Chapter 58: A Big Feast

At the foot of White Spirit Mountain, the air was boiling and clamorous.

On the enormous crystal wall, scores kept shifting and changing, while at the top a section was projecting one fierce battle after another, drawing bursts of exclamations from time to time.

Until a certain moment, the image suddenly shifted, and the picture of two figures confronting each other in a stretch of forest was projected out.

In a pavilion, Cai Wei, who was somewhat bored, was peeling a grape with her jade-like fingers, about to pop it into her rosy little mouth, when her gaze suddenly paused, fixing on the crystal wall.

"That person... seems to be the Young Mansion Master?" Cai Wei said, somewhat surprised.

Hearing this, Yan Yan Lingqing immediately cast her gaze over, and then she saw the two confronting figures.

"It really is."

Cai Wei didn't even bother eating the grape anymore, hurriedly sitting up straight and asking: "Who is he fighting?"

Yan Yan Lingqing didn't recognize the opponent either, but she quickly gleaned the information from the growing clamor around them: "It's the second-ranked student of the Eastern Abyss Academy, named Qin Lian's Weight, sixth-grade phase, eight-seal strength."

"How did this Li Luo go and provoke such a powerful enemy?"

"In the elimination rounds, even if the Young Mansion Master doesn't go provoke others, he'll still be targeted." Cai Wei's willow brows knitted slightly, her beautiful eyes fixed on the image on the crystal wall, unblinking.

Yan Yan Lingqing beside her also grew serious, fully focused, because they understood this would be a tough fight.

Under their rapt attention, Li Luo and Qin Lian's Weight in the image directly engaged, and every fierce clash caused subtle shifts in the expressions of the two women.

However, as the battle wore on, the surprise on their pretty faces grew more and more intense, because they saw that in this fight, Li Luo actually showed not the slightest disadvantage.

Clearly only at seven-seal strength, yet he suppressed his eight-seal opponent dead.

Especially when, at the end, flowing water-light shimmered on Li Luo's Water-Pattern Blade, and a single slash shattered the light armor on Qin Lian's Weight's body—Cai Wei couldn't help but smack the table excitedly with her little hand.

"The Young Mansion Master is so amazing!"

Yan Yan Lingqing beside her also parted her red lips slightly, an undisguisable look of astonishment in her eyes.

She too hadn't expected Li Luo to defeat an eight-seal powerhouse so smoothly.

This brilliant record left no room for any criticism.

She gazed at the image, at Li Luo slowly sheathing his blade—his back view. At this moment, he seemed completely different from the usual honest, well-behaved boy refining Spiritual Water Wonder Light at his workbench.

Now, he appeared far more dazzlingly sharp.

But perhaps, this was the real Li Luo—the gentleness and mischief of daily life was merely masking that edge of his.

"Now, I'm starting to believe he might really be able to break into the top ten." Yan Yan Lingqing chuckled lightly, and at last a look of keen interest surfaced in her cool, clear eyes.

Outside the pavilion, rising waves of exclamations sounded at this same moment—clearly, the outcome of Li Luo and Qin Lian's Weight's battle had shocked quite a number of people.

In the main pavilion, the old dean, Commander Shi, and that instructor An Lie had likewise seen the battle's result.

The old dean's face was wreathed in smiles, an undisguisable smug grin in his eyes, and he immediately said: "The second-ranked student of the Eastern Abyss Academy was actually defeated by my South Wind Academy's fifteenth-ranked Li Luo—haha, how interesting."

"Commander Shi, wouldn't you say?"

Commander Shi's face twitched slightly, and he laughed: "Worthy of being the Young Mansion Master of the Luo Lan Mansion, truly astonishing to the extreme."

"So this is the Young Mansion Master of the Luo Lan Mansion, Li Luo? The one betrothed to Jiang Qing'e?" Instructor An Lie suddenly asked from the side.

The old dean smiled and nodded.

"He's not bad-looking, heh. Although this Li Luo hasn't yet entered the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, his name has long been famous there." Instructor An Lie said with a half-smile.

"Defeating an eight-seal opponent doesn't necessarily mean he can get into the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, does it?" Commander Shi said with a faint smile.

"Then you'd better keep watching closely." The old dean's eyelids lifted, his voice mild and unhurried.

Li Luo naturally had no idea of the heated discussion his battle had sparked outside the mountain. At this moment, he was dragging the unconscious Qin Lian's Weight, heading toward another battle circle.

Pushing aside the thicket, he saw fierce fighting ahead, but to Li Luo's surprise, although the Eastern Abyss Academy clearly had a slight numerical advantage, in the current battle they were being suppressed by Zhao Kuo and Seeing Yu Lang.

Zhao Kuo fully played his meat-shield role, his great axe hacking down again and again, absorbing the brunt of the attacks, while Seeing Yu Lang darted back and forth like the wind, his sharp and tricky strikes aiming straight for the vital points of the three, forcing them into a rather sorry state for the moment.

If things continued like this, it was likely that someone on the opposing side would soon start sustaining injuries.

Li Luo smiled and stepped out.

And the moment he appeared, the fierce battle in the field instantly stalled. Whether it was Zhao Kuo and Seeing Yu Lang, or the three from the Eastern Abyss Academy, all cast shocked gazes his way.

Especially when they saw the unconscious Qin Lian's Weight being dragged along by Li Luo, their shock intensified even further.

"Holy crap, you freak Li Luo—you actually beat Qin Lian's Weight?" Seeing Yu Lang was somewhat dumbfounded.

Li Luo smiled and nodded, then tossed Qin Lian's Weight to the front, his gaze fixing on the three Eastern Abyss Academy students: "Still want to resist?"

Under his stare, the three Eastern Abyss Academy students were scared out of their wits, no longer possessing the courage to fight, and turned to scatter in flight.

But Li Luo had long been prepared. He flicked his fingers repeatedly, and water-light bullets whistled out, exploding right before their eyes. The blinding flash made the three immediately scream out in pain.

Meanwhile, Zhao Kuo and Seeing Yu Lang seized the opportunity, their attacks erupting violently.

In just a short moment, the three wailed and collapsed to the ground.

"Let's split their scores," Li Luo said with a smile.

"Wow, these are really big fish." Seeing Yu Lang's eyes gleamed. Every one of those five had substantial scores, especially Qin Lian's Weight—his score actually reached two thousand four hundred points.

Although his eyes were greedy, Seeing Yu Lang didn't make a move on Qin Lian's Weight's score, and instead said: "Qin Lian's Weight's score, Li Luo, you just take it yourself. Zhao Kuo and I will split the scores of these four."

The combined scores of the other four from the Eastern Abyss Academy added up to over a thousand—not as bountiful as Qin Lian's Weight's, but still a considerable haul.

Hearing this, Li Luo wanted to say something, but Zhao Kuo also laughed: "Brother Luo, you beat Qin Lian's Weight all on your own. We can't take advantage of that, and besides, you have the potential to push for the top ten—no need to fuss over this with us."

Seeing both of them say this, Li Luo didn't stand on ceremony. He took the crystal tablet and cleanly swept up all of Qin Lian's Weight's score.

Seeing Yu Lang and Zhao Kuo's faces broke into greedy smiles, and under the horrified gazes of the four Eastern Abyss Academy students, they wiped them clean to zero.

"Our boss won't let you get away with this!" In their grief and despair, the Eastern Abyss Academy students let out a furious roar, while tears of regret streamed down their faces.

After this big haul, Li Luo's score reached three thousand nine hundred points, while Seeing Yu Lang and Zhao Kuo also reached around two thousand-plus.

Although he couldn't see the scoreboard, by Li Luo's estimate, he should be able to make the top thirty, while Seeing Yu Lang and Zhao Kuo could also make the top hundred.

A smile appeared on his face. Although breaking into the top ten was still some distance away, it wasn't too far now.

"The big brothers of the Eastern Abyss Academy... really are so considerate."

"Wonder if there are any more later?"

The deeper this elimination round goes, the more slippery and tenacious the people who remain become; to snatch points is really not easy, so this Qin Lian's Weight bringing people to deliver a wave of warmth is practically moving enough to make one want to give them an award.

"Let's go, we shouldn't be far from the White Spirit Ruins now."

Li Luo said, then stepped forward, and Zhao Kuo and Seeing Yu Lang followed along as well.

And once they reach the White Spirit Ruins, this elimination round will also enter its most intense phase.

(End of this chapter)