Chapter 32

The next day, when Cai Wei saw Li Luo up early, she noticed his eyes were slightly dark and his spirit appeared a bit listless, as if he hadn't slept well the night before.

"What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well?" Cai Wei asked with concern.

Li Luo shook his head and smiled, "The academy is having preliminary exams recently, so the pressure is a bit high."

He didn't mention the match against Song Yunfeng today; it wasn't worth it.

Cai Wei nodded slightly, an encouraging smile appearing on her smooth, beautiful oval face: "Go for it, you can definitely do it."

"By the way, Yan Lingqing asked about you yesterday, saying you didn't go to the Xi Yang House."

Li Luo quickly shoveled down a few mouthfuls of white porridge and said, "Once the preliminary exams are over, I'll temporarily focus my energy on the Xi Yang House. If Sister Lingqing misses me, I'll spend more time with her then."

Cai Wei smiled slightly and said, "Why don't you say that to her face?"

"Of course I'm afraid of being beaten to death by her."

Li Luo said honestly, then wolfed down his food, greeted Cai Wei, and nimbly stood up and ran out.

Cai Wei looked helplessly at Li Luo's hurried back and shook her head slightly, then continued to maintain her elegance, finishing her breakfast with small, slow bites.

"Li Luo."

Just as Li Luo arrived at the Nanfeng Academy, he heard a crisp voice coming from the side, and then he saw Lu Qinger standing prettily under a lush green tree on his right.

Today, Lu Qinger was wearing a black short-skirt school uniform, and her ice-like skin appeared even more striking against the black. Her slender waist and the snow-white, straight legs beneath her short skirt caused many boys nearby to pretend to be talking to their companions, while their gazes couldn't help but drift over.

Hearing Lu Qinger's greeting, Li Luo walked over and smiled at her.

"I heard you ran into Song Yunfeng today?" Lu Qinger asked with a slight frown.

Li Luo nodded with a smile.

"Then what do you plan to do?" Lu Qinger asked.

Li Luo thought for a moment and said frankly, "Most likely, I'll just concede."

Upon hearing this, Lu Qinger chuckled, but she didn't show any mockery; instead, she nodded earnestly: "That is a very rational choice. You don't need to compete with him at this moment. With your talent in resonance arts, the gap between you and him will gradually shrink."

Li Luo nodded: "I think so too."

Lu Qinger was silent for a moment and said, "This matter might have something to do with me as well. I'm really sorry."

Li Luo smiled: "Actually, you were just a minor catalyst. It's more about the dispute between the Song family and the Luolan Mansion. Of course, I think there's one more important point... Song Yunfeng is afraid."

"Afraid?" Lu Qinger blinked her almond-shaped eyes.

Li Luo smiled faintly: "He's afraid that I'll become like I was in the past, and he'll be forced to exist in my shadow again. If that happens, all his efforts over these years would become a joke."

If anyone else heard this, they would probably laugh at Li Luo for being boastful, as Song Yunfeng's reputation at Nanfeng Academy was far greater than his.

But Lu Qinger was thoughtful, because she knew very well how glorious Li Luo had been at Nanfeng Academy back then—even she found it hard to reach that level, let alone Song Yunfeng.

"So, he wants to take the opportunity to stomp you down hard before you fully rise, and use that to strengthen his own heart?"

Li Luo nodded: "That's about it."

Lu Qinger's pretty face turned slightly serious: "If that's the case, then he probably won't let you concede easily today."

Li Luo said: "I hope that won't be the case, but if it really is..."

He waved at Lu Qinger and headed toward the Second Institute, his voice drifting over vaguely.

"Then there's nothing I can do."

Lu Qinger looked at his back, feeling a bit surprised, because Li Luo's demeanor didn't look like someone who truly had no other options. Could it be that he had other ways to avoid the match with Song Yunfeng?

Li Luo's first match ended without any surprises, and the second match was scheduled as the final one of the preliminary exams.

It felt like a grand finale.

In the plaza, the crowd was boisterous, a sea of heads surging.

On the high platform, Old Dean Wei Sha was watching the battle with instructors like Xu Shanyue and Lin Feng.

"Haha, I didn't expect Li Luo to run into Song Yunfeng. Do you think they'll actually fight?" the Old Dean asked with a smile.

Lin Feng smiled faintly and said, "Dean, what's the point of such a match?"

Xu Shanyue sighed inwardly and said, "They shouldn't fight. In such a completely unequal match, just conceding is fine. There's no need to fight it out; it's not shameful."

Although Li Luo was from their Second Institute, Xu Shanyue couldn't bring himself to say he favored Li Luo, because this was a situation where a comeback was impossible.

The gap between the two sides was too large; it was impossible to fight.

The Old Dean nodded and sighed: "Li Luo has already charged into the top twenty; this speed is very fast. If he were given more time, catching up to Song Yunfeng wouldn't be a problem, but at this stage, he still lacks a bit of seasoning."

Lin Feng was noncommittal. In his view, the only thing Li Luo could surpass Song Yunfeng in was his talent for resonance arts, but Song Yunfeng also possessed a seventh-grade resonance, which was an advantage Li Luo couldn't reach. Therefore, he thought it wouldn't be that easy for Li Luo to catch up to Song Yunfeng.

While they were talking, the time for the match arrived quietly amidst much anticipation.

Song Yunfeng's figure rose from the ground and landed gracefully on the battle stage. His tall, straight frame and handsome face made him look quite imposing.

With Song Yunfeng's appearance, the arena erupted with enthusiastic cheers, showing the reputation and fame he currently held at Nanfeng Academy.

On the other side of the stage, Li Luo also stepped up under the gaze of the crowd.

"So handsome! Even more handsome than Song Yunfeng!"

Although Li Luo didn't have any flashy entrance, when he stood on the stage, he caused many young girls to gasp in admiration. After all, having inherited his parents' excellent genes, Li Luo was indeed top-tier in terms of appearance, clearly a cut above Song Yunfeng.

However, regarding the various factors outside the arena, both people on the stage had strong enough mental fortitude, so they both chose to ignore them.

Li Luo stared at Song Yunfeng and raised a hand.

But before he could speak, Song Yunfeng said coldly: "Are you planning to just concede?"

Li Luo smiled and said, "Are you planning to use verbal insults to provoke me next?"

Song Yunfeng raised his eyelids and said flatly: "It's not an insult. I just think that with a son like you, your parents are also somewhat reputation-seeking."

Once these words were spoken, the area outside the stage became much quieter, as no one expected Song Yunfeng's words to be so sharp this time.

Li Luo was also stunned for a moment, then he gave Song Yunfeng a thumbs up: "Impressive, a fatal blow."

"Since it's come to this..."

Li Luo twisted his neck and smiled at Song Yunfeng, though his white teeth looked somewhat cold.

"Come on, you Song family pup. I'll give you one chance, but whether you can bite off any meat depends on whether you actually have the ability."