Chapter 406: The Deciding Match

The defeats of Zhu Xuan and Ye Qiuding poured a bucket of cold water over the soaring morale of the Astral Sage College.

The tiers of stands, previously filled with clamor, were now deathly silent; many students wore expressions of shock, as this sudden, consecutive string of losses was truly difficult to accept.

After all, according to the previous situation, the Astral Sage College had already secured two wins and two draws; as long as they could win one of the two upcoming matches in the Second Star Academy, even if the First Star Academy match didn't need to be fought, the ticket to the Holy Grail Battle would still firmly fall into the hands of their Astral Sage College.

However, no one expected that the Second Star Academy would lose two matches in a row.

Although, looking at the four academy levels of the Astral Sage College, the Second Star Academy is indeed slightly weaker in terms of excellence—after all, the Fourth Star Academy includes the Seven Star Pillars by rule, making it the deepest in foundation and strongest in power, while the Third Star Academy has been elevated to a ceiling by a monster like Jiang Qing.

The First Star Academy here is too young, but it does have Li Luo, who possesses dual resonances, which is considered quite special.

Compared to these three academy levels, the Second Star Academy appears more lackluster and can only be described as average.

But likewise, the Second Star Academy of the Blue Abyss Sage College is not that much stronger, so in the eyes of many students, even if Zhu Xuan and Ye Qiuding only won one of the two matches—no, even if they both fought to a draw—the final victory would still belong to their Astral Sage College.

Yet reality dealt them a heavy blow.

As a result, both sides had each taken two wins, two draws, and two losses, and the score was instantly pulled back to the same starting line.

The advantage that the Astral Sage College had worked so hard to build was, at this very moment, completely gone.

Whoosh!

After the silence in the stands lasted for a while, some angry voices finally erupted, while the students of the Second Star Academy all looked ashamed and could only bear all those accusations, as the failures of Zhu Xuan and Ye Qiuding were indeed hard to cover up.

Their failures also dashed the efforts previously made by the Fourth Star Academy and the Third Star Academy.

Amidst the chaotic and noisy sounds, many gazes began to turn toward the First Star Academy.

Or rather, they turned toward Li Luo, who was sitting in the First Star Academy's stands.

As the situation was leveled, the First Star Academy, which originally only had one chance to fight, suddenly transformed from being dispensable at the start into the decisive match.

"I didn't expect the deciding match for the ticket to fall to the First Star Academy." The Princess rested her slender hand on the railing, her expression somewhat helpless; the situation suddenly turning out like this was something she hadn't anticipated.

She also hadn't expected the Second Star Academy to be so incompetent.

On this stand were all the prominent figures within the college, with every one of the Seven Star Pillars present; at this moment, they were also looking toward the First Star Academy with varied expressions, as this result clearly exceeded their expectations as well.

"Now all the pressure is on that Li Luo; can he withstand it?" A burly young man spoke slowly; his name was Wang Chao, and he was also a member of the Seven Star Pillars.

"The deciding match—win, and you gain great fame; lose, and you will be condemned by public opinion and reviled by the masses... I really wonder what the result will be for this Junior Li Luo?" Zhong Taiqiu, also one of the Seven Star Pillars, said with a smile, his eyes lingering on Li Luo in the distance.

The others all nodded; this was human nature. After all, if such an important match were lost, many people would need to vent their emotions, and even though from the overall situation, Zhu Xuan and Ye Qiuding were the ones who should be scolded the most, Li Luo would not be able to escape either.

The Princess smiled faintly and said, "You all shouldn't underestimate our little junior."

"It's not underestimating, it's just that this current situation is likely something the Blue Abyss Sage College has been pushing for from the beginning. Now that the situation has finally reached the point they hoped for, the final match is truly unpredictable," Gong Shenjun said with his hands behind his back, his expression somewhat solemn.

The Princess's expression shifted, and she said, "You mean the Blue Abyss Sage College bet everything on their First Star Academy match? Is it that extreme?"

Gong Shenjun nodded and said, "The previous battles of Zhu Xuan and Ye Qiuding actually can't be blamed on them. Although the strength of both sides was strictly similar, those two representatives from the other side clearly came with a desperate, suicidal intent. Their killing moves were unleashed at the cost of paying a huge price themselves, so don't look at the fact that they won; there must be aftereffects."

"To be able to make two excellent students willing to pay such a price... it must be that the Blue Abyss Sage College gave them some promises and guarantees; otherwise, ordinary people wouldn't risk their lives like that."

"After all, no matter how important honor is, it shouldn't make them sacrifice their future prospects."

"So from the beginning, perhaps the Blue Abyss Sage College had their eyes on these two matches in the Second Star Academy. If the previous matches fell into a disadvantage, they could use this to pull it back, and if the situation was favorable to them, wouldn't it be even more to their liking?"

"And to be able to make the Blue Abyss Sage College give such importance to it, it seems the representative they are going to field in the First Star Academy has great ability. Although Li Luo possesses dual resonances and his battle record is impressive, we'll have to wait and see what the final result is."

Listening to Gong Shenjun's methodical analysis, even the Princess nodded slightly, and then she turned her gaze toward the First Star Academy with her willow brows slightly furrowed. She looked at Li Luo's figure; unknowingly, this match of Li Luo's, which was originally somewhat insignificant, had instead become the focus of the entire venue.

She didn't know if Li Luo could carry it; after all, this might be a match the Blue Abyss Sage College had long plotted.

On the highest level of the stands, Vice Principal Suxin watched the noisy and chaotic field, then turned her head to look at the Vice Principal of the Blue Abyss Sage College and smiled: "Vice Principal Qiuji, your Blue Abyss Sage College has really gone to great lengths."

The Vice Principal named Qiuji smiled faintly: "Vice Principal Suxin, please don't be sarcastic. Our Blue Abyss Sage College's foundation is not as good as your Astral Sage College's; if we want to overcome the strong, we have to come up with some clever tricks."

"I'm just afraid these clever tricks won't be very effective," Vice Principal Suxin said.

"Then we shall have to see," Qiuji said with a chuckle.

Vice Principal Suxin didn't say anything more; she also understood that such sarcasm was meaningless. Both sides wanted to obtain the ticket to the Holy Grail Battle, so naturally, they would use every means possible. It was just that a situation where victory was originally in their grasp had suddenly been reversed like this, so it was inevitable to feel a bit stifled.

The other big shots on this level of the stands were also slightly surprised, and after figuring out the situation, their varied gazes couldn't help but turn toward that young figure in the First Star Academy.

"Hehe, it seems the Luolan Mansion is going to be the center of attention today," Mansion Master Si Qing of the Golden Sparrow Mansion said with a smile.

Zhu Qinghuo's expression was somewhat gloomy, and his eyes flashed with anger, because he had also seen Zhu Xuan's failure; this was simply losing face for the Extreme Flame Mansion!

Duze Yan, who was on the side, was expressionless and said faintly: "If the limelight is too bright, I'm afraid Li Luo is too young to handle it."

Yu Hongxi took a sip from her teacup and said with a smile: "It's not a bad thing for young people to suffer some setbacks. However, Li Luo has a resilient character, and his experiences far exceed those of ordinary youths. Although the pressure of this deciding match is not small, it's not certain that he won't be able to carry it."

Hearing Yu Hongxi speak, the other mansion masters' eyes flickered, and then they stopped talking.

It was the little Emperor on the side who clenched his fists tightly, his eyes fixed on Li Luo's figure, cheering for him in his heart.

And it was under this full-audience attention that Li Luo, the center of everyone's gaze in the First Star Academy stands, stood up.