Chapter 0465: Two Strikes

Boom!

The golden staff fell down on Li Luo like a pillar from the sky, but he merely stood his ground, fingers wrapped firmly around his sword.

The dual resonant powers merged within his body.

Dual resonance power!

He only used it at the minor merging level, not the Becoming One level. Sun Dasheng's attack was not that strong.

Ever since mastering the Becoming One level, Li Luo could freely interchange between the two levels.

Onyx-Elephant Blade charged with power, Li Luo parried the blow.

"Thousand Watery Knives art!"

Weng!

The sound of whistling blades filled the air with an urgent, buzzing hum.

Li Luo's blade flashed up with the power of thousands of water streams.

It clashed against the golden staff with a deafening clang.

Clang!

Metal on metal.

The already-devastated terrain was leveled once again, leaving not a single tree standing in their vicinity.

Both teams peered through the wake of the debris and gasped. The staff and sword attacks had both disappeared.

Li Luo was standing in the same spot, sword in hand.

A light breeze ruffled his clothes.

They were in awe. Sun Dasheng's attack had been incredible. No effect?

"Impossible! How did he defend so easily?" The Sacred Summit students were doubly in shock. This was their idol, the one they had absolute trust in. Even Leader Lu's composure slipped as he gasped.

This Astral Sage College kid was extraordinary.

Sun Dasheng was equally surprised. He blinked stupidly at Li Luo, and then battle will filled his eyes.

"To think there's another dual resonance user here besides Lu Ming! Well, well," he said.

He had clearly sensed the peculiar difference in the clash just now. A unique interaction of resonant power!

This person had dual resonances!

Li Luo grinned at him. "Well? You said a couple of hits? Where's the second strike?"

Sun Dasheng roared with laughter, excitement spreading across his face in a smile. This unremarkable looking guy was actually deserving of some real attention. To a battle-nut like him, it was like finding an unexpected treasure.

"Seems like I've underestimated the geniuses of the East Divine Continent!"

Sun Dasheng was flushed in the face, gripping his golden staff so tightly that his veins bulged. The gray-white power built up behind him, until it was back in the ape form again.

"What's your name?" Sun Dasheng asked.

An opponent deserving of name-recognition.

"Astral Sage College, Li Luo."

"Alright, Li Luo." Sun Dasheng nodded approvingly. "I have my eye on you. But your dual resonances are much weaker than Lu Ming's. If that's all you got, my second strike is going to overwhelm you."

Li Luo's heart skipped a beat. This guy had fought Lu Ming before?

There was not much time to explore the implications. He could sense the power building up within Sun Dasheng as he lifted his staff ponderously.

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

Boom!

This time around, the slate-gray power did not fly out in a single, consolidated lump like previously. It left the golden staff in a snake-like stream of power that twisted through the air towards Li Luo.

It flew effortlessly in the air, but the ground cracked from the resonating pressure.

The golden ribbon of power was growing rapidly in Li Luo's vision. He dug deep and again merged his resonant powers within him.

This time, he produced power that was even stronger than the previous one.

Li Luo savored his power, a small smile on his face. This was power that gave one a sense of security.

He stepped out and delivered a long, diagonal slice from his own sword.

The ground broke first, announcing the power that erupted a moment later from his weapon.

Ding!

It hit the golden ribbon staff strike, and the sound of tinny metal rang out. This time, it stirred a gust in the still air, howling and echoing around the mountain.

The ground that Li Luo stood on was smashed in, leaving a crater half a meter deep.

The dust cleared.

Everyone watched anxiously. Sun Dasheng's second strike was even more impressive than the first. Even the spectators had been thoroughly impressed.

What about Li Luo?

He calmly strolled out of the dust cloud.

He was completely unhurt, and he looked at Sun Dasheng. "Are Lu Ming’s dual resonance something like this?" he asked conversationally.

He lifted his sword arm. His hand was surrounded by a strange halo of light at the hilt of his sword.

The halo seemed to dance with sparkling water, and was also dotted daintily with jade.

Sun Dasheng stared at it. "Becoming One level," he whispered to himself.

Of course he knew about the three levels of dual resonances.

"I'm impressed. To think dark horses like yourself exist at the hall-level competition." Sun Dasheng licked his lips. This was an opponent worthy of a legendary battle.

Li Luo chuckled. "You're very strong yourself. You live up to your reputation." Although he had managed to block Sun Dasheng's two strikes, they had given him tremendous pressure. Especially the second one—it had even forced out his Becoming One level of dual resonances.

This alone proved just how strong Sun Dasheng was. And intelligence suggested that Sun Dasheng still had more in the bag.

Duke art.

If he brought it out, what would the end result be?

And that was just Sun Dasheng. Jing Taixu's reputation was beyond his.

Damn, Qing'e had really given him a big task.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

In any case, Sun Dasheng's strength had given him a good reference point for Jing Taixu's own.

Sun Dasheng's resonant power faded away, and he stashed his golden staff away on his back. "Fight's over."

Li Luo stared at him. This battle nut? Walking away from a good fight?

"Don't get me wrong, I do want to fight!" Sun Dasheng said in response to Li Luo's unspoken question.

"But you're quite strong, so I'd probably pay a price even if I beat you, and there's no benefit to be gained from this battle. It's unfair to my teammates," he said ruefully.

Li Luo smiled. Sun Dasheng was actually quite a rational one. Just as well that he was on the same page. His goal here to test the waters had already been accomplished.

Sun Dasheng returned to his team with one enormous leap and waved them on. "Friend," he called out, "and what is your name?"

"Qin Zhulu."

"Haha, Qin Zhulu, you're quite strong also. If I didn't have the cultivation level advantage, I might not have been able to beat you. The Astral Sage College is a real dark horse. I'm looking forward to a good show on Dragonbone Island."

Sun Dasheng's teammates stared at him in surprise. This was unexpectedly high praise.

Still, Li Luo had taken two strikes from Sun Dasheng. He was not going to grovel and apologize, but this was his way of admitting it.

Qin Zhulu's eyes were locked on him. "I'll beat you myself in the future."

"Looking forward to it!" Sun Dasheng said with an unconcerned laugh, then he turned to Li Luo. "See you on Dragonbone Island. I want to see if you can take my third strike."

Without waiting for Li Luo's reply, he turned and left.

The Sacred Summit Sage College contingent went with him.

Wang Hejiu, Duze Beixuan, and the Astral Sage contingent breathed out in relief. Things had almost gotten sticky there.

But at the same time, they could see that even Sun Dasheng was wary of Li Luo's power.

Which meant that he had gotten even stronger compared to the ticket match.

He was already at the level where even the giants walked softly around him.