Xu Baiday clenched his teeth and spoke with resentment.
Diao Lingluo stood below the stage, watching Luo Yu wield his expertise with divine finesse, her heart a tumult of emotions.
However, she quickly composed herself and observed Luo Yu intently, absorbing his experience to improve herself.
"Hiss, hiss—"
Xu Baiday opened his mouth and launched a wide-reaching attack. A green fog, thick with corrosive properties, engulfed the surroundings.
The poisonous green mist surged at Luo Yu's sixteen phantom figures as if endowed with life itself.
"Quick reflexes, eh?"
Luo Yu smiled. After all, if it were a simple contest of speed, Xu Baiday would have no hope of catching up to his Tian Mo Luan Wu.
Confronted by the green mist, a golden light surfaced around Luo Yu as a shield, but this meant he couldn't switch to another phantom figure when the opponent attacked.
That's because there was actually a flaw in this technique: during the execution of a sustained skill, it wasn't possible to switch to a phantom figure.
Xu Baiday caught onto this and almost instantly took the offensive.
"Ling She Quan!"
"Hiss, hiss—"
The punches came fast and thick, like a thousand snakes emerging from their den, hissing and coiling towards Luo Yu.
Luo Yu's eyes flickered rapidly with golden light.
Analysing the essence of the Ling She Quan, he adapted it for his own use.
His arms moved fluidly, fists bursting forth.
He replicated what he had learned on the spot and executed a makeshift version of the Ling She Quan.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Xu Baiday's pupils constricted.
"Learned it that quickly?"
His heart was shocked. Even with prior mental preparation, he was still caught off guard.
He finally understood the kind of mental pressure Li Zhenyue must have faced facing this guy in combat. It was terrifying.
The audience covered their mouths, their expressions betraying their astonishment.
"Holy shit, that's insane."
"He really can learn anything he sees, instant mastery."
"This is too demonic, did he get this ability from Shennong Yandi?"
As both their Ling She Quans clashed, Luo Yu, who had just learned the technique, was slightly inferior, allowing Xu Baiday to break through the flurry and aim straight for his chest.
Luo Yu stood unflinchingly, presenting his chest forward.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound rang out.
Xu Baiday's expression changed; touching Luo Yu felt no different from striking iron.
"Two moves now," Luo Yu said at close quarters, relaxed and composed, as if watching a performance rather than fighting.
"Damn it—"
"Pan Tian Jiao!"
Xu Baiday used his strongest Secret Technique. His bones snapped and crackled, his body twisting like a white python, coiling and striking with intent to bind Luo Yu.
"I won't learn this one." Luo Yu shook his head, a look of distaste on his face.
This made Xu Baiday's eyes turn red with increased fury, his aura growing even fiercer.
"Bring it on."
Luo Yu stood unshaken, waiting in place to test the strength of this so-called crushing force and whether it could bring him any pressure.
The moment Xu Baiday drew close to Luo Yu, a grin appeared on his lips.
Another hissing resounded from within his body; following the White Snake, a massive Qing She appeared, equally formidable.
Xu Baiday, fused with the Heroic Spirit, executed Pan Tian Jiao while the Qing She momentarily bared its massive jaws, spraying Luo Yu's face with virulent poison.
The crowd exclaimed, "Twin Ancient Spirits? Is he that terrifying?"
"Don't joke, Xu Baiday has hidden depths, possessing two Ancient Spirits?"
"He seized the perfect moment, summoning the second Ancient Spirit when Xiao Luo was unguarded, seeking a decisive one-hit victory."
At that moment, Luo Yu had been fully drenched by the venomous toxin, covering his entire body.
And he was wrapped up by Xu Baiday's transmuted serpentine form, trapped within the constriction.
It looked to be an inescapable dead end.
Xu Baiday smirked, "You were too careless. Now caught in my binding, you're bound to lose. Never underestimate the heroes of this world. Who doesn't have an ace up their sleeve in the martial fraternity?"
Some in the audience were shocked, others cheered.
"Well done!"
"That was a slick move, the timing of the strike was neither too early nor too late, as precise as a scalpel."
"Xu Baiday is awesome."
"Once the constricting motion takes shape, a python can strangle animals far stronger than itself, let alone a White Python sorcerer."
Just then, a faint voice arose.
"Three moves have passed."
"It's my turn now."
"How is this possible, after all that, Xiao Luo is still fine?" A sound of disbelief erupted from the crowd.
"Inflicted with my neurotoxic venom and trapped in constriction, no matter how capable you are, you won't be able to muster your strength. Just surrender," Xu Baiday said, brimming with confidence in his abilities. He had once relied on this move to defeat a fourth-rank powerhouse, winning against the odds.
Luo Yu fell silent.
But then, a thunderous roar burst forth.
"Ao——"
The ears of the audience below trembled, their minds going blank for a moment.
The nearby Xu Baiday's pupils dilated, terror striking him to the core, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
The constricting force sharply declined.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
"How is this possible!"
"A mere beast's roar can make one lose all strength?"
"A beast's roar? Open your eyes wide and take a good look," Luo Yu's chilly voice came through.
"Boom!"
An immense force erupted from Luo Yu's body. All the green venom didn't even touch Luo Yu's skin; in an instant, it all scattered to the side, and even Xu Baiday was forcefully knocked back, the constricting force instantly and completely shattered.
A golden light soared behind Luo Yu, dazzlingly bright against the black night shrouded by the Red Moon.
The golden light radiated in all directions, revealing its true form.
It was a majestic golden dragon, its scales shimmering with gold, its two horns glinting brilliantly, imposing and magnificent, with five claws on its belly, having a robust and powerful demeanor, flickering with a sharp, cold light.
"Five... Five-Clawed Golden Dragon?"
"The legendary Five-Clawed Golden Dragon!!!"
"Is Xiao Luo also a dual Ancient Spirit?"
"Damn, we Great Xia people call ourselves descendants of Yan Huang, the progeny of the dragon, but then Xiao Luo calls forth Emperor Yan and now summons the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon? There's no way to compete with that."
Under the Dragon's Might, Xu Baiday's Human-Spirit Fusion state broke instantaneously amidst trembling, and both Qing She and White Snake quivered in fear, devoid of their former ferocity, continuously crying out in their distress, betraying their inner fear and not even daring to look up.
"This... this... this..." Xu Baiday's teeth chattered, his heart trembled with fear. He had only two sorcerer serpents at his command, and the opponent directly summoned a Huaxia true dragon, a purebred Five-Clawed Golden Dragon? If you had revealed such ability earlier, why even bother fighting?
Leaving aside strength, he was also thoroughly overmatched.
The Qing She and White Snake, no matter how bold, wouldn't dare to challenge a true dragon.
The principal and instructors, who had originally returned to the high platform and were leisurely watching the fight below, occasionally giving their comments,
stood up abruptly when they saw the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon appear, their hearts quaking.
"My goodness, Xiao Luo is simply divine."
"Principal, where on earth did you dig up such a great talent?"
"Right, are the principals of the other Martial Universities blind, letting you scout such a genius?"
"Xu Baiday's dual Ancient Spirits were already a pleasant surprise, but who could have thought Xiao Luo would be even more fierce?"
Shi Kai smiled without saying anything, his gaze leisurely fixed on the scene below, his coolness off the charts.
But inside, he was also exclaiming, never expecting Godchild Luo Yu to hide his strength to such an outrageous extent. It was as if his ancestors' graves were billowing smoke to have the fortune of inviting such a figure back.
"Xu Baiday, you've lost," Luo Yu said, not continuing the assault but retracting the Ancient Spirit.
"Yes, I've lost."
Xu Baiday quickly admitted defeat and swiftly leapt off the arena, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Xiao Luo on the stage, his clothes soaked through with sweat.
He swore that he never wanted to be this guy's enemy for the rest of his life.
Far too formidable.
In a corner below the stage, the unrivaled, voluptuous beauty Dajiuer was also mentally swayed. Although her Ancient Spirit was very strong, at the moment the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon appeared, waves of palpitations surged through her, unable to settle for a long time.
After Xu Baiday admitted defeat, Luo Yu didn't rest. He successively challenged and defeated all of the remaining top ten candidates who weren't already listed under his name.
This left all the new students dumbfounded.
"What... what is this all about?"
The newcomers didn't understand, but the older students saw through these maneuvers. Bai Feng and Li Heizi, watching from the dormitory, turned green...