Ascent of Hero on the Dragon Throne

"Someone really thinks highly of himself. You only reach grade two of the Mortal Stage, dude! Are you that stupid to think that you are invincible now? Man, you maybe piss your pants when the contest starts." Bear chimed in with Priest Dean.

The other young men began murmuring among themselves and laughing at Rocky.

When Rocky heard Priest Dean and their laughter, he opened his eyes at once and jumped up from his chair, with an imposing air. He shot Priest Dean a taunting glance and asked haughtily, "What if the tables turn against the phoenix spirit manipulators you're tipping to win?"

Everyone looked at Rocky as if he was a lunatic. Nobody took his word seriously and they thought he was making some ridiculous jokes.

"All right! Why don't you join the contest then?" A sharp voice from the rest area interrupted them. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice, where a slender woman was passing, dressed in a cloak. When she took off the cap, her stunning features left everyone in awe.

"General Beauty!" Rocky cried out in surprise. Priest Dean and Mia were surprised as well. They knew well that Marcia was a quirky person who didn't like crowded places and rarely showed up at ceremonies.

"General Marcia! Why didn't you notify us ahead of schedule that you would be attending the function?" Priest Dean changed his poker face and tried to fawn on Marcia.

"How would I have informed you when I didn't know anything about the event? I was only taking a stroll, and it's by pure coincidence that I passed by here," Marcia answered as she looked at Rocky.

"May I inform His Majesty of your presence? Please wait for a second. I will have one of my men prepare a seat for you," Priest Dean said.

"You don't have to do that. I've said I'm just passing by. I'm not staying, so it's not necessary to bother His Majesty," Marcia replied, her brows knitting with firmness. Then pointing at Rocky she said, "He looks arrogant. Let him join the contest. I want to see what makes him so smug!"

Rocky smiled and shook his head. He knew Marcia said that on purpose, but he couldn't figure out the reason why she wanted him to participate.

"General Marcia! Although this is just a minor contes

chances were minimal and their remaining players had to fight tooth and nail to save the day. This was almost their last ray of hope, and they cheered him on as if their lives depended on him. Born into the Holy Dragon nobility, Bear was a Ximen — one of their very best of the best. And true, he didn't let them down, as he handed Holy Dragon their second victory of the day, trouncing the phoenix spirit manipulator who had defeated Flint.

They finally saw the chance now. If Bear took down another one, the score would be five to four. That would be a better way to wrap up the day. However, their expectations fizzled, the moment they saw the next phoenix spirit manipulator in the ring. Although Bear was a talented man, his opponent was a class higher. It was ridiculous to expect another victor for Holy Dragon.

Six to three, Holy Dragon was again exposed, unless something drastic happened. And so they once more rallied all their support for their next man in the ring. Logically, their last player was the strongest. He might have a chance or even turn everything around. However, their jaws dropped when they saw a man, strutting to the ring without his war beast.

It was Rocky, who joined the contest purely on Marcia's insistence.

Just on purpose, Rocky didn't bring Uriah along with him to the ring. That way, no one would know which grade his war beast had reached. What's more, he could easily take down these phoenix spirit manipulator, even without Uriah's help.