Absolute Resonance

"What an impressive little doll. Are all of the Astral Sage College's people as demonic as you are?" the middle-aged man asked. 

"There's a huge gap between me and him," Lu Qing'er dryly replied as dark blue frost spread across her cheeks, giving her a particular charm. 

The middle-aged man then asked, "It seems like your frost seal is only capable of trapping me for the time needed for an incense stick to burn."

Lu Qing'er lightly replied, "That's enough time."

The middle-aged man smiled. "It looks like you have a lot of trust in Li Luo."

Lu Qing'er's icy gaze turned towards the mountains in the distance, focused on that strapping figure with a thunder blade in hand. A deep sense of attachment surfaced within her eyes. However, it gradually faded, turning into indifference as the seal on the Permafrost Sacred Seed was gradually unlocked. This emotional apathy caused her heart to ache slightly, but she was powerless to stop it. 

"I have a lot of faith in him," she mumbled to herself. The dark blue frost began to spread, and in just a few breaths worth of time, she turned into a lifelike ice sculpture. 

Similarly, the middle-aged man ceased his struggle and allowed the frost seal to cover him.

"Although you have a beautiful imagination, when you open your eyes, the one before you will definitely not be Li Luo."

With those last words, the man transformed into an ice statue as well.

What had happened to the two had been noticed by the rest, and this left them shocked. No one had expected that a lower sixth-grade Duke would end up being sealed by a first-grade Duke, even if it was temporary.

Meanwhile, outside the minor world, when Lu Ruyan saw this, her charming face turned ugly. She knew that this was a power of the Permafrost Sacred Seed.

"Lu Qing'er!" Jealousy could be seen in her eyes. She had put in an immense amount of effort over the years in an attempt to obtain the recognition of the Permafrost Sacred Seed. Alas, no one would have ever thought that her attempts would pale in comparison to a wench from an outer divine continent!

She refused to accept this.

And this would also be her final chance. She would have to seize the Permafrost Sacred Seed from her! 

Lu Ruyan took in a deep breath and recomposed herself before coldly smiling to herself. What was Lu Qing'er thinking? Did she really think that holding back a sixth-grade Duke would change anything? Did she really think that Li Luo was capable of overcoming Fang Xingyun?

That was a true high-grade Duke. No matter what Li Luo had up his sleeve, it would be no help in bridging the gap between their cultivation levels.

Thus, she eagerly awaited the moment Lu Qing'er opened her eyes, to wallow in her disappointment.

……

Li Luo tightly gripped the handle of his sword. Traces of blood could be seen between his fingers as Fang Xingyun's previous fist strike was indeed incredibly strong. If he had not borrowed the toughness of the blade to block the attack, he might have been seriously injured. 

"A high-grade Duke is much, much harder to deal with than a sixth-grade Duke." Li Luo sighed. The pressure of facing this opponent far surpassed that of Shui Baoping or Yan Feng.

The gap was indeed a watershed, a massive chasm. This round would be extremely difficult. As Li Luo sighed, Fang Xingyun didn't plan to continue speaking with him either. He formed a seal with one hand, and a moment later, his seven Duke Bergfrieds rumbled and thunder energy spread out across the horizon, covering the mountain range.

Everywhere the thunder energy touched became a part of his domain.

This caused the thunder energy that existed within the area to strengthen, while other elements began to vanish. 

Bang!

Thunder clouds formed in the sky, and thunder energy coursed through them like a massive python.

This was Fang Xingyun's Duke Worldspace Domain.

All of the worldly natural energy within the domain was under Fang Xingyun's control and thus, anyone lower than a seventh-grade Duke with their own domain would be unable to use worldly natural energy to supplement themselves.

This was absolute suppression!

This was the advantage of high-grade Dukes. With a Duke's Worldspace Domain, they would seize control of the environment and use it to their advantage. In the World's End River Treasure Domain, Qin Lian had used this ability to single-handedly suppress all of the middle and low-grade Dukes, and none were able to resist. This was the power of a domain! 

Now that Fang Xingyun had activated his Duke's Worldspace Domain, everyone understood that he didn't plan to give Li Luo any chance to retaliate. Similarly, when Li Luo felt the domain expanding, he could feel an inexplicable sense of oppression descending upon him.

However, he remained calm. The two Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds above him began to roar and all six of his resonances appeared. 

A vast wave of water flowed across the skies, shimmering with divine light.

An ancient, towering tree stood tall and unyielding, rooted into boundless, brown soil.

Thunderclouds filled the air and the figure of a Heavenly Dragon appeared, emanating a primal draconic pressure. 

"Your lower seventh-grade Duke's Worldspace Domain might be effective against others, but not as much towards me," Li Luo said with a grin.

The Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds overflowed with the aura of perfection and completion. This meant that worldly natural energy would naturally gravitate towards them. Even though the Duke's Worldspace Domain was able to suppress him slightly, it could not sever the connection Li Luo had with the heavens and the earth. This was the reason why many Transcendent geniuses were able to overcome a gap of three grades with ease. At the same time, the Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds had the ability to resist the suppression of a domain. On top of that, the difference between Fang Xingyun and Qin Lian's domains was like heaven and earth.

"Furthermore, you're not the only one with the power to suppress his enemies."

With a thought, the Heavenly Dragon resonance began to let out a sky-shaking roar that was both ancient and pure. The violet-gold Heavenly Dragon that sat coiled above the Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried began to radiate a glorious strength that swept across the world. 

When Fang Xingyun sensed the Heavenly Dragon's might, his expression changed. He could sense that the Thunder and Silver Dragon resonances above his Duke Bergfrieds were beginning to turn a little dim.

"Is that a Heavenly Dragon resonance?!" His expression turned solemn. He possessed two dragon resonances, so he had a good understanding of the dragon race. Thus, he knew what Li Luo's resonance represented. This was the king of all dragons, and it would naturally suppress all lesser dragons! Fang Xingyun was speechless. He wanted to use his Worldspace Domain to knock Li Luo down several notches. But he had not achieved the result he wanted—he ended up being the one suppressed! The only bright side was that the suppression wasn't too noticeable and would not affect the situation significantly.

"It's only a quasi ninth-grade Heavenly Dragon resonance." Fang Xingyun heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, but a looming sense of crisis began to dawn upon him. Li Luo was a little too demonic. The number of trump cards he had up his sleeve was just too high, so it was best to bring an end to this as soon as possible. 

However, just as he thought this, he saw a smile on Li Luo's face, and it unsettled him. After which, the latter's amused voice rang out. "Did you look down on the grade of my Heavenly Dragon resonance? Did you just think that it’s a little too low? Let me show you something now."

Fang Xingyun's heart began to beat rapidly and a cold look appeared on his face. "There's no need!"

He then stretched his hand out, and thunderclouds started condensing within his palm. The next moment, it transformed into tens of thousands of thunderbolts that resembled pythons, raining down upon Li Luo like an apocalyptic shower. 

Show, his ass! The faster he was eliminated, the better! This brat's existence was basically an aberration! 

Li Luo's gaze was drowned out by the deluge of thunderbolts falling towards him as he thought to himself, "Lesser Dragon Sacred Seed! Transform! Middle ninth-grade Heavenly Dragon resonance!"