Chapter 0841: Absolute Defense

When he saw Li Qingfeng arrive, Li Luo secretly let out a sigh to himself. What a pity. He just needed a little more time.

"Banner Leader Li Luo, the Golden Dragon Pillar is still masterless. I kindly invite you to step down and let us contest for it openly." Li Qingfeng's crisp voice resounded.

"Nope!" Li Luo replied annoyedly. Just as he was about to succeed, this darn Li Qingfeng guy had rushed over, coveting his good fortune.

"If that is the case, then I will make you leave, with force." Li Qingfeng gave a slight smile as resonant power surged throughout his entire body. A strong wave of energy radiated from him that caused the void to shake in his presence.

He had no intention to drag out the matter, so his five fingers clenched into a fist, punching outwards.

"Li Luo, why don't you give my Nine Revolutions Art a try?!"

That single punch caused an energy tempest to kick up, and a gigantic fist manifestation engraved with endless draconic runes took form, sending tyrannic pressure surging into the skies.

"Nine Revolutions Art, Heavenly Dragon's Fist of the Stars!"

Li Qingfeng's first strike was merciless. This single punch was even stronger than Qin Yi's Ten Thousand Water Streams Slaughter.

The fist manifestation seemed to possess the power of the stars, and its sheer power tore apart the void.

Boom!

Space trembled.

Behind them, whether it was the Banner Leaders who were standing idly or the ones fighting, everyone had serious looks on their faces. Li Qingfeng was determined to push Li Luo off the Golden Dragon Pillar with a single blow.

Even Lu Qingmei had to dodge when facing it, so could Li Luo actually handle it head-on?

Li Luo similarly raised his head to look at the crushing draconic fist manifestation that was flying towards him. His expression had also turned incomparably grim. He had already spent much of his energy in the fight against Qin Yi, and now he had to take Li Qingfeng on directly. This was truly troublesome.

However, it was clear that this was inevitable.

Li Luo waved his hand, and an ancient blade appeared in his grasp as he glanced at the gold light that was about to form a complete dome. He shook his head helplessly.

There was just a short amount of time left... but dragging it out didn't seem possible. Glorious amounts of energy exuded from Li Luo's body, but just as he was about to retaliate against Li Qingfeng's tyrannical fist, something happened.

In the void outside the gold light enclosure, an earthy, yellow energy surged forth like a tide. What followed closely behind were numerous massive, yellow dragon fangs that pierced forward. These fangs were a little interesting—when one looked upon them, they didn't seem to carry any semblance of sharpness or lethality. Instead, they seemed sturdy and a little clumsy, with a feeling of immense weight to them. The dragon fangs in question seemed to intertwine with each other, forming an earthy, yellow shield that was engraved with countless runes that shifted atop its surface.

When this dragon fang shield formed, the tyrannical Heavenly Dragon's Fist of the Stars screamed past the void and then slammed heavily upon its surface.

Bang!

An explosive boom echoed, and frightening amounts of berserk energy blasted in every direction. The mist was directly torn apart, clearing up the air within tens of thousands of meters. Even the Banner Leaders at the back could feel the aftershock, hurriedly circulating their resonant power to protect themselves.

Everyone's frightened gazes were directed towards the Golden Dragon Pillar.

When the aftermath of the energy collision subsided, everyone's gazes shrank. The yellow shield was still standing, and despite there being numerous cracks on the surface, it had not shattered.

On the other hand, Li Qingfeng's Heavenly Dragon's Fist of the Stars had been mitigated.

This was to say that his all-out strike had not managed to destroy this shield.

All of the Banner Leaders’ hearts were in turmoil. There was someone capable of blocking Li Qingfeng's unreserved strike within the twenty Banner Leaders?

Who could it be?

Even Qin Yi was taken aback by this. This sort of unwavering defense was terrifying. Even she would need quite a bit of time to break through a bulwark like that.

Which of the twenty Banner Leaders possessed such an absolute defense?

She was not the only one surprised by this—the others, including Li Qingfeng, felt a little lost at this sudden development. His expression turned ugly at this point.

"This is a Duke Art called the Annihilation Fang Art, which belongs to the Dragon's Fang Lineage. Could it be Li Jingtao?" he said gloomily. All of the Banner Leaders who had heard this felt like a bombshell had detonated in their minds. Li Jingtao had actually taken action?

The Banner Leader of the Dragon's Fang Lineage's Violet Spirit Banner? Li Jingtao was a Banner Leader who held a low profile. The Violet Spirit Banner had always possessed middling results, and he was known to be a very friendly and genial individual in his interactions. They had always felt that he would not come into conflict with anyone.

Could it be that he had hidden his strength all this time?

Additionally, the Dragon's Fang Lineage's Annihilation Fang Art was something they had encountered before. It was a technique that was focused on slaughter. On the other hand, these rows of yellow dragon fangs had intertwined and formed an absolute shield completely lacking any sort of killing intent or ferocity.

When had the Annihilation Fang Art been turned into a defensive art? Wasn't defense something that the Dragon's Bone Lineage focused upon?

For a brief moment, the Banner Leaders' minds were in a state of confusion. The Heavenly Dragon's Five Lineages' all had their own specialties. The Dragon's Fang Lineage in particular specialized in domineering, offensive attacks. The fangs of a dragon were its strongest weapons, and only by possessing an indomitable heart could one display the true power of the Dragon's Fang Lineage's resonance arts. It was similar to how someone with killing intent would be able to attack ferociously and mercilessly.

No one had ever heard of the Annihilation Fang Art being used as some sort of impenetrable bulwark without any hint of offense.

This was... mind-boggling.

And whilst the group remained shocked, a figure arose from behind the shield, slowly landing atop it.

He had a face full of smiles, benevolence radiating from his very being, the very model of a friendly individual. It was Li Jingtao.

He had such a forgettable presence that no one knew when he had even passed through the zone.

"Haha! My apologies. I had not wanted to take action, but my Third Brother has suffered so much to get here, even almost attaining the Golden Dragon Pillar. Banner Leader Li Qingfeng, must you take action and ruin his opportunity?" Li Qingfeng spoke apologetically and slowly.

Li Qingfeng glared daggers at Li Jingtao. "Li Jingtao, you've concealed yourself deeply."

It had to be said that this shocking defense erected by him would have allowed him to remain undefeatable when challenged by any other Banner Leader.

Li Jingtao shook his head. "No no, you're overestimating me. I only have this single defensive ability. I'm unable to do anything else."

The corner of Li Qingfeng's eye twitched. He could tell that Li Jingtao truly wasn't lying. He could not feel any sort of intent to battle nor offensive power being gathered for a follow-up strike. This also meant that this fellow had actually spent all his effort on just this lone defensive move. How could the Dragon's Fang Lineage, famed for their vicious attacks, have produced such a miraculous offspring that merely wanted to become the ultimate meat shield?

As the two spoke, Li Luo was similarly completely shocked at this scene.

He had never expected that the individual who often bickered with Li Fengyi, a perpetually amicable person, would have such an ace up his sleeve.

A defense of this level was a little frightening. Li Luo could feel that even he would be unable to break through such an art.

With the time bought by Li Jingtao's defense, the gold light finally enclosed the top of the pillar. Resplendent, gold light emitted from the peak of the Golden Dragon Pillar, spreading in all four directions. All of the Banner Leaders had complicated expressions upon seeing this.

It demonstrated that there was no point in struggling any further.

The Golden Dragon Pillar had fallen into Li Luo's grasp. This result was something that no one could ever have imagined half a day ago...

[TL Note: Except for us :P]