Chapter 808: The Twenty Banners Gather

The arrival of Lu Lu Qingmei made Li Li Hongli's expression grow even colder — the two women she liked least among the Five Veins of Tianlong were both right before her eyes.

Her dislike of Li Li Fengyi was because of her status. After all, no matter what, she was a direct-line bloodline of the Dragon Fang Vein — her grandfather was the head of the Dragon Fang Vein, and her father presided over the Scarlet Cloud Court. In terms of status and bloodline, Li Li Fengyi was actually a notch above Li Li Hongli.

Her dislike of Lu Lu Qingmei, on the other hand, was because of the other's outstanding talent. Although she was merely an outer-branch person, she had relied on her own gifts to step by step become the outstanding figure of her generation in the Dragon Scale Vein. Looking across the entire Five Veins of Tianlong, only Li Li Qingfeng could hold her down.

Li Li Hongli stared at Lu Lu Qingmei walking forward and said, "What business is it of yours?"

Lu Lu Qingmei possessed looks no less than Li Li Hongli's, and her temperament was utterly different from the latter's. Her ear-length short hair and her neat, crisp black coat and trousers made her look especially dashing and valiant.

"I just wanted to remind you not to make a laughingstock of yourself here and disgrace the face of our Li Li Tianwang's vein." Lu Lu Qingmei said blandly.

Li Li Hongli was quite annoyed by Lu Lu Qingmei's tone, but in the end she still held her temper in check. She gave a cold snort and turned to enter the Huxinjindian.

With Li Li Hongli's departure, the taut, ready-to-snap atmosphere here finally eased. The many gazes from all around also shifted away, though some eyes still drifted toward Lu Lu Qingmei in a vague, half-there way.

Lu Lu Qingmei first looked toward Li Li Fengyi and said, "Every time she sees you, she seems to react quite strongly."

Li Li Fengyi curled her lip and said, "As if her reaction would be any smaller seeing you? A sensitive, petty madwoman."

Li Li Fengyi and Lu Lu Qingmei were clearly acquainted, and their relationship could be considered decent. After all, in the past, Li Li Hongli's existence had often caused the two of them to stand in the same camp.

After a few casual words, Lu Lu Qingmei's gaze shifted, and she turned to Li Luo beside her. "Regarding Li Luo, we meet again."

Li Luo met Lu Lu Qingmei's gaze with a smile and said, "Speaking of which, I still haven't thanked Great Banner Leader Lu Lu Qingmei for showing mercy last time. Clearly your side won, yet you still graciously gave us a draw."

Lu Lu Qingmei studied Li Luo's handsome face and said seriously, "You're very impressive. With the strength of the Great Evil Palace realm, you've been able to bring the Qingming Banner to where it is now. I think once you take another step forward and enter the Evil Body realm, perhaps the Qingming Banner could squeeze into the top five."

"I am quite looking forward to fighting you without holding back at that time."

Her eyes grew a touch hotter. When the two banners had met back then, although her side had ultimately won, she had been able to sense Li Luo's potential and the threat he posed.

That threat had not made her feel a thorn in her back; instead, it filled her with longing.

Sensing Lu Lu Qingmei's hunger for battle, Li Luo gave a dry laugh. The woman before him truly had a style utterly different from Li Li Hongli's — that one had a princess's temper, while this one had a battle-loving nature that would put even men to shame.

"Great Banner Leader Lu Lu Qingmei thinks too highly of me. I'm only relying on the Qingming Banner's 'Combined Qi' power to narrow the gap between us a little. Without the 'Qingming Banner,' if we fought on our own merits, I'm afraid I wouldn't last more than a few moves against you." Li Luo said with a smile.

This was no lie. The current Li Luo was still only at the Great Evil Palace realm, while Lu Lu Qingmei was already at the Extreme Evil realm. The gap between these levels would be greatly narrowed under the 'Combined Qi' state, but in a true one-on-one clash, that gap would not be so easy to bridge.

By Li Luo's estimate, at the very least he would need to complete the accumulation of Earth Evil Mystic Light and truly break through to the Evil Body realm before he could stand against top-tier prodigies like Deng Deng Fengxian and Lu Lu Qingmei in single combat.

No helping it — who could blame the pits of his three phase palaces being just too deep...

Regarding what Li Luo had said, Lu Lu Qingmei neither agreed nor disagreed. Although what he said was also fact, in their previous exchanges she had always felt that Li Luo was hiding his depth very well.

This son of Li Taixuan, even after all those years of being wasted in the Outer Shenzhou, still seemed to be keeping a low profile.

But right now the two sides weren't that familiar after all, so Lu Lu Qingmei didn't say anything more. After nodding to them in acknowledgment, she led the people of the Dragon Scale Vein straight into the Huxinjindian.

Li Luo, Li Li Fengyi, and Li Jingtiao entered afterward as well.

Inside the Jin Dian, the lighting was even more dazzling and bright. Crystal-like lanterns hung in clear layers, their light illuminating every corner of the spacious hall without a single dead spot.

Inside the hall, voices buzzed, a great many figures gathered into numerous small circles, chatting and laughing with one another.

What a luxurious, high-class scene.

The moment Li Luo and the others entered the hall, maidservants came forward and respectfully invited them to the rear hall, saying Li Li Qingfeng was already waiting.

Li Luo exchanged a glance with Li Li Fengyi and Li Jingtiao, then also stepped forward and followed.

The group passed through a brightly lit corridor and, led by the maidservant, entered an exquisite, resplendent side hall. The moment they entered, they saw quite a few figures already seated on both sides of a long table.

Li Luo's gaze swept across and he spotted some rather familiar faces — all people he had encountered during the banner competition in the Evil Demon Cave.

Clearly, the great banner leaders of all twenty banners were present.

"Hehe, Li Fengyi, Jingtiao, you've finally arrived. We've been waiting for you." At that moment, a clear, bright laugh rang out.

Li Luo's gaze followed the sound and saw, at the head of the wide long table, a young man speaking with a smile, his gaze also shooting over.

That youth had a tall, straight figure and a handsome face. At both sides of his waist hung a saber and a sword. His voice was unhurried, giving off a composed and confident air; when he smiled, there was a nobility that could not be concealed.

The great banner leaders of all twenty banners were present, and these people could be considered prodigies of their respective veins, but when facing this youth, the atmosphere in the room subtly centered on him.

Li Luo instantly understood his identity. Who else could possess such commanding presence besides the great banner leader of the Golden Blood Banner, Li Li Qingfeng?

That bearing was indeed not bad — worthy of being the face of this generation of the Five Veins of Tianlong.

Li Li Fengyi, hearing Li Li Qingfeng's words, kept her expression calm. She merely gave him a slight nod before bringing Li Luo and Li Jingtiao to their seats.

At that moment, Li Li Qingfeng's gaze suddenly turned to Li Luo and he said with a smile, "This must be the great banner leader of the Qingming Banner, Li Luo, yes? Recently, under your leadership, the Qingming Banner has been making quite a name for itself."

Li Luo smiled and said in a calm voice, "Just small-time squabbles. Nothing compared to Great Banner Leader Li Li Qingfeng's Golden Blood Banner."

"At least you have some self-awareness. Just as expected of someone who came back from a small backwater place like the Outer Shenzhou." Seated at Li Li Qingfeng's lower side, Li Li Hongli raised her beautiful eyes, a hint of mockery in her smile.

The expressions of the many great banner leaders present shifted slightly. Li Li Hongli was quite pointedly targeting Li Luo — the reason wasn't hard to guess: nothing more than the grudges of the previous generation.

Slap!

Hearing Li Li Hongli once again stirring up trouble and targeting Li Luo, before Li Luo could even react, Li Li Fengyi's fiery temper couldn't take it. She slammed her palm on the table and glared at Li Li Hongli. "You should be grateful Li Luo only came back now. If he had come back a few years earlier, what business would your Dragon Blood Vein have had?"

Li Li Hongli sneered coldly, "What big talk. If he had come back a few years earlier, could he have suppressed Brother Li Qingfeng?"

Li Li Fengyi was about to fire back, but Li Luo held her back. This Li Li Hongli was quite scheming — always dragging the Dragon Blood Vein into opposition with him.

At that moment, Li Li Qingfeng also raised a hand to stop Li Li Hongli and said with a smile, "You two — every time you meet you start arguing. But today we have serious matters to discuss, so let's leave it here."

Seeing him speak, Li Li Hongli gave a light snort and withdrew her attack.

And Li Li Qingfeng surveyed the entire room with a faint smile.

"I've invited everyone here today mainly to discuss one matter — it concerns tomorrow's 'Mystic Yellow Dragon Qi Pool.'"