Chapter 457: Two Rods

Boom!

The Mountain-Bearing Golden Rod tore through the air with terrifying momentum, yet Li Luo looked up at the sky-obscuring, world-shaking staff strike with an expression as calm as still water. He merely rested his hand on the hilt of his blade, his five fingers slowly tightening.

The two streams of phase force within his body flowed, then converged and merged inside him.

Dual Phase Force!

Only, the Dual Phase Force produced this time was merely at the "Minor Fusion Realm," not the "He Yi Jing," because although Sun Sun Dasheng's staff strike was powerful, it was not so powerful as to require him to deploy Dual Phase Force at the He Yi Jing level.

And after successfully mastering Dual Phase Force at the "He Yi Jing," Li Luo was now able to switch freely between the two realms.

Dual Phase Force flowed out, directly coating the Jin Yu Zhu Xuan Xiang Blade, and then Li Luo stepped forward and brought his straight blade down in a violent slash.

"Thousand Flowing Water Blade Art!"

Hum!

In that instant, it was as if the sound of a blade's cry rang out. A blade-light of some ten zhang in length, accompanied by Li Luo's slash, suddenly shot forth.

That blade-gleam shimmered like rippling water, as if ten thousand currents churned within, releasing an astonishing piercing force.

The blade-gleam tore through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.

In the span of a single breath, that blade-light had already, at an astonishing speed, collided head-on with the world-shaking golden rod that came howling down.

Clang!

The sound of metal on metal suddenly rang out.

The next instant, a violent shockwave of phase force ravaged the air. The already ravaged surroundings suffered even more severe destruction—cracks were torn open across the ground, and not a single tree nearby was spared.

Yet what made everyone's eyelids twitch was that when the shockwave dissipated, the staff shadow and the blade-light had both vanished entirely.

Li Luo's figure stood in place, ancient straight blade in hand, his body utterly unmoved.

A mountain wind howled, fluttering his robes.

The team members watching from both sides all had subtle shifts in expression. Sun Sun Dasheng's astonishing strike had failed to achieve any effect?!

"How is that possible?!"

"How did he receive the boss's strike so easily?"

The people from the Sacred Mountain Academy found this even harder to believe. They cried out in shock, and even Captain Lu's face couldn't help but twitch, before gradually turning Solemn.

This kid from the Sacred Mystic Star Academy is no simple matter.

In the mountain forest, Sun Sun Dasheng was equally somewhat stunned. His gaze fixed on Li Luo, then the surprise in his eyes faded, replaced by a burning battle intent.

"I didn't expect that in this Holy Grail War, besides that Lu Ming, there would be someone else who possesses dual phases. What a pleasant surprise," he said slowly.

In their earlier exchange, he had finally clearly sensed the peculiarity of Li Luo's phase force—it contained not just a single phase attribute's variation!

Clearly, the person before him possessed dual phases!

Li Luo smiled and said, "What about the second strike?"

"Hahaha, interesting!"

Sun Sun Dasheng burst into laughter, undisguised delight dancing in his eyes. Who could have imagined that this opponent he had originally paid little attention to would, in the blink of an eye, transform into someone worthy of his serious attention? For a battle-crazed man like him, this was undoubtedly the pleasant surprise of stumbling upon a treasure by chance.

"It seems I really did underestimate the geniuses from the other One-Star Academies of the Eastern Region's Outer Shenzhou!"

Sun Sun Dasheng's face flushed slightly with excitement. Veins pulsed on the thick arm gripping the golden rod, and the grey-white phase force rising from his body began to grow increasingly violent. Behind him, a grey-white giant ape phantom seemed to grow ever clearer.

"What's your name?" Sun Sun Dasheng asked.

Such an opponent was worth knowing by name.

"Sacred Mystic Star Academy, Li Luo," Li Luo said with a smile.

"Good, Li Luo."

Sun Sun Dasheng nodded and said, "You are Zhi De Wo Zhong to me. However, although you possess dual phases, compared to Lu Ming, you still fall short by quite a bit. If your Dual Phase Force is only at this level, you may not necessarily be able to take my second strike."

Li Luo's heart stirred slightly. From his words, it seemed he had actually crossed blows with that Lu Ming?

But before he could think further, he already sensed a dangerous aura beginning to emanate from Sun Sun Dasheng's body. The latter now gripped the golden rod tightly, then slowly raised it. In his eyes, a murderous intent seemed to be gradually condensing.

"Great Ape King's Three Rods—Sea-Overturning Rod!"

Boom!

Grey-white phase force erupted explosively, as if transforming into grey-white ocean waves. The golden rod in his hand shot from his grip like a golden furious wyrm bursting through the waves, wrapped in a sky-filling murderous aura, and thundered straight toward Li Luo's position.

Wherever this strike passed, the ground was directly torn apart.

Like a golden rainbow piercing the sun.

The golden rainbow rapidly expanded in Li Luo's pupils. He gripped the blade hilt tightly with both hands, his expression calm, but the phase force within his body roared like two furious pythons, converging and merging once again.

A Dual Phase Force, vaster and more ferocious than before, surged forth.

Li Luo sensed that surging, brand-new power, and a smile curled at the corner of his lips. This power truly gave one a profound sense of security.

He gripped the hilt tightly, stepped forward, and slashed down at an angle.

Before the blade-light even appeared, the ground before him had already been cut by a sharp, unmatched blade aura into a bottomless fissure.

Clang!

The straight blade came down, clashing head-on with the golden-rainbow staff shadow that pierced through the long sky. The piercing sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the entire mountain forest, whipping up howling gales.

The ground beneath Li Luo began to crack inch by inch, then collapsed downward a full half meter, forming a sunken crater.

Dust filled the air.

In the mountain forest, gaze after gaze stared tensely at the dust there. Sun Sun Dasheng's second strike was clearly even more overbearing and brutal—such power was simply terrifying.

Could that Li Luo still take it?

As the crowd's thoughts churned, the dust there gradually dispersed, and then they saw a figure slowly walk out from within.

It was Li Luo.

Li Luo held his straight blade in hand, with not a single wound on his body. Meeting Sun Sun Dasheng's subtly shifting gaze, he raised the straight blade in his hand and revealed a smile: "Is the Dual Phase Force of that Lu Ming you mentioned, like this?"

On the Jin Yu Zhu Xuan Xiang Blade in his hand, phase force flowed, shimmering like rippling water. And what drew the most attention was a peculiar halo that had appeared on the blade's body.

A halo encircled the blade, as if formed from waterlight, tinged with emerald green and radiating vigorous life force.

Sun Sun Dasheng stared at the halo on Li Luo's straight blade, his expression slowly turning solemn, his voice deepening: "Dual-Phase Power of the He Yi Jing."

He indeed knew the three levels of Dual-Phase Power.

"I never expected someone like you would be hiding in this year's academy-level tournament," Sun Sun Dasheng licked his lips, his gaze at Li Luo brimming with fierce, burning battle lust—such an opponent was worthy of his full, unreserved effort.

Li Luo smiled: "You're strong too. One of the top three favorites for the championship—your reputation is well-deserved."

Yet in his heart, he too felt solemn; though he had blocked Sun Sun Dasheng's two strikes in brief exchange, he could not deny that those two earth-shattering blows had exerted immense pressure on him—even the second strike had forced out his He Yi Jing Dual-Phase Power.

This revealed Sun Sun Dasheng's true strength, and according to intelligence, Sun Sun Dasheng had yet to unleash his strongest trump card.

That so-called... Marquis Art.

What would the final outcome be if he unleashed such a formidable and astonishing trump card?

And if Sun Sun Dasheng was already this formidable, then Jing Jing Taixu—the favorite with even higher championship odds—would likely be even stronger.

Tsk, the task assigned by Sister Jiang Jiang Qinge seems harder than expected.

As Li Luo pondered Jing Jing Taixu's strength through Sun Sun Dasheng's, Sun Sun Dasheng's swirling gray-and-white phase power gradually receded; he clenched his hand, and the golden staff shot backward, landing on his shoulder. He waved his hand: "Enough."

Li Luo looked at him in confusion—Sun Sun Dasheng was clearly a battle-obsessed maniac; now that he'd met a worthy opponent, why was he suddenly calling it off?

"Though I'd very much like to settle this with you here, the conditions don't allow it."

Sun Sun Dasheng sighed: "You're strong. Even if I were to win, I'd pay a price. And right now, we have no conflicting interests—fighting a battle of this scale here for no reason would be irresponsible to my teammates."

Li Luo smiled. Sun Sun Dasheng still had some sense—he'd chosen to stop voluntarily. Good. It aligned with his own thoughts too; after all, the purpose of the probe had already been achieved.

After speaking, Sun Sun Dasheng leapt forward, landing beside the Sheng Shan Academy team. He waved to the others, then turned his gaze to Qin Qin Zhulu nearby: "Friend from Sheng Zhu Xuan Star Academy, what's your name?"

"Qin Qin Zhulu," Qin Qin Zhulu replied coolly.

"Hah! Qin Qin Zhulu, you're strong. If I hadn't had the advantage of a level higher in phase power, defeating you wouldn't have been easy. Sheng Zhu Xuan Star Academy hides its strength well—looks like there'll be some drama on Dragon Bone Island." Sun Sun Dasheng laughed heartily.

Sun Sun Dasheng's teammates were startled—they never expected the usually arrogant man to be so reasonable.

Only Captain Lu glanced toward Li Luo's direction; it was because Li Luo had truly blocked Sun Sun Dasheng's two strikes, and their leader couldn't bring himself to apologize outright—this acknowledgment of Qin Qin Zhulu was his way of yielding.

Meanwhile, Qin Qin Zhulu stared unflinchingly at Sun Sun Dasheng: "Next time we meet, I'll defeat you myself."

"Fine. I'll wait!"

Sun Sun Dasheng grinned carelessly, then turned his gaze to Li Luo: "I hope we meet on Dragon Bone Island. Then, I'll test whether you can withstand my third strike."

Without waiting for Li Luo's reply, he waved his hand and turned away, leaping off.

The Sheng Shan Academy students followed after him.

Wang Wang Hejiu, Du Ze Duze Beixuan, and others watched the retreating figures of Sheng Shan Academy, each silently exhaling in relief, yet their hearts grew more complex.

For everyone could see: Sun Sun Dasheng had stopped because he feared the power Li Luo had revealed.

Clearly, Li Luo's strength had advanced far beyond what it was during the qualifying match.

Now, he had reached a level where even Sun Sun Dasheng—one of the top three championship favorites—must take him seriously.