Ruben didn't dare to tease Gracie or he was not in the mood anymore, because he knows what was going to happen after seeing her result just now. He takes a deep breath and with a gloomy expression begins to walk on the stage.
Ezekiel saw Ruben coming and was about to greet him like Gracie but stop in his tracks because he noticed Ruben's stiff mug and only said politely, "Young Master, please."
Ruben forcefully calm his wavering emotions and placed his trembling hands on the crystal and pour the Qi.
The Cultivation Measuring Crystal begins to change and A Brightest Yellow Color Door is formed.
'Sssi'
When Ezekiel saw this, he sucks a breath of cold air. Now, he understands why Ruben's face was like charcoal and didn't want to say it. But alas, he has to, "1st Gate of Qi Gates, High!"
The crowd clamored after hears this, especially Grant's family juniors and elders alike.
They exclaim because this was the first time that ranking has changed from the start of the meeting. And the change was also happed in second and third position!
"Didn't they say Ruben was more talented than Gracie why he was weaker than her?" Asked someone in crowed in low voice.
"He was winning the second rank for last two meetings but it seems he hit a bottleneck in his cultivation this year." Answer someone knowledgeable.
All the crowd was bursting with the same kind of discussion.
On the stage, an elder was sitting behind the seats of Rylan and Caden. He was currently clenching the chair arms tightly, they were some cracks on them; it seems he was quite angry.
He was Ruben's father and 3rd ranked elder of the Grant family Milok Grant.
Milok's rank was only below Caden and Ruben was his pride and joy. Since Ruben even manages to win Felix's friendship and that's how Rylan's attention as well. Milok was quite satisfied with all his son's achievements.
Milok's relationship with Caden was always sour. That's why he encourages his son to suppress Gracie and make crakes between Felix and Gracie's relationship, and Caden could do nothing to him openly because of Felix and Rylan.
However, now Ruben has lost his second position to Gracie.
That's why Milok was in an extremely sullen mood because he always eyeing Caden's position and now he has no choice but changes his plans.
Milok was mulling, when a sneering voice enters his ears from the front, "Third Elder my condolence."
It was obviously Caden, who was looking back at Milok with a wicked smile on his face.
Milok long beard quiver a litter and nearly vomit blood in anger. 'This Bastard!' He cursed in his heart.
Milok was after all an old fox and forcibly controls his anger and said with a force yet ugly smile, "Master Caden I'm very happy about little Gracie's performance and she finally defeats that arrogant brat this will teach him a lesson."
Those other guests sitting around them didn't dare to say anything, they didn't want to offend either of them.
Caden laughs heartily when he saw Milok ugly face and didn't press the matter anymore. He knew this sly old fox and his ways very well. If Milok saw the situation is against him, he would even call a donkey his father just to get out of it.
Gracie saw Ruben was coming back with an ashen face and felt her mood becoming quite good. How could it not be? This guy always teased her and didn't show her respect at all. Yet, this time she beat him fair and square. She had a lucky breakthrough this year, that's how she managed to open the second gate.
Even if Ruben challenged her, she would defeat him with ease, she was a stage higher than him after all.
"New 'Number Three' brother will you challenge me?" How could Gracie let this chance slip by to humiliate Ruben this easy?
Everyone becomes silent after she asked Ruben and their focus was shifted on Ruben.
Even Felix who didn't show any emotion was looking at this scene with amusement.
Ruben becomes pale as a ghost, with all this attention on him. He really wanted to challenge Gracie but before exiting the stage, he saw his father's special signal. Milok was clearly telling him to stand down.
Milok knows that odds were not in his favor if Ruben challenge Gracie, he would lose even more miserably. That's why he signals Ruben to not challenge her.
"H.ha.haha." Ruben laugh dryly and said with a forced ugly smile, "How can I challenge little sister Gracie? Since we are family, we shouldn't fight with each other."
He was grinding his teeth in anger. If not for his father he would've challenged her already, so could only sit silently like a beaten dog.
The crowd was very disappointed they thought that it would be very amusing to watch the fight between two top juniors of Grant's family. But Ruben chickens out in the end.
Gracie was also speechless by Ruben's shamelessness and wanted to beat him up, but it was not the place for it. Now that she was stronger than him, she would not let him live in peace and take her sweet time avenging the grievance of years.
"Oh, thank you 'number three brother'." She ignored him again.
Ruben becomes more enraged when he hears 'No.3'. But alas he can do nothing now just like Gracie all those years ago. He knows his life was going to be miserable from now on.
Ace curiously saw all this from behind Gracie. This was his first time seeing this kind of situation.
Ace clearly saw how Ruben was behaving arrogantly in front of Gracie just a few moments ago when he thought he was stronger than her. But now, when Ruben discovered he can't beat her; he immediately begins behaving submissively.
'This is what it means to be strong and powerful.' He thought and couldn't help but be awed by this cultivation world and most importantly Human Nature.
Ezekiel only laments after seeing all this and again speaks loudly. "Now that we know Young Master Ruben didn't want to challenge Young Miss Gracie. We can move towards our final contestant of this meeting." He was just about to call Felix regally when he felt a powerful pressure.
Ezekiel was alarmed and thought it was an enemy attack but he simply can't move. However, the pressure vanished the next moment, and drench with cold sweat Ezekiel turn around when he saw Rylan has finally opened his eyes and looking at him expressionlessly. He quickly escapes the stage because he knew what Rylan was going to do.
Everyone becomes puzzled when Ezekiel escaped like a mouse who just saw a cat. But the next moment, no one dares to speak because of Rylan standing up.
When everyone saw this, those who were sitting immediately stand as well. No one wants to displease Rylan.
Rylan didn't glance at anyone and slowly walk on the grand stage.
Rylan's eyes suddenly locked in the participant's area. He was expressionlessly looking at Felix.
Felix saw Rylan's and smiled for the first time, seeing his father was looking at him. He knew his father would evaluate his children on their last competition by himself. This is how Rylan shows affection.
"Come!" Rylan's thunderous voice resounded in the venue.
No one dares to make a sound because they knew Rylan was calling for Felix and didn't want to die by ruining this moment for father and son.
Felix smiled broadly as he walks towards the stage. He was truly happy because his father didn't forget this was his last competition. His mother was dead and his big sister was already married. Even his elder brother who he admires the most has gone with his nephew somewhere.
Everyone's focus was on Felix and Rylan except for one person and that was Ace!
The stage was only ten meters away from the participants' area and Gracie was in the very front and the moment Rylan walk in the center of the grand stage he came into Ace's soul sense range.
The moment it happened, the system voice buzzed in Ace's head, and a black panel appears. He was bewildered by it because,
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"[System detects a Storage Space treasure!]
[Did you want to mark it by using 2 TP?]"
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Ace was baffled by this and transmitted in mind confusingly, "System what is this Storage Space treasure?" Even this name was unique to him.
"[1 TP Required for the answer.]"
Since he has earned quite some TP recently, he said without care, "Take it." His 54 TP become 53 and the system's voice sounded again,
"[Storage Space treasures are used for storing non-living things like weapons, currency, pills, and other treasures. Simply put, it is like having a secret space fused within a finger ring, you can store the whole mountain inside that little ring if you have large enough space. Some storage space treasures can also store Living-things inside them like humans, living beasts, living medicine herbs, and other things alike. It is like a portable treasury. To form a storing space inside a treasure you need to be a Rune Crafters.]
[The system only detected a ring of the lowest level; it is not even stable. It was clearly made by a novice Rune Crafter and will be destroyed after 5000 years.]"
Ace heard system explanations on these storage space treasures and become astounded. He didn't even imagine that there was something this legendary even exist in this world.
'If I can have this storage space treasure, didn't this means I don't have to carry this bag around and I can also put these stolen goods and my weapons inside the ring. It is really like a portable treasury. But how can this kind of treasure appear here and who has it?'
"System marked that treasure!" Ace really wanted this storage space treasure. Because with it he can do missions or thieveries with ease.
As he transmitted his voice the TP becomes 51.
He saw a black little panel appearing on someone's hands. It was a blue ring on the finger of a man's left hand.
But when Ace saw who the owner of this ring was his complex turn ashen because it was non-other than Rylan Grant!