"World End's River Falling Star Terrace? What's that?" Li Luo asked curiously.
"It's a special cultivation ground for the Heavenly Dragon’s Five Guardian Armies. You can think of it as something similar to the Fiendish Devil Cave for the Twenty Banners."
Li Foluo pointed up. "You know the World End's River? It contains an immense amount of energy. It's so great that even Kings desire it. Heavenly Dragon Peak is connected to the World End's River by the Golden Dragonscale Cloud Formation. Using this, we neutralize the corruption and Others within a section of the river, creating a special cultivation method. The World End's River water is so heavy that when it descends, it's almost like a meteor. That’s why the cultivation ground is named the World End's River Falling Star Terrace. Every month, there is a three day period where the water descends. These three days are considered a grand affair for the Heavenly Dragon’s Five Guardian Armies as it is a special privilege for us. Outsiders can only dream about taking advantage of it. As for the actual proceedings, you'll find out when you enter the World End's River Falling Star Terrace in two days."
Li Luo came to a sudden realization as the grand and majestic sight of the World End's River appeared in his mind.
Gifts from such a magnificent natural wonder had to be taken advantage of, right?
If he could gain something from it, he would be able to reach seventy thousand feet in his Heavenly Resonance Diagram before the Ceremony of Ascent.
As he thought about it, he couldn't wait to see what would happen in two days.
At the same time, the crowd gradually dispersed. Nonetheless, their bet had caused quite a commotion within the Five Guardian Armies.
After all, it was really rare to see a bet with eighty thousand dragon essence on the line. f??eweb?o?el.?o?
Wen Xuan, the First Grand Commander of the Dragon's Scale Lineage, walked over with Lu Qingmei. She looked at Jiang Qing'e curiously and then introduced herself with a smile. "Are you Dragon Fang Envoy Jiang Qing'e, the one with the Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried? I am Wen Xuan, the First Grand Commander of Dragon's Scale Guardians. Nice to meet you."
Jiang Qing'e nodded slightly. She saw Wen Xuan helping Li Luo out earlier and thus felt somewhat friendly towards her.
"All the best. I look forward to your performance at the Ceremony of Ascent. Only an unrivaled talent with a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried would dare to challenge a third-grade Duke as a first-grade Duke," Wen Xuan said with a sigh.
Lu Qingmei looked over at Li Luo and asked, "Are you really going to fight Li Qingbai?"
"We've already made the bet. There’s no way I can back out now." Li Luo laughed.
Lu Qingmei clicked her tongue. "You're really fearless, fighting a first-grade Duke."
Li Luo could not help but smile at her. She wasn't very direct with her words, but she was clearly hinting he was out of his league. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. Li Hongyou had put herself on the line, so how could he back off now?
Both sides exchanged a few more words before they left.
Li Foluo brought them to the front door of the treasury after that for some administrative matters, taking note of which items they had selected.
"Dragon Blood Affliction Art?" Li Foluo was a little surprised when he saw the Duke Art that Li Luo had chosen. It was an unorthodox one for sure. Even in the Dragon's Blood Guardians, there weren't many people who chose to learn it.
This was mainly due to its emphasis on the purity of one's blood and how easily it left one susceptible to the effects of a backlash. Li Luo shrugged. He would have picked the Dragon Blood Atavism Art, but he didn't have enough dragon essence.
Li Foluo frowned, clearly a little dissatisfied with this Duke Art chosen by Li Luo. However, he had already recorded it down, so it was too late for any regrets.
"You do as you please." He shook his head but did not comment further. Li Luo was no longer a child, so he was responsible for his own choices.
As for the Great Sunlotus Bergfried Art chosen by Jiang Qing'e, it was within his expectations. There was also the possibility of an upgrade in the future.
With that, Li Foluo pa.s.sed the Heavenly Dragon Jades back to Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e. "Right now, the both of you owe twenty thousand dragon essence. You won't be allowed to get anything else from the Heavenly Dragon Treasury before you clear your debts," he reminded them.
Li Luo nodded helplessly. Who would have thought that he would find himself in debt before even entering the Dragon's Fang Guardians?
It seemed their bet for eighty thousand dragon essence had come at an opportune time after all.
After which, the group left the Heavenly Dragon Treasury and returned to the Dragon's Fang Guardians.
Li Luo spent the next two days familiarizing himself with his new duties. After all, he was a Grand Commander in charge of two of the Thousand Guardians. Although this was much fewer personnel than what he had to take care of at the Green Nether Banner, they were of much higher caliber.
With his experience from his days in the Twenty Banners, Li Luo was able to get himself up to speed very quickly.
During this time, he also began to cultivate the Dragon Blood Affliction Art. It was an unorthodox and strange art. It favored those with purer Heavenly Dragon blood rather than those who had great talent with resonance arts. As such, those with a purer bloodline had an easier time learning it.
The process proved to Li Luo once again that his blood was exceptionally pure.
He was able to proceed smoothly without encountering any failures.
At one point, it was so simple that he wondered if this Duke Art was really a Soul Ascension-grade.
Nonetheless, that was a pointless concern. He could only bury his head and focus on his cultivation. Otherwise, his twenty thousand dragon essence would have been spent for nothing.
As Li Luo was focused on his cultivation, the news of the bet had spread across the Five Guardian Armies. It had caused an unexpectedly large commotion.
Many were drooling over the stakes. It was a mind boggling amount after all.
What was even more shocking were the parties involved in the bet.
Jiang Qing'e, first-grade Duke. The new Dragon Fang Envoy of the Dragon's Fang Guardians.
Li Luo, Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier. The newly appointed Grand Commander of the Dragon's Fang Guardians.
The two of them had created new records when they took their ranks in the Five Guardian Armies.
A first-grade Duke had never become a Dragon Fang Envoy before, and there had never been a Grand Commander at the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier. Their opponents were an upper third-grade Duke and an upper first-grade Duke.
Many were shocked when they heard about the news of Jiang Qing'e, someone with a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried, defeating Li Changfeng. As such, they did not have any doubts regarding her strength. She probably wasn’t too far off from an upper third-grade Duke.
As for Li Luo’s match, it would be a Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier cultivator against an upper first-grade Duke. There was such an immense gap between these two that they were unsure of how Li Luo could bridge it.
If it were an ordinary person, that fellow would be dead without a doubt.
However, Li Luo was an exceptional individual who had pulled off many miracles before. He was new to the Dragon's Fang Guardians, but he was the Dragon's Head of his generation, so his potential was indisputable. As such, many were curious as to how he was going to beat an upper first-grade Duke.
Amidst the feverous antic.i.p.ation, the two short days pa.s.sed by quickly. Everyone was still fixated on the bet.
On this day, the World End's River Falling Star Terrace that everyone in the Five Guardian Armies looked forward to arrived.
Dragon Fang Encampment, Boulder Square
Ten thousand people were standing in neat lines, emitting immense amounts of resonant power that soared into the skies above. Although they were not in formation, discipline had been drilled into their souls and they had a tacit understanding of each other. Therefore, even though there was no one controlling them, their resonant power was in a preliminary state of fusion, transforming into a faint mist.
A certain undulation of energy sliced through the energy mist, akin to a fang breaking through the void and rending everything in its path.
On the field's platform, Li Foluo was sitting upright, equipped with his Dragon Fang Armor. He gave off a sense of oppression.
Beneath him were naturally the two Dragon Fang Envoys, Jiang Qing'e and Luo Jiang. Further below were the four Grand Commanders, one being Li Luo, and the countless t.i.tleless Reserve Dragon Knights. Li Changfeng and Li Jian were in their ranks.
The entire Dragon's Fang Guardians had been a.s.sembled.
Dragon Fang banners dappled in the air, letting off crackling sounds as they emanated killing intent.