Everyone fell into deep thought. The Prefecture Lord battle this time was set at the Divine Dwelling stage, so they needed to search for powerful Divine Dwelling experts as much as possible.
However, now that the relationship between the Qiu clan and the Yi clan had deteriorated to this state, the advanced Divine Dwelling stage experts in Xiaoxuan Prefecture with a little fame would most likely be too afraid to get involved. Moreover, if they weren’t strong enough, they would just waste the quota.
Sitting at the end seat, Zhou Yuan didn’t utter a word and just quietly sipped his tea, as if he had been forgotten. Although he supported Yi Qiushui in becoming the Prefecture Lord, he wouldn’t volunteer himself since it would be troublesome and he wanted to avoid it if necessary.
However, while Zhou Yuan was daydreaming, he felt a pair of bright eyes fix on him.
So, he helplessly pursed his lips and lifted his head to meet Yi Qiushui’s gaze.
Yi Qiushui was looking at Zhou Yuan with a smiling expression, her eyes sparkling with a trace of hope and anticipation.
However, in the face of her vivid eyes, Zhou Yuan remained expressionless and continued to sip tea, as if he couldn’t understand Yi Qiushui.
At that moment, everyone in the hall also noticed this and followed Yi Qiushui’s gaze to see Zhou Yuan sitting at the end seat.
Yi Qiushui had given a brief introduction about Zhou Yuan at the beginning, so they all knew that he had defeated the famous Xu Feng of Xiaoxuan Prefecture and seemed to be quite capable.
However, the people involved in the Prefecture Lord battle needed to be the best experts of the advanced Divine Dwelling stage. Even Xu Feng wouldn’t be eligible to participate, let alone Zhou Yuan who was at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage. Would he not be too unreliable?
Moreover, what left them speechless was that Zhou Yuan continued to sit there when faced with Yi Qiushui’s gaze, and he showed no intention of getting involved.
Thus, some young men and women of the Yi clan secretly curled their lips. Although Zhou Yuan might be capable, he wasn’t courageous enough. Was this because he feared he would anger the Qiu clan?
The atmosphere turned slightly awkward.
“He’s just at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage, but he’s already so arrogant.” A clear, crisp voice broke the awkward silence, and Liu Ming shifted her gaze to Zhou Yuan.
She was slightly annoyed by Yi Qiushui’s attitude towards Zhou Yuan. Yi Qiushui didn’t seem excited when her brother offered to help, but why did she attach so much importance to an ordinary youngster of the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage?
How was he eligible to participate in the Prefecture Lord battle?
In Liu Ming’s eyes, Liu Zhixuan was absolutely the strongest among the younger generation of Xiaoxuan Prefecture. Even compared to Qiu Ling, he wasn’t in the slightest inferior. If Zhou Yuan was compared to her brother, the difference between them would be like the gap between a firefly and the moon.
Liu Zhixuan was also staring at Zhou Yuan. He had no other meaning but was just a little perplexed.
Zhou Yuan ignored Liu Ming’s taunts and continued to sip his tea.
But Yi Qiushui suddenly smiled. She didn’t appear angry because of Zhou Yuan’s attitude. She instead bit her red lip and asked, “Brother Zhou Yuan, why don’t you name your price?”
Zhou Yuan suddenly put down the teacup and took out a piece of paper under many stunned gazes. There were numerous valuable materials written on it.
“Qiushui is so straightforward. If the Yi clan gives me these things, I’ll be your external assistance,” he said bluntly.
In the hall, the crowd fell into a long period of silence when they saw the list of materials that seemed to have been prepared long ago.
They didn’t know what strength Zhou Yuan possessed, but his shamelessness seemed to be extraordinary...
Chapter 766 Taken Advantage Of
The hall fell utterly silent.
Everybody was staring with a remarkable expression at the piece of paper on the table. It was obvious that they were stunned by Zhou Yuan’s action. Nobody thought that he would be that direct.
It turned out that he acted indifferent and didn’t want to get involved because there weren’t any benefits for him?
As the saying goes, one doesn’t act without some incentive.
Even when facing so many gazes, Zhou Yuan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He wasn’t close with the Yi clan, so if they wanted him to help, they naturally needed to pay a good price.
How could there be any reason not to pay?
The materials on the piece of paper were what he needed to evolve into the second stage of the Ancestral Dragon Scripture.
Since Zhou Yuan had regained his strength, his priority right now was to evolve the Genesis Qi in his body into the grade-seven World Subduing Heavenly Serpent Qi.
Once his Genesis Qi evolved, his strength would also skyrocket.
However, the materials required for the evolution of Genesis Qi were incredibly rare. Now that Zhou Yuan didn’t have the support of the Cangxuan Sect and could be said to be a loner, it was unknown how much time and effort he would need to exhaust in order to gather everything required. Therefore, since the Yi clan had something to ask of him, he needed to take advantage of the opportunity.
The silence lasted for a good while.
Yi Qianji, who was sitting next to Yi Qiushui, suddenly reached out to grab the piece of paper a distance away and carefully studied it.
His eyelids were twitching when he finished reading; some of the materials written on it were of considerable value.
But he didn’t say much, and he just passed the paper around for the other members of the Yi clan to take a look.
Finally the note came to Yi Qiushui’s hand.
“Haha, little friend, your price isn’t low at all.” Sitting below Yi Qianji was another Heavenly Sun expert of the Yi clan. He forced a smile onto his face.
“The total value of these materials is more than enough to invite a famous advanced Divine Dwelling stage expert.” Liu Ming could not help but sneer, and she angrily glared at Zhou Yuan.
“You are only at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage. Why do you think you are worth this price?”
Liu Tianying didn’t stop her from speaking out because he also felt the young man in front of him was excessively arrogant.
An expert of the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage wasn’t worth that price, even if he had defeated Xu Feng.
If it weren’t for Yi Qiushui’s unexpected suggestion, they wouldn’t have thought of giving Zhou Yuan one of the Yi clan’s external assistance places and make him participate in the battle. In their opinion, he simply wasn’t strong enough.
But in the end the boy whom they looked down on made unreasonable demands and tried to take advantage of the Yi clan.
If the matter of the Yi clan inviting an intermediate Divine Dwelling stage expert at such a high cost were to spread, the Yi clan would most likely become a joke and make outsiders think that the Yi clan was in a desperate situation and would try anything.
The other members of the Yi clan whispered to one another while glaring at Zhou Yuan with cold unkind gazes.
However, Zhou Yuan still remained indifferent. He responded with a smile. “You get what you pay for.”
Everyone was so angry that they also found it laughable. This boy really is shameless!
Aren’t you just at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage?
Sitting at the main seat, Yi Qiushui, who hadn’t said a word, tapped the tabletop with her slender fingers and made a noise that caused the hall to immediately fall silent.
It was obvious that Yi Qiushui was well respected in the Yi clan.
This could be seen from the fact that Yi Qianji and another Heavenly Sun expert of the Yi clan had never refuted her. Of course, this was also naturally related to the fact that her grandfather occupied an important elder position in Tiany
uan Region.
Yi Qiushui’s clear eyes were fixed on Zhou Yuan as she remarked, “Brother Zhou, your price really isn’t low.”
Zhou Yuan let out a long sigh. He certainly knew that the materials he needed were incredibly precious. If the Yi clan wasn’t lacking people, then even if he were to recommend himself, they would have simply ignored him.
But he had no other option. Without those materials, it would be difficult for his Ancestral Dragon Scripture to enter the second realm.
He knitted his brows in a frown and hesitated whether to remove some materials.
However, just as he was about to speak, Yi Qiushiu’s soft voice sounded once again, “But those materials...my Yi clan can still afford to pay such a price.”
Zhou Yuan’s face lit up with surprise.
The other people of the Yi clan wanted to stop her by exclaiming their disagreement, but Yi Qiushiu prevented them from speaking.
She intently looked at Zhou Yuan and said, “As long as brother Zhou can ensure that my clan won’t lose in the Prefecture Lord battle, I will not only reward you with these materials, but I will also add one hundred high-grade Divine Dwelling medicines as a reward.”
When this statement came out, not only the people of the Yi clan exclaimed out loud, even Zhou Yuan was stunned.
One hundred high-grade Divine Dwelling medicines!
Zhou Yuan had originally stored up more than one hundred Divine Dwelling medicines, but they were all low grade and had been torn to pieces in the space turbulence.
One hundred high-grade Divine Dwelling medicines were equivalent to five hundred low-grade Divine Dwelling medicines. This reward could be considered incredibly generous for a Divine Dwelling expert.
With those Divine Dwelling medicines as training resources, Zhou Yuan’s cultivation speed would undoubtedly increase.
Zhou Yuan licked his lips, a wisp of flame blazing in the depths of his eyes. Yi Qiushui’s offer wasn’t at all small. What Zhou Yuan doubted was whether she was really that optimistic about him.
While Zhou Yuan stood dumbfounded, the others were finding it difficult to understand Yi Qiushui’s behaviour.
Even Yi Qianji couldn’t help making a loud cough, and he questioned in a gentle voice, “Qiushui, Zhou Yuan is strong, but he is still at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage. How can he ensure that the Yi clan doesn’t lose?”
If it weren’t for the fact that Yi Qiushui was always remarkably intelligent, Yi Qianji would have suspected that this incident had too great of an impact on Yi Qiushui and had resulted in her confusion.
Ensure the Yi clan doesn’t lose?
Among all the Divine Dwelling experts of Tianyuan Region, only the heaven prides who had made it onto the Divine Dwelling List would be able to achieve this.
And those prides on the Divine Dwelling List all had extraordinary backgrounds. Even Qiu Ling, Qiushui and Liu Zhixuan couldn’t compare to them. What qualification did Zhou Yuan have?
“Yes, sister Qiushui. Although the situation doesn’t look good now, you don’t have to worry, you still have my brother. With him around, you don’t need to be afraid of that Qiu Ling!” Liu Ming nodded repeatedly.
She found it incredibly difficult to understand why Yi Qiushui would think so highly of Zhou Yuan. She had never seen her treat her older brother like that.
In her opinion, her brother was far superior to Zhou Yuan, whose background was unknown.
However, Yi Qiushui paid no attention to what the others thought and continued to stare at Zhou Yuan.
Yi Qiushui’s feelings towards Zhou Yuan could be described in one word: mysterious.
He was clearly just a youngster from another heaven, but for some reason, she could feel an indescribable, imposing air about him.
He was very confident.
Even in this unfamiliar place, even in the face of the Qiu clan’s Heavenly Sun experts, Zhou Yuan had never panicked once.
This showed that he had something up his sleeve.
Since he was unafraid of facing a Heavenly Sun expert and was making such a demand in that situation, Yi Qiushui felt that he wasn’t bluffing.
Zhou Yuan met Yi Qiushui’s gaze but was somewhat puzzled as to why she would dare to place such a huge bet on him.
But none of this mattered to him. As long as he could get the materials, he dared to accept any bet that Yi Qiushui made.
So, after a moment of pondering, he nodded directly under the contemptuous gazes of Liu Ming and the others.
“I promise you I will do everything in my power to ensure that your clan wins the Prefecture Lord battle.
“But I hope you can give me the materials in two days.”
Yi Qiushui patted the table with her hand, and her red lips moved slightly.
“Deal.”
As a result, a transaction that seemed extremely ridiculous to everyone in the Yi clan was completed.
Chapter 767 Refining the Sword Orb
Although the Yi clan wanted to keep it a secret that Zhou Yuan was selected as one of the external assistance members, there were too many people in the Yi clan, making it difficult to control what everyone says. And so, news of this very quickly spread throughout Xuanzhou City.
As the news spread, it unsurprisingly caused a lot of uproar.
Obviously no one thought that the Yi clan would invite an intermediate Divine Dwelling stage expert as an external assistance member in the Prefecture Lord battle. Adding to this, Zhou Yuan could be said to be a nobody in Xiaoxuan Prefecture, and he had no impressive achievement or reputation.
Therefore, the various forces were very surprised by the Yi clan’s move.
In the Prefecture Lord battle, each side only had five places, which could be said to be extremely precious. But the Yi clan had given one of the external assistance places away to Zhou Yuan. This was similar to breaking one of their own arms before the battle.
Their action was extremely unwise.
“What the Yi clan has done is ridiculous.”
“The head of the Yi clan has passed away, and now Yi Qiushui is in charge. She’s just a little girl, so she is no doubt inexperienced and a little naive.”
“Hey, I heard that Zhou Yuan’s appearance isn’t bad, and it was also Yi Qiushui who brought him back. Could he be her little boyfriend? That’s why she insisted on asking him her external assistance for the battle?”
“I’m surprised that the two Heavenly Sun elders of the Yi clan agreed to this.”
“Sigh, it seems that the Yi clan is going to suffer a big loss in the Prefecture Lord battle this time. If the Prefecture Lord position were to fall into the hands of the Qiu clan, the Yi clan’s plans in Xiaoxuan Prefecture all these years would most likely crumble. They will perhaps also have to withdraw from Xiaoxuan Prefecture.”
“Yes, the Qiu clan has even summoned Qiu Ling, who was training in Heavenly Spirit Sect. It seems they are determined to win the position of Prefecture Lord.”
“.....”
The majority of the people in Xuanzhou City wasn’t optimistic about the Yi clan’s outcome in the Prefecture Lord battle.
And towards these criticisms in Xuanzhou City, the people of the Yi clan had no choice but to swallow the insults even though they were irritated. They could only direct their anger onto the culprit of all this, Zhou Yuan.
.....
The backyard of the Yi clan’s residence.
In an independent courtyard set in a beautiful garden sprawled with lush vegetation, the huge trees shrouded half the courtyard, making them appear peaceful and quiet.
On a stout trunk of an ancient tree, Zhou Yuan was sitting cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed.
Since he had accepted Yi Qiushui’s bet to win the Prefecture Lord battle, he naturally had to do his best. Although Xiaoxuan Prefecture couldn’t be compared to the Cangxuan Sect, he also understood that Hunyuan Heaven was the strongest of all heavens and shouldn’t be underestimated.
Above Zhou Yuan’s knees was a mo
ttled black brush suspended in the air, swallowing the Genesis Qi of the universe.
It was the Heavenly Yuan brush.
Zhou Yuan’s eyes snapped open, revealing a trace of helplessness as he glanced at the Heavenly Yuan Brush. Ever since the awakening of the Heavenly Yuan Brush’s fifth Genesis Rune, Genesis Breaker, the sixth Genesis Rune still hadn’t been completely awakened.
The Heavenly Yuan Brush was now at the low-grade Genesis Weapon level, and if awakened once again, it could reach even the high-grade level.
Even in the entire Hunyuan Heaven, a high-grade Genesis Weapon was certainly a divine weapon that even ordinary Heavenly Sun stage experts wouldn’t necessarily possess.
Of course, what Zhou Yuan paid more attention to wasn’t the grade of the Heavenly Yuan Brush, but the awakened Genesis Runes. The fifth rune, Breaker Rune, had already brought so many benefits to him.
If the fifth rune was already so mysteriously powerful, then what about the sixth rune?
However, in the past two years, Zhou Yuan had kept the Heavenly Yuan Brush with him at all times, but the sixth rune still hadn’t appeared, which showed that the Heavenly Yuan Brush had a huge appetite...
“It looks like it’s still going to take some time.”
Zhou Yuan mumbled to himself. But these years of cultivation weren’t completely useless. At least he could see that the sixth ancient Genesis Rune on the body of the mottled brush was beginning to glow.
The awakening of the sixth Rune had to be near.
These thoughts skimmed across Zhou Yuan’s mind. He ignored the Heavenly Yuan Brush for the time being and folded his palms together. Wisps of Genesis Qi began to hover between his palms. And, following repeated compression and rotation, vague traces of extremely powerful and sharp aura spread out.
Chi!
The sharpness gradually tore even the air around it.
Like sword qi.
Those sharp sword qi continued to gather and compress in Zhou Yuan’s palm. It was almost half a day later when he began to see a little sword qi pill around the size of a bean forming in the palm of his hand.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 405
