When the man strode out wreathed in suppressive resonant power and chilly air, everyone's expressions changed in shock.
This was no outsider.
Xu Tianling was the head of the three ancestors.
The only thing was that he had disappeared for the last few years, and no one had expected him to make his appearance here today.
Yuan Qing gloomily glared at him. Unfortunately, the latter had reached the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage, which was one step higher than him, who was at the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Stage. He had made visible progress in the last few years, and it was clear that he had some sort of lucky encounter..
This brought a little bit of worry to Yuan Qing as he knew that when it came to cultivation, the stages before the Heavenly Resonance Stage were significantly simpler. So long as one possessed sufficient talent, cultivation would come easily. For example, the talented students of the Astral Sage College all easily reached the Heavenly Pearl Stage with just the passage of time. But if one wanted to enter the Heavenly Resonance Stage, it would be an arduous process. Gong Shenjun and the First Princess were top geniuses in the Four Star Hall, and had endless resources accorded to them as members of the royal court, but they were still unable to break into the Heavenly Resonance Stage in their four years of college.
What the Heavenly Resonance Stage required was not talent, but rather accumulation and understanding. And rising to the Greater Heavenly Resonance from the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Stage required even more! Thus, the Heavenly Resonance Stage was the hardest bottleneck that prevented people from even attempting to break into the Duke Stage.
Yuan Qing had been at the Heavenly Resonance Stage for countless years and yet continued to hover around the same point, always unable to take the final step into the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage.
On the other hand, his old competitor, Xu Tianling, had done it.
Faced with Yuan Qing's questions, Xu Tianling gave a wry smile, his gaze flickering to Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e as he clasped his hands in greeting. "Young Lord and Miss Jiang, it has been a while. I hope you've been well since we last met."
"I was wondering what sort of tonic Pei Hao had taken to grow a new pair. It turns out he had the support of a Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage cultivator," Jiang Qing'e dryly commented.
Li Luo also took the opportunity to size up the head ancestor. "It looks like Ancestor Xu also plans to support Pei Hao in tearing House Luolan apart."
Xu Tianling smiled. "Young Lord, your words are simply grating. I have a lot of love for House Luolan, and I naturally would not hope for it to splinter. However, Pei Hao is also the House Lords’ disciple in name. The two House Lords made it clear that if one possessed the right identity and were able to garner the support of two ancestors, that individual would have the right to struggle for the title of House Lord. Pei Hao has achieved both of these requirements and thus he has the right to do so."
"So you're saying that I don't measure up?" Li Luo retorted.
Xu Tianling silently observed Li Luo before emotionally saying, "If the Young Lord had not been restrained by the issue of a blank palace, perhaps the situation would not have devolved thus. Now that the situation has come to a head, there is no longer any chance for us to back off. If anything, we are just mere instruments of fate."
Li Luo was clearly the most suitable individual to inherit the title of House Lord. His claim to the title was even greater than Jiang Qing'e’s. If he had not been born with a blank palace, perhaps the entirety of House Luolan would have rallied around to protect him. Unfortunately, it was a pity that even the once loyal individuals had been swayed and Pei Hao had taken advantage of the situation masterfully, resulting in the scene today.
The individuals involved had taken things way too far, and Li Luo had resolved his blank palace issue and demonstrated his potential and talent a little too late. Those who had been snatched away by the jaws of Pei Hao could not simply choose to turn back.
Since they had chosen the path of betrayal, they had to see it through to the end. There was no hope for them otherwise.
They all understood that even if they did change their minds, would Li Luo even forgive him? Would there ever be any sort of trust in them? No one was that naive.
Li Luo shook his head, too lazy to banter over such meaningless words. Those who had a rebellious heart would always find some form of excuse.
"I really pity my parents..." Li Luo sighed with sadness as he swept his gaze over the group before him, a complicated expression on his face.
"They were such extraordinary individuals, but how could their eye for people be so bad? Half of the people in the upper echelons of House Luolan turned out to be such subpar trash. How did they manage to elevate such refuse into a shining pillar of the Xia Kingdom?" Li Luo's words were harsh, directly causing even Xu Tianling's smirk to be wiped off his face, fury evident in his eyes.
"You can't blame the Master and Mistress." Jiang Qing'e shook her head and attentively explained, "They were royalty mingling with the rabble for fun. House Luolan was created on a whim. With their strength, why would they be concerned with what the ants thought about? If something did happen, they'd get crushed with a simple smack. They were supremely confident that if any issues arose, they would resolve it with their overwhelming strength. Thus, they were never concerned with the inner motivations of these people. You should have seen them when the Master and Mistress were around, their loyalty was to die for." Jiang Qing'e's equally sincere reply caused the group's expressions to turn a little distorted, especially when she raised the point about how they had used to act before the House Lords. Complicated emotions surfaced on their faces because they had just remembered. Awe when in their exalted presence. Fear when realizing how insignificant they were. Delight when they had disappeared.
From Jiang Qing'e's response, they were also able to understand how the House Lords viewed them. The lords had never been concerned with them and their paltry schemes. So what if they attempted to betray the lords? Would a lion be concerned about the foxes in its territory?
"The two House Lords were naturally very persuasive. If they were still around, how would I dare to have such thoughts?" Xu Tianling calmly explained, forcefully quashing down all of the rioting emotions in his heart.
"However, Young Lord and Miss Jiang, you need not live in the past. With the House Lords’ protection, you were naturally placed on a pedestal, unable to understand our struggles. Reality has changed, and you need to recognize it. Thus, I hope that the Young Lord carefully reconsiders Pei Hao's suggestion," he threatened politely with a sharp glint in his eyes.
Faced with Xu Tianling's coercive gaze, Li Luo smirked brazenly as he slowly pronounced each word for all to hear. "Let me repeat myself once more since it seems like you're deaf. Don't hold back during the Housemeet. Come at me with everything you have. If House Luolan falls to pieces, I couldn't care less."
Xu Tianling's eyes began to twitch as he attempted to rein in the anger boiling within his heart. “How could this young lord be absolutely unconcerned about the future of his house?
“A wastrel! He is a wastrel through and through!”
"It looks like the Young Lord is unable to differentiate his imagination from reality," Xu Tianling darkly said as he took a step forward. His Greater Heavenly Resonance strength directly flooded outwards in all directions, surging towards Li Luo.
Ice resonant power swept over like a tide, turning the entire Spring Lake Villa into a winter wonderland.
"If this is the case, I will represent the two House Lords in educating you on what reality is really like." Xu Tianling's five fingers arched into a claw, causing his ice resonant power to coagulate around it, forming razor-sharp, icy, jade-like talons that exuded extreme cold.
Yuan Qing took a step forward as well, planning to retaliate, but he was held back by Li Luo.
Li Luo gave a smile that was not a smile, faintly whispering, "Is the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage that great?"
Xu Tianling squinted upon hearing those deprecating words, but his expression changed immediately after. At this point, the roof of the Spring Lake Villa was ripped open by a beam of light that seemed to have transcended through time and space to arrive here. In fact, the space that the light passed by seemed to leave behind black traces as it was unable to repair itself quickly enough.
Even the worldly natural energy seemed to disappear in the presence of this light.
"A Duke expert?!" Feeling the immense suppression from the light itself, Xu Tianling was lost for words. At the same time, he could clearly discern a glowing pig-butchering knife within.
Although the object almost seemed comical, it caused his already cold body to feel a chill, and alarm bells started ringing in his head.
“Why is there a Duke expert showing his hand?”
Before he had time to think, the pig-butchering knife rushed directly towards him, wreathed full of fiendish energy that caused him to feel like death itself was descending for him. Xu Tianling roared, and a blood-red talonfist flashed out from under the icy claw. Atop the talonfist was a golden eye, indicating that this was a gold-eye treasured artifact.
With a gold-eye treasured artifact in hand, only then did Xu Tianling dare to clash against that horror-inducing pig-butchering knife.
Pssh!
When the two clashed, there was surprisingly no earth-shaking rumble. This was because the glowing pig-butchering knife had cut through the gold-eye talonfist like a piece of wet tofu before slicing Xu Tianling’s palm in half.
Blood sprayed endlessly.
Xu Tianling was sent flying, knocking through countless tables and chairs. His face turned white and full of abject terror.
After the knife severed his palm in half, cold laughter echoed throughout the villa.
"You stray dog! I'd like to see you tell me again. Just who is going to discipline the Young Lord?"
Chapter 0622: Deterrence
When the voice full of murderous intent reverberated around the villa, the entire top floor turned deathly silent. Other than Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e, everyone else was quivering in fright at the area that had been ripped apart by that knife's very presence. A single blow had practically disarmed the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage Xu Tianling.
No one present could’ve ever imagined that a Duke would choose to interfere.
Furthermore, this Duke was from Li Luo's camp.
When had House Luolan found a Duke as a guardian?
Ancestor Yuan Qing, Lu Qing, Lu Guan, and the rest of the ancestors and Pavilion Masters were all shocked by this development. They were completely unaware of the existence of other Dukes within House Luolan.
The question in everyone's minds was: why had this Duke not shown up previously to scare off all the rats and wolves that eyed the house? Especially when things were in massive turmoil? If a single Duke had stepped up to suppress the rabble, all of these actions today would’ve been completely unnecessary.
No one could make sense of this situation.
However, Yuan Qing was extremely elated. He might not understand why this Duke had appeared, but since he was protecting the Young Lord, then he was an ally. This was the best thing that could ever happen.
On the other hand, his excitement was not reciprocated in the other camp. Pei Hao, Mo Cheng, and the other Pavilion Masters looked as though they had stepped in a pile of crap. The three Pavilion Masters were shaking in their shoes, staggering backwards in complete fright.
This was a Duke for God's sake!
With a mere thought, they could be turned into fine dust.
Damn it all! How? Why? What? A Duke!
The trio felt like stray dogs that had been abandoned.
Xu Tianling was still clutching what was left of his severed palm, rapidly circulating ice resonant power to staunch the bleeding. Unfortunately, he realized that his actions were futile as there was ferocious resonant power still within the wound, eroding his flesh and blood. As a result, he was unable to administer first aid to himself, forcing himself to bear the excruciating throbbing pain.
He understood that this was the dual resonant power of a Duke. Although he had entered the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage, the chasm between himself and a Duke was as wide as the divide between the heavens and the earth.
Xu Tianling raised his head and stared at the pig-butchering knife floating before Li Luo, hoarsely saying, "So it turns out there was a Duke in House Luolan."
The rest of the Pavilion Masters had no idea who this mysterious individual could be, but Xu Tianling had heard about a hidden Duke before. Even so, he had his doubts, and no one other than the two House Lords had ever seen this enigmatic fellow.
Alas, he had personally experienced the truth today.
Li Luo looked at the floating pig-butchering knife and reached out for it. The knife willingly descended into his grasp. Their circumstances had been reversed, and he cheekily grinned at Xu Tianling. "Do you think you're qualified to teach me a lesson?"
Xu Tianling's expression sank. "So I see that this is the Young Lord's backer. I've heard of the mysterious Duke that is unable to leave House Luolan's headquarters. It's clear that the restriction is real as well since only the weapon is here."
"In that case, why don't we try this again?" Li Luo hefted the pig-butchering knife, and dark red traces began to materialize on the blade, emitting a fiendish aura that would cause anyone's heart to palpitate just from being near it. It was as though this weapon had been forged and quenched within mountains and seas of blood so it could emit such an oppressive aura.
Seeing that the pig butchering knife was being waved around before him like a toy, Xu Tianling's eyes twitched involuntarily. The piercing pain that coursed through him reminded him to remain silent.
"I see that the Young Lord wishes for blood during the Housemeet." Xu Tianling coldly snorted.
"Don't try to shift the blame on us after causing the problem..." Li Luo shook his head. "Cut the crap. I'll await your schemes on the day of the Housemeet, so bring out all the tricks you have then. Whether or not House Luolan will exist after is of no concern to me. I'd rather torch the fields than leave anything behind for you jackals, even if nothing is left."
With that final declaration, he and Jiang Qing'e turned to leave, with Yuan Qing and the rest of the bodyguards scrambling behind.
Lu Qing and Lu Guan faced each other speechlessly as they came to an agreement. No longer wishing to dawdle, they ran after the entourage that had chosen to leave. The strength that House Luolan had demonstrated today had completely jolted them of their indecision. How could they dare to follow Pei Hao now? Furthermore, if the Young Lord managed to break into the Duke Stage, would they be able to survive the aftermath?
Pei Hao felt fury surging with his heart as he gloomily glared at the duo who had made their choice. His goals today had been left in complete shambles.
He had hoped to borrow Xu Tianling’s power to teach Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e a good lesson and hamper their momentum. At the same time, it would frighten the two neutral Pavilion Masters into siding with him. Alas, the Duke within House Luolan had opted to show his knife and everything had been thrown into disarray.
His plan had backfired, and the ones in fear were those from his camp.
Pei Hao glanced at the three Pavilion Masters who were quivering in abject terror and reassured them. "There is no need to worry. The Duke that belongs to House Luolan is unable to leave the headquarters, so the situation is not as bleak as it seems. Furthermore, someone will deal with him during the Housemeet."
"I have to admit that this surpassed my expectations. I had thought that since the individual cannot physically leave the headquarters, they would be unable to do anything. It looks like I have underestimated the methods of a Duke," Xu Tianling dejectedly explained. "On the bright side, his strength cannot be significantly projected out of the area either. Otherwise, that single strike would not have just bisected my arm."
That single strike was intimidating, but Xu Tianling understood that if a Duke had really opted to deal with him, well, he'd be dead before he knew it.
Pei Hao nodded, glumly focusing upon the stairs Li Luo had climbed down. It was not like they had not gained anything either. They now knew for a fact that a Duke did reside within House Luolan. Now they could plan in greater detail.
"Li Luo... you might’ve been bragging when you said you didn't care about House Luolan. I'd like to see for myself how you'll react when it truly disintegrates in your hands! Will you still act so brazenly then?"
“Young Lord... this Duke expert of yours... Why did he not just get rid of Pei Hao and Xu Tianling in one go? It would’ve actually solved most of our problems instantly..." Yuan Qing blustered out in curiosity. Li Luo hefted a glance at the pig-butchering knife by his waist and pouted helplessly. Of course he wanted that as well! Unfortunately, Uncle Biao suffered from a massive restriction that caused his mighty abilities to taper off immensely the moment he left the headquarters’ vicinity. It was only through a trick that the pig-butchering knife could have arrived at this location, and even then, it was weakened significantly.
It's not that he didn't want to, but rather he couldn't!
Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had already known that Pei Hao would have some tricks up his sleeve, thus they had made arrangements with Ox Biaobiao beforehand. It was only after confirming that his attack could land within the vicinity of the Spring Lake Villa that they had so audaciously stepped forward. A smart man would not stand next to a precarious, crumbling wall. There was no need to put themselves in actual danger.
Their lives were worth much more than that white-eyed wolf Pei Hao.
"No rush. We will settle all of this during the Housemeet," Li Luo grandly proclaimed as he glanced momentarily at Jiang Qing'e. The two turned to face their home, the headquarters across the street.
There was a month remaining before the tempest would descend upon them all. All their grievances would be settled then. Cleanly.