Chapter 0911: Dragon Slaying
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.
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.