Chapter 0508: Light Spirit Avatar
The brown liquid continued to spray across Jing Taixu's body and even his translucent, green wings, and he soon felt bogged down as though he were in a swamp.
A free mind in an unwilling body.
"Is this... Heavy Water Art?" Jing Taixu, with his wealth of experience, soon figured it out. The Heavy Water Art was an advanced expression of water resonant power, which was often used to lend weight and punch to attacks. This was especially useful for that element, which was not particularly lent to offensive capabilities innately. But Li Luo's creative usage had turned it into a limiter instead.
Still, despite the Heavy Water Art's versatility, being "difficult to dispel" was not one of its many good points.
Jing Taixu mustered his resonant power, preparing to shake it off.
But he realized he could not. His resonant power revved like a tire spinning in mud. It seemed to slough off the droplets, which remained stuck to his body.
"Impossible!" He felt a wave of cold sweat break out.
“This Heavy Water Art is something else! Why is it so hard to remove?!”
Weng!
Li Luo gave Jing Taixu no chance to shake off the trap that he had so painstakingly constructed. He closed the distance, Onyx-Elephant Blade poised at the ready.
A halo of light bloomed around his sword.
Level One Divine Elephant Power!
"Tiger-general resonance art, Thousand Watery Knives Art!"
It was a pity that his resonant bubbles had not yet recovered since he had expended them in the fight against Lu Ming, or this attack would have been stronger still.
But it did not matter. He was a Third Changing, and with the dragonpearl's enhancement, he was already about as strong as Jing Taixu.
His sword sliced out with imperial authority, and the fabric of space parted in submission before it.
Roar!
The faint, signature roar that accompanied tiger-general resonance arts sounded out.
It was a sound that hovered between a rumble and a hum, a low, guttural vibration that people likened to a tiger.
Jing Taixu watched the attack descend upon him, and he knew that there was no way to avoid it.
He did not panic, his handsome features calm.
He had previously dodged Li Luo's attacks only because it was efficient, trying to force his opponent to reveal more of what he was hiding.
He did not fear Li Luo in a straight clash.
Whoosh.
Hand gripping his green plantain fan tightly, he made it glow, gathering wind energy to him in preparation.
The wind spirit avatar rested on the leafy weapon, absorbing all the wind energy that came to it.
Evidently, Jing Taixu did not dare underestimate Li Luo's attack too much, and so he was revealing cards of his own.
"Tiger-general resonance art, Windy Palm!"
Hands sluggish, Jing Taixu dragged his fan before him, and a huge, mint-green palm appeared, sucking in everything before it and creating a path of annihilation.
Weng!
Li Luo's watery knives flew straight at the palm.
Boom!
The ground was covered with low-hanging clouds, and the explosion blew them apart.
Hidden in their cottony depths, rocks were exposed and shattered at the same time.
At the center of the explosion was Li Luo. His water resonant power formed a coat around him.
Tiger-general resonance art, Heavy Water Toga.
He absorbed the resonant power that came flying out, and Li Luo moved forward again, not repelled. His sword glinted coldly.
Dang! Dang!
Jing Taixu could no longer avoid the attacks as easily as he had before. He conserved all his energy and concentrated it into his arms, choosing to parry and chop against Li Luo while holding his ground.
In a few short, intense paces, the two of them exchanged dozens of blows.
Li Luo's Heavy Water Toga was ripped in some places.
Jing Taixu's green wings were equally battered.
Neither showed any mercy or hesitation in their eyes. They met attack with attack, their resonant power bursting out ferociously.
Outside the arena, all eyes were on them.
In terms of resonant power magnitude, neither Li Luo nor Jing Taixu could compare to the other three Halls, and yet their savagery in battle was unparalleled.
This was the final after all. It spoke of Li Luo and Jing Taixu's quality, to have made it this far.
They were some of the greatest talents that the East Divine Continent had produced.
Of course their battle would be legendary.
However, no one knew which way the cauldron of glory would tip towards.
…
Enlightened Sage College's tower.
The white-haired Guo Jiufeng stared at the screen with loathing. "The Astral Sage College's Li Luo is stronger than expected, to force Jing Taixu to this stage."
Behind him were the other Violet Vibrance mentors of the Enlightened Sage College. As the last winners and hosts, they could bring in more people compared to the other schools.
"Li Luo is a dual resonance user too," one Violet Vibrance mentor said. "It's not surprising that he can do this much, but it's not surprising that he can't do more either. This is his limit, and it's highly unlikely that he can beat Jing Taixu."
"After all, not many Fourth Changing cultivators could stand up to him in his current form."
Guo Jiufeng nodded. He too knew Jing Taixu's signature and ultimate move all too well. It was the primary reason why he was not too worried.
He turned over to the Three Star Hall side and sighed. Here, his frustration was real. "Jiang Qing'e... she's really too strong to believe. We thought we had her number, and still she surpassed all calculations."
The other Violet Vibrance mentors all had bitter smiles on their faces too. Compared to the Li Luo-Jing Taixu fight, this one was ridiculously overpowered. They were leveling mountains with their attacks.
The ground was covered in deep scars.
And the source of these disasters was the four-on-one fight in the middle.
Even so, Lu Jinci and the others did not have the upper hand at all.
An angel of war was fighting against the four of them, a glowing specter wielding a heavy sword that brought judgment and pain down upon them.
She was too dazzling to behold.
She alone was worthy of being the highlight of the hall-level competition, the one memory that most would take away from this event.
She was so strong that even the greats of the Four Star Hall were watching enviously.
And behind her was a figure of light, brilliantly clear and shining. It was the image of Jiang Qing'e, save for its four wings. It was absorbing worldly natural energy at supernatural speeds and converting it into light resonant energy, a never-ending source that fueled Jiang Qing'e's attacks.
This four-winged specter was the reason why Jiang Qing'e alone could take on the four of them without breaking a sweat.
Because...
This was a true ninth-grade spirit avatar.