Beryl-green mist floated within Angelwood Hollow, swirling gently about the platforms.

Li Luo's shortswords hummed with Water Edge, whistling keenly through the air.

A dozen figures leaped at him through the green mist, landing all around him. Their greenwood spears stabbed at his vital points.

Li Luo took a step inwards to his team, and suddenly his shape shimmered. In the next instant, many different Li Luos appeared, leaping out at the absinthe puppets.

They only had basic intelligence and were unable to tell real from fake. Their response was just to stab away at the Li Luo in front of them.

The spears easily passed through the illusions, dissipating them.

Shing!

From the other side, one of the Li Luos was more solid than the others. His sword gleamed, metallic brilliance refracted through its sheen of water.

With a practiced slice, he finished off two absinthe puppets expertly.

Three more jumped into the fray, their wooden weapons charged with a faint green power that flickered like fire. Again they stabbed at Li Luo's vital points.

Swoosh!

A shadow at Li Luo's feet took them, smothering out the green flames in a wave of darkness. Black chains of power tripped them up at the feet.

The absinthe puppets stumbled forwards.

Li Luo's blade was there to meet them, slashing out at the off-balance adversaries.

When his blade stopped again, three absinthe puppets lay inert on the ground, carved up.

Xin Fu appeared behind Li Luo, his short dagger humming with a dark light. His black resonant power flowed and dripped like liquid night, caressing his blade with a curious smell of blight.

They had made quick work of five absinthe puppets, but Li Luo and Xin Fu did not relax. There were still a dozen more, green resonant powers flickering wraith-like ahead.

"Mengmeng!" Li Luo called out.

Starlight power sailed out over their heads, and their outlines began to twist and warp. More illusions appeared beside them, until they looked like an army standing against the outnumbered absinthe puppets.

"Charge!"

All the Li Luos and Xin Fus hollered, surging forth.

Among their clones, Li Luo and Xin Fu slipped in and out of the chaos, cutting down absinthe puppets left and right while they were distracted by the fakes. Shortsword and dagger stabbed and slashed in perfect mechanical synergy, until the last absinthe puppet fell over.

When the last one fell, the two boys finally straightened up in relief before slumping down to the floor, wiping the pouring sweat from their foreheads. Their faces sagged with fatigue.

Bai Mengmeng squatted down in concern. "Shall we call it a day?"

Li Luo shook his head stubbornly. "We're not even at the limit yet. We're at the 19th level now. Just one more and we'll be at the elite level. I want to taste that juiciness today. We've come so far!"

This was their fourth day in Angelwood Hollow. Each day they would do their best to push through the levels, onwards and upwards.

The 19th level was as far as they had pushed in the last four days.

Li Luo glanced to the right side. He could see the other four Violet Vibrance squads fighting their hardest as well.

On the first day, Wang Hejiu and Duze Beixuan's team had been the most effective. They were the only squad with two Fourth Patterns. Although Li Luo and Qin Zhulu were both Fifth Patterns, their squads were lagging slightly behind.

On the first day, Wang Hejiu's squad had climbed a full six platforms.

Li Luo and Qin Zhulu's had only managed five each, while Bai Doudou and Yi Lisha's squads reached the fourth.

Still, the lead had been short-lived. When Li Luo and Qin Zhulu's squads found their groove, they learned to work around their cores and managed to turn the tables back on Wang Hejiu's squad.

Currently, it was Li Luo and Qin Zhulu's squads who had reached the 19th level. Wang Hejiu's was at the 17th, while Bai Doudou and Yi Lisha's were at the 16th level.

Of course, the comeback had come on the shoulders of Li Luo and Qin Zhulu, who were both tired to the bone. Still, the cultivation benefits had been worth it.

As for the elite level that Li Luo had mentioned, it appeared once every 10 levels. The absinthe energy would be especially dense there, condensing into a single, super-strong absinthe puppet. Only by defeating it could they move on, and of course taking down this boss would give them a huge boost of absinthe energy.

A rare chance, begging to be plucked.

At the 10th level, the first boss had only been a First Changing, which they had taken down without much trouble.

The one at the 20th level would definitely be much stronger.

Of course, after fighting for an entire day, even Bai Mengmeng was fatigued, let alone the main fighters Li Luo and Xin Fu. That would only ramp up the difficulty.

The 20th level boss would not be easy at all.

But they had no other choice. The amount of absinthe energy was limited each day. For the past few days of cultivation, Li Luo and the others had always milked it to the limit. If they couldn't defeat this boss today, it would only take up their quota for the next day.

And if they gave up here, Qin Zhulu's side would definitely overtake them. The guy had a competitive streak a mile long, which they knew all too well. Even though they were friendly, a competition was a competition. Going easy was not only disrespectful to his own squad, Qin Zhulu would not like it either.

"Today's problems will be solved today so that we can deal with tomorrow's problems tomorrow," Li Luo said, springing to his feet. He turned towards where the green mist had formed a ladder that would take them onwards. He signaled his team and then led the way up the ladder as the leader.

Bai Mengmeng and Xin Fu followed.

Watching them from on high were Chi Chan, Shen Jinxiao, and the other Violet Vibrance mentors.

"Who knew that Li Luo's squad would be the first to challenge 20," the balding Nentor Mi Er said cheerfully.

"He's completely different from when he first enrolled. Not even Qin Zhulu could beat him now," Cao Sheng said.

"Those dual resonances are coming into full strength now, aren't they?" Chu Zi said with an approving nod. "I'm sure the One Star Hall representative in a month from now will be either Li Luo or Qin Zhulu."

Chi Chan remained silent amidst their praise, although there was a soft look of approval as she watched her students.

"Just because they're the first to challenge it doesn't mean they'll be the first to pass it," Shen Jinxiao said stiffly. "After all, it's much harder than their last boss fight at the 10th level. I doubt a first-time clear is possible."

The other Violet Vibrance mentors voiced their agreement in acknowledgment of the difficulty. Only Chi Chan remained silent, eyes still on the trio ascending to the 20th level.

Whether they could clear it or not... It all remained to be seen.