Chapter 408: Li Luo Enters the Arena

Li Luo's figure swooped down like a great bird. While in mid-air, he released Qi from beneath his feet, allowing him to hover briefly before landing atop a dense, towering tree. He leaped across a patch of forest and descended toward a vast lake.

The lake was emerald green, with ancient trees growing from its depths. The reflections of the water and trees echoed one another, creating quite an atmospheric scene.

Li Luo stepped onto the surface of the lake, causing ripples to spread out beneath his feet.

He rested his hands on the twin blades at his waist, his expression calm. His two affinities were primarily Water and Wood, so this lake environment was exceptionally advantageous for him. According to the rules of the ticket tournament, the side that lost the previous match had the priority to choose the battleground. Although Li Luo did not fear his opponent, if he were to refuse such a favorable condition handed to him on a silver platter, it would appear too pedantic and arrogant; furthermore, it would not fit his character, as Li Luo enjoyed taking advantage of freebies.

Amidst the mountains, countless gazes converged.

At the same time, a figure descended from the sky, landing on the lake surface like a cannonball. A burst of Qi impact erupted instantly, whipping up waves that roared off in all directions.

Yet, when the waves were still half a meter away from Li Luo, they quietly subsided, and the water merged back into the lake.

Li Luo's gaze rested on the figure on the lake ahead. The newcomer was dressed in white and was quite handsome. At this moment, he was also staring at Li Luo, his smiling expression appearing exceptionally amiable.

"Lu Cang?" Li Luo asked.

The young man in white nodded with a smile and said, "I am Lu Cang. Student Li Luo, I hear you are the legendary dual-affinity user?"

Li Luo smiled. "Dual affinities are rare, but they are far from being a legend."

Lu Cang chuckled. "I also feel the rumors are somewhat exaggerated. Student Li Luo's dual-affinity grades shouldn't be very high, so the power of the dual-affinity energy fused from them likely won't be that strong."

Li Luo's expression remained calm, and he nodded in agreement. "You're right."

Lu Cang continued with a chuckle, "If that's the case, why doesn't Student Li Luo just concede this victory to me, so we don't have to waste time fighting?"

Li Luo stared at Lu Cang, then smiled and said, "Your tactics are quite similar to those of Zhao Huiyin. Are you trying to deliberately provoke me with your words? Is this a tactic inherited by your Blue Abyss Holy Academy?"

Lu Cang shrugged. "It seems Student Li Luo is very calm."

"There is no retreat for either side in this battle, so there is no need for unnecessary chatter. Let's see the real results with our hands. If one lacks the strength, relying solely on these glib tactics will only invite ridicule." Li Luo gripped his twin blades, and with a metallic *clang*, the blades were unsheathed.

He pointed his twin blades diagonally at the water surface, and powerful Qi began to rise from his body.

Ripples spread in circles across the lake surface beneath his feet.

Seeing this, Lu Cang nodded with a smile. He wiped his palm across the space-sphere worn on his wrist, and a green long staff appeared in his hand. At the same time, Qi slowly rose from the surface of his body. His Qi presented a faint crimson color, and as it rose, it seemed as if a ferocious crimson giant python was coiling around him.

Such a fierce and baleful aura was not the slightest bit weaker than Qin Zuelu's Gold-Devouring Demon Tiger affinity.

Moreover, the opponent's strength was, as the intelligence report stated, at the first transformation of the Affinity Transformation stage.

Bang!

Lu Cang's figure was the first to shoot out. The long staff in his hand turned into a scorching, violent green light that tore through the lake water ahead, then struck toward Li Luo's face like a gale.

Li Luo did not retreat; his twin blades met the attack directly. Layers of blade light rippled like emerald waves, directly blocking Lu Cang's heavy frontal strike. As sparks flew, Qi vibrated, kicking up heavy waves.

The Qi of both sides made contact and immediately began to erode one another.

Li Luo could clearly feel a scorching, ferocious Qi surging along his twin blades. That Qi was like a vicious python; if it invaded his body, his flesh and blood would be gnawed away. It was truly overbearing and insidious.

Qi cultivated from an Upper Eighth-Grade affinity had greater spirituality, making it much trickier and more troublesome to neutralize. Li Luo had already experienced this deeply when he fought Qin Zuelu previously.

Therefore, he did not hesitate at all. The two affinity palaces within his body vibrated simultaneously, and two streams of Qi roared out like mountain brooks, crashing into each other.

Dual-affinity power!

Suddenly, the surging, boiling Qi erupted like a volcanic eruption, and astonishing Qi fluctuations burst forth from Li Luo's body.

Clang!

The blades and staff collided abruptly. Violent Qi swept out, and the lake surface surged with waves a meter high.

Lu Cang's expression shifted slightly at this moment. The powerful Qi transmitted from the Green Python Staff this time was far more formidable than before. Moreover, that Qi was mixed with two types of affinity energy, fused and superimposed, with astonishing power.

Under the impact of this Qi, even his own Upper Eighth-Grade Qi, which he had always been proud of, was actually forced back.

"Is this the power of dual affinities? It really is quite interesting!"

However, facing such a formidable enemy, Lu Cang's eyes became increasingly bright and scorching. A crimson color appeared in his eyes, and his pupils underwent a subtle change at this moment, faintly transforming into the vertical pupils of a python, giving off a cold and ferocious feeling.

Boom!

Crimson Qi erupted. Lu Cang's speed and strength increased suddenly at this moment. The Green Python Staff in his hand turned into a sky full of green snakes, biting directly toward Li Luo's vital points.

"Green Jade Entangling Hands!"

Li Luo's figure retreated several steps. He flicked his sleeves, and green light surged from them, also meeting the attack like green pythons. In an instant, the two sides clashed over a hundred times, the Qi shockwaves causing the water to ripple violently.

The next moment, Lu Cang's figure shot out from the point of the Qi vibration. At this time, his body was suffused with a crimson color. Looking closely, those were actually red snake scales. The scales covered parts of his skin like armor, making Lu Cang appear as if he were a snake-man.

But Li Luo knew this was because the opponent's fusion with his own affinity had reached a very high level.

Lu Cang was extremely fast, lunging straight at Li Luo.

The baleful aura was oppressive.

Li Luo slid backward on the water surface, while his fingertips formed seals, turning into rays of light that fell beneath the surrounding water.

"Binding of Ten Thousand Trees!"

Suddenly, the ancient trees in the lake seemed to awaken, and countless branches like vines coiled toward Lu Cang.

At this moment, Lu Cang's agility was greater than Li Luo's, so Li Luo needed to find a way to restrict the opponent's speed.

"Hiss hiss!"

Lu Cang grinned, his somewhat pointed tongue extending to emit a sound like a snake's hiss. He swung the Green Python Staff in his hand, and a sky full of green light swept out, directly shattering all the branches and vines that were coiling toward him.

"These tricks can't hold me!" Lu Cang sneered.

Li Luo ignored him and flicked his finger, shooting out some deep blue liquid light that landed on those vines.

"Heavy Water Art!"

Suddenly, the vines became extremely heavy, and as they whipped about, a piercing sound of wind-breaking rang out.

Bang bang!

The suddenly increased power of the vine assault caused Lu Cang's expression to change slightly. The next moment, one vine finally broke through his defenses, attacking from a tricky angle and slamming heavily onto his back.

Lu Cang's figure flew out, rolling miserably for dozens of meters across the water.

However, just as he steadied his figure, before he could react, the lake water beneath his feet suddenly surged upward.

"Water Flow Stripping Art!"

The lake water seemed to form a water prison, directly enveloping Lu Cang. Then, the water flow within it erupted, rotating and unleashing a tearing force, attempting to grind whatever was inside to pieces.

"Water Flow Arrow!"

Li Luo flicked his finger, and arrows transformed from Water-affinity energy shot directly into the rotating water sphere, making the churning force even stronger. Within the water sphere, bright red blood gradually began to diffuse.

On the stands amidst the mountains, waves of exclamations rose continuously at this moment.

"What exquisite coordination of affinity arts."

The Princess praised, saying, "The coordination between the Water-affinity and Wood-affinity arts, even if they aren't very powerful arts, can still unleash power that cannot be underestimated. Li Luo's talent in affinity arts is truly astonishing."

Gong Shenjun also nodded slightly, saying, "This is the advantage of dual affinities. Li Luo knows very well how to utilize it. However, although he has the slight upper hand for now, it's hard to say who will win. After all, if this is all Lu Cang is capable of, then the decisive match that the Blue Abyss Holy Academy went to such lengths to facilitate would be too disappointing."

"They must still have a trump card capable of turning the situation around."

The other Seven Star Pillars all nodded, their gazes fixed tightly on the rotating water sphere in the arena.

Hiss!

Amidst those exclamations, a ferocious hissing sound suddenly erupted from the water sphere. At the same time, a burst of crimson Qi exploded like flames. The entire water sphere was evaporated in this instant, and a red light shot into the sky before falling heavily, kicking up giant waves.

At this moment, Lu Cang's expression was gloomy, and there were some bloodstains on his body. Although they were only minor injuries, it undoubtedly showed that he had been suppressed by Li Luo's exquisite coordination of affinity arts in the previous exchange.

Li Luo stared at Lu Cang, his expression calm and composed.

After the previous exchange, he had already probed the opponent's strength. This Lu Cang's strength should be at the same level as Qin Zuelu's, perhaps a bit stronger, but only limitedly so. This was considered quite good among his peers, but it was not enough, because he could defeat Qin Zuelu, so he could naturally defeat this Lu Cang as well.

It was only a matter of time.

"Show your trump card. This level of probing is meaningless," Li Luo said slowly.

He did not believe the Blue Abyss Holy Academy would be so confident as to entrust the decisive battle to a Lu Cang of this level. It wasn't that Lu Cang wasn't strong, but rather that this level of intensity could not support a decisive battle that determined the ownership of the tickets.

Lu Cang's crimson vertical pupils stared coldly at Li Luo. He did not say any tit-for-tat nonsense, but instead slowly closed his eyes.

At the same time, on the stands of the Blue Abyss Holy Academy, the representative of the First Star Academy, known as Lu Cang, also closed his eyes.