Chapter 465: The Melee Begins

As the various Resonance Powers erupted in the mountain forest not far away, this battle for the defense of the Spirit Gathering Altar officially began.

Li Luo's expression remained quite calm; he did not change color due to the opponent's numerical advantage, as this had long been within his expectations.

His gaze remained fixed ahead, and as those Resonance Powers erupted, three figures had already swept onto the sea of trees; the Resonance Power radiating from their bodies had all reached the level of the Second Transformation of the Resonance Transformation Stage.

Zhao Xingying was among them.

Clearly, these three were the chief commanders of the three Saint Academies that had come to attack.

Their strength could indeed be considered formidable.

However, this was not surprising; after all, they were the pillars of the First Star Halls of other Saint Academies. Their own innate talents were not weak, and coupled with the cultivation resources provided by their academies, it would be underestimating the Saint Academies standing in various countries to call any of them mediocre.

And now that these three had joined forces, they could not be underestimated.

Under Li Luo's gaze, the three figures leaped forward rapidly, finally appearing a dozen meters away.

Zhao Xingying watched Li Luo with a smile, then pointed to the burly youth beside him and said, "Chief Commander Li Luo, this is Chief Commander Zheng Fuxing of the Saint Longyu Academy."

"And this is Chief Commander Ding Chi of the Tiantong Saint Academy."

Li Luo nodded calmly; he naturally knew that Zhao Xingying was deliberately trying to pressure him.

All three chief commanders possessed no small amount of strength.

"Chief Commander Li Luo, I won't say much else; I'll just ask one thing: do you really want to monopolize this Spirit Gathering Altar?" the burly youth named Zheng Fuxing said in a low voice.

Li Luo nodded.

"Chief Commander Li Luo, the commotion here will attract the attention of more and more academies. They might not take action themselves, but once your defensive line here has problems, it will inevitably draw them in. By then, the situation will become even more chaotic. Are you sure you can hold the fort?" said Chief Commander Ding Chi of the Tiantong Saint Academy.

Li Luo smiled and said, "That is why I need some progress to establish my authority."

Zhao Xingying laughed, "Chief Commander Li Luo, you don't mean to use the three of us to establish your authority and intimidate the other academies, do you?"

"Is that not possible?" Li Luo countered.

Ding Chi said sarcastically, "Does Chief Commander Li Luo think he is Jing Taixu, Sun Dasheng, or Lu Ming? If you were truly that strong, why isn't your name among the top three favorites to win?"

"Perhaps after today, it will be," Li Luo replied earnestly.

The three were all stunned, and then they stopped speaking. Three powerful and fierce Resonance Powers had already risen from their bodies, rolling like smoke from a signal fire.

Zhao Xingying's Resonance Power appeared dark gold; within the Resonance Power, golden vine light shadows faintly danced like giant pythons. The vines shimmered with a metallic luster, appearing incomparably hard—that was the Golden Vine Resonance.

Zheng Fuxing's Resonance Power appeared black, with a bull demon roaring and erupting with piercing sound waves; that was the Great Strength Bull Demon Resonance.

Ding Chi's Resonance Power was fiery red, releasing an overbearing high temperature; the trees beneath his feet were directly ignited—that was the Fire Resonance.

The three chief commanders erupted with their full Resonance Power at this moment, and then all three shot out almost simultaneously.

They did not foolishly choose to have one person go up to test Li Luo's depth, because there was no need. Regardless of whether Li Luo was truly strong or just putting on a show, their goal was only one: to crush him and seize the Spirit Gathering Altar!

And since Li Luo was the chief commander of the Astral Sage College, once he was defeated, the morale of the Astral Sage College team would naturally plummet.

Swoosh!

Zhao Xingying launched the attack first. Dark gold Resonance Power surged from his palm, transforming into golden vines like giant pythons that roared toward Li Luo like lightning.

A sharp whistling sound of wind rang out.

Seeing this, Li Luo stomped his foot, and his Wood Resonance power began to circulate.

"Binding of Ten Thousand Trees!"

The large trees beneath his feet seemed to come back to life at this moment; tree vines extended rapidly, colliding directly with the golden vines.

In an instant, golden light and wood chips flew everywhere—a truly spectacular sight.

At this moment, a black light shrouded in baleful energy lunged close. Zheng Fuxing's large hand revealed a massive black axe, and he let out a piercing roar. As he swung the axe down, astonishing power erupted, causing even the void to distort slightly.

Li Luo did not move. He gripped his palm, and the Golden Jade Profound Elephant Blade appeared. With a flash of the blade, it collided with the giant axe in Zheng Fuxing's hand.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and a violent Resonance Power shockwave erupted, causing the surrounding forest to snap one after another.

"Flame Orb!"

From the side, a scorching Resonance Power fluctuation suddenly struck. A crimson fireball of Resonance Power, wrapped in rolling high temperatures, lunged directly toward Li Luo's face.

Pfft!

Li Luo condensed Water Resonance power in his mouth, which then transformed into a water arrow that shot out, colliding with the scorching fireball; both were instantly annihilated.

In just a few short breaths, the two sides had clashed fiercely, trading blows without mercy.

Facing the siege of the three, Li Luo did not retreat in the slightest; instead, he chose the most overbearing method of head-on collision.

Any incoming attack was forcefully neutralized by him.

Within his Water-Light Resonance Palace, the pool of water formed by his Water Resonance affinity stirred with ripples, and the great sun within the pool also bloomed with light.

In the Wood-Earth Resonance Palace, a lush, verdant Resonance tree standing in a patch of brown soil swayed gently, shedding glowing leaves that rose into the air.

The roots of affinity within both Resonance Palaces provided Li Luo with a continuous stream of Resonance Power.

Clang!

The blade of the Profound Elephant Blade blocked another heavy axe strike. Li Luo looked at Zhao Xingying and Ding Chi, who were attacking from both sides again, and suddenly gripped the hilt tightly. High-speed Resonance Power flowed across the blade, forming an exceptionally sharp water edge.

The two Resonance Powers within his body merged together.

The power of Dual Resonances erupted!

Hum!

A crescent-like water blade light carved through the void. Under the amplification of Li Luo's Water-Light Resonance Power, the Water Edge Art already possessed extremely formidable cutting power. Now, with the sharpness of the Profound Elephant Blade, a faint trail was left in the void wherever the blade passed.

This strike was exceptionally fierce.

Zhao Xingying and the others noticed it as well, and their eyes narrowed immediately. But they were also battle-hardened individuals who knew they could not retreat, so with a loud shout, they unleashed their full Resonance Power, combining their efforts to launch an attack that collided with the blade light.

Clang!

A violent shockwave erupted.

Li Luo's figure trembled, while Zhao Xingying and the others were all forced back more than a dozen steps.

The expressions of the three turned completely grave.

"Water Resonance, Wood Resonance... what overbearing Dual Resonance power. So Chief Commander Li Luo really does possess Dual Resonances," Zhao Xingying said in a low voice.

All four of them were at the level of the Second Transformation of the Resonance Transformation Stage, but in the previous clash, the strength of Li Luo's Resonance Power clearly suppressed all of them. This was something only someone with Dual Resonances could achieve.

After all, two Resonance Palaces could contain more Resonance Power than theirs.

If it weren't for the three joining forces, but rather fighting individually, some of them would have already been injured in the previous exchange.

Hearing Zhao Xingying's words, Li Luo did not answer, but merely smiled, slowly raising the blade in his hand and giving it a light flick toward the three.

Zhao Xingying said, "Chief Commander Li Luo, you are indeed very strong. We are no match for you in a one-on-one fight, but in the current situation, just being strong yourself probably won't be of much use."

"Our teams are advancing on the other two paths. As long as they achieve results, they will still be able to enter the Spirit Gathering Altar. As for you, while it might be difficult for us to defeat you, dragging you down probably isn't too hard."

"And you should be able to feel that teams from other academies are starting to appear nearby. They are all watching us fight. Aren't you afraid that after we both suffer, someone else will benefit?"

"So, at this point, are you still unwilling to make concessions?"

Facing Zhao Xingying's threatening words, Li Luo's eyes remained calm.

"I trust my companions. You won't necessarily find it easier to break through their obstruction than you do here."

"And... I said, those watching from the sidelines are irrelevant. As long as I crush the three of you, no one will dare to covet this Spirit Gathering Altar again."

Hearing Li Luo's words, the expressions of Zhao Xingying and the other two turned completely cold.

"Then today, we shall see whether your Dual Resonance power is stronger, or if your mouth is tougher!"