Chapter 31: Encountering A Strong Enemy

The uproar beneath the stage continued until Yu Lang was quickly carried away on a stretcher. Despite the din dying down, looks of complete astonishment and horror were still levied upon Li Luo.

They were terrified by Li Luo's absolutely merciless blow!

Li Luo was speechless at this, silently cursing that bastard Yu Lang. That vagrant had dragged his name through the mud!

As he stood on the stage, his gaze sweeped the four directions before finally pausing on a particular seat.

Song Yunfeng was sitting right there with a group of friends, gaily chatting. When he noticed Li Luo's stare, he raised his head and returned him an indifferent look before continuing with what he was doing.

Li Luo was also uninterested in giving him a piece of his mind, so he turned to leave.

"Brother Luo, you are truly ferocious! Even Yu Lang was ruined by you!" Zhao Kuo praised as he ran over.

"That brat is just putting on a show." Li Luo had a good understanding of his opponent's strength, and if they had continued brawling, he might be the eventual victor, but that would have taken quite a while.

Judging by today's results, his current battle strength was on par with that of a Seventh Seal. Entering the top 20 would not be a problem.

All that remained were the last two battles tomorrow. If he was able to win both, he would definitely enter the top 20 and could finally take a breather.

It was said that once the top 20 had been determined, they could choose to continue battling to determine their ranking amongst the group. Li Luo was not interested in this competition as simply being one of the twenty meant he would be qualified to participate in the College Final Examinations. Thus, there was no need to engage in this meaningless battle.

If he had time, he'd much rather practice refining spirit liquids and purifying lights.

After the battles for the day ended, Li Luo did not immediately leave the academy, as the pairings for the battles on the following day would be released soon.

He wanted to know who he would be up against.

Luckily, he did not have to wait long, as an hour later, a metallic ringing resounded throughout the field. Li Luo and Zhao Kuo both made their way to a stone pillar.

The stone pillar was surrounded by numerous students, and Li Luo quickly glanced over the flowing characters on the projection screen. Very quickly, he managed to find his opponents for the next day.

His first opponent was a Seventh Seal student from the First School. This opponent was known to be significantly weaker than Yu Lang and would not pose a threat to him.

Unfortunately, when he discovered who his second opponent was, his gaze gradually narrowed into a squint. 

"Brother Luo! What a disaster! Your final opponent is Song Yunfeng!" Zhao Kuo cried out almost involuntarily when he discovered Li Luo's opponent.

Indeed, Li Luo's final opponent was the second strongest student in the First School, Song Yunfeng!

Some of the other students had also heard the commotion, and pitiful looks fell upon him.

Although Li Luo had recently managed to make a comeback, even managing to beat Yu Lang today, it looked as though his lucky streak had ended.

"Song Yunfeng is apparently at the Eighth Seal! Shit! It doesn't get unluckier than this" Zhao Kuo sighed as he also felt pity towards Li Luo.

Li Luo, on the other hand, didn't seem too concerned. "None of those that have survived till the end are weaklings. It's not that unusual to encounter him."

"No worries! Even if you lose a round tomorrow, your place in the top 20 is basically set in stone," Zhao Kuo said, intending to console Li Luo.

Although Li Luo smiled and nodded upon hearing those words, his eyes held a trace of gloominess. No one knew exactly what he was thinking.

On the other side of the field, Song Yunfeng had also managed to identify his opponents for the next day. Upon seeing that his opponent was going to be Li Luo, he stared at the screen for a good half a minute in a daze before revealing a vicious smile.

"You've had such a glum face the entire time today, yet you're suddenly smiling? Why the change?" Difa Qing, who had been following him around, asked curiously.

"Well, that is because I finally get to face off against an opponent that brings me joy! I never thought heaven would grant me my greatest wish!" Song Yunfeng beamed.

At this point, Difa Qing noticed Song Yunfeng's opponent for tomorrow. "Wow, so it's going to be Li Luo? I suppose that's normal since both of you have had a streak of victories. The chances of this happening weren't small... However, his luck isn't great. His winning streak ends now, I suppose," Difa Qing replied, slightly shocked. She had a clear understanding of Song Yunfeng's might, and Lu Qing'er was the only student in Southwind Academy with the strength to suppress him. Even though Li Luo had finally started to ascend to the skies, there was still an insurmountable gap between him and Song Yunfeng!

She could already imagine the scene of tomorrow's battle. It would be no different from crushing dried and rotten branches underfoot for Song Yunfeng.

Furthermore, she also knew that Song Yunfeng absolutely detested Li Luo, whether it was due to personal matters or the struggle between their families. Thus, as soon as the battle commenced, Song Yunfeng would utilize the quickest measures to savagely crush Li Luo, bashing him into the ground.

For a brief moment, Difa Qing even felt a trace of pity for Li Luo. The result was already predetermined.

However, Li Luo truly had it coming! If he knew that Song Yunfeng liked Lu Qing'er, why had he not distanced himself from her? After all, an envious man that had been provoked would not act rationally.

Li Luo, on the other hand, left the academy as soon as he saw who his opponents were for the next day. Zhao Kuo could only say goodbye with a look of sympathy on his face.

Whilst on the carriage back, Li Luo's eyes were closed as he remained deep in thought.

The battle with Song Yunfeng the next day would be unimaginably difficult. The opponent was at the Eighth Seal and possessed significantly denser resonant power. Furthermore, he also had a seventh-grade Crimson Eagle resonance.

Seventh to ninth-grade resonances were considered high-grade, and thus Song Yunfeng's resonance fell in that category.

One should not underestimate what a high-grade resonance was capable of. The power produced by a seventh-grade resonance was not the same realm as middle-grade or low-grade resonances. The resonant power was denser and also possessed some form of spirituality.

Spirituality was a difficult concept to explain; it was something that was ephemeral and could only be experienced when it was used on one's opponents. 

Thus, the seventh-grade could be considered to be a watershed. Those who could cross this gap would be in possession of an almighty resonance. 

Additionally, within the threshold of a high-grade resonance, they were also further classified into upper and lower distinctions. This was not applicable for first to sixth-grade resonances, and it allowed one to better differentiate the potential within these high-grade resonances.

Song Yunfeng's Crimson Eagle Resonance was a lower seventh-grade.

Thus, regardless of resonant power or resonance grade, Li Luo was one step behind Song Yunfeng, and this battle was clearly not in his favor.

No one had high hopes for the battle between the two. Even Li Luo himself was no exception.

"This is truly very troublesome," Li Luo mumbled to himself. Although his waterlight resonance was unique in its own way, it was still only a fifth-grade resonance. Even though the spirit liquids and purifying lights refined by it were not inferior to what a seventh-grade resonance could refine, this was not applicable in the context of a battle. His resonance was unlikely to have any advantages in a head-on collision. 

If he could somehow temper the waterlight resonance to the sixth-grade by tomorrow, he would definitely feel less pressure. Despite constantly chewing through his supply of spirit liquids and purifying lights, he had still been unable to increase the grade. More time was needed, and this was not enough to put out the inferno burning at his gate.

"Should I just concede instantly?" Li Luo scratched his head. This was honestly a possible choice. No matter how he considered the situation, this was the most normal and expected potion. Everyone knew of the huge gap between the two and that it was basically uncrossable. If he knew the result but still persisted, would that not make him a masochist? 

Li Luo continued to ponder. He had no plans to visit Suncreek Villa today, so he went straight home. Even if there was no alternative choice, he would still prepare himself for the worst.