Chapter 0843: The Biggest Winner
When the masters of the dragon pillars emerged from the depths of the dragonbreath pool, the results surprised many of the spectators outside.
It was clearly different from what they had initially antic.i.p.ated.
They had expected the Golden Dragon Pillar to be taken by either Qin Yi or Li Qingfeng, as they were the only two with the power and talent to suppress everyone.
However... Li Luo had emerged as the dark horse. This was beyond everyone"s expectations.
Moreover, Li Jingtao was one of the largest topics of discussion after everyone saw what he had done at the end. He had been an ordinary-looking guy with no spectacular achievements in his career. No one had really paid much attention to him even though he was a direct descendant of the Dragon"s Fang Lineage. Who would have thought that he would have such an ace hidden up his sleeve?
Although it was truly odd for him to transform an offense-focused Duke Art into one that was defensive, it had also revealed his remarkable talents in another sense.
The Dragon"s Fang Lineage obtaining three of the Coiling Dragon Pillars really shocked the other four lineages.
Such a conclusion was an astonishment not just for the external guests, but for the elders of the Heavenly Dragon"s Five Lineages as well.
After all, there had been no talented genius in the younger generation of the Dragon"s Fang Lineage since Li Taixuan left decades ago. Their formance in the dragonbreath pool battle had gone downhill since then as well.
As a result of their lackl.u.s.ter performance, Li Jingzhe had been pushing back the opening of the dragonbreath pool at every possible opportunity. Clearly, he did not want to witness a disappointing conclusion.
Yet this was exactly why so many had been attracted to the event this time. Li Jingzhe had actually changed his stance to bring forward the opening of the dragonbreath pool for once.
Everyone knew very well that he had done it all for the sake of Li Luo.
He wanted Li Luo to take full advantage of such a rare and valuable opportunity.
Nonetheless, the battle in the dragonbreath pool all depended on the individual"s strength. There was no one else to rely on, and if Li Luo himself was not powerful enough, there was no way he would have obtained a Coiling Dragon Pillar just because Li Jingzhe was his grandfather.
With their understanding of Li Luo"s strength, no one thought that he would be able to get a Coiling Dragon Pillar, not even the lowest grade bronze one.
As such, they had thought it would be a joke. Li Jingzhe"s change of stance was pointless.
However... the joke did not manifest as they all imagined. Instead, they were shown a spectacular performance.
The Dragon"s Fang Lineage had taken home three of the Coiling Dragon Pillars. This was the best achievement from the Dragon"s Fang Lineage in hundreds of years.
With such a result, many of the distinguished guests were naturally amazed and charmed by Li Jingzhe"s foresight and judgment.
However, the elders of the Dragon"s Blood Lineage looked extremely puzzled and stressed amidst everyone"s shock. The dazzling achievement of the Dragon"s Fang Lineage was built by stepping on their lineage.
The Golden Dragon Pillar was supposed to be Li Qingfeng"s.
One of the Silver Dragon Pillars was supposed to be Li Hongli"s.
The Dragon"s Blood Lineage had expected to conclude the dragonbreath pool battle with one golden pillar and one silver pillar.
In the end, the result was vastly different from their expectations. Instead of one golden and one silver, it had become one silver and one bronze.
Although this was still a much better result compared to the other three lineages, it was considered their worst performance in the recent few dragonbreath pool battles.
Many of the elders were secretly blaming Qin Yi and her strange aqua palace that had restricted Li Qingfeng. If not for her, Li Luo would not have been able to get a headstart to secure the Golden Dragon Pillar. In that case, it would be hard to tell who would end up as the master of the Golden Dragon Pillar in the end.
With such thoughts in mind, they stared at Qin Lian with some resentment.
In response to their gazes, Qin Lian"s livid face turned even uglier. She nearly wanted to scream out and ask if these idiots really thought she had come to help the Dragon"s Fang Lineage. How could you blame her for this?
Nonetheless, these were words that could not come from her mouth. She could only keep a cold face and ignore those gazes.
In contrast to the complex feelings of the other lineages, the crowd over at the Dragon"s Fang Lineage was full of joy.
"Big brother, Jingtao is pretty good. In the past, he said he was unable to master any of the Duke Arts from the Dragon"s Fang Lineage. Now look at his extraordinary efforts! Modifying the Annihilation Fang Art to such a degree is simply amazing." Li Jinpan laughed heartily as he spoke to Li Qingpeng.
Li Qingpeng did not know whether to laugh or cry. He sighed and said, "That little brat has been afraid of pain ever since he was young... and he has never liked to compete with others. That aspect of his personality is even more exaggerated than mine."
He was already considered nonchalant to the happenings around him. However, Li Jingtao was even better than him in this regard.
Li Jinpan laughed and replied, "So he modified the Annihilation Fang Art into a defensive art just because he"s afraid of pain? The kid is a real genius!" Hearing this, the other elders from the Dragon"s Fang Lineage could not help but laugh out loud too.
Smiling happily, Li Qingpeng continued, "That brat is too lazy. If he didn’t need to help Li Luo, I am afraid he would have continued hiding his talent. Just wait and see how I deal with him later."
"But he made a great contribution today. If not for him, Li Luo"s standing would have changed," Li Jinpan responded.
At this moment, he also frowned a little at Li Qingpeng and said, "Besides, the Respected Elder looks really satisfied."
Hearing this, Li Qingpeng secretly took a look over in Li Jingzhe"s direction and saw a faint sign of a smile appearing on his usually serious and stern face.
Evidently, he was really pleased with what the Dragon"s Fang Lineage had achieved today.
Li Qingpeng heaved a sigh of relief and said to Li Jinpan with a smile, "Li Luo has really contributed a lot here. That kid is far more talented than Jingtao—even Qin Yi couldn"t stop him. Looking at his achievements and demeanor, it really reminds me of how our Third Brother swept through the crowd back in the day.”
Then he raised his voice and shouted, “From now on, no one will dare to say that the younger generation of the Dragon"s Fang Lineage is weak!" Although the Dragon"s Fang Lineage was not the last in the previous dragonbreath pool battles, their performance had been lackl.u.s.ter when taking their background into context. As such, significant amounts of gossip had fermented behind their backs, which was really annoying. As the people were discussing the overall results, the five Lineage Chiefs seated above the crowd stared into the depths of the dragonbreath pool.
Li Qingying, the Lineage Chief of Dragon"s Scale Lineage, said with a smile, "No wonder Lineage Chief Jingzhe was willing to change his stance on the opening of the dragonbreath pool. The Dragon"s Fang Lineage truly came fully prepared."
Li Jingzhe smiled a little as he replied, "This result has caught me by surprise too. I merely wanted to use this chance to have my grandson make up for lost time after languishing in the outer divine continent for so long. It was hard for me to tell whether he would actually get a dragon pillar or not."
"Li Luo has the same style as his father. Given more time, perhaps the Dragon"s Fang Lineage will have another talent that will shock the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent again," Li Qingying said.
"I am full of grat.i.tude towards your auspicious wishes, Lineage Chief Li Qingying," Li Jingzhe replied politely.
"Lineage Chief Jingzhe, that Li Jingtao kid is interesting. It seems like he is more compatible with the Dragon"s Bone Lineage than the Dragon"s Fang Lineage. Why don"t you let him come to my lineage to learn instead?" It was Li Xuanwu, the Lineage Chief of Dragon"s Bone Lineage, that had spoken at this moment. He had a burly body with flesh and blood that exuded a terrifying force of vitality.
Among the Heavenly Dragon"s Five Lineages, the Dragon"s Bone Lineage was the most well known for defense.
Hearing this, Li Jingzhe simply smiled and replied, "That little brat is really lazy. I am afraid he wouldn"t be able to withstand the tough training at the Dragon"s Bone Lineage."
Li Jingtao"s performance had really surprised Li Jingzhe, as his oldest grandson had always been average and ordinary. Who would have expected that his specialty was not in offense, but in defense?
The Annihilation Fang Art was a very common Communion-grade offensive Duke Art in the Dragon"s Fang Lineage. In fact, many of the Duke users within the lineage had cultivated it. As a direct bloodline descendant, Li Jingtao had naturally gotten the chance to cultivate it in the past. However, his progress was extremely slow, and Li Jingzhe stopped paying attention to his progress after some time. Who would"ve guessed that he would transform the Annihilation Fang Art into such a wondrous new form after all this time?
If it wasn"t for the same fundamentals shown in the shield, even Li Jingzhe would have wondered if it was another Duke Art altogether.
Without a doubt, Li Jingtao had modified the Annihilation Fang Art.
Transforming an offensive art into a defensive art... In a certain sense, that oddball was really talented too.
Moreover, Li Jingzhe could tell that the modified Annihilation Fang Art had a stronger defensive power than the original Annihilation Fang Art"s grade. In fact, it could even be said to have approached the Soul Ascension grade in terms of sheer power.
That brat was really quite capable. At this moment, Li Jingzhe smiled and relaxed his eyebrows a little. There was plenty of good news today. On top of the spectacular performance from Li Luo, Li Jingtao had really awed everyone too.
The Dragon"s Fang Lineage had truly gained a lot today.
After these tough fights, it was finally time for them to reap the rewards.
Just who knew how many strands of Mystical Yellow Dragonbreath Li Luo would obtain?