Lu Xingluo's words were low, yet his voice echoed throughout the entire area, drawing everyone's gaze toward Huo Wu and her group.
"A duel? Now this is getting interesting!"
"I wonder if Zero Wing dares to accept. If they don't, they'll lose face in front of all the major factions favored by Star Alliance."
Although Zero Wing had come in full force, Star Alliance was equally confident. Just the five Tier 4 professionals present made it clear that Zero Wing held absolutely no advantage right now.
Moreover, given how many clashes the two sides had been through recently, both had taken considerable losses. Zero Wing's three major guilds were already running on reserves, their guild warehouses nearly depleted of weapons and equipment, and they could barely afford to keep paying member subsidies. They had survived solely on morale.
If their morale fell behind, the impact on the three guilds' members would be enormous.
At the same time, many couldn't help but admire Lu Xingluo's cunning. His original goal had been to force Zero Wing to lift the blockade on Sky Spring City. But if he could use a duel to eliminate Zero Wing's three guilds' experts, then the blockade on Sky Spring City would cease to be an issue.
After all, if it weren't for Zero Wing's top-tier experts holding the gate while leveraging the city's magic array to suppress everyone, the many experts from the major superpowers wouldn't still be unable to break through Sky Spring City's blockade, forced to take the long way around through other NPC cities to reach the Tower of Covenants.
But while the members of the various factions were whispering among themselves, Huo Wu and the other three simply exchanged a glance.
"Fine!" Huo Wu looked at Lu Xingluo and agreed without hesitation. "How do you propose we conduct this duel, Guild Master Lu?"
Their original plan had been to force their way into Star Alliance's headquarters. But with Jiuxiao Longyun, another Tier 4 professional, now present, the risk had undoubtedly increased. After all, there was no way Star Alliance's headquarters lacked Secret Hand Society NPCs.
In that scenario, they wouldn't just have to face the Secret Hand Society NPCs — they'd also have to fight five Tier 4 professionals. That was simply too much, as every Tier 4 professional was anything but ordinary. In terms of combat skill, equipment, legacies, and more, they were all at the absolute pinnacle of the Divine Realm.
"Simple — one from each side, single combat to decide the winner!" Lu Xingluo said with a smile. "What do you think, Captain Huo Wu?"
"Fine." Huo Wu agreed without a second thought.
"Good. Then let's have our duel right here." Lu Xingluo then glanced at Jiuxiao Longyun beside him. "Our champion will be Jiuxiao Longyun."
With that, Jiuxiao Longyun leapt forward, instantly hovering in midair above the Star Alliance headquarters, gazing calmly toward Huo Wu and the others, clearly ready for battle.
"Sister Huo Wu, let me handle this." Ziyan Liuyun stepped forward to volunteer. "Since I advanced to Tier 4, I haven't had a proper fight against another Tier 4 professional. I don't want to miss the chance to face one like this."
Huo Wu and the other two exchanged uncertain glances. After all, if Lu Xingluo was willing to send Jiuxiao Longyun out, he clearly had considerable confidence. Otherwise, he would have sent one of the other Tier 4 experts who had advanced earlier.
Of course, it was also possible that those other Tier 4 experts' techniques had already been exposed in previous battles, while Jiuxiao Longyun had only recently advanced to Tier 4 — his methods still unknown to them, capable of catching them off guard.
"All right, but be careful," Huo Wu finally nodded in agreement.
This duel could not be lost, and Ziyan Liuyun's combat skill had never been below her own. Now that she had advanced to Tier 4, her strength went without saying.
Bumie Zhanxin and Huanyu both offered Ziyan Liuyun a couple of words of caution, warning her to be careful of Jiuxiao Longyun and to never let him close the distance — if he got into melee range, his Swift Sword technique would be nothing short of catastrophic for a magic-class professional.
Then they watched as Ziyan Liuyun lightly leapt into the air, instantly arriving at a position over a hundred yards away from Jiuxiao Longyun.
"Last time I lost to your Zero Wing's Vice Guild Leader, Bai Qingxue, because of my base attributes. But this time, you won't be as fortunate as Bai Qingxue was!" Jiuxiao Longyun's cold, arrogant gaze swept over Ziyan Liuyun as he spoke in an unhurried tone. "Because this time, I will be fighting you seriously."