Chapter 385: The Struggle for the Fortieth Floor

Clang!

On the fortieth-floor platform, Li Luo stood holding twin blades, with Qin Qin Zhulu gripping a heavy spear at his side, and four team members from two squads standing a bit further behind.

At this moment, their gazes were fixed tightly ahead; the fortieth-floor platform appeared exceptionally spacious, with dense green mist churning violently, and as the mist slowly receded, three green figures emerged into view.

The three Green Spirit Puppets wore green battle armor, their bodies burly, with a green giant axe lying at their feet.

A faint, barely perceptible pressure radiated out from them.

However, as Li Luo looked at these three high-grade Green Spirit Puppets, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief, for although these puppets appeared stronger than any he had encountered before, they had not yet reached the fourth transformation of the Manifested Form stage.

Judging by the energy intensity radiating from them, they should be considered at the peak of the third transformation.

Each one, judging solely by energy intensity, was slightly stronger than Lin Suo encountered at the Golden Dragon Dojo.

However, puppets also have their drawbacks: they possess sufficient energy but lack intelligence; their combat methods are relatively scarce, which for them counts as the easiest point to target.

"There are actually three high-grade Green Spirit Puppets of this level."

Qin Qin Zhulu gripped his heavy spear tightly, licked his lips, and said to Li Luo, "I can only hold back one."

Li Luo looked at him with slight surprise and smiled, saying, "Little Deer is getting a bit cocky, forgetting the miserable sight of being chased and beaten by Lin Suo at the Golden Dragon Dojo?"

Qin Qin Zhulu's face turned black, and he angrily retorted, "Back at the Golden Dragon Dojo, I was only at the third mark; now I have already reached the first transformation of the Manifested Form stage! If I met that Lin Suo again, even in a one-on-one duel, he wouldn't necessarily gain the upper hand against me!"

"Pity, you probably won't get to meet him again."

Li Luo smiled, then said, "Then you handle one."

Qin Qin Zhulu's mouth moved; what he had just said was only that he could hold back one, not that he could directly finish one off... but he couldn't show cowardice in front of Li Luo now, so he could only grit his teeth and say, "No problem."

Anyway, it didn't matter; no matter how miserable it got, it couldn't be worse than when he dealt with Lin Suo that day, after all, his strength had increased greatly since breaking through to the Manifested Form stage, and his own "Devouring Gold Demon Tiger Manifestation" was gradually showing signs of transformation, with his strength and defense multiplying.

"What about the other two?" Qin Qin Zhulu asked.

"I will deal with one, and the remaining one will be left to Student Xin Fu, Qing'er, Bai Mengmeng, and the others; if the four of them join forces, they should be able to hold them off for some time." Li Luo considered for a moment and made the allocation.

"Can you do it?" Qin Qin Zhulu looked at Li Luo.

The results of this special training were very unexpected; everyone's strength had improved significantly, yet only Li Luo, who had originally been in the leading position, had failed to break through to the Manifested Form stage, so Qin Qin Zhulu wasn't underestimating Li Luo but rather giving him a reminder.

After all, these high-grade Green Spirit Puppets were stronger than the Lin Suo they had encountered before!

Facing Qin Qin Zhulu's somewhat worried reminder, Li Luo glanced at him sideways and said, "It seems you have forgotten who was the main force that defeated Lin Suo."

Qin Qin Zhulu said no more; after so many collaborations, he knew Li Luo was not someone who acted recklessly or out of bravado, so since he had arranged it this way, they would do as he said.

"The arrangement is as arranged, but there is a difficulty now: even if Student Xin Fu and the others join forces, they will likely only be able to delay things for a while, and within that time, if neither of us on our side can free up a hand, their side might face collapse."

"And... even if they delay for longer, if our speed in clearing the stage is slower than Wang Wang Hejiu, Ye Ye Qiuding, and the others, it actually won't mean much."

Li Luo fell silent for two seconds, then said, "So whether we clear this stage this time depends on us."

He stared solemnly at Qin Qin Zhulu: "The glory of the One-Star Academy will be defended by us!"

Qin Qin Zhulu's expression also gradually grew fervent, his eyes filled with high battle spirit, obviously full of excitement and agitation in his heart.

"Let's fight!"

Violent manifestation power suddenly surged from Qin Qin Zhulu's body, and then with a roar, he stamped his foot and charged out like a wild beast.

Li Luo watched the battle-spirited Qin Qin Zhulu and nodded with satisfaction; this big fool was still easy to coax.

He turned his head to look at Student Xin Fu, Lu Qing'er, and the others, and before he could speak, Student Xin Fu said with a serious expression, "Captain, no need to pump us with useless chicken blood; we can hold out for another minute if we can, but if you can't handle it, just give the signal, and we'll run together."

Li Luo sighed melancholically; such a smart teammate was of no use at all, only good at arguing; it was better to have a simpleton like Qin Qin Zhulu, who would charge forward hard with just a little encouragement.

"You all be careful yourselves."

In his melancholy, Li Luo reminded them once more, then gripped his twin blades and shot out suddenly, aiming directly at the second high-grade Green Spirit Puppet.

Student Xin Fu and the other three also moved without hesitation, circling around toward the last one.

And when Li Luo and his side began their action, Wang Wang Hejiu's side had also made their allocation.

Ye Ye Qiuding, with the strongest strength, had already reached the second transformation of the Manifested Form stage; with his many methods, even though the Green Spirit Puppets this time were equivalent to the peak of the third transformation of the Manifested Form stage, he could still deal with them, though it would still require some time.

Ye Ye Qiuding's other two teammates would deal with another one, while Wang Wang Hejiu and the three from the Duze Duze Beixuan squad would face the last one.

Judging by the lineup and strength, any clear-eyed person could see that Wang Wang Hejiu and Ye Ye Qiuding held a huge advantage, especially once Ye Ye Qiuding finished off one Green Spirit Puppet, the entire situation would be completely resolved.

So from any perspective, for the first clear of this fortieth floor, Li Luo and his side had very low odds of winning.

On the high platform, five Purple Radiance instructors watched the battles on the two platforms below in silence.

Instructor Xi Chan's face was as still as water, her gaze cold; the other Purple Radiance instructors did not speak or express an opinion.

Shen Shen Jinxiao, however, wore an apologetic expression; he had brought his treasured fine wine today, filled the wine cups, flicked his finger, and the cups floated up, gently landing before the other Purple Radiance instructors.

Facing Shen Shen Jinxiao's apologetic display, the other Purple Radiance instructors could not make a scene too ugly, so they could only smile and accept.

Only Instructor Xi Chan, with a cold look in her eyes, reached out and wiped, crushing the entire cup directly into powder under her hand; the wine was even evaporated out of thin air, and then she said coldly, "Pretentious display."

Shen Shen Jinxiao endured the insult without reacting, ignoring Instructor Xi Chan's mockery, pouring and drinking for himself, and in the glances that occasionally swept over the two platforms below, a faint smile appeared.