Chapter 458: The Ace Team

After the people from the Holy Mountain Institute left, Li Luo also leaped over to the side of Qin Zhulu, Wang Hejiu, and the others. He looked at Qin Zhulu and said with a smile, "Are your injuries alright?"

Qin Zhulu shook his head and said, "Just some minor injuries, nothing to worry about. But that guy is truly quite strong."

He gazed in the direction Sun Dasheng had left, his eyes filled with longing and a fiery fighting spirit. This kind of formidable opponent who could bring him a hearty, exhilarating battle was exactly what he craved. If they weren't in the middle of a competition, he might have even wanted to pester Sun Dasheng.

"If I were your father, I might hope that you would cast such a look at the pretty female students in the institute, rather than obsessing over such an ugly man, because that won't end well," Li Luo said in a cautionary tone; he could see what was on Qin Zhulu's mind from his expression.

Lu Qinger, Bai Mengmeng, and the other girls nearby all giggled.

Qin Zhulu's face turned green, and he retorted irritably, "Get lost, don't take advantage of me."

Lu Qinger, however, looked at Li Luo with a smile: "Chief Commander Li Luo, how shall we proceed next?"

The others also looked at Li Luo. From their expressions, one could see a sense of excitement; this was the boost in morale brought about by Li Luo's brief exchange with Sun Dasheng. Although they all knew this clash was just a test and neither side had truly revealed their trump cards, Li Luo's performance still left them feeling amazed.

After all, Sun Dasheng was no ordinary person, and the three favorites to win the championship were not chosen lightly.

And the fact that Li Luo could trade blows with Sun Dasheng without falling behind was enough to show that their Chief Commander was already among the very best of this year's First Star Academy students.

Following him, perhaps the Holy Profound Star Institute could really achieve a brilliant result.

Even Wang Hejiu and Duze Beixuan, who had never been on good terms with Li Luo, did not utter a word of dissent, clearly having completely accepted Li Luo's status as the leader.

"Let's go find Bai Doudou and Yu Lang's team first."

Meeting everyone's gaze, Li Luo did not hesitate and said with a smile.

Only then did Lu Qinger realize that among the people here, only the teams of Bai Doudou, Yu Lang, and Qiu Luo were missing.

Li Luo took out his crystal compass and said, "Their team didn't come to gather; instead, they've been staying in a certain area. I had Mengmeng keep an eye on it, and I discovered that their team sends out a signal every hour. The signal isn't urgent, so it shouldn't be an emergency call for help. I suspect they might have discovered something."

"But regardless, since they can't come, we will just gather everyone and go find them."

Li Luo tapped his finger lightly on the crystal compass. He had noticed the situation with Bai Doudou and Yu Lang's side when he arrived, but because Qin Zhulu's situation was more urgent, he had temporarily ignored it. Now that Qin Zhulu's team was safe, it was only natural to rush over to Bai Doudou and Yu Lang's side.

"Could it be that Yu Lang actually discovered a Spirit Gathering Altar? If so, he really is a lucky star," Lu Qinger said with some curiosity.

"Who knows."

Li Luo shrugged. That guy Yu Lang was like a loose cannon, often doing things that were hard to describe.

"Get ready to move out."

He waved his hand, and his figure was the first to dash out, heading in the direction where Bai Doudou and Yu Lang were located.

In a certain mountain range, snow lay thick, covering the forests.

Inside a jungle.

Three figures were sitting cross-legged, resting; they were Bai Doudou, Yu Lang, and Qiu Luo.

Yu Lang picked some wild fruit from nearby, wiped it with snow, and then fawningly handed it to Bai Doudou: "Captain, have something to eat."

Bai Doudou took it irritably and took a bite: "You guy, sometimes I really don't know if you're lucky or unlucky."

She really had a headache because shortly after they entered this area, Yu Lang had inadvertently discovered a Spirit Gathering Altar. But just as he excitedly ran over to report it, someone happened to overhear the news, and as expected, they attracted the pursuit of several nearby teams.

The other side wanted to learn the exact location of that Spirit Gathering Altar from Yu Lang; otherwise, with this mountain range being so vast, it would inevitably take a lot of time and energy to find that altar within it.

"This really isn't my fault. Who knew that bastard was so insidious, actually able to control snow snakes? Those things were hiding in the snow, slithering everywhere to act as his eyes and ears, and that's how he happened to hear me mention the Spirit Gathering Altar," Yu Lang said, feeling very aggrieved.

Qiu Luo frowned and said, "Couldn't you have spoken quietly? You were shouting so loudly, were you afraid someone wouldn't hear you?"

"Forget it."

Bai Doudou stopped Qiu Luo's accusations: "Regardless, Yu Lang found a Spirit Gathering Altar, which is actually a great achievement for us. The things that happened afterward were just too coincidental; after all, even I didn't notice those hidden snow snakes."

"For now, try to stall as much as possible. As long as we wait for Li Luo and the others to arrive, we won't be afraid of them."

Seeing Bai Doudou defending Yu Lang, Qiu Luo had no choice but to stop talking. He frowned and said, "But it's also strange. Those guys behind us have already gathered several teams, and they've even tracked us down several times, but they've never actually made a move."

"It feels like they're wary of something."

Bai Doudou also furrowed her delicate brows. She actually had the same feeling; in the previous encirclements, the other side clearly could have blocked them, but for some reason, they were cautiously holding back.

However, this should only be temporary. As more and more teams gathered on the other side, they would eventually make a move.

After all, the ones trailing behind were not just teams from a single institute.

"Forget it, ignore them. Let's try to stall for time. Looking at the crystal compass, Li Luo and the others are already on their way," Bai Doudou said.

Yu Lang and Qiu Luo both nodded upon hearing this.

And while they were discussing this, in a jungle not far from them, several teams were also gathered.

"Liu Xiao, what exactly do you mean? We have the numerical advantage. We should go up now, trap that Holy Profound Star Institute team, and force them to tell us the location of the Spirit Gathering Altar," among the several teams, a sturdy young man said with a face full of impatience, challenging the person in front of him.

"They're just one team, are you afraid of them? You keep saying to wait for reinforcements, why be like this? If we keep waiting, maybe their support will arrive."

The one being questioned was a thin-faced young man, the captain named Liu Xiao.

"You don't understand."

Liu Xiao smiled faintly and said, "This team is not simple."

"What are you talking about?"

"If I'm not mistaken, this small team might be the ace team of the Holy Profound Star Institute," Liu Xiao said calmly.

The others immediately scoffed: "How do you know?"

"In that team, there is a person named Yu Lang."

"So what?"

"Did you not collect intelligence? The name of this Yu Lang often appears in some intelligence reports."

"Can those reports be trusted?"

Liu Xiao smiled slightly and said, "Some intelligence indeed cannot be trusted, but there is some intelligence you have to believe."

"Others may not know this Yu Lang's abilities, but coincidentally, our Red Sand Holy Institute knows him quite well, because we have a senior, Zhao Jieyang, who previously participated in the training at the Golden Dragon Dojo, and he happened to meet this Yu Lang there."

"And before this competition, he also solemnly warned us to be careful of this person named Yu Lang."

"This person might be, other than that Lu Ming from the Heavenly Fire Holy Institute..."

"The second person to possess dual resonances."

Hearing this, the captains of the other two teams finally changed their expressions.