Chapter 0635: Black Hand
Li Luo’s spirit was repeatedly being shattered apart in the depths of the dark seawater. The ma.s.sive black dragon constantly struck fear into him, wreaking havoc on his mind. There seemed to be no way to defeat this beast that continued to shatter every layer of Li Luo’s mental defenses, bringing him pain that left him bruised all over.
Unknowingly, Li Luo lost track of time and the number of times his mental state had been shattered to pieces. Yet he never gave up. Tenacity coupled with the Golden Nirvana Lotus’ protection allowed him to always maintain a sense of clarity within his heart.
Mentor Chi Chan continued to slowly sip her warm tea by the side of the lake. Numerous days had gone by, and she had spent every minute watching over her student. The situation seemed to be stuck at a stalemate as she had expected.
Duke Arts possessed ferocious innate concepts that someone at Li Luo’s level would have a hard time merely comprehending. Even if he was confident in himself, he would still have to be subject to significant danger.
This was a battle of wills, one that she could not intervene or a.s.sist with.
Only when Li Luo could adapt to the fear to the point where he could bear it fully would he be able to learn the Duke Art. Admittedly, having sufficient mental fort.i.tude was an even more important factor than talent. This could be seen in the case of the Enlightened Sage College’s Jing Taixu. The guy had a quasi ninth-grade resonance but was unable to cultivate the Enlightened Sage Scripture. Meanwhile, Lan Lan possessed a resonance that was completely inferior to his, and yet he was able to wield the scripture’s horrifying might.
Mentor Chi Chan continued to observe the sitting Li Luo from the corner of her eye. One of the three lotus petals was now shriveled and the glow had faded since Li Luo had started. It was clear that the energy of the Golden Nirvana Lotus was rapidly being depleted whilst it guarded Li Luo’s mind.
This also meant that a third of Li Luo’s opportunities had been used up. Mentor Chi Chan was planning to awaken Li Luo from his meditation once all three petals withered. In a sense, it would also mean that Li Luo’s attempts at cultivating the Duke Art had failed.
However, there was no other choice as without the protection of the Golden Nirvana Lotus, Li Luo would only be placing himself into an arduous and risky situation. The concept within the art could grievously wound him, and considering the timing of the House Luolan Housemeet, his efforts would all be for nought.
“It seems that attempting to successfully cultivate a Duke Art at the Fiend Palace Tier is pushing it a little too much.” Mentor Chi Chan lightly sighed. All she could do was hope that Li Luo would make good use of his two final chances.
……
At the Regent’s palace.
The Regent was standing in a pavilion situated in the heart of a small lake, garbed in golden python robes, idly feeding the fishes. Numerous beautiful fishes struggled before him to get a bite of the delicious bait that was thrown into the water. His dignified features did not leak a hint of emotion, only putting his hands back into his sleeves once he was done.
“By my expectations, the Dragon Bone Holy Grail should have already made its way into the hands of Pang Qianyuan,” he finally said.
“No one could have predicted that the Astral Sage College would manage to clinch the overall victory during the Holy Grail Meet. House Luolan’s two brats are meddlesome and troublesome,” the Regent continued emotionlessly. The news of the Holy Grail Meet had spread throughout the Xia Kingdom long ago, and so everyone knew that Li Luo and Jiang Qing’e were key contributors to their victory. Without the two of them, the Astral Sage College’s result would have been hard to imagine.
This unpredictable result was out of the Regent’s expectations. After all, he had even secretly informed Gong Shenjun, their strongest partic.i.p.ant, to hold back and sabotage the process. However, the Dragon Bone Holy Grail had still ended up in Astral Sage College’s hands, leaving him infuriated.
He knew that it was not Gong Shenjun’s fault. In order to not reveal themselves, he could not take overt action and thus was limited in his methods.
Meanwhile, behind the Regent, within the stone pavilion itself, a figure could be seen wriggling within the shadows, and a voice croaked out. “The Dragon Bone Holy Grail falling into Pang Qianyuan’s hands is indeed a troublesome development. If he uses it to distract the Ichythian King, he will be able to escape his shackles and reappear in the Xia Kingdom once again. At that point, the entire kingdom will be under his influence and suppression. The years you have spent toiling away will all be meaningless like a flimsy piece of tissue before the might of a King. Pang Qianyuan was a close confidante of the old Emperor, and he didn’t seem to warm up to the idea of you being the one in charge of the kingdom. He said that you were overly ambitious! If he were to throw his support behind the Little Emperor… hehehe. In that case, you might very well have to obediently hand over the reins of power to that brat!”
The Regent coldly snorted. “Could such a figurehead really be the master of the Xia Kingdom? Hmph. He would just be a mere dog of Pang Qianyuan, one that caters to his every whim and fancy! The truth is that Pang Qianyuan has the entire Xia Kingdom under his thumb!” the voice continued.
“The King Stage…” A deep yearning appeared in the Regent’s eyes. This was a stage he craved to break into. If he could take a step into this realm, the entire Xia Kingdom would reach unprecedented heights! All of the surrounding kingdoms and empires would undoubtedly surrender before him.
The Regent’s tone changed as he asked, “Will the thing in House Luolan allow me to become a King?”
“With our a.s.sistance, there will not be any issues,” the shadow replied coolly.
Then the Regent gloomily asked, “Just where did Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan come from? You seem to be a little afraid of them after all… Otherwise, why would you force me to drum up such a big show, all just to force them into the n.o.bles’ Battlefield?”
“Hmph. The way I see it, that duo are not any weaker than Pang Qianyuan. So long as they remain in the Xia Kingdom, they will be a hidden danger to our grand plan,” the shadow explained.
The Regent’s gaze flashed. “They are merely Dukes. Even though they are exceptional, how could they possibly compare with Pang Qianyuan?”
The shadow chuckled but did not reply directly. “Since they have so kindly managed to enter the n.o.bles’ Battlefield, there is no longer any need to worry about their interference. House Luolan’s Housemeet will arrive in half a month’s time. It can be said that your grand schemes have finally come to fruition. So long as you are able to obtain the thing within House Luolan, I will ensure that you will be able to taste the nectar which is the King Stage!”
“It’s a pity that I cannot directly take action. Doing so would undoubtedly put the Astral Sage College and the Golden Dragon Bank on alert. Otherwise, things would have been much simpler,” the Regent lamented. “Regardless, it doesn’t matter. The preparations we’ve made throughout the years will be sufficient. The two brats from House Luolan are just a few extra wayward melons that we will crack apart. House Luolan’s Jiang Qing’e is really an absolute genius—even Shenjun has been smitten by her. I had thought that my own brat was outstanding enough to change her mind and join our palace, but that wench was never even interested in him.” The Regent smirked as he shook his head.
“It would be ideal if we could spare her puny life when House Luolan is destroyed. With her talent and potential, it would be possible to give birth to an even stronger bloodline in my family.” As he spoke, he raised his head and looked up into the sky, stretching out both hands.
“It’s finally time to reap the seeds which I have sowed for many years. The Gong family will truly ascend the throne as the unparalleled Emperor!”