"Most of you are probably tempted to ask why we have decided to hold a Talent Selection here in such a remote place and not at the usual major cities. The answer fellow pract.i.tioners and citizens is a rather simple one, recently we have received a prophecy, a prophecy regarding the talents within our kingdom," As the elder finished his words, he couldn"t but look around at the reactions of the audience.

"Prophecy? You mean to say that the strange rumor of the kingdom is true!" someone from the audience shouted in surprise.

"How can a prophecy told by an outsider be capable of affecting the affairs of the kingdom?" Another individual asked.

Not bothering to answer the questions of the audience, the elder continued to speak, "It was foretold that on today a chosen few will be born, each of them highly gifted talents that can pave the way for the new generation. However, for these chosen to truly be identified another prophecy must be fulfilled."

The audience hearing this became quiet once more as looks of curiosity arose in a vast majority. Seeing their response, the elder was about to continue his speech but was interrupted by the beautiful woman who was also standing within their group.

She looked towards the audience and spoke with a tone that could entrap one"s mind, "It is the rising of a legacy that once thrived in the east, a method of the past used to judge chosen beings. The ancient way of the Ascending Dragon Platform..."

Her voice trailed through the wind quickly reaching the ears of all members of the audience.

"Ascending Dragon Platform?" Someone asked confusedly.

"Why have I never heard of this kind of thing before?" Another individual asked.

The powerhouses belonging to the Bright Flame Kingdom, the Southern Wasteland, Golden Dragon Empire and other cla.s.ses, each had a look of excitement on their faces as they heard the name of the trial.

Feng Yu who was puzzled about the trial looked towards his father and uncle with a questioning gaze.

A look of interest could be seen on Feng Junling"s face, he muttered to himself, "So that"s how it is! It all makes sense now..."

Feng Yunlong noticing Feng Yu"s puzzlement spoke with a hint of excitement in his voice, "Yu"er, it seems that this is the reason why this prophet was able to determine Machen Town as the place where the mystic realm would appear. The Ancient Battle Platform, or rather what used to be called the Ancient Dragon Battle Arena was the place that was used in the past by many to test the talents of pract.i.tioners. It is said that if talents are deemed worthy by the Ascending Dragon Platform. It will directly give that person a token of acceptance and is allowed to enter the realm of the Ancient Dragon Battlefield itself."

Hearing this Feng Yu felt enlightened, he asked, "No wonder, but if it"s like this doesn"t that mean that this so-called platform is in Machen Town."

"Yes, but the question where?" Feng Junling replied as he looked towards the woman on the platform with interest.

Ignoring all those around her, the woman on the platform showed a mysterious smile as she snapped her fingers.

Snap! The sound of her fingers snapping resounding throughout the entire square filling the minds of everyone, but before they could react, there was a sudden change.

Rumble! Very soon, the entire square began to change as the whole Machen Town started to shake violently, the platform that stood within the center of the square had also started to visibly improve as a bright blinding light erupted from it covering the entire square.

Phew! As this occurred, the entire square within the center of Machen Town expanded to about twofold of its previous size pushing the original central platform away by a few hundreds of meters as a new platform arose from the ground. The square became more circular as all the pract.i.tioners and individuals were arranged around the new central platform similar to the audience"s section commonly seen in a colosseum.

The new platform rose as if it was trying to reach the heavens, as a stairway soon appeared connecting the earth to the very apex of the sky. If one inspected these stairs, they would see strange runic markings that were engraved on their surface giving off a strange and mysterious light.

There were sculptures of dragons that seemed lifelike as they acted as railings to the stairway of the heavens, wounding around its edges as they also rose to the limits of the sky.

The woman seeing this smiled as she spoke once more, "The Ascending Dragon Platform has now risen and those seeking to challenge their destinies and prove themselves worthy may walk to its limits. If you reach the sky, you will be selected to continue the battle for the t.i.tle of chosen,"

Upon finishing her words, she looked around once more before declaring, "Now then, let the Ascension Phase commence!"

As she once again finished her words, the blinding lights illuminating the square quickly receded as it revealed the foot of the stairway where the central platform once stood. The people seeing couldn"t help but feel shocked.

"What on earth is this?!" An individual exclaimed.

While the ordinary pract.i.tioners couldn"t quite come to terms with what they had just seen, the major clan leaders and influential figures belonging to certain powers wasted no time. They looked towards their nurtured talents and gave them well wishes.

The Bright Flame King looked at Xuan Bei who stood before him and spoke softly, "Do your best and strive for a chance to reach the top, it is said that those who make it will receive a certain blessing." He then waved his hand casually towards Xuan Bei.

Xuan Bei seeing his action became determined, as he responded, "Understood, I will not disappoint you, father!"

He then turned around and walked towards the stairway, as they saw this, the Bright Flame King and Madam Xuan looked at Xuan Bei proudly.

On the side of the Xin Clan and Tang Clan, the two elders Tang Fei and Xin Zhu gave their best wishes towards Xin Qing and Tang Wu.

"Wu"er I want you to give it your best shot as this is the best opportunity for you to prove yourself amongst the best and earn your right to the top," Tang Fei calmly said.

Hearing his uncle"s words, Tang Wu replied with a firm look in on his face, "I will not disappoint uncle"s wishes,"

"Little Qing"er, if you make it to the top three Old Zhu will promise to answer any one of your requests," Xin Zhu as he looked at Xin Qing with spoiled affection.

Xin Qing hearing his words became excited, she quickly responded, "Really? Then Grandpa Zhu better not regret it!"

Immediately after finishing her words, she vanished into the shadows not wasting a little bit of time as if she didn"t want Old Zhu to take back his statement.

Seeing her behavior, Xin Zhu couldn"t help but sweat as he felt a profound sense of trouble coming in the future.

On the side of the Golden Dragon Empire"s group, the mysterious spear youth and the brawny youth along with the pretty young girl decided to make their moves.

"Let"s go..." The mysterious spear youth said as he made his way towards the stairway.

"Alright! This should prove to be quite exciting," The brawny youth replied as he walked along with him.

"Brother Zang, can"t you wait a little longer? Sigh," The pretty girl said as she quickly fixed her clothes before following them.

Xun Yanshan seeing this shook his head slightly then turned his attention towards the Southern Group.

Soon, the young man wrapped in thick cloth also started to make his way towards the stairway without saying anything to his group as if they didn"t need to converse.

The core disciples and young geniuses of the Midnight Temple, the Sheng Imperial Family and other major powers had also started to make their way towards the stairway in glee.

On the side of the Xiang Family, Xiang Tian looked at Xiang Shu who walked towards the stairway without saying a word to anyone. His face was filled with cold indifference as if everyone in this world did not exist.

Seeing his son like this, Xiang Tian felt a feeling he had not experienced for many years as he thought to himself, "Sigh, what did I do wrong? Will he be ok if he continued to act like this?"

Huan Mang looked at these individuals sending out their children to the platform with a dazed gaze. Soon, his eyes became cold as he glanced at Xiang Shu and then at the Feng Clan"s location eventually resting his sights on the figure of Feng Yu.

As if he felt something Feng Yu returned the vision, seeing that Feng Yu picked up on his gaze Huan Mang felt shocked. But he quickly returned to his usual self, a dark look soon came over his face.

"You hid well, you d.a.m.n brat! I now have complete certainty that you had something to do with my son"s death. You better be ready for once I deal with that d.a.m.n Xiang Shu, I will be coming for you!" Huan Mang roared within his thoughts.

Feeling the killing intent coming from Huan Mang, Feng Yu did not panic he calmly smiled and moved over to the side of his aunt.

Aunty Xingyu feeling something strange looked over at Huan Mang, in an instant Huan Mang felt as if a weight had fallen unto him and was trying to crush him to bits. He soon found that he lost the ability to breathe and move as if all he could do was merely stand and wait for death.

Huan Mang panicked as he tried his best to open his mouth, but couldn"t do anything, as death slowly drew closer and closer.

Swoosh! A gust of heavy wind once more blew throughout the square, and the terrifying pressure promptly vanished. Huan Mang then collapsed onto his knees while gasping for breath, as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Haa... Haa… cough-cough!"

Xiang Tian and the Townlord upon noticing his state felt shocked as they came over and inquired.

"Brother Mang, what"s the matter?" Xiang Tian asked.

"Clan Leader Huan, are you feeling ok?" The Townlord inquired.

"I... I... I"m fine, cough!" Huan Mang replied as he tried to regulate his breathing while pondering to himself, "Such a powerful constriction, how could the Feng Clan have such a powerful master hidden within it? Was it simply my imagination?"

Upon thinking to here, he couldn"t help but look towards the Feng Clan once again only to see Feng Xingyu pouting slightly while looking at Feng Yunlong.

As he felt his previous circ.u.mstances to be too strange, he decided to take his gaze back quickly as a thought became burnt into his soul, "No matter whether it"s real or false I will not provoke this demonic family ever again!"

On the side of Feng Family, Feng Yunlong had just finished admonishing Feng Xingyu for her behavior.

"If you do that again you will compromise our mission remember it next time you want to flaunt your divine power domain," Feng Yunlong said.

"Fine! Fine! But he deserved it, I"ll promise not to do it again during this period, but once we are done here, I will teach him a lesson," Feng Xingyu said in a stubborn tone.

Hearing her child-like words Feng Yunlong felt pained as responded, "Sigh, ok then, but remember not to go too overboard."

Feng Junling smiled as he watched them and spoke, "Brother, you need not be so worried a small figure like that can"t possibly pose any nuisance to our family when it truly comes down to it."

Feng Yunlong frowned but didn"t reply instead he looked towards Feng Yu and his Dawnwing squad and spoke, "Yu"er, remember that this is nothing more than a tempering exercise don"t go overboard!"

"Yes father, I will try not to break their game," Feng Yu said with a look of confidence on his face, he then looked towards his companions and spoke.

"Dawnwing! It"s time to spread our wings..."