Chapter 657: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

The instant Zhu Zhu Qinghuo was wounded by Niu Niu Biaobiao's blade, thunderous cheers erupted throughout Luolang Mansion. Those loyal to Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge all showed excited expressions on their faces. Now that Manager Pei Hao was dead, Xu Xu Tianling was on the verge of death, and even the Marquis-tier reinforcements sent by the enemy had been heavily wounded and forced to retreat. Clearly, today's life-or-death tribulation for Luolang Mansion had finally turned in their favor!

From now on, Li Luo would officially become the Master of Luolang Mansion!

This internal strife was finally going to come to an end!

Compared with the wild joy of people like Yuan Qing and Lei Zhang, the pavilion masters who had thrown in their lot with Manager Pei Hao were deathly pale. In an instant their fighting spirit vanished, and they simply collapsed to the ground, allowing themselves to be captured.

Clearly, facing such a situation, they had already despaired.

"We won!"

Cai Wei's charming face was also brimming with excitement. She gripped Yan Yan Lingqing's hand tightly, squeezing the other's fair, white hand hard enough to leave bluish marks on the back.

Yan Yan Lingqing did not pull away, because at this moment she too was shaken to the core.

She gazed at Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge in the field, unable to stop herself from feeling a little dazed. As Jiang Jiang Qinge's close friend, she knew better than anyone the difficulties Luolang Mansion had faced over these past few years. That kind of trouble within and without would have left any other power helpless, let alone the fact that although Jiang Jiang Qinge's talent was extraordinary, she was after all not a Marquis-tier powerhouse, lacking the kind of power to decide everything in a single stroke.

Jiang Jiang Qinge had only been constantly accumulating her own strength, preparing for this great upheaval today.

But Yan Yan Lingqing understood the pressure Jiang Jiang Qinge had been bearing.

"That fellow Li Luo, everyone underestimated him," Yan Yan Lingqing said earnestly.

The fact that Luolang Mansion could stabilize the situation today was certainly due to Jiang Jiang Qinge's dazzling performance, but Li Luo's presence was equally indispensable. If not for Li Luo, Jiang Jiang Qinge would probably have found it difficult to turn the tide single-handedly.

Cai Wei nodded slightly and smiled: "You can only say these two complement each other too well. Qingge displayed her world-shaking talent, drawing all the attention from the outside, and her radiance overshadowed the Young Master, which gave the Young Master time to grow in secret."

"In the past, the outside world all said Li Luo wasn't worthy of Qingge. After today, I fear no one will be able to say such things again."

Yan Yan Lingqing looked at the two with a beaming smile and said: "So I hereby announce that I approve of these two's marriage."

Cai Wei smiled.

However, while everyone else was cheering, Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge did not show overly excited expressions, because they sensed that today's events were probably not going to end so easily.

Whether it was Manager Pei Hao or Zhu Zhu Qinghuo, they might not truly be the masterminds behind everything.

Because being able to set up a grand scheme back then to force Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan to the Wang Hou battlefield was definitely not something Zhu Zhu Qinghuo alone had the power to accomplish.

If that mastermind truly coveted Luolang Mansion's heavy treasures, then he absolutely would not be willing to watch his years of scheming fail like this.

Their wait did not last long, because at a certain moment they saw the already severely weakened strange formation above Luolang Mansion suddenly tremble violently, and then it seemed as if a terrifying power descended, actually forcibly tearing open a gap in the strange formation.

The instant the gap appeared, four streaks of flowing light descended from the sky, landing not far from Niu Niu Biaobiao on all four sides.

When the flowing light dispersed, four human figures were revealed, and at the same time an overwhelming pressure swept out to cover the heavens and earth.

They were unmistakably four Marquis-tier powerhouses!

Although these four Marquis-tier powerhouses were not as strong as Zhu Zhu Qinghuo and should be at the Second-Rank Marquis realm, when the four Marquis-tier powerhouses appeared, the shock they brought instantly cut short the cheers within Luolang Mansion headquarters.

Niu Niu Biaobiao reacted very quickly. The instant these four Marquis-tier powerhouses appeared, his gaze turned savage, and then terrifying blade light poured down like a storm, slashing directly toward those four Marquis-tier powerhouses.

"Marquis-tier strange formation, Four Saints Grand Formation!"

However, those four Marquis-tier powerhouses had also come prepared. Their hand seals shifted into countless afterimages, and immediately countless rays of light shot violently out from within their bodies. Within each ray of light, it seemed as if myriad runes were inscribed, emanating a special kind of power.

The rays of light ultimately formed countless mysterious halos. The halos layered upon layers, as if filling every corner of space. The terrifying blade light shattered countless halos, but even more halos were born in their wake. These halos seemed to transform into a special prison, just barely confining Niu Niu Biaobiao's figure within. The moment he took a single step forward, he would be drowned by these halos.

This sudden change not only drew countless cries of horror from within Luolang Mansion headquarters, but even those other top powerhouses in Daxia City changed color at the sight.

"The Four Saints Grand Formation? This is the Wang Ting's handiwork!"

"Those four Marquis-tier powerhouses who struck are the four high ministers of the Wang Ting, all of them belonging to the Regent King's command!"

"Why would they make a move?!"

Many top powerhouses whispered in shock, immediately identifying the identities of those four who had struck.

And while everyone was in shock, above Luolang Mansion, a figure whose aura was deep as an abyss appeared out of thin air. He glanced at the already severely weakened guardian strange formation, took a single step forward, and his body forcibly pierced straight through it, then stood towering in the air.

A might even more terrifying than Zhu Zhu Qinghuo's descended to blanket the heavens and earth, instantly making it so that every figure within Luolang Mansion headquarters could not even catch their breath for a moment.

One figure after another gazed with fear at that towering silhouette whose might reached the heavens.

"Th-that is..."

"The Regent King of the Wang Ting?!"

"Why would he suddenly make a move? What does he want?!" the crowd cried out in terror.

Li Luo's and Jiang Jiang Qinge's expressions also turned extremely icy at this moment. The instant the Regent King appeared, they understood everything. The greatest mastermind behind Manager Pei Hao, Zhu Zhu Qinghuo, and the others, was actually the Regent King!

This answer was actually not too unexpected, after all, in this Daxia, the person who could command a top powerhouse like Zhu Zhu Qinghuo, besides the Regent King, there were probably not many others.

And the Regent King also had the power to set up a scheme targeting Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan.

When the Regent King revealed himself, his indifferent gaze merely swept over the area below, then paused briefly on Niu Niu Biaobiao. As for Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge, he did not pay them the slightest attention. Then his deep, resonant voice rang out: "This King has investigated for many years and discovered that Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan harbor intentions to overthrow the legitimate rule of my Wang Ting. This crime cannot be pardoned. Therefore, this King has decided today to expel Luolang Mansion from the Five Great Mansions."

"All of Luolang Mansion's possessions shall be confiscated by the Wang Ting."

As the Regent King's words fell, he stretched out his palm and suddenly chopped down through the air.

One could see on the ground of Luolang Mansion headquarters, a deep rift being forcibly torn open. As the earth split apart, an underground palace was exposed to everyone's sight.

Within the underground palace, there were dragon and phoenix stone statues, and above each statue, there was a candle flame.

Those were Li Taixuan's and Dantai Lan's life-bound candle flames.

The Regent King's gaze fixed on those two life-bound candle flames, a cold, sinister intent flashing deep within his eyes. These Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan really hadn't died in the Wang Hou battlefield, what lucky lives!

However, since they had left their life-bound candle flames behind, if he were to extinguish them here, those two would also be implicated. That would only make things even worse for those two in the peril-filled Wang Hou battlefield.

At this thought, the Regent King struck directly. One could see a massive hand that blotted out the sky and sun descending, slamming viciously down toward those dragon and phoenix stone statues.

Li Luo and Jiang Jiang Qinge watched this scene, but they did not make a move to stop it, because they both understood very well the gap between themselves and the Regent King. Going up now would only be delivering themselves to their deaths.

But their gazes were both fixed deeply on the Regent King's face, the iciness and killing intent in their eyes almost taking on substance.

At this moment, the two had already formed the thought of abandoning Luolang Mansion.

The enemy's forces were too strong. Since they could not resist now, they could only retreat rationally.

As long as they were still alive, even this Regent King would be unable to sleep or eat in peace.

The massive hand descended, carrying destructive power as it slammed down heavily.

Roar!

And at the very instant of impact, everyone seemed to faintly hear a dragon's roar rise between heaven and earth, that dragon's roar carrying a kind of indescribable vastness and domineering force.

But before that heart-shaking dragon's roar had fully faded, a clear cry like that of a roc was even more overbearingly bursting forth, that clear cry carrying a strange, terrifying pressure, and even the previously domineering dragon's roar was suppressed beneath it.

The next instant, dazzling golden light erupted within the underground palace.

That golden light seemed to transform into a colossal golden-winged roc; its wings, like those of pure gold, fanned out, and with a single sweep, the Regent King's destructive great hand was instantly sliced into countless specks of light.

At the same moment, a woman's cold shout rang out like thunder throughout the entire Great Xia City.

"Li Taixuan, get out of my way!"

"This Palace Abyss dog-thief dares to bully my child — a mere piece of trash, yet he apes men with all his scheming. Today I'll send him underground to meet the Palace clan's former kings!"

The instant that woman's cold shout rang out, both Li Luo and Jiang Qing's figures jolted violently, staring somewhat dazed toward the dazzling golden light erupting from the depths of the underground palace; then an irrepressible surge of excitement welled up in their eyes, their hearts trembling.

"Mother?"

"Shiniang?"