This was a monk, and this monk's beard was extraordinarily long — a full three meters, even longer than his own height. Yet the beard did not touch the ground; instead, it floated in midair as though stirred by an invisible wind.
Moreover, if one looked closely, streaks of starlight flickered around his entire body, as though ten thousand stars were revolving around him.
Anyone with even a shred of knowledge knew that this monk was no ordinary figure. He was a major figure throughout the entire Ancestral Martial Star Domain.
He had a nickname — the Starlight Holy Monk.
The Starlight Holy Monk was one of the most powerful Spirit World Masters within the Ancestral Martial Star Domain.
Furthermore, he had sparred with many others in barrier techniques and had never suffered a defeat. Apart from Master Liangqiu, there seemed to be no one who could rival him.
Thus, some believed that the Starlight Holy Monk was the most powerful Spirit World Master in the Ancestral Martial Star Domain, second only to Master Liangqiu.
When it came solely to barrier techniques, he ranked second within the Ancestral Martial Star Domain.
But the Starlight Holy Monk's strength was by no means limited to the ways of Spirit World mastery alone.
As a cultivator, his cultivation was also formidable — at the very least, it surpassed that of everyone present. Even the Supreme Elders of the Chu Heavenly Clan, including Chu Hanpeng, were far beneath him.
With such an esteemed guest in attendance, he was naturally seated in the seat of honor.
At this moment, on the table before the Starlight Holy Monk, there sat a stone box.
The stone box appeared ordinary, yet no one could see through it. Inside it lay a gift.
It was a gift brought by the Starlight Holy Monk — one that would belong to the final victor of this Genius Gathering.
However, despite so many important figures being present, the crowd's attention was not focused on the main viewing platform. Every pair of eyes was fixed on the dueling stage.
On that dueling stage stood two people.
One was Chu Zhiyuan, and the other was Chu Qing.
Chu Qing had long since passed the age of the younger generation. He should not have been on this dueling stage.
The reason he was here now was that Chu Zhiyuan had issued him a challenge.
After defeating every junior who had come to compete in the Genius Gathering, Chu Zhiyuan had turned his challenge toward Chu Qing.
And now, Chu Qing had been defeated. No matter how strong Chu Qing might be, he was only at the peak of True Immortal.
But just moments ago, when Chu Zhiyuan clashed with Chu Qing, the strength he had revealed was that of a Heavenly Immortal. He was now a first-stage Heavenly Immortal.
"Incredible! Chu Zhiyuan is actually a Heavenly Immortal! No wonder he could so easily defeat all the juniors."
"So powerful! Chu Zhiyuan really has been hiding his strength. The Heavenly Immortal realm — a junior has actually stepped into the Heavenly Immortal realm! He is the undisputed number one among the younger generation, the undisputed number one of our Grand Thousand Upper Realm!"
"The title of genius belongs to him alone. Even if that despicable Chu Feng who secretly harmed his own kin were still alive, he would absolutely be no match."
"Chu Feng? Setting aside the fact that he's already dead, even if he were alive, he wouldn't be worthy of fighting Chu Zhiyuan. He couldn't even beat Chu Ruoshi and the others."
"Indeed. Although Chu Feng was truly gifted — a monster-level talent — he was still too young and his cultivation was far too weak. Even if he were alive, he would be no match for Chu Zhiyuan."
"Alas, with a junior like Chu Zhiyuan, our Grand Thousand Upper Realm is sure to rise in the future. Let's see who in the Ancestral Martial Star Domain still dares look down on us."
After witnessing Chu Zhiyuan's cultivation, the entire stands — whether members of the Chu Heavenly Clan or spectators from other factions — were full of nothing but praise for Chu Zhiyuan.
Chu Zhiyuan had been hiding his strength all along, only revealing his true ability once the Genius Gathering began. To everyone, he was the ultimate dark horse.
Having watched him all the way through, Chu Zhiyuan had given the crowd far too many surprises. His standing in their hearts had now reached an irreplaceable level.
Not to mention that, in their eyes, Chu Feng was already dead and had earned nothing but infamy — even if Chu Feng were still alive, he was far inferior to the present Chu Zhiyuan.
"Brother Zhiyuan, congratulations! To think you've actually reached the Hea