Chapter 473: Goodwill?

The moment Jing Taixu appeared, a stir rippled through the Lake-Marsh Islands, and eyes turned toward the figure ascending on the wind, filled with a glimmer of hope.

Li Luo watched as well, his eyes narrowed slightly. Jing Taixu's resonant power flowed around him, transforming into a breeze that carried his body aloft. This was the advantage of a Wind Resonance; while other Resonance Master stage cultivators still lacked the ability to traverse the air, they could already fly briefly.

"His Wind Resonance power has such strong spirituality," Bai Doudou remarked from the side, unable to help but sound a bit envious.

She herself possessed a Wind Resonance, and it had even reached the Lower Eighth Grade, but compared to the Jing Taixu before them, the gap was glaringly obvious.

A Void Ninth Grade—truly living up to its reputation.

"This kid sure knows how to show off," Yu Lang muttered, his tone tinged with jealousy.

It had to be said that Jing Taixu was extremely eye-catching at this moment. His appearance was already handsome, and ascending on the wind under the gaze of the masses, he truly possessed an air of elegance and ethereal grace, causing many female students' eyes to sparkle.

However, the others paid no mind to this; they were more concerned with whether Jing Taixu could withstand the first wave of the energy torrent from the Spirit-Gathering Altar.

Under the focus of those many gazes, ten-odd seconds later, Jing Taixu's figure landed on the cloud ladder.

Boom!

The moment he landed, a thunderous roar echoed through heaven and earth. A brilliant torrent of energy whistled down the cloud ladder like an enraged dragon, its sheer momentum enough to turn an ordinary person pale with fright.

But Jing Taixu was clearly not among them.

Instead of retreating, he immediately channeled his vigorous resonant power. Cyan resonant power surged, rapidly condensing and compressing at his fingertips.

"Cyan Wind Cannon."

A smile played on Jing Taixu's lips as he spoke softly.

Boom!

A roar exploded suddenly. The cyan resonant power at his fingertips, having undergone heavy compression, shot out like a cannonball. The cyan wind mass squeezed the air, producing a piercing sonic boom that caused even the void to tremble slightly.

Bang!

The speed of that wind cannon was astonishing. Many only saw a flash of cyan light before the cannon collided with the whistling energy torrent.

Rumble!

It sounded like continuous muffled thunder exploding in the sky.

As the two collided, the unstoppable energy torrent was blocked for a few seconds before surging forward, swallowing the wind cannon and continuing its descent, submerging Jing Taixu's figure as well.

Yet, at this moment, Jing Taixu was wreathed in cyan light. If one looked closely, it appeared as if layers of cyan wind shields were deflecting the majority of the incoming energy torrent in a clever manner.

Thus, when the torrent finally dissipated, he remained standing on the cloud ladder, having only taken a single step back.

Clearly, he had successfully resisted the first wave of the energy torrent.

Whoosh!

This scene fell into the eyes of the many students on the Lake-Marsh Islands, immediately sparking a clamor of uproar.

Gazes filled with wariness and awe were cast toward Jing Taixu. With just this display, he had revealed formidable strength; he was truly worthy of being the biggest favorite to win the One-Star Academy division in this Academy Tournament.

Since Jing Taixu had successfully blocked the first wave of the energy torrent, this Spirit-Gathering Altar was naturally activated by him. Although his academy would still enjoy the lion's share, residual energy would still fall into the lake once the torrent poured down, meaning some Heavenly Spirit Dew would appear here, allowing others to get a taste of the scraps.

Therefore, others were quite happy to see Jing Taixu successfully activate the Spirit-Gathering Altar cluster.

After successfully activating the cluster, Jing Taixu turned and descended from the cloud ladder, his gaze sweeping across the islands as he announced loudly: "Friends from other academies, this Spirit-Gathering Altar cluster has been activated by me, but I still need three academies to help me share the energy pressure. Any three academies capable of this may come to find me to discuss cooperation."

As his voice fell, he landed on the small island where the Shengmingwang Academy was located.

His words immediately caused a stir across the islands. Many chief captains were tempted; if they could become Jing Taixu's partners, they would naturally get a share of the spoils. After all, that Spirit-Gathering Altar cluster was so rich that even a single bite would be more than their harvest from the previous week.

However, although Jing Taixu's words were polite, everyone understood that rather than being partners, they would essentially be attaching themselves to Jing Taixu just to get a bite.

After all, there was no shortage of people here, and there were far too many choices for that so-called help in sharing the pressure.

Thus, the hierarchy between the two sides was clear at a glance; to actually take that bite, one would inevitably have to set aside their pride and lower their stance.

Yet, for the sake of the Heavenly Spirit Dew, many had no choice but to endure it.

On the islands, after a brief hesitation, many academies finally couldn't help but move first, descending toward the island where Shengmingwang Academy was located. As someone took the lead, others feared the three spots would be snatched up, and they all rushed out at once, creating a chaotic scene.

The students of Shengmingwang Academy watched this scene with smiles, their eyes filled with unconcealable arrogance and triumph.

However, their triumph did not last long, for two figures suddenly broke through the air, heading straight for the other two Spirit-Gathering Altar clusters, which immediately drew many gazes from the islands, followed by a new wave of excitement.

"It's Sun Dasheng from the Shengshan Academy!"

"And Lu Ming from the Tianhuo Sheng Academy!"

"Are they making their move too?"

"..."

When those two figures appeared, Li Luo and the others also cast their gazes over, though he focused more on one slender, graceful silhouette.

Lu Ming, the possessor of the Phantom-Lightning Dual Resonance?

This was the first time Li Luo had encountered another dual-resonance user, so he was quite attentive.

The girl named Lu Ming had exceptionally fair skin that refracted a crystalline luster under the faint sunlight. Her features were delicate, clearly a beauty, but her face lacked much expression; she was cold and indifferent, possessing a sense of aloofness that kept people at a distance.

On the surface of her body, faint lightning seemed to be flowing.

Under the many gazes, Lu Ming and Sun Dasheng each flew toward a Spirit-Gathering Altar cluster, and then they directly erupted with vigorous resonant power.

The level of their resonant power was clear at a glance: both were at the Third Transformation of the Resonance Transformation stage.

As they landed on the cloud ladders, the energy torrent impact immediately erupted, whistling down.

"Hahaha, come! If Jing Taixu can pass, I, Sun Dasheng, don't believe I can't!" Sun Dasheng laughed wildly at the sky, his hands gripping a golden staff tightly. He swung the staff out, the golden light shattering the air, and with immense force, he smashed it directly into the whistling energy torrent.

Lu Ming's side was not as dramatic. She merely extended her slender jade hand, and as her resonant power flowed, a flickering, somewhat translucent ring of resonant power formed around her wrist.

Seeing this familiar resonant power ring, Li Luo narrowed his eyes slightly.

This was the dual-resonance power of the Unification Realm.

Lu Ming displayed it with exceptional ease.

Lu Ming struck out with her palm, lightning flickering in her palm as a winding lightning python erupted, colliding with the energy torrent.

Boom boom!

On the two cloud ladders, roaring sounds continued, and energy torrents poured down incessantly.

In the end, both Sun Dasheng and Lu Ming's bodies shook, and they retreated two steps, but they ultimately withstood the first wave of energy.

This result was not unexpected.

After all, Sun Dasheng and Lu Ming, like Jing Taixu, were listed as the three favorites to win. Everyone knew these three were the strongest in the One-Star Academy division of this Holy Grail War; if Jing Taixu could hold on, there was no reason they couldn't.

Upon seeing this result, Sun Dasheng and Lu Ming did not seem overly surprised; they turned and descended calmly, returning to the islands where their respective academies were located.

Immediately after, many chief captains from other academies gathered toward these two islands, making them incredibly lively.

"What should we do?"

On the Shengxuanxing Academy side, Yu Lang looked at the three islands that were packed tightly and scratched his head, asking.

Hearing this, Li Luo was just about to speak when his expression shifted. He looked not far away, where a figure was walking across the water, drawing many astonished gazes.

Because that person was Jing Taixu.

Under the gaze of those many eyes, Jing Taixu came directly to the small island where Li Luo and his group were.

"What are you here for?" Li Luo asked, looking at Jing Taixu with some curiosity.

Jing Taixu smiled and said, "Student Li Luo, are you interested in cooperating?"

Li Luo laughed. "Are you still short of partners?"

Jing Taixu said, "The stronger the partner, the easier my path will naturally be. I've heard of your recent battle records. If you are willing to help me, you can keep four tenths of the Spirit-Gathering Altars you harvest in the end."

"Student Li Luo, don't think I'm being greedy; the other partners are required to hand over six tenths."

Li Luo said in surprise, "So kind?"

Jing Taixu said frankly, "I just want to ease the relationship with Student Li Luo. The matter regarding the intelligence about Senior Jiang previously was indeed not handled well by me. I think if you are willing, we can let bygones be bygones and be friends. How about it?"

He wore a smile and extended his hand toward Li Luo.

Li Luo stared at Jing Taixu with great interest.

Beside him, Yu Lang muttered in a voice that wasn't loud but could be heard by everyone, "Why does it feel like this kid wants to use Li Luo as a stepping stone to get close to Senior Jiang?"

Jing Taixu's expression remained unchanged; he just looked at Li Luo.

But after waiting for a moment, Li Luo never reached out to accept his goodwill, so he could only shake his head and pull his hand back.

"It seems Student Li Luo is still quite concerned about my previous actions." Jing Taixu smiled.

Li Luo had no interest in playing these mind games with him here; he pointed to the air above.

"I just feel there is no room for us to cooperate, because my appetite is also quite large. After all, there is still one Spirit-Gathering Altar cluster left over there."

Jing Taixu looked up at the last Spirit-Gathering Altar cluster that no one had yet set foot on, understood Li Luo's meaning, and couldn't help but smile.

"Understood. Student Li Luo has great ambition. Then I hope you succeed."

As his voice fell, he turned and left directly.