Chapter 35

Around the arena, the crowd surged, but at this moment, there was a silence.

Everyone stared in shock at the observer who had intervened to stop Song Yunfeng, then glanced at the hourglass that had almost run out.

The battle here had been so intense that they had not paid attention to the passage of time. But when they came to their senses, it turned out that the time had already run out...

At this moment, they suddenly realized that Song Yunfeng had intended to deplete Li Luo's phase power, but he had not anticipated that Li Luo was also stalling for time.

When the hourglass ran out, the battle would be declared a draw according to the rules.

In other words, the match between Li Luo and Song Yunfeng... ended in a draw.

This outcome was unexpected by everyone.

Because from any angle, this match should not have ended in a draw. The gap in strength between Song Yunfeng and Li Luo was enormous, so many people believed that Song Yunfeng would achieve a crushing victory.

No matter how Li Luo struggled, he could not gain any advantage against Song Yunfeng, who possessed a seventh-grade phase and phase power at the eighth seal.

But what was the result?

A situation that should have been a crushing defeat for Li Luo was turned into a draw...

At this moment, they looked at Li Luo on the stage, whose face was slightly pale from the depletion of phase power. In the silence, a sense of admiration gradually emerged in their eyes.

Even Beikun, who was usually composed, now had a constipated look on his face, his expression vividly showing his shock.

Tifa Qing, standing nearby, stared at the stage in a daze. Her beautiful eyes, which were lost in thought, revealed the impact she had suffered. After a long while, she took a deep breath and looked deeply at Li Luo.

At this moment, although his face was somewhat pale, she seemed to see a piercing light emanating from his body.

This reminded Tifa Qing of the legendary figure on the honor board of Nanyang Academy.

However, she immediately shook her head. Although Li Luo had achieved a miracle, he was still far from comparing to Jiang Qing'e.

On the stage, Song Yunfeng's daze lasted for a moment before he glared at the observer. "I was about to beat him! He had no phase power left, and I was going to win!"

"Give me just one more second, just one second!"

The observer frowned at the agitated Song Yunfeng. The latter had always been calm and gentle at Nanyang Academy, but now he was completely different.

"Rules are rules. If the hourglass runs out and there is no clear winner, it's a draw," the observer said.

"You're talking nonsense!" Song Yunfeng roared, his face twisted in anger.

How could he accept this draw? This draw would utterly ruin his reputation.

However, the observer ignored him, looked around, and announced, "The final result of this match is a draw!"

"Brother Luo is awesome!"

As his voice fell, a wave of excited cheers erupted from the Second Academy. All the Second Academy students were extremely excited, as Li Luo's performance greatly boosted their reputation.

Yu Lang, wrapped in bandages, opened his mouth and muttered, "Is this freak really rising? He even made Song Yunfeng lose."

Amidst the deafening cheers, Lu Qing'er's bright eyes quietly focused on Li Luo's figure. At this moment, she seemed to see the young man who, despite his naivety, always advanced in phase techniques before them and then calmly guided them as beginners.

At that time, Li Luo was undoubtedly dazzling.

Even Lu Qing'er had secretly admired him and set him as her goal.

But... the appearance of the void phase shattered all of Li Luo's former glory, and he avoided her, so she did not disturb him.

"I knew it, Li Luo. You will stand up again, and then you will truly shine."

"But you're still not quite there. I want to see you reach the peak, and then..."

"Defeat you."

Lu Qing'er's long hair gently fluttered, and her bright eyes were filled with intense battle spirit. She glanced at Li Luo again and then left without staying.

Who would have thought that the seemingly gentle and sweet Lu Qing'er was so competitive and eager for battle.

On the stage, Li Luo looked at the sullen Song Yunfeng and sighed, "You had your chance, but you couldn't seize it. Song Yunfeng, you're a failure."

Song Yunfeng glared fiercely at Li Luo.

"Miss this chance, Song Yunfeng, and you won't have another one."

Li Luo was not afraid of his fierce gaze. Instead, he stepped forward, lightly patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "We'll settle the score for slandering my parents next time."

Song Yunfeng gritted his teeth and sneered, "Fine, I'll wait."

Li Luo nodded, said nothing more, and walked past him, descending from the stage. He was then surrounded by many excited Second Academy students and left the square.

As he left, the atmosphere in the square gradually calmed down. Many people looked at Song Yunfeng with peculiar expressions and then gradually dispersed.

Today, Li Luo was originally going to concede, but Song Yunfeng insisted on attacking his parents. Despite his efforts to provoke Li Luo, he failed to win, which was indeed a joke.

It could be imagined that this incident would be widely discussed in Nanyang Academy for a long time, and Song Yunfeng would be the supporting character in this story, used to highlight the main character.

On the high platform at the edge of the square, the old dean and the other mentors were also silent, as this outcome was unexpected by them.

After a moment of silence, the old dean sighed and said, "Li Luo never intended to win from the beginning. His goal was to force a draw."

"And what no one expected was that he actually succeeded."

Xu Shan Yue was already laughing uncontrollably. Li Luo had truly made him proud today. Song Yunfeng was the top student in the First Academy, second only to Lu Qing'er, but this time, he was forced into a draw by Li Luo.

So who said that the Second Academy couldn't produce talented students?

No one thought that a draw was just a draw, because the gap in strength between Li Luo and Song Yunfeng was indeed significant. Li Luo's phase power was only at the sixth seal, and his water phase was only at the fifth grade. But Song Yunfeng? Eighth seal phase power, seventh-grade red hawk phase... Honestly, such a comprehensive gap would be difficult for even the mentors to reverse. For Li Luo to force a draw was already considered a miracle.

Do people really think everyone is like Jiang Qing'e, a peerless genius with a ninth-grade phase?

Lin Feng, standing nearby, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot. Facing Xu Shan Yue's smug laughter, he held back for a moment and then said, "Li Luo's performance today was indeed flawless, but the preliminary exam has a time limit. What about the academy's final exam? That will be based on true ability, and these tricks won't work."

Xu Shan Yue snorted, "We'll see if Li Luo can advance further by then."

"Even if he advances, he'll only be at the seventh seal," Lin Feng said expressionlessly.

The old dean waved his hand to stop their habitual argument. He looked in the direction Li Luo had left, then stared at Lin Feng and Xu Shan Yue, his face becoming more serious. "How Li Luo performs is his business, but I must remind you that this year's academy final exam must maintain Nanyang Academy's reputation as the top academy in Tianshu Prefecture. If anything goes wrong, well, you know the consequences."

The final cold snort made all the mentors shudder.

Especially Lin Feng, who understood that the old dean's words were mainly directed at him. The First Academy gathered the best students and resources of Nanyang Academy, and the final exam was the time to verify whether the First Academy deserved these resources.

According to Lin Feng, the previous mentor of the First Academy was almost responsible for Nanyang Academy losing its top status in Tianshu Prefecture during a previous final exam and was directly expelled by the old dean.

So if he made a mistake in this final exam, the old dean would not spare him.

Thinking of that outcome, Lin Feng shuddered and quickly assured, "Dean, rest assured. The strength of the First Academy is well-known, and we will certainly maintain the academy's honor."

"That's good to hear."

The old dean's expression eased slightly, and he turned and left.

As he left, the mentors exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief. An angry old dean was truly terrifying...

"However, this year, Dongyuan Academy is making a strong push. Dongyuan Academy is fully supported by the governor's office and has been gaining momentum, closely following Nanyang Academy. The top student at Dongyuan Academy is the governor's son, Shi Kong, who has exceptional talent and strength comparable to Lu Qing'er. So this year's final exam will be challenging for Nanyang Academy," a mentor said worriedly after the old dean left.

Lin Feng glanced at the mentor and said coolly, "Dongyuan Academy's foundation is not as strong as ours. They will have to ask the First Academy if they want to take our top status."

With that, he turned and left.

The others exchanged glances, somewhat annoyed by Lin Feng's arrogance but helpless. They could only mutter, "You're so smug. If you mess up, we'll see how you handle it."