Chapter 0612: Breaking into Earth Fiend General Stage
Li Luo spent two days finalizing all his preparations for his breakthrough into the General Stage.
Within these two days, he adjusted his mental state to its peak, and his resonant power was at its utmost, almost overflowing with vitality and energy.
After all was said and done, he no longer hesitated and directly dove into his most important breakthrough to date.
Li Luo was seated right in the center of the skygold room.
Outside the room were his four companions, Jiang Qing'e, Ox Biaobiao, Cai Wei, and Yan Lingqing, all curiously watching. They were all clear of the importance of Li Luo advancing to the next stage and thus had set aside any trivial matters to be there.
"This brat is planning to reach the General Stage whilst still in the One Star Hall. He truly is ambitious! If he succeeds, he will leave behind a record for the ages." Yan Lingqing sighed emotionally as she observed the youth sitting in the room fastidiously focusing all his attention inwards.
"Hmmm, the speed of his cultivation far surpasses my own when I was at the One Star Hall," Jiang Qing'e mused.
Yan Lingqing rolled her eyes. "You were clearly biding your time in the shadows. Who could have understood your intentions then? I hear you're going to try to become one of the Seven Astral Pillars at the end of the month. Are you planning to break into the Heavenly Dipper Stage?"
"Well, the Seven Astral Pillars shouldn't be too difficult," Jiang Qing'e dryly replied.
This was met with a questioning eye. "Jiang Qing'e, would it kill you to act more modestly? Becoming one of the Seven Astral Pillars is the greatest achievement any student in the Astral Sage College is able to obtain. The ultimate achievement... merely not too difficult? Jeez. So, who are you planning to challenge? The weakest of the bunch is Si Tianming. He's probably your best choice."
The Seven Astral Pillars were the cream of the crop. The title was not just a symbol of status and honor, it also conferred tangible benefits to those who held it. Those individuals were allowed to remain in the college for an additional year after their graduation from the Four Star Hall, and the college would endow them with copious amounts of cultivation materials. They would also be allowed to participate in certain higher level affairs, and they would be granted a status greater than that of the esteemed Gold Gleam mentors.
This was the reason why many outstanding Four Star Hall students eyed the Seven Astral Pillars with much desire.
Of course, everything had a price. The college held these students’ potential in high esteem and naturally hoped to convert them into mentors to further bolster the school's foundation.
There was nothing surprising about it as over half of the Violet Vibrance mentors had held the title of a Seven Astral Pillar.
"It's best that you avoid the more experienced students amongst the Seven Astral Pillars," Yan Lingqing reminded her helpfully.
Gong Shenjun and the First Princess were the two strongest and the most senior amongst the bunch. They were true Four Star Hall students that had had time to grow and flourish. They too possessed extraordinary strength and had achieved their positions whilst they were still in the Three Star Hall.
There were also Si Tianming and Ye Chengying in the Four Star Hall. The remaining three were old students that had remained within the Four Star Hall for a much longer time.
Yan Lingqing's intention was to warn Jiang Qing'e to avoid challenging Gong Shenjun, the First Princess, and the three older students. The remaining two were more appropriate targets.
Jiang Qing'e's gaze flickered slightly, but she neither confirmed nor denied who she would be challenging. "We'll see."
"Qing'e, do you think the Young Lord will succeed?" Cai Wei asked worriedly.
"If we want to be particular about it, he's being too rash by trying to break through now. Although he has dual resonances, if he were to spend another few months accumulating and strengthening himself, then the process would be much smoother without a doubt," she muttered.
"Huh? Really? That's not good." Cai Wei showed concern upon hearing this.
"There's not much choice. The Housemeet will happen in a month, and Li Luo definitely wants to succeed before then. He can only be of assistance if he succeeds." Yan Lingqing sighed.
"Still, there's no need to be pessimistic. Li Luo is a lucky man. Thanks to the Holy Tree Marrow Crystal, his chance of success will increase significantly. Coupled with his upgraded dual resonances, his resonant power should be sufficiently dense. He has already far surpassed the peak of a Resonant Master," Jiang Qing'e consoled.
"I also have an additional Holy Tree Marrow Crystal and a Spirit Condensing Pill provided very kindly by Lu Qing'er. The pill itself isn't of much use to me and can be used as a backup plan."
Qing'e's comprehensive explanation allowed Cai Wei to feel much more at ease knowing that this was not the end all.
As the three continued to chat, Li Luo finally opened both his eyes. A trace of serenity could be seen within them along with an unfathomable deepness, much like a stilled pool.
"Time for the show to begin," Li Luo mused to himself. He could feel the bottled resonant power within him surging vigorously, as though trying to break free its existing shackles.
Taking one last glance at his fellow supporters, he no longer hesitated. Clasping his hands together, his fingers formed a hand sign.
Bang!
Right at that moment, his docile resonances kicked into complete overdrive, their resonant power flaring up with violent force. Strand after strand of resonant power materialized and then violently struck the resonant palaces repeatedly in a whipping motion.
Boom!
Resonant power continued to hammer away at the resonant palaces containing them. After numerous consecutive blows, the resonant palaces began to tremble as though their internal organs were being violently abused. A dark red color also began to spread throughout the palaces.
Li Luo's expression twisted in pain as this occurred. His resonant palaces were the root of his body's power, and now his resonant power was seemingly running amok, causing devastation wherever it passed, each internal blow inflicting excruciating suffering.
However, he understood that this was an unavoidable process to enter the General Stage.
The first stage of the Earth Fiend General Stage was the Fiend Palace Tier.
One's resonant palaces would be transformed into so-called Fiend Palaces if they reached that point.
Simply speaking, it was a tempering process of one's resonant palaces to increase their size significantly and allow them to contain even more resonant power. More importantly, the tempering process ensured that the resonant palaces would be able to accommodate the influx of earth fiend energy.
Earth fiend energy was the mark of an Earth Fiend General Stage practitioner.
This was a unique energy that existed independently from worldly natural energy. When one's strength reached a certain level, they would be able to discern and extract this energy from their surroundings. Earth fiend energy was exceptionally berserk, but it possessed the ability to refine one's resonant palaces. Thus, those who wished to enter the Earth Fiend General Stage would first have to sense this energy, then they would extract it and integrate it into their body, strengthening their resonant palaces.
"It's not enough!" Naturally, Li Luo was focusing all of his attention on sensing earth fiend energy, but nothing could be felt. This meant that his initial stage of resonant palace tempering was insufficient. The first time one sensed earth fiend energy, they would have to voluntarily damage the surrounding walls of his resonant palaces and then allow the energy to fuse with his existing resonant power, completing the process of rebirth through destruction. It was time for the next method. Li Luo gave a deep sigh and bit down on the Holy Tree Marrow Crystal, which had been wedged beneath his tongue.
The moment the crystal shattered, a massive amount of the purest energy swept through his body like an unstoppable tsunami.
This energy was gentle and required no refinement before it could be used. With a mere thought, it was guided into his resonant palaces. It assimilated with the existing resonant power and proceeded to heavily batter against the walls of his resonant palaces with renewed force. His palaces once again shuddered under this violent series of blows whilst the dark red coloration became more and more intense.
Wave after wave of insufferable pain battered Li Luo's senses in tandem with these strikes, leaving him with a back full of cold sweat.
However, this was no time to give up. Recomposing himself, he shoved all of his worldly worries to the back of his mind, only focusing on the rhythmic movements of his resonant power and the rumbling clashes on his resonant palace walls when they collided.
This process continued without end.
Meanwhile, outside the skygold room, Jiang Qing'e and the rest were staring unblinkingly at the uncomfortably shifting Li Luo. They could see every bead of sweat atop his forehead slowly trickling down with each passing moment. Despite possessing a calm demeanor, Jiang Qing'e's hands were tightly clutching the sides of her seat, indicating her true feelings.
This was a process she was familiar with and thus she empathized with Li Luo's pain. It was a necessary path to go through. Cultivation was about discipline and overcoming one's comfort zones. Only through constant clambering to the peak and conquering one's frailty through constant improvement could one develop themselves.
As time went on, the situation seemed to remain in a stalemate.
However, all this was about to change. Li Luo could feel that he was becoming a little dizzy, and his heart trembled as something changed within him. His perception cleared up and gradually expanded, then he was suddenly able to sense a new form of energy within the existing worldly natural energy.
This strand of energy was a beautiful crimson-red, giving off a slightly wild and berserk air, almost akin to a feral serpent swimming through the clouds.
Exuberance. This was the only thing on Li Luo's mind when he finally saw the fruits of his labor.
The long-awaited earth fiend energy was finally right before his very eyes.
It was time to truly begin.