Chapter 1185: Ten Golden Pillars

Arcs of light blazed across the starlit sky of the Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm.

The students raised their heads in surprise when they saw this. However, before they could react, the rays of light with different widths and brightness landed on everyone’s heads.

When the starlight landed on their bodies, their expressions changed. They felt extremely jubilant and excited as the resonant power within their bodies experienced a tremendous improvement.

At this point, a heroic voice resounded throughout the Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm. "All students, please calm yourselves and start cultivating."

Some of the Heavenly Origin Ancient College students recognized the voice and exclaimed in shock, "It's the Principal!"

"Are these the rewards for the mobilization mission? What sort of treasure is this? It's incredibly effective for cultivation!" a student shouted in joy.

Most of the students quickly sat in the lotus position and started to cultivate, absorbing the mysterious energy that had just entered their bodies.

The worldly natural energy began to surge in this particular region.

On Jiang Qing'e's side, she also naturally received some of that mysterious starlight. Due to her significant contributions, the starlight that had entered her body was only second to Li Luo in terms of intensity and radiance.

When she analyzed the wondrous energy, she thought,

"This energy is incredibly pure and ancient!"

As the energy circulated through her body, it caused her light resonant power to react violently. It was almost to the point that she lost control of it!

The starlight illuminated her two resonant palaces, and the amount of light resonant power flowing within them began to increase like the rising tide.

Jiang Qing'e could sense her energy gradually increasing, and she felt a hint of satisfaction in her heart. She had already reached the peak of the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier, and the next step would put her on the path of the Duke.

But this was no simple task. It required ample amounts of preparation and accumulation. Jiang Qing'e had originally wanted to spend a bit more time consolidating her foundation, but it seemed like the mysterious energy would allow her to bring her plans forward.

When entering the Duke Stage, the most important thing was to lay the foundation for the path ahead.

The first step was to build the foundation of one's future Duke Bergfrieds!

In order to do so, one needed a significant amount of previous accumulations and a Foundational Spirit Treasure. They were rarely found, and every expert who entered the Duke Stage would be on the lookout for more of them.

A ninth-grade Duke would need to construct a Duke Bergfried for each grade they attained. As a result, they would require quite a number of Foundational Spirit Treasures. It was said that most Dukes would throw half of their wealth into this bottomless pit. A key reason why so many Dukes would choose to give up their freedom and tie themselves to peak powers was in order to obtain these treasures. The Duke Stage was not just about building a solid foundation for the next tier, but also about wealth.

The Nine Marks Sacred Heart Lotus that Jiang Qing'e possessed was considered a top-tier Foundational Spirit Treasure.

Everything was ready at this point in time, and the opportunity to breakthrough could not have been more perfect.

Jiang Qing'e resisted the surging waves of energy in her body and placed Li Luo in the lotus position as well. At this point, the latter's pale expression was gradually improving, and the mysterious starlight that had landed on his body was the brightest of them all. Thus, Jiang Qing'e was not particularly concerned for him.

She turned towards Li Hongyou, who had stopped the bleeding of her wrist.

"Thank you," Jiang Qing'e said.

Li Hongyou smiled lightly. "I will have to follow Junior Li Luo in the future. Of course I have to help him."

Jiang Qing'e's gaze flickered slightly as she asked, "Are you from the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li?"

Li Hongyou paused. She had not expected that Jiang Qing'e would hit the nail on the head so quickly, so she hesitated slightly. "If we had to look at how we are related, I am his cousin."

Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo were extremely close, so Li Hongyou had decided not to hide anything from Jiang Qing'e.

Jiang Qing'e nodded slightly, but her mind was spinning.

“Yet another older sister?”

"Why don't you get ready to cultivate? Li Luo should be fine now. I believe he was given quite a good reward."

Li Hongyou didn't say more as she could sense the terrifying amount of resonant power surging within her.

She turned to the side and found a quiet corner to cultivate.

Jiang Qing'e then turned towards Li Luo. He was emanating shocking waves of resonant power, and the worldly natural energy around him seemed to have formed a gigantic vortex, funneling into his body.

The mysterious starlight that had descended on Li Luo was the most eye-catching, demonstrating that he had contributed the most. However, that was normal as he was the one who had managed to strike down the White Eyed True Devil.

He was currently at the nine-pearl tier, and if he took advantage of this opportunity, he could enter the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier.

Perhaps he would even surpass the Illusory Seal-grade and advance directly into the True Seal-grade. It would not be a minor increment.

After ensuring that Li Luo was fine, Jiang Qing'e similarly walked to a location not far away. She found a spot on a rock near a cliff and sat cross-legged. Anticipation could be seen within her golden eyes.

The Duke Stage.

This was a stage she had thirsted for, and after years of bitter cultivation, she had finally reached the cusp of it.

If she were still in the Xia Kingdom, this stage would give her the right to start her own House and become one of the peak experts there.

She tilted her head slightly and took a good look at Li Luo. A hint of a happy smile blossomed on her lips.

“It looks like I'll be the first one to step into the Duke Stage after all.”

Jiang Qing'e gradually closed her eyes, and the worldly natural energy around her began to churn with her as the center. It transformed into a gigantic vortex as well.

If one were to take a look at the area from high up, they would notice the emergence of countless energy vortexes of all sizes.

Wang Xuanjin had divided that single strand of Worldly Source Energy amongst the students. This was an opportunity of unparalleled rarity, and a show of his generosity.

Time passed quietly within the now-beautiful and restored Fifth Minor Earthly Branch Realm.

Unknowingly, three months flew by.

Within those three months, the students gradually awakened from their period of cultivation. There were looks of absolute delight on their faces as their secluded cultivation had reaped great results.

Amongst the students, there were two that outshone the others in particular.

Ning Meng and Wu Changkong.

They had similarly completed their breakthroughs, leaping through the Greater Heavenly Resonance Tier and into the Duke Stage. Wu Changkong had formed eight pillars on his Duke Bergfried, known as an Eight-Pillar Duke Bergfried. Ning Meng's Duke Bergfried had formed nine pillars, so she had a Nine-Pillar Duke Bergfried.

A Duke's Bergfried could be judged by what was termed as the Ten Golden Pillars. When one first formed their Duke Bergfried, golden pillars would take form upon it. Each one represented one's foundation and potential, capable of being transformed by Foundational Spirit Treasures.

In a simple way of speaking, it showed how high one could go in the Duke Stage.

Those with weaker foundations, potential, and fewer resources would only form two or three pillars upon entering the Duke Stage, while those who had made ample preparations would be able to create many more. This meant that their Duke Bergfried would be much more majestic and powerful, invincible amongst those of the same grade.

Additionally, once the pillars were created, it was difficult to make any changes to their Duke Bergfried.

Wu Changkong and Ning Meng's results demonstrated that they had set a strong foundation and had great potential. It also meant that they had prepared a relatively high-grade Foundational Spirit Treasure.

Seeing their breakthroughs, the rest of the students could only sigh with envy. From what they could see, the duo had pulled apart from them once again.

When they returned to the college, they would be recognized as true experts. They would also be allowed to become mentors.

Amidst the group's sighs, their gazes then turned towards the only two gigantic energy vortexes that remained. They belonged to none other than Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e.

They had yet to conclude their round of cultivation.

Judging by the fluctuations coming from Jiang Qing'e, she had taken the opportunity to break into the Duke Stage as well. The only thing was that her Duke Bergfried had not been formed.

This caused the students to sigh in their hearts. They understood the brazen thoughts going through Jiang Qing'e's mind.

She was very likely gunning for a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried!

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

In the Duke Stage, there was a saying.

Ten pillars are unrivaled!

Jiang Qing'e was definitely looking to cultivate an Unrivaled Duke Bergfried!