Chapter 0775: Clash

"How is the venue for battle among the banners decided?" Li Luo asked Zhao Yanzhi as he prepared for the upcoming battle. The matchup for the battle had been revealed, and despite the mighty opponent, the morale of the fifth division was high. All that was left was the actual fight.

"If the highest achieved layer for any one of the two banners is below layer thirty-five, the battle will be held at the highest layer achieved by the lower ranked banner. So for us, the Green Nether Banner, our highest achieved layer is currently layer thirty-one. Thus, the battle venue will be set at layer thirty-one instead of the highest layer achieved by the Dark Blood Banner. But once both banners go past layer thirty-five, the battleground will simply be a match between the two banners with no Fiendish Devils thrown into the mix. After all, the Fiendish Devils get stronger as the layer increases, and they do not want to cause any distractions or interferences for the two parties’ confrontation," Zhao Yanzhi explained patiently.

Li Luo nodded in understanding.

"Prepare to enter," he ordered the fifth division banner members behind as he headed into the energy vortex without any hesitation. Once again, he vanished into it.

Seeing this, Zhao Yanzhi, Li Shi, and Mu Bi looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and followed closely after their leader.

If worse came to worst, it would just be another defeat. It was not as if they had never lost before.

Like the river water flowing past, the fifth division members followed after them.

It was only after the last member of the fifth division disappeared into the energy vortex that the other members of the Green Nether Banners showed sympathy in their eyes.

Even the Green Nether Banner's first division would have a tough time against the third division of the Dark Blood Banner, one of the top ten in the rankings. And that was if all their members were fully prepared. It was likely a confirmed defeat for the fifth division, having been unlucky enough to encounter them.

At this point, only Zhong Ling stood up slowly with a hint of satisfaction hidden in his eyes. With a wave of his hand, he signaled for the first division to depart as well.

……

When the third division of the Dark Blood Banner entered layer thirty-one, their Sub Leader, Li Tong, noticed that the mountains in front of them were shrouded in lingering clouds. And there were the shadows of many Fiendish Devils lurking around in the dense forest underneath.

With a muscular build, Li Tong's face seemed particularly fierce as he glanced around with a hostile gaze.

"Ptui!" He spat on the ground and complained, "What a letdown. I thought we could get an opponent of similar strength to play around with. Instead, we get a group of trash from the Green Nether Banner?"

"Sub Leader, do we go for them directly?" his men asked.

Li Tong shook his head and replied, "I am not interested in playing hide and seek with them. We head straight for the Fiendish Devil Leader and finish it off."

"Won't that be to their advantage? What if they lay in hiding during our battle with the Fiendish Devil Leader and ambush us afterwards?"

Li Tong sneered in response. "So what? This is an order from the Boss. We have to win overwhelmingly. Do you know who their Sub Leader is?"

Before anyone could reply, he continued eagerly, "The son of the renowned Green Nether Hall Hall Master, Li Taixuan. His name is Li Luo, and he has been lost in some outer divine continent until very recently."

"The son of Li Taixuan, Li Luo?"

"I've heard of him. He just passed the Nine Revolutions Draconic Breath trial a few days ago, right?"

"He seems quite talented, but it's a pity he wasted all those years."

The members of the Dark Blood Banner chatted amongst themselves. After all, the time of Li Taixuan's dominance was not that long ago, so it was still fresh in everyone's minds.

Li Tong chimed in. " Li Luo is only at the Lesser Fiend Palace Tier currently. I am afraid he wouldn't even be able to become an elite member of the Dark Blood Banner. He gets to be the Sub Leader of Green Nether Banner's fifth division all thanks to his special background.

"Back when Li Taixuan was around, the Green Nether Banner totally overwhelmed the four banners of the Dragon's Blood Lineage. We dare not mess with Li Taixuan, but now that his son is back, we can have our sweet revenge.

"So this time, we, the third division of the Dark Blood Banner, must not only defeat the fifth division of the Green Nether Banner, but also rob them of this layer’s reward. It will be even better if we can do so right in front of their eyes. If we pull this off, our division will be famous among the four banners of the Dragon's Blood Lineage."

When the other members heard his words, their chatter grew excited and their morale rose sharply.

Seeing this, Li Tong just smiled without speaking further. After determining the right direction and waving his hand, he took the lead onwards with his fifteen hundred division members following like a disastrous force of nature.

All of the Fiendish Devils in their path were obliterated in their wake.

......

With such an ostentatious display of power, it was not long before the fifth division of the Green Nether Banner, which had entered layer thirty-one at the same time, noticed where they were.

"It looks like we have been underestimated," Li Luo said with a smile as he gazed far into the cloudy distance ahead. Under normal circumstances, the banners would hide their presence during such a clash as it was more beneficial to stay hidden. However, the third division of the Dark Blood Banner had no such intentions at all. They were clearly revealing their position with every individual blazing ahead with their resonant power blasting out in every direction.

This meant that they were extremely confident in their own strength.

"They seem to be charging straight towards the Fiendish Devil Leader's location," Li Shi informed.

"Are they thinking of finishing off the Fiendish Devil Leader before coming after us?" Mu Bi frowned upon seeing this.

"The people of the Dragon's Blood Lineage are always so arrogant," Zhao Yanzhi said furiously. With such an overbearing display of aggression, they clearly disregarded the fifth division completely.

Yet Li Luo did not mind it at all. Instead, he replied with a smile, "Isn't it great? Someone can help us defeat the Fiendish Devil Leader and we can just sit around for the rewards. Where else can we find such a good deal?"

His division gave forced smiles in response. Li Luo was not wrong, but their opponent was clearly going for the Fiendish Devil Leader first and then coming after them next. Even if they wanted to fight for a share of the rewards, they might not be strong enough to do so.

After all, the strength of the Dark Blood Banner should not be underestimated.

Li Luo could understand their worries. After all these years of decline, the Green Nether Banner no longer had the unrivaled confidence they possessed in the old days. Still, such things had to be taken one step at a time.

Ultimately, this fighting spirit and confidence could be rekindled as they overcame strong opponents one after another.

At this juncture, Li Luo commanded with a wave of his hand, "Proceed steadily, there is no need to rush. If they want to be good Samaritans and help us bait the rabble away, let them do it."

With that, the fifth division started to march towards the same destination as well. However, they were careful not to divulge their location, unlike the crude approach undertaken by the Dark Blood Banner.

Four hours passed by.

There was nothing noteworthy or surprising during this time.

It was not until the fifth division started to approach the Fiendish Devil Leader's area that the situation changed. As they approached, a violent blast of energy suddenly erupted.

Li Luo waved his hand for his team to pause their advance.

"They are fighting against the Fiendish Devil Leader," Zhao Yanzhi explained.

Li Luo nodded in agreement. The Fiendish Devil Leader of layer thirty-one was not any weaker than a cultivator at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage. If the fifth division were to fight it head-on, it would definitely be a tough battle. While the third division of the Dark Blood Banner was strong, they would not be able to end the battle any time soon.

"Sub Leader, should we charge in now?" Li Shi questioned.

Li Luo shook his head and replied, "They have likely prepared themselves for our ambush. If we charge in right now, we will be dragged into the battle. If things go awry, we may end up facing both the Fiendish Devil Leader and the Dark Blood Banner alone."

At this point, Li Luo groaned slightly and ordered, "Fifth division, prepare to achieve Harmony."

The grand battle was about to begin.

Upon Li Luo's command, the fifth division's banner members formed their hand seals for their respective Draconic Breath Fiend Arts. Soon, strand after strand of resonant power rose into the air and coalesced before Li Luo.

Li Luo had activated the Draconic Atavism Scripture and prepared himself to enter the state of Harmony.

Boom!

In the forest far ahead, aggressive energy blasts shot out repeatedly with deafening roars traveling hundreds of miles in response.

Their clash appeared to be more intense than expected.

This struggle went on non-stop for the next ten minutes.

When Li Luo and the rest of the division noticed a dense strand of earth fiend energy rise into the sky, they understood that the Dark Blood Banner had slain the Fiendish Devil Leader.

Bang!

In the same moment, a flowing energy torrent split the dense forest ahead into two and charged straight into the direction where the fifth division was located.

Li Luo focused his mind into the state of Harmony instantly. At the same time, he gathered his energy and shot out a blast directly towards the incoming energy wave.

BOOM!

The two energy blasts clashed aggressively, uprooting the trees in the surrounding field.

Accompanying the energy blast was booming, arrogant laughter coming from the forest ahead.

"Hahaha, we've waited the whole day for you all, but none of you dared to join the fight? It's just like what was rumored, the Green Nether Banner is really just a collecting point for trash! You guys truly are a disgrace to Li Taixuan's legacy!"