Chapter 0505: I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours
Low clouds were hanging around the peak of the mountain in a knee-high carpet that obscured the ground they stood on. Jing Taixu turned, sensing eyes on him.
"Li Luo. So you weren't eliminated in the Dragon's Belly after all," Jing Taixu said lightly, looking not at all surprised.
"But the fact that you are here proves that my instinct was right. You are the most dangerous person to me in the hall-level competition."
Li Luo eyed Jing Taixu carefully. The latter's clothes were torn—clearly the battle with Sun Dasheng had been an epic one.
"Looks like the stone monkey didn't manage to stop you," Li Luo noted.
He had fought Sun Dasheng before, so he knew how strong he was. The Duke Art he practiced was a powerful trump card that Jing Taixu had clearly overcome.
A rather intimidating prospect.
"Don't worry about that Duke Art." Jing Taixu smiled, seemingly reading his mind. "It's not actually a genuine Duke Art, just a hacked version to help inflate his reputation.
"Of course, even an imitation of a Duke Art is strong enough to pose a real threat, even to me. I had to pull out a few tricks of my own; otherwise, he really would have gotten the better of me."
He spoke with a hint of arrogance in his voice.
"And you as well—I'm amazed you could beat Lu Ming. She should have you beat, no matter how you look at it," he said guardedly.
"Just a few tricks of my own." Li Luo brushed it off modestly.
"There's no trickery in a fight like that. You're too modest."
"Well, thank you for that high praise, then," Li Luo said lazily, pulling out his Onyx-Elephant Blade. "Well, I guess it's about time to settle things between us now."
"Is this because of what happened before? That's none of my business." Jing Taixu shrugged. "The school wanted to target Jiang Qing'e, since she's way too strong in the Three Star Hall."
"It's a stupid move to anger her," Li Luo stated. "Your Lu Jinci is going to be buried alive. If it wasn't for the fact that you can't kill people here, I would tell you to save yourself the trouble of digging him up and just light a couple of joss sticks right there and then."
"Perhaps," Jing Taixu said indifferently. "I don't really care either way. I'm just here to take the strongest student title for myself."
"Well, you'll have to ask my friend Blade here," Li Luo said, waggling the Onyx-Elephant Blade.
Jing Taixu laughed softly. "Do you really think you can beat me, Li Luo?"
He stepped forward.
Boom!
A terrifying wave of green wind power roared out like a tempest from a different dimension, leaving scarring furrows across the land.
Li Luo grimaced.
This wasn't Third Changing power!
"You're already a Fourth Changing!" he hissed.
So this was Jing Taixu's trump card! He had another ascension stocked up! And yet somehow, there was a strange hollowness to Jing Taixus resonant power. Perhaps his breakthrough had not come entirely through his own strength.
Regardless, it was a monstrous achievement to get this far while still in the One Star Hall. Although the Holy Grail Meet meant a larger supply of resources from the school, Jing Taixu's potential and strength were indisputable.
Even Jiang Qing'e had only managed to reach the Second Changing when she was in the One Star Hall, although no one had forced her to her limits back then.
Then again, Jiang Qing'e's situation was special. She had actively repressed her own cultivation level, so it was hard to tell.
Jiang Qing'e's power was truly a mystery.
"I wanted to hide it a bit longer, but Sun Dasheng forced me to reveal it with his blasted moves," Jing Taixu said wistfully.
If not for Sun Dasheng, this powerful trump card could have been hidden until a fortuitous moment in the fight with Li Luo. It would have been a powerful advantage.
No matter. Even with it revealed, he was confident that it was enough to beat Li Luo.
"You see the gap between us now, Li Luo. It's not something that you can overcome. If what I see is all you've got, then this final is mine for the taking."
Li Luo stood in silence for a moment. His opponent had a quasi ninth-grade wind resonance and was at the Fourth Changing. Indeed, the gap was large.
Not even dual resonances was enough to close the two-tier difference. Not when his opponent was brilliant enough to fight above his own tier as well.
"Well, a Fourth Changing is indeed a little tiring to fight," Li Luo sighed.
"Not afraid?" Jing Taixu noted. "Looks like you still have more up your sleeve."
Li Luo laughed gaily. "Well, I really didn't hide it... In fact, I gained it. And it's all thanks to you.
"I picked up a little something back at the Dragon's Belly."
He walked forward slowly, gathering energy within him.
Energy that rose and rose, until finally it shattered the invisible barrier within him.
Li Luo reached the Third Changing. This was not as surprising as it sounded. He was already at the peak of the Second Changing when the Holy Grail Meet had started. The dragon's bloodfire absorbed by the black plaque had helped him push his resonant power a notch higher.
Just like with Jing Taixu, he had wanted to hold this back for a more opportune moment.
He had even hidden it against Lu Ming.
But now he was forced to reveal it.
Jing Taixu's newfound strength had to be met with something closer, or he would pay too heavy a price in battle.
"Break in case of emergency," Li Luo said casually. "Isn't that what they tell you to do?"
Jing Taixu was taken aback, but he quickly recovered. "It changes nothing. I still have the advantage in cultivation level."
Li Luo laughed again. "You think that's the end of it?"
Jing Taixu's eyes narrowed.
Li Luo produced a garnet-colored dragonpearl in his hand, weighing the heavy sphere for a moment.
He put it into his mouth, and a dragon's roar rang out within his cranium. He felt a surge of energy fill him.
His resonant power grew even stronger than before. Jing Taixu was looking graver and graver by the second.
Li Luo's resonant power was on par with his now.
He knew that he had been right about Li Luo. This silver-haired boy was the greatest threat to him in the competition.
But Jing Taixu did not panic. He smiled, ready to accept the challenge. His green plantain fan fluttered like a flag of war.
Beating an opponent like this would make his strongest student title all the more real!