On their way back to the Heavenly Dragon Peak, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e's team met up with Li Tingyue, who had led the Dragon's Scale Guardians to intercept the Blackwater Guardians reinforcements earlier. The group gathered up and rushed back to the Heavenly Dragon Peak directly.
There were no more obstructions along the way.
When they returned, there were whispers all over the Heavenly Dragon City. Many curious gazes looked over excitedly.
Clearly, the news of Li Luo getting past all the obstructions and coming back with the Sovereign Pearl had spread all over the City. Countless people were talking about it.
Initially, most of them felt that Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e wouldn't be able to last until reinforcements from the Heavenly Dragon Peak arrived. There were many strong foes along the way. Dozens of Dukes had set their eyes on it and moreover, there were also those from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Zhao as well as the other Heavenly Emperor powers.
Jiang Qing'e might be an unrivaled talent with a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried but she was still a first-grade Duke. She was too inexperienced compared to the numerous Dukes in tge World End's River Region. She was unlikely to change anything with just her alone.
As for Li Luo, even more people had neglected his presence. He was still a Greater Heavenly Resonance, which would barely be worth watching in a battle of such scale. However, they continued to hear more news over time and realized that Li Luo had defeated Zhao Zhuoyan, the Grand Commander of Divine Tiger Guardians. This caused a really huge commotion in the City.
After all, Zhao Zhuoyan was at the pinnacle of a lower second-grade Duke stage! Coupled with two thousand Guardians a.s.sisting him, his strength could rival that of a fourth-grade Duke!
Yet, he still lost the fight in the end.
The a.r.s.enal of tricks up Li Luo's sleeves was truly shocking.
His achievements from the fight did not pale in comparison to Jiang Qing'e.
It was all thanks to both of their stunning performances that they could buy sufficient time for reinforcements to arrive.
Many strong Dukes in the Heavenly Dragon City sighed in their hearts. Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo had truly made a name for themselves in the World End's River Region. Many veteran Dukes would begin to pay attention to them from now onwards.
In an encampment at the Dragon's Blood Guardians.
Guardian General Li Zhihuo watched the large army return with a complex look in his eyes. The Heavenly Dragon Five Guardian Armies had sent out three of the Guardian Armies to help Li Luo this time. This had caused quite a bit of commotion.
Everyone in the Heavenly Dragon City had heard about the stunning battles of Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo. Naturally, the Guardian General of Dragon's Blood Guardians was aware of it too.
"With just her own strength and three Thousand Guardians, Jiang Qing'e had managed to stop Zhao Jiyun from the Divine Tiger Guardians as well as three other fifth-grade Dukes. The triple ninth-grade Light resonance and Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried are truly domineering. If her second Duke Bergfried is also a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried, I am afraid I will even have to give way for her." Li Zhihuo commented with a perplexed look. On his side, the charming face of Li Hongque changed too. She was so shocked by their battles that she couldn't say anything disparaging. In the end, she said, "It's not so easy to forge a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried again. Since ancient times, there have been many top talents who have gotten a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried as their first Duke Bergfried. However, they exhausted all their potential for it and no longer achieved anything spectacular afterwards. In fact, they even got from bad to worse. Most of them couldn't even forge a Nine-Pillar Duke Bergfried afterwards."
Li Zhihuo shook his head. "Li Luo actually managed to defeat Zhao Zhuoyan. It seems like I've really underestimated him in the past. With such a track record, he'll definitely become the First Grand Commander of the Dragon's Fang Guardians once he gets enough experience. When that time comes, your t.i.tle as the strongest First Grand Commander in the Five Guardian Armies will be challenged."
Li Hongque pouted her mouth. "I've fought with Zhao Zhuoyan earlier, he is nothing worth mentioning."
She was an upper second-grade Duke and considered the strongest First Grand Commander amongst the whole Heavenly Dragon Five Guardian Armies. Naturally, she was stronger than Zhao Zhuoyan.
"However, Li Luo is just a Greater Heavenly Resonance." Li Zhihuo slowly replied.
Li Hongque paused for a moment. No doubt, being a Greater Heavenly Resonance was his biggest weakness right now. However, this also meant that he had a lot of room to grow. When he forged his Duke Bergfried and became a Duke in the future, how exceptional would he become?
She was at a loss for words. Although she really disliked Li Luo in her heart, she had to admit that Li Luo had become a real threat to their Dragon's Blood Guardians.
She understood the worries in Li Zhihuo's heart. As Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo slowly rose up in the Heavenly Dragon Five Guardian Armies, it would affect Li Zhihuo's grand plan to become the Grand Guardian General.
Yet, all they could do now was to hope that the growth of the duo would not be too fast.
...
As all the curious gazes fell on them, the big army had returned to the Heavenly Dragon City. They had a simple handover before each of the army departed back to their own bases. Many members from the five Dragon Fang Thousand Guardians were exhausted and dying for a rest.
As such, Li Foluo gave the order for them to disperse before he headed to the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion with Li Luo, Jiang Qing'e, Li Hongyou and Xia Yu.
Many Elders were already waiting for them when they arrived. This included Li Jinpan, Ox Biaobiao and Li Rouyun, who had arrived back before them.
"Second Uncle, Uncle Biao, Aunt Yun. Are you guys alright?" Li Luo asked out of concern as soon as he saw them.
If the three of them had not stayed behind in the Golden Stone Valley to stop the upper grade Dukes, he would never have made it back safely.
Li Jinpan gave off a loud and clear laugh. "We're fine. Qing'e and you are the ones who gave us a surprise. Originally, I thought that you wouldn't have been able to last for too long."
Initially, he did not hold much hope for Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e to bring the Sovereign Pearls back safely. There were too many Dukes coveting it and even with the five thousand Guardians, it was an uphill battle for Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e.
Who would have thought that these two young ones would fight a way out for themselves? They managed to drag it out until the reinforcements from Heavenly Dragon Peak arrived. It was a truly remarkable feat. A light cough resounded in the Pavilion and Li Jinpan stopped talking immediately. He turned his head and looked at Li Jingzhe, who was seated in the most prominent seat with a smile.
"You must have felt really proud to let these youngsters fight their way out themselves. If you had taken your cultivation more seriously, you would have broken through to the eighth-grade Duke stage long ago. How would things have turned out like this in the end otherwise?" Li Jingzhe criticized.
Li Jinpan looked back at him with a bitter face. Did he really think breaking through to the eighth-grade was so easy? He had been stuck at this stage for so many years and his eighth Duke Bergfried had yet to be forged.
Fortunately, Li Luo came to his aid quickly. "Thank you for Grandfather's swift mobilization. Reinforcements came just in time. If not, I'll not have made it back safely today."
Three out of the five Guardian Armies were activated efficiently so it must have been a personal order given by Li Jingzhe.
Li Jingzhe turned and looked at Li Luo. "You're really lucky. The Sovereign Pearl is extremely rare. You might not even spot one for decades. Yet, you're able to encounter it on your first trip there."
With the Sovereign Pearl, he had become more confident in helping Li Luo evolve his Heavenly Dragon resonance.
Li Luo smirked and replied, "Grandfather, it's not just one Sovereign Pearl. There's actually two."
He didn't hide anything from Li Jingzhe and took out the two Sovereign Pearls. At the same time, he handed over all the other Spirit Clam Pearls he had collected.
Endless amount of brilliant light shone out, filling up the whole Pavilion brightly.
Many Elders stared at the golden pearls emitting thousands of feet of brilliant light. This's the precious and rare Sovereign Pearl. Li Luo was able to get two of them? Just how lucky was he?
Even Li Jingzhe was a little surprised. Li Qingpeng walked up and collected the Sovereign Pearls along with all the other Spirit Pearls. He tabulated their harvest accordingly.
Many of the Elders were watching excitedly. The Sovereign Pearl was a top grade ingredient for crafting top grade Foundational Spirit Treasures. It was an extremely attractive treasure even to them.
However, they understood the rules. Only those involved in the mission and had made significant contributions for its success would have the priority in exchanging for the prizes.
"You all have made significant contributions to the success of the mission this time. If any of you wants to trade for the Sovereign Pearl, feel free to speak up." Li Jingzhe told Jiang Qing'e, Li Luo, Li Jinpan, Ox Biaobiao and Li Rouyun.
Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo made the biggest contributions by fighting their way back with the Sovereign Pearl. However, Li Jinpan and the other two had contributed significantly for its success too. If they had not stayed back to stop the upper grade Dukes, Li Luo and the rest wouldn't be able to leave the Golden Stone Valley at all. As such, they also had priority in exchanging for the rewards.
Li Jinpan rubbed his nose. This Sovereign Pearl was something he immensely coveted. However, he felt a stern gaze coming from Li Jingzhe before he could speak up. He laughed out and responded, "Hey, how can the Elders like us fight over it with the youngsters? You can give it to Li Luo and Qing'e." Ox Biaobiao nodded his head. Li Rouyun also smiled and nodded.
"Second Uncle and the rest had really helped us a lot. I can give up on this as long as there's one left for Li Luo. He's the one who really needs the Sovereign Pearl." Jiang Qing'e said softly.