From this, one could see just how difficult it was to obtain the greatest blessing.
“Next, we’ll see who will be able to endure till the end…”
…
Time continued to flow, and two incense sticks of time quickly passed.
By this time, the original three dozen or so had already been cut substantially. Those in the rear were constantly washed away by the flood and sent out of the Saint tower, leaving only a handful behind.
In fact, even the first group of apex level geniuses were no longer as calm as they had been in the beginning, their bodies no longer as stable.
AAHHH!
A miserable shriek suddenly sounded from behind. Xiao Tianxuan and Gu Ling were no longer able to hold on, both blown off their feet by a green wave.
Amidst their unresigned cries, the two were beaten black and blue before ultimately being flung out of the tower.
At this point, besides the first group of apex level geniuses, every other genius that had entered the tower had been wiped out.
This cruel scene caused the countless geniuses inside the Saint Remains Domain to shiver inside and feel a little fortunate that they had not qualified to enter the tower. The end result for those like them would likely not be pretty.
On the stone steps...
The apex level geniuses remaining were still gritting their teeth as they persisted. However, things were not looking optimistic, the surging Genesis Qi around them no longer as resplendent and robust as in the beginning.
Luluo could not help but curse with a slightly pale little face, “Where the heck is the end to these blasted stairs!”
On her shoulder, Little Frost was also looking a little listless, a sign that it was overworked.
Though the others remained silent, they were clearly also cursing at the absurdness of these steps in their hearts.
“Eh?”
While everyone was inwardly cursing however, their eyes suddenly widened slightly as they lifted their heads and looked up. Some distance to their front, a wide stone platform floated next to the stairs.
“What is that? Could we have reached the end?” Everyone was uncertain.
They carried their bewilderment as they gradually approached the stone platform floating next to the steps. Their gazes swept over, only to find a stone tablet at the center of the platform on which several ancient glowing words were carved.
“It seems to be a Genesis technique?” A rough look was all that was needed for them to vaguely identify it.
“There are words at the top of the tablet!”
Zhou Yuan and the rest looked towards the top of the tablet. Sure enough, they saw a line of ancient words.
“The Saint stairs have nine platforms. Those that enter may receive treasures, but they will not be allowed to leave.”
Everyone read the texts as a thoughtful look was revealed in their eyes.
“Which is to say there are a total of nine of these stone platforms? This should be the first one… entering means getting a treasure, but not allowed to leave would mean that we will not be able to re enter the Saint steps?”
Zhou Yuan’s gaze flickered, slightly comprehending the meaning behind those words. This was likely a reward of sorts for those who managed to endure till this point.
However, it was also obvious that the stone platforms that appeared later on would have better prizes.
All the apex level geniuses were smart individuals, and soon realised this point. Hence, they gritted their teeth, choosing to continue trudging forward instead of entering the stone platforms.
These people were prideful individuals. How could they possibly allow themselves to stop here!
Therefore, the advance continued.
Rumble!
Under the unyielding efforts of the apex level geniuses, they saw another three platforms in succession after half an incense stick of time. However, they merely hesitated briefly, before unanimously choosing not to enter.
All of them wanted to endure just a little longer so that the blessing they eventually obtained would be even better.
Time passed as everyone's footsteps grew heavier than ever. Their pace had slowed to a crawl as if there was a heavy mountain on each of their backs.
The fifth stone platform finally appeared.
The Dongxuan Continent genius, Zhu Ying, was pretty pale. Sweat drenched her body, the feeling almost gone from her legs. Her gaze flickered indeterminately as she stared at the fifth stone platform.
In the end, she helplessly sighed, knowing that she had reached her limit. Continuing would only result in being washed away. When that happened, she would be ejected empty handed.
Therefore, she grunted softly as her figure leaped upwards and landed on the stone platform.
She obviously did not plan on persisting, changing her focus instead to obtaining the blessing on this stone platform.
"Humph, I've been watching you for a long time. Let us properly settle our grudge from last time!" The moment Zhu Ying landed on the fifth platform, Luluo icily snorted and also left the stone steps, landing on the same stone platform.
It was not a rash decision made purely out of anger. She too understood her current condition. If she continued, it was very likely that she would not be able to endure till the fourth stone platform.
As such, she had to contest for the fifth platform.
"You!" Zhu Ying's gaze turned frosty when she saw Luluo also land on the same platform and sneered. "Since you wish for death, I will fulfil your wish!"
Their actions immediately caused an uproar in the Saint Remains Domain, countless gazes beginning to light up with excitement.
"They're going to fight!"
"Go Little County Lord, beat up that woman. The Saint Remains Domain blessings belong to our Cangmang Continent. We cannot allow those Dongxuan people even a single one!"
Voices rose and fell in the Saint Remains Domain. Practically everyone was supporting Luluo against the outsider.
On the stone steps, Zhou Yuan and the rest paused for a moment, but soon began their climb again.
"Be careful Luluo." Zhou Yuan cautioned.
Luluo waved a small hand. "Relax, I will no longer give the same chance from the previous time."
There was nothing more for Zhou Yuan to say. He continued advancing, gradually leaving the fifth stone platform behind.
His gaze gradually sharpened. He had a feeling that the most intense phase was about to begin…
Chapter 185 Dragon Breath
An endless torrent rushed down the long stone steps. There were now only ten figures on it...
Every one of them was an apex level genius. It was only because of their strong solid foundations that enabled them to last till now.
On the fifth stone platform, Luluo and Zhu Ying had chosen to enter and vie for its blessing, while everyone continued to push forward with all their strength.
However, anyone could see that even these apex level geniuses were beginning to tire, their footsteps growing heavier and slower.
“From the looks of it, someone will stay behind on every subsequent platform.”
Outside the Saint Remains Domain. The numerous gazes that saw this scene understood that the climax was imminent. Every subsequent platform would be occupied, and likely by more than one individual.
In other words, bitter battle after battle for the blessings on the stone platforms were soon to erupt.
“The Dongxuan rats dare to secretly sneak into our Cangmang Continent and steal our blessings. How hateful!” The various faction representatives outside the Saint Remains Domain were outraged upon realising the identities of Ye Ming and gang.
They looked towards the six envoys in the sky, but realised that they were not going to say anything. Hence, the representatives could only helplessly cease their curses since there was no way they could throw Ye Ming and gang out of the Saint Remains Domain at this time.
“If those Dongxuan people are smart enough, they will
allocate one person to each of the subsequent stone platforms such as to prevent a scenario of fighting amongst themselves.” Some of the more intelligent individuals were able to clearly understand the current situation.
“When that happens, the battle for the blessings would become a contest between our Cangmang Continent and the Dongxuan Continent.”
There were numerous continents within Cangxuan Heaven, including the Cangmang and Dongxuan Continents. If these Dongxuan geniuses managed to travel all the way to the Cangmang Continent and snatch away the blessings here, the Cangmang Continent would definitely be humiliated. Others would surely say that there were no capable people in the Cangmang Continent.
Matters that affected everyone’s face were not to be brushed off.
After all, no one wanted to be seen as useless when meeting those from other continents.
“I hope that the remaining apex level geniuses will be able to stop those Dongxuan geniuses, and secure the blessings for our Cangmang Continent…”
...
Under the attention of countless gazes, the sixth stone platform finally made its appearance.
Ye Ming’s narrowed slightly as he gazed at the floating stone platform nearby. After a brief silence, he made a hand gesture towards the remaining Dongxuan members behind him.
Including Ye Ming, there were still four geniuses remaining from the Dongxuan Continent.
When they saw Ye Ming’s hand gesture, they understood his intentions.
He wanted them to give their all for the following few blessings on the stone platforms.
The youth called Jiang Quan spit onto the ground. Soon after, his toes powerfully pushed off, blue Genesis Qi akin to flowing water under his feet, sending him towards the sixth stone platform.
He clearly no longer planned on advancing, choosing instead to take the blessing on the sixth stone platform.
Zhou Yuan and the rest naturally saw this. In that split second, with the exception of the seemingly uncaring Wu Huang, the rest of the geniuses exchanged a look.
“Allow me to go for this sixth stone platform.” A rather gloomy and raspy voice sounded. The one who had spoken was Zhen Xu.
The others were silent for a moment, before they nodded.
“I hope that the rest of you will work harder and don’t let the Dongxuan people take away the blessings. Or others will laugh at our Cangmang Continent’s younger generation and say all of us are trash.”
After finishing, Zhen Xu’s toes pushed off the ground, his figure dashing into the flood before landing on the sixth stone platform.
“Spineless rat, you didn’t even have the courage to take me on alone previously. Who will help you this time?” Zhen Xu’s frosty gaze was cast towards Jiang Quan as a cold ruthless look flashed in his eyes.
In their previous fight, Jiang Quan’s companions had been nearby watching in secret. As a result, Zhen Xu did not dare to use his full power, allowing Jiang Quan to take advantage. Zhen Xu had been waiting for payback for a long time.
...
Not long after the appearance of the sixth stone platform, the seventh also emerged.
This time, Zuoqiu Qingyu took the initiative. Green light flashed as she landed on the platform before looking towards the last three Dongxuan geniuses. “Who intends to challenge me for this blessing?!”
Ye Ming’s expression was indifferent as he looked towards the muscular metal tower like youth. The latter’s body seemed as if it had been forged from metal, and gave off an aura of brutalness.
“Qin Tong, you’re up.”
The metal body youth nodded. His foot slammed into the ground, sending him soaring in the air. He landed on the seventh stone platform and looked towards Zuoqiu Qingyu with a savage smile. “What a bewitching little beauty. All of the women I’ve toyed with over the years ended up dying pretty quickly. Will you be able to hold up?”
Disgust flitted across Zuoqiu Qingyu’s eyes, but the smile on her enchanting face only grew increasingly sweeter.
“Won’t you know once you try? You big clumsy bull.”
...
The flood continued to surge downwards.
However, the countless watching gazes had become rather tense at this moment as they stared at the last six figures on the stone steps.
“I wonder who will be entering the eighth platform?”
“It will likely be Zhou Yuan. It’s already unimaginable for him to have lasted so long. He should likely be at his limit, right?”
“Who amongst the rest is not the cream of the crop even amongst the apex level geniuses. Wu Huang, Lu Chunjun, Ning Zhan… all of them should last longer than Zhou Yuan.”
“......”
Countless whispers rang out.
High up in the sky above the Saint Remains Domain, Mu Wuji frowned a little as he stared at Zhou Yuan’s figure. The latter’s Genesis Qi did indeed appear the weakest amongst the remaining six.
“Zhou Yuan is after all only a Heaven Gate stage practitioner. Although his high grade Qi Dwelling had given him more Genesis Qi than ordinary Alpha-Origin experts, the remaining few were truly top tier even amongst the best of them. They were likewise very talented and the grade of the Qi Dwelling was definitely nowhere near the low side.
“Compared to them, Zhou Yuan is at a disadvantage.” Mu Wuji sighed in his heart. He knew that the green flood was a test of the amount and recovery rate of one’s Genesis Qi.
For the mere Heaven Gate stage Zhou Yuan, this was clearly unfavorable.
“It’s not easy for him to reach this stage.” Mu Wuji knew that Zhou Yuan was not to blame. However, at this rate, Zhou Yuan would soon lose the right to continue.
This was something Mu Wuji felt was extremely regretful.
...
Zhou Yuan was naturally unaware of the discussions in the outside world, but he understood his current condition. The Genesis Qi around him had grown much weaker. After all, the consumption along the way here had been far too great.
In fact, his Genesis Qi recovery was sometimes unable to keep up despite him using the Dragon Breath technique.
However, determination still filled Zhou Yuan’s eyes as he focused every fibre of his being. It was as if the only thing in his eyes was the green flood.
He was not willing to give up so easily here.
A roar seemed to echo in his heart.
The world turned silent at this moment, his rapid breathing the only sound echoing in his head...
*Inhale*! *Exhale*!
In this split second moment, his breathing became even more drawn out.
Unbeknownst to even himself, there was now an extremely faint roar of a dragon mixed in with his breathing.
The Genesis Qi around Zhou Yuan rippled slightly, before endlessly flowing towards his nose, transforming into strands of white that rushed in through his nostrils.
“This is?!”
Zhou Yuan finally detected something as his heart began to tremble.
He had realised that every breath he took contained the power of a dragon’s breath that could endlessly suck in Genesis Qi from the surroundings.
Zhou Yuan mumbled to himself in shock, “My proficiency in the Dragon Breath technique… seems to have grown!”
At the very beginning, Zhou Yuan needed to perform an entire set of frolicking dragon forms in order to use a single breath of the Dragon Breath technique. As his mastery grew, he no longer required the frolicking dragon forms, and could activate Dragon Breath through the movement of his bones, a more convenient and faster method compared to before.
However, the true advance level of the Dragon Breath technique was to perfectly harmonize with one’s breathing, allowing every breath to transform into a dragon’s breath that could effortlessly take in Genesis Qi.
In the past, Zhou Yuan had been unable to achieve this feat, but he had now finally came into contact with it due to the pressure from the green flood!
Although he had yet to achieve perfection, the effectiveness of the tech
nique was already several times greater than before!
*Breathe*!
Zhou Yuan continued to breathe as the surrounding Genesis Qi endlessly surged over, transforming into a white mist that was rapidly sucked in by him. As this process continued, his originally somewhat feeble Genesis Qi slowly began to brighten and grow robust again.
Swish!
His speed abruptly increased, step after step flying past under his feet. In a single leap, his position rose from the last amongst the six to stand shoulder to shoulder with Wu Huang, Ye Ming, Li Chunjun and the rest!
These changes were immediately discovered by the rest of them, causing them to be startled. They had originally believed that Zhou Yuan would be the next to yield. Who could have imagined that such a change would suddenly occur?
A dark look flitted across Wu Huang’s face, the killing intent in his eyes growing thicker and thicker.
He could feel that Zhou Yuan was becoming more and more of a threat...
Chapter 186 Green Wave Obstructs the Sacred Path
The instant Zhou Yuan came to stand side by side with those at the very front, wave after wave of noise exploded outside the Saint Remains Domain, the expressions of countless people changing slightly.
They were unable to comprehend how the clearly nearly spent Zhou Yuan had suddenly become so lively and energetic. He had not fallen behind even further, but had instead rose to be on the same level as Wu Huang and the rest.
One must know that at the end of the day, Zhou Yuan was still only a Heaven Gate stage expert, while Wu Huang and the rest had were bona fide Alpha-Origin practitioners!
The gap between these two levels was not small.
And yet, Zhou Yuan had still managed to catch up. How could anyone not be surprised?
Outside the Saint Remains Domain, Mu Wuji was somewhat astonished when he saw this scene and mumbled to himself, “This kid seems to have mastered some kind of high level Qi drawing method.”
His sharp eyes had seen through Zhou Yuan in a single glance. Zhou Yuan’s Genesis Qi was being rapidly replenished. Such speed could only be attributed to a high class Qi drawing method.
“But at least he has managed to push on…”
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 103
