Chapter 0440: Quasi-Ninth, Duke Art, Dual Resonance User

"Spear of Enlightened Sage? Beast of the Sacred Summit? The Infernal Core's Illusory Thunderbolt?"

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Li Luo forcefully spat out their names before unknowingly asking, "What does this mean?"

Mentor Chi Chan’s willowy fingers were rhythmically thumping against the table, releasing a series of crisp thumps, almost as though her impatience was gradually building... But still, she replied with a smile. "The Spear of Enlightened Sage should be referring to the student from the Enlightened Sage College. Have you heard of this college? Well, let me tell you now, it was the champion of the previous Holy Grail Meet. They have managed to obtain tremendous amounts of cultivation resources and all sorts of benefits. The years of accumulation have allowed them to reinforce their position as the mightiest sage college in the East Divine Continent.

"The one known as the Spear is a One Star Hall student who goes by the name of Jing Taixu. He possesses a wind resonance of the Nine Voids Grade."

"Quasi ninth-grade? What do you mean by that?"

"As you are close to Jiang Qing'e, you might not fully comprehend the immense might and rarity of a ninth-grade resonance. Perhaps you might have forgotten what it means to be fearful... Constantly living next to a wild beast would naturally desensitize you. For others, being terrified of these mighty cultivators is a self-preservational reaction to danger. People are afraid of vicious tigers, after all. "

Li Luo was left dumbstruck. Why was Mentor Chi Chan comparing Jiang Qing'e to a wild tigress?

"Between the upper eighth-grade and the ninth-grade resonance exists a cataclysmic gap that is not simply bridged. How should I put it... Ever since Jiang Qing'e entered the Astral Sage College, no one has seen, or been able to draw out her true capabilities. Even the battle during the ticket match would have been mere entertainment for her. Zhao Huiyin is not an opponent that would force her to bring out her hidden potential and trump cards. Just as you are making preparations against the strongest competitors of the One Star Hall, the rest of the sage colleges’ Three Star Hall students are specifically researching Jiang Qing'e's strengths and weaknesses. It's everyone's understanding that she is the mountain pass-blocking tiger! Whilst the One Star Hall has three highly and somewhat equally favored victors, the Three Star Hall only has one hegemon: the Astral Sage College's Jiang Qing'e."

Surprise after surprise left Li Luo hanging in utter shock. He had never encountered such a feeling of dread when dealing with Jiang Qing'e. Perhaps they had spent too much time together and he never really noticed her strength. And now, her resounding reputation had already reverberated around the entire East Divine Continent.

"Why? All of this can be attributed to the vast gap between an eighth-grade and a ninth-grade resonance. To better identify the relative strength amongst those who reside in this gap, a new form of resonance grading was developed. This is what the quasi ninth-grade represents. However, just because it isn't an actual ninth-grade doesn't mean that it's weak. On the contrary, anything that possesses any sort of association with a ninth-grade resonance possesses horrifying power. Thus, the one in fiercest contention for the strongest One Star Hall student is none other than Jing Taixu," Chi Chan explained methodically.

A ninth-grade resonance was truly the dream of countless individuals. Even a quasi ninth-grade was unthinkably uncommon.

"What about that Beast from that Sacred Summit or something?" he continued to ask.

"The Beast of the Sacred Summit refers to a student from the Sacred Summit Sage College. This sage college also has its own unique points. What it's most renowned for is its beast resonances. Amongst the numerous sage colleges of the East Divine Continent, they have the greatest number of students with beast resonances, and this Beast we speak of is one of their students, Sun Dasheng. He possesses an upper eighth-grade Stone Ape Resonance."

"Sun Dasheng? That's a pretty domineering name." Li Luo chuckled. [1]

"Still, isn't this JUST an upper eighth-grade? It might be rare, but that can't be the reason why he's favored to be one of the best. What sort of special abilities does he have that equalize the difference?"

Mentor Chi Chan nodded in agreement. "Looks like you aren't as dull as you might seem. Sun Dasheng has demonstrated his capabilities by successfully cultivating a Duke Art ."

"A Duke Art? How can that be?" The surprises never stopped coming, and Li Luo was left flabbergasted now. Conventional logic dictated that a Duke Art was something only Dukes could wield with impunity. They possessed heaven-shaking capabilities that even Earth Fiends were normally unable to utilize, much less a mere Resonant Master.

How had Sun Dasheng pulled off this miracle?

"The world is wide and full of countless mysteries. Oddities naturally arise, so there's no reason to freak out over something so minor..." Mentor Chi Chan was wizened and had experienced the countless vicissitudes of life, so something like this was insufficient to shake her.

Thinking to himself, Li Luo also realized that he belonged to such a group. He was born with three blank palaces, and this should have been an even rarer event compared to what Sun Dasheng had achieved. There were bound to be other individuals with special circumstances like him.

"Although Sun Dasheng can wield a Duke Art, his physical capabilities and resonant power should be limited. Otherwise, if this art was brandished with ease, he would be an absolutely frightening opponent, far surpassing Jing Taixu as the crowd favorite for champion," Mentor Chi Chan explained.

Li Luo nodded.

"Spear of Enlightened Sage... Beast of Sacred Summit, well i've explained enough. Do you want to guess what Infernal Core's Illusory Thunderbolt is about?" Chi Chan smiled.

After a brief moment of thinking, Li Luo blurted out..."Might this person be a dual resonance cultivator?"

Remembering his battle against Lu Cāng, he had mentioned that during the Holy Grail Meet, Li Luo would not be the only one who could utilize dual resonances.

This response was met with a light chuckle. "You're sharp. Your guess is right, and the third person is like you, an individual with dual resonances."

"She is the Heavenly Inferno Sage College's Lu Ming. She possesses an illusion resonance and a thunder resonance, both of the seventh-grade."

"Illusion and thunder dual resonances, hmm?" Li Luo's gaze sharpened. An illusion resonance? This was something scarcely seen. Perhaps it was similar to Bai Mengmeng's Nightmarish Water Butterfly resonance. Resonances like these did not possess overwhelming offensive might. Instead, they were insidious and tricky to deal with. Having collaborated with Bai Mengmeng multiple times, Li Luo deeply understood where the strength of this resonance would lie.

Just how would these dual resonances combine and what sort of spectacle would that create?

Li Luo could only sigh at the massive struggle that awaited him. The Holy Grail Meet was truly a place full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

Quasi ninth-grade resonance.

Duke Art.

Dual Resonances.

It was no wonder Mentor Chi Chan had told him to be grounded and to remain humble.

"With your strength today, you will definitely place within the upper echelons of the Holy Grail Meet. Unfortunately, if your target is to be the strongest One Star Hall student, your aim might just be out of reach," Chi Chan kindly reminded him.

A solemn expression blanketed Li Luo's face. Mentor Chi Chan's words did not come from her underestimating him. It was that the favored contenders were all truly monsters in their own right!

"Of course, your chances aren’t zero." Her gaze flitted over.

"I seek your guidance, Mentor." Li Luo very sincerely pleaded for his mentor's help in response.

The drumming of fingers atop the table finally came to a halt.

"Dual Resonances, Becoming One. In this remaining half a month, I will guide you personally. If you are truly able to reach the Becoming One realm, then the three championship seeds will become four!"

……

Whilst Li Luo continued his intense training with Mentor Chi Chan during this period of time, a certain Cai Wei had come to find the practicing Jiang Qing'e in House Luolan.

"What's wrong, Sister Cai Wei?" Jiang Qing'e sheathed her sword, her wry smile and golden eyes focused upon her friend.

Cai Wei had come adorned with a flowery hand fan which coquettishly covered her red lips. "Nothing much. When I was tidying up the study, I found an interesting object." She laughed.

"Hm?"

Cai Wei handed over a folded letter with a mischievous look on her face.

Jiang Qing'e curiously received the letter and proceeded to open it, reading it carefully. However, what she saw caused her eyebrow to lift lightly.

This letter was addressed to Li Taixuan.

What left her surprised was that the letter did not come from someone from the Xia Kingdom, instead coming from the Holy Sun Dynasty, a kingdom that was far to the north end of the East Divine Continent. Jiang Qing'e recognized this symbol purely because the Enlightened Sage College was situated there.

The contents of the letter came from a low profile but ancient family from the Holy Sun Dynasty.

The Jing family. The Jing family’s head was clearly acquainted with Li Taixuan.

Interestingly, the Jing family had sent a request for a marriage with a Qilin son of theirs, known as Taixu. The bride? Yours truly! Jiang Qing'e emotionlessly continued to read, yet something at the end caused her to smirk.

There was little message written at the bottom of the letter, with a handwriting she was incomparably familiar with. Li Taixuan's.

Two simple words.

Get.

Lost.

It was a pity that this letter had not been sent out. It had been casually thrown aside, and only today had Cai Wei discovered it. “Cough. Qing'e, it looks like you were already distinguished amongst peers even years ago..." Cai Wei giggled.

Shaking her head in response. "The Jing family is truly bored."

After passing the letter back to Cai Wei, she waved her hand.

"Burn it to ashes. Don't let Li Luo see this."

1. TL Note: Sun Dasheng basically translates to Great Sage Sun. Specifically, this is also known as the title of Sun Wukong, the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. As a result, the name can be seen to be describing the person as one equal to the heavens! Which is pretty much almighty in a chinese literary concept. Hence the comment that is domineering. Interestingly, Sun Wukong is also known as the ape that was born from a magic stone, and this guy has a stone ape resonance... probably uses a staff as a weapon too… ☜