Chapter 1470: Frost Divinewater

When Li Luo left his cultivation state, the battles between the inner divine continents’ sage colleges were in full swing and teams were being eliminated left and right. The intensity was many times greater than those of the outer divine continent.

That said, this was normal. Even Fang Xingyun, a lower seventh-grade Duke, was capable of dominating all of the outer divine continents’ sage colleges. If someone with his strength was placed amongst the inner divine continents’ sage colleges, he wouldn't even be able to squeeze into the top ten ranks. One could imagine how large the gap was.

As Li Luo's gaze swept across the screens, he suddenly paused on one specific one where he saw Lu Ruyan. She was currently exchanging blows with a seventh-grade Duke.

It was a middle-aged woman with a sharp look in her eyes. Li Luo remembered that she was protecting Lu Qing'er when they met up. It was unexpected that she had encountered Lu Ruyan.

When Li Luo turned his head, he saw that Lu Qing'er was carefully watching their battle. When she noticed Li Luo's gaze, she glanced at him as though nothing had happened and said, "It looks like you've managed to recover."

She had keen senses, so she could tell that the resonant power undulations coming from Li Luo had strengthened significantly.

He smiled and nodded. "Your Aunt Zhu seems to have encountered Lu Ruyan."

Lu Qing'er lightly tapped her snow-white chin. "Their mission is to prevent Lu Ruyan from obtaining even more Celestial Mirror Sand."

"However, it looks like she isn't Lu Ruyan's opponent," Li Luo commented as he watched what was taking place in the minor world.

Lu Ruyan had the upper hand and was maintaining it well.

It looked like it was just a matter of time before she attained victory.

Lu Qing'er calmly explained, "Although Lu Ruyan is an upper sixth-grade Duke, she has a single Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried. The rest are all nine-pillars. This sort of foundation is amongst the best of her generation. Aunt Zhu cannot possibly be her equal."

"One Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried and five nine-pillars..." Li Luo's expression turned solemn. That made her countless times stronger than a lower seventh-grade Duke like Fang Xingyun. If Fang Xingyun were to exchange blows with her, he could very well be eliminated within ten bouts.

Even Li Luo had to admit that if he were to encounter her, his chances of victory would be slim even with all of his trump cards.

"Lu Ruyan is the most talented prodigy of Golden Dragon Mountain's Lu family. She's older than me by less than ten years and is already the equal of some of the experts of the older generation. When I first returned to Golden Dragon Mountain, many assumed that she would be the one to fuse with the Permafrost Sacred Seed," Lu Qing'er mused.

"Thus, she has always hated me for stealing the object she had assumed was hers."

Li Luo responded, "You should tell her that if you grew up in Golden Dragon Mountain, then she would have even less of a right to own it. Thus, she should thank you for coming back so late. Only then could she have basked in the limelight, which she didn't deserve, for so long.

Lu Qing'er usually has a cold countenance, but her gaze showed a trace of helplessness upon hearing his rubbish take at a time like this.

"She already doesn't see eye-to-eye with me. Why would I go and provoke her? With her personality, she might go crazy."

Li Luo grinned and then suddenly asked, "I heard that the two of you came to the Celestial Mirror Pagoda to fight over something?"

"Why are you asking so many questions? It has nothing to do with you. I'll naturally resolve this myself," Lu Qing'er coldly rebuked.

"Well, aren't we supposed to be friends? Mutually supporting and helping each other is only natural. After all, you've helped me many times over the years; it's only fitting that I return the favor," Li Luo said.

"I don't need your help." Lu Qing'er emotionlessly replied.

Li Luo could only sigh powerlessly. Lu Qing'er fell silent for a while, and when she saw that Li Luo wasn't speaking either, she realized that she had spoken too coldly, as though her emotions had frozen. Her red lips cracked open and her voice rang out, sounding like a clear mountain stream that would refresh and chill anyone who heard her. "I am very compatible with the Permafrost Sacred Seed. However, Ruyan isn't that much worse. Thus, she hasn’t given up. There are also many who support her, and it has caused internal strife in the Lu family. The reason why I came to the Celestial Mirror Pagoda is to obtain the Frost Divinewater. It is an ancient liquid that originated in the Sacred Void Resonance Sect, and it can elevate one's ice resonance. If Lu Ruyan manages to obtain it, then her compatibility with the Permafrost Sacred Seed will greatly increase. At that point in time, she will reach a point that is infinitely close to mine. With this opportunity, the faction behind her will have an apt reason to compete with my father for control of the Lu family."

"Frost Divinewater?" Li Luo mumbled to himself before patting his chest. "I will help you obtain it," he declared.

Lu Qing'er glanced at him coolly. "If I can obtain this, I'll be able to fully inherit the Permafrost Sacred Seed. At that time, my heart will turn completely frozen and all distracting thoughts and emotions will follow. Perhaps that ending would be for the best."

Li Luo's smile shrank. "That wasn't what I was referring to."

Lu Qing'er calmly continued, "It doesn't matter. This is a result that will happen eventually. When I returned to Golden Dragon Mountain, I discovered that whether I am willing or not, I am burdened with many matters. The Permafrost Sacred Seed is an opportunity but also shackles."

Li Luo fell silent for a moment. "Is there no way to avoid that ending?"

Lu Qing'er answered, "What is there to avoid? If that were to happen, I might become more relaxed. I also wouldn't cause trouble nor distress for you."

Li Luo was left speechless and his mouth agape. He knew that Lu Qing'er liked him, and those feelings had been sown when they had met in Southwind Academy. However, he couldn't reciprocate. He could only openly declare his relationship with Jiang Qing'e, and Lu Qing'er understood that as well. Thus, she had chosen to go with the flow, allowing the Permafrost Sacred Seed to seal away her emotions and settling on being mere friends. Perhaps this truly was the best result she could have asked for. However... this lively and cunning girl would turn into a block of ice and her bright smile would never grace her face again. All of this was because of him.

Li Luo suddenly felt like he was a bastard who had deeply harmed her. When Lu Qing'er noticed that Li Luo had turned dispirited, a look of unbearable hesitation appeared in her eyes despite her frosty emotions. "Li Luo, this has nothing to do with you. You didn't do anything wrong. I didn't know about any of this before as I was young. I would still have inherited the Permafrost Sacred Seed whether I had met you or not. This is something I found out when I returned. Thus, I am actually glad that I was able to experience these memories before inheriting it. It would’ve simply been too cruel to have my emotions frozen without even experiencing something like this. That would be truly sad." A subtle smile appeared on her frosty face. She might have been smiling, but every sentence was far from eliciting one.

Both fell silent afterwards, and time passed slowly.

Suddenly, the loud ringing of bells chimed from the inner divine continent sage colleges’ area. It signified that the Domain Traversal Battle had ended. When Li Luo looked at the light monument, Lu Ruyan's squad from the Holymist Sage College was sitting on the top spot. The rest of the top ten were all squads led by seventh-grade Dukes.

Lu Ruyan was in high spirits, and she shot a sharp gaze towards Lu Qing'er.

Lu Qing'er, who was in a bad mood due to the results, glared back icily.

When the two ladies crossed gazes, the air around them seemed to freeze.

In the end, Lu Ruyan turned away with the others. After which, her lips curled up into a disdainful smirk.