Li Luo's battle aside, other battles elsewhere were coming to a close as well.
In the wake of a newly leveled forest stood Yi Lisha's squad and Qin Zhulu's squad.
Frosty air blew out gently from the corner of Lu Qing'er's mouth. Her ice silk gloves were off, and the leaves nearby were all coated in a thin layer of ice.
She was barely able to move, her entire body covered in thin chains that glittered with starlight.
The chains were rapidly breaking down under her frigid defenses, growing thinner and thinner.
Finally, they fell off.
Lu Qing'er stood up. Si Qiuying was on the ground before her, icicles pressed up against her vital points. If she made the slightest move, they would take her life.
"My win this time, Qiuying. By a little," Lu Qing'er said weakly.
Si Qiuying ground her teeth in frustration. "I would have had you if it were night!"
Her star resonance waxed with power in the night, when the stars were out. This was not a favorable time for her.
Lu Qing'er did not reply to the meaningless excuse. Yes, and her powers would be much stronger in an arctic environment as well.
She lifted her eyes to the forest ahead.
Where Qin Zhulu had been fighting.
"Violet Vibrance squads are all something else," Lu Qing'er thought to herself. Completely unintimidated by Qin Zhulu's reputation, the One Autumn Leaf Squad had used Si Qiuying's starlight resonant power to obscure their light column and then circled them for an ambush. In one decisive move, they had immediately taken out Yin Yue.
However, Qin Zhulu’s reputation was no sham. He still took them on, one against two, going up against Yi Lisha and Qian Ye.
She was left to face Si Qiuying, and had secured a narrow victory.
"I wonder how Qin Zhulu is doing..." Lu Qing'er fretted. Her battle with Si Qiuying had worn her out completely, and she was in no condition to lend Qin Zhulu any strength.
"He's strong, but Yi Lisha and Qian Ye together might be able to take him!" Si Qiuying declared.
She might have lost by a little here, but it did not change the overall picture—Lu Qing'er was more or less out of commission.
As long as Yi Lisha and Qian Ye could fight Qin Zhulu to a standstill, then there was nothing to lose from a draw.
Both Lu Qing'er and Si Qiuying could only wait quietly.
They did not have to wait long. Heavy footsteps soon came, and both girls looked up with eyes wide.
The one that stomped out came with a fearsome aura that quietened the birds perched in the trees.
He was covered in bloody wounds, but his face was lit up with a rare grin of delight.
"WHOOOO!" Qin Zhulu howled. He tossed a bag towards Lu Qing'er with a flourish. It clinked merrily with Yi Lisha's badges.
Lu Qing'er caught the bag with relief.
Si Qiuying paled. "IMPOSSIBLE!" she burst out. "How could Leader and Qian Ye together have lost?! What kind of monster is he?!"
In another place, the battle was still raging on. Bai Doudou, Yu Lang, and Qiu Luo were zipping through the forest at full throttle.
All three were looking rather worried because a full complement of more than 10 Gold Gleam squads were madly chasing after them.
They were forced into running in haphazard zigzags to avoid the squads.
It was like a pack of hounds chasing down a lone wolf.
"Damn, these guys are too much. That's too many people, the cowards!"
Yu Lang was pale with fright. He could distinctly hear the chants from behind. "Beat Yu Lang to death! Beat Yu Lang to death!"
“Come on, guys, I'm just a tool here. Don't direct your anger only at me!”
"Dead end ahead." Bai Doudou said tersely.
Yu Lang and Qiu Luo looked ahead to see a cliff. The floating clouds indicated that it was not at all a shallow cliff.
The Gold Gleam squads closed in from behind.
Qiu Luo swallowed nervously. "How about we, er, hand him over?"
Yu Lang stared at Qiu Luo, aghast. “Damn, are you even human? I've done so much for the team, and you're so eager to hand me over?”
"They can't kill you, they can only beat you up. At least we can keep our points," Qiu Luo argued.
Yu Lang shook his head vehemently. "My pride can't take it. How could I ever face them again?"
"Face? Pride? Since when did you care about those things?" Qiu Luo snorted.
Bai Doudou silenced them. "Enough. We are not handing over our squad mate. Full speed ahead and break through!"
She brandished her spear with a gleam of focused excitement.
The other two resignedly took up their positions, with no choice but to follow suit. Their wind resonant power blooming forth, all three shot forth in a knights' charge.
Ahead of them, the dozen Gold Gleam squads were yelling as they formed a defensive line to counter the charge.
But right before they connected, the last sliver of sunlight dimmed on the horizon. The sun had fully set now.
All of the students suddenly relaxed.
The first ranking battle was over.
Yu Lang and Qiu Luo both sighed with great relief, although Bai Doudou looked a little wistful.
Yu Lang coughed and swaggered right up to the Gold Gleam squads, walking among them without a care in the world.
"Well, that was a good exchange, boys. Let's grab a drink together when we can. You guys are quite something, to make a Violet Vibrance squad flee like mad."
Two of the leaders puffed their chests out proudly. "Violet Vibrance squads are weak against numbers... But that Yu Lang guy in your squad is too cheeky."
"Oh, what's your name again?"
Yu Lang blinked and smiled grandly.
"Qiu Luo. My name is Qiu Luo."