Chapter 0653: Underworld River's Black Dragon Banner's Might!

When the illusory black dragon banner appeared between Li Luo's hands, the experts who had reached the Heavenly Pearl Stage in the audience felt their hearts trembling in fear. They could feel an inexplicable terror radiating from that banner's very existence.

Xu Tianling and Mo Cheng's pupils constricted as well.

However, before anyone could react, Li Luo nonchalantly and abruptly brandished the black dragon banner before him.

With that single action, the void was torn asunder, leaving an ebony streak across the space before him. After which, the sound of rushing water could be heard coming from the crack. In a blink, copious amounts of black seawater spilled forth from the sundered space, forming a massive, black sea that suspended itself in the sky above.

The black seawater churned with humongous waves, akin to a stormy sea. It was then that a loud draconic roar reverberated around the field.

This instantly astounded the audience.

They could see with their own two eyes the titanic figure of a dragon emerging from the depths. It was a gargantuan beast, clad from head to tail in saturnine scales that rivaled even the most precious of metals in brilliance, reflecting a glittering luster under the setting sun.

At the same time, everyone was drowned by the mysterious pressure exerted by its very existence. Even the space around it seemed to be crumbling.

Everyone in the square stared at the black dragon that had manifested, flabbergasted. It seemed to be sentient as well, with lifelike movements and liveliness in its eyes as it judged all. One might even have thought that Li Luo had managed to summon an actual dragon! However, they knew that this was no living creature. The fluctuations it gave off indicated that this was a resonance art.

Just what sort of resonance art could mimic reality to such an extent?

A single thought flickered through everyone's hearts. At the same time, they were reluctant to believe that this was what they were seeing.

A resonance art of this caliber could not possibly have been cultivated by Li Luo at the Fiend Palace Tier... could it?

"This is..." Even Mo Cheng's lips had turned dry as he stared at the black dragon in a daze.

"This... Is it a Duke Art?!" The corners of Xu Tianling's eyes were twitching uncontrollably. He was no longer in the mood to reassure Mo Cheng as his mind was in complete turmoil! What could possess such domineering might and spirituality other than a Duke Art?

Yet the thing was, even he could not successfully cultivate such a resonance art!

How had Li Luo learned it?

This was a Duke Art! An art reserved for only those in that esteemed realm.

If the two ancestors felt crestfallen, the pavilion masters who had supported Pei Hao were even worse off. Their complexions were ashen and pasty, their bodies trembling uncontrollably under the immense pressure exuded upon them. Luckily, they managed to compose themselves slightly. Otherwise, they might very well have been frothing at the mouth whilst rolling on the ground.

The Young Lord was simply too terrifying!

Whilst the other side was completely taken aback, Yuan Qing and the rest on Li Luo's side were exuberant and pleasantly surprised.

Yuan Qing excitedly arose as he frantically declared, "A Duke Art! It's a Duke Art! The Young Lord managed to cultivate it! He's truly a genius amongst the younger generation! House Luolan's revitalization is at dawn!"

Lei Zhang and the other pavilion masters nodded in agreement. Duke Arts were well renowned to be both exceptionally difficult to cultivate and legendary in power. Thus, they were absolutely convinced that with Li Luo's Fiend Palace Tier cultivation, it was indeed a miracle for him to achieve this!

Cai Wei, on the other hand, did not have a similarly deep understanding of the implications of a Duke Art. However, just by observing the excitement on Yuan Qing and the group's faces, she could vaguely sense how startling of an achievement this was. She gently patted her chest, and her previously tense body was now slightly more at ease.

"This is ridiculous!" Yan Lingqing sighed with a look of admiration.

Amongst the group, only Jiang Qing'e remained calm. She had already known in advance that Li Luo had spent copious amounts of time cultivating a Duke Art at the college. As Li Luo never mentioned the final result, she had not probed further. Clearly, he had succeeded.

Her lips faintly curled up into a smile. “This brat is pretty impressive after all.”

Li Luo, on the other hand, was not concerned with the reactions to his strength. Once the black dragon appeared, he had seemingly lost all control of his body and all of the strength borrowed from the Three-tailed Heavenly Wolf had vanished without a trace, completely absorbed by the activation of the Duke Art.

The potency of a Duke Art was terrifying to behold. Even the resonant power consumption was exceptional.

Still, it was all worth it.

Li Luo raised his head, and at this very moment, the giant, golden sword manifestation was to strike down upon him. Yet there was no trepidation in his eyes. Instead, he lightly reached out with a finger.

Roar!

An ear-piercing roar echoed out, rumbling through the heavens and the earth.

The black seawater devastated the void and the black dragon rushed forward, wreathed by the sea itself, ascending into the sky and directly clashing with the giant sword.

Pssh!

There was no thundering explosion upon collision. Instead, the black dragon and sea water completely caused the sword energy to dissipate into nothingness. The exquisitely sharp sword energy was as soft as tofu before its might.

In the air, Pei Hao was left completely stupefied before erupting into fury and surprise.

The black dragon ascended through the skies, piercing the heavens and in a blink. It dissolved Pei Hao's strongest golden sword manifestation as it swept by.

The Duke Art's might was nothing to scoff at. Its true majesty had been revealed.

When the golden sword manifestation was disintegrated, the black dragon did not dissipate. Instead, its draconic eyes gazed upon Pei Hao as though it possessed a life of its own, continuing to draw upon worldly natural energy to sustain its very existence.

This was the superiority of a Duke Art compared to a conventional resonance art.

It flicked its tail, dashing towards Pei Hao like a missile and devastating space in its path.

Staring at the rampaging dragon before him, Pei Hao felt a deep chill run down his spine. The dragon's power was unparalleled, and if he let it approach, he would find it difficult to hold on. As a result, he retreated explosively.

It was at this instant that Pei Hao thought he was seeing things. The glint in the dragon's eyes seemed to be mocking his pitiful attempts to flee.

It opened its jaw and revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth before furiously belching out a black dragonbreath.

The dragonbreath directly dissolved space, exposing the void beneath it before turning into countless streams of black light that struck so swiftly that one had no chance to hide. Before he knew it, Pei Hao suddenly felt piercing pain all over his body.

It was then that he heard audible gasps coming from the audience.

With great difficulty, he lowered his head to see what had happened, and what he saw frightened him. Numerous black holes had penetrated his body, running through all his vital organs. At the same time, there was black residue eroding his flesh into dust.

Pei Hao's mind seemed to freeze at this very moment as he took stock of his tragic state.

He could clearly feel his soul departing his body.

"Did... did I lose?" He turned to face the tall and lanky youth on the opposite side of the square, who was now quietly watching him.

"How... I... I've prepared for so long... Could it be that I was never as good as him?

"Damn it... damn it...! It's so unfair! I will not... cannot... accept thi-"

The glint in Pei Hao's eyes dimmed and his body dropped from the sky before the audience, crashing heavily onto the shattered ground.

House Luolan's headquarters turned eerily silent. A single deep and dull thud reverberated throughout the square.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Dong!