Chapter 0766: Battle for Position
As Deng Fengxian sized him up, Li Luo kept his composure and replied with a smile, "I am indeed Li Luo, the Sub Leader of the Green Nether’s fifth division. Nice to meet you, Gold Light Banner Leader."
At the same time, Li Luo took the chance to get a good look at him. He was handsome and gracious, with a pair of gentle-looking eyes. Occasionally, there was an aura of dominance leaking out. He was probably a very proud person in his heart.
"You are too polite, Sub Leader Li Luo. Now that you have the Nine Revolutions Draconic Breath Fiend Art, you will definitely rise up amongst the young generation and become an outstanding leader," Deng Fengxian responded with a shake of his head.
"What's wrong? Feeling threatened?" Li Fengyi sneered from the side.
Hearing this, Deng Fengxian laughed in response. "Banner Leader Fengyi, you must be kidding. I am hoping someone else in Dragon's Fang Lineage will help me share the burden."
This made Li Fengyi's brows stand on end. Did Deng Fengxian really think he was the leader of the Dragon's Fang Lineage’s young generation? That was what his tone said.
"If you really think so, then don't say such pretentious things. The Gold Light Hall has only managed to get ahead by infringing on the Green Nether Hall's interests, right?" The Gold Light Banner is treated way better than the other three banners. Where do you think all those resources come from?" Li Fengyi retorted with sarcasm.
"They originally belonged to the Green Nether Hall and the Green Nether Banner!"
Deng Fengxian's face remained unaffected as he replied with a faint smile, "I do not understand the battles and games played by the upper echelons. I only know that I am the Banner Leader of the Gold Light Banner, and my responsibility is to make the Gold Light Banner the strongest.
"Even if the Gold Light Banner is treated better, isn't it because we deserve it? After all, who else can we depend on when we are pitted against the other lineages?"
In this instant, Deng Fengxian's dominating and overwhelming aura was clear. He did not show any signs of backing down even when confronted by Li Fengyi, the daughter of the Second Master.
The elite Gold Light Banner members that stood behind their leader also started to circulate their resonant power threateningly.
Li Fengyi was furious with this. With a step forward, a sharp rise in resonant power came from her delicate body, and the Crimson Cloud Banner members followed suit.
The atmosphere around the square grew tense all of a sudden.
“Ahem. Let's take a step back, everyone. Be careful not to offend the elders at Fiendish Devil Peak, or they will cancel the Fiendish Devil Cave expedition today and we will all be forced to head back and cry." Li Jingtao stepped in helplessly in an attempt to mediate between the two.
With just a raise of his hand, Deng Fengxian signaled for the Gold Light Banner members to back down, and their escalated resonant power naturally diminished.
It was evident how much respect Deng Fengxian commanded in the Gold Light Banner.
"Banner Leader Fengyi, let's have the results speak for themselves before we decide if the Gold Light Banner deserves to be treated better. This time, our goal is the fortieth layer of the Fiendish Devil Cave. If we succeed, our progress will place us in the top four amongst the Lineages. This will stop the other four Lineages from mocking our generation of the Dragon's Fang Lineage," Deng Fengxian replied with a laugh.
At this point, he looked over to Zhong Ling and continued, "There is no need to put pressure on Zhong Ling like this. Let the Green Nether Banner settle their own internal affairs themselves, as long as everything is kept fair and square."
When Zhong Ling heard this, he immediately displayed grat.i.tude towards Deng Fengxian.
Li Fengyi snapped back with a pout, "Who doesn't know that Zhong Ling and you are in cahoots? Back when the Gold Light Banner wanted to take more resources from the Green Nether Banner, he was the one that helped you pull it off."
"Don't malign me. That is an order from the hall, what can a small fry Sub Leader like me say?" Zhong Ling shot back furiously.
"If it was not you, it must’ve been your uncle, then," Li Fengyi criticized aggressively. ???ℯ?e??????. c??
Zhong Ling was fuming with anger, but he knew he could not afford to offend Li Fengyi. He let out a cold snort and walked off with the others.
As the commotion went on, Li Luo stood and watched from the side quietly.
He could tell from Li Fengyi's words that over the years, some of the benefits that originally belonged to the Green Nether Banner had been given away to the Gold Light Banner due to the decline of the Green Nether Banner.
Deng Fengxian did not hang around any longer either. In spite of Li Fengyi's taunt, he maintained his composure and smile. With a wave of his hand, he walked off with his banner members too.
The tension of the place finally lifted off with their departures.
Li Fengyi continued to complain to Li Luo, "Little Brother, you have to be careful of that guy. The Gold Light Hall is so strong today mainly due to the resources they have stolen. Deng Fengxian and the Gold Light Banner are just blatantly exploiting the Green Nether Hall and the Green Nether Banner. If you get the chance in the future, remember to take back all the resources that originally belonged to the Green Nether Hall."
"There’s no need for that, right, Second Sister?" Li Luo responded with a laugh."Regardless of whether it's the Gold Light Banner or the Green Nether Banner, we are both under the Dragon's Fang Lineage. As such, the rise of the Gold Light Banner can't be a bad thing for us, right?"
Li Fengyi snorted and whispered back, "Zhao Xuanming, the Gold Light Hall Master, used to be from the Dragon's Blood Lineage. Who knows where they will stand in the end."
Li Luo's eyes lit up. While Li Fengyi's worries were reasonable, they could only be said to be unfounded. As long as the old man was still in charge of the Dragon's Fang Lineage, Zhao Xuanming would not be able to pull any tricks . Furthermore, the old man had told him before that the might of Zhao Xuanming and the Gold Light Hall was used to inspire the other three Halls.
It was just that the Gold Light Banner had gotten too powerful and overwhelmed the other three Halls.
However, these things were way out of his league. As a Lesser Fiend Palace cultivator, there was no need for him to worry about it.
The most important thing right now was to establish his standing in the Green Nether banner.
He did not feel much resentment towards Deng Fengxian either. Despite his tyrannical approach, there was no doubt that Deng Fengxian was strong. As for the resources taken by the Gold Light Banner, he could just reclaim them when the Green Nether Banner got stronger in the future.
With the backing of Li Jingzhe, the Dragon's Fang Lineage’s Lineage Chief, Li Luo was certain he would be able to reclaim whatever belonged to the Green Nether as long as he had the capability.
Li Fengyi's personality was very straightforward. As such, she felt turned off knowing Deng Fengxian had exploited the Green Nether Banner to move up.
On the other hand, Li Jingtao was more gentle and did not mind it. Only Li Fengyi could not stand this.
"Little Brother, you are now the Sub Leader of the Green Nether’s fifth division. Currently, you are in last place among the Twenty Banners. It’s time to show off your skills and get the Green Nether's ranking in the Fiendish Devil Cave up," Li Jingtao explained.
"I will do my best," Li Luo replied with a smile.
Soon, the crowd gathered in front of the gigantic, black hall.
There were countless ancient scribblings and light patterns on the doors to the hall. However, the doors remained tightly shut for now. In the middle of the hall, a dark-golden plaque stood with the words:
Seventy Two Layers of the Fiendish Devil Cave
Li Luo's attention was drawn back to the front of the hall once again, where thirteen golden pillars stood conspicuously. On closer look, numerous names were carved onto them.
"These are the predecessors who have cleared all seventy-two floors of the Fiendish Devil Cave. There are only thirteen banners who have succeeded to date," Li Fengyi explained with admiration.
"See that pillar all the way on the left?" She pointed over with her slender finger.
Li Luo's gaze followed. A golden pillar stood there, s.h.i.+ning more brightly than the others. It was as if the pillar had only been erected recently. Instantly, Li Luo saw the huge name engraved on it.
It was followed by the eight thousand banner members of the Green Nether below.
"Green Nether Banner Leader, Li Taixuan."
Li Luo grinned happily. He could only imagine how outstanding his father was back then.
However, that also meant more pressure for him as the son.
Li Luo withdrew his gaze back to the thick and mysterious closed door. This was just the beginning of his time in the Dragon's Fang Lineage. In the future, he would be able to compare himself to his father to see who was the more brilliant one.
After all, this concerned his position in the family as either the third or the fourth place! The former two spots were already monopolized by the women.
As a result, this was a battle for one's position and social status. There would be no mercy... even for his own family, else he would never hear the end of it.