Chapter 0420: A Nice Aftertaste

That spectacular rollercoaster of a ticket match was over just as suddenly as it had begun. Some students felt a little melancholy in the following days, coming off the high of the fight.

The students dealt with it by talking about it. The battle might be over, but it lived on long within their memories. One moment they excitedly relived was the Li Luo fight. Objectively speaking, the One Star Hall fight was the lowest level one, and yet it had been the most thrilling of them all.

This also rocketed Li Luo's reputation through the roof, earning him a silent supporter base that almost rivaled that of the First Princess, Gong Shenjun, and Jiang Qing'e.

Reaching this level of fame while at the One Star Hall was a feat that only one person had accomplished before him: Jiang Qing'e.

Besides, the impact of such an outcome was not just limited to within the school walls. Before Su Xin had even announced the conclusion, messengers were moving swiftly to the rest of the Xia Kingdom to report the news. Not a single detail of the battle had been overlooked.

Before long, House Luolan's reputation was just as high as its young master's.

House Luolan's reputation had been hollow all these years, a shell that was accorded some cursory respect. Still, no one ever dared break the shell, for fear that one day the two house lords would actually return... that they were not dead but only incognito.

And a new phoenix had risen from the ashes of the house, biding her strength against any foe that dared to make a move.

The young lord, Li Luo, had been cleanly forgotten, hiding behind the brilliant wings of the phoenix.

The only time his name was even mentioned was as Jiang Qing'e's fiancé.

But after this ticket match, people sat up and noticed him. The ordinary young lord had shown them a bone-chilling display of power and tenacity in the ticket match.

No one would look down on him anymore.

And now his helpless display made it look like he was disdaining everyone else.

After all, he had been born to such great parents, Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan. How could he ever have been average? He was surely destined for great things.

After the ticket match, House Luolan's reputation was given a healthy boost that trickled down to its businesses. Especially the Suncreek Villa—now one of House Luolan's main businesses—it enjoyed a nice boom in sales.

...

Li Luo spent the next few days recuperating. The fight with Lu Cāng had been the closest one he had ever fought. The one with Lin Suo had not been as close thanks to the power of the three-tailed heavenly wolf.

It took a few days before his lethargy started to wane, his empty tanks of energy filling up again.

On the third day of rest, Jiang Qing'e dropped by to see him after some errands.

The two walked shoulder to shoulder along the cobblestone path that circled the lake. They moved in a content and easy silence, oblivious to the students that looked their way curiously.

This time, they looked much more friendly towards Li Luo, and some even nodded respectfully as they passed.

The two had not strolled for long before they came across another pair.

The two people ahead of them had been waiting for them.

Zhao Huiyin and Lu Cāng.

After the ticket match, the Blue Abyss Sage College's contingent had not left immediately, instead lingering for a few days to play.

Zhao Huiyin smiled widely and waved at them energetically.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e shared a look, then they walked up to them.

"You haven't left yet?" Li Luo said a little suspiciously.

"Not welcome, are we?" Zhao Huiyin laughed prettily. "Anyway, we'll be leaving today."

"We welcome you back to the Xia Kingdom after your graduation," Jiang Qing'e said.

"Like I said." Zhao Huiyin winked. "Dump Li Luo and take over House Luolan, and I'll come join you for sure."

Li Luo's eyes narrowed.

He looked over at Lu Cāng, who was still staring closely at him. He seemed to have something to say to Li Luo. Jiang Qing'e noticed as much, and walked away with Zhao Huiyin as they chatted.

"Well? Still can't accept the loss?" Li Luo grinned at him as he leaned against a stone banister along the lake.

Lu Cāng shook his head. "Not at all. Strictly speaking, I'm the one who cheated, using someone else's strength. It was a one-on-two for you."

Li Luo felt a little warmer to him. Lu Cāng was quite an honest one.

"Well, it's not really cheating. It's your special gift after all."

Lu Cāng hesitated. "Actually, I wanted to know why your final attack that beat me was so strong."

Li Luo was surprised. He recalled his final punch back at the bottom of the lake. In that moment, he had evolved his waterlight resonance, but he had managed what he could because of an additional clutch epiphany that he had had regarding his dual resonances.

Dual resonances had three steps: minor merging, becoming one, sentience.

Previously, his dual resonances had always been at the first step, but his punch back then had reached over into the becoming one step for a brief moment.

The dual light halos had been proof enough.

In the last two days, he had continued experimenting with his dual resonances as well, but he had not managed to replicate his success. His brief breakthrough was not true mastery.

Still, it was a good sign. It indicated that his skill with the dual resonances was improving. Even a brief breakthrough was better than no breakthrough. One made their own luck, after all. Surely he would reach the becoming one step before long.

"That's the true power of dual resonances, the becoming one step," Li Luo said cheerfully. He did not hide it.

Lu Cāng inhaled sharply, then he let the breath out heavily. "That's the power of a true dual resonance user. I might be able to borrow my brother's strength and elemental affinity, but that's only two resonances, not a dual resonance. I can't merge them. I can't get that becoming one power."

Li Luo nodded thoughtfully. He had realized as much in their fight. With Lu Cáng supporting him, his resonant power was very strong, but the two powers would be separate till the end.

They could not merge, and the true power of dual resonances eluded him.

Two pythons could not defeat a dragon.

"Well, you're pretty awesome yourself," Li Luo said with true feeling, giving him a big thumbs up. Definitely still a power worth respecting.

Lu Cāng smiled back at him. "I guess the Blue Abyss Sage College won't be at the Holy Grail Meet this time. But I'll be watching you. All the best. I hope you do well. Your opponents there will be far stronger than me."

He hesitated.

"Another piece of news, for free. You will not be the only true dual resonance user at the Holy Grail Meet. Whoever they are, I'm sure you'll face the true power of dual resonances as well."

Li Luo was surprised, but not too surprised. He nodded gratefully.

"In that case... I might even be a little interested."