Chapter 1683: Behind You Stands Me

Li Luo's journey to the Profound Spirit Outer Shenzhou was even faster than expected.

With the Eastern Domain Alliance's purge this time achieving clear results, the many nether domains across the Eastern Domain Outer Shenzhou were thoroughly frightened; their once-unbridled incursions were curbed, and they even began contracting their lines of defense, forming a standoff with the Eastern Domain Alliance.

Until a new Three-Crowned Demon King descended, the Dark World's offensive in the Eastern Domain Outer Shenzhou was clearly going to halt.

This undoubtedly gave the Eastern Domain Alliance a chance to catch its breath.

And so, half a month later, Li Luo set off directly for the Profound Spirit Outer Shenzhou.

Across the vast sky, a sweeping gale raged; within the gale, a great blue roc formed from pure, surging wind-attribute origin spread its wings and took flight—one flap of its wings carrying it across mountains and seas.

Standing atop the Blue Wind Great Roc with his hands clasped behind his back, Li Luo gazed with somewhat heavy eyes at the rivers and lands sweeping below—lands that had once been home to many flourishing dynasties and kingdoms, but were now utterly reduced to dead, silent wastelands.

Cold, malevolent aura roamed and ravaged everywhere.

In just five or six short years, the Dark World had battered this world until it was riddled with wounds; countless living beings had perished.

No one knew when such an apocalyptic calamity would finally come to an end.

Just as Li Luo's heart grew heavy, soft footsteps and a faint fragrance drifted from behind; he turned his gaze and saw a slender, graceful figure approaching.

It was Mentor Xi Chan.

Only now she wasn't wearing the mentor's robe of the Sacred Mystic Star Academy, but had changed into a pale blue dress that outlined her elegant curves; her cheeks were still habitually veiled in thin gauze, faintly revealing a beautiful, moving contour.

For this trip to the Profound Spirit Outer Shenzhou, Xi Chan was accompanying him.

She wanted to return home to see her parents—after all, by her count, it had already been many years since she left the Xi clan.

"Mentor Xi Chan, at our current speed, reaching the Eastern Sea of the Profound Spirit Outer Shenzhou should still take about a month," Li Luo said with a smile, looking at Xi Chan.

Xi Chan gave a slight nod, a hint of unease in her clear, watery eyes. Back then, she had been forced to flee the Xi clan and escape to Daxia, fearing the clan would hunt her down. Now, after so many years, she was finally returning, and she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

But she had to go back regardless. With the world now overrun by aberrations, she worried about her parents constantly. Moreover, over the past few years she had managed to maintain contact with the Xi clan side; the most important reason she was rushing back now was that she had heard the clan's old ancestor, whose strength had reached the peak of the Two-Crowned King, had suffered a fatal wound in a clash with a Dark World Demon King, and his days were likely numbered.

And once that old ancestor fell from his grave injuries, the one who would take his place would be Xi Li.

That's right—the very Xi Li who had once been her fiancé, and who was later defeated by Li Luo in the Heavenly Mirror Pagoda.

Back then in the Heavenly Mirror Pagoda, Xi Li had already been an Eighth-Rank Marquis. Now, during these five years of Heavenly Fate, he had leveraged the world's fortune and the resources the Xi clan poured into him to fill the flaws originally caused by Yi Mi Fa, and had smoothly broken through to the One-Crowned King realm.

It was said Xi Li was now at the height of his power within the Xi clan; once the old ancestor fell, the position of clan head would most likely fall to him.

And Xi Chan knew Xi Li's vengeful, tit-for-tat nature all too well—once he became clan head, the Xi clan's branch family and her parents would surely be targeted for revenge, their situation growing ever more dire.

So Xi Chan could not keep waiting; she wanted to go back and take her parents and some relatives away, lest they be harmed by Xi Li.

Xi Chan had already told Li Luo in detail about everything happening in the Xi clan, so Li Luo could now sense the anxiety and unease beneath this usually composed, knowledgeable mentor's calm exterior.

Li Luo paused thoughtfully, then smiled and said, "From what you've told me, Mentor Xi Chan, your Xi clan has a unique Mi Fa inheritance—if the previous clan head falls, the next successor can use Yi Mi Fa to receive a portion of that inheritance?"

Xi Chan nodded and sighed, "If that Xi Li obtains this portion of the old ancestor's inheritance, he'll likely step into the peak of the One-Crowned King realm."

Li Luo considered this, then said slowly, "Mentor, you worry about your parents and the branch family's relatives, but they may not be willing to leave with you, and this doesn't fundamentally solve the fate of your branch family being squeezed by the main family."

Xi Chan fell silent—she knew Li Luo was right. Her parents and many important relatives were all still in the Xi clan; if she wanted to take them far away, they might not agree, and forcing the issue might backfire.

Xi Chan let out a weary, quiet sigh, at a loss for what to do.

Then she raised her gaze and saw Li Luo grinning broadly, wearing an expression that clearly said, "I have a plan—come ask me!" She couldn't help but smile, and then a warm, gentle smile flowed through her beautiful eyes as she asked softly, "Then please, Alliance Head Li Luo, enlighten me."

Li Luo smiled and said, "It's simple, Mentor Xi Chan—you go accept that old ancestor's inheritance. You're already a peak Ninth-Rank Marquis, so you can use this opportunity to step into the King realm, then become the Xi clan's clan head. That way, not only can you protect your parents and relatives, you can also resolve the grievances between the main and branch families."

Xi Chan was stunned, then shook her head helplessly. "What right do I have to become the Xi clan's clan head? My roots in the clan are shallow, and the main family would never allow a branch-family member to become clan head. Besides, the main family has the Beast-Subduing Spirit Hall behind them—they've been cultivating influence there for hundreds of years, with deep connections. The Beast-Subduing Spirit Hall would only support the main family in controlling the Xi clan."

Hearing this, Li Luo couldn't help but chuckle and said casually, "The Beast-Subduing Spirit Hall? Are they very powerful?"

Mentor Xi Chan had just been about to say, "Are they not powerful? They're one of the overlords of the Profound Spirit Outer Shenzhou—they have Li Li Tianwang-level experts, numerous King-realm powerhouses, and terrifying foundations." But just as the words were about to leave her mouth, she suddenly realized...

"Mentor Xi Chan, it seems you still haven't quite grasped what your current backing is," Li Luo said with a smile.

"The Xi clan's main family has the Beast-Subduing Spirit Hall behind them, but behind you stands me."

"Do you know who I am?"

"An unparalleled peak Eighth-Rank, Alliance Head of the Eastern Domain Alliance, the branch head of Li Li Tianwang's lineage. My Luo Lanfu has four unparalleled experts in one house—my grandfather and old ancestor are both Li Li Tianwang-level. Can the Beast-Subduing Spirit Hall's foundations really compare to mine?"

Listening to the warm, smiling voice of the young man before her, Xi Chan couldn't help but feel a moment of bewilderment. So imperceptibly, that boy from back then in the academy, who had been cornered with nowhere to go under Shen Shen Jinxiao's targeting, had already grown to this point.

He had already become a true giant of this world.

Whether in his own strength or the backing behind him, he was more than enough to look down on the many Li Li Tianwang-level forces of the world.

The Beast-Subduing Spirit Hall, which had once seemed like a colossal behemoth in her eyes, was now somewhat beneath him.

In that instant, Xi Chan felt as if she were waking from a great dream—could such a person really have been taught by her back then?

Looking at the dazed Mentor Xi Chan, Li Luo smiled and said, "On this trip to the Xi clan, Mentor, just go ahead and compete for that clan head position. Leave the rest to me."

Xi Chan murmured, "But Xi Li is more suited to the clan head position than me in both seniority and strength. If I fight for it forcefully, it'll draw a lot of opposition and controversy."

She had never imagined that one day she would be competing for the Xi clan's clan head position, so Li Luo's suggestion had her head still buzzing.

Li Luo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon; a faint laugh, carrying an undercurrent of dominance, rode the wind into Xi Chan's ears, making her heart tremble slightly.

"Mentor Xi Chan, I'm not going there to reason with people."

"These days, I prefer to speak with my fists."

"Whether it's the Xi clan's main family or the Beast-Subduing Spirit Hall—if they won't submit... then I'll beat them into submission!"