Li Luo finished his breakthrough to collective surprise.
“That bastard! Not again!” Duze Beixuan shouted in disbelief. Li Luo had done the same damn thing during the ranking battles to stop their ultimate move.
“Not exactly. His last breakthrough was probably a clutch, but this one… Seems like he’s been holding it back for a while,” Wang Hejiu said.
Duze Honglian nodded. “It was too smooth a breakthrough. He must have been holding it in reserve for a while…”
“Sly dog. Did he know Yu Hongxi was going to call the Green Alioth?”
“Or perhaps Lu Qing’er told him beforehand,” Duze Beixuan said.
“We can’t rule that out,” Wang Hejiu said, irritated.
…
“Did Li Luo get inside information on this?” the First Princess asked Jiang Qing’e half jokingly.
“If I said no, you would believe me?”
The First Princess bit her lip. Jiang Qing’e was impossible to rile.
“If others said no, I might not believe them, but if you said it, I’d believe it.” She smiled.
Jiang Qing’e was too proud a character to lie.
Which meant that Li Luo had come well prepared.
Blind to the requirements of this challenge, he had simply kept a trump card for the advantage of surprise.
The First Princess smiled to herself. Li Luo was quite different from his parents and Jiang Qing’e…
The other three were all straightforward brilliance, shining brightly as the sun, proudly and without the need to hide. But Li Luo was like wheat in the field, soaking up light and looking unremarkable. Until suddenly he wasn’t.
…
Yu Hongxi’s jade bottle fizzled, the Green Alioth receding. She looked at the still-standing Li Luo, and did not miss the joy in her daughter’s eyes.
Yu Hongxi sighed. To think that Li Luo would still hide something like that… Plus, she had not even told Lu Qing’er about the test format, worried that she might tell Li Luo beforehand.
The Green Alioth that she had summoned should have disadvantaged Li Luo in every way.
Was he on guard against her? Or was it a coincidence?
The boy might look harmless, but he was as deep as an iceberg. How had Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan raised a boy so different from themselves?
In terms of personality, it was clearly their disciple Jiang Qing’e who took after them more.
When the wind faded, Yu Hongxi walked up to the four survivors. “Congratulations for making it to the end.”
She flicked a finger, and four golden beams of light shot out towards them.
The four received the golden, dragon-shaped keys gratefully. They felt cool in their hands, gleaming with a mystic energy.
“The Golden Dragon Dao Fields will open in a month’s time. Bring that key to the Golden Dragon Bank, and we will send you in.”
The four nodded.
“Now go rest,” she said with a kind smile. Golden Dragon Bank experts moved forward to treat their wounds and offer a change of clothes.
Li Luo refused medical attention, having already healed all of his wounds.
He went to a side room to get changed, and he found someone waiting when he came back out.
A head of fire-red hair. Zhu Xuan.
Li Luo planned to walk right past him, but Zhu Xuan deliberately stepped in his way.
“Yes?”
Zhu Xuan could not be considered typically handsome, but there was an appealing confidence and swagger to his manner. His iron grip on the top rank of the Two Star Hall probably added to that confidence.
“Junior Li Luo,” he said with a thin smile. “I’ve heard much about you, and today I see that your dual resonances live up to their reputation.”
“Ah, you’re very kind. I presume you didn’t wait for me here just to offer these kind words?”
“Indeed. There is something I hope you agree to.”
“Go on.”
“It’s nothing much,” Zhu Xuan said frankly. “Four of us have Golden Dragon Secret Keys. I hear that when we enter the Golden Dragon Dao Fields, it will be in teams. I hope that if Lu Qing’er comes to find you inside, you can turn her down. I want to be in her group.
“This is President Yu’s wish too. She hinted this, and my father approves fully as well. I know that Junior Li Luo and Lu Qing’er have a good relationship, so I would be very grateful if you refused her.”
He smiled broadly. “House Jiyan would also be very grateful.”
Li Luo showed no surprise at this request. “Heh, maybe you misunderstood President Yu’s intentions?”
“Junior Li Luo, that is beside the point. Consider my request. House Luolan is in a poor state, harrowed badly by House Duze. If House Jiyan moves against you at this time, I fear that House Luolan might just crack,” he said with no pretense.
“Wow. A threat?”
“I just hope Junior Li Luo can consider my suggestion. I don’t think you would refuse a new friend.
“Or do you have plans for Lu Qing’er?”
Li Luo shook his head and stuck out two fingers. “Two points. Firstly, Jiyan and Luolan have always been on bad terms. Do you think I believe House Jiyan doesn’t wish to kick House Luolan while it’s down? You very badly wish to. But House Jinque is holding you back. So don’t come pretending you’re some kind soul in front of me. Second, Lu Qing’er is my friend. If she needs my help, I will offer it. You want me to turn away a friend… Sorry, but just how deluded are you?”
Li Luo looked right at Zhu Xuan’s rapidly souring face. “Besides, you should be talking to Lu Qing’er about this. If you’re sincere enough, she just might consider it. Your brain must have overheated from your fire resonance to come to me with these petty calculations.”
Zhu Xuan’s smile was completely gone now. He nodded. “Junior Li Luo, you’re a lot more stubborn than I imagined. Very well, words are wasted on you, but I hope the day doesn’t come where you wish they had not been.”
He left, waving over his shoulder.
Well, that was that.
Li Luo ignored the threats. There had never been bridges between House Jiyan and House Luolan to burn anyway. They got on like oil and water.
Still, House Luolan was in a difficult state.
He turned and hadn’t gone two steps when he saw two stars shining brightly at him. They were not in the darkening sky, but instead in the sockets of Lu Qing’er’s face, right above her bright smile.