Chapter 158: Competition

"Anyone can participate in the contest for the lotus seeds, but you must remember one thing—"

Seeing the crowd brimming with intense excitement, Elijah spoke slowly. At the same time, her half-step Sanctuary aura swept across the area, causing everyone to instantly pause, quiet down, and look toward her.

"Remember, you are students of Tianxuan Academy, and you are classmates. While fighting to comprehend the colorful lotus, lethal attacks are strictly prohibited. The moment anyone loses the ability to contend for the Spiritual Enlightenment Colorful Lotus, they will be automatically eliminated!"

With that said, an exquisitely crafted, emerald-green miniature bow materialized beneath Elijah's feet, carrying her slowly up into mid-air. She looked down at the crowd from above.

"A magical spirit tool!"

"A traditional magical spirit tool of the Elven race!"

...

The miniature bow beneath Elijah's feet instantly sparked another wave of exclamations. Opportunities to witness such a spectacle were rare indeed. Although one could wield magical spirit tools after reaching the seventh rank, that was merely wielding them.

Controlling a magical spirit tool consumed a massive amount of battle qi or magic power. Below the ninth rank, the battle qi and magic power within a practitioner's body were simply insufficient to sustain flight in mid-air using a magical spirit tool for long periods, though a brief glide across the sky was acceptable.

"Wang Luo, let's form teams of two or three to contend for the lotus seeds. That way, our chances of getting them will be much higher. What about you?"

After a brief discussion, Prir and the others had already devised a strategy, planning to form pairs or trios to snatch the lotus seeds. They turned to ask Wang Luo, who was sitting leisurely off to the side and chatting with Gusi, to see what his plans were.

"Gusi and I will be a team!"

"Alright, be careful. Even though Teacher Elijah said no lethal moves, it's bound to be a chaotic melee later on, and she might not be able to look out for everyone!"

"Wang Luo, where on earth did you take Qi'er?"

Glancing sideways at Wang Luo, Shirley, filled with intense curiosity, finally couldn't help but ask. Not long after arriving here, under the burning, furious gazes of many young men, Wang Luo had carried Qi'er alone into the forest. When he returned, Qi'er was nowhere to be seen.

"Guess! Hehe..."

Laughing cheerfully, Wang Luo replied with a dark smile, showing zero consideration for Shirley's face and earning himself a roll of her eyes, interspersed with her muttered grumbles.

"Alright, stop glaring. Wang Luo isn't going to do anything to Qi'er! Hurry up and get ready, the Spiritual Enlightenment Colorful Lotus is about to bloom!"

Glancing at Beiyate, who was still glaring furiously at Wang Luo, Hanrode spoke up. Now was not the time for jealousy; securing the Spiritual Enlightenment Colorful Lotus was the most important thing.

"Hmph, didn't you just use that exact excuse to stop me earlier, preventing me from going to give Wang Luo a hard time? Now you're using it again. Why are you so certain that Wang Luo won't touch Qi'er?"

Glaring fiercely at Wang Luo once more, Beiyate turned to Hanrode beside him and said with great dissatisfaction. When he thought about the goddess in his heart being carried unconscious into the forest by someone, he was filled with intense irritation.

"Beiyate, I advise you to stay away from Qi'er!"

Frowning slightly, Hanrode sighed inwardly and spoke. There were some reasons he simply couldn't voice.

"Huh? Hehe, got it!"

Glancing at the frowning Hanrode, Beiyate suddenly recalled the rumors circulating between him and Wang Luo. With a dark smile, everything clicked into place. He mentally cursed himself for being a fool not to have figured it out sooner—since Wang Luo was a guy who liked men, why would he ever fancy Qi'er? He definitely wouldn't have any romantic interest in her.

Whoosh...

The Spiritual Enlightenment Colorful Lotus suddenly burst forth with a dazzling, multicolored radiance, obscuring everyone's vision. Immediately afterward, a series of piercing whistling sounds rang in their ears. Everyone hurriedly forced their eyes open, unleashing their respective skills to begin snatching the lotus seeds.

"Earth-Shattering Art!"

"Marsh Art!"

"Fire Snake Art!"

"Wind Scroll Art!"

"Water Veil Art!"

...

Spells were cast one after another, colliding in mid-air to bloom into gorgeous, brilliant fireworks. Streaks of battle qi surged forth unyieldingly at the same time, unleashing fierce attacks that instantly plunged the scene into utter chaos.

"Be careful!"

Whispering softly into Gusi's ear and making her delicate face flush red, Wang Luo instantly activated his Shadow Wraith movement technique, locking his eyes onto a streak of golden light flying past.

Swish...

Most people were fighting fiercely for the fire, water, and earth attribute lotus seeds. The gold and wood attribute lotus seeds had the fewest contenders, which ultimately played right into Wang Luo's hands.

"The fourth one!"

In just a short moment, aided by the eerie ghost-like movement technique, Wang Luo had already harvested four lotus seeds, among which were three golden lotus seeds and one wooden lotus seed.

Swish—

Another piercing sound cut through the air into Wang Luo's ears, and a blue light entered his field of vision. Before he could even move, a blue figure intercepted the blue light, snatched it right into his hand, and departed with panache, completely unobstructed by any magic or battle qi.

"Hmph!"

Watching Stefan's smug retreating figure, Wang Luo let out a cold snort. He deployed the Shadow Wraith technique once more, pouncing toward a wooden lotus seed that had attracted few competitors, easily claiming it for himself.

"The fifth one!"

Counting quietly in his heart, Wang Luo flashed a faint smile, then glanced around. He immediately noticed that a large number of lotus seeds had already been seized by others, tucked away into their storage, and vanished from sight.

"I need to pick up the pace and grab one of each of the three remaining types!"

With this thought in mind, Wang Luo drifted like a wisp of a ghost through the chaotic crowd. Relying on his formidable physique and the protective magical barrier cloaking his body, he brazenly endured the attacks of others and finally managed to snatch a fire lotus seed.

"Wang Luo!"

An exclamation of surprise reached Wang Luo's ears. Turning back to look, he was just in time to see Gusi holding an earth lotus seed in her hand, surrounded by dozens of warriors and mages who were launching relentless attacks against the magic shield enveloping her.

"Rain Arrow Art!"

"Quicksand Art!"

With a cold snort, Wang Luo flashed over in an instant while simultaneously casting spells. A sky full of rain arrows materialized out of thin air, piercing toward the crowd surrounding Gusi, while rolling quicksand surged up from the ground.

Caught in a two-pronged attack from above and below, many people lost their balance and crashed straight to the ground. Wang Luo seized the opportunity to pull Gusi into his embrace and burst out of the crowd.

"Go find Big Bear!"

Setting Gusi down at the outer perimeter and giving her a brief instruction, Wang Luo plunged back into the chaotic battlefield, charging straight toward a water lotus seed. Among the Five Elements lotus seeds, the water lotus seed was the only one he was missing now.

"O(∩_∩)O Haha~ This is mine!"

A water-attribute mage channeled his magic power, conjuring a translucent blue giant hand that scooped a water-attribute lotus seed directly into his grip, shouting with exhilaration.

Swish—

Right at that moment, an indigo sword flash suddenly appeared, piercing straight through the blue magic hand and catching the water lotus seed. However, before he even had time to break into a smile, dozens of spells targeted him directly.

"Ah!"

Letting out a terrified, freakish scream, his figure was instantly swallowed up. When he finally regained his senses, he found himself tossed to the outer edge of the battlefield, naturally with the water lotus seed no longer in his hands.