Tang!

Ripples of resonant power pulsed out from the epicenter of the clash.

The ripples carried the three fighters with them, sending all of them flying. They painfully crashed on the ground outside of the training area.

All three lay inert, clothes tattered and torn.

Bai Mengmeng looked between Li Luo and Bai Doudou, then ran towards Li Luo. After all, they were still in battle. She belonged to Li Luo's team.

Bai Mengmeng carefully helped him up. Dark blood was drippinig from all ten of his fingers. "Leader, are you alright?" she asked anxiously.

His rapturous smile was a jarring contrast to her worried frown. He looked down at his hands. He had felt it. In that moment, his two resonant powers had melded.

It was brief, it had hurt him as well, but it had succeeded. His dual resonance cultivation had made another step forward.

Bai Doudou and Qiu Luo were crawling to their feet as well, looking stunned.

"That's... dual resonance power?" Bai Doudou was appalled. Li Luo's resonant power was clearly weaker than hers. Yet in a straight clash against the combined strength of her and Qiu Luo's Mistral Knights' Charge, both parties had suffered equally.

The burst of power at that crucial moment had been incredible!

"He did it?" Qiu Luo said in disbelief. Dual resonances should be the right of Duke experts, for goodness’ sake! How could a puny Resonant Master like Li Luo get it so fast?

"No way."

Bai Doudou shook her head. "If he really mastered it, the fight wouldn't even have lasted this long. He must have squeezed it out by luck at that crucial moment."

She looked over at Yu Lang, who was sprawled on the ground. She nudged him with a foot. "Are you alive?"

He was lying in a steam cloud of his own sweat, his skin ruddy from overheating.

"Doesn't feel like it," he wheezed.

"What's up with him?" Li Luo had walked over as well, puzzled. Yu Lang had been running non-stop since the start of the battle. It made no sense.

"A unique art of Mentor Mi Er, the Wind Harvester. It's said that when our mentor only had a sixth-grade resonance, he used this unique resonance art to make up for the disparity between himself and the other talents of his generation.

"The art requires the user to constantly channel wind resonant power while running. Through continued friction between wind and skin, a powerful energy is built up for a very short period of time...

"But intense agony accompanies the friction. Each use of the move is torture. Mentor Mi Er asked us who was interested in learning it. Qiu Luo and I didn't choose it. Yu Lang alone did."

Li Luo fell silent. Bai Doudou and Qiu Luo had no need for such an art. They were naturally talented and therefore had no need to kill themselves during each battle for such brief power. Yu Lang had chosen it because he had no other choice.

If he wanted to stand on the same stage as other skilled fighters like Bai Doudou and Qiu Luo, he had to pursue power in every way he could.

Mentor Mi Er's Wind Harvester was indeed well suited for him.

Although Yu Lang showed a slovenly face most of the time, there was an inner steel in him that could match the best of them.

This might well be his only real advantage. His skills were painfully inferior to the other Violet Vibrance students.

Li Luo stretched out a hand to the boiled lobster on the floor, who groaned. "Li Luo, I haven't mastered Wind Harvester yet. When I do, I'll show you my prowess."

"I don't know why you're insisting on this. Look at you. You're not fit to be in a Violet Vibrance squad. Don't kill yourself. Go to a Gold Gleam squad, where you can be comfortable. Staying here will tire you out. It tires all of us out," Qiu Luo snapped.

"Woah," Li Luo frowned. "That’s a little harsh, isn't it?"

"Am I wrong?" she asked acidly. "If he didn't drop the ball today, our Mistral Knights' Charge would not have lacked a wedge point. Even with your clutch dual resonance skill, you would have lost without question.

"Don't you dare call me out just because he's your friend. He's not on your team. You're not the one paying the price for his weakness."

"I just think there's no need to hate on Yu Lang just because he's weaker," Li Luo said mildly. "No one knows the future. What if Yu Lang overtakes you someday? If that time comes, should he kick you off the team for being a burden?" 

"That will never happen. Your fantasy example holds no weight."

"Hey, forget it." Yu Lang hastily interjected. "I did drag my team down. She's right that I'm barely scraping by in a Violet Vibrance squad. So...

"... I will use this chance to improve myself here as much as I can, and live up to the expectations of a Violet Vibrance student!" he vowed.

Qiu Luo had been hoping that Yu Lang would realize the disparity through this battle and give up. But his sudden change in attitude slapped her smugness right back at her.

Li Luo grinned. Yes, this was the shameless rascal he knew. As if he was going to let some words get him down. That was a severe underestimation of just how durable his ego was.

"Enough! All of you shut up!" Bai Doudou shouted, seeing Qiu Luo ready to argue.

"Yu Lang's skills are unusable at the present," she said to Qiu Luo. "But that doesn't mean you can slight his efforts up till now. You and I both know the agony of cultivating Wind Harvester. But whether Yu Lang is qualified to stay or otherwise is not our decision, it's Mentor Mi Er's. So stop talking about useless things."

She turned to Yu Lang. "You are the weakest link in the squad, no doubt. But I hope you can turn that shame into drive and catch up quickly."

Yu Lang nodded with some shame, quailing before her anger.

Li Luo was seized with a sudden urge to laugh. Yu Lang's impudence had the tenacity of a hydra, but it had been totally quashed by Bai Doudou's temper. There was always someone stronger out there.

Outside the training field.

"Seems like we can roughly call it a draw," Chi Chan said.

Mi Er nodded. "Li Luo's quite something. Already touching the power of dual resonances? It might be volatile and brief, but it's a good start.

"When he really masters the beginner level of dual resonances, he will put on a real show in the monthly battle. The son of Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan really lives up to their reputation."

"Your side is doing well also," Chi Chan replied. "They got the Mistral Knights' Charge down quickly. But I must say, the one that surprised me most was Yu Lang...

"Wind Harvester is not something that just anyone can bear. I know that some students have tried it, but I don't recall any who didn't give up. Will Yu Lang be the first?"

Mi Er smiled and shrugged. "Who knows... but Yu Lang has a tenacity that surpasses his talent. In a way, Wind Harvester is perfectly suited for him. He should know what a precious chance this offers him. I believe he won't give up easily.

"His performance is quite unstable. It's a bit like panning. You never know when a bit of gold will show up."

Chi Chan nodded.

The monthly battles would be the time for these young talents to show off their accomplishments.

A donkey or a stallion? It would all be clear on the racetrack.

"Oh yes..." Mi Er suddenly said. "I heard that the Umbra Cave is about to open."

Chi Chan nodded gravely.

"A little early this time, isn't it?" He frowned.

A look of foreboding flashed past her eyes, and she sighed deeply.

"It means the principal's seals have been broken early."

The two sat for a moment in a dark and worried silence.

This was not good news at all.