Li Yuanshan and Li Qingbai felt their hearts pounding in their chests upon hearing Jiang Qing'e's cold voice. Their initial plan was to strengthen Li Yuanshan with the Parent-Child Blood Fusion Lamp, enabling them to knock her out with a single strike.
However, a completely unexpected chain of events had unfolded. Li Luo had managed to activate his Affliction Art successfully, and not only had he negated any power-ups gained, he had even pushed Li Yuanshan down to a second-grade Duke.
Li Yuanshan was originally on par with Jiang Qing'e as an upper third-grade Duke. Now that he had fallen down into a second-grade, would he still be a match?
Worry filled them. On the other hand, Jiang Qing'e was not planning to show any mercy to them whatsoever. Countless rays of light burst out of the glazed Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried. Everywhere the light touched, worldly natural energy was converted into light resonant power.
Bang!
At the next moment, a rumbling boom could be heard from the Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried. A giant pillar of light descended like a strike of divine punishment. An immense amount of light resonant power enveloped Li Yuanshan.
Li Yuanshan's scalp turned numb as he witnessed Jiang Qing'e's vicious strike. He couldn't surrender, as he was representing the Dragon's Blood Guardians at the moment. He had to grit his teeth and take it head-on.
It would be best if he could withstand a few hits in order to prevent a humiliating defeat.
With that in mind, Li Yuanshan took a deep breath. He summoned up all the resonant power in his body without any reservation. The two Duke Bergfrieds above his head began to spew out enormous amounts of grayish-yellow resonant power.
The resonant power itself was unbearably heavy.
Li Yuanshan possessed an Earth Dragon resonance and a granite resonance. Thus, defense had always been his main attribute.
He formed lightning-fast hand seals and pressed down firmly against the ground in front of him.
Bang!
The ground quaked violently, and an extremely large wall rose up from the ground. Atop the wall sat the coiled-up manifestation of a dragon, which had an indomitable and unshakeable presence. At the same time, grayish-white light extended out and dyed the wall, giving it the appearance that it was constructed from st.u.r.dy rock.
Many members of the Five Guardian Armies whispered amongst themselves when they saw this. They recognized this art immediately—it was Li Yuanshan's favorite defensive art.
Soul Ascension-grade Duke Art: Giant Dragon Wall! When it arose, it gave the spectators the feeling that it was impenetrable.
The pillar of light struck the solid Giant Dragon Wall head-first. Immediately after, the wall began to break down at an astonis.h.i.+ng speed.
This pillar of light was composed of the purest light resonant power, and its purification power was so great that even Li Yuanshan, who specialized in defense, was having difficulty blocking it.
"Triple ninth-grade light resonances are truly formidable." The Dukes spectating the match couldn't help but sigh.
Li Yuanshan also felt the humongous pressure pus.h.i.+ng down on him. He gritted his teeth as he swiped his palm across the pocket sphere on his wrist. A jar appeared in his hand.
He opened the jar, which contained a yellowish-brown mud which was then slathered onto the Giant Dragon Wall.
This was the Enchanted Heavy Mud, a lower-grade Duke Mythic Armament that was created through multiple rounds of complex refinement.
However, what made it different was that it was an expendable item. Once it was used, Li Yuanshan would have to fork out a significant amount of resources to refine it again.
Nonetheless, he didn't have time to hold back, given the situation at hand. He had to use it and salvage the face of the Dragon's Blood Guardians.
When the mud fell onto the Giant Dragon Wall, the thick wall solidified instantly. The mud spread across the wall, and its defenses strengthened considerably. Even the purification effects of Jiang Qing'e's light resonant power appeared to have been abated temporarily.
Li Yuanshan heaved a sigh of relief. At the same time, his heart ached as the light resonant power continuously ate away at the Enchanted Heavy Mud.
But this feeling of heartache did not last long. He suddenly sensed a piercing wave of energy emanating from the inside of the light pillar.
He narrowed his eyes and looked over.
Within the pillar of light was a glowing nail that possessed terrifying piercing power, and it was flying towards him.
Bang!
The nail struck the Giant Dragon Wall, and divine light resonant power carved a path out for it.
When it slammed into the wall, it immediately created a hole in Li Yuanshan’s absolute defense.
The nail drilled into the wall for a few moments, then a minute gap opened up.
A thin beam of light pa.s.sed through the c.h.i.n.k in his armor.
Li Yuanshan felt cold sweat cover his back when he witnessed this scene. Without hesitation, he retreated swiftly, leaving behind a line of mud dummies in his tracks to absorb the attack.
Swoos.h.!.+
As soon as the mud dummies appeared, they were immediately punctured by the stream of light.
The nail left behind a thin trail of flowing light as it blazed across the air like a bolt of lightning.
It was then that Li Yuanshan froze in place. The overflowing resonant power coming from him also came to an abrupt stop.
Li Qingbai looked over, and his face turned completely pale. A nail was quietly floating in front of Li Yuanshan, between his eyebrows.
This nail was like a poisonous python. If Li Yuanshan made any further movements, it would pierce through his head instantly.
Although it had not come into direct contact with him, its aura was so sharp that it drew blood, causing a crimson trail of liquid to slowly trickle down Li Yuanshan's face. He gulped down a mouth of saliva as cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He did not dare to move a single muscle in the face of death.
In the end, he smiled bitterly before saying, "I surrender."
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it.
Li Qingbai lowered his head in shame and disappointment before he collapsed onto the ground as well.
The whole area fell completely silent before huge cheers broke out.
The Dragon's Fang Guardians exclaimed in excitement.
"Dragon Fang Envoy Jiang is the greatest!"
"Grand Commander Li Luo is amazing!" ????????????.???
Li Fengyi, Li Jingtao, Li Fuling, and the rest were overjoyed. The worries that were heavily weighing down their hearts had finally been lifted.
Even Li Foluo secretly heaved a sigh of relief. At his side, Luo Jiang smiled. "What a formidable couple. I can definitely see them bringing the Dragon's Fang Guardians back to the top. Perhaps they'll even surpa.s.s Guardian General Taixuan."
Li Taixuan was truly the center of attention in his heyday. However, he was ultimately limited by being a single person despite how amazing he was. On the other hand, this duo seemed to contain frightening potential.
Li Luo was just one step away from the Duke Stage, and if he also managed to forge a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried, those two would be truly formidable. Li Foluo nodded slowly, revealing a faint smile as well. "It seems like I won't be sitting in this position for much longer."
On the side, Li Hongyou had heard their conversation. A gentle smile appeared on her cold face as she lifted her head up. She then looked towards the Dragon's Blood Guardians, where everyone was completely silent at the moment.
She saw Li Hongque’s stunned and dumbfounded expression, which then transformed into one full of shock and anger. Seeing this, Li Hongyou's smile turned even more radiant.
Meanwhile, Li Hongque was snapped from her fury as soon as she sensed her gaze. Her eyes burned with fury as she glared back at Li Hongyou, dissatisfied with this result. Never in her wildest dreams had Li Hongque expected their side to lose the bet!
This meant that she had lost the chance to chase Li Hongyou out for good.
As she thought about this, her face turned twisted.
"How did we lose? How's that possible! What the h.e.l.l are Li Qingbai and Li Yuanshan doing?!" She couldn't help but vent her frustrations on the two of them.
However, Li Zhihuo frowned at her. "Hongque, it's not their fault. Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e are simply too extraordinary."
There was also a hint of disappointment in his gaze. This loss meant that they had to fork out 80,000 dragon essences. It was a painful price to pay even for a Guardian General like himself.
Most importantly, they had not managed to stifle Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's upward momentum. Instead, it had made them even more spectacular.
It was really a total defeat, both in monetary terms and face.
If people were to ask who had helped Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e tide through their toughest times when they first entered the Dragon's Fang Guardians, his name would definitely be on the top of the list with his generous "contribution." He had lost too much in this bet.
Amidst the bustling cheers, Li Luo looked towards Li Zhihuo from the middle of the stage. He cupped his hands together politely and said with a warm smile, "Thank you very much for your kind contribution of 80,000 dragon essences."
He was truly excited to receive them. If he split them equally with Jiang Qing'e, he could make up for the previous loan and still have quite a bit leftover. He would be able to trade for higher grade spirit liquids with the remaining amount.
Although Li Luo was able to attain a ninth-grade dragon resonance with the help of the True Dragon Seed Pill, it was still an external aid. His resonance grade did not increase permanently.
At present, his Thunder Dragon resonance was in the upper seventh-grade. Li Luo wanted to try and increase it to the eighth-grade next. He wasn't too far away from the Duke Stage, and his ambition was to forge a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried. If his Thunder Dragon resonance remained slightly weaker, it could potentially drag him down a little. Hence, he wanted to improve it as soon as possible.