Chapter 253: Contest

The three of Li Luo stood atop a broad, thick black lotus leaf, as though treading on a stone slab; this peculiar material drew clicking tongues of wonder from the three of them.

These black lotus leaves had likely been continuously scoured here by the heaven-and-earth energy that swept out from the Dark Spirit Pool, which was why they had undergone such a mutation.

They raised their gazes, looking toward the direction of the Dark Spirit Pool ahead, where there were visible energy ripples sweeping outward wave after wave like a tide.

Many of the surrounding squads were joining forces and straining to resist this surge of energy.

Compared with them, the three of Li Luo were clearly far more at ease; whenever the energy surges struck their position, they were neutralized by the light-phase force radiating from the heavy sword planted in front of them.

Clearly, although Jiang Jiang Qinge had not directly stepped in to help them snatch the Dark Spirit Leaves, she had still spared them considerable effort, allowing them to face the upcoming contest for the Dark Spirit Leaves in peak condition.

As for this treatment Li Luo's group received, the surrounding squads from the Two-Star Houses could only look on with envy; after all, Jiang Jiang Qinge's actions did not count as a violation, and they had no grounds to criticize her for it.

So, apart from envy, they could only feel more envy.

After all, among all the male students in the entire Holy Eclipse Star Academy who could receive such attentive help from Jiang Jiang Qinge, there was probably not a second one to be found.

Li Luo paid no heed to the envious and jealous gazes around him; he merely cast a glance at Wang Wang Yufeng, who was not far from them. The latter kept shooting over hostile looks—clearly a troublemaking fool.

However, the two sides were not far apart, so if a Dark Spirit Leaf happened to be swept out of the Dark Spirit Pool later, the two parties would most likely lock onto the same target, making a clash unavoidable.

"Captain, we have to be careful of that Wang Wang Yufeng. His strength is at the fourth Pattern of the Manifestation Rune Stage, and more importantly, he possesses a Lower Seven-Grade Falcon Lightning Aspect, which makes him extremely adept at speed. I don't think anyone here can keep up with him in a footrace." Bai Bai Mengmeng whispered beside Li Luo at this moment.

Student Xin Fu nodded and said, "This kind of contest for the Dark Spirit Leaves isn't about direct head-on clashes; speed is a tremendous advantage here, so if this Wang Wang Yufeng is determined to fight us for it, it really will be a bit of a hassle."

"Lower Seven-Grade, Falcon Lightning Aspect, huh..."

Li Luo's gaze flickered slightly, then he nodded and said, "No rush. We'll stick to the plan."

Before they had come, Jiang Jiang Qinge had explained the contest method here to them in detail, and he had accordingly formulated a battle plan; as for how effective it would be, they would find out once they tried it.

Bai Bai Mengmeng and Student Xin Fu both nodded.

After that, the three fell silent, each adjusting their condition as they waited for the eruption of the energy waves within the Dark Spirit Pool.

And this wait lasted for the span of an hour.

One hour later, everyone heard a piercing wail suddenly rising from within the Dark Spirit Pool, as though giant waves were churning and rolling; instantly, the expressions of all present sharpened, and they focused with full attention.

Gaze after gaze fixed intently on the Dark Spirit Pool.

Each time, the Dark Spirit Leaves swept out of the Dark Spirit Pool were extremely limited in number; sometimes, if luck was bad, there might be only a single leaf.

The contest that ensued could only be described as brutal and chaotic.

So no one knew just how many leaves this Dark Spirit Pool would spew forth this time.

In the atmosphere, tense to the point of suffocation, at a certain moment the energy surging within the Dark Spirit Pool grew violent, as though muffled thunder had exploded.

Boom!

A powerful surge of energy swept outward.

The surrounding trees were shaken into a state of disarray, and some weaker squads were flipped over onto the black lotus leaves; only the stronger squads, relying on coordination among their members, managed to hold steady.

On Li Luo's side, the heavy sword planted in front of them erupted with brilliant light, its formidable phase force continuously neutralizing the energy surge, sparing the three of Li Luo from being affected—otherwise, before the Dark Spirit Leaves even appeared, the three of them might have been eliminated outright.

Thanks to Jiang Jiang Qinge's help, the three of Li Luo had no need to worry about the energy surge; their gazes fixed intently on the direction of the Dark Spirit Pool.

In the next instant, all three of them suddenly held their breath.

Because they saw that within the surging energy waves, three streaks of black light suddenly shot forth at high speed; through the black light, three pitch-black leaves could be seen within.

Dark Spirit Leaves! Three of them!

Waaaah!

The many students present all burst into an uproar at this moment, their eyes blazing.

The three Dark Spirit Leaves shot forth toward three different directions, and one of them happened to be heading straight for Li Luo's side.

Boom!

Just as this Dark Spirit Leaf shot toward them, before Li Luo's group could even act, a low rumble suddenly sounded; a streak of silver light was seen blasting out from within their field of vision, pouncing directly toward that Dark Spirit Leaf.

It was Wang Wang Yufeng who had made his move!

There were three Dark Spirit Leaves, and he actually had other choices, yet he had deliberately chosen the one heading for Li Luo's side—clearly, this was Wang Wang Yufeng's intentional doing.

But he did indeed have the ability to back it up; that lightning-like speed meant the other squads here hadn't even had time to react before they saw Wang Wang Yufeng's figure appear right in front of that Dark Spirit Leaf.

Song Song Qiuyu watched Wang Wang Yufeng, who was about to succeed, and a smile couldn't help but curl up at the corner of her mouth; her gaze even flicked toward Jiang Jiang Qinge's side.

Hmph, no matter how capable you are, Jiang Jiang Qinge, today you still have to watch this Li Luo come away empty-handed!

Wang Wang Yufeng was likewise looking at the Dark Spirit Leaf within his grasp, a hint of pride in his eyes. When it came to speed, within these Two-Star Houses, those who could surpass him could be counted on one hand; for Li Luo's group to think they could snatch something from his hands was rather not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth.

So what if he has dual aspects? Water aspect, wood aspect—here, neither can help him in the slightest.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Wang Wang Yufeng's hand suddenly shot out, grabbing at the Dark Spirit Leaf.

Whoosh!

Yet at the very instant Wang Wang Yufeng was about to seize that Dark Spirit Leaf, a streak of flowing light suddenly blasted in, reaching it a step ahead and striking that Dark Spirit Leaf directly.

Clang!

It was clearly a leaf, yet upon impact it produced the sound of metal striking metal; the Dark Spirit Leaf was sent flying by that flowing-light arrow.

Wang Wang Yufeng grabbed at empty air, instantly somewhat shocked and furious; the corner of his eye swept aside, and he saw Li Luo standing on the black lotus leaf, drawing a great bow, looking at him with a smile on his face.

Clearly, that flowing-light arrow was Li Luo's handiwork.

Wang Wang Yufeng seethed inwardly. This kid is quite the trickster—knowing he can't outrun him in speed, he wants to use arrows to interfere?

It won't be that easy!

Wang Wang Yufeng's figure spun, and like lightning he shot toward the Dark Spirit Leaf that had been sent flying.

Whoosh!

However, before he could get close to that Dark Spirit Leaf, another flowing-light arrow blasted in.

"Still trying that?!"

Wang Wang Yufeng laughed in anger, but he was already prepared; he saw lightning coiling around his palm as he curled his fingers into a claw: "Falcon Claw!"

That claw, like a falcon lightning pouncing on prey, was extremely fast; it actually directly grabbed that flowing-light arrow barehanded.

However, just at the instant Wang Wang Yufeng grabbed the arrow, unexpectedly, his palm passed straight through empty air.

That arrow was actually an illusion!

Wang Wang Yufeng's pupils contracted sharply.

Whoosh whoosh!

And before he could think it through, he saw one light-arrow after another suddenly shoot forth in rapid succession. Among these light-arrows, there was no telling which were real and which were fake, so for a moment even Wang Wang Yufeng's head was a little dazed.

He hadn't expected the other side to play the game like this!

By the time Wang Wang Yufeng came back to his senses, those light-arrows had already struck the Dark Spirit Leaf at all manner of extremely ingenious angles, and immediately after, that black leaf began ricocheting without stop.

The direction it ricocheted toward was precisely where Li Luo was.

Wang Wang Yufeng was furious. His speed exploded with everything he had, and his figure shot straight after the Dark Spirit Leaf in pursuit.

It had to be said, his speed was indeed outstanding — in just a few breaths he had already caught up to the Dark Spirit Leaf.

But just at that moment, a light-arrow came shooting straight at him.

Wang Wang Yufeng gave a cold snort, flicked a finger, and shattered the light-arrow. Only this time, the light-arrow split into a small light-arrow the instant it broke apart, and that small light-arrow struck the Dark Spirit Leaf at an angle.

Whoosh.

The Dark Spirit Leaf was knocked flying by that force straight into a clump of bushes not far away. The next instant, the bushes trembled, and a sliver of shadow-phase power shot out, borrowing the cover of the bushes' shadows, and struck the Dark Spirit Leaf directly, changing its direction once again.

Clang!

Amid the faint sound, the Dark Spirit Leaf's tumbling suddenly accelerated, hurtling straight at Li Luo's face.

Wang Wang Yufeng, a step too slow behind, glared with bloodshot eyes and gave chase at top speed. But just as he was about to catch up to the Dark Spirit Leaf, Li Luo had already reached out and, with complete composure, took the Dark Spirit Leaf into his hand.

Wang Wang Yufeng couldn't stop in time and charged straight onto the black lotus leaf where Li Luo and the others were, nearly slamming face-first into Li Luo.

He glared furiously at the Dark Spirit Leaf held in Li Luo's hand, his emotions churning beyond restraint, and phase power erupted from his entire body.

Li Luo, however, remained unruffled. He toyed with the Dark Spirit Leaf and smiled faintly.

"Senior Wang, are you planning to just snatch it by force?"

He pointed to the side, and there on a nearby tree trunk, Jiang Jiang Qinge, Senior Qiu Bai, and Tian Tian were looking over with calm, level gazes.

Wang Wang Yufeng immediately faltered.

Yet Li Luo still showed no mercy, continuing to deliver the fatal blow.

"Senior Wang, sometimes just having speed isn't enough. The key is... you also need a brain."

He smiled and pointed at his head as he spoke, his words laden with meaning.

Bai Bai Mengmeng and Student Xin Fu at the side both clicked their tongues. Captain, you're killing him by attacking his heart—that's just too ruthless.