The sixth-grade Duke spewed out a mouthful of fresh blood and roared in pain. He had no intention to remain behind any further. Borrowing the aid of his blood essence, he activated a secret art and transformed into a stream of b.l.o.o.d.y light that vanished into the distance.
In just a few breaths of time, he completely disappeared and any semblance of his aura was gone.
If it weren't for the destroyed scenery that lay in ruins all around them, the battle would’ve felt like a mere trick of the mind.
Li Foluo raised his hand and his halberd returned to his grasp. After which, he glanced in surprise towards Li Luo's position. There was a young lady floating in the sky. She had an incredibly beautiful and exquisite countenance that no one could match.
However, the dazzling and glazed Duke Bergfried above her was even more shocking than her beauty.
"What? A Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried?!"
A commotion broke out yet again among the Dragon's Fang Guardians. Their looks of utter surprise were focused on the ethereal beauty. A Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried was, after all, rarely seen.
Who was she? Just when had such an unparalleled talent appeared in the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li? Countless questions arose within their hearts.
While the Dragon's Fang Guardians were stunned by the sight of Jiang Qing'e's Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried, Li Luo had rushed over to Ox Biaobiao's side.
Ox Biaobiao was standing on top of a shattered mountaintop at this point. Most of his flesh and blood had been incinerated and his white bones were completely exposed. It was a truly sad and horrifying sight to behold.
There were also signs of the flaming poison corroding his bones.
"Uncle Biao, are you ok?!" Li Luo asked with a worried face.
Ox Biaobiao heaved a deep breath of burning-hot air. His face was twisted and he looked really miserable. "d.a.m.n it, she sure is vicious."
At the next moment, Li Rouyun landed beside them as well. She felt her heart ache while looking at Ox Biaobiao's injuries. With a wave of her sleeves, an icy resonant power shot towards Ox Biaobiao's body and attempted to resist the domineering flaming poison.
"Luckily, this is nothing compared to the injuries I sustained back in the day. My Duke Bergfrieds were shattered and I nearly lost my life back then," Ox Biaobiao said.
Li Luo was a little apologetic about this. "I didn't expect to get you hurt again while escorting me, Uncle Biao."
Ox Biaobiao took a look at him. "What're you saying? I'm glad that I decided to come along on a whim. If it were anyone else, they may not have risked their lives to hold back that eighth-grade Duke."
If Ox Biaobiao had thought of backing down, they would definitely have been unable to withstand the attacks from the eighth-grade Duke. Without him holding her back, she would have reached the trio and they would have been dead for sure.
Hearing this, Li Luo's eyes turned dark. "Who were those people? Why did they try to kill us? What were they after?"
Although the World End's River Region was a chaotic place, the a.s.sa.s.sins were clearly prepared. An eighth-grade Duke and three sixth-grade Dukes—they were definitely not a random group of rogue cultivators. Besides, which rogue cultivators would dare to attack a flying s.h.i.+p from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?
What benefits would they get out of it? They did not have any valuable treasures with them.
"They used Masking Spiritual Incense to hide their ident.i.ties. The resonances that we saw may not be their actual ones either. Masking Spiritual Incense is an extremely valuable treasure that ordinary rogue cultivators couldn’t get their hands on easily," Ox Biaobiao said as his eyes turned furious.
"I think they’re linked to the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing or the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao."
Li Luo frowned when he heard this. The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao had a long history of grudges with the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. Both sides shared a common border and fights often broke out there. Moreover, Li Luo had caused one of the talents from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao to suffer greatly at the Spiritual Resonance Cave, so their Elders surely hated the mere mention of his name.
Therefore, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao definitely had a reason to come after his life.
As for the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing, they were exclusively coming after the Dragon's Fang Lineage.
This was because of the crazy lady, Qin Lian.
"Could it have been Qin Lian? I think she is an eighth-grade Duke." Li Luo asked.
"I tried probing them, but the person hid themselves really well, so it's pointless for us to make blind guesses here. Unless we have actual evidence, we can't just knock on the door of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qing and question them," Ox Biaobiao explained.
Li Luo nodded. "Regardless, she is one of the key suspects. We need to be more careful in the future."
Then his eyes turned a little colder. "If it's really her, I'll definitely make her pay in the future."
This attempt on their lives had been dangerous despite coming fully prepared. If not for the teamwork between Jiang Qing'e and him, they wouldn't have been able to hold up long enough for the arrival of the Dragon's Fang Guardians.
Ox Biaobiao nodded in agreement. Qin Lian truly had a screw loose in her head, and they had to watch out for her in the future.
The majority of the Dragon's Fang Guardians remained on the same spot while a few leaders flew over and landed in front of Li Luo and the others.
The head of the group was naturally the Guardian General, Li Foluo.
On his side were a few familiar faces. They were Li Jingtao, Li Fengyi, and Deng Fengxian.
"Third Brother!" Li Jingtao and Li Fengyi exclaimed happily as they waved at Li Luo.
"Elder Brother, Second Sister." Li Luo smiled back at them. It had been close to half a year since they had seen each other.
Li Fengyi beamed brightly as she rushed up to Li Luo, giving him a punch on his chest. "You've been gone for more than half a year, kiddo. I guess you finally realized it's time to return."
Li Jingtao grinned at Li Luo. He said with a little surprise, "Third Brother, you have gotten considerably stronger again."
He could sense a strong wave of pressure coming from Li Luo. This was much stronger than the pressure he felt when Li Luo departed.
"I'm merely at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier now, nothing worth mentioning," Li Luo humbly answered.
"What? You're already at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier?!" Li Fengyi's eyes grew wider as she stared at Li Luo in shock. He was only at the Heavenly Pearl Tier when he had left them, yet he had leaped over the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier in their short time apart?
Li Foluo looked over at Li Luo for a moment when he heard this.
As everyone watched him in awe, Li Luo smiled. "Elder Brother and Second Sister, you have gotten stronger too."
He was paying much more attention to Li Jingtao, as he could sense an unexpectedly powerful aura coming from him.
"I’m doing alright, I'm just an eight-pearl now. I wanted to break into the nine-pearl tier, but I failed," Li Jingtao answered embarra.s.sedly.
"Who knows why this lazy b.u.m wanted to show off for once? He wanted to aim for something so difficult. Don't you know that even Li Qingfeng failed to do so?" Li Fengyi added on bluntly.
Li Luo smiled a little. "It's good that his goal is high now. Elder Brother may have failed this time, but he's gotten an important experience. His resonant power has increased too. If he gets another opportunity in the future, he may succeed."
At this point, Li Fengyi glanced over his shoulder. She looked directly at the two ladies behind him, especially the beautiful Jiang Qing'e. Even she was captivated for a moment before she smiled playfully. "Brat, where did you get these two beauties from? I've never seen them in the Dragon's Fang Lineage. How are they related to you? Answer honestly!"
Li Luo grinned a little. “Since you asked for it, I won't be shy.”
"The main reason for my trip to the Heavenly Origin Ancient College was to fetch my fiancee."
Li Fengyi and Li Jingtao were stunned to hear this. "Fiancee? Which one?!"
Li Fengyi's eyes lit up. She could not stop herself from scrutinizing Jiang Qing'e and Li Hongyou. It was fine when she focused on Li Hongyou, but when she turned to Jiang Qing'e's eyes, she inadvertently had to look away. This girl was extraordinarily bright and dazzling. She had such a magnificent presence that even Li Fengyi was hesitant to stare directly. In a certain sense, she felt more stress looking at her than even Li Foluo.
Besides, Jiang Qing'e had revealed her Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried earlier.
Such talent was a legend even within the Heavenly Dragon’s Five Guardian Armies.
Even though she knew that her Third Brother was a good catch, she had not expected his fiancee to be so exceptional. How was he worthy of such a great fiancee? Li Hongyou smiled a little and shook her head when she noticed Li Fengyi's eyes.
Jiang Qing'e also gave Li Luo a stare before she walked up. She stood beside Li Luo and smiled warmly at the curious Li Fengyi.
"I’m Jiang Qing'e. Greetings, Elder Brother, Second Sister."
Li Fengyi's eyes grew larger when she heard this. “So, our Third Brother really got himself such a great fiancee?!”
Li Fengyi was at a loss for words after hearing Jiang Qing'e's self-introduction. By her side, Li Jingtao and the others were also staring in surprise.
The charming girl in front of them was really Li Luo's fiancee?!
Li Fengyi swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She turned over and asked Li Luo, "You didn't bribe someone to set this show up, right? If that’s what you did, I'm going to beat you up."
Li Luo chuckled. "Sister Qing'e and I have already paid Grandfather a visit."