Chapter 1488: Shen Jinxiao's Traces

Celestial Mirror City was filled with peace and quiet during this period of down time. The numerous squads were all focused on absorbing the Celestial Mirror Sand. The city, which was originally filled with all sorts of competitive clashes, had turned calm. As time passed, Celestial Mirror City gradually revived. Every so often, a pillar of energy would burst out, causing worldly natural energy to be moved. It was the sign of people breaking through.

Thanks to the aid of Celestial Mirror Sand, in just the short span of a month, more Dukes had broken through than in an entire normal year.

This was why the Celestial Mirror Pagoda was treated as a sacred ground for cultivation within the Academic Federation. With the special environment present as well as the Celestial Mirror Sand, the bottlenecks that prevented people from progressing were easily overcome.

In the cultivation chamber where Li Luo and the rest were, Li Hongyou, Chi Chan, Mi Er, and Cao Sheng were the first to finish. They had unsurprisingly broken through.

Chi Chan had reached the fifth-grade whilst Cao Sheng and Mi Er were at the fourth-grade.

Li Hongyou had reached the second-grade, and due to her strong foundation, her second Duke Bergfried was a nine-pillar. This was purely because of her own talent, potential, and the aid of the golden smoke. Two nine-pillar Duke Bergfrieds meant that she was at the peak when compared to her peers. Overall, the group had benefited significantly in the trip to the Celestial Mirror Pagoda.

Now that the four of them were done, they were only left with Li Luo, Jiang Qing'e, and Lu Qing'er. They were still ceaselessly devouring and absorbing the golden smoke. "It looks like they are all planning to construct Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfrieds."

Li Hongyou was well aware of the wild ambitions the three of them had, and she sighed. She was incredibly clear on just how stringent the demands were to forge one. A nine-pillar Duke Bergfried was already enough to make her feel a faint sense of exhaustion and thus, she couldn't imagine just how much harder a Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried was. Attempting to cross this gap of a single pillar caused endless people to feel as though they were in a bottomless pit of despair.

However, the three people in front of her were all attempting to cross that gigantic chasm! This was truly admirable.

"Who would have expected that our tiny Astral Sage College would have produced three outstanding experts like them." Chi Chan sighed. Although the Astral Sage College wasn't directly the reason for why these three had their current achievements, it was still a mark that they could never erase. All they could say was that the Astral Sage College was simply fortunate.

"I hope they succeed." The four then stealthily left the cultivation chamber to guard the trio from the outside, giving them the time they needed. Thus, yet another month passed as the trio bitterly cultivated.

Throughout Celestial Mirror City, many mentors had already completed their round of cultivation and their strength had taken a leap forward. There were many who were looking for others to exchange pointers with and thus, the city had turned alive yet again.

The new topic of interest had shifted to the Celestial Mirror Martial Exchange.

This was the last part of the Celestial Mirror Pagoda's trials and also the most important.

It would take place in the thirtieth and above layers, where the true core of the Celestial Mirror Pagoda could be found. Spirit pills, spirit liquids and purifying lights, mythic armaments, Bergfried Forging Arts, Duke Arts, and all sorts of secret arts could be found there.

It was said that this was an opportunity left behind by the primeval Sacred Void Resonance Sect. Throughout its thousands of years of history, it had produced countless experts for the Academic Federation and even some Kings! It was even rumored that it contained Transcendent Arts that allowed experts to soar into the sky with a single step to become a King. Thus, all of the squads eagerly awaited, geared up, and prepared for the inevitably intense Celestial Mirror Martial Exchange.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

...

In a certain pavilion of Celestial Mirror City.

Zhou Jun was standing by the window, his tall and slender body emanating a strong sense of oppression. One of his hands was placed behind his back and his expression was stern, his eyes filled with a strange light. A moment later, he suddenly turned his head, looked into the darkness beside him, and said, "Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e should still be in secluded cultivation, yes? It looks like they are attempting to forge yet another Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried."

The darkness squirmed and a figure appeared. In the dim light, the person's face was revealed.

If Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e were present, they would instantly recognize him.

This was none other than the Enlightened Sage College's vice principal, Guo Jiufeng! However, Guo Jiufeng's eyes had an unfamiliar look in them and a strange smile was perched on his face. He nodded and said, "Who would have expected that in just a few short years, the two would have travelled so far on the Path of Ascension? If I had not joined the Origin Reversion Institute and remained in the Xia Kingdom, I'm afraid the day they returned would be the day of my death."

His voice had also changed... and the voice was that of Shen Jinxiao! Somehow, Shen Jinxiao had managed to take over Guo Jiufeng's body! Furthermore, he had remained close to the two, with them completely oblivious to all this. Zhou Jun then looked at Guo Jiufeng, and his expression turned dark. "What does the Honored One wish to do?"

Guo Jiufeng, no, rather Shen Jinxiao, gave a slight smile. "What? It looks like you prefer to consider yourself a member of the Academic Federation. Have you forgotten your true identity?"

Zhou Jun's expression turned gloomier and he sighed. He was a chess piece inserted into the Academic Federation by the Origin Reversion Institute, and there were more like him. Alas, the day they were activated also meant that their current identities had come to an end.

"The Honored Lord has given a command." Shen Jinxiao no longer cared about Zhou Jun's feelings and smirked. "You will have to listen to all of my orders during this mission."

Zhou Jun fell silent before asking, "What do you need me to do? You've seen for yourself that the Celestial Mirror Pagoda contains the Kings Wang Xuanjin, Bai Yu, and Jin Xi. Furthermore, Wang Xuanjin is a Triple Crowned King. In their eyes, we are no different from ants."

"It doesn't matter. The Honored Lord has a method to deal with them. We just need to do what we were oredered to," Shen Jinxiao replied indifferently.

Zhou Jun nodded. "What are we supposed to do, then?"

A strange look of amusement appeared within Shen Jinxiao's eyes as he replied in a cold and murderous voice, "There are to objectives: to kill Jiang Qing'e and to capture Li Luo alive."

Zhou Jun frowned. "That won't be easy, and those two won't be easy to deal with, especially after they've completed their breakthroughs with Celestial Mirror Sand. I don't have the assurance of taking them down."

"Don't forget that I'm also here." Shen Jinxiao heedlessly grinned. "You can rest assured, when I was in the Xia Kingdom all those years ago, I managed to drive that pair of mandarin ducks to the end of the road. I will be able to do it again."

Zhou Jun could sense danger coming from the mysterious individual before him, so he no longer spoke. The fact that he was dispatched here by the Honored Lords meant that he had come prepared.

At this point, majestic energy waves emanated from the distance, drawing gazes from the entire city.

They could see that a gigantic Duke Bergfried was taking form, giving off a dazzling brilliance.

What was most shocking was that at the top of that Duke Bergfried were ten perfect pillars. It was a Ten-Pillar Duke Bergfried!

When Zhou Jun saw it, his eyes shrunk. "That is... Diwu Mingxuan. Furthermore, he's broken through and even forged a Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried. Truly the Duke of Light."

His gaze was filled with envy and surprise.

However, just as Celestial Mirror City was riled up by the appearance of a single Ten-Pillar Golden Duke Bergfried, an even greater amount of majestic energy waves surged up in another direction.

Three ten-thousand-feet tall pillars of light shot into the sky. Shen Jinxiao turned towards the new location, and his eyes narrowed. The location was none other than the East Divine Continent's area.