Chapter 0575: Four Heroes versus Ao Bai

Li Luo and the other three One Star Hall students stared at the moth in Ao Bai's eyes, and their hearts sank. Another damned controlling thing.

"Is it an Other?" Lu Ming asked doubtfully, cringing at the freakish sight.

"No idea." Li Luo shrugged.

In any case, it was probably reasonable to link the moth to the strange gust of wind that had come upon them previously. Ao Bai had taken the brunt of that gust, and the moth had probably taken control of him then.

That thought was scary enough to make Li Luo's stomach wobble, and he had to check that there weren't moths in his own belly. At the same time, he was a little happy.

It was no time to be popping champagne at all, but if he had been the one leading the group instead of Ao Bai, it would have been him with the fluttering beast in his eyes... and the one being controlled.

If even a quasi General Stage cultivator like Ao Bai had fallen without a trace of a struggle, Li Luo wouldn't stand a chance in hell.

Which meant... close shave.

"See, I always knew that staying low-key was the best way to do things." Li Luo congratulated himself nervously, wiping some cold sweat off his brow. He was also suddenly grateful for the useless egg that was called Zhu Xuan. If not for the fawning fop urging Ao Bai to be the leader, perhaps the Two Star Hall student would not have taken it up.

Lo and behold, less than an hour later, puppet.

Clearly, the word “leader” was spelled "C-A-N-N-O-N F-O-D-D-E-R.”

Still, there was a very real danger facing them all. Ao Bai's mothy eyes were already lifting towards the four of them, completely devoid of emotion.

Resonant power was gathering around him, forming a silver snake with a dragon's horn.

Upper eighth-grade, Silver Horn Dragon Python resonance.

A three-pronged silver-scaled trident appeared in his hand, glinting with cold light.

"Shit. He's a quasi General Stage with his fiend palace already close to being formed. He's got resonant power for days. Way stronger than us," Sun Dasheng said tersely, gripping his staff.

Li Luo was sweating bullets too. Ao Bai was a terror to face—he wasn't crowned the strongest Two Star Hall student for nothing. A quasi General cultivator was many times stronger than the other Two Star Hall weeds like Zhu Xuan.

"If only Senior Yuan could still fight—that would be a lot easier," Jing Taixu groaned.

Li Luo took a look over at the unconscious Yuan Banshan, and could not help but agree with Jing Taixu. Yuan Banshan was closest in strength to Ao Bai. If he was not injured and had a few helpers, it would’ve been possible to hold Ao Bai down.

But the first blow from Ao Bai had felled him instantly, and now they were lacking a solid force in their ranks.

Was that all part of his vicious calculation, or merely luck?

"Alright, you three, we're going to have to work together," Li Luo said, pulling out his sword. "If we can't take down Senior Ao Bai, our mission to get the cleansing dew points up and running is toast."

Although a quasi General was a formidable opponent, they were desperate and had no other choice.

"Haha, I like your guts," Sun Dasheng hooted. "I thought there was no chance for us to shine here in Russet Rock City, but now they've handed us the Two Star top dog on a plate. In a dog bowl. Let's take down the beast!"

His eyes shone with excitement as he slammed his staff down for emphasis, leaving a deep, circular crack pattern.

"I would rather be less shining on the field, and more shining in the rewards," Lu Ming said, rolling her eyes.

Jing Taixu was relatively calm. Although he was not on the best of terms with Li Luo, he understood that their current situation called for total and complete teamwork, or Ao Bai would swallow them whole. Jeopardizing the cleansing dew mission was the most disastrous consequence of all.

And so he whipped out his green plantain fan at the ready as well.

"Li Luo, let's do this together," he called out gravely. "You and I are both Fourth Changings. Together, we face senior Ao Bai head on. Lu Ming and Sun Dasheng can flank him. What do you say?"

Li Luo swung his Onyx-Elephant Blade in a friendly manner. "Well then, do your best not to drag me down," he said with a cheeky grin.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Petty child." Jing Taixu sniffed.

He was preparing his weapon too, and his green plantain fan was busy moving in a complicated pattern that harnessed the wind around him. Energy gathered, he blasted it out at Ao Bai's weak points.

Ao Bai took it calmly, his own silver resonant power rising like a wave. The green wind resonant power that looked sharp and deadly was completely engulfed by the silver tide.

Jing Taixu's eyes widened. Ao Bai's resonant power was indeed far stronger than the average Fourth Changing cultivator's. If they were fighting alone, he would not have been able to last very long, even with his quasi ninth-grade wind resonance.

"No need to test the waters, you're only wasting resonant power," Li Luo commented mildly.

He lifted his own Onyx-Elephant Blade and dug deep into his two resonant palaces, pulling out blue and green power that combined into one.

The familiar sensation of plentiful resonant power flooded every inch of his body until he felt saturated.

At the same time, he activated his Thunderpeal Avatar.

BOOM!

As the electricity sped through his body, stimulating his muscles, bones, and nerves, his skin glowed with an electrical current, as though he were being charged from within.

"Level One Divine Elephant Power!"

Veins bulging like earthworms under the skin, his arm’s strength surged.

The aura of power around Li Luo continued to build.

Jing Taixu shivered a little. The two had fought before, and so he had a deeper understanding of Li Luo's power than the others. And that deeper understanding was telling him that Li Luo was a level stronger than him right now.

Even if he did not want to admit it, the truth was the truth.

"After this Holy Grail Meet ends, I'm gonna charge to the Earth Fiend Tier without stopping," Jing Taixu swore to himself under his breath. "My quasi ninth-grade wind resonance will see me through before this silver-haired devil!" Li Luo paid no attention to the jealousy going on. He stepped forward and sent his attack blasting out at Ao Bai.

In perfect sync, Jing Taixu's quasi ninth-grade wind spirit avatar shimmered into view behind him, sending forth a storm of green energy that shaped itself into a green palm several meters wide, slamming down on Ao Bai from above.

"Monkey King's Three Strikes: Strike That Moves Seas!" Sun Dasheng's bellow was followed up by a tremendous strike that seemed capable of raising a tsunami all by itself.

Thunder rumbled behind Ao Bai.

Lu Ming's slender frame rose up, covered in the same electrical glow as Li Luo's body. She had also used her Thunderpeal Avatar to greatly increase her speed and strength.

"Bolt Sword!" Lu Ming sent a crackling sword strike flashing out towards Ao Bai's exposed back.

A coordinated four-way attack by the cream of the One Star Hall crop, against the strongest Two Star Hall student.