Chapter 1470: Snow Mountain War Zone

Tianjing City, West District.

This place seemed like an ice and snow world; the mountain ranges were all snow-white, with ice mountains rising from the ground like ice crystal giants, the cold wind biting.

And today, this place was packed with people.

Everyone in Tianjing City who cultivated had gathered here, because this would be the location of the Sand-Betting Arena's combat platform.

On the ice mountains at the periphery, there were numerous viewing platforms; the clamor from there dispersed much of the snow and ice swirling through the sky.

"Today's Sand-Betting Arena, the first match is Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge versus Lu Ruyan and Xi Li! The Academy Alliance intends to push the atmosphere straight to the peak."

"Who else could make this Sand-Betting Arena so popular? The entire Tianjing City has been discussing it for nearly ten days."

"No way, this concerns the ownership of one hundred and forty Tianjing Sands. Tsk tsk, what a grand gesture. Even the four eighth-rank Marquis-level experts like Sheng Que'er and Zhou Jun didn't have the guts to play such a game."

"It is said that Li Luo borrowed almost all the Tianjing Sands he could from the Eastern Region of Outer Shenzhou that were allocated during the Crossing War, and Jiang Jiang Qinge also borrowed a round from the Holy Light Ancient Academy."

"Lu Ruyan and Xi Li did the same, using various connections and trades to finally exchange for seventy Tianjing Sands."

"Tsk, what huge tempers and boldness."

"..."

On one of the viewing platforms, the teams from the Holy Academies of Outer Shenzhou had gathered entirely; at the very front of the crowd stood Fang Xingyun from the Thunder Fire Shenzhou and Shui Baoping from the Cangming Shenzhou.

"You broke through to the Lower Seventh Rank?" Fang Xingyun looked with some surprise at the petite woman before him who nonetheless possessed a turbulent heart; he could sense that the Phasing Power fluctuations emanating from her body were significantly stronger than before.

Shui Baoping spoke with a touch of pride: "With the help of the Tianjing Sands obtained this time, I finally took that step and successfully forged the seventh Marquis Platform."

"How many pillars?" Fang Xingyun asked curiously.

Shui Baoping sighed and said: "Only seven pillars. With our potential, reaching this step is already near the limit. Without the help of the Tianjing Sands, this step would have required several years of bitter cultivation for me, so don't expect to forge a Marquis Platform with a higher foundation."

Fang Xingyun also nodded with a complex expression; their Outer Shenzhou was far inferior to the Inner Shenzhou. Here, the natural advantages were such that the purity of energy in heaven and earth alone was several times stronger than in Outer Shenzhou, not to mention that the various cultivation resources were incomparable.

So even for him, he felt his own endpoint might be the eighth-rank Marquis; to hope for further progress and touch the ninth-rank Marquis would likely require a heaven-shaking opportunity to achieve.

"Pity. If you had broken through to the Lower Seventh Rank before the match, perhaps you could have probed Li Luo's Nightmare Technique trump card, and then the Eastern Region of Outer Shenzhou wouldn't have become the first place in this Outer Shenzhou." Shui Baoping spoke; it seemed she still held a grudge against losing to Li Luo.

Hearing this, Fang Xingyun slowly shook his head and said: "Do you really think Li Luo won by virtue of that Nightmare Technique?"

Shui Baoping raised her eyebrows but did not answer.

Fang Xingyun spoke on his own: "Li Luo, such an unparalleled genius, has far more trump cards than you imagine. I even feel that when he cast that Nightmare Technique back then, he was mostly using me as a test, wanting to see exactly how effective it was against a seventh-rank Marquis."

"So even without that Nightmare Technique, he must still be hiding even more astonishing methods."

Shui Baoping sneered: "Is this because you lost to him, so you want to praise him to make yourself feel better?"

Fang Xingyun did not argue with her further, only smiling: "Whether it is or not, this Sand-Betting Arena should reveal the truth."

"Don't tell me you still think he can win against Xi Li? That is a senior instructor in the Xuanling Ancient Academy, and behind him stands a great family of the Inner Shenzhou with a King-level expert. Such a foundation is not something you, the Vice Dean of an Outer Shenzhou Holy Academy, can compare to." Shui Baoping crossed her arms, inadvertently causing a surge of waves; she smiled, her smile carrying a hint of mockery.

Fang Xingyun did not mind the mockery in her words, because it was the truth; even he admitted that if he clashed with Xi Li, he feared he would be forcefully suppressed within ten rounds.

But Li Luo was not him.

"Reason indeed tells me Li Luo's chances of winning are slim, but during the Crossing War back then, reason also told me I couldn't lose." Fang Xingyun said helplessly.

Shui Baoping was speechless; at the same time, she understood that arguing about this now was meaningless; everything still needed facts to speak. So she scanned the surroundings and suddenly said: "There is still one hour until the Sand-Betting Arena begins, but Li Luo has not appeared. I heard he has been in seclusion cultivating during this time. I wonder what he is thinking. Could it be, as those discussions say, that he wants to avoid the battle in this way?"

Regarding such speculation, Fang Xingyun wanted to refute it, but in the end chose to stay silent, because he felt that constantly speaking up for Li Luo like this was indeed not right, giving the feeling of being beaten into submission by Li Luo.

Better to be an honest, non-partisan spectator.

Meanwhile, on a mountain peak of a snow mountain in the inner circle, Sheng Que'er looked at the Snow Mountain War Zone flowing with cold, icy breath and said: "Jiang Jiang Qinge, your luck is a bit bad; you happened to encounter the Snow Mountain War Zone. The environment here is a good place for that Lu Ruyan."

Lu Ruyan possessed the Frost Phasing Nature, which was most compatible with this cold snow mountain war zone; fighting here would enhance Lu Ruyan's strength somewhat.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's exquisite and beautiful face was exposed to the biting cold air, causing her complexion to appear somewhat ruddy, adding even more vitality; she said calmly: "Even with the advantage of terrain, she cannot win."

Hearing Jiang Jiang Qinge's calm and domineering words, Sheng Que'er's beautiful eyes could not help but brighten, and she said with envy: "Such a top-tier daughter-in-law is truly a bargain for that kid Li Luo."

"But speaking of which, is that guy still cultivating?" Sheng Que'er looked at the empty viewing platform on the Eastern Region of Outer Shenzhou and asked.

Jiang Jiang Qinge nodded slightly.

"Won't it be too late?" Beside her, Ning Meng held a bamboo cup, slurping away, and said with some worry.

Xiao Feng's gaze shifted, and he smiled gently: "If Instructor Li Luo truly cannot make it in time, I can take his place then. However, I probably cannot be Xi Li's opponent; I can only help Captain Jiang Jiang Qinge delay him slightly."

Hidden deep in his heart was a trace of joy; fighting side by side like this was a perfect opportunity to draw closer to Jiang Jiang Qinge.

However, Jiang Jiang Qinge shook her head and said with certainty: "No need. He will come."

Although the current situation was not a desperate plight, Jiang Jiang Qinge knew Li Luo's character; no matter what happened, he would not let her face it alone.

Xiao Feng's smile stiffened slightly, his eyes somewhat melancholic, and his heart sour; Jiang Jiang Qinge was truly too difficult to approach. No matter what indirect methods he adopted, it was hard to achieve even a sliver of breakthrough.

To breach such an almost flawless fortress, it might truly require cultivating feelings together since childhood to penetrate her heart's defenses like water dripping through stone.

So, that Li Luo was simply too lucky.

The only method to conquer Jiang Jiang Qinge had been delivered right to his doorstep.

And as time passed, just as more and more voices of discussion echoed through the cold mountain ranges, a massive sound of breaking the sky suddenly came from the distant horizon.

Then, streaks of light and shadow broke through the sky and landed on the viewing platform of the Eastern Region of Outer Shenzhou.

Among the many figures, a young and upright figure did not land but stood in mid-air, laughing loudly: "Sorry to keep everyone waiting."

It was Li Luo.

Countless gazes in the scene were cast upon him; they sized up Li Luo, and then their eyes suddenly underwent some change, because they all clearly perceived that the Phasing Power fluctuations emanating from Li Luo's body at this moment were extremely active and boiling.

At the same time, that intensity, compared to the Crossing War ten days ago, was obviously significantly improved.

In an instant, amidst the snow-white mountain ranges, countless shocked low exclamations rang out.

"He..."

"Li Luo broke through to the Upper Second Rank of the Unparalleled?!"