Chapter 782: Linghen

Time passed. Before anyone noticed, there were only three days left until the Qingming Banner's Great Banner Leader competition.

During this period, the Qingming Banner's Great Banner Leader competition had undoubtedly become a matter of considerable attention within the Dragon Fang Lineage. There was no need to mention the banner members of the four banners—even the masters of the various academies, and even some high-ranking clan elders, all showed great interest in it.

Normally speaking, the Qingming Banner's Great Banner Leader competition was merely a matter between the younger generation, and the higher-ups of all sides wouldn't pay it too much heed. But there was no helping it—who could blame them when Li Luo's identity was a bit special?

Although his father Li Taixuan had left the Dragon Fang Lineage for roughly twenty years now, this unparalleled heavenly pride who had astonished the entire Li Li Tianwang bloodline had still left a deep impression on the higher-ups of the various lineages. There were even those who said that if Li Taixuan hadn't left the Dragon Fang Lineage, he would very likely have contended for the top two on the Tianyuan Record's Marquis Ranking.

The reason no one said first place was because if Li Taixuan hadn't left, then that Dantai Lan should still be in the Outer Shenzhou...

And Li Luo was the son of these two.

?? Furthermore, he was also Li Jingzhao's grandson. With such an identity, it would be hard for him not to attract attention.

Therefore, this attention was not only within the Dragon Fang Lineage—within the other four lineages as well, the higher-ups had likewise cast their thoughts this way. Many of these higher-ups, more than twenty years ago, had been suppressed by Li Taixuan's brilliance. Now that Li Taixuan had not returned, a son of his had come back instead. Naturally, they too wanted to see what unique qualities the son born of Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan's bearing might possess.

Or would it be a tiger father raising a dog of a son?

Of course, among them were also some who had harbored grudges against Li Taixuan back in the day. They, however, held the attitude of watching the show, hoping that Li Luo would suffer a setback, so they could vent a little of the frustration from being defeated by Li Taixuan back then.

Regardless, the degree of attention drawn by this Qingming Banner's Great Banner Leader competition was likely greater than any previous one.

While the outside world was buzzing with discussion about this Great Banner Leader competition, Li Luo, one of the protagonists, paid it no heed at all. He immersed all his mind into cultivation.

"The third Dragon Lei Xiang Palace has finally been strengthened to completion."

In the cultivation chamber, Li Luo opened his eyes. A flowing radiance seemed to surge within his gaze, and at this moment, the Xiangli fluctuations emanating from within his body once again showed signs of climbing.

That was because the third Dragon Lei Xiang Palace, having been polished, had also stepped into the phenomenon of the Great Sha Palace Realm.

And the Xiangli within the Dragon Lei Xiang Palace likewise received a strengthening as a result.

At this point, the three Xiang Palaces within Li Luo's body could be considered to have all stepped into the Great Sha Palace Realm. And after three strengthenings, the thickness of the Xiangli within his body, by his estimation, could almost be considered to crush his peers.

If one wished to find someone with thicker Xiangli than him within the Great Sha Palace Realm, even within this Inner Shenzhou, there probably wouldn't be more than a handful.

Even if the opponent was a top heavenly pride possessing a Zhen Jiu Pin Xiang aspect,

Li Luo was completely unafraid.

"By normal measurement, the thickness of my Xiangli at this moment is probably not inferior to some ordinary Silver Sha Bodies."

Satisfaction surfaced in Li Luo's eyes. Another advantage of the Sha Body Realm lay in the physical body, but he cultivated the Thunder Roar Body, using it as amplification—it might not necessarily be weaker.

So if the current him were to duel Mu Bi again, he probably wouldn't need to deploy the Black Dragon Dark Water Banner at all, and could defeat him with ease.

The two months of bitter cultivation since arriving at the Dragon Fang Lineage had produced very remarkable progress.

Moreover, it wasn't only that.

Li Luo extended his palm. Two streams of Xiangli flowed out from within his body, then merged together perfectly, directly fusing into a single stream of Dual Xiang Power.

This strand of Dual Xiang Power rose within Li Luo's palm, appearing extremely vivid and dynamic.

Li Luo gazed at this strand of Dual Xiang Power, and was able to perceive that within it, there was something peculiar—?? it seemed to be wisps of mysterious light traces difficult to detect.

These light traces flowed like extremely tiny fish, shuttling through the Xiangli.

This was called Linghen.

It was something only born when Dual Xiang Power advanced to the third realm, Cheng Ling.

Simply put, it was a kind of spiritual entity that appeared when two kinds of Xiangli fused to the extreme.

Once Linghen was born, it would not only enhance the spirituality contained within the Dual Xiang Power, but when clashing with an enemy's Xiangli, these Linghen would devour and wear down the opponent's Xiangli.

Moreover, Linghen would also draw energy from the world, strengthening and prolonging its own existence, thereby enhancing its own continuity and endurance.

If ordinary Xiangli wished to clash with it and neutralize it, it could probably only win by quantity—several times the amount of Xiangli would be needed to deal with this one strand of Xiangli containing Linghen.

It could be said that only when Dual Xiang Power reached the Cheng Ling Realm could one begin to touch upon a trace of the charm belonging to a Marquis-level powerhouse.

And Li Luo, having cultivated Dual Xiang Power for so long, had finally, during the duel with Lu Lu Qingmei some days prior, stumbled into a flash of insight by accident. After some time of exploration thereafter, he had only then condensed out Linghen for the first time, thoroughly and completely stepping his Dual Xiang Power into the third realm.

Therefore, the current Li Luo not only had the three Xiang Palaces within his body strengthened to completion, all stepping into the Great Sha Palace Realm, but the total number of Earth Sha Mysterious Light within the three Sha Palaces had already reached nearly eight thousand.

Speaking of the thickness of his Xiangli, he was no weaker than an ordinary Silver Sha Body realm cultivator.

Added to this was the insight into the third realm of Dual Xiang Power. Li Luo felt that even if he truly faced Zhong Ling of the Gold Sha Body realm, he would have nothing to fear.

"What's a bit of a pity is that although the Water Light Xiang evolving to the eighth pin has already shown signs, it still needs some more time. This Great Banner Leader competition, I'm afraid, won't make it in time."

Li Luo muttered to himself with some regret. In the two months since arriving at the Dragon Fang Lineage, with the aid of the

resources of Ling Shui Qi Guang granted to him, his upper seventh-pin Water Light Xiang had also, through repeated tempering, begun to show signs of advancement. It was just that this still needed some time—otherwise, if he could catch this Great Banner Leader competition, victory should have been truly in the bag.

But it didn't matter. To deal with Zhong Ling, there was no need to reveal all his trump cards.

Li Luo knew that this Qingming Banner's Great Banner Leader competition would draw much attention. After all, this was the first time since arriving at the Dragon Fang Lineage that he would truly act relying on his own strength. Everyone wanted to see whether he, the son of Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan, was ultimately a dragon or a worm.

Among them, there were surely some harboring malicious intentions. After all, the Li Li Tianwang bloodline was so vast, and Li Taixuan had once been so dazzling—this naturally offended many people.

Li Luo dispersed the Dual Xiang Power in his hand, his gaze calm, then closed his eyes again and continued condensing Linghen.

No matter what thoughts others harbored, this Great Banner Leader competition was his first battle since arriving at the Dragon Fang Lineage. He had to win it beautifully.

?? Whether for his own future, or to preserve his old man's reputation.

Qingming Peak, within a courtyard.

Zhong Zhong Yushi scattered fish bait within a lakeside pavilion. He stared at the fish in the lake scrambling for food, then glanced at Zhong Ling standing beside him and said lightly: "This Qingming Banner Great Banner Leader competition has drawn a lot of attention. You must perform well."

Zhong Ling nodded and said: "Second Uncle, rest assured. I will give my all and seize the position of Great Banner Leader."

Zhong Zhong Yushi said: "Do not underestimate the enemy. Although that Li Luo wasted some time in the Outer Shenzhou, his talent is ultimately extraordinary—this can be seen from his progress in the Sha Demon Cave."

"The Lineage Head values Li Luo greatly, but this elder has always emphasized rules. If Li Luo doesn't display a convincingly impressive battle record, he won't go against the crowd. And Li Luo has potential. If he truly obtains the position of Great Banner Leader this time, then with the Lineage Head's support, it will likely allow him to ride the wind and truly begin to rise. Perhaps, he himself is also playing this calculation."

Zhong Zhong Yushi stared at Zhong Ling and said slowly: "Therefore, this Great Banner Leader competition is of utmost importance to Li Luo. If he succeeds, he borrows the momentum to soar; if he fails, he can only continue to lie low. But he has already wasted so much time in the Outer Shenzhou—if he lies low any longer, it will only cause the gap between him and the top heavenly prides of his peers to grow ever wider."

"So this time, you must cut off his chance to soar!"

"If you can pin him down this time, then on my side, I can also scheme for the position of Great Academy Master of the Qingming Academy."

Upon hearing this, a fierce glint surfaced in Zhong Ling's eyes, and he finally nodded slowly.

"Second Uncle, I understand."

"Li Luo indeed has talent and potential, but if there's anyone to blame, it's that his parents birthed him in the Outer Shenzhou. Perhaps in the future I won't match him, but right now..."

"I'll make him understand that I can still have him wrapped around my finger!"