The Rise of a Master It Starts With Rejection novel Chapter 1011

Felix remained silent. Kendrick was acting even more arrogant than before, but he had to admit he was right.

With the Grand Elder and Dean, both major mastery-level Transcendent Realm martial artists, there was no way Felix could win—even if he activated Lone Paragon. Facing just one of them was already impossible, let alone both.

A month ago, Felix had fought a sparring match against Dickson in North City. During that battle, he had pushed his abilities to the limit.

The conclusion was clear. With Lone Paragon activated, Felix could hold his own against someone at the late stage of Transcendent Realm and even defeat weaker late-stage opponents. However, against someone like Dickson, the best he could manage was a draw.

This level of achievement was enough to shock most martial artists. The gap between minor stages in Transcendent Realm was massive.

Early-stage warriors rarely, if ever, stood a chance against those in the middle stage, and late-stage battles were practically unheard of—except for Felix, whose Dragons Destroyer technique combined with Lone Paragon made him an exceptional outlier.

"Any last words?" the Grand Elder asked, a cold smile spreading across his face. Years of meticulous planning were finally coming to fruition.

The Grand Elder had sacrificed a lot to get here. He had infiltrated the Elders' Council, defied the Protector, and nearly lost his life in the process.

After being gravely injured in a confrontation with the Protector, he had taken refuge with the Brennan family in Westville, secretly using his alchemical skills to help them rise to power while slowly recovering.

Even after more than a month, he had yet to fully heal—proof of the Protector's overwhelming strength. Felix did not know it yet, but the Grand Elder was also a master healer.

Regardless, none of that mattered now. The time for schemes was over. This was going to be a life-or-death battle.