Chapter 1666: Xia City's Lamps Light Up

After hearing Xin Fu's story, Li Luo's mood had soured as he returned to Xia City with Jiang Qing'e. Once he arrived, he casually dumped the crippled Gong Yuan before the First Princess for her to handle.

"First Princess, now that the Other Disaster has been dealt with and Xuan Chen, Zhu Qinghuo, and Si Qing have perished, I'd like to invite you to lead the soldiers of the royal court to reunify the north and south, ending the chaos," Li Luo said.

The First Princess glanced at the heavily injured and unconscious Gong Yuan at her feet, falling into a daze before nodding in agreement.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Yes."

She was overcome with emotion. In just a short span of time, all of the troubles that had plagued her had been erased. Even her royal uncle had become utterly powerless and was now at her feet.

More importantly, those problems had been solved by Li Luo.

Her phoenix eyes flickered thoughtfully as she stealthily stole a glance at the youth before her. In the recesses of her memory, she could still remember their meeting in the Golden Dragon Bank. He was merely a freshman who had just entered the Astral Sage College, unable to deal with House Luolan's issues and problems.

However, that youth was a peak expert, capable of ruling an entire country with a wave of his hand. Even the cunning First Princess felt a deep sense of fear at how omnipotent he was. At the same time, a feeling of respect and awe arose because of that.

At this point, she let go of her majestic demeanor as the Empress of the royal court. She knew that even though Li Luo had no intention of letting House Luolan become the new rulers of the kingdom, his strength and background placed him above the royal court. Therefore, the true rulers of the Xia Kingdom would be Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e.

Whether they liked it or not, all of the powers within the Xia Kingdom, including the First Princess, had to accept this fact. That said, none of those powers were opposed to the idea. After all, even though the Other Disaster was resolved, the world was now facing an even greater threat.

Without Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's protection, the Xia Kingdom would never have a day of peace. Perhaps another Other Disaster would soon erupt and the Xia Kingdom would be left in smouldering ruins.

After some time, the First Princess and Qin Zhenjiang gathered the soldiers to prepare for the inevitable march up north.

Qin Zhulu wanted to follow, but his father kicked him out of the squad and lectured him. "Zhulu, the north will definitely surrender. Since you're free, why not go to House Luolan and clean up their rooms?"

Qin Zhulu didn't understand what he was saying.

"You old man, your brains must have been damaged by the Others. I'm a soldier of the royal court, so why would I do mere chores instead of fighting our enemies?"

The First Princess let out a wry smile as Qin Zhenjiang's expression turned green. He grabbed Qin Zhulu by the collar and laughed angrily. "If you don't want me to find you ten wives and have you produce babies endlessly, then you better go to House Luolan and do any odd job you can find!"

This idiot son of his had no foresight at all. Even if he just stubbornly followed Li Luo like a block of wood and consolidated their relationship as friends, his status would be far higher than his father's ever was.

Qin Zhulu was frightened silly by his father's threat, no longer daring to retort as he ran away.

At the same time, Duze Yan said to his two children in private, "In the future, House Luolan will become the most esteemed location in this land. This is also your opportunity to build a good relationship with Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e."

Duze Honglian and Duze Beixuan were left with unnatural expressions.

"Father, how can I have any sort of positive relationship with Li Luo? I spent all my time that year provoking him; just the fact that he doesn't plan to take revenge is already a great thing," said Duze Beixuan as he smiled bitterly.

Duze Honglian bit her lip. In school, she had always challenged Jiang Qing'e. Even though their relationship wasn't filled with hostility and hatred, it couldn't be said that they were ever friends.

Duze Yan smiled faintly and said, "At the level they have reached, they will look back at those memories fondly. Little Luo and Jiang Qing'e are Transcendent Dukes with incomparable talent, so I'm sure they're open-minded. Why would they hold on to such small misgivings forever?"

In the end, the siblings had no choice but to follow their father's command.

Li Luo had noticed Qin Zhenjiang and Duze Yan talking to their children, and he watched Qin Zhulu and the Duze siblings slink over. The two old foxes clearly knew he was aware and perhaps had done this all for him to see. The great general of the Xia Kingdom's royal court and the House Lord of House Duze had held their positions for decades; this was proof of their resourcefulness and cunning.

That said, Li Luo didn't mind, so he told Qin Zhulu, "Tell Yu Lang and the rest to come over tonight so we can catch up."

Pang Qianyuan and Vice Principal Su Xin could no longer contain their eagerness, so they led the students to the ruins of the Astral Sage College in the outskirts of Xia City. The future Astral Sage College would be rebuilt on that spot, and it would be even grander than before.

The soldiers from the numerous powers also entered Xia City one after another and thus the capital, which had been deathly silent for years, was full of life. Perhaps in the near future, the capital would flourish like in the past.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e led Li Jingzhe, Li Qingpeng, Li Jingtao, Li Fengyi, and the rest to House Luolan's headquarters. Years of disuse and abandonment had left it in ruins, but most of it was the same as they left it. Li Luo gave them a tour of the place and told them about his childhood.

As Li Jingzhe quietly listened, he could sense the longing Li Luo had towards this place. He was clearly far more attached to this kingdom than the Dragon's Fang Lineage.He knew that this insignificant kingdom was the place his grandson considered his true home.

Sometime later, he told Li Luo not to mind him and found a vantage point overlooking the headquarters. He quietly sat there alone. As he looked at the old manor, his abstruse eyes seemed to traverse through time, going back to the year where two youthful figures first arrived here and worked together to build a small home that far surpassed the Dragon's Fang Lineage in warmth. It was here where his most doted son had become a father.

An indescribable sour feeling arose in his heart as his eyes turned moist.

In the end, the old man said to himself, "Taixuan, when everything is settled here, I will come to the Nobles' Battlefield and find you. I couldn't protect you all those years ago, so I'll make sure that your family remains at peace and safe even if I have to give up my old life."

Numerous lamps were lit throughout the desolate Xia City, dispelling the gloom and darkness that pervaded every corner.

Within House Luolan, Li Luo entertained numerous good friends like Yu Lang, Qin Zhulu, Bai Doudou. He naturally didn't forget about the rest like Ning Meng, Yue Zhiyu, and those from the Academic Federation who had rushed over to provide a helping hand. Li Foluo, Li Zhihuo, and those from the Five Guardian Armies were also on the list.

Li Zhihuo now looked at Li Luo with a deep sense of awe. He knew that in the future, the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li would experience a heaven-toppling change.

No, strictly speaking, it wasn't that the heavens would change, but a new heaven had appeared. In the past, Ancestor Li Jun was the one propping up the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. Now Li Jingzhe would do the same.

The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li now possessed two Heavenly Emperors, which was truly an exciting development. If news of this were to reach the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, who knew what sort of momentous uproar would occur? The Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li would eventually become the undisputed number one Heavenly Emperor Lineage in the continent. The Dragon's Fang Lineage would also reach a terrifying level of influence and power.

Even ignoring Li Jingzhe, the Dragon's Fang Lineage possessed three Transcendent Dukes. Tantai Lan was an eighth-grade while Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e were seventh-grade Transcendent Dukes...

Three Transcendent Dukes in one family! This was incomparably frightening, and it was no less rare than Li Jingzhe's achievement of ascending to the Heavenly Emperor Stage. The Dragon's Fang Lineage alone was capable of starting their own Heavenly Emperor bloodline, and they wouldn't lose out to any existing ones.

Thus, everyone understood that the control of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li would soon change from the Dragon's Blood Lineage to the Dragon's Fang Lineage.

Beneath the lamplight, the courtyard was filled with raucous laughter and cheers. As the light lit up the faces below, it was clear that the youthfulness of the past had disappeared. These individuals had all experienced hardships with countless twists and turns.

Yu Lang sat beside Li Luo and clinked glasses with him.

"It's a pity Qing'er isn't here."

Li Luo's hand shook as his expression turned into one of melancholy. Even if she was here, she wouldn't be sitting with them drinking. After all, her emotions had been frozen. The people they knew and the time they had in the past would never come back.

Yu Lang dropped the topic once he saw Li Luo's mood change. He raised his head, looking almost straight up at a terrifying, pitch-black scar hanging in the sky. It was rumored that the frightening Shadow World lay just behind it.

The Saturnine Hydra Devil King, who tormented the entirety of the Xia Kingdom, was merely one of many Devil Kings who reigned supreme there. In the future, more Devil Kings would descend into the world, causing things to fall into greater strife and despair.

Thus, the peace and celebration they were enjoying was only temporary.

"Li Luo."

"Huh?"

"The world will soon be filled with even more discord and misery. Who knows how long we have left to live? If something unexpected happens to us one day, don't be sad. You're a legend who bears a great mission. I feel that everything will ultimately depend on you and Senior Jiang in the future," Yu Lang said slowly as he observed the crack in the sky.

Li Luo fell silent for a few moments. "You better stop speaking to me so seriously. Otherwise, I might laugh at you."

"Damn it!" Yu Lang cursed.

The dramatic atmosphere he had worked so hard to build up had been kicked over by Li Luo.

Li Luo clinked glasses with him yet again and gulped his drink down. He then raised his head to look into the sky.

"I will protect this place."

At this time, a petite and delicate figure walked over and stopped before him.

It was Bai Mengmeng. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say it was the Pill Saint.

When Yu Lang saw her, he immediately stood up and moved aside with a face filled with fear. It looked as though he wanted to say something, but the words were trapped in his throat.

The Pill Saint looked knowingly at Yu Lang and said, "You don't need to worry. When everything has been settled, I'll let Mengmeng out."

Yu Lang hurriedly nodded. "Yes, yes."

She then turned towards Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e. "The two of you will come with me for a while. There are things that you need to know,"

Facing the Pill Saint's gaze, Li Luo's heart trembled slightly. He then glanced at Jiang Qing'e, and a foreboding sense of pressure descended upon him.

He could vaguely guess what the Pill Saint wanted to talk about, and Jiang Qing'e would be present for that conversation. Since he had no way to reject, he placed down his cup and the two of them stood up and followed her.