Chapter 0516: Four Star Hall's Final
Many schools were watching closely as well. The unremarkable Astral Sage College had suddenly secured two golden resonant tree brooches before anybody had realized.
If they got just one more, weren\'t they destined to win?
After all, only three golden resonant tree brooches could be won in the second half.
If the Astral Sage College could get three here, they would be in an unassailable position.
"The Astral Sage College is one of the elite schools. They have a solid reserve of resources for sure. We can\'t underestimate them."
"I thought it was going to be the Enlightened Sage College with the multiple brooches..."
"The Astral Sage College hasn\'t even been eliminated yet. Their Four Star Hall competitor\'s a guy called Gong Shenjun, a royalty of the Xia Kingdom. I hear he\'s quite something as well."
"Oh, he\'s been undefeated all this time as well. I expect the Four Star Hall finals to be between him and the Enlightened Sage College\'s Lan Lan."
"If Lan Lan wins, there\'s hope. Otherwise, none of us will stand a chance against three brooches."
Four Star Hall\'s arena was a large lake, still as a mirror, circled by a ring of mountains.
This lake was not natural. It was just an ordinary lake an hour ago, but someone had artificially modified it into a gigantic one, many times its original size.
In the middle of it was a person standing upright, his light-blue hair almost blending into the surrounding water\'s hue. It was tied neatly in a ponytail, and his eyes were narrowed as he watched the horizon with a patient expression.
This was the Enlightened Sage College\'s Lan Lan.
He had defeated many tough opponents to stand on the arena of the final battle, where he was now waiting for his final opponent.
He did not wait long. From the forest beyond, a figure emerged cautiously from the tree line.
His erect carriage and handsome face spoke of his royal bearing as the son of the Regent of the Xia Kingdom.
And as the strongest student of the Astral Sage College, he was definitely respected.
Gong Shenjun stared out at the massive lake, feeling the intimidating aura of the opponent waiting for him in the center. This was without doubt the strongest opponent he had faced up till now.
"Enlightened Sage College, Lan Lan?" Gong Shenjun enquired with a smile.
The blue-haired man in the middle returned the smile. "Astral Sage College, Gong Shenjun?"
They both recognized each other, really.
"I had guessed Brother Lan would be my greatest challenge. Looks like I guessed right," Gong Shenjun said courteously.
"Brother Gong is too humble," Lan Lan said with a shake of his head and a smile. "Whoever dares to underestimate you is a fool indeed."
Gong Shenjun stared at the monstrous lake before him. "Brother Lan, this is a little excessive in terms of preparing the field, don\'t you think? You\'ve completely changed the terrain to give yourself a huge advantage."
"I dare not give up even the slightest advantage against someone as excellent as Brother Gong." Lan Lan stretched out his hand, and a wave rose from beside him, bringing a trident within it.
At the same time, the entire lake sank, and a huge body of water rose from within it in the form of a gigantic water serpent.
Lan Lan was a water resonance user.
"If I hadn\'t sensed the quality of your resonance for myself, I would find it hard to believe that Brother Lan is an upper seventh-grade water resonance user," Gong Shenjun remarked. Upper seventh-grade meant that Lan Lan\'s resonance might well be the lowest quality ever in the Four Star Hall fights. Usually, an upper seventh-grade was considered neither dauntingly low nor high, but still, it was not commonly seen at the Four Star Hall level, especially as a hot favorite for the finals and an opponent that even Gong Shenjun was wary of.
One could only say that Lan Lan was an exception to the norm. His existence proved that resonance grade was important, but not the most important factor.
Of course, he was perhaps the only one who could push an upper seventh-grade water resonance to this level of performance.
That was why Lan Lan was special.
"I was just lucky, and managed to cultivate my school\'s treasured scripture... Now, enough words, Brother Gong. I know your strength, so there\'s no need to test it."
Lan Lan stretched out both hands and made a complex gesture. The water underneath him rose in a wave that stretched in a concave arch around him. It refracted the sunlight above into watery lines of light that covered him in a web of power.
Water resonant power exploded forth from his body, stretching out from horizon to horizon. Lan Lan\'s narrow eyes were suddenly large and round, and his irises had turned into a cobalt shade that was devoid of all emotion.
Dark-blue power rose from his body.
Gong Shenjun dashed forward at the first instance, intent on breaking his opponent\'s build-up, but his eyes suddenly narrowed.
He saw a giant figure step out from the void behind Lan Lan.
The figure was cloaked, and its head reached into the clouds and could not be seen clearly. Gong Shenjun immediately sensed the threat from it.
The pressure was so monstrous that it made heaven and earth tremble.
The patch of space where Lan Lan was at was crumbling around him, warping and twisting from the sheer power that he was shaping.
Gong Shenjun did not even blink once as he stared and watched for a clue of how to best react. He saw that his opponent\'s hair was slowly turning white.
With a jolt of understanding, Gong Shenjun realized what was happening.
The Enlightened Sage College\'s signature resonance art.
Duke Art, Enlightened Sage Scripture.
Ordinarily, even those at the Heavenly Resonance Stage could not pull it off, let alone those who were at the Heavenly Pearl Stage.
The fact that Lan Lan could pull it off with a seventh-grade water resonance was exceptional indeed.
At the same time, he would be paying a heavy price to pull this off.
As seen from his hair turning white.
"An ultimate straight from the get go..." Gong Shenjun thought to himself. Lan Lan was evidently holding nothing back. If he wanted to survive this move, he was going to have to be prepared to risk it all.
If this resonance art connected, he would be severely injured if not dead.
Gong Shenjun\'s concentration was absolute. Despite his reservations, the strongest champion of the Astral Sage College put his best foot forward to face the unknown.