Rin Chen was the only person in the area who didn't realize that the staff had already awakened, and now possessed a weapon spirit…

Though, Ki Ting also didn't know, but the nature of the bet gave her such suspicions;

"You don't learn quickly Rin Chen…" Xiao Gui lectured;

"We have just been slapped in the face by the first bet, and you thought this one would be any easier?"

Xiao Gui couldn't help but laugh all through his lecture…

Ki Ting got to the staff and walked around it just like Min Hong had...

She was aware that, just because she knew this staff had awaken its weapon spirit doesn't mean she will be able to pull it out of the ground…

"Let's show these 'muscle for brains' what we ladies are made of…"

Ki Ting just whispered to the staff without bothering too much about the matter of the weapon spirit being feminine or not…

Then she pulled;

Jiong!

The spear was yanked straight out of the ground stunning everyone present, including Min Hong…

"~Awh~"

Ki Ting gasped in shock as she kept staring at the staff in her hands which was lighter than the clothes she was actually putting on…

Little Ming was caught right between two emotions; there was one part of her which was scheming against the staff for having her master lose so much spirit stones, but there was also this part of her that actually found such a sly attitude fascinating [Perhaps because they both seem to share the love for mischief]…

She smiled smugly and made a mental note of the staff, whereas, Ki Ting was smiling so hard, her cheeks had almost hung to the sides…

She gazed at Min Hong and gave him the eye [Yeah, you know the one…]

Min Hong simply stared at her with the amusing face that one uses when looking at a clown…

But their celebration was cut short, because the youth who stunk with the scent of a man who was craving for a breakthrough had arrived…

Tong Tian was dressed in a [Goku-like] attire…

Sleeveless and showing the toned muscles on his arm… He walked into the stage and stood in front of Min Hong who finally dropped then tenth spirit fruit he was eating today…

Little Ming took the rest of the fruit and everyone left the stage to the duo…

It is not a common sight to see a person breakthrough; not to talk of in the midst of a duel…

Min Hong also changed into a [Nagato-like] outfit so that he can hide his hand whenever he wants to, should he want to use a technique he doesn't want someone else to see…

Tong Tian stretched his hand forward and his spear heed his call as he swung it and rolled it in his hand like he was swinging a pen…

Min Hong simply stretched his hands to the side, and a golden staff slid out of his oversized sleeves which he grabbed at a certain, calculated length…

Tong Tian gazed towards Min Hong and spoke;

"Don't hold back…"

Min Hong returned the look and replied;

"I have told you I will help you breakthrough, so I don't plan on doing so either…"

"Just let me know when you have reached your threshold of pain…" Min Hong added;

"As long as you don't kill me, every other things is on the plate, as long as I breakthrough…"

Tong Tian replied causing the onlookers to gasp in shock; he sounded desperate for that breakthrough for some reasons…

Min Hong nodded and gave a grin…

He was obviously going to hold back, and the only things he would be holding back would be everything except his body cultivation alone…

No Daos or aura or anything of that sort…

Not even his spirit ring…

Min Hong also craved immense training; and he knew that without his OP Daos and Qi Cultivation, he would be no match for Tong Tian at full strength, and that was just what he wanted…

He didn't need the breakthrough because the technique has ensured his unlimited surge in cultivation stage, as long as he had the required Daos…

But he wanted to sharpen his battle instincts and if possible get all his martial art techniques to the 'One With Dao' level…

He activated his Peak Emperor Stage cultivation as the air around Min Hong exploded, sending a burst of shockwave that blast all dust, sand and debris off the stage…

He sensed the threshold for the Awakening Stage and knew that just a push was needed for him to tap into the power of that realm…

His aura pushed and the Qi in every single fiber of his muscles surged, but they wouldn't break past it, then he made some mysterious hand seals within his sleeves as his aura shot up into another stage…

This stage was neither the awakening stage nor the Emperor Stage; it was something Little Fei just discovered which he termed as the 'Bridge'…

It was like another realm with its own unique sets of rules and aura…

Min Hong swapped his hand seals into a more unique and secret hand seals, and his aura shot up another level as he increased his grab on the golden staff, sending bursts of energy into it, causing the staff to begin to wake up with an increasing hum…

Boom!

The staff awakened and send its own burst of energy back Into Min Hong.

This burst of energy was twice the intensity and potency of the one Min Hong had sent into it, as Min Hong's aura doubled, pushing him up into the Saint stage level battle power…

Several deafening roars then reverberated within Min Hong's body, sending a slight shockwave that rippled into the outside world causing Min Hong's outfit to flutter without breeze…

A unique golden dragon [The Dawn Sovereign Dragon Tattoo] then opened its eyes and let out its own roar that drowned that of the others…

It swam within Min Hong and attached itself to his skull from within…

The rest of the dragon tattoos also took their positions within his body, as they attached themselves to these area with a bite…

Then they began to pump their unique aura into these several body parts, making it seem like they were syringes that would be endlessly pumping adrenaline and morphine into his body throughout this fight…

Min Hong instantly felt power coursing through every part of his body as the ancient aura which he used to cultivate erupted;

Zoo! Zoo! Zoo!

Wind howled around Min Hong as all these separate individual aura merged together to become one;

The Aura of The Dawn Sovereign!

Boom!

Instantly an illusory shadow of an Emperor came into being behind Min Hong, holding his Imperial Staff in the same gesture as Min Hong...

Min Hong then look towards Tong Tian and spoke;

"This is the first time I am battling with my bloodline, and you will truly have to hold nothing back, because I haven't gotten a grip over its power yet…"

Tong Tian understood Min Hong's message, it was a message with an undisguised information;

'This will hurt!'…

He shut his eyes and with a slight bow which signified that he was searching for something within himself, and instantly, the image of a monkey with its eyes shut appeared behind him…

He snapped his eye open and the monkey followed suit with a loud growl of an angry savage ape…

The muscles on the slender monkey then began to bulge as it increased in size;

"What he had managed to merge the aura of his weapon spirit with that of his bloodline!"

Gong Yi blurted in shock whilst the rest of his group saw their faces turn grimly solemn…

They don't understand what Gong Yi's statement meant, but they know that once Gong Yi acts this way in front of something, it is because that thing has to be otherworldly, because nothing really cause Gong Yi to behave in such manner, so whatever he was so psyched about has to be something that the rest of the group cannot do…

Min Hong was also taken aback by Tong Tian's current feta, as he instantly made a mental note to do that when he battles with Little Lin…

Tong Tian's aura and power also shot into the Saint Stage battle power level, with the two of them being equal in strength and power, it was now left to whoever had the best martial arts techniques, battle experience and strongest endurance…

Boom!

The duo erupted with so much and speed, all the onlookers had to activate their cultivation bases to keep up with ongoing battle…

Bang! Clang!

Dang! Chang!

One metal rod slammed into another with so much force, shockwaves were blasting out from their point of contact into the surrounding causing the onlookers to surround themselves with several force field made out of their aura…

The sound of the battle attracted several people, like; Kun siblings, Mu siblings, Xiao Chun, Ma Dong and Dai He…

When they got to the stage area, Mu Bai actually had to scream into Mu Li's ears, because the noise the duel was causing was ear-blasting…

Mu Li nodded his head, before flinging three Mid-Grade spirit stones which slotted themselves into a pocket at the bade of the stage, as several runes began to light up one by one, until a barrier started to spread out from the base of the stage, until it was covered in some sort of barrier bubble…

Just in that moment that the barrier completely formed, Tong Tian slammed into it and slid down before his staff floated over to hover around him in circles…

The onlookers saw Min Hong with a holding the golden staff over his shoulders as he walked over to Tong Tian and asked;

"Are you okay?"…

"Again!"

Tong Tian blurted before pouncing at Min Hong once again…

Min Hong smiled and grabbed Little Bing with both arms as he took a defensive stance against the incoming Tong Tian…

Boom!

Grunt!

Min Hong grunted as he felt all his bones and joint vibrate from the impact of the strike…