As this cold voice echoed, the four dragon pillars standing around the Hidden Dragon Square suddenly burst forth with brilliant golden light!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!"
Then, dazzling beams of light suddenly shot out from the dragon pillars, converging at the center of the square.
Before long, these beams of light fused together, forming a grand golden gate!
This is the Dragon Gate!
Just like how a carp must leap over the dragon gate to become a true dragon.
To participate in the Hidden Dragon Conference, one must first pass through the Dragon Gate.
The Dragon Gate itself is not particularly special; its function is to test if the bone age of the one entering exceeds sixty years old, and if so, they will be expelled from the Hidden Dragon Square!
After passing through the Dragon Gate's test, the trial-goers then have the qualification to absorb the Dragon Vein Qi that has been accumulating here for hundreds of years to form their own Dragon Vein Physique!
And finally, they compete to devour Dragon Qi, giving birth to one True Dragon and ten Flood Dragons!
"Roar!"
As the Dragon Gate materialized!
With a thunderous dragon roar, a majestic golden dragon, a hundred feet long, descended mightily from the rolling purple qi in the sky and coiled around the Hidden Dragon Square!
This is the Kunlun Ruins Dragon Vein that has been lurking in the Dayan Dynasty for over a hundred years, ever since the current Son of Heaven of the Dayan Dynasty claimed the True Dragon's position in the previous conference!
Today, with the reopening of the Hidden Dragon Conference, it too has awakened from its slumber, ready to once again bless a new generation of unparalleled Heaven's Pride!
"The Dragon Gate is open, let's move!"
The many Heaven's Pride within the Hidden Dragon Square saw the Dragon Gate forming, their expressions varied, and those in a hurry immediately rushed toward the Dragon Gate!
Mu Jinyu noticed that Ye Wushuang's expression became somewhat stiff at that moment, his eyes carrying a trace of nervousness.
At this time, Ye Wushuang was indeed very anxious; how could he not be?
After all, he was already over a hundred years old and, according to the rules, fundamentally unqualified to participate in the Hidden Dragon Conference.
But with the help of Li Zhexiong, he regained his youth, greatly advanced his cultivation, and this gave him the confidence to join the conference.
However, now that the Dragon Gate appeared, his fragile confidence shattered instantly.
He was again afraid that, at this critical moment, he might be found out during the Dragon Gate test and disqualified due to his bone age, ultimately driven out of the Hidden Dragon Square.
That would be utterly humiliating!
How could he not be nervous about this?
In contrast to Ye Wushuang's tension, his companion Li Zhexiong seemed very calm.
Or rather, it wasn't calm but that he was lost in a daze, mumbling something indistinct under his breath.
"This madman."
Mu Jinyu cursed silently in his heart, wary of this fellow Li Zhexiong.
He never gave Ye Wushuang much consideration, but Li Zhexiong was different; from the first meeting, he felt this madman was terrifying!
Later, learning about Li Zhexiong's reputation from Wu Zhiming and others, he became even more cautious.
"Buzz!"
By now, the first person had passed through the Dragon Gate, causing the golden gate to tremble slightly.
Moments later, the cold voice suddenly resounded throughout the Hidden Dragon Square!
"Bone age fifty-six, qualified!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Jinyu turned to look at the first person who passed through the gate, whose cultivation was at the Third Layer of the Fanxu Realm.
A fifty-six-year-old at the Third Layer of the Fanxu Realm, in a small place like the Yan Kingdom, is quite impressive.
But among the various Heaven's Pride and monsters present, they seemed quite insignificant.
Naturally, the pass-holder's expression was not one of pride after passing the Dragon Gate's test but rather held a trace of awkwardness.
He probably didn't expect that after the Dragon Gate, his bone age would be announced!
He had just told newly made friends that he was only forty-six!
This revelation was extremely embarrassing.
With this announcement, those who originally prepared to be the second to pass through the Dragon Gate hesitated.
Evidently, they too did not realize the Dragon Gate would reveal this, and like that person, they also exaggerated their bone age when bragging!
However, no matter the embarrassment and awkwardness, it was impossible for them to give up participating in the Hidden Dragon Conference.
Eventually, after a brief moment of awkwardness, they successively went through the Dragon Gate.
Subsequently, bouts of teasing resounded in the Hidden Dragon Square.
"Ha-ha, Brother Li, didn't you say you were only thirty? How come you're forty-one?"
"Ha-ha, a man is a flower at forty-one; actually, I believe I'm only eighteen!"
"You are truly shameless!"
"Likewise, likewise!"
As everyone teased each other, the embarrassment of fibbing about their ages gradually dissipated.
After all, if only one person fibbed about their bone age, they would surely be despised and scorned by all.
But since most people fibbed, they all laughed it off together, feeling less awkward.
At this point, another person nervously passed through the Dragon Gate.
Soon after, the Dragon Gate swayed lightly a few times!
Suddenly, a golden dragon qi appeared, whipping at the person like a lash, instantly sending them flying out of the Hidden Dragon Square!
"Bone age sixty, unqualified!"
The cold voice echoed once again through the Hidden Dragon Square, informing everyone why the person was expelled.
Yet some were puzzled and wondered, "That's strange, wasn't there just someone who was sixty too? He wasn't expelled, so why was this one?"
"Could it be the artifact spirit of this Heaven-reaching spiritual treasure malfunctioned?"
The crowd speculated, feeling some sympathy for the expelled person.
At this, Ji Changxin opened his mouth to explain, "The artifact spirit would not malfunction. Normally, testers with a bone age of sixty can pass the Dragon Gate's examination, but the reason this person was expelled is most likely because he was over sixty but not yet sixty-one!"
"So this is also unqualified!"
Upon hearing Ji Changxin's explanation, the crowd was dumbfounded.
"Wow, that's so strict. I remember that person mentioned he just had his birthday yesterday!"
"So, does it mean he's sixty years and one day old, and that's also unqualified?"
Listening to these speeches, Ye Wushuang standing aside became even more tense.
Damn, they were only one day over sixty, yet that also counted as unqualified, and they were expelled.
Can he even pass the Dragon Gate's inspection with this?
He turned to glance at Li Zhexiong beside him, but seeing him still with a vacant look, he was left with no alternative.
"Buzz!"
Then, seeing those in the Fourth and Fifth Layers of the Fanxu Realm had all passed the Dragon Gate test, and with the surrounding Heaven's Pride still observing, Gu Rulong chuckled and confidently strode towards the Dragon Gate!
Soon, he passed through the Dragon Gate.
Then, the cold voice announced again.
"Bone age forty-seven, excellent!"
Hearing this announcement, some found it odd and said, "Huh, why was someone with a bone age of forty-seven just qualified?"
Others rolled their eyes, reminding them, "Oh my, don't you think about it, what was the cultivation of the previous forty-seven-year-old, and what is Gu Rulong's cultivation!"
"At forty-seven, with Gu Rulong's cultivation at the Seventh Layer of the Fanxu Realm, if that's not excellent, who else deserves the excellent rating?"