Chapter 0998: Three Heavenly Pearls

On the Golden Dew Platform, everyone’s attention was focused upon the last three who had yet to complete the baptism.

The first one to show signs of movement was Li Lingjing. As the worldly natural energy continued to roil, they could see the nine Heavenly Pearls behind her glowing with utmost intensity, giving off terrifying fluctuations of power.

Everyone understood that Li Lingjing had successfully obtained nine Heavenly Pearls.

This sight caused some to sigh. The only ones capable of this feat were geniuses that were rarely found even in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent.

Regardless, once the Spiritual Resonance Cave expedition ended, Li Lingjing's reputation would soar into the skies, and perhaps the Golden Dragon Bank's Empyrean Chronicle might record her name as well.

Li Lingjing suddenly let loose boundless amounts of energy, which then wildly converged upon the ninth Heavenly Pearl.

A moment later, the torrent of energy subsided as a radiant Heavenly Pearl quietly manifested behind her, seemingly even more outstanding than the other nine.

Li Lingjing's eyes opened at this point, showing pupils full of calmness, almost indifferent to her success.

The moment she stood up, an astonishing wave of pressure rolled off her as a result of the sheer energy she possessed. This caused the countless gazes that were fixated upon her to show looks of fear. She undoubtedly gave off an even more oppressive presence than before.

The most important fact was that she had acted ruthlessly and mercilessly. No one knew just how many people had their heads smashed by her staff.

Perhaps the Empyrean Chronicle might even add a comment about her. "Enjoys smashing skulls."

However, as soon as Li Lingjing completed her breakthrough, another earth-shaking transformation that caused worldly natural energy to boil over occurred on the other side.

Eyes turned towards that direction, where they saw Zhao Yan bellowing. Behind him was a one hundred foot manifestation of a giant beast.

It was a humongous crocodile wrapped in a suit of gilded armor. It radiated a sense of savagery and brutality, possessing a mouth that could seemingly devour the world. This was Zhao Yan's resonance, an upper eighth-grade Golden Armored Crocodile resonance. As Zhao Yan howled, the eight Heavenly Pearls behind him split apart, forming an outburst of energy that was then gulped down by the Golden Armored Crocodile with a single bite.

All of the energy caused the manifestation's body to increase prodigiously in size, like a mountain that could cover the skies. The surrounding worldly natural energy was also affected by this change, rhythmically pulsing and further pouring into the crocodile's mouth as it breathed in and out.

Terrifying waves of pressure radiated from it, causing everyone to turn pale.

"The resonance is fusing with the world! This is the Heavenly Resonance Tier! Zhao Yan has successfully broken through!" someone shouted.

When one reached the Heavenly Resonance Tier, their resonance would form an intimate connection with the world and would thus transform. With worldly natural energy at its beck and call, it would become a force akin to a natural disaster, one to be reckoned with.

Zhao Yan floated into the sky. Entering the Heavenly Resonance Tier allowed him to soar through the skies and the void, giving him much more mobility when compared to the stage before. He could feel the explosive power within his body, which was almost intoxicating. Although he was only at the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier, he was countless times stronger than before.

After which, his gaze turned towards Li Luo, who had yet to finish his breakthrough. Based on his close connection with the world around him, he could naturally sense the exact state of his situation.

He smirked coldly, and with a thought, the Golden Armored Crocodile above let out a thunderous cry. It opened its mouth, and a one hundred foot ray of light that could shatter the sky blasted towards Li Luo.

Those around Li Luo such as Li Fuling, Li Fengyi, and the rest frowned upon seeing this. Zhao Yan's current state was something they could not defend against.

However, just as the ray of light was about to strike, a figure wielding an aquamarine staff appeared before it. With a single wave, boundless amounts of aquamarine poisonous light surged forth, colliding with the ray of light.

Bang!

Chaotic energy undulations swept across the field at the moment of collision, forcing countless people back.

Li Lingjing stood before Li Luo, shielding him from the fluctuations of the battle. She sullenly observed Zhao Yan, her eyes now clouded with killing intent.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Zhao Yan smiled coldly. "I've always wondered who was stronger, a nine-pearl or someone at the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Tier."

He continued to stare at the nine Heavenly Pearls that were floating behind Li Lingjing with a hint of jealousy in his gaze. After all, that was the peak of strength in the previous stage, something he would never ever be able to attain. It meant Li Lingjing would have a higher chance of entering the Duke Stage in the future than him and would only continue to advance at a pace superior to his. How could he remain calm in the face of that?

"You’re courting death. It won't be so easy," Li Lingjing coldly retorted as she remained seemingly indifferent to his words. The nine Heavenly Pearls began to rotate quickly, and when they reached a critical threshold, they had transformed into a complete halo of light that floated behind her.

The halo simply looked divine, and some complicated ancient runes took form on its outer layer. At the same time, it was like a black hole, sucking in horrifying amounts of worldly natural energy endlessly.

Li Lingjing's resonant power undulations started to amplify massively as a result.

All eyes were on the radiant transformation of the nine pearls behind Li Lingjing's back, and a commotion broke out.

"That is the symbol of the nine-pearl tier, the Nine Pearls Divine Halo!"

"It's said that the Nine Pearls Divine Halo gives one the ability to absorb tremendous amounts of worldly natural energy and convert it into resonant power to support the user, greatly bolstering their strength."

"With the aid of the Nine Pearls Divine Halo, it feels like she isn't any weaker than the Lesser Heavenly Resonance Zhao Yan!"

"Wow, as expected of the peak of the Heavenly Pearl Tier!"

Zhao Yan's gaze was gloomy. The mysterious divine halo that had condensed behind his opponent caused him to feel a sense of pressure. It looked like the ninth pearl wasn't just a simple increase in one's resonant power—it unlocked a new capability.

Just as Zhao Yan planned to continue probing Li Lingjing's strength, a disturbance kicked up where Li Luo was sitting.

The crowd's gazes turned once again, but this time to Li Luo. Fiend Dipper Energy was shooting into the skies from the top of his head, and it seemed to possess a sharpness that sliced even the clouds apart.

This sight caused an uproar to break out amongst the crowd.

It was because they realized that the Fiend Dipper Energy above Li Luo had reached a height of nine hundred and ninety feet.

This was the absolute peak of the Fiend Finisher Tier!

Similar to Li Lingjing reaching the nine-pearl tier, the nine hundred and ninety feet of Fiend Dipper Energy was also a watershed for cultivators! Under everyone's curious gazes, the Fiend Dipper Energy continued to suck in energy before quickly being compressed.

A few moments later, it transformed into a mass of light that contained copious amounts of energy. It was then instantly compressed, releasing alarming undulations of power.

Then, in front of everyone's eyes, the large mass of compressed Fiend Dipper Energy quickly split into three smaller balls of light.

Each ball of light quickly condensed further, blinding rays of light spilling forth from each one. Three resplendent orbs of light then gradually took their place behind Li Luo.

His tightly shut eyes were now open, and a previously unseen sharpness was now present in his gaze.

The resonant power undulations coming from his body also experienced an unbelievable surge as well.

Three Heavenly Pearls rotated behind him, ravenously absorbing worldly natural energy like starving beasts.

This sight left everyone on the Golden Dew Platform in a daze.

Had he just refined three Heavenly Pearls in one go upon entering the Heavenly Pearl Tier?

Just how much of a foundation had he built before he entered it?