In the vast and beautiful Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm, the energy vortexes gradually vanished over the course of three months. Those who had ended their period of cultivation returned to the college. However, not everyone had left.
Ning Meng, Wu Changkong, Yue Zhiyu, Li Hongyou, and a few of the elite students had chosen to remain. The worldly natural energy in the Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm was very dense, making it a great location to cultivate. These students also wanted to see the results of the two individuals who had yet to complete their cultivation session. More specifically, they wanted to see Jiang Qing'e's results.
Everyone could tell that Jiang Qing'e was boldly attempting to obtain a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried. This was an exceptional result that only a select few were capable of attaining.
This was the only way she could pave her way towards becoming a legend.
The path of a Transcendent Duke!
Although Transcendent Dukes weren’t that different from other Dukes, they walked a path very few had the privilege to tread on. They surpa.s.sed common sense and understanding, and the most elite Transcendent Dukes possessed a tyrannical air to them that would cause a normal Duke to revere and wors.h.i.+p them in awe.
As the saying went...
I stand supreme beneath the Heavenly Emperors.
I stand uncowed before the Heavenly Emperors.
Unmatched against those inferior to Heavenly Emperors.
Unfearing towards those superior, even Heavenly Emperors.
Indeed, a Transcendent Duke was not simply seen as a Duke. Instead, they were mystical existences that surpa.s.sed a normal King!
Across the long river of time, those who were able to attain this honor were all heavenly-prided talents that had suppressed their generation.
Of course, those who wished to tread on the legendary road of the Transcendent Duke would have to go through an arduous journey that had caused countless geniuses to fall into the pits of despair.
Those who truly wanted to become a Transcendent Duke had to construct seven perfect Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfrieds. Just this point alone was enough to eliminate more than ninety percent of all potential talents. Even Ning Meng with a middle ninth-grade Light Chaser Beast resonance had only succeeded in constructing a Nine-Pillar Duke Bergfried. Clearly, constructing a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried was difficult beyond belief. Additionally, a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried was just the first step. One had to repeat this six more times to undergo a true metamorphosis. They would also have to cultivate a Transcendent Duke Art; only then could they truly be known as a Transcendent Duke.
It was a task of colossal difficulty, and every single step was capable of stumping the hearts of even the most talented of their generation. Making it to the end of this road would require immense amounts of talent, luck, and perseverance.
That was why every single Transcendent Duke was a s.h.i.+ning star that possessed a radiance not at all inferior to a Heavenly Emperor.
This was also the reason why the proud sons and daughters of the Heavenly Star Hall had chosen to patiently wait and witness the possibility of Jiang Qing'e succeeding in the creation of a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried, paving the first step towards the path of being unrivaled.
Many students eagerly awaited this sight atop the mountain.
Ning Meng was squatting atop a rock, hugging her bamboo cup, which she was greedily slurping from. Her dark eyes would occasionally flit over and stare at the gigantic energy vortex.
She grinned as she muttered to herself, "Little Jiang'e is very impressive. If she can form a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried, then she will have embarked on the path of being unrivaled. This alone is worthy of being engraved upon the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College's Holy Monument."
Yue Zhiyu's expression had turned a little ugly as she glared at Ning Meng. "It's all because you're useless. You couldn't even form a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried with a middle ninth-grade resonance, and now Jiang Qing'e has stolen that achievement away from you."
Ning Meng nonchalantly replied, "I didn't have a choice. My Foundational Spirit Treasure was a little lacking. I'll just have to work harder in the future. This is just my first Duke Bergfried anyway; I've gained a lot here."
She stretched out her slender hand, and crisp, green resonant power flowed out before everyone's eyes, landing on the ground. A moment later, a section of green bamboo tunneled out of the ground and grew upright.
The green bamboo was a little mystical. There were tiny scales on it, and the leaves were as sharp as blades.
"This is a quasi ninth-grade Swordscale Bamboo resonance. Haha, my Light Chaser Beast resonance likes it a lot." Ning Meng smiled proudly.
"Please, a mere quasi ninth-grade for your second resonance? You're proud of that?" Yue Zhiyu pouted as she mocked her.
Indeed, when Ning Meng had broken into the Duke Stage and revealed her second resonance, it was a quasi ninth-grade Swordscale Bamboo resonance. In terms of affinity, it could be said to be a wood-type resonance.
Perhaps her second resonance being a little lower in grade was the reason why she had failed to form a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried.
"A quasi ninth-grade isn't bad at all. If you spend some time tempering it, it might be able to evolve into a lower ninth-grade." Ning Meng was quite open-minded about this. "Isn't Wu Changkong even more pitiful? He only managed to obtain an upper eighth-grade wind resonance. That's truly unfortunate!"
The corner of Yue Zhiyu's eyes twitched a little. Couldn't she be a bit more sensitive with her words when someone was clearly suffering over this?
Her gaze turned towards the side, where she saw a gloomy Wu Changkong. He had none of the excitement or happiness one would expect after breaking into the Duke Stage. Yue Zhiyu knew that the reason was because he wasn’t satisfied with the grade of his second resonance.
However, this was something that couldn't be helped. The birth of one’s second resonance was affected by their existing resonance, but it was not something one could fully control.
Thus, Yue Zhiyu could only summarize the breakthroughs as such: Ning Meng had been pared back slightly, but Wu Changkong had suffered a great blow. Of course, this was only when compared with the grades of their original resonances. Regardless, both were now Dukes, and their strength had soared.
As the group continued to chat, two people were standing on a mountaintop not far away.
Both were females, and one was equipped with a suit of blue armor and golden boots. She was one of the vice princ.i.p.als of the Heavenly Origin Ancient College, Lan Lingzi.
Beside her was a youthful lady with a head full of long, white hair. She was holding a jade sugarcane up to her mouth, chewing on it. This was the Third School Master of the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College who had taken Jiang Qing'e as a student. Her name was Zhen Mingyu.
Vice Princ.i.p.al Zhen Mingyu hadn’t left the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College during the mission, but when she received the message that her prized student was about to break into the Duke Stage, she hurriedly set down all her work and rushed into the Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm to witness it.
She was exhilarated. Her youthful face was flushed, and her gaze was focused on the gigantic energy vortex that was floating above Jiang Qing'e. Even her favorite jade sugarcane was being chewed faster than usual due to her excitement.
"Lan Lingzi, do you see that? That's my most treasured student. What do you think? If she forms a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried, it would definitely send waves throughout the Academic Federation. At that point in time, I'll look to recommend her as a Celestial Mirror Knight," Zhen Mingyu haughtily said.
Lan Lingzi glanced at her briefly. "Your luck isn't bad, being able to s.n.a.t.c.h up such a student. However, after she breaks through, she might not return with you to the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College," she said with a smirk.
"Now that her fiance found her, how are you going to separate the two? These brats have a deep relations.h.i.+p, so I think that Jiang Qing'e will follow Li Luo to the Dragon's Fang Lineage."
Zhen Mingyu was shocked, and she angrily retorted, "How could that be possible?!"
"Could it be that you wish to break up this pair of loving mandarin ducks? Based on the college's rules, students who break into the Duke Stage graduate and are free to go." Lan Lingzi smiled.
Zhen Mingyu clenched her teeth, shattering the jade sugarcane. Her eyes were filled with grief and sadness. It felt as though a pig had stolen away a cabbage she had invested endless amounts of attention and effort to grow. However, Lan Lingzi was speaking the truth. Now that Jiang Qing'e was a Duke, she was no longer bound to the college. If she so wished, she could follow Li Luo.
Zhen Mingyu had no way to stop this except to bully her fiance. Alas, Li Luo was part of the direct bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li. If she took things too far, the elders behind him would take action and she would simply ruin the entire situation. She wasn’t a fool, so she had no choice but to accept her feelings of dejection.
"Qing'e's breakthrough was too hasty. I haven’t had a chance to prepare a suitable Foundational Spirit Treasure for her. It will truly be a pity if she fails to construct a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried." Even though her treasured disciple was going to leave, she still hoped that she could manage to attain the best result. Thus, she shelved the annoyances in her mind, and worry overtook her.
"Looking at how stable the energy fluctuations are and the intensity of the light that was briefly emitted from the treasure, it looks as though this isn’t an average Foundational Spirit Treasure," Lan Lingzi said in an attempt to console her.
"It seems like her fiance gave her something befitting of a Heavenly Emperor power."
"Well, it looks like he's sincere after all." Zhen Mingyu pouted.
When the two finished speaking, they continued to wait, and several days pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye.
This went on until the group who had been quietly waiting could suddenly feel ma.s.sive undulations of energy coming from Jiang Qing'e.
The heavens and earth rumbled and clouds appeared in the sky.
Endless amounts of energy began to pour out of Jiang Qing'e’s vortex, forming golden lotuses that covered the sky. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Their eyes were filled with surprise when they noticed the transformations occuring in the world around them.
They then turned towards the center of the vortex, where a slender girl was sitting cross-legged. Scintillating light poured out of her, and everything for tens of thousands of feet was lit with dazzling splendor.
Within the light arose a gigantic object.
It was a towering Duke Bergfried!
Immense pressure rolled out of the blinding Duke Bergfried. The sheer pressure it emanated far surpa.s.sed that of Ning Meng and Wu Changkong.
However, no one was focused on that. Instead, they were all staring at the top of the Duke Bergfried. Even though the bright light made their eyes water, they continued to stare unabated.
On a mountaintop further away, the two vice princ.i.p.als had borrowed the aid of their King Stage strength to see everything that was going on in full clarity.
Atop the impressive Duke Bergfried were ten ancient golden pillars, looking strong enough to hold up the sky. The sight of the ten pillars caused even the two Kings to sigh lightly before glancing at each other.
A Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried.
The Path of Ascension had opened up before her.
It had been countless years since a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried had been seen. Only one question remained.
Would Jiang Qing'e be able to travel the arduous and difficult Path of Ascension to a perfect end?