Chapter 0655: Zhu Qinghuo's Methods

Jiang Qing'e's strike was lightning quick and ferocious.

When the audience came to their senses, Xu Tianling had retreated and Mo Cheng was already disarmed, the facts jolting them.

Looks of consternation were thrown at the radiant Jiang Qing'e. Wielding her golden heavy sword, she was an alluring war goddess that possessed a demeanor that was as icy as the coldest winter wind, her golden eyes abstruse and full of mysterious light. The most terrifying part of her was not her actions, but the copious amount of energy that was condensing behind her. In just a few moments, she had already manifested three Heavenly Pearls!

Her strength continued to climb rapidly.

The worst part was that this was not a temporary powerup—she truly was breaking through the stages at breakneck speed!

Jiang Qing'e was like a suppressed volcano that had finally erupted, revealing her extraordinary potential.

Xu Tianling and Mo Cheng had faces full of fright. Jiang Qing'e was just too strange. She had just broken into the Heavenly Pearl Stage, but the resonant power she commanded far surpassed that of anyone they had ever known.

In fact, it was comparable to the energy emitted by a Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage cultivator!

"Xu Tianling, you dare to break the sacred rules of the Housemeet? Are you planning to rebel?" Yuan Qing thundered after making sure that Li Luo was unharmed. "Pavilion Master Lei Zhang!"

Listening to Yuan Qing's exhortations, Lei Zhang hurriedly stood up and waved his hand. With that signal, all of the men within House Luolan's headquarters stood up as well, brandishing their coldly glinting weapons whilst channeling their resonant power before dashing towards the people on Pei Hao's side.

They were all incomparably furious. Coupled with Xu Tianling and Mo Cheng's underhanded blows, they had completely thrown out any pretense of obeying the rules of the Housemeet.

If the opponent did not plan to adhere to the rules, then there was no need to maintain this farce!

The atmosphere instantly escalated into a state of mutual hostility with daggers drawn.

Li Luo apathetically glanced at the two ancestors. "I gave you two multiple chances. Why? I just didn't want House Luolan to devolve into a situation of complete infighting. However, it seems I have been too naive."

This was met with Xu Tianling's sarcastic reply. "There's no need to mince words. You were just worried that once House Luolan descended into complete chaos, it would harm the house’s overall strength, affecting the mysterious defensive ward that guards the place."

"It looks like you know quite a few secrets after all." Li Luo squinted at him.

Xu Tianling coldly laughed. "Young Lord... do you really think that this battle is over? No! It has only just started!"

Li Luo's gaze was cold. He always knew that merely defeating Pei Hao would just be the precursor to the next stage of events. Pei Hao was but a single pawn. In truth, without the black hand behind the curtains, the white-eyed wolf was not even a threat.

The forces that coveted House Luolan had supported Pei Hao so he could inherit the title of House Lord. Once he took over, they could achieve their objective. After all, if he succeeded, he could simply weaken the defensive ward. Once that was done, the Dukes could make their move.

This was their final aim.

Now that Pei Hao had failed, what would they do next?

He glanced at Jiang Qing'e, and the two locked eyes momentarily, caution evident in each other's gazes.

……

"Impressive. Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan's two brats have surpassed all expectations," Zhu Qinghuo dryly praised as he observed the situation from outside the headquarters from atop a pavilion.

Compared to these two, his somewhat decent son seemed like trash.

It seems when it came to heirs, Zhu Qinghuo felt envy towards Li Taixuan.

"As expected, relying on Pei Hao wasn't effective. Shen Jinxiao, you've played your hand, but it turned out to be worthless." Zhu Qinghuo smiled indifferently as he shook his head. "In that case, I'll have to go with my original plan."

He continued to watch House Luolan's headquarters. Thanks to his vantage point, he was able to see something that ordinary people could not. It was a massive formation that blanketed the house. Countless wondrous rays of light interweaved in layers to create the defensive ward that protected House Luolan's headquarters. It emanated a strong, suppressive pressure that he could feel intently.

Even he had to be cautious of the ward's effects.

"Li Taixuan... the arrogant son of the heavens. Such a person should never have appeared in the Xia Kingdom. In fact, you should never have revealed the existence of that treasure... In such a barren environment, it would naturally give rise to envious folk that would covet it... Your ward borrows the might of House Luolan to power it, and it specifically targets those at the Duke Stage. It might be incomparably powerful, but I've been probing it over these years. In fact, I'd even dare to say that I've understood some of the principles that give rise to its existence. Thus, I know that it's not truly invincible. An opportunity to exploit it will arise as it will gradually weaken in this situation.

"House Luolan has 98 strongholds and branches across the Xia Kingdom. It seems to be a little odd, but therein lies the secret. Your wondrous ward has its nodes hidden within those locations, and I've personally visited each and every one of them, even reaping some rewards from them." Zhu Qinghuo smirked and raised his hand. A crystal ball appeared, floating above it.

Countless moving images could be seen within the crystal ball. Each and everyone of these images depicted a building going up in massive flames. People could be faintly seen fighting and engaging in slaughter in the vicinity. However, most importantly, each of these buildings and pavilions had a burning flag with the word "Luo" on it.

These were the strongholds of House Luolan. More importantly, they each possibly held a node of the defensive ward within.

Even if some of these weren't actually critical nodes of the ward, it didn't matter. It was better to destroy them erroneously than to let a single opportunity go.

Zhu Qinghuo raised his head after inspecting the crystal ball, continuing to observe the defensive ward of House Luolan as he muttered to himself, "Now we'll see if the preparations I've made throughout the years will bear fruit."

……

Within the headquarters.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e remained on alert for a while longer. but nothing seemed to have changed. Li Luo sighed in relief before he opened his mouth to speak. "Xu Tianling and Mo Cheng have broken the sacred laws of the Housemeet. From now on, as per the rules, the two will be discharged from the house and are no longer ancestors of House Luolan."

These words raised a commotion as the status of ancestor was exceedingly high. In the past, it was only second to the two House Lords, and even the pavilion masters had to greet them politely.

In a normal situation, kicking them out of the house would have required a lengthy process. Currently, the duo had broken the Housemeet's rules and crossed House Luolan's bottom line. Thus, there was more than enough justification to act this way.

The three pavilion masters who had supported Pei Hao had stony expressions. Now that control of the house had fallen into Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's grasp, along with the fact that Pei Hao and the ancestors' support was uncertain, they plainly saw that they were out of luck.

Their thoughts were in panic for a moment, not knowing how to proceed.

Xu Tianling and Mo Cheng remained expressionless, nonchalant towards Li Luo's declaration.

"The two of you, are you going to sit there quietly and be captured? Or will you resist to the very end?" Li Luo icily glared at the duo.

Xu Tianling's eyes looked exceedingly forlorn as he screamed internally. Jiang Qing'e was only growing in strength as time passed, and at this rate, he would not be her opponent even if he tried to act!

Why hadn't the people behind him moved?

Li Luo did not plan to give Xu Tianling time to slowly contemplate the decision he wished to take. He waved his hand, preparing to give the command to kill.

But right at this moment, his hand froze in mid air as both Jiang Qing'e and his expressions warped.

They raised their heads instinctively to see that a vast energy fluctuation had just been triggered in the skies above House Luolan. An exquisite ward had gradually appeared in the previously clear skies above.

Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo's pupils shrank.

Why did the defensive ward come to life?

In fact, the two felt a sinking feeling in their hearts. They could distinctly sense that the defensive ward's strength was gradually weakening.

Was someone destroying the ward?