Chapter 1188: Crossroads
The majestic Heavenly Resonance Diagram hung in the skies above like a wondrous painting, causing all who looked at it to fall into a trance.
Even Lan Lingzi and Zhen Mingyu, who were Kings, were dumbfounded at the sight.
What they marveled at was naturally not the energy coming from the Heavenly Resonance Diagram, as this level of strength was nothing in their eyes.
What stunned them was how colorful and vibrant the energy within it was.
There were six resonant powers within.
Strictly speaking, it represented six resonances!
This was excessive even for King Stage experts like themselves.
Many Kings only had three resonances.
That said, a King's triple resonance power was one of the mightiest abilities one could possess, and it far surpassed the fake creation Li Luo made when he forcibly mixed three resonant powers together.
"Three resonant palaces and six resonances... Looking at their grades, it seems two of the palaces are eighth-grade. It looks like Li Luo can be considered a peak genius as well," Zhen Mingyu commented as she observed the energy in the Heavenly Resonance Diagram. Although it didn’t seem all that impressive when compared with Jiang Qing'e's triple ninth-grade light resonances on the surface, the most important fact was that Li Luo was only at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier. When he entered the Duke Stage, he would gain yet another resonant palace!
Seeing someone with this number of resonant palaces was rare even across the long annals of time.
Thus, Li Luo possessed terrifying potential!
Lan Lingzi nodded lightly and she sighed. "Can you believe that these two monstrous brats are from an outer divine continent's sage college? Old Pang is indeed fortunate, I have to say."
Zhen Mingyu was in complete disbelief when she heard this. Although the outer divine continents were relatively barren, it was not impossible for such monsters to be born there from time to time. And yet both of them were from the same sage college? That was almost an impossibility!
As the two bigshots chatted, the rest were left in a daze upon seeing the fifty thousand feet Heavenly Resonance Diagram.
Although it was not considered exceptional amongst this group of individuals, Li Luo was only at the nine-pearl tier before the breakthrough.
Even though his foundation was incredible, they had only predicted that he would reach the True Seal-grade. This was normal when it came to nine-pearls having had a solid preparation in the stage before.
However, he had vaulted over that and directly stepped into the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier. Not only that, it was a solid fifty thousand feet!
This meant that he had reached the middle stage already.
The jump was almost terrifying.
"Eh, Little Jiang'e's fiance is quite capable after all! This much strength places him quite highly in the Heavenly Star Hall. However, he would only be in the Three Star Hall due to his age," Ning Meng said.
Wei Chonglou turned gloomy. He had not managed to break into the Duke Stage as the rewards were too sudden. Since he lacked a suitable Foundational Spirit Treasure for himself, he could only shelve that thought for the future.
His Heavenly Resonance Diagram, on the other hand, had become even grander, directly reaching ninety thousand feet.
However, Wei Chonglou did not feel any hint of happiness. It was just a matter of time before Li Luo caught up to him.
The speed of his progress was frightening.
At this point, he thought back to what Jiang Qing'e had once said to obstruct all the bees and butterflies who lusted over her... No one could compare to him.
He had sneered at those words in the past. He could not believe that there was anyone in this generation who could outshine him. However, the truth was that Li Luo had demonstrated his brilliance, completely outdoing him. He felt a pang of regret for staying behind to watch this.
Feng Lingyuan and Li Hongyou, on the other hand, were happy about Li Luo's growth. Especially the latter. She wanted to enter the Dragon's Fang Guardians in future, and Li Luo's personal strength was important. All of the Dragon's Fang Lineage's talents congregated there, and even with his unshakeable backing, they would not give him any face if he wasn’t strong.
It was not rare for members of the Dragon's Fang Guardians to enter the Duke Stage. There were also numerous geniuses with higher seniority amongst them. Their parents were the Dragon's Fang Lineage's elders, and even Lineage Chief Li Jingzhe had to be polite when dealing with them. The Twenty Banners were considered the youth training camps, while the Five Guardian Armies were the actual armies affiliated with the lineages.
They were an oppressive army that could truly conquer in any direction, destroying countries and clans that incited the ire of the bloodline.
Countless experts from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li had served in the Five Guardian Armies. Thus, it was the true source of elites, a source that the bloodline placed great importance upon.
Even Heavenly Emperor Li himself left behind an unchanging commandment.
Strength is king!
Thus, Li Luo breaking into the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier and being able to officially join the Dragon's Fang Guardians meant that he would command no small amount of influence, which would reduce the pressure on her.
As the group sighed, the majestic Heavenly Resonance Diagram began to turn illusory before transforming into motes of light that congregated within Li Luo.
It was then that he opened his eyes, and his joy was obvious for all to see.
The breakthrough had been sudden, but it had also surpassed all expectations.
Li Luo knew that the main reason was because of that mysterious starlight that had landed on him. It contained an ancient energy that allowed him to advance by leaps and bounds.
"The Principal of the Heavenly Origin Ancient College is indeed magnanimous." Li Luo was extremely satisfied, and such a generous reward meant that the danger he had put himself in was not in vain.
He arose and saw that Jiang Qing'e was making her way to him.
He could feel the mighty undulations of energy coming from her, which caused him to click his tongue. "Sister Qing'e, you... have you broken into the Duke Stage?"
Jiang Qing'e nodded slightly.
Li Luo feigned a look of hurt and disappointment before letting out a sigh. He was reminded of the wager they had made before they went their separate ways. Who would be the first to reach the Duke Stage? Clearly, he had lost.
Even though he had chased after her whilst putting his life on the line multiple times, he had failed to catch up.
It wasn't that he hadn't tried hard enough, but the opponent was simply too heaven-defying. Jiang Qing'e rolled her eyes and consoled him when she saw his expression. "You're quite impressive yourself. You're just one step away from reaching the Duke Stage."
Li Luo stared with eyes wide as saucers. "Well, looking at how hard I've worked, do I get any rewards?"
Jiang Qing'e's fair face flushed red upon hearing his direct words. She knew that he had been thinking of the great reward that came with the bet.
However, before she could reply, the two vice principals appeared before them.
"Li Luo, this is my mentor, Third School Master Zhen Mingyu. When I first arrived at the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College, she fought tooth and nail to allow me to enter the Radiance Pool, resolving the issue of the sacrificial ignition of my Heart of Light," Jiang Qing'e said.
When he heard those words, he retracted the mischievous thoughts in his heart. With a look full of solemnity, he bowed deeply towards Zhen Mingyu and said, "Thank you, Third School Master. Your favor has been deeply engraved in my heart."
Zhen Mingyu waved her hand. She was a direct person, so she didn’t linger on this. Looking at Jiang Qing'e, she asked a question that made Li Luo's heart skip a beat.
"Qing'e, what are your plans now? You have entered the Duke Stage, so it can be said that you have graduated. However, I wish to recommend you as an entrant into the Academic Federation's Celestial Mirror Pagoda, to become a Celestial Mirror Knight. You can obtain numerous resources there and, with the support of the Academic Federation, truly attain success on the Path of Ascension."
With those words, everyone's gazes turned towards Jiang Qing'e.