Chapter 208: Zhu Xuan's Request

When Li Luo completed his small breakthrough, a stir rippled through the banquet hall, and eyes turned in astonishment toward his figure.

No one had expected that Li Luo would actually break through at this moment.

"This bastard, it's like this again!"

Duze Beixuan's face was livid, and he gritted his teeth; back during the ranking battle, it was also Li Luo who had made a last-minute breakthrough, blocking their side's lethal offensive.

Wang Hejiu frowned and said, "It's a bit different this time. Last time, Li Luo's breakthrough was an impulsive act, but this time... I feel like he's been planning it for a long time."

Duze Honglian also nodded and said, "Li Luo's breakthrough this time was extremely smooth; clearly, he had a premonition of it beforehand but had been deliberately suppressing it..."

"This kid is truly cunning. Could he have known in advance that Yu Hongxi would use the Azure Wind Gale to test them?"

Duze Beixuan said, "Could Lu Qinger have told him in advance?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Wang Hejiu sighed helplessly.

"Did Li Luo receive inside information ahead of time?"

On the other side, the Princess also joked in a low voice to Jiang Qing'e; clearly, she had also noticed that Li Luo's breakthrough this time was far too logical.

This was clearly a long-planned breakthrough.

Jiang Qing'e smiled and said, "If I said no, would you believe me?"

The Princess lightly bit her red lip, a gesture that carried a hint of allure; if a man were here, he might have felt his blood boil, but for Jiang Qing'e, it held no attraction.

"If someone else said that, I really wouldn't believe it, but coming from you, I truly have no choice but to believe it," the Princess laughed.

Jiang Qing'e's personality was too proud; she disdained to lie, so since she said so, the Princess truly believed that Li Luo had not known in advance that Yu Hongxi would conduct such a test.

That being the case, it meant Li Luo had prepared for this himself.

He indeed did not know what method Yu Hongxi would use to distribute the Golden Dragon Secret Key, but he had secretly kept an ace up his sleeve, so no matter what method Yu Hongxi chose, he would ultimately have an unexpected trump card.

The Princess stared at Li Luo's handsome, young face and smiled with great interest; this Li Luo seemed quite different from his parents and Jiang Qing'e...

The former three were all as brilliant as the great sun, preferring to crush everything with overwhelming force, but this Li Luo was skilled at biding his time. You might have thought he was insignificant under the shadow of Jiang Qing'e's radiance, yet unknowingly, you would find that he always brought people surprises.

Yu Hongxi looked at the gradually weakening Azure Wind Gale in the cyan jade bottle in her hand, then looked at Li Luo, who had ultimately withstood this wave of the gale, her expression calm.

She turned her head to glance at Lu Qinger, whose eyes were filled with irrepressible joy.

Yu Hongxi sighed with a bit of helplessness in her heart; she truly hadn't expected Li Luo to have such a trick hidden away... And as the operator of the test, she knew best that she hadn't even told Lu Qinger about the method of the test in advance, precisely because she was worried that her daughter would leak the information directly to Li Luo.

In her predictions, the Azure Wind Gale she released should have been just enough to eliminate Li Luo.

But what she hadn't expected was that although Li Luo didn't know the method of the test, he still had a hidden trump card...

Was this intentionally guarding against her? Or was it unintentional?

Yu Hongxi took a deep look at Li Luo; this kid seemed harmless, but he was actually very good at hiding himself. How could Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan have produced a son so completely different from them?

After all, if one were to speak of personality, Jiang Qing'e, who was merely a disciple, was the one who was exactly like them.

When the Azure Wind Gale in the cyan jade bottle dissipated, Yu Hongxi put it away, then looked at the four figures standing in the arena and smiled: "Congratulations on being the ones to stand until the end."

She flicked her finger, and four rays of golden light shot out from her sleeve, landing directly toward the four people in the arena.

Li Luo and the others hurriedly reached out to catch them; the golden light transformed into a key resembling a golden dragon, landing in their hands. It felt cold to the touch and faintly emitted a wondrous energy fluctuation.

"The Golden Dragon Dojo will open in one month. At that time, bring this item to Long Baoxing, and I will send you into the Golden Dragon Dojo," Yu Hongxi said.

Li Luo, Zhu Xuan, and the other two all nodded in agreement.

"Rest for a moment first." Yu Hongxi gave an elegant smile and simultaneously ordered the experts from Long Baoxing who were skilled in healing to treat the four people's injuries and provide them with fresh clothes.

Li Luo politely declined the healers from Long Baoxing; these injuries were only superficial, and under his own treatment, they had already healed, causing no damage.

He went to a side room to change his clothes, and a moment later, when he walked out of the room, he found a figure standing at the doorway.

That head of fiery red hair was none other than Zhu Xuan.

Li Luo glanced at him, but having no intention of interacting with him, he prepared to leave directly.

However, Zhu Xuan turned and walked over, just happening to block Li Luo's path.

"Something up?" Li Luo asked, his brows slightly raised.

Zhu Xuan's face couldn't be called particularly handsome, but there was a sense of confidence and dominance between his brows; presumably, occupying the top spot of the Two-Star Hall for years had brought him an aura of reinforcement.

Zhu Xuan smiled slightly: "Junior Li Luo, I have heard of you for a long time. Seeing you today, the dual-element talent is truly well-deserved."

Staring at the Zhu Xuan in front of him, Li Luo smiled: "I think that if you are waiting for me here, it shouldn't be to say these meaningless things, right?"

Zhu Xuan's expression was sincere as he said: "Junior Li Luo is right. I am indeed waiting for you for a matter, and I hope you can agree."

Li Luo was noncommittal: "Let's hear it."

Zhu Xuan said very frankly: "Actually, it's not a big deal. This time, all four of us obtained the Golden Dragon Secret Key, and it is said that when we enter the Golden Dragon Dojo, it might be in the form of teams. I hope that if Lu Qinger asks you to team up, you can decline, because I want to team up with her."

"This can actually be considered a wish of President Yu; she gave me a hint, and my father also approves of this very much. I know that Junior Li Luo has a good relationship with Lu Qinger, so if she asks you, and you can decline, I would be very grateful."

He looked at Li Luo and smiled: "Our Jiyan Mansion will also be grateful to you."

Li Luo's expression didn't reveal much surprise; clearly, he had some guesses about this. He smiled and said: "President Yu's hint—did you perhaps misunderstand her intention?"

Zhu Xuan laughed: "Junior Li Luo, that is not the point."

"Regarding my request, I sincerely hope you can consider it."

"The current situation of Luolan Mansion is not particularly good. Duze Mansion is hounding you relentlessly, having already forced you into a somewhat sorry state, and if Jiyan Mansion were to take action at this time, I think that would be a disastrous result for Luolan Mansion." Zhu Xuan stared at Li Luo, looking very sincere.

Li Luo paused, then laughed: "You are threatening me now, aren't you?"

Zhu Xuan said helplessly: "I just hope Junior Li Luo can carefully consider my proposal. I think you wouldn't refuse a small favor to make a friend, would you?"

"Or is it that you actually harbor some feelings for Lu Qinger?"

Li Luo shook his head. He looked at Zhu Xuan and held up two fingers: "I want to say two things. First, the grudge between Jiyan Mansion and Luolan Mansion is no less than that with Duze Mansion. Do you think Jiyan Mansion doesn't want to kick Luolan Mansion while it's down at this time? You want to very much, but you are just being held back by Jinque Mansion, so please don't pretend here that your Jiyan Mansion is some great philanthropist."

"Second, Lu Qinger is my friend. If she needs my help, I will help her with all my might. You want me to decline her... I'm sorry, but who do you think you are?"

Li Luo looked at the smile gradually fading from Zhu Xuan's face and said indifferently: "And for this kind of thing, you should go directly to talk to Lu Qinger. If you were truly sincere, she might not necessarily refuse to consider it. You ran over here to talk to me using these chips that sound incredibly stupid—was your brain burned by your fire-element?"

The smile on Zhu Xuan's face had completely vanished. He stared at Li Luo for a few seconds, then nodded and said: "Junior Li Luo is much tougher than I imagined."

"Fine, wasting breath is useless. I hope that one day in the future, Junior Li Luo will not regret today's momentary impulse."

He waved his hand and turned to leave directly.

Clearly, the conversation had collapsed.

Li Luo didn't pay any attention to the harsh words this guy had left behind. The grudge between Jiyan Mansion and Luolan Mansion was not shallow; it was impossible for the two sides to become friends, and there would inevitably be a time when they would clash in the future.

But then again, had there been few difficult times for Luolan Mansion over these years?

He thought to himself and turned to walk away, but after just two steps, he saw Lu Qinger's eyes shining brightly at him from behind a wall pillar.