Chapter 1046: Suspicion
Everyone looked towards Li Luo with suspicious gazes as soon as Zhao Jinwu finished his words. He must have obtained something truly extraordinary if a King was motivated to take action. Although this was just a guess coming from Zhao Jinwu, it had aroused everyone's curiosity.
What did they possess that would cause a King to come after Li Luo and Li Lingjing?
Even high-grade Dukes like them, who were well known throughout the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent, were unlikely to attract any attention from a King.
There was an invisible cage of pressure pushing down on Li Luo as the numerous Dukes stared at him. If his will was any weaker, he would have found it hard to even stand firm under their sharp looks.
However, Li Luo remained calm and composed. After all, he had endured the pressure from a King earlier. These upper-grade Dukes were indeed noteworthy people, but their pressure was not enough to cause him to lose himself.
"If you don't know what happened in the Spiritual Resonance Cave, it's best not to speculate. That said, I really do understand your feelings, since the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao has lost a talented individual," Li Luo replied calmly.
Li Jinpan also smiled sarcastically. "Losing yourself over your fury? Psh, how embarra.s.sing."
This was a satisfactory retort for their previous exchange.
Zhao Jinwu's face twitched a little as he stared coldly at Li Luo. "Well then, why don't you explain what happened inside? Why did the True Devil and King both come after the two of you?"
Li Luo responded calmly, "When I fought the True Devil Other, I gained some understanding of its motivation. That Other was known as the Soul Eater True Devil. It had the unusual ability to devour people with exceptional talent and make them its own."
All the Dukes' expressions changed a little as soon as they heard this. An Other that could steal someone else's talent for itself? This was incredibly rare.
Li Luo pouted as he continued, "As for why it eyed Cousin Lingjing and I, it was naturally because of our exceptional talent. After all, I believe we were the most talented ones out of everyone who entered the Spiritual Resonance Cave. What's so surprising about that?"
The crowd glanced blankly at each other. Even though they couldn't gauge how much potential he had, they could say with confidence that his thick-skinned behavior was unmatched by anyone else.
"So you're saying that Qin Yi's lower ninth-grade water resonance is weaker than yours?" Qin Lian voiced her dissatisfaction with a frigid tone. She was clearly unsettled at seeing Li Luo brag about himself.
"That is why she met the True Devil in the Golden Grand Hall as well. It only proves that what I just said is the truth," Li Luo explained.
Qin Lian paused for a moment. She frowned and asked, "What about the mysterious King in the end? He wasn't an Other. What happened during the time where Qin Yi lost her senses? And what about Li Lingjing? What was the true goal of that King?"
She asked a string of questions in a sharp tone.
Li Luo paused for a moment before he replied, "That King calls himself the Spirit Eyes Other King. He hails from the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute."
Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute?! As soon as he mentioned that, everyone's expressions turned serious. The Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute was a secretive and mysterious organization. Many people from the outer divine continents had never heard of them, but the name was well known in the inner divine continents. Some of those present here had even encountered them in the past.
The Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute was an organization that sought to collaborate with the Others. As such, many felt uneasy about them. Their belief was that the unity of good and evil was the ultimate goal. This went against the goals of mankind as they believed that releasing the Others into the world and merging into one was the highest ideal.
As such, they had gone around the world luring groups of Others and causing Other Disasters. Ghost towns that spanned thousands of miles were the inevitable result, and many lives had been lost.
Over the years, many powers had been torn apart by the Other Disasters that had been incited by the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute.
Hence, the various powers really hated them.
However, they were unable to stop the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute from existing. They were enigmatic and possessed a foundation that spanned back to ancient times, far exceeding that of the Heavenly Emperor powers.
Even with the Academic Federation on the frontline struggling against it for all these years, they continued to exist.
As such, many of the powers, whether they were spirit beasts or mankind, held a great aversion and wariness towards them.
Not only had the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute resurfaced in the Spiritual Resonance Cave today, even a King was involved!
A King was surely a key figure even in a strange organization like Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute.
As such, everyone was completely taken aback when they heard Li Luo's words.
"That is simply what the King himself said. As for why he came here, I have no idea. My senses were sealed just like Qin Yi. When I awoke, the King was no longer around. Cousin Lingjing was dead by then," Li Luo explained sadly as his expression turned for the worse.
All the other experts fell into silent thought briefly.
However, Zhao Jinwu quickly muttered, "You said that Li Lingjing was killed. Where's her corpse, then?"
Li Luo frowned. "The King can turn us into dust with just a breath. What corpse are you talking about?"
"That means you didn't witness it either. In that case, Li Lingjing may not have been killed. She could have left with the Spirit Eye Other King. Perhaps they were in cahoots all along. It may be because of Li Lingjing that the King managed to sneak past all of us and enter the Spiritual Resonance Cave!" Zhao Jinwu sneered.
"Li Lingjing's actions are truly suspicious!" Qin Lian calmly commented.
"Li Luo, if you cover up for Li Lingjing, you may not be able to escape yourself!" Another cold voice sounded off from the distance. It came from an old man with fiery-red hair, staring intently at Li Luo with murderous eyes.
He was wearing a long, fiery robe with the crest of the Devil Fire Hall sewn onto it.
It was clear that he was the leading figure from the Devil Fire Hall. He had heard the news of how Li Luo had slain Tian Miao and was watching him with a chilly expression in his eyes.
When his words came out, all the others from the various powers frowned.
The kindness on Li Qingpeng's face vanished and his voice turned cold. "Zhao Jinwu, Li Luo is a direct descendant of the Dragon's Fang Lineage. If you want to accuse him without any solid proof, you'll need to ask our whole lineage if we agree with your slander.
"Your geniuses suffered heavy casualties, so you should go find the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute to settle the score. Do you really think that the people from the Dragon's Fang Lineage are easy targets to bully?"
Li Jiluo also nodded at this point. "This issue was caused by the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute. Please don't blame it on a junior."
Zhao Jinwu took a step forward and declared firmly, "This is not a trivial matter. It involves a conspiracy with the Origin Reversion Inst.i.tute looming overhead. How can you brush it off with just a few words? If you really have nothing to hide, you should hand Li Luo over to us and let us interrogate him. If he really had nothing to do with it, we will apologize to him!"
As he finished his words, the void behind him began to shake. Eight Duke Bergfrieds appeared once again, and a magnificent pressure enveloped the entire Heavenly Star Plains.
"I also think it's best that you hand Li Luo over to be questioned. Everyone can have a satisfactory answer in that case," Qin Lian voiced out coldly.
"The Devil Fire Hall agrees!" the old man with red hair shouted. When the other forces saw the three major powers pressurizing the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, their expressions changed slightly. They did not say anything for the moment.
"Let's see who dares to take action, then!" Li Jinpan shouted back angrily. He took a step forward, and seven Duke Bergfrieds materialized behind him, making the worldly natural energy roar as it surged towards him.
"Li Jinpan, you won't be able to protect him today!" Zhao Jinwu laughed out coldly. The eight Duke Bergfrieds behind him boomed so loudly that the entire world shook. Endless golden flames surged up.
A raging inferno covered the entire sky like a blanket, which made for an eye-popping sight.
At the next moment, the gold flames poured towards Li Jinpan in a raging torrent.
The gazes of the crowd turned serious as they saw the gold flames raining down. This was Zhao Jinwu's domineering Golden Crow's Inferno, a skill born from the fusion of his Golden Crow and Fire resonances.
Li Jinpan looked at it with a solemn and inhospitable expression. The seven Duke Bergfrieds behind him trembled, and countless black streams of light shot up into the sky. Each of the lights was a black dragon fang, all of them hundreds of feet long.
They formed a sea of swords with the power to penetrate the sky.
The numerous black dragon fangs rushed over with unparalleled sharpness and charged directly towards the golden sea of flames like a torrent of meteor strikes.
The void shattered when the two collided. Wherever the golden sea of flames pa.s.sed through, the black dragon fangs melted into nothingness.
Clearly, the eighth-grade Zhao Jinwu had the advantage in this clash!
After a few moments, the golden sea of flames completely dissolved all the black dragon fangs. Zhao Jinwu laughed out coldly. The golden flames then morphed into a hand that stretched out straight towards Li Luo.
However, the sound of howling wind interrupted him.
An azure wind that knew no bounds blasted out from the void. It contained a mysterious moisture, and rain clouds emerged as it enveloped the sky.
The wind blew and the rain fell. The golden sea of flames was extinguished instantly.
Zhao Jinwu's face changed when he saw this sudden development. That was not from Li Jiluo! Who was it from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li that had taken action? Who could have extinguished his Golden Crow's Inferno?
Zhao Jinwu's eyes swept across the field swiftly when he saw the pot-bellied Li Qingpeng taking two steps forward. Behind him, the void shook violently and Duke Bergfrieds filled with tremendous energy could be seen emerging one after another from his world s.p.a.ce.
There were eight Duke Bergfrieds!
Zhao Jinwu narrowed his eyes and muttered uncontrollably, "Li Qingpeng, w-when did you break through?!"