On the first sash purple seat below, Lu Yan’s haughty and pretty face was covered in astonishment as she gazed at the Alpha-Origin wall, unable to stop herself from remarking, “This guy does have some ability.”
A disciple chuckled from the side and said, “I’ve heard that Zhou Yuan has volunteered to be one of the three participants in the upcoming cave match.”
Lu Yan was taken aback by this information. Soon after, her red lips curled downwards as she disdainfully said, “I was just beginning to feel that he was not too bad, how did he suddenly become so rash and ignorant?”
Zhou Yuan’s record of over 6000 breaths was indeed quite a scare, but what did it mean?
It would at most mean that Zhou Yuan’s cultivation progress in the Alpha-Origin stage would be somewhat faster than normal. However, it should be known that there were plenty of treasures that could speed up one’s cultivation progress. Others may not be able to match him in this aspect, but they could make up for it through other means.
As such, the ability to bring back more Alpha-Origin Qi only showed that Zhou Yuan was not the average disciple, but it did not give him qualifications to do as he pleased.
From what Lu Yan could see, Zhou Yuan’s actions were rather foolish.
No matter how much Alpha-Origin Qi you can bring back, you’re still only a second layer Alpha-Origin for now. In comparison, who do you think will be participating in the cave match? The most outstanding gold sash disciples of the two factions of course.
These were elites even amongst the fifth layer Alpha-Origin stage.
Even if Zhou Yuan defeated the fourth layer Alpha-Origin Lu Feng in the peak selection ceremony, even the latter would not have courage to interfere in such fights for the time being.
All of these were the reasons why Lu Yan felt Zhou Yuan’s actions were truly foolish and reckless.
“Agreed.” The disciple nodded in agreement, before he said, “I’ve also heard that numerous senior disciples under elder Shen are quite unhappy about this affair, especially Cao Shi because he’s the one that Zhou Yuan intends to replace.”
“Cao Shi huh. I’ve heard that he’s quite good.” Remarked Lu Yan.
“Due to Zhou Yuan’s insistence, he ended up fixing a match with Cao Shi. They will fight in four days, and the winner will represent elder Shen’s faction during the cave match.”
“I’m of the opinion that there was some dispute with regards to who would ultimately possess the purple Genesis cave dwelling. Even if elder Shen has high hopes of Zhou Yuan, it still drew many objections from the other disciples. As such, Zhou Yuan has no choice but to accept this duel, because according to the rules, only those that have participated will have the right to be allocated the reward.”
Lu Yan said, “Elder Shen’s side already does not have a good chance of victory. With Zhou Yuan as extra baggage, how can they possibly aim for the purple Genesis cave dwelling?”
The disciple chuckled and replied, “Perhaps they’re hoping for a fluke. There’s after all still two other participants. If they manage to win, it would be an overall victory even if Zhou Yuan loses.”
Lu Yan’s brows furrowed as she said, “If that is the case, he’s really too shameless…”
She shook her head, the amazement from earlier due to Zhou Yuan’s record of over 6000 breaths completely fading away...
“Looks like pushing Zhou Yuan to elder Shen is actually a good thing. If not, we’ll be the ones others will be talking about…”
“Never mind, they are the ones who will end up being humiliated. Let them do as they please.”
With these words, she gladly patted her full bosom as it swayed slightly.
On the third day.
It was now Lu Hong’s turn for morning lessons in the Dao Seeker Hall.
Lu Hong merely cast a single glance at the Alpha-Origin wall before withdrawing his gaze, his face as impassive as before. The other disciples also secretly sneaked glances, but did not break out into discussion, evidently already aware of this information.
Below Lu Hong, the young man called Yuan Hong was seated on the purple sash first seat. He had a towering figure that made others feel a faint pressure as if they were facing a mountain.
Lu Hong’s gaze swept downwards as he indifferently said, “Wei Youxuan, Feng Yu, Chen Ying.”
Upon hearing Lu Hong speak, three young men on the three closest gold mats respectfully responded,
“Present.”
Lu Hong said, “The three of you shall participate in the upcoming cave match, are all of you confident?”
At the gold sash disciple first seat, Wei Youxuan, who wore black clothes, chuckled softly and answered, “Teacher Lu need not worry, the gold sash disciples of elder Shen’s faction are nothing to be feared.”
He paused for a moment, before continuing, “As for Zhou Yuan, I’ve heard that he will be contesting Cao Shi for the place of the final participant. We are not familiar with this person.”
“He’s merely a little clown, and there’s no need to pay any attention to him. Since Shen Taiyuan’s group wants to humiliate themselves, we’ll give them as much humiliation as they want.” Said Lu Hong.
Wei Youxuan nodded.
After this matter was settled, Lu Hong turned his gaze towards Yuan Hong, his expression softening slightly as she said, “Yuan Hong, the competition for the chief disciple position will be held at the end of the year. You must not fail.”
Yuan Hong opened his eyes, a sharp light surging within them as if they contained sword light. He gave a faint nod as he said, “Don’t worry teacher Lu, the other two factions only have Zhou Tai and Lu Yan. Although they are strong, they are still not my match. The position of chief disciple will definitely end up in my hands.”
His tone was calm, but it contained an unquestionable confidence.
Lu Hong let out a satisfied chuckled. “That’s good. When you become the chief disciple, you will be qualified to learn the Omega Saint Spirit art, and may even gain the qualifications to vie for one of the ten great Chosens spots in the future.”
At the mention of the ten great Chosens, the light in Yuan Hong’s finally brightened for a moment, as if a fire was burning within them. From what he could see, the position of chief disciple was his to take whenever he chose to, and he did not face much competition. The other two factions were just too useless, and the disciples there too ordinary.
The only ones who just barely made the mark were Lu Yan and Zhou Tai, but neither posed much of a threat towards him.
The reason why he had been willing to follow Lu Hong to Saint Genesis Peak was because he would gain the right to practice one of the seven arts, the Omega Saint Spirit art, once he became the chief disciple of Saint Genesis Peak.
He had only been able to rank third amongst the Sword Cometh Peak disciples. Without mentioning the first ranked Kong Sheng, even the second ranked had an edge over him, and had been able to suppress him from start to end.
Even if Kong Sheng stepped down from his position as one of the ten great Chosens in the future, that ranked second guy would definitely replace the former. But most importantly, peak master Ling Jun greatly valued the latter.
Hence, even if Yuan Hong stayed behind in Sword Cometh Peak, he would never have a chance to practice its ultimate technique.
Yuan Hong’s eyes lowered slightly, unable to accept this outcome.
“When I become the chief disciple of Saint Genesis Peak in the future, master the Omega Saint Spirit art and join the ranks of the ten great Chosens, peak master Ling Jun and the rest if you will understand that I, Yuan Hong, am not weaker than anyone else!”
Chapter 296 Preparations
In the depths of a particular cave dwelling.
Endless pure Genesis Qi flowed out from the eye of a spring, transforming into a faint mist that swirled around the cave.
Zhou Yuan was silently seated on a boulder beside the spring. The roar of a dragon echoed from inside his body as a powerful suction forc
e spread from his nose. One could only watch as the surging Genesis Qi transformed into white smoke that was sucked into Zhou Yuan’s mouth and swallowed into his body.
After doing this several times, the Genesis Qi in the cave became somewhat fainter.
Only then did Zhou Yuan gradually come to a stop. He opened his eyes and looked towards the center of his right palm as he frowned slightly. A lump of heart palpitating scarlet-red sat there like the figure of a slightly sinister dragon.
It was the Dragon’s Resentment Poison.
Ever since Zhou Yuan took back the majority of Wu Huang’s sacred dragon blessing, the Dragon’s Resent Poison in his body had grown stronger. Zhou Yuan could faintly feel that it was more domineering and violent than before.
“The Dragon’s Resentment Poison outbreak occurs once every three years, and the next three year date is fast approaching.” Zhou Yuan sighed deeply. Time had passed by so quickly, and it was now nearly three years since then.
When the previous Dragon’s Resentment Poison outbreak occurred, Zhou Yuan had yet to even unblock his eight meridian channels. In contrast, he was now an Alpha-Origin stage practitioner, an almighty force in the Great Zhou Empire.
Though he had grown, the Dragon’s Resentment Poison in his body was likewise very different from before.
Before it could be fully controlled, it would always be a potential danger.
Zhou Yuan touched his palm as he mumbled to himself, “It seems that I have to think of a way to make the Dragon’s Resentment Poison work for me instead.”
The sacred dragon blessing was contained within the Dragon’s Resent Poison. If Zhou Yuan was unable to make the poison fully submit to him, he would be unable to properly bring out its powers. Thus, if he succeeded in this endeavour, it would give him an extremely lethal trump card.
Zhou Yuan pondered about it for a moment before withdrawing his thoughts. There should still be some time before the Dragon’s Resent Poison outbreak, and the most important matter he had to deal with currently was still the battle with Cao Shi.
Cao Shi was after all a veteran gold sash disciple and a true-blue fifth layer Alpha-Origin practitioner. Such strength was not just a little bit better than Lu Feng.
None of the people that could reach this level would be easy opponents.
However, since Cao Shi had decided to block Zhou Yuan’s way, he had no choice but to step over this stumbling block.
But it must be acknowledged that the other party was an elite amongst the fifth layer Alpha-Origin, someone who boasted overwhelming battle power. Hence, Zhou Yuan know that he could not afford to underestimate this opponent.
While Zhou Yuan was deep in thought, his hands suddenly came together as a ball of light floated out from his palm. Inside was an old book that seemed akin to the rising sun, giving off a scorching aura.
It was the prize Zhou Yuan had received as the champion of the peak selection ceremony, the low grade Heaven Genesis technique, the Heavenly Sun God Record.
Zhou Yuan senses began to probe the ancient book, only opening his eyes a long time later.
“As expected of a true Heaven Genesis technique, it’s going to be extremely complex and troublesome to practice.” Zhou Yuan frowned. The power of the Heavenly Sun God Record was indeed terrifying, far surpassing anything a little Heaven Genesis technique could muster. However, the conditions to learn it were exceedingly strict, likewise far beyond the difficulty of the little Heaven tier.
To learn the Heavenly Sun God Record, one required the assistance of external resources such as the Nine Suns Crystal, the Heavenly Flames Rock Essence and other similar items. All of them were pretty rare, and it would likely take quite some time to gather.
After giving it some thought, Zhou Yuan kept away the book again. His match with Cao Shi was too close, and there was clearly no time to spend on the Heavenly Sun God Record for the time being.
“It’s a pity that the Genesis Marrow Baptism needs two more months of preparation before it will be ready, or I would have been able to reach the next level through it.” Zhou Yuan shook his head regretfully.
The other prize from the peak selection ceremony was the Genesis Marrow Baptism, but since the time was not right, he would not be able to utilise it for now.
While Zhou Yuan was still mulling over the situation, he suddenly heard the sound of faint footsteps approaching. He turned his head, to find Yaoyao gracefully walking over with Tuntun in her arms, while several jade bottles jung from between her slender fingers, giving off clinking sounds with each step.
“I can’t believe that you managed to fall into such trouble after a single morning lesson.” Yaoyao’s red lips parted slightly as she glared at Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan laughed helplessly, before replying with a sigh, “Can’t do anything about it. New disciples have no reputation or influence, so no one is willing to accept me receiving benefits. Since someone has jumped out to offer himself up as an example for the rest, I have no choice but to go along.
This was very normal. A new disciple would surely be bullied by the senior disciples for a period of time. It could be said to be a certain unspoken rule of sorts, but Zhou Yuan really did not have the time to bother with such things.
If he wanted to accept the purple Genesis cave dwelling with a clear conscience, he would have to first ensure all the other disciples had no objections, or it would only bring about more trouble in the future.
To prevent such disputes, the most direct method was to display his strength and force the senior disciples to acknowledge him.
Hence, even if Cao Shi had not provoked Zhou Yuan, he would have looked for some other avenue to display his prowess.
“Your opponent is a fifth layer Alpha-Origin, don’t end up getting beaten instead.” Teased Yaoyao.
Although she spoke in such a manner, she still tossed the five jade bottles towards Zhou Yuan. “These were just delivered by Shen Wanjin.”
Zhou Yuan caught them and opened their caps. The thick, pungent smell of blood immediately dashed out transforming into five beast silhouettes that gave off an aura filled with howling killing intent.
These were obviously five bottles of Genesis Beast essence blood, and appeared to be of pretty high quality, every one likely reaching grade 5.
Joy flashed in Zhou Yuan’s eyes as he could not help but praise, “As expected of the inner mountains, you can even obtain grade 5 dragon type Genesis Beast essence blood here!”
He had tasked Shen Wanjin to station himself at the Glittering Jewels Pavilion with the goal of purchasing dragon type Genesis Beast essence blood. Zhou Yuan had originally predicted that he would end up with two bottles at most, but Shen Wanjin had ended up surprising him with five.
With these five bottles of essence blood, his Nine Dragons Canon would progress to the next level.
“You’re pretty ambitious, take care not to end up overwhelmed by the savage aura if you refine too much essence blood.” Cautioned Yaoyao.
Zhou Yuan touched the palm on his right hand as he grinned, “No matter how savage they are, can they beat the Dragon’s Resentment Poison?”
He shook his head, speaking no further on this topic as his gaze suddenly locked onto the creature lazily resting in Yaoyao’s arms. An extremely kind and friendly smile appeared on his face as he asked, “Tuntun, do you want to try the delicacies in the inner mountain Hundred Fragrances House?”
The ears of the originally sleepy looking Tuntun immediately stood up as its excited gaze shot towards Zhou Yuan, even its tongue poking out from its mouth.
Yaoyao shook her head in a slightly exasperated manner as she threw Tuntun out by its ear and said, “Unable to learn from your mistakes, you’ll end up being sold off sooner or later.”
How could she not know that it would have to give its blood once it ate its fill.
Zhou Yuan grinned widely as he picked up Tuntun. “Big sis Yaoyao, tell the others that I will be secluding myself to cultivate and won’t be attending the n
ext morning class.”
Yaoyao acknowledged before turning around to leave.
...
The Dao Seeker Hall.
It was the Shen Taiyuan faction’s turn to cultivate here again.
When Cao Shi arrived, the first thing he saw was Zhou Yuan’s empty seat. The former chuckled in amusement, evidently already aware of latter’s secluded cultivation session.
“Resorting to such unnecessary measures even though you only have a few short days.” Cao Shi shook his head, a slight sneer and contempt flowing out in his eyes.
“Zhou Yuan ah Zhou Yuan, you’ve already shown all your cards during your fight with Lu Feng. If that’s all you have, don’t blame your senior brother for bullying you…”
Several of his gold sash disciple friends around him softly chuckled. Looks like there was going to be entertaining show in a few days.
Chapter 297 The Match
Zhou Yuan and Cao Shi’s match still ended up causing some slight ripples in Saint Genesis Mountain. However, the disciples under Lu Song and Lu Hong merely viewed it as a silly squabble that was not worth much attention.
This was quite normal, because even in elder Shen’s group, there weren’t many who fancied Zhou Yuan’s chances even if he was the latest champion of the peak selection ceremony.
At the end of the day, Cao Shi was a true-blue veteran senior disciple of the fifth layer Alpha-Origin stage, someone who was far stronger than Lu Feng.
In the eyes of many of the senior disciples, Zhou Yuan was merely asking for trouble.
While the many disciples held such thoughts, five days passed in the blink of an eye.
...
Mists swirled around the pine trees, an enormous stone stage towering above them.
At this current time, the vicinity of the stone stage was already filled with figures, even Shen Taiyuan already here, seated above them. Today was the duel between Zhou Yuan and Cao Shi, and elder Shen was naturally going to oversee it such as to prevent any accidents from occurring.
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