Chapter 0716: The Final Move
Ox Biaobiao falling into some sort of illusion was Shen Jinxiao's final ploy.
Such a development triggered shockwaves through the people present.
Ox Biaobiao's fourth-grade Duke strength was the foundation of their team—Chi Chan and Duze Yan were simply not sufficient to stop Shen Jinxiao.
Cai Wei and Yan Lingqing had pale expressions, not knowing what to do.
The people in the convoy were also at a loss, and things turned hectic.
Yuan Qing raised House Luolan's banner as he heroically roared, "Pledge your life to protect the two House Lords!"
Even though they were facing off against a sixth-grade Duke and his Heavenly Resonance Stage strength was akin to an ant before Shen Jinxiao, he did not escape in fear, instead rallying the soldiers at the first instant.
Pavilion Master Lei Zhang was similarly determined. If a sixth-grade Duke wanted to kill them, it was impossible to run away. Since that was the case, why not die in a heroic blaze?
The atmosphere of the entire convoy had turned sorrowful.
Li Luo's expression, on the other hand, was calm. Perhaps the current situation was also not completely out of his expectations.
The college and Yu Hongxi's side had not arrived yet, indicating that they had been entangled with issues of their own. Shen Jinxiao had amply prepared for this day.
He turned his head and glanced back at Jiang Qing'e, still mounted atop her wildebeest. Her goddess-like face was similarly composed and her golden eyes were clear and deep, seemingly able to reflect everything that the world had to throw at them.
"Sister Qing'e..." Li Luo softly said.
Jiang Qing'e looked at him intently.
"Are you afraid?" Li Luo asked.
Jiang Qing'e slightly smiled and shook her head. "We will not die here today."
"Yeah, I feel the same way as well." Li Luo grinned. "However, Sister Qing'e, let me take the lead. You have always done your best to help me solve my problems, so it's my turn now. In any case, protecting my fiancee is my responsibility."
Jiang Qing'e took in Li Luo's handsome features and realized that his gaze was unwavering, full of self-confidence and determination.
As a result, she chuckled and warmly replied, "Alright, I'll listen to you this time."
She did not ask how he was planning to do so. Li Luo was merely a Fiend Palace Tier cultivator, while Shen Jinxiao was a sixth-grade Duke! However, what she did know was that with his determination and resolve, he would not let anyone harm her before his very eyes, no matter how mighty the opponent was.
A warm smile seemed to flow through Jiang Qing'e's golden eyes as she watched the handsome youth before her. He was the one she had spent the most time with during this short life of hers. Gradually, he had grown up and lost some of that naive youthfulness. Now he had become reliable.
This was no longer the child that would cry on a whim.
In the sky above, Shen Jinxiao was focusing his attention on the unmoving Ox Biaobiao. He had fallen to his Heart Devil Calamity and should not be able to extricate himself any time soon. Without Ox Biaobiao restricting him, the rest would be straightforward.
He then turned his focus upon Chi Chan and Duze Yan.
He stretched out his fingers, and boundless flames roared out from his fingertips, turning into two gigantic, flaming pythons that one simply could not see the ends of. They coiled up within the void and gradually turned into two furnaces, sealing up the duo.
Chi Chan and Duze Yan resisted with all their strength, summoning their Duke Bergfrieds to strike against the flaming python furnaces that had enveloped them.
Still, when faced with the absolute difference in strength, they were unable to escape in a short amount of time.
Without Ox Biaobiao restraining him, Shen Jinxiao was allowed to control the situation unhindered and easily.
After restricting the duo, he did not take the opportunity to strike them down. Dukes were intrinsically resilient with a strong life force, so taking one down would take quite some time, time he didn’t have. If reinforcements from the college and Yu Hongxi arrived, the situation would spiral out of control.
Thus, his figure flickered as he walked through the sky towards Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e.
When they saw him approach, Yuan Qing, Lei Zhang, and the rest of House Luolan's elders were filled with abject terror. The terrifying power that a Duke exuded washed over their bodies like a torrent, forcing them to tremble involuntarily in fear.
Despite all of this, they drummed up their courage and circulated all the resonant power in their bodies with an intent to resist.
"You guys should go," Li Luo commanded.
Yuan Qing, Lei Zhang, and the rest turned to face him and saw their house lord looking extremely calm and at ease.
Thoughts filled their mind, but they eventually relented and backed off.
"What? Did you choose to give up?" Shen Jinxiao appeared roughly ten meters away from the two with a surprised tone.
"Well, even if you choose to give up, I will still get rid of you. Plus, you're a triple resonance genius, and I wouldn't dare to let you grow." He smiled as he glared at Li Luo with killing intent.
"Well, we'll see if you can do that," Li Luo retorted.
Shen Jinxiao gave a surprised laugh. "It sounds like you still have something up your sleeve. Your reinforcements won't arrive in time, you know?" He continued to watch the abnormally calm Li Luo. For some reason, something felt off in his heart. "Forget it, you're just blustering. I won't waste time with you. We can speak after you're dead." f𝚛𝒆𝗲𝔀e𝚋𝒏o𝘃𝒆Ɩ.c𝗼𝚖
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Luo suddenly held up a black plaque.
Atop the plaque was an ancient "Li" character, and it exuded an aura of mystery and majesty.
When Shen Jinxiao saw the plaque, his expression inadvertently changed. During the attack on the college, he had personally seen Pang Qianyuan borrow this from Li Luo, and it was this very same black plaque that had grievously injured Xuan Chen, a seventh-grade Duke.
"Are you trying to use this phony object to frighten me? The energy that Pang Qianyuan left behind has already dissipated. Even if this is a rare object, how do you plan to rouse it?" Shen Jinxiao gloomily said with a trace of caution.
At the same time, fire gushed out of his fingers, melting the earth with such intensity that if Li Luo were to make contact with it, he would be burnt to ashes with nothing remaining.
Li Luo closed his eyes at this moment. Even though the sea of flames was covering both the sky and the earth, his heart remained unmoved, tightly clutching the black plaque and focusing upon it.
When Pang Qianyuan had returned the black plaque, he felt like something had been unlocked within it, and he naturally understood how it could be used.
Utilizing it would require extreme means, and as a result, Li Luo was not willing to use it unless utterly necessary.
Of course, this situation was exactly so.
The bloodline within him seemed to be aroused at this point in time, roaring with life. As his blood boiled, all of it surged into the black plaque.
Lines of blood began to spread throughout the black plaque, very quickly coming into contact with the "Li" character.
For a brief moment, Li Luo heard a draconic roar transcending through space and time.
His gaze turned bloodshot and blood vessels started to protrude from his face, making him look both hideous and terrifying.
However, the pain did not come without result. At the same time, the ancient "Li" character began to separate itself from the black plaque, floating into the air.
Shen Jinxiao's torrent of flames then collided directly with the ancient character, but what happened surprised everyone. The flames dissipated immediately and the boiling temperature vanished.
The ancient character continued to float unobstructed and unassuming in the air. It did not radiate with resplendent light nor absorb copious amounts of worldly natural energy. However, the moment it appeared, Shen Jinxiao's domineering aura seemed to have vanished like the wind.
Shen Jinxiao, on the other hand, felt the hairs on his back standing on end right at this instant.
He could feel an indescribable sense of danger exuding from it.
As a result, he retreated without hesitation, his figure ethereal and flickering into countless afterimages, hiding in the void.
Li Luo remained unfazed by his theatrics. Currently, he looked like a man made of blood, trembling as he raised his hand and pointed towards Shen Jinxiao.
What was required to activate the black plaque was not his body's resonant power, but his bloodline! He also could feel that the exhaustion of his blood essence was ten times greater than when he had given ten drops of blood essence to the Three-tailed Heavenly Wolf.
The ancient character transformed into a beam of bright light, arcing forward.
When the blurry, black light shot past, it shattered all of Shen Jinxiao's countless afterimages.
In the end, all of the afterimages returned to the same location, revealing Shen Jinxiao's true body with the ugliest expression he could muster.
He could feel that the ancient "Li" character had locked onto his main body, and no matter how he tried to hide, it would always find him. In fact, it was destined to strike him. If it could not do so immediately, it would forever be locked upon him, constantly searching for him until the moment it could.
Shen Jinxiao simply could not comprehend how this was possible. Perhaps even a King was unable to do this!
“Just where did Li Luo find such a damned artifact?”
Thoughts flashed through his mind and a ruthless look flashed through Shen Jinxiao's eyes. Six Duke Bergfrieds smashed through the void to appear before him, forming a unique formation that allowed each Bergfried to mutually supplement and strengthen each other. At the same time, they were connected as a singular defensive entity that protected Shen Jinxiao.
“No matter how strong the ancient plaque is, Li Luo is only at the Fiend Palace Tier!
“Furthermore, such unimaginable power couldn't have come from nowhere. Someone as weak as Li Luo must have paid a crippling price!
“This must definitely be his final move.”
With that in mind, Shen Jinxiao looked up and roared as worldly natural energy turbulently roiled in the sky above. His six Duke Bergfrieds began to shine with blinding light and waves of tempestuous energy buffeted the area.
The unassuming ancient character turned into a thin ray of black light that then collided directly with his six Duke Bergfrieds.
Weng!
There was no large explosion, just a faint ripple through the void that was barely perceptible.
After which, the black light vanished.
The "Li" character then reappeared on the black plaque in Li Luo's hand.
The world seemed to be frozen in time for a brief moment.
Right after, everyone was completely shocked by what they saw.
Out of the six Duke Bergfrieds Shen Jinxiao had summoned... three had shattered into dust in that very instant.