Chapter 896: The Great Struggle Begins

Time passed, and the day of the Dragon Head Contest arrived swiftly.

At the main mountain of Dragon Tooth, on a plaza overlooking a deep abyss.

Li Li Jingzhe stood in the center of the field, where the high-ranking officials of all four academies had gathered; besides them, there were also some extremely senior clan elders from the Dragon Tooth Pulse.

And before them, on the vast plaza, the entire membership of the Four Flags had assembled, their faces all bearing expressions of excitement and anticipation.

For them, the younger generation, the so-called Dragon Head Contest was, in fact, a contest for leadership among the younger generation.

Whoever could seize the highest achievement from this competition would be the veritable head of the Twenty Flags, and also the number one figure of this generation within the Li Li Tianwang lineage.

After all, the members of the Twenty Flags were all elites carefully selected from the Five Dragon Pulses; while one could not say it was absolute, in terms of overall level, they certainly represented the standard of this generation within the Li Li Tianwang lineage.

To stand out from hundreds of thousands and reach the summit, the title of "Number One" would be truly deserved.

And the person who attained this position would undoubtedly become the pillar of this generation of the Five Dragon Pulses; not only would they gain glory, but they would also receive the attention of the high-ranking officials of each pulse, be granted vast cultivation resources, and be funded to advance further, eventually becoming the backbone of each pulse.

"Are you all ready?"

Li Li Jingzhe's gaze turned toward the very front of the Four Flags' members, where Li Luo, Deng Deng Fengxian, Li Li Fengyi, and Li Jingtang, the four Great Flag Leaders who would participate in the Dragon Head Contest, stood.

Upon hearing this, the four of them all nodded solemnly.

Seeing this, Li Li Jingzhe continued: "The location of the Dragon Head Contest is within a Mi Jing. In a moment, I will open a passage to lead you inside. The high-ranking officials of each academy will accompany you, and your performance within will be projected here at all times for the members of the Four Flags to watch."

As Li Li Jingzhe's voice fell, several coiled-dragon stone carvings in the center of the plaza emitted beams of light from their eyes, which wove together in mid-air to form screens of light; however, at present, clouds and mist swirled within the light screens, seemingly obscuring the view.

At the same time, Li Li Jingzhe tossed out a dragon-shaped Jin Yin; a beam of Jin Guang shot from the dragon's mouth on it, and the Jin Guang directly caused the void behind it to begin twisting, finally forming a vortex-shaped spatial passage.

"If you are ready, then let us move."

Li Li Jingzhe said no more, glanced at the four of them, then turned first and stepped into that spatial vortex, disappearing from sight.

Li Luo and the others exchanged glances and quickly followed suit.

Behind them, the members of the Four Flags erupted into deafening cheers and shouts of encouragement.

The resounding voices filled Li Luo and the others' ears, but as their footsteps stepped into the spatial vortex, these sounds instantly vanished, and then they felt a slight dizziness.

But the dizziness lasted only a few breaths, and then Li Luo and the others felt their feet once again step onto hard stone slabs; they swept their gazes around and found that they now seemed to be standing amidst a sea of clouds and mist.

And the clouds and mist were rapidly receding in all directions.

Coming into view was a circular platform of green stone, and upon the platform, several other figures had already appeared; these were the Great Flag Leaders from the other four pulses participating in the contest.

The appearance of Li Luo and the others immediately drew some gazes.

However, before they could speak, spatial fluctuations appeared not far away; with the emergence of a spatial vortex, four figures with imposing auras stepped into the field.

Leading the group was a tall, upright figure with a majestic bearing; it was Li Li Qingfeng of the Dragon Blood Pulse, and at his side was the charming and captivating Li Li Hongli.

"Hehe, you all have arrived quite early." Upon entering the field, Li Li Qingfeng immediately became the focus of everyone; a smile appeared on his face, and he bowed respectfully to the Great Flag Leaders of each pulse with calm composure.

The crowd present all responded in turn, after all, everyone knew that Li Li Qingfeng was a formidable contender in this year's Dragon Head Contest.

Li Luo was also looking at Li Li Qingfeng; from the latter, he vaguely sensed a sense of pressure, which caused a slight stir in his heart; it seemed Li Li Qingfeng truly had a great possibility of having broken through to the Tian Zhu Jing.

This was not too strange; half a year ago when Li Luo arrived at the Dragon Tooth Pulse, Li Li Qingfeng was already at the Extreme Sha Realm, with his Sha Gang tempered to ninety zhang; half a year later, breaking through again was consistent with his own talent.

"Has Great Flag Leader Li Li Qingfeng broken through to the Tian Zhu Jing?" At this moment, Li Li Senyan, the Great Flag Leader of the Thunder Horn Flag, also sensed it and spoke with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the many Great Flag Leaders present all had their expressions change slightly, and their eyes looking at Li Li Qingfeng held a bit more caution and awe.

Li Li Qingfeng smiled modestly: "After months of bitter cultivation, I have just completed this breakthrough; it is embarrassing to make you all laugh."

Li Li Senyan smiled bitterly: "How dare we laugh? With Great Flag Leader Li Li Qingfeng's breakthrough, is there any need to hold this Dragon Head Contest at all? For this position, who else but you?"

The Dragon Horn Pulse had always been close to the Dragon Blood Pulse, and as the Great Flag Leader of the Thunder Horn Flag, Li Li Senyan had a deep relationship with Li Li Qingfeng; this flattery was undoubtedly intended to bolster Li Li Qingfeng's momentum.

However, although everyone knew Li Li Senyan's intent, they could not refute it; after all, they all knew clearly that Li Li Qingfeng's breakthrough to the Tian Zhu Jing was surely aimed at the Dragon Head position, and to speak honestly, looking at the other Great Flag Leaders, the only one who might pose some threat to Li Li Qingfeng was probably Lu Lu Qingmei.

"That is not necessarily so."

Just then, Li Li Hongli at the side let out a delicate laugh and said with a half-smile: "Isn't there still the person who seized the Golden Dragon Pillar? Perhaps they will once again display a miracle that surprises everyone?"

Her words were heavily laden with subtext, so the eyes of the Great Flag Leaders present all drifted toward Li Luo's position.

Upon hearing this, Li Li Fengyi's willow brows immediately shot up, and she sneered: "Then I truly borrow your auspicious words; don't be so happy too early, or you might have to eat your words later."

Li Li Hongli smiled faintly: "Look at you, actually harboring such extravagant hopes? The Dragon Head Contest has no 'He Qi' support; everything depends entirely on one's true ability, so I fear someone might lose the 'He Qi' covering and be beaten back to their original form."

Just as Li Li Fengyi was about to speak, Li Luo stopped her and said seriously: "Forget it, don't argue with her; we are the noble direct descendants of the Pulse Leaders, and she is just trying to provoke your attention; the more you talk to her, the happier and more satisfied she will be in her heart."

Li Li Fengyi was stunned, then the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch; the others also looked very strange; when Li Luo's mouth turned poisonous, he really showed no mercy at all.

Li Li Hongli's face instantly turned iron-green; she was almost driven mad with anger: "What nonsense are you spouting? Why should I want to attract your attention?!"

Li Luo then closed his mouth tight and ignored her; but the more he acted this way, the more Li Li Hongli fumed, and for a moment her small face alternated between green and pale, as if smoke were rising from the top of her head.

Li Li Qingfeng comforted Li Li Hongli with a few words, then looked at Li Luo and said: "Great Flag Leader Li Luo treating a girl with such a poisonous tongue is somewhat lacking in gentlemanly conduct."

"Do you also want to attract my attention?" Li Luo asked.

Holy crap?

Li Li Qingfeng's expression changed, and he fell silent.

The corners of the mouths of the other Great Flag Leaders present twitched; no one dared to speak to Li Luo anymore.

At this moment, spatial fluctuations appeared again; a slender and tall figure stepped in, and a glass staff covered in cracks tapped crisply on the ground.

It was Lu Lu Qingmei.

She wore plain-colored clothes; her delicate figure was well-proportioned, her ear-length short hair made her temperament appear spirited and capable, and her pair of long, straight legs were especially eye-catching.

Upon entering the field, she sensed the silent atmosphere and immediately felt somewhat strange.

Lu Lu Qingmei happened to be not far from Li Luo's position, so she asked: "What are they doing?"

Li Luo grinned and said: "They all don't want to attract my attention."

Lu Lu Qingmei was baffled, but she wasn't interested in that; instead, her beautiful eyes circled over Li Luo once, and she said: "You have indeed attracted my attention."

Li Luo was shaken and looked at Lu Lu Qingmei with a complex expression: "You have deciphered my rhetoric."

"What nonsense, you smooth-talker."

Lu Lu Qingmei held the glass staff and tapped it crisply on the ground, then said: "I am very much looking forward to your performance in the Dragon Head Contest; although there is no 'He Qi' this time, I know you will surely have unexpected methods, so do not disappoint me."

Li Luo sighed helplessly; this Wu Chi, though, possessed senses far sharper than that woman Li Li Hongli.

Even as they spoke, the clouds and mist before the green stone disc suddenly surged violently, instantly drawing the gazes of everyone present.

As the thick clouds and mist receded, moments later, everyone saw a massive stone dragon, winding and coiling in a posture of ascending to heaven, appear in the void ahead.

The stone dragon, like a towering mountain, hung suspended in the void, while an extremely terrifying pressure radiated outward, causing the very void to tremble violently.

That scene made it seem as though the stone dragon before their eyes was a living creature.

Gazing at this mountain-like stone dragon, everyone present understood: this was the first step of the Dragon Head Contest.

Ascending the Dragon.

(End of this chapter)