Chapter 490: Encountering Lu Ming Again

The mountain path wound upward along the steep peak, Li Luo strolled along it, sunlight filtering down and being sliced apart by the dense crimson trees, scattering into tiny specks of light upon the moss-covered trail.

The mountain path was eerily silent.

Yet every sight along the way bore the wreckage of battle.

One could imagine how many fierce battles had once erupted upon this path.

Li Luo climbed upward effortlessly, as if merely hiking through the wilderness.

Until he crossed the mid-slope and entered a dense forest, where charred traces appeared intermittently, still lingering with the wild power of Lei Xiang.

On the ground ahead lay three figures.

All three were blackened and blistered, lying on the ground groaning in pain.

Li Luo glanced at them once, his steps unbroken, heading straight for the depths of the forest.

"L-Li Luo?" At that moment, one of the three struggled to speak, pushing himself up.

Li Luo turned his gaze—and smiled. Wasn't this Zhao Zhao Xingying, the one he'd clashed with at the first medium-sized Qi Gathering Altar? He hadn't expected this guy to make it here too—it was no small feat.

"Looks like you're getting eliminated." Li Luo chuckled.

Zhao Zhao Xingying's face was charred; he scowled. "I don't know how you got here so late, but do you really think your own outcome will be any better?"

Li Luo gazed ahead into the forest. "Is it Lu Ming?"

Only Lu Ming, with his Illusion-Thunder Dual Phases, could have crushed Zhao Zhao Xingying and his two companions so thoroughly using Lei Xiang power alone.

Zhao Zhao Xingying winced, then nodded.

"Was Jing Jing Taixu not on this path?" Li Luo asked.

Zhao Zhao Xingying replied, "Jing Jing Taixu and Sun Sun Dasheng aren't here... Apparently they met on another trail."

"Tsk tsk."

Li Luo clicked his tongue. Jing Jing Taixu meeting Sun Sun Dasheng? That was like meteor colliding with meteor. Which would win—the so-called "Marquis Art" of Sun Sun Dasheng, or Jing Jing Taixu's Void Ninth Rank?

But there was no need to dwell on that side—his own situation, in terms of drawing attention, was hardly weaker.

Dual Phase against Dual Phase.

The spectacle would be just as compelling.

Li Luo smiled faintly, said no more to Zhao Zhao Xingying, and stepped forward into the forest's depths.

Back in the Dragon Blood Fire Domain, he'd been outmaneuvered by Lu Ming—though strictly speaking, Jing Jing Taixu was the true culprit, Lu Ming was still an accomplice.

Lu Ming's final move nearly wiped out their entire team.

If Lü Qing'er hadn't possessed the "Ice Nightmare Armor" technique, he himself might not have made it this far.

Though he'd ultimately survived by luck, all their prior efforts had been rendered useless—the vast quantities of Tian Ling Dew collected amounted to nothing, and the thought left him feeling stifled.

So this grudge had to be settled.

He'd worried he might never encounter her—but now, meeting here, it couldn't be better.

As he thought this, Li Luo stepped into the depths, and a forest clearing appeared before him. He slowed to a stop, his gaze calm and indifferent as he stared ahead.

Upon a branch of a massive tree sat a slender figure, leaning against the trunk, her cold, beautiful eyes looking down from above.

It was Lu Ming.

"Li Luo... I didn't expect you to escape the Dragon Blood Fire Domain?" Lu Ming's gaze fixed on him, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

"Thanks to you."

Li Luo smiled. "My teammates who got eliminated told me to come to Dragon Bone Island and beat you up for them."

Lu Ming made no reply, speaking coolly: "I think you'll disappoint them."

Quite a cold, proud disposition.

Li Luo smiled, clenched his palm—and Zhu Xuan Xiang Dao materialized. Ancient, straight blade shimmered with phase power, a faint hum rising as its edge vibrated, slicing the air silently, leaving faint traces like ripples on water.

Lu Ming's expression remained calm, yet inwardly she sighed with regret. The design of the Dragon Blood Fire Domain had been flawless—nearly the entire Shengxuan Star Academy and Shengming Wang Academy teams had been wiped out, while she and her teammates advanced into Dragon Bone Island, giving her a numerical advantage.

But unfortunately, fortune hadn't continued to favor her.

Shortly after entering Dragon Bone Island, she encountered Sun Sun Dasheng's team, and a bloody clash ensued.

Both sides suffered losses, but eventually reached a reluctant truce.

Yet their strength had been depleted; as she pushed her team through to the finals, facing deliberate ambushes from other academies, her members were steadily eliminated—until now, she was alone.

But in a certain sense, her goal had already been achieved.

Because Jing Jing Taixu and Sun Sun Dasheng had collided—only one of them would survive, and whichever it was, she could still reap the benefits, since her only major rivals were gone.

Yet she hadn't anticipated Li Luo's late arrival.

That meant her scheme in the Dragon Blood Fire Domain had failed—Jing Jing Taixu and Li Luo, the two big fish, had slipped through.

But she quickly suppressed that thought; the current situation still favored her.

Among the three strong foes—Jing Jing Taixu, Sun Sun Dasheng, and Li Luo—she naturally preferred Li Luo. Though he too was a Dual Phase, he was only at the Second Transformation of the Transformation Stage, and both his phases were inferior in rank to hers.

In every aspect, she dominated Li Luo.

She had no reason to lose this battle.

Very well—let's use this Li Luo to warm up.

After all, this was her first time facing an opponent who was also a Dual Phase.

Let's hope it's a bit more interesting.

Lu Ming's face remained cold as she reached up and slowly removed a golden hairpin from her hair. Golden light flowed along the pin, faint thunder patterns visible upon it, occasional sparks of Lei Guang flickering. Holding it, she channeled phase power—the hairpin stretched and elongated, transforming into a slender golden longsword.

Though calling it a sword seemed inaccurate—it resembled more a very long golden needle.

With the hairpin removed, her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, swaying gently in the wind.

She leapt from the branch, her lithe form landing lightly before Li Luo. Powerful phase power erupted from her body—Lu Ming's phase energy glowed silver, with violent bursts of Lei Guang leaping within it, yet somehow giving an unreal, illusory impression.

Illusion-Thunder Dual Phase.

Lu Ming clearly had no intention of holding back; as her dual-phase power erupted, a silver aura of phase power manifested upon her slender golden needle hairpin, radiating astonishing energy fluctuations.

Dual-phase power, He Yi Jing.

She had revealed her dual-phase power right from the start.

A sense of oppression arose spontaneously and spread outward.

"Li Luo, show me your He Yi Jing. I do not wish to waste more time here," Lu Ming said indifferently, pointing the golden slender sword in her hand, which crackled with Lei Guang, at Li Luo.

Hearing this, Li Luo did not speak; dual-phase power surged within his body, and as the blade vibrated, a phase power aura similarly manifested.

He raised his head and looked at Lu Ming with a smile, but just as the smile appeared, his gaze suddenly darted behind Lu Ming, and a look of shock surfaced on his face.

"Jing Jing Taixu?!"

Hearing this, Lu Ming's heart also suddenly trembled, and she immediately could not help but turn her head to look behind her.

However, upon looking, it was empty; Jing Jing Taixu's figure had not appeared.

Buzz!

And just at this moment, a sharp phase power fluctuation suddenly erupted from before her; an exceptionally sharp blade light, seeming to carry the sound of flowing water waves, ruthlessly slashed down hard at her face.

A trace of anger flashed through Lu Ming's eyes.

This Li Luo, though good-looking, was unexpectedly so cunning and lacking in gentlemanly conduct.

Would he even deceive a girl?

The blade light was as swift as wind and thunder; in a single flash, it ruthlessly struck Lu Ming's snow-white, slender neck.

What a sight of ruthless destruction of a flower.