Chapter 1476: Defeating Lü Ruyan

Boom!

When the sacred Sacred Flame, like flowing water, covered the Chaos Sword Embryo and purified the domineering cold Qi flowing on Lü Ruyan's frost sword embryo, the stalemate that Lü Ruyan had so painstakingly maintained collapsed almost instantly.

Behind, the purple-gold Heavenly Dragon that Li Luo had transformed into let out an earth-shattering dragon roar.

Hum!

The Chaos Sword Embryo trembled, and in the next instant, a vast sword light swept through, slicing this void into countless tiny spatial fragments.

Bang!

The Chaos Sword Embryo slashed down, and the frost sword embryo could endure no longer—countless cracks suddenly split across its surface, and finally, accompanied by a tremendous crash, it shattered outright.

Frost Qi descended from the heavens, freezing mountain ranges for tens of thousands of miles.

And after the Chaos Sword Embryo shattered the frost sword embryo, its might undiminished, it ferociously slashed toward Lü Ruyan, whose face had turned livid, behind it.

Lü Ruyan's slender hands flashed through hand seals, and the "Frost Pearl" suspended atop that ten-pillar golden platform cast from solid ice erupted with a torrential flood of frost.

Boom, boom!

Ice pillars inscribed with countless frost runes, towering like ice mountains, rose from the ground one after another, like layer upon layer of indestructible gates standing guard before Lü Ruyan.

But the Chaos Sword Embryo, now cloaked in Sacred Flame, swept through with unstoppable force—every towering ice pillar in its path instantly melted away.

In just a few breaths.

The Chaos Sword Embryo arrived with a thunderous crash beneath Lü Ruyan's horrified gaze.

At this point, Lü Ruyan could only madly urge the frost phase force within her body, forming layer upon layer of frost defenses outside her skin.

Boom!

A thunderous roar echoed across the heavens.

The void there kept exploding, countless spatial fragments tumbling down like shattered glass, and the resulting shockwave of energy tore open yet more abyss-like fissures across these already battered ice-and-snow mountains.

And Lü Ruyan's figure bore the brunt of it.

Under countless gazes of shock, Lü Ruyan's figure plummeted from the sky like a cannonball, slamming viciously into the earth. A visible shockwave ripple spread outward, and amid the swirling dust, a thousand-zhang-deep crater appeared among the mountains.

Deep in the crater, Lü Ruyan's body was nearly embedded within it. She let out a wet cough, blood spraying from her mouth, countless cracks appearing across her skin, which then turned to frost flakes that kept falling away.

She was directly overwhelmed with grave injuries on the spot, the phase force within her body thrown into utter chaos, so much so that even her Marquis Platform could no longer be maintained, transforming into a stream of light that fell back into her Heavenly Spirit Cover.

Lü Ruyan's alluring face was now deathly pale and twisted, her eyes brimming with shame and fury—she could hardly believe that Li Luo had beaten her into such a wretched state!

Although the Chaos Sword Embryo had Jiang Qing'e's Sacred Flame helping dissolve the erosion of her frost phase force, only when that sword struck her body did Lü Ruyan truly feel what a devastating attack it was.

If she hadn't defended with everything she had—even activating a Mi Fa to form a frost armor over her skin—Li Luo's sword might very well have slain her outright!

To be injured like this by a mere Unparalleled Second Rank!

For proud Lü Ruyan, this was simply an unbearable humiliation!

If word of this got back to Golden Dragon Mountain, who knew how many would question it!

Puchi!

At this thought, another mouthful of blood burst uncontrollably from Lü Ruyan's lips; her vision went black, and she passed out on the spot.

Wah!

And Lü Ruyan's fate, falling into the eyes of the crowd outside the arena, immediately triggered an uproar of astonishment—countless strongmen stood dumbfounded, faces full of disbelief.

In this Sand Fighting round, Lü Ruyan, who had appeared to have the strongest configuration, had actually been the first eliminated!

And the one who eliminated her was Li Luo, who had the lowest configuration!

At this moment, every gaze turned solemn and horrified toward Li Luo's figure among the mountains. He had already put on an extraordinarily brilliant performance in the earlier Crossing Battle, but who could have imagined that still wasn't his limit.

This time, he had even eliminated Lü Ruyan!

Although Jiang Jiang Qinge had lent a helping hand, no one dared to underestimate the killing power of Li Luo's Chaos Sword Embryo.

Even Sacred Que'er, Zhou Jun, and these other Eighth Rank Marquis-level strongmen showed a solemn expression on their faces at this moment. Li Luo was still only an Upper Second Rank—if he completed his breakthrough next and stepped into Unparalleled Third Rank like Jiang Jiang Qinge, he would immediately ascend to the very top tier of the many strongmen in this Heavenly Mirror Tower.

At that point, even they, as Eighth Rank Marquis-level, would have to harbor wariness toward him.

"We won!"

Over on the Eastern Outer Shenzhou side, all the mentors of the Holy Academies wore dazed expressions, as if in a dream—the fierce battle earlier had made their hearts leap into their throats.

After all, this Sand Fighting round also involved the Heavenly Mirror Sand they had invested. If Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge lost, then their participation in this Heavenly Mirror Tower trial would amount to nothing.

But no one had expected Li Luo to suddenly take Lü Ruyan, the strongest, away with a single sword.

Now that Lü Ruyan was eliminated, only Xi Li remained. Although Li Luo was also running on fumes at this point, Jiang Jiang Qinge still retained the vast majority of her combat power, and with her ability, dealing with Xi Li would not be difficult.

Therefore, in this Sand Fighting round, victory was already in their grasp!

Excitement flooded every face. Winning this Sand Fighting round would not only recover their principal but also earn them a handsome dividend—for them, this was undoubtedly the greatest harvest of this Heavenly Mirror Tower trial.

"Too monstrous."

Mentor Cao Sheng and Mentor Mi'er wore complicated expressions. They had seen the frail boy when he first entered the Holy Mystic Star Academy years ago, which was precisely why Li Luo's current achievements struck them with even greater shock.

With the power of a Second Rank, he had defeated a Marquis-level strongman who had likewise forged a ten-pillar golden platform and whose true combat power rivaled a top-tier Upper Seventh Rank—such a feat, if it spread back to the Academy, would likely leave even Vice Principal Suxin wide-eyed in astonishment.

That boy from back then in the Academy had now become a true strongman who far surpassed mentors like themselves.

"Perhaps... he really can save the situation of our Holy Mystic Star Academy and the Great Xia." Mentor Cao Sheng said, his voice thick with surging hope.

The potential Li Luo had displayed let them see hope.

Mentor Xi Chan also nodded gently, her clear, water-like eyes gazing brightly at the young figure among the mountains gradually retreating from his dragon form. If Vice Principal Suxin learned of all this, she would surely be filled with deep emotion.

Meanwhile, Li Hongyou, standing to one side, teased Lü Qing'er—who had been gazing toward the battlefield among the mountains with a slightly dazed look—with a smile: "Look, Li Luo vented your grievance for you."

Lü Qing'er paused slightly, a faint ripple stirring in her apricot eyes like Binghu, then the ripple faded. She shook her head and said, "It has nothing to do with me. This was just the correct choice he made based on the battle situation."

Li Hongyou smiled—what a girl who says one thing and means another.

Amid the clamor from all sides, Li Luo's figure among the mountains returned to human form. Feeling the wave of emptiness surging from within his body, he couldn't help clicking his tongue. The expenditure from consecutively unleashing two Upper Grade Si Si Tianming-level Marquis Techniques was truly enormous—even with his foundation, he had nearly been drained dry.

"Sister Jiang Qinge, I'm afraid the rest is up to you. I don't have a shred of strength left." Li Luo landed on a broken snow peak, then smiled toward Jiang Jiang Qinge's direction.

A touch of tenderness rose in Jiang Jiang Qinge's beautiful eyes, and she nodded slightly: "Alright, just rest."

Then, the three ten-pillar golden platforms atop her head erupted with vast radiance, while the heavy sword in her hand and the hovering "Goddess Sacred Flame Mirror" once again flowed with fiery light, their sharp edges all locking onto Xi Li, whose expression had darkened to the extreme in the distance.

Xi Li's mood at this moment was clearly terrible beyond words.

He had never imagined that Li Luo would actually eliminate Lü Ruyan with a single sword strike.

Although Li Luo had now also nearly lost all his combat power, Jiang Jiang Qinge remained undamaged in battle, watching him like a tiger eyeing its prey.

And now, only he was left to deal with Jiang Jiang Qinge.

"Damn it, the boat's about to capsize..."

Xi Li's mouth secretly filled with bitterness. Facing Jiang Jiang Qinge alone, he didn't have much confidence, but at this moment, he couldn't retreat either, after all this concerned so much Sky Mirror Sand.

If he lost all of it, even he would feel heartbroken beyond measure.

"Come on, let me see just how powerful your unrivaled Third Rank truly is!" Xi Li roared toward the heavens, his hands pressed together, as a meteor-like Starlight Stone Seal shot skyward.

He raised his head, his face full of fighting spirit.

But this fighting spirit lasted only a few breaths before he saw behind Jiang Jiang Qinge endless radiance bloom, as a massive Goddess light-shadow emerged.

In the Goddess's hand, she held a resplendent Sacred Sword inlaid with seven gemstones.

In the Goddess's other hand, she gripped the Goddess Sacred Flame Mirror surging with terrifying Sacred Flame, from which Sacred Flame roared forth like an ocean.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's exquisitely beautiful face was cold beyond measure, as the "Tracing Ancient Phase Pattern" between her brows erupted with unprecedented radiance.

Finally, the Goddess raised her sword and suddenly slashed down.

In that instant, only radiance bloomed between heaven and earth.

Feeling that overwhelming pressure, terror rose in Xi Li's eyes, but he still let out an angry roar, urging the Starlight Stone Seal, gathering all his power, and charging forward to meet it head-on.

Boom! Boom!

Radiant Sacred Flame surged, like a world-purifying blaze, washing over heaven and earth, sweeping away everything.