“You!”
Wang Yufeng burned with anger and humiliation. He was clearly the stronger one.
Given his speed, taking an onyx leaf should’ve been a piece of cake for him. But Li Luo had not intended to race him at all. He had simply let his techniques do his work for him.
Superb teamwork had allowed them to triumph. He, on the other hand, had been too arrogant, not bothering to call Song Qiuyu and Difa Jingming to assist.
Although, they couldn’t match his speed either.
In any case, the leaf was in Li Luo’s hand, and many had witnessed his humiliating loss against Li Luo.
He was speedy, but not speedier than an arrow of light.
Wang Yufeng almost wanted to find a hole and bury himself, just to get away from everyone staring at him.
As angry as he was, he didn’t dare to use force against them either.
Firstly, it was against the rules. Secondly, no one would report his violation of the rules, because Jiang Qing’e and her team would cheerfully beat him to a pulp first.
In the end, he quickly returned to his black lotus leaf. “Sorry,” he muttered to Song Qiuyu. “I slipped.”
Li Luo’s gloating smile was directed at her, and she was seized with an impulse to heap scorn and abuse on Wang Yufeng for being useless.
A Fourth Pattern, and one of the speediest in the Two Star Hall, had lost against Li Luo?!
She forced a smile instead. “That had nothing to do with you. Li Luo is cunning. Don’t worry, we can get it next time.”
Wang Yufeng nodded glumly. He had intended to please Song Qiuyu with this clash, but now he was a laughing stock.
The other two onyx leaves had been quickly snatched up by two delighted squads as well.
Meanwhile, the other squads were looking at Wang Yufeng with disgust.
He was top ten in their year, and yet he had lost to Li Luo. What a disgrace.
Jiang Qing’e raised her hand, and the huge sword lifted up and obediently returned to her hand.
“Well?” She turned to her squadmates with a pleased smile.
“Well, that was unexpected as all hell.”
Li Luo’s team had not even set a foot off the lotus leaf, and yet the onyx leaf was in their hand.
Perfect teamwork and strategy—it had thoroughly impressed both Qiu Bai and Tian Tian. In contrast, the arrogant Wang Yufeng’s brute force had fallen flat.
“An excellent leader,” Tian Tian said honestly.
Qiu Bai was in agreement. To be this far behind your opponent and still win the leaf? Even a fool could tell that it wasn’t just mere luck.
Li Luo’s team was something special.
Jiang Qing’e’s eyes shone with delight at her teammates’ recognition. “C’mon, Leader. We gave a few compliments, and you’re preening like a mother hen,” Tian Tian chided.
Jiang Qing’e was usually cool and distant, immune to any sort of flattery. But after they barely acknowledged Li Luo, she was practically cooing.
Jiang Qing’e smiled without reservation. “The most precious thing has been acknowledged. Can’t I be happy?”
Tian Tian swallowed. Somehow, those mushy words didn’t seem to belong in Jiang Qing’e’s vocabulary. Li Luo was clearly incredibly important to her.
Surely their relationship ran deeper than the formality of a promised marriage, right?
Even Tian Tian was starting to feel a little jealous now. Li Luo had to be some kind of god to win this goddess.
Meanwhile, Li Luo had broken up the onyx leaf and handed a third each to Bai Mengmeng and Xin Fu.
“Do we really stick these in our mouths?” Bai Mengmeng asked dubiously, wrinkling her nose at the ugly leaf. It was even leaking some strange pus.
“Bear with it.”
Li Luo and Xin Fu urged her, then they stuffed the leaf into their own mouths. There was some astringency, but they could feel the pressure of the lake’s energy disappear from around them.
“Like magic,” they marveled.
Bai Mengmeng followed suit, scrunching up her face as she tried not to spit it back out.
Meanwhile, the other two squads that had gotten onyx leaves were already eagerly wading into the onyx lake.
“Let’s go,” Li Luo said to them. With a smile in Jiang Qing’e’s direction, he turned and strode down to the onyx lake.
When the three figures vanished into the murky energy haze, Jiang Qing’e turned away.
“Each of the 38 steps in the onyx lake enhances one’s resonant power by a notch if the cultivator can bear the pressure… How many steps do you think Li Luo will make, Leader?” Tian Tian asked.
Qiu Bai smiled. “I recall Leader here setting a record. She reached the 38th step and jumped two stages. That was a real sensation.”
“I think Li Luo will also reach the 38th step,” Jiang Qing’e said confidently.
Her teammates’ eyes widened, then they gave up the topic. Jiang Qing’e could go that far because she had a ninth-grade light resonance. Li Luo might have dual resonances, but they weren’t that strong. Even added together, they couldn’t compete against a ninth-grade light resonance.
So why on earth did Jiang Qing’e regard him so highly…?
Still, Li Luo had worked enough miracles for them to wisely hold their tongues. He had earned a suspension of doubt.
Also, Jiang Qing’e was getting a little too excited about showing off her husband-to-be.