Chapter 0477: Badass

The watery knives flew out in a wide arc like a wave against the beach, a silvery-blue attack that stretched out across the horizon. And on said beach were Zhao Xingying, Zheng Fuxing, and Ding Chi, facing the tsunami.

The three felt a chill run down their spines.

Li Luo's attack was terrifying.

This was the true power of dual resonance users?

Both sides should have been Second Changings, with similarly high-graded resonances. That was as it should be, as they were all their respective schools’ representatives. And yet this single attack from Li Luo was cutting through any illusion they might have about being on the same level.

"Join forces!"

"Block this, and he'll have nothing left!"

"All the schools are watching! We have to represent our schools well!"

In the end, it was Zhao Xingying who rallied them with a cry, summoning his golden power first.

"Saffron Crawler python!"

His vine power now banded together into a thicker coil that took on life. A golden vine python hissed and snaked out towards the attack.

Zheng Fuxing and Ding Chi gritted their teeth and committed as well, suppressing their terror.

"Bull Demon Cleaves the Mountain!"

Zheng Fuxing bellowed as he raised his ax high, bringing it down. Behind him, the demonic battle bull did the same, its malevolent, red eyes smoking with ashy power. Midnight-black light flooded Zheng Fuxing's ax, then it was released in a powerful swing.

Ding Chi cupped his own hands around his mouth and lifted his head high, blowing out scarlet flames that rose into the sky in the form of a fiery sword.

It was reverse sword swallowing. The flaming sword blazed through the sky like a comet.

All three had used their strongest attacks.

The four attacks met in mid-air.

All eyes were on the impact.

This would determine the battle between the commanders.

Boom!

It exploded like fireworks when all four collided at the exact same moment. Even the mountain winds were changed, blowing outwards in different directions as they bowed to the attacks. The shockwave shook the trees with a rippling effect outwards.

There was now a crater several meters wide at the center of the impact. All of the trees at ground zero had been completely uprooted.

Li Luo was sent skidding back a dozen paces, although most of the impact had been absorbed by a waterlight coat that flowed across his skin.

The Heavy Water Toga.

He steadied himself, then he looked over at his three opponents.

They were in bad shape. Zhao Xingying had revealed a chest piece of dark-gray battle armor. It was a powerful defensive treasured artifact, but it now had a deep gash on it.

Zheng Fuxing was propping himself up with his ax, fresh blood bubbling out of his mouth at frequent intervals.

Ding Chi clutched at his throat, gurgling on his own blood.

All three were completely roughed up. Their resonant powers were sparking chaotically, their control unstable.

The outcome was clear as could be.

The schools who had flirted with the idea of fishing in this pond packed up their fishing rods. Li Luo was way too strong for them.

One man alone had taken on three commanders and won!

What sort of sorcery was this?!

Was he on the level of Jing Taixu, Lu Ming, and Sun Dasheng?

No one had told them that the Astral Sage College had such a trump card!

"Gentlemen, if we keep this up, someone's going to be eliminated," Li Luo said with a smile.

Zhao Xingying's group was completely subdued now. They had truly underestimated Li Luo, and overestimated themselves.

"So this is dual resonance power..."

Zhao Xingying muttered to himself angrily. They were all Second Changings. Why was the difference so huge?

Zheng Fuxing and Ding Chi were looking uncertain as well. They knew that with this, Li Luo's reputation would soar within the Hall-level competition. It looked like the three hot favorites were about to have a new member in their ranks.

"I... still can fight!" Zhao Xingying grunted painfully.

Zheng Fuxing sighed. "The other two routes are not going well either."

Zhao Xingying was alarmed. He struggled to reach higher ground and peered over at the other routes.

On the left, the disadvantage was largest. Two Astral Sage College squads were winning easily, mostly due to the brute that was probably as strong as any one of the three commanders. No one else could stand up against him.

The right was where they had committed most of their forces, but somehow their forces seemed to only be half of what they should have been. Although they still held a modest numbers advantage, they had not broken past the defenses into the anima cumulonimbus yet.

Zhao Xingying's hopes faded away.

Stuffed on three routes. Their plan to take the anima cumulonimbus had completely failed.

If they continued fighting, they would not only walk away empty-handed, but also too injured to even contest other anima cumulonimbuses.

The three came to the same conclusion, so they pulled out their whistles and sounded the retreat.

The shrill signal rang out over the forest, and the side routes immediately stirred with a different energy. They were full of disbelief. Had they lost?

Everyone looked over, but their indignant expressions quickly turned to concern when they saw how badly beaten up their commanders were. Finally, they sighed and complied.

Was the Astral Sage College’s Li Luo really that awesome?

Helping their teammates, the three schools retreated.

The Astral Sage College squads were too tired to chase. And even though the first three attackers had retreated, there could be more schools watching and waiting for opportunities.

Zhao Xingying and the other commanders slunk back quietly with their schools. They knew that they had no more cards on the table that could be used to negotiate with Li Luo.

They had lost thoroughly, and there was nothing to say about it.

It had been a three-on-one, and they had lost. Any insults to him would only brand them as sore losers.

Li Luo was silent too as he watched them go. And then he waved to Qin Zhulu and Bai Doudou, signifying that they should take some time to recuperate.

He himself remained on his tree top, sword in hand as he scanned the trees. He drew in a deep breath and shouted.

"This anima cumulonimbus is claimed by the Astral Sage College. Anybody have something to say about that?" The mountain winds and echoes of the valley carried his voice far and wide.

A badass move.

All the while, the three schools were limping away from him. Nobody dared to answer the challenge of the silver-haired youth!