Chapter 347: The Transformation of Roles

The mountain wind whistled, carrying with it the sounds of intense slaughter and the scent of blood.

Bursts of resonant power erupted throughout the mountain forest like brilliant fireworks, though these fireworks were a bit too bloody.

Li Luo sat on a rock with a calm expression, watching the chaotic struggle. There was not a shred of pity in his eyes; since these people had intended to hunt them down from the start, they should naturally be prepared to pay the price.

Hunters and prey can change roles at any moment.

Qin Zhulu walked over and said, "Should we take advantage of the chaos and run?"

Lu Qinger also looked over.

Li Luo shook his head with a smile and said, "No need. If we show signs of fleeing now, we will immediately become the target of everyone here."

"Actually, from the moment the Golden Dragon Qi was exposed, our situation became very dangerous. Although it's embarrassing to say, we have to admit that with our strength, we cannot protect the Golden Dragon Qi alone. In this Golden Dragon Dojo, it is very difficult for those in the Pattern-Birth Stage to be the protagonists."

He felt somewhat helpless. If the Golden Dragon Qi hadn't been exposed, they could have made a fortune in silence. Unfortunately, shortly after entering, they were tracked by Ji Sun, who discovered the Golden Dragon Qi.

Even more unfortunately, that bastard actually passed the news to another team from their Snow Wolf Kingdom. And as if that wasn't enough, that useless team failed to keep the information secret, allowing others to get there first, which ultimately led to the news spreading.

"Even if we ran away now, we would still face encirclement by many teams later, so there is no need to do such a meaningless thing."

Li Luo stared at the fierce battle in the forest, pondered for a moment, and said, "Since the Golden Dragon Qi cannot be enjoyed alone, finding a few scapegoats is the best result."

Lu Qinger nodded; this was the most rational choice. If they still thought about keeping it all for themselves at a time like this, they might really have to exit early.

Clearly, Li Luo might have already had this scheme in mind from the very beginning.

However, this also came with significant difficulty. The most important point was that their team composition was too weak. To other teams with members in the Resonant-Phase Stage, three people in the Pattern-Birth Stage posed no threat at all. Their first thought upon meeting wouldn't be negotiation, but rather capturing them first.

And once they fell into the hands of others, they would lose too much initiative.

But Li Luo had blocked Zhao Jieyang's attack earlier, demonstrating strength that was not weak, which deterred some people and turned the situation into the current chaos.

Qin Zhulu sat down nearby. He looked at Li Luo and said, "Your strength has actually improved to this point without me noticing."

Li Luo had blocked Zhao Jieyang's attack alone earlier, something he would have found difficult to do. According to Qin Zhulu's self-assessment, he didn't fear opponents in the fifth pattern of the Pattern-Birth Stage much, but he was basically no match for opponents who had surpassed the fifth pattern and reached the Resonant-Phase Stage.

And this Zhao Jieyang was in the second transformation of the Resonant-Phase Stage.

Li Luo's ability to fight above his level clearly surpassed his own.

One had to know that half a year ago, when they first entered the Astral Sage College, his strength had far exceeded Li Luo's... At that time, Li Luo had not yet revealed his edge, but as time passed, the advantages of dual resonances were finally gradually emerging.

Li Luo smiled. Although Qin Zhulu possessed the upper eighth-grade Gold-Devouring Demon Tiger resonance, he himself now carried the seventh-grade Water-Light resonance and the fifth-grade Wood-Earth resonance. Combined, in terms of the sheer volume of resonant power, he was only stronger than the other, not weaker.

Now, he could almost say that as long as he didn't encounter a ninth-grade resonance, he feared no one at the same level.

As for winning against stronger opponents, he mainly relied on the astonishing explosive power of his dual resonances. But this power had a drawback: it lacked endurance. If he couldn't seize the opportunity to defeat the enemy in one strike, he would instead fall into a disadvantage due to excessive consumption of resonant power.

For instance, earlier, if Zhao Jieyang had continued to attack, having lost four resonant power bubbles, he would likely have fallen into a great disadvantage.

"At the end of the day, our strength is still a bit weak, otherwise we wouldn't have to rely on external forces now." Li Luo sighed. The teams participating in this Golden Dragon Dojo were generally in the Resonant-Phase Stage; being in the Pattern-Birth Stage here meant being constrained at every turn.

"If even you are going to belittle yourself, then how are the rest of us supposed to live?" Lu Qinger couldn't help but say.

"These teams are almost all the top talents of the two-star halls in their respective sage colleges. The fact that you can still move with ease amidst their hunting is something that even two more Qin Zhulus couldn't achieve."

Qin Zhulu glanced at Lu Qinger, signaling: why use him as a unit of measurement?

Lu Qinger argued forcefully, "Because even if there were two more of you, you would just charge in head-first. But in the current situation, no matter how hard your head is, you would only end up battered and bleeding."

Qin Zhulu's face stiffened slightly; this was indeed his personality. He wouldn't engage in these fancy schemes. If he were truly surrounded, he would most likely just fight to the death.

"Are we just waiting for them to reach a result now?" He changed the subject.

Li Luo nodded and said, "The final four teams remaining will be our future allies. Everyone must love and cherish one another."

Qin Zhulu couldn't help but want to retort: "Love and cherish" my foot. If they had the chance, they would probably want to deal with Li Luo most of all. After all, in a sense, they had been manipulated and schemed against by Li Luo this time.

But regardless, watching these guys suddenly perform such a good show in front of him was actually quite comfortable.

Thus, under the eyes of Li Luo, Lu Qinger, and Qin Zhulu, who were practically watching a play, the chaos in the mountain forest lasted for a full hour, leaving the entire forest in a mess.

Eventually, many teams fled in defeat.

Four teams emerged from the forest and finally arrived in front of the three of them. Two of these teams were led by Zhao Jieyang and Gu Ying.

At this moment, all four teams were radiating a murderous aura, and many of them were wounded, with fresh blood seeping out. Clearly, they had paid a heavy price to drive away the other teams.

It was fortunate that all the teams were like scattered sand; otherwise, if they had joined forces to deal with them, they probably wouldn't have been able to handle it.

Therefore, the gazes the four teams cast at Li Luo were somewhat unkind, with hidden glints of malice.

Li Luo acted as if he hadn't seen their unkind gazes. Instead, he stood up with a full face of smiles, clapped his hands, and said, "Congratulations to you all. After layers of screening and elimination, you have become the final four teams."

Gu Ying stared at Li Luo, gritted her teeth, and said, "Yu Lang, is it? I've remembered you too. If we can meet at the 'Holy Grail War' at the end of the year, I will settle this score with you."

The other three teams also snorted coldly, thinking that Gu Ying's words hit the nail on the head.

Li Luo remained calm and said, "I, Yu, do not need to explain my actions to anyone. If we meet in the future, you all need not show mercy."

Immediately, he smiled and reached out his hand to the leaders of the four teams, saying, "But at least in this Golden Dragon Dojo, I consider you all friends. Rest assured, the harvest brought by the Golden Dragon Qi will be distributed fairly among us."

Hearing this, Zhao Jieyang, Gu Ying, and the others didn't acknowledge Li Luo's outstretched hand, but their expressions softened slightly. If it weren't for their covetousness for the benefits brought by the Golden Dragon Qi, they would have long since taken action to eliminate all three of them.

"From now on, we are allies. We can travel together, but today's events caused too much of a stir, so in the days to come, I'm afraid many teams will try to snipe us. When that time comes, I'll have to rely on you brothers." Li Luo didn't mind their cold attitude and spoke with great enthusiasm and drive.

"From this moment on, the Golden Dragon Qi shall be guarded by us!"

Hearing this, the expressions of the four teams led by Zhao Jieyang and Gu Ying couldn't help but become quite colorful. At this moment, they couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.

Something is wrong with this damn situation.

Didn't we come here to rob them in the first place?

How did we inexplicably become the other side's hired muscle by the end of it?!!