Chapter 417: A Gathering of Geniuses

Chapter 417: A Gathering of Geniuses

As Ji Xinghuo emerged from the void, he oriented himself and estimated the distance, a smile spreading across his face.

"About 3,600 kilometers!"

"A bit further than I expected for a jump."

This was the maximum distance for a fourth-level star realm jump, and without any restrictions in the star realm, it truly showed its potential.

He then performed two consecutive jumps.

On the third jump, after traveling only half the distance, Ji Xinghuo arrived in the region where Titanium Ring City was located. Looking into the distance, over a hundred kilometers away, a dazzling ring-shaped city hovered in the sky, an awe-inspiring sight.

"So convenient!" Ji Xinghuo's mood was exceedingly pleasant.

From Yu Guicheng to Titanium Ring City, a distance of over 8,000 kilometers, had taken him less than two minutes.

The vast star realm, which once seemed remote and expansive, now felt diminished.

The vastness of the star realm is mine to explore!

"Let's go."

Ji Xinghuo nudged Zhijiao Yunlu with his elbow, urging it to run towards Titanium Ring City. With the Myriad Images Star Pupil activated, he checked his star power.

The fourth-level star realm jump consumed star power at an increasing rate.

A single maximum distance jump depleted over 12,000 points of star power, and the three jumps had almost drained him dry.

Moreover, during the jumps, Ji Xinghuo sensed several dangers. The jump channel was unstable due to external interference. This was obviously a hidden peril, as star realm jumps were not absolutely safe and could be intercepted or tracked.

The closer he got to Titanium Ring City, the greater the resistance to his star realm jumps, so he stopped jumping when he was still over a hundred kilometers away.

Zhijiao Yunlu trotted slowly towards Titanium Ring City.

Ji Xinghuo immediately felt a difference. From the sky to the ground, an enormous array structure was hidden in the void, invisible to ordinary people. It emitted spatial fluctuations that enveloped the entire city like an invisible spider web.

Any disturbance in the void within the range of Titanium Ring City would be detected by this spatial array.

His gaze penetrated through buildings and streets.

From time to time, people in the city would teleport or shadow jump, causing significant disturbances.

They themselves were unaware of it.

But in the invisible void, the ripples spread out and were received by the array.

The stronger one's strength and the greater the distance, the more intense the spatial disturbance caused. However, these disturbances did not seem to pose a threat to Titanium Ring City, so the Dragon Guards were not alerted, and everything was treated as if it had never happened.

"I must have drawn attention by jumping directly into Titanium Ring City from thousands of kilometers away," Ji Xinghuo thought to himself.

Compared to two star months ago, the population of Lower Titanium Ring City had noticeably increased.

"The population has increased by at least 20%."

With a casual glance, Ji Xinghuo spotted numerous legendary powerhouses, exotic races of all kinds, speaking in a variety of accents and languages, and people everywhere discussing the upcoming World Ending Dragon Ceremony.

Altars to the Doomsday Dragon could be seen on every street, with True Dragon Humans leading members of various races in turns to pay their respects.

Dragon flags hung on the outer walls of the buildings.

These were huge, rectangular flags, black as the base, with a ferocious, coiling true dragon painted in blood-red color. This dragon differed from the common true dragons, with a slender body like a snake, a pair of horns on its head, and a pair of narrow, wing-like wings, resembling the "yinglong" of Earth's mythology.

This was the image of the Doomsday Dragon presented to the people, passed down from ancient times, and no one had ever seen the real thing.

All True Dragon Humans believed in this image without a doubt.

The dragon flag was also a symbol of the True Dragon Empire, a supreme emblem that could be seen in many places.

Perhaps due to the approaching World Ending Dragon Ceremony and the influence of the Doomsday Dragon, the atmosphere in Titanium Ring City seemed frenzied. People's eyes were filled with a desire for destruction, yet they were restrained by order, waiting to be fully unleashed.

"Madness..."

Ji Xinghuo shook his head inwardly.

Having read the "History of the Empire", what left the deepest impression on him were the repeated splits and falls of empires throughout history, almost always due to internal strife.

More accurately, self-destruction.

The True Dragon Humans worshipped the Doomsday Dragon, and influenced by this belief, they harbored a desire, to a greater or lesser extent, to destroy the world, perhaps lurking in their genes. Once this desire erupted, they would drag everyone down with them.

At the same time, there were True Dragon Humans who maintained their sanity and worked to stop this from happening.

This dynamic kept the True Dragon Empire locked in a historical cycle.

Over the past millions of years, the True Dragon Empire had undergone thirteen major destructions and reconstructions.

However, even at its weakest, the True Dragon Humans firmly ruled over the "True Dragon Domain", and their position as the hegemon of the galaxy was unshakeable.

If not for their self-destructive tendencies, the True Dragon Humans and their empire would have extended far beyond the True Dragon Domain.

But such thoughts remained in the realm of hypothesis.

Riding on Zhijiao Yunlu, Ji Xinghuo made his way through the bustling Lower Titanium Ring City and headed to the Earth Residence located in the eastern part of the city.

Cheng Sheng and the others were all present.

As soon as Ji Xinghuo entered, Cheng Sheng, who had been informed of his return, rushed over with a relieved expression, saying, "You're finally back."

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

The two of them entered the tea room, and Cheng Sheng shook his head, "If you hadn't returned soon, I would have gone to Black Ring Star to look for you."

"What's wrong, Brother Sheng?" Ji Xinghuo asked.

Cheng Sheng replied, "Elder Hulan sent someone to summon us a few days ago, and then again yesterday."

"Is it related to the World Ending Dragon Ceremony?" Ji Xinghuo guessed.

"Of course."

Cheng Sheng gave Ji Xinghuo a scrutinizing look, his eyes widening in surprise, "You've been away for two star months, and it seems your strength has increased significantly during your trip to Black Ring Star?"

"I've reached the second stage of the Legendary realm," Ji Xinghuo revealed.

"So fast!"

Cheng Sheng was astonished. He recalled that it had been just over half a year since Ji Xinghuo advanced to the Legendary realm, and now he had already progressed to the second stage. However, from his keen observation, he could tell that Ji Xinghuo's improvement went beyond mere advancement in stage.

"Xinghuo, how confident are you about reaching the top ten in this World Ending Dragon Ceremony?"

Ji Xinghuo replied, "My goal is to be the first."

"Ah?"

Cheng Sheng was taken aback, but seeing Ji Xinghuo's serious expression, he realized he wasn't joking, and his own face turned solemn, "That's going to be extremely difficult!"

He explained, "Ever since the Titanium Cobalt Family released the news that those who make it to the top ten will have a chance to become the Dragon Lord, the entire True Dragon Empire has been in an uproar. Countless legendary powerhouses have gathered in Titanium Ring City. If you throw a brick randomly on the street, you're likely to hit a legendary powerhouse."

"The Titanium Ring City's municipal hall publishes the latest data every day."

"As of yesterday, the number of participants registered for this World Ending Dragon Ceremony has exceeded 150,000."

"And almost all of these 150,000 are legendary powerhouses!"

Cheng Sheng sighed, "We Earthlings have a total of less than 4,000 legendary powerhouses, most of whom have mediocre talents and average strength. It would already be impressive if we had even ten people who could make it to the top 10,000 in the World Ending Dragon Ceremony."

"Brother Xinghuo, what rank do you think I can achieve?" Ji Xinghuo asked casually with a smile.

"I'll strive to be within the top 100," Cheng Sheng replied.

However, his words belied his true feelings, as he wasn't very confident about achieving that goal.

Standing up, he continued, "Elder Hulan must be pleased to see that you've become even stronger. Let's go and meet her now."

The two of them mounted their Steel-edged Dragons and took off into the sky.

Upon entering Upper Titanium Ring City, they made their way to Titanium Cobalt Blue's mansion for the second time and met with her in the tower-like building.

"Hmm?"

When Titanium Cobalt Blue laid eyes on Ji Xinghuo, she let out a sound of surprise, "You've gained quite a lot during your trip to Black Ring Star. I can barely see through you now."

"Greetings, Elder," Ji Xinghuo said respectfully.

He smiled inwardly, thinking that while there might be people in this world who could see through him, a mere king-level cultivator like Titanium Cobalt Blue certainly wasn't one of them.

"Please have a seat," Titanium Cobalt Blue said calmly as she watched Ji Xinghuo and Cheng Sheng sit down opposite her, "I've already registered you for the World Ending Dragon Ceremony, but the competition this time is going to be fiercer than ever before. Many geniuses from various empires have arrived."

"Cheng Sheng must have already told you about it," Ji Xinghuo nodded.

"According to our previous goal, you need to reach the top ten for me to have a reason to retrieve the Titanium Cobalt Dragon Body from the Dragon King," Titanium Cobalt Blue said, "But given the current situation, we can relax the condition a bit. As long as you make it to the top thirty, it will be enough."

Ji Xinghuo's heart stirred.

It was apparent that Titanium Cobalt Blue had once again exerted her influence within the family to help him obtain the Titanium Cobalt Dragon Body.

"Elder, I will do my best," he said solemnly.

Titanium Cobalt Blue gave him a glance and suddenly asked, "Do you have anything to do with Rock King Ke's death?"

Huh?

The conversation had been going smoothly, but now she suddenly brought up Rock King Ke? Ji Xinghuo felt a twinge of guilt, but he maintained a puzzled expression on his face, "Why would you think that, Elder? When Rock King Ke died in the Silent Wasteland, I was in the Charred Abyss."

"Is that so?" Titanium Cobalt Blue's gaze was profound, "How did you know he died in the Silent Wasteland?"

"Anyone who was on Black Ring Star during that time would have heard about it," Ji Xinghuo explained nonchalantly.

Pretending to be unaware of who Rock King Ke was would be too obvious a lie.

Titanium Cobalt Blue was half-convinced, half-skeptical.

In truth, she was merely voicing a random thought, and she didn't actually suspect Ji Xinghuo. She just found the coincidence a bit intriguing.

Ji Xinghuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although Titanium Cobalt Blue hadn't come to accuse him, even if he had admitted to it, she most likely wouldn't have exposed him. Still, a woman's intuition was indeed mysterious. She had suspected him as soon as they met and even guessed correctly!

Titanium Cobalt Blue produced a thick stack of documents and handed them over.

"Take a look at these."

Ji Xinghuo accepted the documents, which were made from a paper-like material printed and bound on the planet before being brought into the Star Realm. Upon opening them, he found that each page was filled with information and photos of participants in the World Ending Dragon Ceremony.

"These are the profiles of the thousand strongest and most famous contestants in this World Ending Dragon Ceremony," Titanium Cobalt Blue explained.

"Thank you, Elder," Ji Xinghuo said gratefully.

Knowing your enemy is the key to victory.

The True Dragon Empire was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, teeming with geniuses. Even though he was confident in his ability to emerge victorious in the end, there was still a chance of an unexpected setback.

Having this information gave him a greater assurance.

Ji Xinghuo's attention was quickly drawn to the content on the first page. The photo depicted a male Pseudo-Dragon with a cold and stern visage, a pair of large, curved dragon horns adorning his head. He gazed calmly at the camera, his expression aloof yet commanding.

The profile listed his name as "Gu Xingli," a Pseudo-Dragon from the Frost Tide Territory of the Bipo Dragon Domain.

Gu Xingli's profession was "Legion"! Evolved from "Crowd" and "Commander," he possessed numerous avatars, each under his command, providing mutual strength amplification. He had the advantage of numbers while maintaining unified will, a one-man army.

Gu Xingli was at the second stage of the Legendary realm and was renowned throughout the True Dragon Empire.

He was known for defeating a powerful opponent at the second stage of the Heavenly King realm using just one of his avatars. Rumor had it that he had at least sixteen avatars!

In the Bipo Dragon Domain, Gu Xingli was hailed as the first among the Legendary powerhouses.

His strength surpassed that of most Heavenly Kings.

Some even believed that Gu Xingli had a better chance of advancing to the Star Saint realm than many well-known sixth-stage Dragon Lords.

In this World Ending Dragon Ceremony, Gu Xingli was a strong contender and was favored by many to win.

"I've met him," Ji Xinghuo said.

"You know him?" Cheng Sheng asked in surprise.

"I encountered this person on Black Ring Star. He's quite strong," Ji Xinghuo commented casually.

Quite strong...

Cheng Sheng looked at Gu Xingli's profile and fell silent. This Star Armor Master was no ordinary opponent, yet in Ji Xinghuo's eyes, he was merely considered "quite strong"?

Ji Xinghuo quickly skimmed through the profiles, finishing the information on over a thousand contestants in just over half an hour. If he hadn't needed to consider Cheng Sheng, he could have finished even faster. After he was done, he returned the documents to Titanium Cobalt Blue, as he couldn't take them with him.

Titanium Cobalt Blue proceeded to share some inside information about this World Ending Dragon Ceremony and the situation in the Mental Fantasy Realm before dismissing them.

Back in Lower Titanium Ring City, Ji Xinghuo entered the martial arts field.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end