Elder Ruyi flicked his wrist, and a cyan stone appeared in his hand.
With a wave of his arm, the stone rapidly expanded.
From the size of a brick, it transformed into a massive object, tens of thousands of meters long.
It floated in the air, covering the entire sky.
This was the Dragon Manifestation Stone, a treasure that revealed a martial cultivator’s Dragon Transformation Sense.
At this, all martial cultivators hurriedly took to the air, flying onto the stone to secure good spots to watch the upcoming clash of geniuses.
Elder Ruyi, Chu Feng, Lü Jie, and others followed suit.
Chu Feng was the first to land on the Dragon Manifestation Stone.
Buzz—
As he landed, a translucent beam of light shot from the stone, enveloping him.
Within the light, a pattern emerged, resembling a dragon, circling the beam continuously.
“Dragon Transformation First Stage.”
Seeing the pattern, the crowd wasn’t overly surprised.
For other juniors, they might have been shocked.
But Chu Feng was no ordinary junior. He had stood on the third level of the Talent Steps.
With his talent, grasping the First Stage of Dragon Transformation among juniors seemed expected.
They’d have thought he was squandering his talent if he hadn’t even reached this level.
Swish—
Suddenly, another figure leapt down, landing on the Dragon Manifestation Stone.
It was Lü Jie!
As he landed, a beam of light identical to Chu Feng’s enveloped him.
Soon, a dragon-like sigil appeared within the light, identical to Chu Feng’s.
But then, a second dragon-like sigil emerged.
And shockingly, a third followed.
“Dragon Transformation Third Stage?”
“Lü Jie has actually comprehended the Third Stage of Dragon Transformation?!”
Seeing the three dragon sigils circling Lü Jie, the crowd erupted.
Even Chu Feng’s eyes flashed with surprise.
Rumours said Lü Jie had reached the Second Stage.
But rumours were just that. On the Dragon Manifestation Stone, his true strength was revealed.
Lü Jie had comprehended the Third Stage of Dragon Transformation.
The Third Stage granted power comparable to a Sixth-Grade Supreme.
Such strength was beyond Chu Feng’s current ability to counter.
“Don’t worry, I’ll suppress my power and won’t use my full strength against you,” Lü Jie said, looking at Chu Feng with a provocative gaze.
Earlier, Chu Feng’s humiliation had enraged him, but now he had a chance to reclaim his pride.
Even if his talent was inferior to Chu Feng’s, Lü Jie’s current strength far surpassed him.
For now, that was enough.
After all, martial cultivators lived in the present, not the future.
Many with extraordinary talent were cut down before their time.
“Use these Dragon Binding Bracelets,” Elder Ruyi said suddenly.
As he spoke, he waved his arm, and two bracelets flew toward Lü Jie.
The bracelets appeared to be made of stone, their aura and material closely resembling the Dragon Manifestation Stone, yet distinct.
“I didn’t expect Elder Ruyi to care so much about this Chu Feng.”
“Could Chu Feng be your disciple?” Lü Jie said, catching the bracelets but not putting them on, instead looking up at Elder Ruyi.
His words sparked a wave of speculation.
Elder Ruyi, master of Ruyi Ancient Castle, was immensely powerful.
Yet, no one had heard of him taking disciples.
Today, Chu Feng not only uncovered the hidden gate but also climbed the Talent Steps.
And Elder Ruyi seemed invested in his duel with Lü Jie.
This suggested a possible connection.
Perhaps Lü Jie’s guess was right.
Perhaps Chu Feng was indeed Elder Ruyi’s disciple.
“I can vouch that Chu Feng has no connection to Elder Ruyi,” a voice suddenly declared, as Master Tangchen appeared.
“Tangchen?”
The crowd’s gazes shifted.
Master Tangchen was among the most renowned spirit masters in Shengguang Tianhe.
Many believed he would eventually comprehend the Fifth Stage of Dragon Transformation.
Though countless spirit masters were present, Tangchen was undeniably among the most famous.
“Master Tangchen, how can you be sure Chu Feng isn’t Elder Ruyi’s disciple?” someone asked.
Despite Tangchen’s strength and reputation, vouching for Chu Feng required evidence, or it would be hard to convince the crowd.
“I know Chu Feng’s master,” Tangchen said.
“But who he is, I won’t say.”
“One day, you’ll all know.”
His words only heightened the crowd’s curiosity.
“Tangchen knows?”
“Who could it be?”
“Lü Jie, don’t waste my time,” Elder Ruyi said, his tone tinged with displeasure.
“If you’re scared, you can back out now.”
His irritation was understandable.
Lü Jie had deliberately stirred the crowd, implying Elder Ruyi was biased toward Chu Feng.
But Elder Ruyi wasn’t biased; he had only provided the Dragon Manifestation Stone and Dragon Binding Bracelets for fairness.
“Hmph,” Lü Jie snorted, then placed the two Dragon Binding Bracelets on his wrists.
Once on, only one dragon sigil remained intact around Lü Jie; the other two turned transparent, their unique aura fading.
The crowd wasn’t surprised.
This was the power of the Dragon Binding Bracelets. On the Dragon Manifestation Stone, they restricted Lü Jie’s Dragon Transformation Sense.
Now, two stages were bound, leaving him with only the First Stage’s power.
Unless he left the stone or removed the bracelets, he couldn’t use the other two stages.
“Now is it fair?” Lü Jie asked Chu Feng, a mocking smile on his lips.
Facing his provocation, Chu Feng smiled faintly and said, “Are you ready to lose to me?”
