Chapter 0464: Test by Proxy

Whoosh!

More people arrived on the hillside near Lu Qing'er and Yin Yue.

"Qing'er, are you guys okay?" Bai Mengmeng fussed.

Lu Qing'er was smiling in relief, the hard knot of tension within her easing. Besides Bai Mengmeng, Yi Lisha's squad and Wang Hejiu's squad had both arrived as well, having met on the way here.

Besides Bai Doudou's team, the Astral Sage College's One Star Hall was fully assembled.

Their ranks swelled alongside their power.

"We're fine. We met a squad from the Sacred Summit Sage College. That guy's probably Sun Dasheng."

Yi Lisha and Wang Hejiu blanched upon hearing that. "THE Sun Dasheng? Sacred Summit Sage College? One of the top three favorites?" They looked at the guy with the golden staff with trepidation. Indeed, he looked like a real threat.

"No wonder he can beat Qin Zhulu like that," Yi Lisha whispered.

Qin Zhulu was the second strongest among them, and he fought like a tiger. No, even more recklessly than one. That was part of his strength—relentless aggression that wore his opponents down. Seeing him beaten down this much spoke of the top three's own caliber.

"Can Li Luo really beat Sun Dasheng alone? He’s still playing the hero at this time," Duze Beixuan grumbled.

Although they knew that Li Luo was strong, Sun Dasheng's reputation was nothing to mess with. If their carry was taken down by Sun Dasheng, they would all be in trouble.

"Leader's a very reliable guy," Xin Fu asserted. "His moves are always calculated. Besides, don't you see the Sacred Summit Sage College squads waiting around as well? We need to keep an eye on them."

The others started, as they realized that there were indeed a few Sacred Summit squads nearby, also eying them warily.

It was really a standoff.

Both sides were waiting to see how the other would act.

Nearby.

Sun Dasheng sized Li Luo up. "So this is the guy who's stronger than you?" he asked Qin Zhulu.

Qin Zhulu nodded, still rubbing his numb arm.

Sun Dasheng was surprised. "I would never have believed it. He looks like that, but he can fight?"

"Ah, my misshapen friend, that's where you're wrong," Li Luo quipped. "It's actually rarer that one is ugly and still can fight."

Sun Dasheng's eyes widened. "Are you saying that I'm ugly?"

"No, no, I wouldn't." Li Luo waved it off. "I'd just say you look a little... different."

Sun Dasheng swung his staff. "Enough lip. You want to take him away? You'll have to ask my staff if it agrees."

Li Luo laughed. "I don't just want to take him away. I think after beating him up like that, you owe him an apology."

Sun Dasheng's eyes were getting rounder by the minute. "I should've known someone this handsome would be an absolute airhead."

"I've never apologized to anyone before. You want me to apologize? Easy. Take a couple of hits from my staff, and I'll apologize," he sneered.

Li Luo nodded unconcernedly. With a flick of his wrist, the Golden-Jade Onyx-Elephant Blade's shining, yellow and green blade was in his hand.

"Bring on your couple of hits, then."

He turned back to Qin Zhulu. "You go over to the others, rest up."

Qin Zhulu nodded. He knew that Li Luo had to have some sort of intention for riling Sun Dasheng up. Of course someone like that was not going to apologize.

Li Luo just wanted an excuse to fight him.

Was he really trying to test the ability of the top three students?

"Careful. This monkey's a real handful," he warned, using his heavy spear as a crutch while limping off.

Sun Dasheng was all business now. Face tight with utter concentration, his slate-gray power and golden staff were wielded in perfect harmony by his ape avatar.

Although Sun Dasheng didn't think much of Li Luo because of his pretty-boy looks, he did not show any mercy when he fought.

"Third Changing... upper eighth-grade Stone Ape resonance," Li Luo reminded himself. This guy had to be taken seriously. He was even more of a threat than Lu Cāng at the ticket match.

His true goal was to ascertain how strong the top three were.

After all, Jiang Qing'e had already given him a mission: to take down the greatest obstacle, Jing Taixu. That guy had crossed them before, and the battle against him would definitely be epic.

Before that, Li Luo wanted to fight Sun Dasheng to get a sense of how strong Jing Taixu might be, through proxy.

He hefted the Golden-Jade Onyx-Elephant Blade. Third Changing was indeed one tier stronger than himself, but it didn't mean that his opponent had stronger resonant power. He had dual resonances, and dual secondary resonances. The amount of resonant power stacked up in his resonant palaces was enough to make up for the one-tier difference.

The two engines of power began to flow together within him.

The Sacred Summit students watching shook their heads.

"That guy's the top leader of the Astral Sage College? He's got some guts to challenge our leader like that," one student chuckled.

"I mean, their guy just got beaten up. He has to do something to save face and help them win their morale back," another student offered.

"Quite the beating too. Should've warned him what he was in for."

"Well, it’s understandable. Before this, these guys all lived like kings in their little fish ponds. It's made them cocky."

The student previously referred to as Leader Lu did not join in the jibing. "Prepare yourselves. Once our boss takes that guy down, be prepared to move against the Astral Sage College if they try anything."

The others nodded, preparing themselves.

While they were speaking, Sun Dasheng had already made his move. Leaping into the air, his gray power spread out like a cloud in the sky. And then his golden staff broke through like sunshine, blasting down towards his opponent.

"Monkey King's Three Strikes: Strike That Moves Mountains!"

Sun Dasheng held nothing back.

Immediately from the get-go, the attack that beat Qin Zhulu!

The same strike whistling down, with the weight of a mountain packed in it. Nearby, Yi Lisha, Wang Hejiu, and the others cringed. They could sense the level of power packed into that attack. And even Qin Zhulu had not been able to stop it. Was Li Luo really going to be okay?