King of Myriad Phases

Chapter 1: I Have Three Phase Pools

Southwind Academy, a prestigious institution.The city of Southwind in the scorching June, where the sun blazed down, scorching the earth. In the Great Xia Nation, within the Heavenly Shu County.

A spacious and well-lit training ground. Numerous youthful faces, brimming with youthfulness, adorned in training attire, sat in meditation around the periphery. Their gazes were fixed on the center of the field, where two figures were engaged in a swift sparring match. With wooden swords in hand, they clashed fiercely, creating crisp sounds that reverberated throughout the training ground.

In the arena, there were two individuals, both around the age of fifteen or sixteen. The young man on the right had a tall and graceful figure, a handsome face with expressive eyes, and possessed a remarkable physique and presence. Not to mention anything else, just his exceptional appearance drew the admiring gazes of some girls in the audience, their eyes sparkling with a hint of shyness.

"Go, Li Luo!"

Some bold girls even cheered for him.

In front of the young man named Li Luo stood another youth with a robust physique. The latter's facial features appeared rugged, and with his dark complexion, he seemed quite rough in contrast to Li Luo. In comparison, it was as if they were a man and a black bear.

So when he heard the voices of the girls cheering for Li Luo, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, and immediately shouted, "Li Luo, I won't hold back!"

He took a step forward, causing the floor to tremble, and his wooden sword sliced through the air, faintly generating a whistling sound as it slashed towards Li Luo in front.

As the sword shadows descended, Li Luo's eyes flashed, he tiptoed, and his figure suddenly darted out, moving with the agility of a flying sparrow, skillfully evading the heavy and fierce strike.

"It's the Sparrowhawk Step!" someone in the crowd exclaimed, with a hint of admiration. The Sparrowhawk Step was a basic phase technique, and while many people in the arena were familiar with it, few could execute it as smoothly as Li Luo.

Li Luo's figure, like a sparrowhawk, swiftly closed in on the burly youth in front of him. With a sudden pull of his wooden sword, in that instant, it seemed as though a glimmer of light flashed by, and it rapidly thrust towards the burly youth's chest.

"Little Radiant Sword!" someone exclaimed. Li Luo's strike was as swift and ruthless as a gazelle's horn, with a flash of radiance, leaving them in awe. It was clear that this student of the Southern Wind Academy, renowned for his insight, lived up to his reputation.

The sword shadows thrust rapidly, causing the burly youth's expression to change. However, he possessed formidable strength as well. In this critical moment, he forcefully stabilized his stance, stamped his foot, and swiftly retreated several steps.

At the same time, a faint layer of silver light appeared on the surface of his body. The hand holding the wooden sword seemed to transform into a blurry silver bear's paw shadow.

Simultaneously, there were low, almost imperceptible bear roars emanating from the burly youth's body.

Upon witnessing this scene, many students in the arena exclaimed, "That's Zhao Kuo's Five-Star Silver Bear Phase! It looks like he's taking this seriously!"

Amidst the numerous exclamations, Zhao Kuo took a step forward, causing the floor to crack open. His heavy sword carried formidable brute force, creating a wave as it viciously slashed towards Li Luo.

A silver light emanated from Li Luo's wooden sword as it sliced through the air, producing a sharp and piercing sound.

"Violent Cleave!"

The burly youth bellowed, and a crimson light descended, directly clashing with the rapidly approaching sword shadows.

Bang!

In the next moment, the two swords collided forcefully.

In the intense clash, Li Luo's wooden sword practically shattered upon contact. A brutal and bear-like force surged forth, breaking the entire wooden sword apart.

The immense force pushed Li Luo's figure back several steps.

Li Luo steadied himself, lowered his head, and looked at the broken wooden sword in his hand. He sighed with resignation and said, "Alright, Zhao Kuo, you've won."

"Sigh."

As those words were spoken, some of the girls in the audience let out regretful sighs, while many of the boys couldn't help but smirk. After all, as young and spirited individuals, they couldn't help but envy Li Luo's popularity among the girls.

"It's such a pity. Clearly, Li Luo had a more aggressive attack, and his application of phase techniques was far superior to Zhao Kuo's. If only he had affinity, he would have undoubtedly won this match," someone commented.

"That's right. Zhao Kuo possesses the Five-Star Silver Bear Phase, and his strength is astonishing. It's likely that his phase power has reached the level of Five Seals. He truly deserves to be the strongest in our Second Academy."

"Li Luo's insight and talent in practicing phase techniques are indeed impressive, but he was born with an empty phase, which is a real weakness. Without a strong and robust phase power to support him, no matter how skilled he is in phase techniques, it's of little use."

"Haha, spare your sympathy, my friend. Who is Li Luo, after all? He's the Junior Lord of 'Luolan Manor,' one of the five major manors of Great Xia. His parents are even the youngest title holders in our Great Xia, and in just ten years, they established Luolan Manor as one of the five major manors in Great Xia. Their reputation extends not only within our nation but even beyond."

"Well, it's been quite some time, why bring up that old history? Since Li Luo's parents disappeared on the 'Noble Battlefront' three years ago, Luolan Manor has fallen from its glory. From what I've heard, there are significant internal divisions within the manor, and its future is uncertain. I doubt this Junior Lord will have much say in it."

"Oh? Is that so? The current leader of Luolan Manor should be... Senior Sister Jiang Qing'e, right?"

As soon as this name was mentioned, the gazes of all the young men in the audience grew much more fervent because that name was legendary within their Southern Wind Academy.

However, when they remembered the peculiar relationship between this legendary senior sister and Li Luo, their looks toward the latter couldn't help but turn somewhat odd.

While many young girls whispered among themselves in the audience, Zhao Kuo, who was in the arena, approached Li Luo. He patted Li Luo's shoulder and grinned, "You okay? Don't blame me for the unsportsmanlike victory."

Li Luo smiled back. Zhao Kuo had a straightforward personality, and they had a good relationship outside of this competition. Moreover, what had happened wasn't against the rules.