Chapter 772: Dragon Fang Lightning Flow

Li Luo's first experience in the Demon Shackles Cave was a successful debut, and in the end he reaped more than enough—counting the "Divine Demonic Pill" obtained after defeating the Third Division of the Dark Blood Flag, he likely gathered five to six hundred Earthly Demonic Light rays.

This rivals nearly half a month's cultivation.

Such speed explains why every time the Demon Shackles Cave opens, each flag's members are excited and eager, rubbing their hands together.

Having experienced the joy of clearing the cave, Li Luo was already eagerly awaiting the next one.

Moreover, this time his gains weren't just Earthly Demonic Light, but also prestige.

Though the Dark Blood Flag's Third Division wasn't a elite unit, the Dark Blood Flag itself ranked ninth overall, its collective strength far surpassing the Azure Mist Flag; thus, Li Luo's victory against superior forces marked his first strike in the Dragon Fang Five Lines.

Among the other four lines and their flags, discussions about this newcomer were inevitable.

Though they wouldn't yet feel fear or reverence toward him because of this, at the very least, they now knew that Li Taixuan's son, who had just returned from Outer Shenzhou, possessed some real ability.

And prestige—isn't it built step by step? Li Luo had already begun on a strong footing.

There was still plenty of time ahead; Li Luo believed that before long, when the other flags spoke of the Azure Mist Flag again, their former disdain would quietly fade.

The glory his father had won for the Azure Mist Flag, he, as his son, still had a duty to uphold.

After the Demon Shackles Cave session, Li Luo was dragged off by Li Jintao and Li Li Fengyi to celebrate; they brought along several flag leaders from their own flags, giving Li Luo a chance to familiarize himself with them and expand his network within the Dragon Fang Line.

Li Luo naturally felt grateful for their care; the kindness of this elder brother and second sister eased a deep tension within him, for before coming to the Dragon Fang Line, his greatest dread had been encountering blood relatives who, driven by various interests, would target, exclude, or compete with him.

After all, he had already witnessed the power struggles within the Xia Dynasty's royal family, and he truly didn't want to waste his energy on such unpleasant matters—even though he had long prepared himself for such conflict...

Now that Li Jintao and Li Li Fengyi treated this long-unknown third younger brother with such care and friendliness, Li Luo could focus entirely on his cultivation.

This was undoubtedly the best outcome.

After his first cultivation session in the Demon Shackles Cave, Li Luo's days became plain yet tightly packed.

His daily focus, naturally, remained on cultivation.

After reaping the rewards from the Demon Shackles Cave, Li Luo spent three days refining the "Divine Demonic Pill" he had obtained; now, the Earthly Demonic Light rays within his Waterlight Phase Palace had reached roughly two thousand seven hundred.

This was already over half the way to the Waterlight Phase Palace's limit of five thousand.

In the days that followed, Li Luo mostly trained in the Azure Mist Training Ground, continuously improving his rapport with the Fifth Division; as their rapport grew, the immense power they generated during "Harmonized Qi" became smoother and more fluid.

Within the Azure Mist Training Ground, after his first session in the Demon Shackles Cave, Li Luo could clearly sense that the other three divisions, besides the First, had become more courteous toward him; their flag leaders would proactively greet him with warm smiles.

Clearly, this was because Li Luo's displayed strength had earned their recognition.

Yet while their attitudes grew friendly, the First Division's flag leader, Zhong Ling, no longer concealed his suspicion and hostility toward Li Luo, causing relations between the First and Fifth Divisions to grow tense and charged with hostility.

And the Fifth Division's members no longer retreated as they once had; after defeating the Dark Blood Flag's Third Division, the Fifth Division's strength was now no weaker than the First's—and if one truly asked, which division was the Azure Mist Flag's true elite unit might still need to be settled by combat.

As flag leader, Li Luo paid little heed to the tension between the two divisions; he remained immersed in his daily cultivation.

The Earthly Demonic Light rays within his Waterlight Phase Palace continued to grow at an encouraging pace.

In addition, Li Luo visited the Four Flags Pavilion, the repository of the Four Flags' Phase Arts, seeking a powerful Dragon General Art.

After all, as his strength continued to rise, his offensive techniques had grown increasingly scarce; though the Black Dragon Nether Water Flag was formidable, as a Marquis Art its consumption was immense, so it couldn't be used lightly under normal circumstances.

As for Li Luo's modified "Thousand Flowing Water Blade Wheel," originally a Tiger General Art, though its power now rivaled some Dragon General Arts, it was still fundamentally limited.

Thus, cultivating a higher-grade Dragon General Art had become Li Luo's current priority.

Yet although the Four Flags Pavilion's collection was extremely rich—far surpassing that of the Luo Lan Mansion—Li Luo searched for two days and found no Dragon General Art that satisfied him.

Because his requirements were quite stringent.

First, the Dragon General Art needed to be extremely powerful, preferably an arrow-type one; though Li Luo now primarily used the Phase Blade, don't forget—he originally specialized in bows and arrows...

Also, the Dragon General Art needed to possess dual attributes, to better align with his triple-phase nature.

Precisely because of these demanding requirements, even the richly stocked Four Flags Pavilion failed to meet his needs.

With a "better to have none than settle for less" mindset, Li Luo could only return disappointed.

But Li Li Fengyi, who had accompanied him to the Four Flags Pavilion that day, quietly told him that if he couldn't find anything satisfactory, he could take a backdoor route—there was a place that surely held a Dragon General Art he'd love.

Following Li Li Fengyi's hint, Li Luo went to the rear of the main peak, Yashan, the next day.

Li Li Jingzhe, though still wearing his usual stern, expressionless face upon Li Luo's arrival, betrayed a faint inner joy through the subtle relaxation of his wrinkles.

The old man and the young man chatted amiably for half a day in the bamboo courtyard.

Finally, emboldened by wine, Li Luo eagerly voiced his request.

"You little rascal, so you've come to beg from me, have you?" Li Li Jingzhe chuckled and scolded him upon hearing his request.

Then he casually pulled out a jade tablet, seemingly forged from some shattered fang, faint lightning flickering across its surface.

"This is a Dragon General Art I once cultivated—it suits your needs," Li Li Jingzhe tossed the jade tablet to Li Luo.

Li Luo eagerly caught it; as he gripped the tablet and sensed it, a flood of information surged into his mind.

"High-grade Dragon General Art: Dragon Fang Lightning Flow."

This Dragon General Art possessed both Dragon and Lightning attributes, perfectly matching Li Luo's own Dragon and Lightning Phases, and could also be fully wielded with a bow artifact.

"I heard of your performance in the Demon Shackles Cave; consider this a small reward," Li Li Jingzhe smiled, seeing Li Luo's delighted expression.

"Thank you, Grandfather!" Li Luo exclaimed happily.

"But this art requires not only Dragon Phase power, but also Lightning Phase power..." Li Li Jingzhe glanced at Li Luo and said.

Li Luo met Li Li Jingzhe's deep gaze and smiled: "Grandfather must have sensed I possess a Lightning Phase as well?"

Li Li Jingzhe had revealed this Phase Art precisely because he knew Li Luo, beyond his triple phase, concealed a Lightning Phase.

"You little brat, you've got quite a few secrets," Li Li Jingzhe said, surprised; as a King-level powerhouse, his perception was extraordinary, and since Li Luo hadn't deliberately hidden anything in front of him, he'd made an educated guess.

Li Luo replied frankly: "It's not much of a secret—just that among the three phases, there's a distinction between primary and auxiliary."

Li Li Jingzhe clicked his tongue. "This is an exceedingly rare situation. Though auxiliary phase natures aren't unheard of, having all three phases each with a primary-auxiliary distinction? That's exceedingly hard to come by. Strictly speaking, aren't you carrying six phases?"

Li Luo humbly replied: "The three auxiliary phases are too weak—they only serve minor supportive roles."

Li Li Jingzhe clicked his tongue twice and said, "This is an extremely rare situation. Although it's not unheard of for a single affinity to have a primary and secondary aspect, for all three affinities to each have a primary and secondary aspect... that is truly remarkable. By such a strict reckoning, wouldn't that mean you possess six affinities?"

Li Luo said modestly, "The three support phases are too weak; they can really only play a minor supporting role."

Li Li Jingzhe said thoughtfully, "In the future they may yet prove useful."

"What?" Li Luo said, puzzled.

Li Li Jingzhe shook her head, then changed the subject: "In a few days, that old fellow from the Dragon Bloodline is going to hold a birthday celebration. The commotion then probably won't be small. I've heard he'll also be inviting the Qin Li Tianwang line, and that Qin Qin Lian might very well come as well."

As she spoke, she looked at Li Luo's blank expression, smiled, and then explained the matter in detail to Li Luo.

Only after hearing the full account did Li Luo suddenly understand — so that Palace Master Qin Qin Lian of the Qin Li Tianwang line was the other protagonist of that incident back then.

"That Qin Qin Lian has a personal disciple named Chu Qing, who can now be considered among the finest of the younger generation in Outer Shenzhou — quite dazzling."

"She also has a daughter named Qin Yi, who possesses a Zhen Jiu Pin Water Aspect, unmatched in elegance and beauty, her fame resounding throughout Outer Shenzhou."

Li Luo blinked and said: "Grandmother, you mean that Qin Qin Lian will send those two juniors to deal with me?"

"Chu Qing has an age difference with you, so he probably won't make a move for now."

"But as for Qin Yi, you may need to keep a bit of an eye out when the time comes." Li Li Jingzhe smiled and said: "Don't let her steal your heart — that little girl has admirers on the Outer Shenzhou continent like schools of carp crossing a river."

Li Luo neither agreed nor disagreed. Although he hadn't seen this Qin Yi, when it came to beauty, he had yet to see anyone more stunning than his own big white goose back home.

As a warrior who had been tested by Jiang Qing for so many years, Li Luo still had some confidence in his resistance to beauty.

So, after indicating that he understood, he said no more on the matter. After chatting a while longer with Li Li Jingzhe, he departed fully satisfied.

In the bamboo courtyard, Li Li Jingzhe gazed at Li Luo's retreating figure, first smiling, then a thoughtful look surfacing in her eyes.

"Li Luo's Postnatal Mark... is rather peculiar."

"Tai Zhu Xuan, what kind of encounter did you all have back then in that ancient ruin?"

"The reaction from the Qin Li Tianwang line back then seemed to be a bit excessive..."