Absolute Resonance - Chapter 912

When the dark-gold flame penetrated Li Luo’s body, he finally felt its true terror. In the blink of an eye, the three-coloured light that had been protecting his body became half as bright.

Only the Vestiges of Spirituality from his dual resonance power showed some signs of resistance, entangling themselves with the dark-gold flame. However, it was ultimately not strong enough despite its superior quality. As the flame dragon roared and ravaged wildly, the power of the dual resonances disappeared without a trace.

An immense pain cruised through Li Luo’s body, sending warning signs all over.

His eyes turned gloomy. Although he had not underestimated the dark-gold flame, its frightening power still sent a chill up his spine after he personally experienced it.

It was no wonder Li Qingfeng had decided to give up without even giving it a try.

At the same time, many surprising cries came from the crowd as they watched the protection from the Tri-radiance Glass Body diminish speedily. It seemed like Li Luo could hardly endure the terrifying flame either.

Signs of worry appeared on the faces of Li Fengyi and Li Jingtao.

Meanwhile, Li Qingfeng stared at him indifferently. Lu Qingmei shook her head at this sight. It seemed impossible after all.

At this moment, Li Hongli laughed out coldly. The unhappiness in her heart finally dissipated a little as she cried out, “What an arrogant brat. You dare to take that step even though you’re merely at the Fiend Body Tier? Did you really think there would be a miracle?”

In the space above, the elders from the various lineages were also watching the dark-gold flame engulfing the tall figure with mixed reactions.

Nonetheless, Li Luo had never been bothered by external gazes. He was fully concentrated on fighting back against the dark-gold flame.

He had understood instantly that defense alone would not suffice against the flame from Nine Dragons Becoming One.

After all, even Li Jingtao with his crazy defense was only able to endure it for another step.

In other words, this was not the way to move forward and conquer the final stretch. At the very least, this was not the way which Li Luo had planned.

He had never opted to do things in an orthodox fashion before.

He opened up his eyes, revealing the sharp look within them. If he could not endure the flame from Nine Dragons Becoming One… why not just destroy it?

However, what kind of immense strength would he need to muster to slay these terrifying flames?

Li Luo did not ponder over this too much. He was solely focused on giving it his all and slaying it in a single strike.

As he took a step forward, an ancient, straight blade materialized in his hands. This was the Onyx-Elephant Blade.

He gripped it tightly and held the blade before him, slightly inclined from his body.

However, he did not do it normally. His whole body remained still and his muscles gradually tightened up, like a beast about to leap onto its prey.

In the same moment, the protection from the Tri-Radiance Glass Body continued to diminish rapidly.

After a dozen breaths or so, the protection was completely gone. In the same moment, Li Luo’s body started to turn red as the extremely hot flames tore at his flesh. Fresh blood started to flow out of his skin, but it evaporated immediately.

It was in this same moment that his eyes burst forth with resolve.

Bang!

His resonant power exploded like a volcanic eruption. The amount of resonant power was dozens of times greater than what Li Luo had shown before.

An eerie, black, fiendish energy gushed out amidst the extremely pure resonant power, displaying an unparalleled sharpness within it.

The fiendish energy surged up all the way into the sky, reaching a height of four hundred feet!

Countless spectators watched this unfold with shock and surprise on their faces.

The eerie, fiendish energy was a familiar sight to all of them.

It was Fiend Dipper Energy! The trademark of the Fiend Finisher Tier!

Li Luo had broken through at this moment.

Moreover, his Fiend Dipper Energy had become four hundred feet tall!

This was a sign of an extremely strong foundation!

Only the elders from the various lineages understood that Li Luo had achieved this breakthrough because he had cultivated during the Dragon’s Ascent. The pressure was just like a spring—the harder you pressed onto it, the greater the rebound.

Li Luo had borrowed the immense pressure from the Dragon’s Ascent to attain this breakthrough with four hundred feet of Fiend Dipper Energy!

This was definitely not a method that an ordinary individual could follow. One could easily crumble under the immense pressure and lose much more than they gained.

At this moment, Li Luo was hoping to counterattack the dark-gold flame with this rebounding strength.

A truly bold and great idea.

However…

There was a hint of darkness within the eyes of the various elders. The dark-gold flame contained a strand of Heavenly Dragon’s Will. Although Li Luo’s counterattack was indeed shocking, it might not be enough to fend off the flame.

Li Jingzhe watched Li Luo without any change in his facial expression. However, his hands seemed to have become a little tense, gripping his armrests.

Below him, Li Qingpeng and Li Jinpan watched on anxiously.

Before their gazes, Li Luo’s spirit seemed to have reached new heights. He stared at the dark-gold flame with extremely vicious eyes.

As the flame rose up, there seemed to be an enormous dragon giving him a cold glare.

Li Luo’s high spirits were immediately shaken under its gaze. It was like he was about to face off against an actual dragon with nothing but the blade in his hand.

It was akin to a tiny ant trying to move a huge mountain—things seemed hopeless.

However, Li Luo did not display any signs of fear at all. He had not come to the Dragon’s Fang Lineage to enjoy life. The worry over his short life had always hung over his head like a guillotine, keeping him in a constant state of tension.

Strictly speaking, he only had around three years left to live.

If he could not reach the Duke Stage before that time, he would die from the lack of lifespan.

This was a secret that he had not shared with anyone else in the Dragon’s Fang Lineage, not even the Respected Elder. It was largely due to his own pride. This was despite having such a strong background. What motivation would he have to continue working hard if he did that? He could simply be given everything he needed. As the son of Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan, he had never lost this self-confidence and innate sense of pride.

He did not want others to look at him with sympathy after learning about his short life.

Besides, things truly weren’t as bleak as they sounded.

He was already a Fiend Finisher. The only obstacle between him and the Duke Stage was the Heavenly Dipper General Stage!

It wasn’t totally impossible to become a Duke in three years’ time.

Since he could achieve it with his own strength, there was no need to tell anyone else and invite any unnecessary troubles. With these mixed emotions, Li Luo tightened the grip on his blade and slowly closed his eyes. In his mind, he thought of the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation.

As a result, the majestic Cosmic Sword Intent emerged in his mind.

Countless strands of sword intent flowed within it, each with an unmatched sharpness that could split heaven and earth apart.

In this moment, the image of a pessimistic and hopeless knight facing off against a tyrannical, giant dragon began to change. The Cosmic Sword Intent appeared behind the knight, charging towards the dragon alongside him.

It was at this moment that Li Luo had consolidated all of his power into a single blow, slashing down with his blade with pure resolution.

His strike directly clashed with the strand of dark-gold flame.

That single blow cut open the void, and his Fiend Dipper Energy continued to absorb energy to power itself.

At this moment, the five Lineage Chiefs froze for a moment, shocked at what they were witnessing. They seemed to have noticed the change in Li Luo as well. Although the others could not tell the difference, they could sense the vast and majestic galaxy of sword intent that had appeared behind him.

The sword intent made them narrow their eyes a little.

However, others could only tell that Li Luo had swung his blade down against the dark-gold flame. It was like a final, desperate attempt to resist a tragic end.

The clash between the blade energy and the flame did not result in an eruption of energy or pulses of shockwaves.

The moment they came into contact, the blade slashed past the dark-gold flame, leaving an afterimage in its wake.

There was seemingly no other change to the flame.

However, everyone could clearly hear a draconic roar deep within the dragon flame. It was a roar filled with shock.

It was as if something had been completely shattered.

Only the five Lineage Chiefs could tell that in that instant, the Cosmic Sword Intent had clashed with the Heavenly Dragon’s Will within the flame and destroyed it.

As soon as the Heavenly Dragon’s Will dissipated, the flame naturally lost its spirituality.

At this moment, the countless gazes within and outside the stone dragon could see the roaring, dark-gold flame starting to weaken and lose its color.

When the dark-gold color faded off, it became no different from a normal flame.

Li Luo slowly lowered his hands, still holding the blade. At this moment, his spirit was exhausted. The previous slash was not a Duke Art, but it had consumed a terrifying amount of energy.

It was because that strike contained every ounce of his willpower.

Fortunately, he had emerged victorious.

He had slain the will within the dark-gold flame with the help of the Cosmic Sword Intent from the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation.

Everyone watched on in silence. They were bewildered as they watched the color of the dragon flame fade away. None of them understood how Li Luo had done it.
Chapter 0912: Another Record

As Li Luo stood on the head of the stone dragon with his blade in hand, the crowd both within and outside were deathly silent.

They all seemed a little lost at this sight. Their minds were unable to comprehend the sheer impact that this young man had upon them, and their faces were frozen in disbelief.

Li Luo had ascended to the top of the stone dragon, reaching the thirty thousand foot summit.

What was more terrifying to them was the way he had done so!

He had directly vanquished the fused nine dragons!

How had he accomplished it? Was this something a Fiend Finisher was able to achieve?

In that moment, if not for the fact that they knew that the five Lineage Chiefs were closely observing his every action, some would have yelled out that something was amiss!

The nineteen other Banner Leaders were deep in thought and utterly silent.

Even Li Fengyi and Li Jingtao were staring at the scene wide-eyed. They stared at Li Luo’s figure in disbelief. Although they had hoped to see him conjure a miracle, the fact that it had actually happened left them incredulous.

This was especially true for Li Jingtao, who had personally experienced the Nine Dragons Becoming One’s dark-gold flame. He knew exactly how frightening it was, and even his absolute defenses were unable to resist it. Li Luo, on the other hand, had hacked it to pieces…?

“Impossible… IMPOSSIBLE!” Li Hongli’s face was full of confusion and she shook her head. The distraught look on her face could not hide the absolute shock in her heart.

“I heard that a trace of the Heavenly Dragon’s Will could be found within that flame. How could a weakling at the Fiend Finisher Tier possibly destroy it? In the history of the Dragon’s Ascent, all those who were able to ascend to the peak relied only on their bodies and exceptional resonant power to resist. I have never heard of anyone being able to directly slaughter it!” she babbled. The rest of the Banner Leaders agreed with her. This had never happened before in the history of the Dragon’s Ascent.

The ones who had succeeded were geniuses amongst geniuses. Their strength was an entire level above Li Qingfeng’s, and they had borrowed the aid of their resonant power to forcefully block the roasting of the flame dragons, ascending to the top with much difficulty.

There were other geniuses in the past who had attempted a similar strategy as Li Luo, attempting to destroy the flame with their own attacks. However, the flame was enhanced with the Heavenly Dragon’s Will, and cultivators at their level did not have the means to even harm such an ephemeral concept. No matter how strong their resonant power was, it was difficult to do so. Even the strongest amongst the participants were only at the Heavenly Pearl Tier and naturally did not have the means to do so. Although it was merely a strand of will, it was akin to an invincible monster that they could not tangle with.

What was thought to be impossible had been achieved today.

It was no wonder all the Banner Leaders were completely taken aback.

They did not know what sort of method Li Luo had utilized to vanquish the Heavenly Dragon’s Will.

The method was incomprehensible, but the result was not. Otherwise, the elders who were observing the trial would already have said something.

The silence from them also indicated that Li Luo had not borrowed external means to achieve this victory.

If Li Luo was truly skillful enough to cheat before all five Lineage Chiefs, that ability alone would qualify him to become the Dragon’s Head.

Thus, even Li Hongli, who was previously in denial, turned pale and fell silent after her words were said. Otherwise, her unreasonable doubts would only paint her as a clown.

She glared at the blade-wielding figure standing at the top, only consoling herself with the fact that successfully reaching the top of the Dragon’s Ascent did not mean that Li Luo would definitely become the Dragon’s Head.

If Li Qingfeng was able to achieve victory during the Scales Seizure, the situation would turn in his favor.

Still, regardless of how she tried to console herself, she could not contain the fear that she was feeling in the depths of her heart. She realized that this country bumpkin from the outer divine continent who was supposed to be a level weaker than all of them had truly surpassed the so-called talents from the inner divine continent. And if Li Luo truly became the Dragon’s Head, wouldn’t the geniuses who had been raised on a wealth of treasures and resources be no different from wastrels? Li Taixuan suppressing his entire generation was bad enough. Would his son repeat the same feat in their generation? The air above had plunged into a brief period of silence. The elders beneath the five Lineage Chiefs had complicated expressions. Many of them were from Li Taixuan’s generation, and seeing Li Luo ascend to the top had reminded them of what they had witnessed countless years ago. They could only watch helplessly as Li Taixuan forged his way to the top alone.

Lineage Chief Li Tianji from the Dragon’s Blood Lineage said, “It seems that the Cosmic Sword Intent that Li Luo utilized was able to overcome the Heavenly Dragon’s Will. This Duke Art is no weaker than a Destiny-grade.”

The Dragon’s Scale Lineage’s Lineage Chief Li Qingying commented, “It is even more impressive than your average Destiny-grade Duke Art. From what I know, the Dragon’s Fang Lineage doesn’t possess such a Duke Art.”

Destiny-grade Duke Arts were considered top-tier techniques in all of the lineages. Even the number of elders who wielded such arts was extraordinarily tiny, so there was no need to mention a young man.

The other lineages were all very clear of the fact that they had never heard of the Dragon’s Fang Lineage possessing the Cosmic Sword Intent Destiny-grade Duke Art.

Additionally, the sword intent was so domineering that it seemed like it could even wipe out the sun, the moon, and the stars. This was something even they would pay attention to.

Li Tianji glanced at the silent Li Jingzhe with a wry smile. “Unless this is an art left behind by the Ancestor.”

As the Mountain Ruling Chief, Li Tianji was privy to numerous secrets. Thus, he knew that the Ancestor had left behind an incomplete Duke Art in the Dragon’s Fang Lineage.

The other three Lineage Chiefs were slightly astounded by this statement, so they glanced at Li Jingzhe. An art left behind by the Ancestor?

With the Ancestor’s breadth of experience and means, how could an art he left behind be simple?

Li Tianji continued, “The arts left behind by the Ancestor can only be used by those connected to them by fate. Lineage Chief Jingzhe is the type of person who prioritizes rules beyond anything else, so he couldn’t have coached him privately… right?”

His tone was piercing and almost seemed interrogatory.

Each of the Lineage Chiefs were independent, but as the Mountain Ruling Chief, Li Tianji had the right to supervise the rest of them.

Li Jingzhe smiled wryly. “Li Luo possesses extraordinary talent. The fact that he was able to master this technique is proof that he is destined for it. The Ancestor left this art behind for someone to complete it in his stead. I doubt he would want to see it gather dust in the treasury forever.”

Still, Li Luo being able to wield the Myriad Resonances Dragon Fang Sword Formation naturally implied that Li Jingzhe had a part to play in facilitating his cultivation. Otherwise, who knew how long it would have taken?

That being said, how he had facilitated it was not something he had to tell the rest. Li Tianji’s probing words were meaningless; they would not change anything.

In any case, he could always just send people to the Dragon’s Fang Lineage to investigate.

Li Tianji similarly understood this and thus changed his tone with a smile. “Being able to cultivate an art created by the Ancestor is his fortune. It’s no wonder he destroyed the Heavenly Dragon Will. However, I’m not sure if another strand of the Heavenly Dragon’s Will can be refined in time for the next Dragon’s Ascent.”

“Still, this counts as a record. Youths are high-spirited, and despite him ruining the Heavenly Dragon’s Will, his performance was exceptional. Li Taixuan’s son has truly inherited his talent.” Li Qingying grinned in response.

“Now that they have suffered through the Dragon’s Ascent, it’s time to reap the fruits of what they have sowed.” When he finished speaking, he stretched his hand out and pointed into the air. Then the mountain-like, stone dragon shuddered, and a draconic roar resounded throughout the skies and the earth.

After that, everyone on the stone steps could feel dense Heavenly Dragon energy all around them, emanating from the body of the stone dragon they were on. It then poured into their bodies.

Meanwhile, Li Luo, who was on the dragon’s head, received an even greater amount of Heavenly Dragon energy.

The Heavenly Dragon energy that was previously within their bodies rapidly merged with the Heavenly Dragon energy surging up from the stone dragon. Immediately after, the fusion of energy seemed to have ignited, and dense energy wafted in every direction.

The energy then solidified into a mist that wrapped around Li Luo’s body.

On the steps beneath, something similar was happening to each Banner Leader.

Each and every one of them could clearly feel their bodies undergoing a magical process of infusion with this energy and being reborn.

This was the Sanctified Dragon’s Body taking embryonic form.

However, Li Luo was in no mood to explain it to them. He lifted up his blade and continued making his way up.

One step at a time.

There were no more obstructions in his path.

His footsteps became lighter.

All of the effects of the infernal baptism and dragonfear had vanished.

He then made his way to the top of the stone staircase before everyone’s confused gazes. A single man stood unbowed at the peak of thirty thousand feet. He stood upright on the head of the stone dragon with blade in hand. The brilliance of this moment dazed even the elders from the various lineages. It was as if they had seen the rebirth of Li Taixuan, who had completely overwhelmed his peers decades ago.