"What did you just say?"

Li Luo looked at the battered Song Yunfeng with polite puzzlement. The latter was a miserable wreck on the floor. Li Luo's single slash had creamed him.

Flecks of blood could be seen on Song Yunfeng's lips. "You, you're an Eighth Seal?" He looked up at Li Luo in disbelief. "Impossible!" In that clash, Li Luo's resonant power had been a match for his own.

Moreover, he was deeply shaken by how pure Li Luo's water resonance power was. And the robust, mature feel to it—it felt like a seventh-grade water resonance!

Wasn't his water resonance a fifth-grade?

Song Yunfeng wondered if he was dreaming.

Li Luo let out a soft sigh. "Well, that's a tale that starts 16 years ago. I had just been weaned, and on that day..."

Song Yunfeng was listening closely.

He did not hear Li Luo lean forward, waterlight gathering under his feet as he zipped over to Song Yunfeng and slashed at him brutally again.

Song Yunfeng hurriedly parried, but the force of the slash forced him to a single knee. "You tricked me?!" he yelled. 

"Very clever, you have seen through me."

Li Luo encouraged him. Another kick flashed out whip-like into Song Yunfeng's chest, sending him flying face-first into mud.

Before he could stand up, Li Luo was on him again, his sword twinkling and roaring with the power of a tidal wave.

Song Yunfeng was overrun. An Eighth Seal Li Luo with equivalent matching power and tricks up his sleeve—it was keeping him so busy that he had no time to think.

Tricks unbecoming of the young lord of House Luolan!

Li Luo had soon carved Song Yunfeng up like a turkey. He was a woeful, bleeding sight.

He knew that things could not go on like that. With a primal scream, his own resonant power burst forth, charging Li Luo recklessly with a scarlet spear.

Li Luo lifted a palm up, and waterlight seemed to shimmer before him. "Giga Reflection Art!"

Hearing this shout, Song Yunfeng recalled how Li Luo's sneaky Water Mirror Art had reflected his power on him, even though he was only a Sixth Seal then. Now that he was much stronger, wouldn't the Water Mirror Art's reflective ability be even stronger?

Song Yunfeng pulled up short at the last moment, checking his strength.

To his horror, no water mirror formed before Li Luo. Instead, all he saw was a handsome face grinning smugly at him.

"Gotcha."

Li Luo chuckled. He darted forth with the Ripple Blade, its Water Edge spinning so fast that it was humming.

One chop from Li Luo neatly severed Song Yunfeng's spear in two.

Dong!

The ring of steel, then Song Yunfeng was staring at his broken spear, stricken.

The blade came down on him again.

"Ah!"

He screamed, fresh blood spurting from his chest.

Li Luo heard a rustle in the wind behind him and saw a black-faced Shi Huang charging over.

"LI LUO, HOW DARE YOU!" Shi Huang yelled, loud enough to make his eardrums throb.

Li Luo ignored him, sending the pathetic Song Yunfeng flying with a kick. His other leg casually hooked up the broken spear and sent it flying.

Weng!

The broken spear pierced Song Yunfeng's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

Shi Huang had arrived. Furious, he sent a spear lancing towards Li Luo, jerking from its electrical charge.

Li Luo moved backwards easily, landing on a wall. "Hey," he said cheerfully, "rushing back for dinner?"

Shi Huang's eyes flicked over to Song Yunfeng, dangling from the wall. He frowned. The latter was heavily injured, his fighting ability temporarily nullified by Li Luo.

He looked back, the anger in his eyes fading away. "Li Luo, everyone underestimated you.

"You are the one in Southwind Academy whose waters run deepest."

Li Luo smiled. "You're too kind."

Shi Huang's expression was neutral. "No need to get a swollen head over it. The game is in motion now. You'll change nothing."

"Well, I won't know if I don't try," Li Luo said with a small smile. "I have just one thought right now..."

His gaze swung back and forth between Shi Huang and Song Yunfeng. "As Yu Lang said... to dip you two in the latrines."

Shi Huang shook his head. Useless words. He lifted his spear, pointing it at Li Luo. "Enough with the bluster. You're only making a bigger fool out of yourself.

"Show me what you got, Li Luo. Otherwise... I will wipe the floor with House Luolan's reputation."

With those final words, his lightning resonance crackled into life, his Ninth Seal resonant power brought fully to bear.

Bang!

Shi Huang shot forth with a low rumble, his speed bewildering the eye. Truly a terrifying lightning resonance.

Weng!

In a few breaths, he was already in front of Li Luo, his lightning spear seeming to slice the fabric of reality itself as he thrust it.

It crackled ominously.

Li Luo responded with his strongest offensive skill, the Water Edge Art. He charged his blue resonant power to its maximum.

His twin blades sliced out, leaving faint traces of blue light in their wake.

Ding!

Blade and spear clashed, generating an impact that scattered the gravel.

In this straight clash, Shi Huang did not budge an inch, whereas Li Luo was sent skidding backwards. A clear advantage for Shi Huang.

"Eighth Seal resonant power...

"But such purity. I couldn't destroy your body with my lightning resonance."

Despite his advantage, Shi Huang looked slightly troubled. There was a bizarre purity to Li Luo's resonant power. He possessed a seventh-grade lightning resonance, which was already fairly dominating. Cultivators with such high-grade resonances could gradually grind away at their opponent with each clash, corroding their opponent's resonant powers. It was an advantage of these higher-quality resonant powers.

Although he had beaten Li Luo back, his lightning resonance had been unable to penetrate his body and diminish his fighting power.

Li Luo whirled his twin blades experimentally. He now had a feel for how strong his opponent was. No wonder even Lu Qing'er was wary of him.

Ninth Seal, seventh-grade lightning resonance.

A worthy opponent indeed.

Li Luo suddenly grinned. He was not at all worried about how strong his opponent was. Instead, he found himself bubbling with excitement.

All these years, his blank palaces had bred in him an aversion to showing his true self. He always liked to play his cards close to his chest, it gave him a sense of safety.

Low-profile, as much as he could.

Although he had been growing while keeping his head down all these years, a fierce battle will coursed deep down in his bones.

After all, he was the son of two Dukes.

Very well, then. After so many years, it was time to take center stage. Let the spotlight shine! 

With a small laugh to himself, he channeled the resonant power within him. Gripping his blades tightly, he shot towards Shi Huang.