At the very least, he was undoubtedly more outstanding than the Zhou Tai, who was forever stuck at a four dragon baptism.
“After this baptism is over, I should be able to surpass Zhou Tai. It may perhaps be time for him to vacate his position as the first disciple.” Zhang Yan let out an icy chuckle. He was envious of Zhou Yuan due to the high expectations teacher Shen had of the former, while viewing Zhou Tai as an obstacle, and was constantly preparing to replace him.
Once Zhang Yan became the first disciple, even more disciples would view him as their leader. When that happened, if teacher Shen still decided to be overly supportive of Zhou Yuan, Zhang Yan would only have to object and garner support from numerous disciples. He believed that even teacher Shen would not choose to go against the majority.
While Zhang Yan was feeling pleased with himself, he suddenly felt a disturbance around him, seeing gaze after gaze turning towards the same direction.
He also raised his head, only to be stunned by the sight of six dragon silhouettes circling around a figure on a nearby stone pillar.
Six dragon baptism?
Envy flowed out in Zhang Yan’s eyes. A six dragon baptism was one of the dreams he had. Unfortunately, it had evaded his reach each time, because it required far too many Genesis Dragon Essence crystals.
“Normally speaking, only the chief disciples of each peak are able to reach a six dragon baptism. I wonder which peak this person belongs to.” Zhang Yan frowned, because he suddenly felt the figure to be quite familiar.
The six dragon silhouettes circling around the figure suddenly descended as they tunnelled into his head. Moments later, the figure opened his eyes and turned around, coincidentally meeting Zhang Yan’s gaze.
Zhang Yan’s pupils abruptly shrank as disbelief flooded his face.
“Zhou Tai?!”
“How can this be!”
He could not stop these words from leaving his mouth as his face turned ashen. He had never thought much of this eldest senior brother disciple of his. The latter was not as talented as himself and was also lacking in ambition, someone who tried to be on good terms with everyone else. Hence, Zhang Yan never really respected the former, the only thoughts he had was to replace this senior brother’s position once he grew stronger.
Over the years, Zhou Tai was only ever able to achieve a four dragon baptism each time, a result that always fell short of Zhang Yan’s own. Hence why he never imagined that Zhou Tai would actually reach a six dragon baptism this time.
One must know that basically only the chief disciples of each peak would achieve a six dragon baptism, people that even someone as capable as Zhang Yan felt he had no hopes of catching up to.
But how? How had Zhou Tai done it?!
Zhang Yan’s expression fluctuated indeterminately, his heart filled with anger, fear and alarm.
“How lucky was he in the Genesis reservoir?!” Zhang Yan gritted his teeth, a dark look in his eyes.
While Zhang Yan’s emotions were churning, many other disciples in the vicinity also discovered the six dragon silhouettes around Zhou Tai, and immediately gasped in surprise.
A six dragon baptism was just far too rare amongst the purple sash disciples, and was usually only reserved for those few chief disciples, a group that Zhou Tai was obviously not part of.
As such, they began to ask around, and soon found out his identity,
Astonishment filled their faces when they discovered Zhou Tai was from Shen Taiyuan’s faction of Saint Genesis Peak. After all, Saint Genesis Peak had basically reached rock bottom in the Cangxuan Sect, and no one really paid any attention to them. But now, Zhou Tai had basically become an overnight sensation. What kind of amazing luck did he have in the Genesis reservoir?
No matter what, Zhou Tai’s name was sure to spread today. When the other disciples in the Cangxuan Sect mentioned him in the future, they would know that there was a disciple under Shen Taiyuan of Saint Genesis Peak that achieved a six dragon baptism.
The baptism altar was abuzz with excitement, majority of the disciples wearing a satisfied look on their faces. It was clear that this baptism had allowed them to progress in their cultivation.
Elder Miao stood in the air. Upon seeing that everyone was done, she waved her hand and said, “Leave if you’re done.”
The numerous disciples hastily rose to their feet, and began leaving in succession after cupping their fists together towards her.
The baptism altar soon became empty again.
Zhou Tai returned with an excited look on his face, as several disciples approached to congratulate him.
“Humph, I did not expect senior brother Zhou Tai to be good at concealing your capabilities. I wonder how managed to obtain so many Dragon Genesis Essence crystals in the Genesis reservoir.” Zhang Yan’s expression was somewhat ugly as he returned. Zhou Tai truly performed splendidly this time, and drew numerous gazes towards him even till now. This made Zhang Yan rather jealous, and his words rather biting.
Zhou Tai knew that Zhang Yan was clearly unhappy, but could not be bothered with the latter. The former merely looked towards Zhou Yuan with a smile of gratitude.
Zhou Yuan returned the gesture with a smile of his own. Those Dragon Genesis Essence crystals had been his leftovers, and were of little use to himself. In contrast, they were extremely beneficial to Zhou Tai.
Zhang Yan grew even angrier when he realised he was being ignored by Zhou Tai. He followed the latter’s gaze and saw Zhou Yuan, causing him to smile superficially as he said, “Junior brother Zhou Yuan, it’s your turn next.”
“It wasn’t easy for senior brother Zhou Yuan to gain a little prestige for us, so don’t go throwing it all away later.”
Zhang Yan almost certain that Zhou Yuan had a hard time hunting even a single aquatic beast in the Genesis reservoir, and would at best achieve a three dragon baptism...
A baptism of that level was basically a waste of Dragon Genesis Essence.
Zhou Yuan mere swept a glance at Zhang Yan and chuckled softly.
At this moment, elder Miao spoke once again, “The purple sash disciples’ baptism is done, next…”
She paused, feeling somewhat ridiculous. The baptism should be over at this juncture, but there was an additional Zhou Yuan this time. As the only gold sash disciple to enter the Genesis reservoir, he was the last to have his turn.
She looked towards Zhou Yuan and said, “It’s your turn, Zhou Yuan.”
Every gaze in the area converged towards this very spot, most of them filled with amusement. After all, what could a gold sash disciple possibly achieve in the Genesis reservoir?
On one of the mountains, Li Qingchan’s eyes opened, a sliver of interest within them as she looked towards the youthful figure far away.
Kong Sheng’s eyes were cold and indifferent. The corners of his lips curled slightly, clearly not the least bit concerned about Zhou Yuan.
In a location near Zhou Yuan and gang, Lu Yan smiled as she cast her gaze over, her voice somewhat gloating.
“Looks like we’ll be seeing the lowest level baptism in history…”
Chapter 328 The Meaning of Shock
Around the Genesis reservoir, countless gazes were cast over in amusement, ultimately converging on a certain peak where Zhou Yuan was currently standing.
According to the rules of the sect, only purple sash disciples had the qualifications to enter the Genesis reservoir to find Dragon Genesis Essence, and subsequently complete the baptism.
Zhou Yuan was only a gold sash disciple, but as the most recent champion of the peak selection ceremony, they had made an exception for him this once, and bestowed upon him the opportunity to participate in the current Genesis Marrow Baptism, an exception that most purple sash disciples did not really mind.
Because all of them clearly understood that entering the reservoir was the easy part. The true challenge lay in hunting the aquatic beasts inside, and obtaining Genesis Dragon Essence...
Numerous purple sash disciples
had worked hard for the past ten days, and the majority of them had only managed to achieve four dragon baptisms. So what could a new disciples such as Zhou Yuan possibly accomplish in the Genesis reservoir?
It was likely that he may not have even gathered ten crystals. If so, even a two dragon baptism might be a little difficult...
Although it was not easy to hunt aquatic beasts, majority of the purple sash disciples were still able to achieve four dragon baptisms, and were very unlikely to end up with two dragon or three dragon baptisms. After all, every purple sash disciple had the strength of the sixth layer Alpha-Origin, and would not do any worse than a four dragon baptism no matter how bad they were.
Hence, when they imagined the possibility of a pitiful two dragon baptism from Zhou Yuan, they could not help but secretly snigger inside.
As seasoned disciples, they were naturally more than happy to see well-behaved new inner mountain disciples that did not challenge their dignity. Thus, if the individual known as number one amongst the new disciples were to perform badly, it would undoubtedly cause the other new disciples to behave a little better...
Numerous disciples watched with such thoughts in mind as Zhou Yuan stepped forward with a calm expression. Under the countless watching gazes, he landed on one of the ancient stone pillars on the baptism altar.
He could naturally feel the numerous gazes on him which were clearly waiting to be entertained. Although these disciples did not have any ill will towards him, they were obviously not supportive of him either.
He ignored the gazes of the crowd. The opinions of others did not matter to him after all, especially when what he needed was right about to be his.
“Go ahead start, and no need to feel stressed. It’s your first time here at the Genesis reservoir after all, and you will still have many chances in the future when you become a purple sash disciple.” Elder Miao looked towards Zhou Yuan. The former’s words were quite kind, perhaps because he had lent his aid to Li Qingchan.
Even so, Zhou Yuan could still tell that elder Miao did not believe he would achieve much.
His second layer Alpha-Origin stage strength was just far too glaring to everyone.
To travel with as one pleased in the Genesis reservoir, one’s strength needed to at least reach the sixth layer Alpha-Origin stage.
Zhou Yuan did not say anything in response, merely smiling with a nod. The only thing that would convince everyone was facts, and he would likely be treated as a joke no matter what he said.
As such, he patted the Universe bag at his waist with a cool expression.
Swoosh!
In the next instant, Dragon Genesis Essence crystal after crystal flew out along with an explosion of light, while the surrounding Genesis Qi began to be drawn towards him...
As more and more Dragon Genesis Essence crystals gathered above Zhou Yuan’s head, the laughter in the area stealthily began to fade away, while the expressions of many disciples turned more and more rigid.
Zhou Yuan remained oblivious to them. With a jerk of his sleeve, hundreds of crystals swirled above him like a river of crystals.
The scope was not the least bit inferior to Li Qingchan from before.
Moreover, every crystal had been meticulously selected, making it an even more impressive sight!
The world around was deathly silent.
“How, how can this be… how can he have so many Dragon Genesis Essence crystals?!” The silence was finally broken by the trembling voice a disciple that was filled with disbelief.
No one knew the answer. All of them vigorously rubbed their eyes, as if the scene before them was some kind of illusion.
Bang! Bang!
In the silence, Zhou Yuan’s hands came together and all of the crystals above him exploded. Dragon Genesis Essence fell, landing on the stone pillar.
The surrounding Genesis Qi began to whizzed over, seemingly creating a thin mist.
Roar!
As the runes on the pillar lit up, the familiar roar of a dragon rang out once again.
Next, everyone watched in astonishment as dragon silhouette after silhouette burst out from the pillar, circling around Zhou Yuan.
One… three… five… seven!
There were seven dragon silhouettes, a sight that made every disciple present inhale deeply.
A seven dragon baptism!
Back on the mountain Zhou Yuan had come from, several of his fellow disciples were stupefied, and even Zhang Yan had a blank look on his face.
“How is this possible?!” He croaked in a trembling voice. The scene before his eyes had truly shaken him to the core. No one would have even dreamt of Zhou Yuan achieving a seven dragon baptism!
How many aquatic beasts had he slayed in the Genesis reservoir?!
How had he done it?!
In contrast with Zhang Yan’s ugly expression, a slightly stunned smile was revealed on Zhou Tai face, evidently happy for this junior brother of his.
On another peak far away, Li Qingchan’s eyes seemed to ripple faintly. Although she had anticipated this long ago, she could not help but sigh when she saw it for real.
This guy was indeed quite capable.
“Interesting, achieving a seven dragon baptism after his first time in the Genesis reservoir. Looks like having someone else’s help really makes a difference.” Kong Sheng’s expression was indifferent as he gazed at the seven dragon silhouettes around Zhou Yuan.
A seven dragon baptism may shock the others, but it was ordinary to Chosens like them.
Moreover, he was not surprised at all, because he knew that Zhou Yuan had the powerful Yaoyao at his side, an individual who was not the least bit weaker than a Chosen. When one also took into account Li Qingchan’s help, a seven dragon baptism was not odd at all.
Ye Ge also nodded. He did not really have any complaints about Zhou Yuan, but did feel that he had received Yaoyao and Li Qingchan’s aid.
On another mountain, Lu Yan’s expression fluctuated rapidly as she stared at the seven dragon silhouettes, the disciples around her equally dumbstruck, and clearly substantially shocked.
Lu Yan could not help but mumble, “How did he obtain these Dragon Genesis Essence crystals?”
The strength of the second layer Alpha-Origin was obviously incapable of slaying so many aquatic beasts.
The other looked to each other, but no one had an answer.
Lu Yan’s face had turned a little red. Who could have expected Zhou Yuan to reach a seven dragon baptism in the blink of an eye, making her feel shame for her earlier gloating.
She was still somewhat unable to accept the facts, and stubbornly said, “But even a seven dragon baptism is far from being able to compare to senior brother Chu Qing.”
The moment the words left her mouth, everyone saw Zhou Yuan seeme to ponder for a brief moment, before the Universe bag at his waist flashed.
A split second later, a half foot large crystal had appeared above his head.
*Uproar*!
The instant it appeared, the numerous disciples in the vicinity could not longer hold themselves back from gasping, “Thousand feet aquatic beast?!”
This time, even the nonchalantly watching Kong Sheng and Ye Ge trembled as disbelief flowed out in their eyes.
“How can this be?!”
Chapter 329 Third Layer Alpha-Origin
The entire place exploded into an earth-shaking uproar the moment the half foot large Dragon Genesis Essence crystal appeared, the expressions on everyone’s faces becoming truly an amazing sight to behold.
Even Chosens like Kong Sheng and Ye Ge were affected.
A seven dragon baptism may not be much of a challenge to them, but the crystal Zhou Yuan had just taken out was clearly from a thousand feet aquatic beast!
As Chosens, no one knew better than them how difficult it was to find such a creature.
Once a thousand feet aquatic beast Dragon Genesis Essence crystal came into their possession, they would be able to use it as a primer of sorts that would
raise a seven dragon baptism to the eight dragons level!
“How can he possibly have a thousand feet aquatic beast Dragon Genesis Essence crystal?!” Kong Sheng was unable to stop the words from leaving his mouth. He was no longer able to retain the impassiveness of his handsome face as disbelief flooded his eyes.
Beside him, Ye Ge’s mouth hung slightly open, a strange expression on his face.
For the past half a year, they had painstakingly tracked a thousand feet aquatic beast, only to end up losing it to Li Qingchan. Hence why their astonishment had reached the unmatched heights when they saw a thousand feet aquatic beast crystal appear in the hands of a gold sash disciple.
When had a thousand feet aquatic beast become so easy to find?
From how shocked the two Chosens were, one could naturally imagine how the hearts of the other disciples were akin to churning ocean.
Under the countless stunned gazes, Zhou Yuan took in a deep breath as he hands came together once again, and the half foot large crystal above him shattered with a bang.
Thick and pure Dragon Genesis Essence flowed downwards, pouring onto the ancient stone pillar as it was swiftly absorbed.
Bzzz!
A thousand rays of light abruptly exploded from the pillar as all the Genesis Qi in the vicinity began to be sucked over at this moment, forming a seemingly boundless cloud that floated around Zhou Yuan.
Roar!
At the same time, a thunderous dragon roar was heard once again. Everyone could only watch as another dragon silhouette slowly emerged from the stone pillar and circled around Zhou Yuan’s body.
It was the eighth dragon silhouette!
An eight dragon baptism!
All the disciples could not help but swallow at the sight of the eight dragon silhouettes coiling around Zhou Yuan’s figure. Although they had just seen Li Qingchan’s eight dragon baptism earlier, the former’s eight dragon baptism was even more shocking...
Li Qingchan was a Chosen after all, and many disciples felt it within expectation for her to achieve an eight dragon baptism. But Zhou Yuan… no one would have even dreamt of it!
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 179
