After Li Rouyun announced the result of the selection battle, the crowd on the vast training ground started to shout raucously.
Their eyes were all filled with surprise.
This was a conclusion that set their hearts pounding.
None of them had expected Li Luo to emerge victorious after they saw Zhong Ling condensing fiend dipper energy.
After all, Li Luo was only at the Greater Fiend Palace Tier!
There were simply so many tiers between him and Zhong Ling.
Was this simply because he was a triple resonance user?!
With such fearsome might, he had to be the strongest Greater Fiend Palace Tier cultivator that they had ever seen.
Over at the Green Nether Banner's fifth division, the members were stunned for a moment too. However, they soon burst into happy cheers knowing that their Sub Leader Li Luo had become the Banner Leader. Although Li Luo would have to step down as the fifth division’s Sub Leader after this, there would finally be better days ahead for the fifth division with him as the Banner Leader.
A seductive, rosy glow surfaced on Zhao Yanzhi's charming face due to her excitement. Indeed, Li Luo had shown an amazing display of his fighting power.
With his illustrious background, Li Luo could have easily become the leader among the younger generation in the Dragon's Fang Lineage if he had been raised here. However, he had wasted too much time in the outer divine continent, causing him to get a late start. Thankfully, he had managed to catch up quickly with his impressive natural talent.
With that in mind, Zhao Yanzhi was determined to establish a close relationship with Li Luo.
Such opportunities should not be squandered after all.
She smiled slightly at this moment. Coming from a humble background, she had always treaded carefully. She understood that her dazzling beauty would be an advantage. However, it had its own set of problems too. Owing to her unique past, she knew the hearts of men too well.
But Li Luo was different from them. He was not particularly interested in her appearance and he gave her a good impression. Although, what hadn't changed were the doubts she had about his so-called fiance that was apparently as pretty as a goddess. Did someone like that truly exist?
As such, she was fine with getting close to Li Luo. The more powerful and influential Li Luo became, the better it would be for her.
"Tsk tsk, he's indeed the son of Third Uncle, defeating a Fiend Finisher while he’s only at the Greater Fiend Palace Tier. Although his opponent was just a beginner Fiend Finisher who has just started condensing his fiend dipper energy, such a feat is rarely seen," Li Jingtao commented in admiration as he gazed at the tall silhouette on the platform.
Then his face immediately turned bitter again. "It will be tough on me in the future. The next time my father scolds me, he will definitely say things like ‘just take a look at your little brother,’" he lamented.
Li Jingtao was a kind soul who did not like to compete with others. Everyone in the younger generation of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li knew that the eldest grandson of the Lineage Chief was no different from a benevolent, old man. Due to this, he had been reprimanded by his father for lacking in drive multiple times.
"Hmph, you deserve it with your lackadaisical personality. If you had put in some effort, the Gold Light Banner would never have managed to rise to the top amongst the four banners of the Dragon's Fang Lineage," Li Fengyi said.
Once upon a time, Li Jingtao actually had the highest chance to lead the four banners. After all, he had the right background. However, he had lost it to the Gold Light Banner due to his docile personality. That gave Deng Fengxian an opportunity to rise up and become the leading figure amongst the younger generation of the Dragon's Fang Lineage today.
"I was leaving the opportunity for you," Li Jingtao replied with a laugh.
"How dare you ask a girl like me to take the frontline and lead!" Li Fengyi curled her lips.
"Don't worry, we have Little Brother now. He's not bad, so I have my hopes placed on him! In the future, he will definitely become the figurehead of the Dragon's Fang Lineage just like Third Uncle," Li Jingtao replied with an apologetic smile.
Hearing this, Li Fengyi shook her head helplessly without any more words.
Over at the Gold Light Banner area.
A few Sub Leaders of the Gold Light Banner asked in disbelief, "Zhong Ling actually lost. Isn't Li Luo just insane? What kind of Greater Fiend Palace cultivator possesses such power?"
Deng Fengxian stared at Li Luo's silhouette on the platform as he slowly explained, "It was a really surprising end to this battle, but that last blow by Li Luo was an all-in bet. He summoned up all his strength in that attack and could barely stand straight after it. Of course, it's unbelievable for someone at the Greater Fiend Palace Tier to muster up so much power. This must have been an edge provided to him by his three resonances. They must have enabled him to cultivate an amount of resonant power comparable to a Silver Fiend after tempering all three of his resonant palaces. Besides that, his body was screaming in pain when he slashed down with his blade earlier. He used some kind of secret art to strengthen his body in order to withstand it.
"Most importantly, the power of his dual resonances is different from the other dual resonances that I have seen so far. His dual resonance power was much more concentrated and powerful. It seemed like there were even some mysterious traces of light in it. If I am not wrong, Li Luo may have attained the third realm when it comes to wielding dual resonances."
When he finished his analysis, the members of the Gold Light Banner asked in surprise, "The third realm?!" They had heard of it as a power that truly only belonged to those at the Duke Stage. This was an unique edge that dual resonance users had. However, it was said that it was really challenging to increase one's realms when it came to dual resonance power. It turned out that Li Luo had already managed to achieve it at the Greater Fiend Palace Tier.
Was his natural talent really that amazing?
If he was already so overpowered when he was merely at the Greater Fiend Palace Tier, then wouldn't he be a threat even to Deng Fengxian when he finally entered the Fiend Body Tier in the future?
Seeing the change in their expressions, Deng Fengxian calmly smiled and elaborated, "It's true that we cannot underestimate Li Luo, but there is no need to be so scared. That feeble condensation of fiend dipper energy by Zhong Ling does not truly reflect the might of those at the Fiend Finisher Tier. Moreover, Li Luo took a huge gamble in this battle. Zhong Ling's foundation is not strong, which is why he can't even reach the Glass Fiend Tier. If Li Luo had faced a Glass Fiend opponent, he would definitely not have been the last man standing."
Hearing his words, the banner members heaved a sigh of relief. It would be too scary if Li Luo could stand up to a true Fiend Finisher while he was only at the Greater Fiend Palace Tier. However, they now understood even with all his might, Li Luo had only won against a Gold Fiend rather than a Fiend Finisher.
As for Deng Fengxian, he was a bona fide Fiend Finisher who had even made a stop at the Glass Fiend Tier.
His foundation was solid and far exceeded that of an ordinary Fiend Finisher.
From his explanation earlier, they understood that he was still miles ahead of Li Luo. Notwithstanding the exceptional talent of Li Luo, the Gold Light Banner would still remain as the top amongst the four banners of the Dragon's Fang Lineage.
And Deng Fengxian would still be the leader of the younger generation in the Dragon's Fang Lineage.
"Let's go. There's nothing else to see today," Deng Fengxian said. With a wave of his hand, he turned around and left.
The members of the Gold Light Banner followed closely behind. After his spectacular win in this fight, they all knew that Li Luo, the son of Li Taixuan that had returned from the outer divine continent, would surely rise in fame among the younger generation in Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li.
The stunning conclusion of this battle would create waves of ripples through the otherwise peaceful days for the Twenty Banners.
Chapter 0796: Advice From Li Jingzhe
At the bamboo forest in the back of Dragon's Fang Mountain.
Li Luo had come over to share the good news after his victory at the Green Nether Banner's Banner Leader selection battle. Upon arrival, he saw that Li Jingzhe had been waiting for him with a meal of light bamboo shoots prepared.
Evidently, he already knew the result of the selection battle.
Seeing this, Li Luo accepted his hospitality and enjoyed a nice meal with the old man. After all, there were probably not many people in the Dragon's Fang Lineage who would get a chance to try the bamboo shoots personally prepared by him.
After drinking two cups of bamboo wine, Li Luo smiled and asked, "Grandpa, my performance so far is pretty good, right? It only took me two months to become the Banner Leader."
Hearing this, Li Jingzhe took another bite of bamboo shoot, slowly chewing on it as he replied, "Not too bad, you did not disgrace your father."
A faint grin appeared on his wrinkled, serious, old face and a look of satisfaction arose in his eyes.
"What about the things you promised me before, Grandpa?" Li Luo asked eagerly.
"About the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus?" Li Jingzhe clarified.
Li Luo nodded earnestly as he awaited his answer.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe placed his chopsticks down before answering, "I sent a letter over to the Dragon's Blood Lineage a few days ago. I wanted to withdraw the item from the treasury vault, but unfortunately, there have been some hiccups."
"Someone else has taken it?!" Li Luo inquired nervously as soon as he heard about the update.
"That is not the case, don't worry. Like what I told you previously, it is a precious treasure that our Ancestor brought back from the World Border. All of the lineages have been eyeing it, especially the Hall Masters of the Dragon's Blood Lineage. As soon as they heard about my request, there was a lot of opposition from the Dragon's Blood Lineage, and they used that as an excuse to turn me down this time," Li Jingzhe explained.
Pondering over it for a moment, he continued, "Don't worry about it, I have reminded their Hall Masters as well. If they dare to snatch it from me with some crappy reason, I will definitely not let it go. Let's just wait until the Lineage Chief's birthday party next month when I personally pay him a visit at the Dragon's Blood Lineage. They are probably just using it as an excuse to get something good out of it. In that case, we can just give them something in exchange for it. It’s not a big deal, don't worry. Since I have promised to get it for you, I'll definitely do so."
Li Luo was a little touched by his words. Looking at the old man’s calm and peaceful face, he knew very well in his heart that in the vast and complex dealings among the different lineages, the “something good” that they would gain would be far beyond his imagination.
Although they were all members of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, there was intense competition with smoking gunpowder ready to blow at any time.
However, Li Luo could only keep this good faith etched in his heart for now. After all, he really needed the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus to help Jiang Qing'e recover her foundation. This would be critical for her future in reaching the Duke Stage. He had to obtain the treasure and deliver it to Jiang Qing'e within a year's time.
"Thank you, Grandpa," Li Luo said softly as he poured a cup of wine for Li Jingzhe.
Li Jingzhe accepted it with a smile and then downed it. He knew his grandson really wanted this item, although he did not know exactly why he was so concerned. As a Fiend Palace Tier cultivator, that treasure was too much for him to handle. Even if it were given to him to use, his physical body might not be able to handle it at all.
However, he did not probe any further. If his grandson had traveled all the way from the outer divine continent for it, he would get it for him as his grandfather.
"I can't get you the Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus right now, but do you have any other wishes?" Li Jingzhe asked with a laugh.
Li Luo shook his head with a grin at first. However, he suddenly recalled the request from Li Rouyun earlier and asked, "Grandpa, I heard that the Green Nether Hall is choosing a new Hall Master. Can I nominate Uncle Biao for it?"
"Ox Biaobiao?" Li Jingzhe asked.
Li Luo nodded and told him frankly, "When I enter the Green Nether Hall in the future, there may be some tension between Zhong Yushi and I. If I arrange for friendly aid to enter in advance, this will help to make things easier for me in the future." He was really honest with his intentions and had not thought of hiding it.
Hearing his direct and blunt words, Li Jingzhe did not know if he should laugh or cry. Was it really appropriate to talk about a power struggle in front of him, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Fang Lineage?
"It's good that you are planning ahead," he responded in the end. Even after all these years, he had not removed Li Taixuan as the Hall Master of Green Nether Hall because he still believed that the Green Nether Hall belonged to him. Although Li Taixuan had not returned, his son, Li Luo, had come back. In the future, the Green Nether Hall would definitely be handed over to Li Luo.
As such, he did not object to Li Luo's suggestion about placing his own man into the Green Nether Hall.
"Ox Biaobiao does not have a title in the Dragon's Fang Lineage, so this may not really be in line with the rules. However, there have been similar precedents like this, so I can still let him participate in the selection for the Hall Master position. Nevertheless, his Duke Bergfrieds have been destroyed and he has yet to fully recover his strength. He requires external aid just to maintain his power as a fourth-grade Duke, but the participants in the Hall Master selection battle will all be fifth-grade Dukes minimally. He can join, but he may not be able to defeat his opponents," Li Jingzhe explained.
"So, my suggestion is for him to wait patiently for now. I will try and push back the selection battle to buy us some time while we find a way to restore his Duke Bergfrieds. Once he has restored his strength, things will be easier," Li Jingzhe continued.
Hearing this, Li Luo nodded in agreement.
"Let's do as you say, Grandpa," Li Luo replied. Li Jingzhe nodded in response too.
At this moment, Li Jingzhe also reminded Li Luo, "Now that you are the Banner Leader of the Green Nether Banner, you need to familiarize yourself with achieving Harmony with the entire banner. This is the most important thing right now. There will be tasks assigned to your banner in the future, and some are bound to be extremely dangerous. You will surely need everyone's combined effort to clear them."
Li Luo nodded seriously. As the Banner Leader, he would be able to use Harmony with all eight thousand banner members in the Green Nether Banner. This power would be far stronger than what he had experienced with just the fifth division alone. Perhaps... this force could even rival someone at the Duke Stage!
However, such a mighty force would definitely be challenging to control properly.
He would need to spend a lot of time and practice before he could pull it off.
"Grandpa, I would like to increase the efficiency in which I refine abstruse fiend lights. Do you know any other ways?" Li Luo asked.
"With the Nine Revolutions Draconic Breath Fiend Arts, two monthly stipends, and the rewards from the Fiendish Devil Cave, you are still lacking?" Li Jingzhe replied jokingly.
Li Luo shook his head in response. With the things he mentioned, Li Luo could basically condense about three thousand strands of abstruse fiend light every month. This was already a very fast pace of progress. However, Li Luo's goal was to fully fill all three of his palaces.
Based on his current estimation, his three palaces could contain not less than thirty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights at the moment.
This was an incredulous amount.
If it were anyone else, even someone with a ninth-grade resonance, their resonant palace would require only twenty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights or so to fill.
However, he had three resonant palaces, so his needs far exceeded what an ordinary ninth-grade resonant cultivator would require.
With thirty thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights as his foundation, he could very likely skip the Silver Fiend Tier and head straight into the Gold Fiend Tier when he finally strived for the Fiend Body Tier! However, wouldn't it take close to a year to fill it up based on his current rate of progress?
Honestly speaking, taking a year to move from the Greater Fiend Palace Tier to the Fiend Body Tier was not considered fast at all.
Furthermore, time was the most precious factor for Li Luo. He could not afford to waste any more.
With these thoughts in mind, he had come to seek advice from Li Jingzhe.
"That is a pleasant trouble to have," Li Jingzhe commented. He was wise enough to know at a glance that Li Luo was planning to fill up all three resonant palaces before heading into the Fiend Body Tier.
He proceeded to give his advice.
"Ordinarily speaking, you have already reached the fastest pace in refining your strands of abstruse fiend light. Adding more high-grade Fiend Origin Pills would not make much of a difference. If you really want to boost the rate at which you acquire abstruse fiend lights, you will require the assistance of rare opportunities or encounters."
Hearing this, Li Luo was slightly disappointed. These so-called opportunities were magical items or places in the world that further bolster his growth. However, if they were so easy to find, they wouldn't be rare!
With a leisurely tone, Li Jingzhe continued, "There are indeed some special locations in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, such as the Ten Thousand Starlight in the Starfall Palace. It was formed by the combining resonant power from the stars and worldly natural energy. It is said that a strand of Ten Thousand Starlight can be refined into three thousand strands of abstruse fiend light.
"In addition, there is also the Nine Mountains Spiritual Earth from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing. It gathers the worldly natural energy from the nine surrounding mountains and condenses it into Spiritual Earth Energy that can also greatly boost one's refinement of abstruse fiend lights," he further elaborated.
"However, these special opportunities are all governed by the respective major forces, and outsiders are unlikely to get access to them."
Hearing this, Li Luo shook his head in disappointment. However, he had a quick thought and asked, "What about us in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li? Do we have such special opportunities too?"
"Oh? You caught what I was hinting at?" Li Jingzhe laughed in response.
He continued, "For us, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, we have a pool named... the Mystical Yellow Dragonbreath Pool. There is a special dragonbreath known as the Mystical Yellow Dragonbreath in a lake that can be used to condense the strands of abstruse fiend light which you so desire. Through this method, one portion of dragonbreath can condense..."
At this moment, he stretched out his palm and waved five fingers in front of Li Luo.
"Five thousand strands of abstruse fiend lights."
Clank! Clank!
Li Luo dropped his chopsticks onto the floor upon hearing this.