Outside the formation, the palace array began to shimmer with an extraordinary brilliance.
It was as if it had undergone some kind of ascension, even its aura becoming enchanting.
Tang Zhenghao and the others inside the palace array watched this unfold with mixed emotions, momentarily thrown off balance.
In truth, the array had already ceased its operation, and Tang Zhenghao and his group had successfully claimed the treasures within, as they’d hoped.
They’d assumed that once they obtained the treasures, it would all be over.
Yet now, the palace glowed with such sanctity, as if proclaiming that things weren’t finished—rather, they were just beginning.
“I really don’t know… how they’re doing,” someone said, gazing toward the spot within the grand array where Chu Feng and the others had vanished, their eyes brimming with curiosity.
At the same time, the crowd buzzed with discussion, perhaps because Linghu Hongfei was among them, many remained optimistic.
None seemed to consider that Linghu Hongfei and the others might be in danger, they were only concerned with how much they might gain.
Some even speculated whether Linghu Hongfei could fulfill the prophecy this time, becoming the youngest Saint Cloak Spiritist in the history of the Ancestral Martial Starfield.
Amid the chatter, Tang Zhenghao alone stayed silent.
Compared to the others, his gaze was far more complex, he stepped out of the palace array, turned back, and looked at it.
Staring at the dazzling palace, bathed in a holy radiance, Tang Zhenghao’s expression grew even more intricate, “Did they succeed? Otherwise, why would such power be radiating out?”
Meanwhile, in a restricted zone beyond the grand array, guarded by several Saint Cloak Spiritists, another scene unfolded.
Within this forbidden area stood an even more majestic array, its light so radiant it outshone the sun.
Compared to this, the palace array was like a firefly next to a blazing star.
Inside this array were five figures.
Liangqiu Chengfeng, Hu Xian Niangniang, Master Longxuan, and Wuming Xingyun.
These four Saint Cloak Spiritists were enveloped in flowing barrier energy, a divine power swirling around them.
It was Saint-level barrier power, and the energy coursing through them had shifted from insect patterns to snake patterns.
They had all successfully ascended to Snake Mark Saint Cloak Spiritists.
Having broken through, their faces beamed with unconcealed joy.
After years of cultivation, to achieve this leap in a single day—their elation was palpable.
Yet amid the joy, a thread of tension lingered in their eyes.
All four fixed their anxious gazes on the same spot.
There, seated in meditation, was none other than Master Liangqiu.
His eyes were shut tight, as if deep in cultivation.
Around him surged an immensely powerful barrier energy, also Saint-level, but without any visible patterns.
Ever since their breakthroughs, they’d noticed Master Liangqiu in this state, and it had persisted for some time.
This unsettled them—would he succeed?
After all, compared to their snake marks, the dragon mark was exponentially harder to attain.
Finally, Master Liangqiu opened his eyes and slowly rose.
“Master, could it be…?” Liangqiu Chengfeng’s voice trembled with worry as he saw no patterns emerge around his master despite his awakening.
“Oh? It hasn’t shown yet?” Master Liangqiu glanced around, chuckled, then waved his sleeve, drawing all the barrier energy swirling around him into his body.
In the next moment, that energy burst forth again.
But now, it bore patterns.
And they were the strongest kind—dragon marks!!!
“It worked, it worked! Congratulations, Master! Truly worthy of celebration!” Hu Xian Niangniang rushed to congratulate him, her elderly voice bubbling with the glee of a young girl.
“Master, you’re now the only Dragon Mark Saint Cloak in the Ancestral Martial Starfield—take good care of us from now on!” Wuming Xingyun chimed in with his own felicitations.
Master Longxuan, ever the joker, added, “Master, even if you’re a Dragon Mark Saint Cloak, I’m not handing Chu Feng over as a disciple!”
Though he teased, the grin on Longxuan’s face showed he was genuinely thrilled for Liangqiu.
But if anyone was happiest, aside from Master Liangqiu himself, it was surely Liangqiu Chengfeng.
As his disciple, Chengfeng’s bond with Liangqiu was unique.
“Master, congratulations,” Chengfeng said simply, but his voice quivered with emotion, his body trembling, even his eyes—those of a prominent figure—glistening with moisture.
Raised by Liangqiu, he knew better than anyone how much his master had sacrificed to reach the Dragon Mark Saint Cloak level.
After countless failures, Liangqiu had despaired, believing he’d never achieve it in his lifetime.
Yet today, he had.
Only Chengfeng and Liangqiu truly understood how hard-won this triumph was.
“Chengfeng, with your talent, you’ll reach Dragon Mark Saint Cloak someday too,” Liangqiu said, patting his disciple’s shoulder, fully aware of Chengfeng’s deep concern for him.
Then he turned to Longxuan and the others, “All of you can become Dragon Mark Saint Cloaks.”
“Master, no need to tell me—I’ve got the confidence,” Longxuan laughed. “But by the time we hit Dragon Mark, you’ll probably be a legendary God Cloak, right?”
“God Cloak, huh?” Liangqiu’s eyes flickered at the mention.
For spiritists, no matter how skilled, their prowess lay in crafting barrier arrays—powerful ones took immense time to set up.
In direct combat, a spiritist’s fighting strength couldn’t compare to a martial cultivator’s.
Take them, for instance—all Saint Cloak Spiritists, elite in their field.
Yet if they relied solely on barrier techniques, they’d crumble before a Supreme Realm martial cultivator.
But becoming a God Cloak would change everything.
Legend had it, a God Cloak Spiritist could stand toe-to-toe with a Half-God Realm martial cultivator.
