Chapter 1451: The Second Crossing Battle

The results of the second-round draw for the Six Outer Shenzhou left many teams from the Eastern Domain Shenzhou silent, while drawing numerous glances from the other two battle zones.

"Did the Eastern Domain Shenzhou actually make it into the winners' bracket?"

"They defeated the Cangming Shenzhou?"

"That's interesting—Cangming Shenzhou had three Upper Sixth-Rank Marquis Realm experts, yet Eastern Domain Shenzhou still won?"

"It's said this is due to Li Luo—he first defeated Yan Feng, then teamed up with Guo Guo Jiufeng to defeat Shui Baoping."

"Oh? A Wu Shuang Second-Rank defeated an Upper Sixth-Rank Marquis Realm expert? Even Wu Shuang prodigies aren't this insane—there's a four-rank gap!"

"Upper Sixth-Rank Marquis Realm experts in the Outer Shenzhou still lack depth—Yan Feng didn't even possess a Mid-Rank Marquis Realm artifact, while Li Luo holds two Upper-Rank Marquis Realm artifacts; his combat power is naturally extraordinary."

"Even so, it's still impressive..."

"But this should be the end—the strength of the Leihuo Shenzhou isn't comparable to Cangming Shenzhou. Fang Xingyun is a Lower Seventh-Rank Marquis Realm expert; his power is nothing like Shui Baoping's. No matter how talented Li Luo is, he can't leap five ranks!"

"......"

Countless heated discussions echoed across all platforms; to the people of the Ancient Academy and the Inner Shenzhou Sacred Academy, the Six Outer Shenzhou were merely chickens fighting among themselves. If Fang Xingyun's strength were placed in either of these two battle zones, he likely wouldn't even make the top thirty—but in the Outer Shenzhou battle zone, he was decisively ahead.

But no matter how they viewed it, Fang Xingyun was still a Lower Seventh-Rank Marquis Realm expert—a level that had already entered the Upper-Rank Marquis Realm.

"Jiang Jiang Qinge, your little man seems to be hitting his limit here."

On the Tianyuan Ancient Academy platform, Sheng Que'er strode forward with long legs, leading a formidable team toward Jiang Jiang Qinge, then teased with a smile.

Jiang Jiang Qinge replied coolly: "The outcome isn't decided yet; it's too early to draw conclusions."

"Oh? You think he still has a chance? Even though Fang Xingyun is merely a shallow Lower Seventh-Rank Marquis, he's still an Upper-Rank Marquis." Sheng Que'er smiled sweetly.

"Can Li Luo possibly leap five ranks? Even you, a Wu Shuang Third-Rank, probably couldn't manage that."

Beside Jiang Jiang Qinge, Ning Meng, a member of her team, sipped from a bamboo cup from time to time, earnestly warning: "Teacher Que'er, Li Luo is terrible at letting people embarrass themselves—don't go near him."

Sheng Que'er shot her an annoyed look—this dumb girl, drinking bamboo juice all day, had she drunk herself stupid?

Jiang Jiang Qinge had no intention of replying, but the doubt cast on Li Luo stirred her displeasure; she said: "Li Luo's talent, depth, and potential are no less than mine—so just because I can't do it doesn't mean he can't."

Seeing Jiang Jiang Qinge seemed slightly angry, Sheng Que'er quickly laughed: "Alright, alright—I'll watch and see how he turns this around, and let this narrow-minded person broaden her horizons."

Meanwhile, as they spoke, in the Inner Shenzhou Sacred Academy's area, at the Sheng'ai Academy's location, the sensuous and alluring Lü Ruyan, with her narrow, seductive peach-blossom eyes, gazed toward the Outer Shenzhou side with malicious delight.

"My foolish little sister—she abandons a proper Inner Shenzhou Sacred Academy team to join an Outer Shenzhou squad. I can't fathom what's going on in that little head of hers. Now look—she might not even get the biggest share of the Outer Shenzhou's small plate. How embarrassing." Lü Ruyan giggled behind her hand.

Lü Ruyan's gaze swept over the teams of Eastern Domain Shenzhou; from an overall strength perspective, Leihuo Shenzhou held overwhelming superiority—she simply couldn't see how Eastern Domain Shenzhou had any chance of winning.

By relying on that Wu Shuang Second-Rank Li Luo?

If he broke through to Wu Shuang Third-Rank during the match, there might be a chance—but at Second-Rank, he's still far short of the necessary power.

The second-round matchups of the Outer Shenzhou clearly attracted immense attention.

This was naturally because Li Luo, the Wu Shuang Second-Rank, stood out too prominently—such talent, even among the top prodigies across all factions within the Mirror Tower, was exceedingly rare.

Many wanted to know how long this Wu Shuang Second-Rank could hold out against Fang Xingyun, the Lower Seventh-Rank Upper-Rank Marquis.

Even atop the Golden Platform, Wang Xuanjin, Elder Jin Xi, and Elder Bai Yu cast interested glances.

And under the gaze of countless eyes, Guo Guo Jiufeng awkwardly landed back on the Eastern Domain Shenzhou platform.

"Deputy Dean Guo, can't you give us a break?" grumbled Wang Xu, Deputy Dean of the Shengquan Academy.

First round: beat the second-ranked Cangming Shenzhou. Second round: face the top-ranked Leihuo Shenzhou.

The pressure was truly overwhelming.

Guo Guo Jiufeng rubbed his hands, helplessly saying: "I couldn't control this."

In the sign-drawing cylinder arranged by the King-level experts, he was completely blind—he just drew randomly.

Li Luo, however, took it in stride and smiled: "We'll face them eventually anyway. If we win this round, Eastern Domain Shenzhou's top spot is secured."

Guo Guo Jiufeng chuckled bitterly: "Your mindset is good, Li Luo, but this round won't be easy."

Not just difficult—Guo Guo Jiufeng still couldn't fathom how they could possibly win.

He fell silent for a moment, then asked: "If I faced Fang Xingyun, I'd be crushed within ten minutes. If during that time, Deputy Dean Li Luo could spare the strength to assist, perhaps we could fight him together—but I doubt he'll give us such an opportunity."

During this period, Leihuo Shenzhou must have gathered intelligence on their battle with Cangming Shenzhou, so Li Luo will surely be their targeted opponent.

Even more extremely, Fang Xingyun might directly target Li Luo to eliminate all potential threats.

Li Luo could feel Guo Guo Jiufeng's pressure, but he had no comfort to offer—this match was indeed extremely difficult; the oppressive aura of Fang Xingyun, the Upper-Rank Marquis, was truly formidable.

Thus, the outcome of this match hinges on him and Fang Xingyun.

Perhaps everyone wonders: how can this Wu Shuang Second-Rank possibly defeat a Lower Seventh-Rank Marquis?

Upper-Rank Marquis...

Li Luo silently recalled Fang Xingyun's detailed information.

Lower Seventh-Rank Marquis Realm, forged three Nine-Pillar Marquis Platforms, possesses the Void Ninth-Rank Thunder Dragon Phase and the Upper Eighth-Rank Silver Dragon Phase, hailed as the strongest deputy academy head among all Six Outer Shenzhou Sacred Academies.

Thinking of this information, Li Luo couldn't help but be astonished—Fang Xingyun's Dragon Phases made him almost suspect this man might be a distant branch of the Li Li Tianwang lineage...

But that was clearly impossible—Dragon Phases weren't exclusive to the Li Li Tianwang lineage, and the man didn't even bear the Li surname.

Still, his dual Dragon Phases might be an advantage against others—but if used against Li Luo... they'd become his weakness.

A faint smile curled at Li Luo's lips.

Boom!

As Li Luo's thoughts shifted, a node in the chessboard-like void above erupted into a pillar of light, descending directly and engulfing the teams of Leihuo Shenzhou and Eastern Domain Shenzhou under countless gazes.

The next instant, the pillar surged skyward, transporting everyone from both Shenzhou into the Crossing Arena.

The second-round Crossing Battle of the Outer Shenzhou officially began.