Chapter 1456: Li Luo's Counterattack

Brilliant lightning transformed into a domain, shrouding these mountain ranges.

Within the lightning domain, countless destructive thunderbolts roared as two light figures clashed fiercely; every collision sent surging thunder currents rolling, turning peak after peak of green mountains into blackened scorched earth.

Those two light figures were naturally Fang Xingyun and Li Luo.

Countless gazes watched this scene with deep shock.

Although in this direct confrontation, anyone could see that Fang Xingyun held the advantage, for with every collision, Li Luo's attacks were dismantled, and his figure was forced constantly backward.

Yet every time Li Luo retreated, within merely a few breaths, he would spring back like a living dragon, wielding the thunder blade in his hand to unleash ten thousand golden lightning bolts, striking toward Fang Xingyun.

Under the massive gap in their ranks and the support of the Feng Hou Zhong Jie, Fang Xingyun was undoubtedly ahead, but Li Luo relied on the physical strength brought by his Mid-Ninth Rank Heavenly Dragon Aspect and some suppression effects against Fang Xingyun's Dual Dragon Aspect, forcibly turning what should have been a crushing battle into a bloody and protracted hand-to-hand fight.

Clang!

Amidst the raging lightning, the Lightning Heavy Halberd roared forth; the silver thunder upon it emitted a deafening roar, causing the void to buckle under the strain and then collapse, after which the heavy halberd pierced through space and struck the Dragon-Elephant Thunder Blade that had descended with surging golden thunder.

The loud sound of metal on metal even drowned out the thunder filling the sky.

Li Luo, holding the Dragon-Elephant Thunder Blade, shot backward.

Fang Xingyun, holding the Lightning Halberd, stepped out upon the thunder; his expression at this moment was exceptionally gloomy, for this prolonged struggle had almost worn out all his patience.

He looked down at the Lightning Halberd in his hand; now, on this Mid-Rank Marquis Treasure, many fine cracks had appeared, left from clashing with the Dragon-Elephant Thunder Blade in Li Luo's hand.

A pang of heartache flashed in Fang Xingyun's eyes; this Mid-Rank Marquis Treasure was something he had obtained only after expending great effort, considered the sharpest weapon in his hand, and previously used against those Vice-Rectors of Outer Shenzhou, almost making him invincible wherever he went.

But now, it had been thwarted by Li Luo.

Clearly, the thunder blade in Li Luo's hand must be a High-Rank Marquis Treasure.

To be honest, Fang Xingyun was very covetous; if they had met in the outside world, he probably would have been unable to resist the greed rising in his heart and attempted to seize the treasure.

"This young man's background is absolutely not simple." Fang Xingyun felt somewhat speechless in his heart; Li Luo might indeed have cultivated at the Saint Profound Star Academy, but there must be top-tier power supporting him behind the scenes, otherwise this set of talents and equipment simply could not be supported by any power in Outer Shenzhou.

Fang Xingyun raised his head and looked forward; Li Luo's figure stabilized once more, and at this moment, the latter's upper garment had long been shattered by the lightning in the fierce battle, revealing a tall and slender body; his purple-gold hair shone brilliantly like stars, and upon his body, the purple-gold thunder scale patterns were most striking, finally converging into the purple-gold halo at his brow.

It was precisely this "Ancient-Tracking Aspect Pattern" that amplified Li Luo's physique to an extremely formidable degree; those purple-gold thunder scale patterns seemed like a layer of armor with astonishing defensive power, dissipating too much of Fang Xingyun's force erosion.

Moreover, the most critical point was that Fang Xingyun possessed the Thunder Dragon Aspect, being most proficient in thunder energy, yet Li Luo was also well-versed in this path, so his thunder attacks, which were usually unstoppable, inevitably suffered some reduction when facing Li Luo.

Pfft.

Li Luo spat out a mouthful of blood; the wounds on the surface of his body were healing at an astonishing speed; he grinned, considering this the highest-grade aspect he had ever experienced in his life.

And it was the Mid-Ninth Rank Heavenly Dragon Aspect.

This effect, compared to when it was Void-Ninth Rank, had increased by countless times.

Without the amplification of this Mid-Ninth Rank Heavenly Dragon Aspect, Li Luo at this moment would probably have been forced into an extremely desperate situation.

"Vice-Rector Fang, your Lower-Seventh Rank Marquis Realm still lacks some refinement," Li Luo said with a smile.

Previously, this Fang Xingyun had said his refinement was insufficient; now, those words were returned to him by Li Luo.

Violent lightning flowed in Fang Xingyun's silver pupils; he slowly tightened his five fingers around the Lightning Halberd and said in a gloomy voice, "Li Luo, I have to admit, your abilities are indeed very strong."

Indeed very strong; a Peerless Second-Rank talent could leap five ranks and force him, a Lower-Seventh Rank Marquis, into such a state; this was something Fang Xingyun had never imagined.

Peerless Heavenly Prodigies were indeed the first-class talents of this world, but even Peerless Heavenly Prodigies, normally speaking, could only leap three ranks; yet today, Li Luo leaped five ranks!

Such a battle record, even when viewing Peerless Heavenly Prodigies throughout ancient and modern times, belonged to the top tier.

"However, that is enough."

Fang Xingyun took a deep breath, gazing at Li Luo with a cold expression, and slowly raised the Lightning Halberd in his hand: "Since you are so strong, if I exert my full strength, it won't count as bullying, right?"

Hearing this, Li Luo's eyes narrowed slightly.

Then he saw that upon Fang Xingyun's Lightning Halberd, vast silver thunder suddenly began to continuously condense, subsequently forming mysterious and violent runes that were inscribed upon the halberd's tip.

Immediately, a hundred-zhang massive silver thunder radiance spat forth.

That thunder radiance emitted a sense of destruction; looking closely, it seemed like a silver giant dragon coiled around the halberd's tip, and as its claws and teeth extended, all matter was shattered.

Under that silver thunder radiance resembling a dragon shadow, Li Luo felt an extremely intense sense of crisis.

This is... a Si Si Tianming-level Marquis Technique?!

"This technique is named 'Silver Thunder True Calamity Force'; it is a Low-Rank Si Si Tianming-level Marquis Technique, which our Thunder Calamity Saint Academy exchanged for from the Academy Alliance by expending much merit; I have cultivated this technique for many years and regard it as my strongest reliance."

"This technique requires accumulating thunder force during battle, so the more protracted the battle, the stronger its power will become; Li Luo, after struggling with you for so long, did you truly think I did nothing?"

"Li Luo, to force me, a Seventh-Rank Marquis, to deploy a Si Si Tianming-level Marquis Technique against you."

"Even if you lose this battle, it is enough to be proud of."

Fang Xingyun slowly tightened both palms around the Lightning Halberd; between his arms, visible veins jumped, as if the halberd shaft had become infinitely heavy; he locked onto Li Luo with a sharp gaze, and a low voice, accompanied by thunder, slowly rose.

Li Luo frowned slightly; the purple-gold halo at his brow grew even brighter; he did not expect that during the previous battle, Fang Xingyun had already been secretly brewing the so-called thunder force.

He could feel what terrifying fluctuations the silver dragon-shadow thunder radiance on that Lightning Halberd was flowing with; if struck by this, even his physique, amplified by the Mid-Ninth Rank Heavenly Dragon Aspect, probably could not withstand it.

Indeed, these Seventh-Rank Marquis experts were no pushovers.

How difficult it is to leap five ranks to achieve victory.

"Li Luo, surrender now and you can avoid suffering once!" Fang Xingyun shouted coldly.

Hearing this, Li Luo shook his head with a smile and said, "Vice-Rector Fang, preparing contingencies is not something only you are doing."

As he spoke, Li Luo extended his palm; only to see a dark red radiance surge from his palm, finally transforming into a doll the size of a palm; the doll's facial features were exactly the same as Fang Xingyun's.

It was clearly the "doll" catalyzed by Li Luo using the Dragon Blood Nightmare Technique.

Originally, during the previous fierce battle, Li Luo had also secretly obtained Fang Xingyun's blood and hair, then used the "Dragon Blood Nightmare Technique" combined with the increasingly dense Heavenly Dragon bloodline within his body to refine this doll.

Fang Xingyun looked at the doll in Li Luo's hand and was stunned for a moment, because he could feel a mysterious connection between that doll and himself.

"This is... a type of Nightmare Technique?" Fang Xingyun, quite perceptive, quickly identified it, but showed not the slightest panic; instead, he sneered and said, "Li Luo, you want to weaken me with a Nightmare Technique? You are too naive; the gap in rank between us is vast; if you dare use this technique, you will surely suffer backlash!"

He had never heard of any Nightmare Technique daring to be used across five ranks!

Li Luo smiled; the Dragon Blood Nightmare Technique was an internal technique of the Li Li Tianwang lineage; used against outsiders, its effect would indeed be reduced by much, and just as Fang Xingyun said, with the vast difference in rank between the two sides, once Li Luo attempted to use this technique to strike him, he would surely suffer backlash.

But...

A hint of playfulness appeared at the corner of Li Luo's mouth as he said softly, "What if I say that what I want is precisely this backlash?"

Fang Xingyun was stunned for a moment, and the next instant, he seemed to understand something, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Li Luo intended to rely on the physical strength granted by the mid-ninth-grade Heavenly Dragon Aspect at this moment to withstand the backlash head-on, but at the same time, when he bore the backlash, Fang Xingyun would also face the weakening of the Dragon Blood Nightmare Art.

Li Luo wanted to trade the backlash for the weakening.

This was a scenario where both sides would suffer, but Li Luo possessed the mid-ninth-grade Heavenly Dragon Aspect, his physical body was strong, and his recovery effect was astonishing. After this final trade, which side had the advantage was obvious at a glance!

After all, no matter how severe the backlash, it was probably still not as bad as forcibly taking his strike of "Silver Thunder True Tribulation Force" that had been brewed to the utmost limit!

"What a ruthless move!"

Fang Xingyun let out a sharp howl, a trace of fear welling up in his heart for the first time. Then his figure shot out explosively, the lightning halberd in his hand wrapped in rolling dragon-shadow thunder-light, striking toward the spot where Li Luo was.

But Li Luo paid no attention whatsoever. A thin blood-red blade appeared between his two fingers, and then without the slightest hesitation, he slashed down at the puppet in his hand.