Chapter 1254: Ceremony of Ascent
As Li Jingzhe's nonchalant words died down, the Ceremony of Ascent for the Five Guardian Armies officially commenced.
The first segment would be the announcement of promotions for the now-titled individuals. Following this, those in the same rank would be allowed to pick their opponents for the martial arts challenge.
However, everyone knew who the main characters for today were.
The guardians from the Dragon's Scale, Dragon's Bone, and Dragon's Horn Lineages all shrugged their shoulders and gave up their rights to challenge another for the martial arts competition. They did not want to waste time, much less get jeered at.
They were also dying to watch the fight today, to see who would emerge as the victor, especially with 80,000 dragon essence at stake.
This was a fight where the parties involved had a huge discrepancy in cultivation levels. Would it be a one-sided fight? Or would both sides be equally matched? Everyone looked forward in anticipation.
Under the bustling whispers from the crowd, two people separated from the Dragon's Blood Guardians and leaped onto the huge stage. Faint runes could be vaguely seen on the ground and the void surrounding it.
One of them was a strong and muscular male with grayish-yellow resonant power circling around his body. It gave the impression that an endless earthen field had materialized in the air, pressing down on everything and creating a sense of stability.
The person beside him was Li Qingbai, whom Li Luo had met back in the treasury.
"Right Dragon's Blood Envoy, Li Yuanshan."
"Dragon's Blood Guardians Fourth Grand Commander, Li Qingbai."
The two of them said in harmony, "I would like to ask for your guidance, Dragon's Fang Guardians."
As their voices rang in the air, the members of the Dragon's Fang Guardians all turned towards Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e. Their gazes were supportive, but a hint of worry could still be seen.
After all, their opponents were an upper third-grade and an upper first-grade Duke. Their resonant power and cultivation levels were clearly ahead of Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's.
If the two of them had not displayed exceptional talent time and again, no one would have even harbored any hope for them.
"Third Brother, Sister-in-law, all the best!" Li Fengyi cheered.
“Go for it! If you can't win, just retreat. It's alright as long as you're not hurt," Li Jingtao shouted.
Li Fengyi's eyes widened when she heard this. "It's not that simple. What will we do if Sister Hongyou is forced to leave?"
Li Jingtao smiled in response. "Isn't the Respected Elder here? If we actually lose, we can ask him to step forward and say a fair word for us. Currently, Sister Hongyou is part of the Dragon's Fang Lineage. If she didn't do anything wrong, we shouldn't force her to leave no matter what. Besides, the stakes are to force Sister Hongyou out of the Dragon's Fang Guardians. We didn't say when. So, we can let her go after waiting another one to two years, right?"
Those in the surroundings who heard his words stared at Li Jingtao's simple and honest face, tongue-tied.
Even an honest person knew how to bend the rules as well. Li Luo gave him a thumbs up and smiled. "Great idea, Elder Brother. If we do it that way, we cannot possibly lose!"
Li Fuluo added helplessly, "This is clearly the last resort. After all, news of the bet has spread across the city. If we take advantage of loopholes like this, it will only worsen the relationship between the two Guardian Armies and lead to greater conflicts in the future. As such, we'll only do this if there is really no other way."
He looked over at Jiang Qing'e and continued, "Regarding the matter with Li Hongyou, we can only shut the Dragon's Blood Guardians up for good if we beat them openly. You'll also obtain the dragon essences with peace of mind. Of course… This will undoubtedly be very challenging. To be honest, I can't even fathom how you'll be able to eke out a victory."
Jiang Qing'e nodded slightly. Her deep, golden eyes reflected the sunlight and her exquisite face attracted all the gazes from afar. However, she didn't pay much attention to them and just replied, "Back in the Xia Kingdom, I was only at the Heavenly Pearl Tier, whereas Li Luo was at the Earth Fiend tier. At that time, our opponents far surpassed us and no one thought that we would be able to win, but in the end… we stood victorious."
Li Luo grinned. He knew that Jiang Qing'e was referring to the Housemeet that concerned the life and death of House Luolan.
Everyone thought that House Luolan would be forced to fracture into separate factions. However, the result was completely unexpected. Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo managed to protect House Luolan, ensuring that it remained as one. Not only that, the evil and traitorous fiend, Pei Hao, was slaughtered.
The trials and tribulations they faced back then were no more difficult than what they were dealing with now.
Jiang Qing'e took a glance at Li Luo. Her gentle eyes were filled with nostalgia as she recalled the times they had spent together in the Xia Kingdom. When compared to the memories made in the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College or the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, those days were definitely less extravagant. However, House Luolan was the place that contained the fondest memories in her heart.
"Let's go, Li Luo," Jiang Qing'e said with a light smile.
Li Luo nodded. The two flew forward and landed on the stage as everyone watched in anticipation.
"Right Dragon Fang Envoy, Jiang Qing'e."
"Dragon's Fang Guardians Fourth Grand Commander, Li Luo."
"We would like to ask for your guidance, Dragon's Blood Guardians."
Cheers broke out among the crowd as soon as the two of them landed on the stage. Apart from the Five Guardian Armies, many elites from various powers in Heavenly Dragon City had come to watch this battle.
As outsiders, they were not aware of Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo's background or achievements.
Thus, they were surprised to see Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e jumping onto the stage. They could tell that the beautiful girl was the stronger one out of the duo. However, her resonant power was clearly a far cry when compared to that of Li Yuanshan of the Dragon's Blood Guardians.
As for Li Luo, they could tell that he wasn't even at the Duke Stage yet!
A Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier Grand Commander?
Had the Dragon's Fang Guardians fallen so low? Even someone with that piddling strength could become a Grand Commander now?
Many elites began to whisper amongst themselves, unable to understand the situation.
They did not understand why there would be such a huge gap in strength between the teams. Why would such a battle become the most exciting topic in town? Even members from the other Guardian Armies were giving way to them.
Over at the Dragon's Blood Guardians, Li Zhihuo looked at Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e. He said indifferently, "They actually agreed to a team battle."
"This must have been Jiang Qing'e's decision. She wants to lighten the load on Li Luo with such a format," Yuan Tianzhao, the left Dragon's Blood Envoy, explained.
"Tsk, what a lovely couple. She can't even take care of herself, yet she's thinking of him? Does she think it'll be so easy to handle Li Yuanshan, an upper third-grade Duke?" Li Hongque said coldly.
"Nonetheless, this is good news. It means that they aren't very confident in winning this bet."
Li Zhihuo nodded in agreement. He then looked respectfully over at Li Jingzhe for a second. "I am afraid this may be our only chance. The Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Fang Lineage is now standing guard over Heavenly Dragon City. In the coming days, the influence of the Dragon's Blood Lineage here will fall drastically."
Yuan Tianzhao and Li Hongque turned silent as soon as they heard him mention Li Jingzhe. Their eyes were also full of respect. After all, they had heard about the incident two days ago. Li Jingzhe had barged into Abyssal City alone, injured Qin Lian critically, and even forced the Dual Crowned King Qin Jiujie to take action.
As soon as Qin Jiujie appeared, he revealed his true strength as a Quasi-Triple Crown King and beat him up unceremoniously as well.
It was a shocking turn of events.
Li Zhihuo and the rest understood that with Li Jingzhe as a Quasi-Triple Crown King, the Dragon's Fang Lineage would start to have significantly more influence in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. Even Li Tianji, the Lineage Chief of the Dragon's Blood Lineage, would be suppressed by him.
This was an unimaginable turn of events. Li Tianji had been trying to make a breakthrough for years. This could mean that the Dragon's Blood Lineage would lose the position of Mountain Ruling Chief. In that case, the Dragon's Fang Lineage would gain the highest authority in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li.
As such, they would not be able to deal with Li Hongyou as long as Li Jingzhe was present.
This opportunity was their very last chance to do so.
Dong!
A bell rang in the air, marking the start of the challenge. The crowd cheered excitedly.
Li Yuanshan took a heavy step forward. Enormous amounts of resonant power flooded out of him and his three Duke Bergfrieds took form, continuously devouring the worldly natural energy around it.
One of them had eight pillars whilst the other two had seven.
Each of the Duke Bergfrieds emitted a grayish-yellow radiance, and a giant dragon could be faintly seen in each of them.
The dragons' bodies were surrounded by a grayish-white coating of light that gave them an air of stability.
Quasi ninth-grade Earth Dragon resonance!
Upper eighth-grade granite resonance!
Meanwhile, countless green lights shot out from above Li Qingbai's head too. A jade-green Duke Bergfried emerged from the lights, surrounded by seven pillars.
Above his Duke Bergfried was a giant tree that reached thousands of feet into the air. The tree was covered with sharp scales almost akin to numerous swords fused into a single entity. As the branches swung, it was as though thousands of swords were slicing through the air.
A giant, green dragon slowly coiled up around the trunk of the giant tree. The jade-green energy pulsing out of it seemed to contain unlimited amounts of vitality.
Upper eighth-grade Wood Dragon resonance!
Upper eighth-grade Swordscale Tree resonance!
Many elites of Heavenly Dragon City sighed at this sight. The Dragon's Blood Guardians were indeed the strongest amongst the Five Guardian Armies. The strength shown by these two was almost considered the peak amongst those at the same cultivation level.
A seven pillar Duke Bergfried was exceptional, and these individuals could be considered elites.
As they exclaimed in surprise, overflowing light resonant power shot up into the sky in response. The sea of light blanketed the entire sky, and a Duke Bergfried quietly floated in the middle with a sacred aura.
Everyone squinted curiously as they attempted to count the number of glazed pillars that stood tall around the perfect Duke Bergfried.
After a few moments, their already small eyes shrank even more.
They could see ten pillars supporting the Duke Bergfried!
A legendary Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried! The crowd burst into an uproar immediately.
At this moment, they finally understood why the other party had agreed despite the difference in strength.
The stunning beauty in front of them was actually…
An unrivaled genius!
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