Chapter 399: The Second Match

When the battle between the Princess and Zhongnan concluded, the tiered stands fell into a silence that lasted for a good while before applause and cheers finally began to erupt, and in a mere moment, the sound roared like thunder across the mountains.

Everyone was cheering for the outstanding performance of the representatives from both sides.

Although the result was only a draw, no one could find a single fault with either side; they had given their all, unleashed their strongest techniques, and provided everyone with a spectacular duel.

"Battles at the Heaven-Gong General level are truly breathtaking."

Li Luo sighed; the result of this battle was actually no surprise, as even the Princess had been unable to fully pierce through Zhongnan's strongest defense. While it was hard to say if either side had other trump cards if this had been a life-or-death struggle, at the very least, in this match, neither could do anything to the other.

In this battle, Zhongnan continued to uphold his reputation as the strongest shield of the Blue Abyss Holy Academy, while the Princess also displayed impressive strength that left people amazed, without bringing any shame to the Astral Sage College.

As Li Luo mused to himself, the cheering in the stands suddenly stopped, replaced by another wave of applause, accompanied by the thunderous chanting of the name "Gong Shenjun."

Li Luo looked over and saw Gong Shenjun slowly descending from one of the stands, landing on the scorched ground amidst the mountains below.

Gong Shenjun was dressed in white, his appearance as refined as jade, his face handsome, and his demeanor extraordinary. Coupled with his own immense strength and his title as the strongest Seven-Star Pillar of the Astral Sage College, his mere appearance caused countless students of the Astral Sage College to boil over with excitement, with many female students gazing at him with longing eyes.

Such heroic bearing—let alone ordinary students, even the various bigwigs of the Great Xia on the highest stands nodded slightly in admiration.

"The King is truly to be envied for having such a son," Zhu Qinghuo of the Extreme Flame Prefecture said with a slight smile, speaking to the Regent at his side.

Zhao Yan also nodded, saying, "Among the younger generation of Great Xia, Prince Gong Shenjun is indeed a well-deserved leader; the King can be said to have a worthy successor."

The Regent wore a gentle smile; he waved his hand and said modestly, "You all flatter him. This is all thanks to the Astral Sage College; if not for the Academy's cultivation, how could Shenjun have achieved such success?"

Vice Dean Suxin smiled and said, "The Regent is being too humble. Gong Shenjun's talent and diligence are seen by all the instructors and students in the Academy; it is no surprise he has achieved this."

As the two sides exchanged these pleasantries, the young Emperor frowned and said, "My sister is also very outstanding."

The others chuckled and nodded in succession.

"What the King says is of course true; the Princess's excellence is also plain for all to see. Who could deny it?"

While they were speaking, a voice sounded from the arena again; it was Liang Kui of the Blue Abyss Holy Academy stepping out.

Liang Kui was dressed in black and had a tall, sturdy frame, but compared to the heroic appearance of Gong Shenjun, he was a total failure in looks, as his features could not be called normal and instead appeared somewhat ugly. Now, set against Gong Shenjun, this was even more glaring.

This contrast made many female students of the Astral Sage College unable to bear looking at him.

However, Liang Kui seemed long accustomed to these gazes; he remained expressionless, showing no ripples of emotion. His deep, gloomy eyes were locked onto Gong Shenjun ahead. Clearly having no intention of conversing with Gong Shenjun, he gripped his hand, and a long black spear flashed into existence.

The spear radiated powerful energy fluctuations, and on the spear shaft, a faint golden mark could be seen, resembling a golden vertical eye.

It was, unexpectedly, a Golden-Eye Treasure.

Boom!

Immediately following, a sound like a giant thunderclap echoed out as brilliant lightning surged from within Liang Kui's body. Amidst the lightning, his hair began to drift upward, and at the same time, six brilliant Heavenly Beads slowly formed behind him, gathering all the energy of heaven and earth.

This caused his momentum to climb steadily, and paired with his ugly, fierce face, he looked like a thunder demon.

Liang Kui was clearly going all out from the start, with no intention of testing the waters, because he knew very well that Gong Shenjun's strength was a cut above his own. If he did not give his all from the beginning, he feared he would be immediately suppressed.

Facing Liang Kui, who had unleashed his full strength, Gong Shenjun smiled slightly, gripped his hand, and a brilliant silver spear flashed into existence.

As soon as the silver spear appeared, the energy of heaven and earth gathered toward it, and as the spear tip vibrated, the void itself trembled slightly.

This was also a Golden-Eye Treasure.

At the same time, silver-white resonant power began to flow from Gong Shenjun's body, rapidly expanding and rising into the sky like a hundred-foot-tall plume of smoke. Within that plume of resonant power, everyone could vaguely see a giant silver flood dragon emerging.

The silver flood dragon was covered in silver scales, its claws and teeth ferocious, and its dragon eyes seemed to emit a sharp, murderous light. An astonishing pressure slowly radiated outward.

Li Luo looked at the silver flood dragon flickering within the pillar of resonant power, his expression also becoming solemn. Clearly, this was Gong Shenjun's resonance.

An Upper Eighth-Grade resonance, the Silver Flood Dragon resonance.

This was the first time since Li Luo had entered the Astral Sage College that he had seen Gong Shenjun display his resonance.

After displaying his resonance, Gong Shenjun did not stop, as the energy pressure radiating from his body began to grow increasingly powerful. Then, silver light flashed behind him, and seven Heavenly Beads shimmering with silver light condensed into existence.

Those seven Heavenly Beads were clearly even more brilliant than the seven the Princess had possessed.

Li Luo stared at the seven brilliant Heavenly Beads behind Gong Shenjun. Although seven Heavenly Beads were indeed extremely astonishing, for some reason, he felt that this might not be Gong Shenjun's full strength. This number one student of the Astral Sage College might still be hiding something.

If he really was hiding something, then one could only say this guy was truly formidable to have such confidence while facing a strong enemy like Liang Kui.

While Li Luo was guessing just how much power Gong Shenjun was hiding, the latter smiled slightly amidst the countless gazes of admiration. He pointed his silver spear diagonally and looked at Liang Kui opposite him. Although the other party clearly did not want to engage with him, he still nodded in greeting, displaying his own poise.

"Astral Sage College, Gong Shenjun. I ask for guidance from my friend from the Blue Abyss Holy Academy."

Liang Kui looked at Gong Shenjun, whose momentum was imposing and clearly a cut above his own, but his slightly ugly face showed no fear. Instead, he gradually tightened his grip on the black spear in his hand, and a low, hoarse voice emerged: "One move."

"Hm?" Gong Shenjun looked over with slight confusion.

Liang Kui said indifferently, "If you can take one move of mine, I concede."

Gong Shenjun's eyes flashed, and he smiled: "A life-risking technique, is it? You want to use this to force another draw with me? Your Blue Abyss Holy Academy seems very keen on maintaining a series of draws this time?"

Liang Kui did not speak, only staring at Gong Shenjun with a cold gaze.

Gong Shenjun wore a smile, his five fingers slowly tightening around the silver spear, his voice gentle, his demeanor confident and composed.

"Since you have come from afar, you are a guest. As the host of the Great Xia Kingdom, I will certainly accompany you to the end regardless of how you wish to play."

"So, friend..."

"Please, make your move."