Zhu Ximen burst into laughter as he stepped forward.

"That is right. Only a fool would ignore such a certain chance."

He walked up to the stall with a bold expression and declared without hesitation,

"I will also bet on Li Yun. One million mid-grade spirit stones."

After a brief exchange of glances, Fu Ting and Xu Ming stepped forward and placed their bets as well.

"I will place two hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones on Li Yun."

"I will place one hundred and fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones on Li Yun."

Both of them had complete confidence in Li Yun. In their eyes, with his strength, entering the top one hundred of the Hidden Dragon Ranking was almost certain. Since such an opportunity stood right before them, neither of them intended to let it slip away.

Li Yun watched them with a faint smile.

"Since all of you trust me this much, it would be rather disappointing if I did not join in myself."

He stepped forward calmly and looked at the middle-aged man behind the stall.

"I will also bet on Li Yun. Twenty million mid-grade spirit stones."

The moment his words fell, the entire gambling den fell into silence.

"What did he just say?"

"Twenty million mid-grade spirit stones?"

"Who is this young man? How can he possibly possess such wealth?"

Every gaze turned toward Li Yun, filled with disbelief and shock.

It was not only the surrounding crowd. Even Zhu Ximen and the others stood frozen in place, staring at him in complete astonishment. They understood very well what such a sum represented. Twenty million mid-grade spirit stones was an amount so vast that even the masters of the Four Peaks would struggle to produce it.

Li Yun clicked his tongue lightly, appearing unimpressed by their reactions.

"It is only twenty million, yet all of you are reacting as though the sky has fallen. Your courage is truly lacking."

If these people knew that he had casually spent one hundred million mid-grade spirit stones not long ago from the treasure vault of the Blood Zombie Demon General, they would likely be frightened out of their wits.

The middle-aged man behind the stall was momentarily stunned, but his composure quickly returned. Anyone capable of operating a gambling den in Hidden Dragon City naturally possessed a strong background. Although the bet was shocking, it was not beyond what he could handle.

"Very well. All of your bets have been recorded. Take these receipts. If the person you have bet on succeeds, you may return here and exchange them for your winnings."

He handed several receipts to Li Yun and the others. Despite his polite tone, a trace of disdain flickered within his heart.

In his view, the outcome was already decided.

Li Yun was an unknown figure who wasn’t even in the Hidden Dragon Rankings. In past Hidden Dragon Tournaments, there had been rare cases where obscure participants rose unexpectedly, but this year was different. This tournament was unprecedented in scale, with countless geniuses emerging one after another.

For an unknown individual to force his way into the top one hundred under such circumstances was nearly impossible.

A faint sneer appeared in the depths of his eyes.

A group of fools. They would lose everything.

Li Yun noticed the subtle change in the man’s expression. With his powerful soul perception, reading such thoughts required little effort. However, he did not show any reaction. He simply smiled faintly, collected the receipts, and led the group out of the gambling den.

After leaving, Li Yun and the others continued to wander through Hidden Dragon City for another hour. They visited several lively streets, enjoyed a hearty meal, and browsed through various stalls before finally returning to the residence of Martial Ascension Gate.

Naturally, every expense during this outing was covered by Li Yun.

After all, with someone who could casually wager twenty million mid-grade spirit stones walking beside them, it would have been a waste not to take advantage of such generosity.

...

Inside the quiet room, Li Yun sat cross-legged upon the bed, his fingers forming a steady seal as his breathing fell into a deep and controlled rhythm.

With every inhalation and exhalation, his body seemed to transform into a bottomless vortex, drawing in the surrounding qi with astonishing force.

The three high-grade profound rank cultivation arts within him circulated smoothly, each revolving at the peak of the ninth layer, their power intertwining as they refined and strengthened his entire being.

After pushing his previous mid-grade cultivation arts to complete perfection at the fifteenth layer, Li Yun had not hesitated in the slightest. He had immediately shifted his focus toward cultivating the higher sections of his top-grade profound rank techniques, advancing step by step into deeper realms of mastery.

Hidden Dragon City stood at the edge of the Dragon Vein within the Hidden Dragon Mountain Range, a place blessed by heaven and earth. The qi here was dozens of times denser than that of the outside world, rich and vibrant, as though the land itself was alive.

This phenomenon was especially pronounced now, as the Hidden Dragon Tournament approached. The dragon qi flowing beneath the ground had grown restless and active, drawing vast quantities of surrounding energy into the region. Under normal circumstances, the city would not display such extraordinary conditions.

Li Yun slowly opened his eyes, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

"As expected, after my sword concept reached seventy percent source mastery, advancing even a single fraction has become extremely difficult."

During the past two and a half months of seclusion, he had relied heavily on the Martial Dao Crystals provided by the sect. With their assistance, he had successfully pushed his sword intent to seventy percent source mastery. At the same time, his other concepts had all reached sixty percent, while even his killing intent had climbed to fifty percent mastery.

He let out a slow breath, allowing a trace of turbid air to leave his body.

"It seems I cannot force this any further for now. Still, once I face the top geniuses of the Southern Martial Domain, those battles will provide the experience I need. Perhaps through them, I can push my intents to an even higher level."

The moment his voice faded, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted across the heavens.

The sound resembled the cry of an ancient dragon.

A vast and domineering aura surged upward, piercing into the sky and spreading across the nine heavens with unstoppable force. Wherever it passed, the clouds shattered instantly, leaving the sky above the entire Hidden Dragon Mountain Range completely clear. The blue expanse stretched endlessly, washed clean of all obstruction, while the blazing sun hung high above, casting down its scorching light without restraint.

At the same time, the ground beneath Hidden Dragon City trembled violently, as though the entire region had been struck by a sudden earthquake.

The abrupt disturbance pulled Li Yun out of his cultivation state.

Yet there was no trace of alarm in his expression.

Instead, a long-awaited smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"So it has begun."

"The Hidden Dragon Tournament is finally about to start."