Chapter 0627: Quasi Pearl

Once Zhong Taiqiu made his decision, Jiang Qing'e stabbed her heavy sword right into the stone tiles below. Her fair and beautiful face was like a deep pool, and even the impact of facing off against a mighty six-pearl did not cause any ripples within her.

Before countless eyes, she placed her hands together, and her fingers formed countless profound and cryptic hand seals.

As the hand seals continued to change, the worldly natural energy around Jiang Qing'e started to churn and froth violently. At the same time, an unusually bright, holy light seemed to emit from her body, which caused many of the audience members to shield their eyes.

Some astute observers could sense that the resonant power fluctuations coming from Jiang Qing'e seemed to be climbing and strengthening at a fearsome rate.

Some Four Star Hall students had already reached the Fiend Finisher Tier, and they were stunned to see that the resonant power fluctuations coming from Jiang Qing'e had far surpassed theirs. Could someone at the Fiend Finisher Tier actually attain such a level of strength?

"Huh? Does Jiang Qing'e plan to break through here?" Qin Zhulu exclaimed from atop the One Star Hall's high platform as he keenly felt the wild resonant power undulations coming from her.

Mentor Chi Chan gave a deep sigh. "I think that holding back for so many years was all to attain a position amongst the Seven Astral Pillars. Thus, she is finally letting loose. Alas, it's a little bit of a waste." She continued to observe Jiang Qing'e, and from her current state, it could be said that the resonant power within her had been compressed and stored away to the extreme, such that this volcano that was about to erupt was actually at a critical mass right now!

Was she planning to break through at this critical point?

Li Luo similarly stared at the frightening sight before him, his expression becoming solemn. Jiang Qing'e obviously understood how terrifying Zhong Taiqiu was, and the gap between the two was not so easily bridged. A ninth-grade light resonance at the Fiend Finisher Tier would not be able to challenge him, and thus she had to bring her hidden cards.

As the audience watched the scene before them with great tension, the worldly natural energy around her seemed to have been incited, and it quickly began to converge behind Jiang Qing'e.

At the same time, the resonant power within her also flowed out in tandem, condensing behind her.

In a short span of time, a lustrous ball of light formed behind Jiang Qing'e before everyone's startled eyes. The ball of light seemed to contain frightening amounts of resonant power, all being condensed and restrained within.

The space surrounding it began to warp and tremble in its mere existence.

In a certain way, it looked like a Heavenly Pearl!

Countless individuals were left speechless. Just what was Jiang Qing'e planning to do? Was she trying to break into the Heavenly Pearl Stage?

Li Luo frowned at this development. Did she really plan to release her suppressed potential and breakthrough now? In the middle of a fight? Although doing so was a fortuitous blessing, based on Mentor Chi Chan's words, it seemed a little strange that she'd hold back for so long merely for a Seven Astral Pillar position.

Wouldn't breaking through now also throw her plans into disarray?

However, he trusted her! This crappy Zhong Taiqiu guy wasn't good enough that she'd pull out all the guns.

Thus, everything before him must have been premeditated.

Meanwhile, the entire audience was fixated upon Jiang Qing'e.

The horrifying sight of the Heavenly Pearl made of compressed resonant power gradually stabilized, causing a shockwave to be emitted upon its final consolidation. Remnant resonant power swept out like a billowing wave in every direction, causing even the stone tiles below to crack.

"She broke through?!" The sight was expected, yet it surprised the audience.

Li Luo was also intently observing the Heavenly Pearl Jiang Qing'e had formed. It clearly looked like an actual Heavenly Pearl from the outside. However, compared to Zhong Taiqiu's ones, hers seemed a little illusory.

"It looks like she didn't really break through, only opting to take half a step into the Heavenly Pearl Stage. As her body has already reached its limits in condensing resonant power, she chose to release some of it to form a Quasi Heavenly Pearl, entering the Quasi Heavenly Pearl Stage. It's similar to the Quasi General Stage, where it's not a complete breakthrough. Yet it still provides a qualitative improvement to one's strength," Mentor Chi Chan explained.

"Quasi Pearl Stage?" The rest looked at each other in slight confusion.

"Though... she possesses such bountiful resonant power in the Quasi Pearl Stage... To be frank, this is the first time I've seen something so impressive," Mentor Chi Chan continued with a sigh.

The rest of the Violet Vibrance mentors nodded in agreement. The amount of resonant power in that single Quasi Heavenly Pearl was comparable to an average individual at the Three-pearl Stage.

At the same time, it was unfortunate that they only got the opportunity to see a Quasi Pearl.

Mentor Cao Sheng smiled and commented, "A suppressed volcano would naturally burst forth with destructive strength. I'm genuinely curious to know how far Jiang Qing'e can go. Just what sort of strength will she have when she finally lets herself go?"

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Mentor Mi Er heaved a deep sigh. "Perhaps it might be like a sky of fireworks—grandiose but temporary. An ephemeral display of beauty."

"Fireworks that have been brewed over countless years, infused with her painstaking blood, sweat, and tears," Chi Chan mumbled to herself, a hint of wistfulness within her voice.

Despite hearing the exchange between the mentors, Li Luo remained unfazed on the surface. But deep down, he felt a sense of tenderness towards her.

He continued to gaze at the peerlessly elegant and dazzling beauty before him. He simply could not comprehend how much pressure Jiang Qing'e had been under to travel this arduous path.

For the sake of House Luolan and to protect him with his blank palaces, she had chosen to restrain her brilliance and to accumulate her strength, all for this pivotal moment.

She had paid too heavy a price.

Fortunately, he had managed to shed off the trappings of his blank palaces, made his way to Xia City, and was now supporting her as best he could.

"Rest assured, Sister Qing'e. I won't let you shoulder the burdens all alone during the Housemeet. Regardless of how the situation develops, I will always be by your side." Li Luo promised in his heart as he warmly watched her.

"Sister Qing'e, do your best!" he suddenly screamed!

Roused by his mad cheer, countless enthusiastic voices rang out as well. "Senior Jiang! You can do it!"

"Elder Sister, club that fool and write your legend!"

"You are the strongest Three Star Hall student in the Astral Sage College's history!"

Jiang Qing'e already enjoyed a reputation that could be considered second to none in the entire Astral Sage College. Now she had chosen to take on the Seven Astral Pillars challenge whilst still a Three Star Hall student. Naturally, the significance of this act was not lost on the audience, and they enthusiastically wanted to experience history in the making. As a result, overwhelming cheers constantly rung out, bolstering her already astonishing influence.

At this point, she turned to look directly at Li Luo. A faint smile appeared on her fair and delicate cheeks as she gestured victoriously at him.

Alas, dear Li Luo only felt countless furious gazes being directed towards him, like a hail of razor-sharp arrows flying towards him in every direction.

Yet these jealous leers disappeared almost as quickly as they came, focusing on the battle that lay ahead.

Jiang Qing'e was about to make her move.

She simply raised her jade-like palm, and the dazzling pearl of light behind her broke down into countless streams of energy, directly converging in her hand.

In a blink, the Quasi Pearl dissipated and then a saintly lotus of light formed within her hand.

Atop the lotus flower was a white flame that gradually rose into the air, seemingly possessing the power to purify anything and everything.

The sacred lotus began to spin, and the surrounding space seemed to distort at this moment.

Countless pairs of eyes scrutinized the stalk of sacred fire lotus before a more astute individual screamed out his thoughts. "It's a high-grade dragon-general resonance art! The Sacred Flamelight Lotus!"

A high-grade dragon-general resonance art was the strongest type of art below Duke Arts. They were notoriously difficult to cultivate, and Jiang Qing'e's demonstration of this art did not seem to turn too many heads as many were familiar with it. In terms of cultivation difficulty or might, it was known to be at the top when it came to the dragon-general resonance arts that the college possessed.

If one did not consider the Duke Arts that the college had hidden away, the Sacred Flamelight Lotus was undoubtedly the absolute art that no other could compare with!

Jiang Qing'e, befitting her reputation, had unsurprisingly mastered it.