On the other hand, Zhou Yuan wielded the Heavenly Yuan Brush with raw physical force and Genesis Qi like a titan, every swing shaking even space itself.
In the sky, every clash between the two would cause destructive shockwaves to unfurl, making the giant mountain below tremble.
Both parties poured out of their power, anger seemingly growing with each strike.
Outside the chief disciple peak, countless gazes watched the intense clash with shock. No one had expected Saint Genesis Peak’s selection to reach such intense levels.
In a certain manner of speaking, the intensity here was already not the least bit inferior to the other six peaks.
Gaze after gaze stared unblinkingly at the sky above the chief disciple peak, neither Shen Taiyuan nor Lu Hong’s factions daring to breathe too loudly.
On the mountain top, Lu Yan, Zhou Tai and Zhang Yan had huddled together to avoid the aftershocks of the battle happening above them. When they looked up to watch the dancing black brush wielded by a young figure in the sky, their expressions turned extremely complicated.
All of the doubts and skepticism from before had already faded away.
Rumble!
Under the countless watching gazes, Zhou Yuan and Yuan Hong fought over a hundred rounds in the sky at lightning speed. They gave their all in every single exchange, not holding anything back.
Boom!
After yet another ferocious clash, the Heaven Flame Sword rose into the air and revolved around Yuan Hong, its scarlet light appearing somewhat dim.
Zhou Yuan steadied his body, blood dripping from his hands as he gripped the Heavenly Yuan Brush.
Cold sweat had appeared on the foreheads of both individuals, and breathing had turned rather ragged. The intensity of the previous clashes was clearly exceedingly taxing on both of them.
From this, one could see how fierce and desperate the exchanges had been.
Zhou Yuan wiped away the blood on his hands as his brows knitted together. Yuan Hong was indeed an incomparably difficult opponent. The former had not expected to be incapable of defeating the latter even with the silver bone stage of the little Mythic Saint Body.
While such thoughts swirled in Zhou Yuan’s mind, he was unaware that flames of rage in Yuan Hong’s heart were burning even hotter. In fact, fire was nearly spewing from his eyes as he glared at Zhou Yuan.
He had brought out even the Heaven Flame Sword to claim back the face he had lost. However, he was still unable to crush Zhou Yuan in a convincing manner that would teach him the gap between them. This was very hard for Yuan Hong to swallow.
“Zhou Yuan!”
Yuan Hong’s expression darkened.
Meanwhile, high up in the sky above the Cangxuan Sect.
While he watched the slugfest, peak master Ling Jun’s eyes turned as deep as the night as a strange light flickered in his eyes. A long finger reached out from his sleeves as he gently trapped in the air.
In that same moment.
Yuan Hong suddenly sensed the Heaven Flame Sword emit a peculiar buzzing noise, as what seemed to be a strange glowing rune appeared on its body.
Yuan Hong’s pupils shrank slightly when he saw this. He cast an unnoticeable glance towards the sky above as a sliver of hesitation flitted across his eyes. However, the hesitation ultimately faded, replaced by resolve.
His hands came together as he made a strange hand gesture.
Buzz!
The Heaven Flame Sword began to vibrate as it moved to hover above his head. It then began to sink little by little, making it appear as if it was inserting itself into Yuan Hong’s head from a distance.
Zhou Yuan frowned when he saw this scene, as a faint sense of unease rose within them.
However, before he could do anything, the Heaven Flame Sword had already completely submerged into Yuan Hong’s head in a bizarre manner.
Yuan Hong stared at Zhou Yuan, and said with cold indifference, “Zhou Yuan, I’ll admit that you’re very capable to have pushed me so far, but unfortunately for you, you never had a chance in this chief disciple selection!”
His eyes slowly closed at this moment.
A deep, indescribable berserk sensation seemed to quietly echo, causing the surrounding Genesis Qi to instantly turn hot as if placed in a furnace.
“Sword! Feeding! Technique!”
Chapter 474 Sword Feeding Technique
Buzz!
The entire area seemed to turn hot the instant the scarlet-red broadsword fully submerged into Yuan Hong’s head. At the same time, the deep cry of a sword echoed across the land.
The sword cry felt eternal and unending, seemingly transforming into omni present sword Qi that filled the area within a several thousand feet radius of Yuan Hong.
Ch ch!
Yuan Hong stood in the air as countless scars were cut open on the ground below his feet, revealing insides that were smooth as mirrors.
The pressure from Yuan Hong’s body steadily grew more and more powerful.
These changes were naturally immediately detected by Zhou Yuan. His expression instantly changed, because Yuan Hong’s Genesis Qi now felt extremely scorching and deadly.
It was completely different from before.
“What’s going on?” Confusion flashed in Zhou Yuan’s eyes.
On the mountain peak, Lu Yan, Zhou Tai and Zhang Yan’s expression fluctuated indeterminately in confusion, evidently also sensing the changes in Yuan Hong.
Outside the chief disciple peak, countless gazes also watched in confusion.
Elder Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song’s brows were tightly furrowed, their eyes rapidly flickering in thought as they stared at Yuan Hong’s figure. A long while later, they seemed to recall something as their pupils shrank a little.
“It’s the Sword Feeding Technique?”
Their expressions turned ugly. The Sword Feeding Technique was a rather unorthodox Genesis technique of Sword Cometh Peak. It fed one’s flesh and blood to the sword, allowing one to temporarily achieve a pseudo state of ‘sword and man as one’. In this state, the wielder’s strength would be augmented, while also being bestowed the powers of the sword...
However, this Genesis technique was extremely damaging to the wielder, and would leave serious repercussions. In fact, even the sword would be tainted by a demonic aura that would make it difficult to control in the future.
It was precisely because of this high price that very few disciples would attempt learning it. Moreover, even if they did, they would not resort to it unless it was a life or death situation.
No one had expected Yuan Hong to activate at this juncture...
Numerous disciples broke out into whispers, many criticizing Yuan Hong. The latter’s methods were clearly quite unscrupulous.
High up in the sky, sect master Qing Yang frowned slightly when he saw this scene.
“Humph, it’s only a match between disciples of the same sect, and yet he even used such a technique that would even harm himself. What a vicious disciple.” Peak master Lianyi swept a cold glance at peak master Ling Jun.
The other peak masters also shook their heads as if they had something to say about the matter.
Peak master Ling Jun’s expression remained unchanged as he said, “Yuan Hong’s thirst for victory is indeed a little too strong. After this is over, he shall be reprimanded for such actions. However, the rules do state that one must do one’s best, and has never restricted or forbidden such techniques.”
Sect master Qing Yang fell into thought for a brief moment, and could ultimately only shake his head in a helpless manner. Though this action of Yuan Hong was quite unsightly, it did not break any rules. Hence, it was not appropriate for him as sect master to be overly critical.
He looked towards Zhou Yuan’s figure on the mountain top with some pity. The fact that Zhou Yuan, a newly promoted disciple, had been able to push Yuan Hong to this point was already more than proof of his ability. This had perhaps been a little too difficult to swallow for the latter, forcin
g him to use such a sacrilegious technique.
Given Yuan Hong’s current state, things would likely become quite dangerous for Zhou Yuan.
…
Buzz buzz!
The humming of a sword continuously echoed across the area.
Yuan Hong’s originally muscular body began to shrivel at a speed that could be seen by the naked eye. Scarlet light surfaced in his pupils, making him look quite the terrifying sight.
Zhou Yuan could sense an increasingly dangerous aura from Yuan Hong’s body, causing him to tightly grip the Heavenly Yuan Brush as he focused all his attention on the latter.
“I truly never imagined… that the first time I use the Sword Feeding Technique would be because of you.” Scarlet light surged within Yuan Hong’s pupils, his voice turning eerie and raspy as he stared at Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan did not respond, merely continuing to watch his opponent with cold eyes, while his body tensed up in high alert.
“I’ll make you understand the meaning of fear!” The corners of Yuan Hong’s mouth were lifted, creating a sinister smile.
Swish!
His foot powerfully slammed into the ground, the hum of a sword seemingly echoing as his body strangely disappeared from the spot.
“So quick!”
Zhou Yuan’s pupils shrank a little. Yuan Hong was undoubtedly much faster than before.
Buzz!
Just as Zhou Yuan began to retreat, the sound of a humming sword was suddenly heard above him. He abruptly lifted his head, to find Yuan Hong’s gangly figure appear, staring at him with a chillingly eerie gaze as a bony hand ferociously chopped downwards.
Swoosh!
As the knife-hand fell, scarlet light spouted out, transforming into a glowing thousand foot long sword. Intense heat and power pulsed from it, as if it were an legendary evil sword that had just been pulled from a volcano.
Sword light rushed past, leaving scars in the fabric space itself.
Every motion and every attack was even fiercer and more powerful than when he had been wielding the Heaven Flame Sword earlier.
Scarlet light rapidly grew in Zhou Yuan’s pupils. He did not dare to waste any time as the tip of the Heavenly Yuan Brush swiftly turned pitch-black. SIlver light flickered in his body as he drew upon every ounce of his power and swung with all his might.
Clang!
The glowing scarlet sword hacked onto the tip of the Heavenly Yuan Brush, causing a loud clang to explode. A scarlet-red shockwave unfurled, causing a violent gale to sweep across the area.
Everyone watched as Zhou Yuan’s figure was sent hurtling away from the scarlet light. He landed hard on the ground, his feet rapidly crushing the floor below him as his sleeves were ripped apart by an invisible force.
After sliding a hundred feet, Zhou Yuan finally managed to stabilize his body as his expression turned extremely grave. Blood dripped from his hands, while the web between his thumb and index figure had been torn.
“What a terrifying attack.”
Zhou Yuan gritted his teeth. Yuan Hong’s strength was far too alarming in this state. In contrast to how they had been almost equal earlier, Zhou Yuan was now clearly being overwhelmed again.
The chief disciple selection was much more difficult than expected.
The many trump cards he had prepared were being forced out one after another.
In the sky, Yuan Hong’s savage scarlet pupils turned towards and locked onto Zhou Yuan. In the next instant, his body plunged from the sky, clearly intent on properly finishing off the latter in this state.
Boom!
Sonic booms were heard as his figure rocketed through the air.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
At the same time, a flurry of chops were thrown by Yuan Hong, creating giant scarlet sword after sword that seemed to fill the entire sky as they rained down, a sight that made the scalps of the countless watching disciples turn numb.
In the face of Yuan Hong’s crazy offensive, Zhou Yuan also felt his scalp grow numb. However, there was already nowhere to escape. He could only tightly grip the Heavenly Yuan Brush as he low roar left his throat.
“Jade skin!”
“Silver bone!”
“Genesis Breaker!”
“Million Whale!”
“……”
Frightening power erupted from Zhou Yuan’s body without any reservation. In the face of Yuan Hong’s attacks, Zhou Yuan had no choice but to squeeze out every bit of power he possessed.
This was going to be a clash of their strongest power!
Chapter 475 Breakthrough!
Boom! Boom!
Under countless horrified gazes, the attacks from both parties collided on the chief disciple peak, as an enormous explosion of energy swept outwards. The top of the mountain had finally began to crumble at this moment.
Boulders continuously tumbled down as stone platform after platform collapsed.
The entire mountain began to fall apart layer by layer.
It was a clash that could be said to be earth-shattering.
The destruction caused the scalps of countless disciples to turn numb.
A giant cloud of dust rose from the wreckage, covering the sky.
Every gaze was glued to the collapsed mountain top. The frightening attacks from before should finally mark the end of the chief disciple selection, right?
Under these watching gazes, the dust cloud gradually dissipated.
Next, numerous disciples saw a thin figure floating in the air. It was Yuan Hong!
Berserk and powerful scarlet-red Genesis Qi continuously pulsed from his body as he stood in the air, while blood dripped from his hands.
The gazes shifted downwards, only to find that the mountain top had completely crumbled. Amidst the rubble was a deep, bottomless black hole that appeared to pierce straight through the giant mountain...
It was clear that Zhou Yuan had been blasted deep into the chief disciple peak by Yuan Hong’s frightening bombardment.
This scene made the Shen Taiyuan’s disciples turn deathly pale. They were truly unable to imagine just how terrifying Yuan Hong’s attacks had been.
But they knew that even Zhou Yuan had not been able to withstand that relentless and crazed explosion of power.
In contrast, Lu Hong’s disciples breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted from their shoulders. There were really too many twists and turns in this battle.
Lu Hong faintly trembled as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his tense body finally allowing itself to slowly relax, as a cold smile appeared from the corners of his lips.
Although it had been quite a rollercoaster, the ones who were able to laugh in the end was his faction!
Lu Hong mumbled with a slightly clenched jaw, “He shouldn’t be able to make any more comebacks, right?”
The countless onlookers sighed in pity when they saw this scene. Zhou Yuan had only needed one more step to create a miracle.
What a pity that he had failed at the final moment.
It truly was quite regretful.
Yuan Hong stood in the air, his chilling gaze staring at the ruins of the mountain top. His senses told him that the Genesis Qi undulations deep in the mountain had indeed become very weak.
His opponent had evidently been gravely injured, making him the ultimate victor in this battle!
…
In the dark newly created depths inside the mountain.
Zhou Yuan's blood-drenched body was buried in the rubble. If he had not attained the silver bone stage, he would have been knocked out due to heavy injuries.
Even so, he could feel pain radiate from all over his body.
Yuan Hong’s earlier attacks had been rather unbearable despite achieving the silver bone stage.
“How troublesome…”
Zhou Yuan’s hoarse voice echoed in the darkness.
His gaze penetrated the cracks amidst the rocks, catching a faint glimpse of the scarlet-red silhouette in the sky.
&nbs
p; Though there was a tired look in his eyes, it was dwarfed by a burning unyielding flame.
Even in such a terrible situation, it was impossible for him to give up!
He had suffered untold hardships to come this far, how could he allow himself to fall at the final step?!
Zhou Yuan’s burning eyes slowly closed at this moment, as the faint breathing of a dragon echoed from his nose.
The dragon breathing grew louder and louder, as if a giant dragon was breathing. While he breathed, the surrounding Genesis Qi began surging over, transforming into white mist that was sucked into Zhou Yuan’s body.
Dragon Breathing!
The breathing grew more and more hurried as it became louder and louder.
In the end, the entire interior of the mountain was filled by boundless Genesis Qi that frantically poured into Zhou Yuan’s body.
Zhou Yuan’s hand slowly began to clench tightly once more. Robust Genesis Qi flowed into his body, before being swiftly refined and cast into his Qi Dwelling.
The Genesis Qi in his Qi Dwelling swiftly began to grow.
In the darkness, Zhou Yuan’s eyes slowly opened as a seemingly inexhaustible bright light shined in his eyes.
He had been stuck on the fourth layer Alpha-Origin for a long time, and had already faintly sensed the signs of a cultivation breakthrough while training on the water and fire tempering dragon stage.
However, those signs had been extremely weak. Hence, Zhou Yuan chose to suppress them instead of forcibly attempting a breakthrough.
But he was also preparing for it at all times, and after the bitter, desperate battle earlier, the indications of a breakthrough were finally slowly becoming clearer...
A natural feeling akin to the creation of a canal where water flowed.
Three months of slowly building his foundations bit by bit, and an intense battle to solidify it...
The feeling of a breakthrough finally reached its peak at this very moment.
The final trump card Zhou Yuan had prepared for the chief disciple selection was quietly being flipped open at this moment…
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 258
