Duze Beixuan's Bulk Up tiger-general resonance art was nothing new to Li Luo. He had studied it before—it was the best compliment for beast resonances. With their already superior bodies, any further strength synergized well to create an even greater advantage. This tiger-general resonance art was almost mandatory for all beast resonance cultivators.
Which was why Li Luo knew exactly how much trouble he was in when Duze Beixuan's chest started to swell up in size.
Boom!
Duze Beixuan stomped the ground with godly strength, propelling himself forward. His battleaxe was raised, going straight for Li Luo's head.
Li Luo's swords flared blue in response.
Ding!
Li Luo parried, but the sheer brute strength made Duze Beixuan's weapon more bat than battleaxe. The mighty swing sent Li Luo flying, his arms trembling from the impact.
He was completely outclassed this time.
Despite his knowledge, he had underestimated his opponent's strength.
The wind had whooshed out of Li Luo, and he was bleeding in a few places. Duze Beixuan came at him again, raining down blows again and again.
Li Luo parried desperately, his Water Edge a blur as his sword danced swiftly.
Ding! Ding!
They exchanged a few dozen more blows, and Li Luo was fully on the retreat. With one final Waterlight Demon Mirror to stave him off, Li Luo leaped up on top of a tree.
He put his swords together, the beasts on the hilts biting against each other to form a bow of blue silver. He drew, and an arrow of fluid light appeared.
"Plenty of parlor tricks... and no game!" Duze Beixuan sneered, leaping at Li Luo.
He calmly locked on to the charging Duze Beixuan and let fly.
Dewlight Skystream Arrow!
Weng!
It streaked out with blistering speed.
Duze Beixuan's eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by the speed.
Still, he was not Shi Huang. He was far beyond Shi Huang in all aspects, and so he dealt with Li Luo's unconventional attack calmly.
Waves of resonant power started to pulse from the tip of his battleaxe, overlapping with each other until they formed a robust shield.
He spun the battleaxe like a windmill, forming a solid barrier.
Ding!
The Skystream Arrow drew sparks as it scraped and shrieked against the axe, stirring up waves in the nearby creek.
Duze Beixuan was as shaken as his barrier. That attack had managed to break his rhythm, forcing him back.
The penetrative power of that arrow was astounding.
"A tiger-general resonance art?" Duze Beixuan thought, staggered. It had the penetrative power of a tiger-general resonance art, yet it seemed to lack a certain amount of punch at the back.
He looked up warily, only to see Li Luo already drawing his next arrow.
The Dewlight Skystream Arrow was a combination of two advanced resonance arts, but it was far less draining than a true tiger-general resonance art. With his Resonant Master power, he could use a few more.
If one was not enough to break Duze Beixuan's defense, then he would shoot two! Three!
Weng! Weng!
Two more shots exploded forth with a boom, as if they had broken the sound barrier. Two more Skystream arrows lanced towards Duze Beixuan's face and chest.
Duze Beixuan hurriedly began to spin his battleaxe again.
Ding! Ding!
Two more shots landed on the battleaxe barrier, the force enough to make it falter. A gap opened up in his defense.
Weng!
Another Skystream Arrow broke past the defense, aimed straight at the soft spot between Duze Beixuan's legs.
Duze Beixuan felt an instinctive shrinking of said parts in fear, and he hurriedly brought his battleaxe down to alter the arrow's course slightly.
It passed between his legs, but the rifling wind behind it was enough to score blood on both his legs. Fresh blood running down both his legs was a scary sight.
Duze Beixuan wiped cold sweat off his brow as he glared up at Li Luo, more furious than ever.
"Are you alright? Need me to help you with some healing? I have a water resonance, it’s very good at healing," Li Luo said.
At the same time, he was drawing his bow again, sending another Skystream Arrow headed straight for Duze Beixuan.
"Li Luo, I'll kill you!"
Duze Beixuan howled and struck out at it with his battleaxe. He was red in the face now, and he suddenly pointed at Li Luo, opening his mouth. "AWWWGH!"
A deafening sonic blast boomed like the roar of a beast.
The blast of the sound made Li Luo falter, and his Skystream Arrow's power was lessened significantly.
Although Li Luo quickly recovered, he immediately gave up his arrow attack. Instead, he sent out a hail of Waterlight Bullets and retreated hastily.
Just in time. The battleaxe slammed down right where he was standing a moment ago.
Duze Beixuan had capitalized on his momentary reprieve to counterattack.
He had seen Li Luo's strongest move now—that light arrow with supernatural speed and penetrating power. He would not let himself become the target again.
Li Luo's own quick reactions confounded Duze Beixuan briefly with his Waterlight Bullets. He landed in the creek, water resonance power swirling at his feet.
In a flash, he was drawing again, aiming another light arrow at Duze Beixuan.
He had fallen back smoothly, with the practiced moves of an experienced fighter.
Duze Beixuan was growing more and more frustrated at Li Luo's slipperiness. He was only a Lower Clear, but those strange arrows, that damned reflecting mirror, and those confounded Waterlight Bullets had foiled him time and again.
"Let's see how many more you can shoot!"
Duze Beixuan snarled. Li Luo was only a Lower Clear, so his resonant power should be far inferior to Duze Beixuan's own. If the battle dragged on, an opening would appear eventually, and he would pounce then.
And so the two continued fighting, from the bank to the creek. Using the flowing water to his advantage, Li Luo continued to keep his distance, sending a relentless stream of light arrows. Duze Beixuan pursued him endlessly, trying to close the distance while he fended off the attacks.
On a nearby mountain, Shen Jinxiao stood with his arms crossed, watching the heated battle in the creek. Li Luo was holding out a lot better than he had expected.
Still, Li Luo had yet to show any miraculous potential, which was comforting to him.
Even though he was the young lord of House Luolan, a barely above average student like himself would not warrant a Violet Vibrance mentor going out on a limb for him.
"Just you wait, Li Luo. When you find out you're left scrambling for a Gold Gleam mentor, you'll come begging for the precious violet talisman I offered you..."
And once Li Luo was in his grasp, the bait would make Jiang Qing'e cooperative.
He let a small smile show, his eyes blazing with a mad obsession.
"Qing'e, you will not escape me."