Chapter 1070: The First Match

As the numerous Holy Academies' teams completed their lot drawing, a resounding bell chime echoed across the enormous circular stands, and immediately afterward, everyone saw the central hollow battle stage area rumble and tremble as countless python-like tree trunks writhed within, swiftly partitioning off dozens of battle stages.

These battle stages varied in size, and clearly those extremely spacious ones belonged to the "multi-academy" venues, while the smaller ones were single-academy stages.

"Since the lots have been drawn, let's begin directly." Vice Dean Wu Yu said indifferently, then took his seat upon the high platform.

At the same time, instructors from the Tianyuan Ancient Academy rose into the air, serving as judges and referees for each battle stage.

"All academy teams, enter the stage according to your assigned numbers."

"Those without an assigned number, wait for now!"

Resounding voices rang out continuously between heaven and earth.

Li Luo glanced at the black lot in his hand; it did not glow, indicating his number still required waiting. However, there was no rush—he could first watch the other teams clash.

His gaze turned toward the vast central battle stage area. At this moment, as teams leaped down one after another, the interior began to grow lively.

Wave after wave of powerful phase force fluctuations erupted continuously.

Li Luo's gaze swept about, watching the battle stages with great interest. The competition styles of the single-academy and multi-academy stages were entirely different. The former was simple and brutal—soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals, each side employing their own methods to clash. The multi-academy stages, however, were far more expansive and complex, with several teams scattered within, constantly eliminating other teams through collisions, and when only two teams remained at the end, they would be declared the victors.

While Li Luo was watching the matches, he failed to notice that on the distant high platform, there were likewise some gazes fixed upon him.

This group of young people were all wearing the student academy uniforms of the Tianyuan Ancient Academy, and their bearing was undoubtedly stronger and more confident than that of the other Holy Academy students.

Zong Sha and Jiang Jiang Wanyu were also among this group.

Clearly, these people were all students from the various Star Academies of the Tianyuan Ancient Academy.

"Jiang Wanyu, is that Li Luo?" At the front of the group stood a long-haired youth, idly twirling a bone flute in his hand. He smiled as he looked at Li Luo's figure, then asked Jiang Jiang Wanyu.

"Senior Brother Mo Yun, please just call me Junior Jiang." Jiang Jiang Wanyu's willow brows knit slightly, her tone somewhat cool as she spoke.

This Senior Brother Mo Yun was an outstanding figure of the Four Star Academy; in terms of fame and strength, he was even a bit stronger than Zong Sha.

Mo Yun smiled faintly, unperturbed by Jiang Jiang Wanyu's cold attitude, and said, "Aside from being somewhat presentable in appearance, I haven't yet spotted this fellow's 'invincible bearing' anywhere."

He looked toward Zong Sha beside him and laughed, "Zong Sha, you guys had all your thunder stolen by him in that Spiritual Phase Cave Heaven?"

Zong Sha frowned and said, "Mo Yun, don't talk nonsense. We had no conflict with Li Luo in the Spiritual Phase Cave Heaven. He actually gave us quite a few benefits too—consider it some good karma."

Mo Yun laughed, "A few scraps tossed down by someone else, and you're already satisfied?"

"If this academy had sent me to lead the team to the Spiritual Phase Cave Heaven, the little things Li Luo gave probably wouldn't have been enough to dismiss me."

Jiang Jiang Wanyu said blandly, "It's also possible you'd follow in the footsteps of Tian Miao and Zhao Yan."

Mo Yun's smile stiffened, but before he could speak, a woman's voice rang out in sharp retort: "That's not necessarily so. If you had chosen to stand on Zhao Yan's side back then, perhaps it would have been Li Li Tianwang's lineage's team that got driven out."

Jiang Jiang Wanyu glanced at the speaker—a beautiful young girl named Lu Ying, also an outstanding figure of the Three Star Academy, who constantly vied with her on ordinary days.

"Lu Ying, with that brain of yours, you'd better stay inside the academy. The outside isn't suited for you." Jiang Jiang Wanyu said coolly.

"What did you say?!" Lu Ying flew into a rage.

Jiang Jiang Wanyu sneered, "The true demon in the Spiritual Phase Cave Heaven was slain by Li Luo—would we still have followed Zhao Yan and the others? Fortunately, you didn't have a slot to go to the Spiritual Phase Cave Heaven this time, or we really would have been dragged to death by you."

Lu Ying's face alternated between green and pale as she gritted her teeth, "Who knows if it's true or false!"

She actually understood this logic too, but she was simply used to opposing Jiang Jiang Wanyu—whatever the latter supported, she naturally had to oppose.

Mo Yun beside them waved his hand and laughed, "Li Luo's methods cannot be denied, but in the end they were just external forces. In the current academy-level examination, without those external means, whether Li Luo can still deliver such stunning performances is uncertain."

"The Fenghua List has already elevated him. If he turns out to be ordinary, he'll become a laughingstock."

He had no real grudge against Li Luo; he simply felt that the evaluation on the Fenghua List was somewhat exaggerated.

His words also drew agreement from some of the Tianyuan Ancient Academy students nearby. They had not experienced the events of the Spiritual Phase Cave Heaven, but regardless, while Li Luo was admittedly outstanding at present, he still didn't deserve the "invincible bearing" on the Fenghua List.

Zong Sha and Jiang Jiang Wanyu did not argue further, because they both understood that the "invincible bearing" on the Fenghua List was a kill-by-praise maneuver orchestrated by Mu Yao.

And whether this kill-by-praise could be resolved ultimately depended on Li Luo's own ability.

"Dong!"

"Battle Stage Forty-Seven! Single-academy match!"

"Shengxia Academy versus Shengxuan Star Academy!"

When a resounding voice rang out, an inexplicable stir instantly spread across the enormous circular stands, and teams from every academy turned their gazes over.

After all, the biggest highlight of this academy-level examination had finally arrived.

"Although Shengxia Academy is not a Holy Academy of the Inner Shenzhou, its captain is reportedly at the Seven-Star Tian Zhu Jing. Be careful." Instructor Xi Chan reminded him.

"Seven-Star Tian Zhu Jing, huh..."

Li Luo smiled and nodded.

"Li Luo, go for it!" From afar, a crisp shout suddenly came. Li Luo looked up and saw it was Lu Ming—they had just finished their own match and appeared to have won.

Li Luo made a gesture toward her, then without any hesitation, leaped out under the gaze of countless eyes.

The black lot in his hand transformed into a beam of light at this moment, wrapping his figure and dropping him into a battle stage.

The battle stage was roughly ten thousand zhang across, far more expansive than it had appeared from the stands.

Not long after Li Luo entered the stage, four streaks of flowing light likewise descended from the sky, landing on the opposite side of the battle stage.

That was the Shengxia Academy team.

Li Luo's gaze swept once, then he ignored the other three and fixed his eyes solely on a figure at the very front.

It was a youth clad in silver armor, wielding a heavy sword, with extremely powerful phase force fluctuations emanating from his entire body.

He was the captain of this Shengxia Academy team, named Wang Tao, a practitioner at the Seven-Star Tian Zhu Jing.

"Hehe, Captain, our luck isn't bad at all—running into this Shengxuan Star Academy's Li Luo in the very first match. This is a freebie!" At this moment, a boy behind Wang Tao grinned with delight.

The other two students also wore insolent smiles, because according to prior intelligence, Li Luo's true strength should be around Three-Star Tian Zhu Jing, yet their Captain Wang Tao was a genuine Seven-Star Tian Zhu Jing!

However, facing his teammates' contempt, Wang Tao frowned and said, "Don't be careless. Li Luo comes from the Li Tianwang lineage and possesses three phases within himself—he is no ordinary person!"

Hearing his rebuke, the three team members finally sobered up somewhat and nodded, "Understood, Captain."

At this moment, countless gazes from the circular stands locked onto this battle stage. Simultaneously, as the observing referee gave a light shout, the energy barrier in the center of the battle stage abruptly dissipated.

Li Luo's first match officially began!