Chapter 1503

"How is this possible?!"

Wu Mingxuan's heart churned like a stormy sea; he stared at the cracked Light Token in his hand, his pupils trembling uncontrollably.

Earlier, Jiang Jiang Qinge must have resonated with the twelve-wing statue inside the Sacred Hall, triggering that disturbance and shattering an energy imprint left here by his master.

But… how did Jiang Jiang Qinge manage it?

In Wu Mingxuan's heart, he revered his own master to the utmost extreme; across the entire Academy Alliance, even the deans of the Four Ancient Academies treated his master with utmost respect.

Yet now, the token bestowed by his master had shattered—because of Jiang Jiang Qinge?

This scene delivered a shock so violent to Wu Mingxuan that it shook him to his core.

Yet as Wu Mingxuan reeled in shock, Jiang Jiang Qinge paid him no further heed; she stepped forward, walking steadily toward the twelve-wing statue within the Sacred Hall.

Wu Mingxuan snapped back to awareness; he gazed at Jiang Jiang Qinge's back, his eyes flickering, his body stirring up vast, astonishing Xiang power, sharp light flickering in his palms.

Yet after only a few breaths, he suppressed this impulse, for he could sense that here before the Sacred Hall, confrontation would not draw the favor of the Peerless Light Art—on the contrary, it would provoke backlash.

It seems that to obtain this Peerless Light Art, one must endure its trials.

Everything still has a chance.

Without the convenience granted by his master, he would rely on himself!

Wu Mingxuan earned the honorific "Light Marquis" within the Divine Sun Ancient Academy—this alone proves his exceptional talent; possessing both a Middle Ninth-Rank and Lower Ninth-Rank dual Light Xiang further confirms his innate aptitude on the Path of Light.

Had Jiang Jiang Qinge not appeared out of nowhere, Wu Mingxuan's title of "Light Marquis" would have been unquestioned by anyone.

Wu Mingxuan drew a deep breath, then abruptly stepped forward, entering the Sacred Hall.

The two walked one behind the other, separated by only a few steps, then both stepped into the Sacred Hall.

The moment they entered, the twelve-wing statue within suddenly blazed with light; it expanded rapidly in Jiang Jiang Qinge and Wu Mingxuan's pupils, filling heaven and earth within mere breaths, dominating their vision.

As if a divine being gazed down upon mortals as insignificant as ants.

An indescribable pressure surged like a tide, while sacred Sanskrit chants echoed through heaven and earth; here, only brilliant light remained—all other energies were purified away.

Moreover, this light continuously dissolved Light Xiang power lacking sufficient purity—meaning even those who possessed a Light Xiang could not remain here if their rank was too low.

The Peerless Light Art demanded impossibly strict talent requirements from its heir.

Endless light before Jiang Jiang Qinge and Wu Mingxuan seemed to form an impossibly long staircase of light, its end point the twelve-wing statue.

Whoever could walk this Light Staircase and reach the statue's feet would earn the recognition of the Peerless Light Art.

Wu Mingxuan's chest glowed with radiant light from his Light Heart; he gazed at the twelve-wing statue with devout reverence, then, like a pilgrim, knelt and crawled step by step up the Light Staircase toward its end.

At the same time, Wu Mingxuan noticed that Jiang Jiang Qinge ahead stood motionless.

She simply stared quietly at the twelve-wing statue.

"She is proud—she refuses to kneel and worship anything, even if this might be the only way to gain the Peerless Light Art's approval," Wu Mingxuan's eyes flickered, then a faint smile surfaced in his gaze.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's pride might be his opportunity.

"Jiang Jiang Qinge, you are indeed exceptional—but you cannot blend with the light. Sometimes, you must compromise."

Such thoughts arose in Wu Mingxuan's mind, yet he said nothing aloud; instead, he continued his slow, kneeling ascent, maintaining the devout posture of a pilgrim.

Thus, as time passed, Wu Mingxuan drew ever closer to the twelve-wing statue at the end of the Light Staircase.

Jiang Jiang Qinge remained as still as a stone statue, as if she had truly abandoned this method of gaining the Peerless Light Art's recognition.

The earth, scarred and blackened, lay in ruin, as if ravaged by a cataclysmic disaster.

Among the collapsed mountains, a crimson giant slowly rose, towering thousands of zhang high, like a titan; torrents of flame cascaded down its body, releasing terrifying heat that warped the very air.

Behind the crimson giant's head floated nine golden sun discs—one after another, nine in total.

That was Song Jing transformed.

"Li Luo, this technique is our Divine Sun Ancient Academy's Middle Heaven-Mandate-ranked Marquis Art."

"Nine Golden Crow Manifestation!"

"To force me to unleash this technique, even if you lose today, you have reason to be proud!"

The crimson giant roared, its voice echoing through heaven and earth, stirring up scorching heatwaves.

Before the crimson giant, from the shattered earth's abyss, a purple-gold dragon rose; its body bore numerous blackened burn marks, each still holding wildly violent Flame Xiang power—but thanks to the might of its Celestial Dragon body and the recovery effect of its Jade Dragon Core, those burn marks rapidly faded.

Li Luo's dragon eyes reflected the crimson giant; a solemn expression surfaced in his gaze. Song Jing, wielding his Upper Eighth-Rank power, had fully unleashed a Middle Heaven-Mandate-ranked Marquis Art—its power was truly apocalyptic.

Under such assault, he felt immense pressure.

"Upper Eighth-Rank… truly troublesome."

Li Luo murmured to himself; had he not relied on the Celestial Dragon body's resilience to resist the tyrannical flame erosion, he would have been reduced to ashes long ago.

Boom!

At that moment, the crimson giant formed by Song Jing suddenly spat a colossal crimson-gold fire column—not aimed at Li Luo, but striking the abyss below.

Flames raged; the mysterious sword array forming within the abyss was eroded and burned into nothingness.

"Li Luo, your sword array truly posed a threat to me—but I won't give you the time or chance to cultivate it," laughed the crimson giant formed by Song Jing, its voice echoing through heaven and earth.

A trace of regret flashed through Li Luo's dragon eyes—this was the drawback of exposing his techniques; Song Jing knew his deadly moves inside out, even destroying the sword array he had concealed and activated.

Now, even the "Multitude of Xiang Dragon Fangs Array" could not be summoned.

"Li Luo, will you not surrender yet?" Song Jing's booming voice rolled forth, stirring colossal heatwaves that scorched the earth into withered yellow.

The Celestial Dragon formed by Li Luo suddenly emitted purple-gold radiance; its massive body rapidly shrank, transforming into human form within mere breaths.

Seeing this, Song Jing's face broke into a smile; he dispelled the Celestial Dragon form—Li Luo clearly had no other tricks left.

It was a rational decision, avoiding unnecessary suffering from stubbornness.

Yet Li Luo, now in human form, smiled at Song Jing: "You won't let me use my sword array? Then don't blame me."

Song Jing raised an eyebrow: "Now you're trying to play tricks?"

But Li Luo said no more; he sensed the vast, boundless Light energy permeating this star, and a faint smile surfaced in his eyes.

Then his hands snapped together, forming a seal; his expression grew calm.

At the same time, deep within Li Luo's body, the mysterious "Myriad Manifestation Wheel" slowly rotated, emitting a strange rumbling sound.

As the "Myriad Manifestation Wheel" turned, the six phases within Li Luo's body transformed into wondrous radiance that poured into it, and under the wheel's conversion, the brilliant phase-lights gradually faded one by one...

Only a single ray of light remained within.

That ray of light was not dazzling at first, but after a moment, as if a great sun had been born from the opening of primordial chaos, it suddenly became dazzlingly brilliant.

Boundless radiance poured down.

This is — all phases, transformed into light.