Chapter 765: The Banner Division Battle

On the second day of the Shamodan opening, after losing the competition of the First Division, Li Luo led the Fifth Division and smoothly secured the first clear of the thirtieth floor.

The first clear of the thirtieth floor took the Fifth Division nearly half a day. This speed couldn't be called fast, but it had the advantage of being steady, and most importantly, the attrition of the Fifth Division was greatly reduced.

Li Luo doing this was clearly preparing for the third day's Banner Division Battle.

Additionally, clearing the thirtieth floor once again brought Li Luo over a hundred strands of Earth Sha Mysterious Light. Such cultivation speed was comparable to the results of several normal days, and this was still under the premise of taking and refining high-grade Yuan Sha Pills. So at this moment, Li Luo finally experienced firsthand the joy brought by the Shamodan.

No wonder the Twenty Banners were always so fond of it; with such immediate gains, no amount of hardship and fatigue was in vain.

However, after clearing the thirtieth floor, Li Luo did not continue pushing forward to the thirty-first floor. The main reason was that the difficulty of the thirty-first floor began to rise sharply. If he attempted to pass it, the Fifth Division would have to go all out and push forward at any cost. But with the third day's Banner Division Battle about to arrive, their primary task was still to preserve their strength and meet the great battle.

After all, in the current Qingming Banner, the original spearhead division, the First Division, had lost many banner members due to Zhong Ling's earlier impulsiveness, which caused the First Division's strength to plummet. If they encountered a strong enemy again in the Banner Division Battle, they would most likely lose.

But once the Banner Division Battle was won, the rewards were extremely enviable.

No one was willing to give up, including Li Luo.

And under such anticipation, everyone welcomed the most intense third day.

Before the Shamodadian, the crowd surged and the atmosphere boiled over.

Four Banners, Twenty Divisions, all were present.

Everyone's gaze, carrying a hint of tension, looked toward the mountain wall on one side, where lights continuously intertwined, because next, the assignments for the third day's Banner Division Battle would be carried out.

The Banner Division Battle was the highlight of every Shamodan opening.

On this stage, each Banner and each Division would clash, which also served to enhance competitiveness and temper one another.

And to uphold the honor of each Banner, each Banner Division would also fight with all their might.

Of course, it wasn't just honor—there were also substantial rewards.

Li Luo was also staring at the interwoven light curtain on the mountain wall. Beside him, Zhao Zhao Yanzhi's slender jade hands were clasped together, and on her enchanting, moving cheeks appeared a pious expression as she prayed: "Don't get assigned to a top-ten Banner Division! Don't get assigned to a top-ten Banner Division!"

Li Luo couldn't help but laugh, but he understood. Currently, their entire Qingming Banner's ranking was fourteenth—no, wait, after this Shamodan effort, their floor count had improved. The progress to the thirtieth floor had already raised the ranking to thirteenth.

But those top-ten Banner Divisions, after these two days of assault, had at the very least reached the thirty-fourth floor. The gap between them still couldn't be ignored.

Of course, in Li Luo's estimation, as long as they didn't encounter a top-five top Banner Division, they should actually still have the strength to fight for it.

After all, although in terms of strength he might be considered the weakest Banner Head among the Twenty Banners, he possessed the Nine-Turn Dragon Breath Sha Refining Art, along with three "Nine-Turn Arts." So if it really came down to going all out in a final fight, Li Luo didn't think there would be many Banner Divisions that could steadily take him down.

While Li Luo's thoughts were turning, waves of uproar had already risen one after another in the plaza.

Because the assignment results began to appear.

Li Luo immediately looked toward the light curtain. With a sweep of his gaze, he saw the Qingming Banner's side, and opposite the Fifth Division, a line of text appeared.

"Qingming Banner Fifth Division versus Dark Blood Banner Third Division."

"It's actually the Dragon Bloodline's Dark Blood Banner..." Li Luo was stunned for a moment. This didn't seem like a good draw; in the previous rankings, the Dark Blood Banner was ranked ninth.

Although the Dark Blood Banner Third Division wasn't its spearhead division, its strength still couldn't be underestimated.

While Li Luo was in a daze, wails had already come from within the Fifth Division. Many banner members cursed and grumbled; this draw was indeed a bit unlucky for them.

"We're done for."

Zhao Zhao Yanzhi was also a bit dejected. She had been praying not to be assigned to a top-ten Banner Division, and in the blink of an eye, here came the ninth-ranked Dark Blood Banner.

Beside her, Li Shi and Mu Bi also shook their heads, exchanging bitter smiles.

Li Luo smiled and soothed: "It's only the Dark Blood Banner Third Division, not the Dark Blood Banner's spearhead division."

Zhao Zhao Yanzhi said: "We're not the Qingming Banner's spearhead division either."

"Really unlucky. The First Division got a good opponent over there. I feel like we've been targeted." she complained indignantly.

Hearing this, Li Luo looked at the First Division's side on the light curtain, and saw that the opponent the First Division had encountered was the Dragon Horn Lineage's Wind Horn Banner First Division.

The Wind Horn Banner was ranked seventeenth, even lower than their Qingming Banner.

However, Zhong Ling and the others had suffered severe personnel losses before, and even after a day of rest they hadn't fully recovered, so meeting the Wind Horn Banner First Division this time, the final outcome was hard to say.

Of course, compared to them who had encountered the Dark Blood Banner, the First Division was definitely considered quite lucky.

The wails from the Fifth Division's side also drew sympathetic gazes from the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions of the Qingming Banner. In this assignment, among their Qingming Banner's five divisions, it was indeed the Fifth Division's side that had encountered the most troublesome opponent.

Zhong Ling's expression didn't change, but a flash of secret delight swept through the depths of his eyes. Actually, during this day, he had also been regretting his earlier impulsiveness, but regret couldn't change anything, so he could only accept the bitter fruit.

But fortunately, the result of this third day's "Banner Division Battle" wasn't bad.

As long as he could defeat the "Wind Horn Banner First Division" this time, then this Shamodan could still be considered perfect. Conversely, looking at Li Luo's side, they would most likely be brutally crushed by the Dark Blood Banner. Presumably this would blunt Li Luo's edge, and would also make the Fifth Division, whose momentum was beginning to flourish, recognize reality.

Facing those many gazes of varied emotions, Li Luo's expression didn't have any ripples. His gaze casually swept over the other four Banners.

The Jin Guang Banner First Division led by Deng Deng Fengxian was matched against the strongest Dragon Bone Lineage's Glass Bone Banner First Division. The two sides were evenly matched in strength, both in the first tier, and if they fought, it should be a shocking great battle.

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The Red Cloud Banner First Division led by Li Li Fengyi encountered the Dragon Scale Lineage's Earth Scale Banner First Division. In terms of strength, the former was slightly superior, so barring any accidents, this battle should be a victory for the Red Cloud Banner First Division.

The Purple Qi Banner First Division led by Li Li Jingtao fought the Dragon Bone Lineage's Rock Bone Banner Fifth Division. This was simply not worth watching, because the latter was the weakest tier among the Twenty Banners' Hundred Divisions.

While Li Luo was looking at the light curtain, he sensed gazes coming from afar. He looked over and saw Li Li Fengyi and Li Li Jingtao casting worried glances toward his side.

Clearly, they had also seen the assigned opponent for the Qingming Banner Fifth Division this time.

Li Luo returned a smile to them, signaling that there was no need to worry.

"Zhao Yanzhi, do you have intel on the Dark Blood Banner Third Division?" Li Luo turned and asked Zhao Zhao Yanzhi.

Zhao Zhao Yanzhi was just about to speak, but Li Shi beside her took over: "The Banner Head of the Dark Blood Banner Third Division is named Li Tong. I actually know him; he is also from a side branch of the Li Shi clan, but compared to my side, he's much better off. He was previously at the Gold Sha Body realm, but his tempering is even stronger than Zhong Ling's. I heard he once attempted to break through to the Glass Sha Body, but ultimately failed, so now he should be trying to condense 'Sha Gang' and directly enter the Extreme Sha realm."

"This person possesses an eighth-grade Earth Dragon Physique, and has mastered the Six-Turn Dragon Breath Sha Refining Art. Although among the Dragon Bloodline where prodigies are as common as clouds, Li Tong can only be considered mid-tier, his strength still cannot be underestimated."

"Within the Dark Blood Banner's five divisions, the Third Division's strength is inferior to the First Division, but superior to the other three. In terms of overall strength, it is also much stronger than our Fifth Division."

Li Luo nodded slightly. The three levels of the Sha Body realm: Silver Sha Body, Gold Sha Body, Glass Sha Body—this was the stage of tempering the physical body, but the vast majority of people could only reach the Gold Sha Body level, and then could only give up further tempering and instead condense Sha Gang, attempting to break through to the Extreme Sha realm.

Only those with outstanding talent could cultivate the Glass Sha Body, and then upon reaching this realm, attempt to condense Sha Gang. In this way, not only would the foundation be stronger, but the ultimate combat power would also be higher than those who broke through to the Extreme Sha realm directly from the Gold Sha Body.

"Everyone, don't be discouraged. Although the opponent is strong, we shouldn't be cowardly before even fighting. If we are, it would be too much of a disgrace to the Qingming Banner's face."

"Moreover, thinking from another angle, if we can defeat such an opponent, isn't that also an opportunity for our Fifth Division to make a name for itself? Losing isn't a loss, winning is a huge profit!"

Li Luo smiled at everyone, encouraging and cheering them on.

Seeing the battle-ready Li Luo, the banner members of the Fifth Banner exchanged uncertain glances, but in the end they rallied somewhat. After all, the Fifth Banner was no longer what it used to be—they now had a banner leader who had mastered the "Nine Revolutions Evil Refining Art," and anything was possible.

Just as Li Luo had said, facing such a powerful enemy, losing was only natural, but if they somehow pulled off a victory, that would be an absolute windfall.

No loss if defeated, huge profit if victorious.

This was a good deal.

As the morale of the other banner members gradually rose, only Zhao Zhao Yanzhi rolled her eyes at Li Luo in annoyance.

"I really fell for your nonsense, you great swindler."