moment later, his eyes widened. "The 12 Step Weave was taken by mentor Shen Jinxiao for research," he said with surprise."

"He left a note in the records. If any student needs it, they can talk to him."

Yan Lingqing could feel cold anger rising from the girl beside her.

Jiang Qing'e took her badge back wordlessly and turned to leave.

Yan Lingqing hurried after her.

"You're not going to find Shen Jinxiao, are you?"

"Shen Jinxiao? As if. I'm going to Vice Principal Su Xin to impeach him."

Yan Lingqing's mouth fell open.