“So what is your decision?”

In the fragrance pavilion, Yaoyao bright eyes were fixed on Zhou Yuan. The soft words that left her red lips caused him to fall into conflict, his eyes flickering indeterminately.

It was hard to choose between the two.

Of course, the Heavenly Yuan Canon would undoubtedly be the more reliable choice. Grade 7 Genesis Qi was more than enough for him to reign supreme over those of the same cultivation level. In fact, it would even allow him to have some confidence against enemies at a higher cultivation level than himself.

Compared to the stable Heavenly Yuan Canon, the mysterious Ancestral Dragon Scripture was brimming with innumerable possibilities.

Based on what Yaoyao had told him, Zhou Yuan could sense just how difficult it was to practice this Qi cultivation method. It was so difficult that he might not even surpass the first level in his entire lifetime and this first level could only grant grade 5 Genesis Qi, Genesis Qi that was clearly unable to satisfy him.

Most importantly, there was no turning back once he chose to practice the Ancestral Dragon Scripture. One could change to other Qi cultivation methods if one felt that one’s own was unsuitable, but this option was unavailable for the Ancestral Dragon Scripture. It akin to a path of no return.

For the Ancestral Dragon Scripture, the only option was to advance endlessly.

A choice that undoubtedly required a tremendous amount of courage and charisma.

It was true that the path of the Ancestral Dragon Scripture would be fraught with danger, but… the possibility of unlimited growth caused excitement to flood Zhou Yuan’s heart. It was basically impossible to give up on it.

Hence, in the face of these two choices, even the normally decisive Zhou Yuan was stuck in a dilemma. His face fluctuated indeterminately, unable to make a decision.

Yaoyao did not hurry him and merely watched in silence.

The silence in the fragrance pavilion lasted for a very long time, before finally being broken by a long sigh.

Zhou Yuan opened his eyes and looked towards Yaoyao as he slowly declared, “I choose…”

“The Ancestral Dragon Scripture!”

Yaoyao’s hand seemed to tremble a little, somewhat surprised by Zhou Yuan’s choice. After all, compared to the Heavenly Yuan Canon, the Ancestral Dragon Scripture was filled with too much uncertainty.

Zhou Yuan looked at Yaoyao, laughed in a somewhat self-mocking manner and said, “Big sis Yaoyao, I do not want to experience the events of the past ever again; having others take away what belongs to me, even hurting those closest to me while I am powerless to do anything. Never again.”

Every time he saw his mother’s pale complexion, Zhou Yuan’s heart felt as if it was being cut by a blade. He knew that he would have long been dead if not for Qin Yu’s constant infusion of essence blood to him.

There was also Zhou Qing. He had been betrayed, his empire stolen and even had an arm cut off by king Wu when he tried to protect the things that mattered to him. He ultimately failed to save his own son, and greatly blamed himself day and night.

All of this had happened due to powerlessness.

“The enemies I have to face in future will likely become stronger and stronger. Therefore, I need the greatest of powers in order to protect my family and myself.”

“I want to be so strong that any existence would be unable to be even the smallest threat to me and those I care about.”

“The Heavenly Yuan Canon is strong, very very strong, but it cannot give me the strength I yearn for. Thus…”

He stared at Yaoyao and declared once again, slightly pausing between each word, “I choose the Ancestral Dragon Scripture!”

Yaoyao could see the burning determination in Zhou Yuan’s eyes, causing her to give a light nod before offering the mottled bone fragment in her hand.

Zhou Yuan reached out, grabbed it and gave a little tug, but was unable to take it.

“Zhou Yuan, you will have no other roads to walk once you select it. Hence, you cannot regret this decision in future.” A grave look emerged on Yaoyao’s pretty face.

Zhou Yuan grinned. “Big sis Yaoyao, I’ve been tormented by the Dragon’s Resentment Poison since young and have experienced how people treated me due to being unable to find my meridian channels. Therefore, I understand very well just how determined I am.”

“This road may be difficult, but… I will definitely walk till the end!”

Zhou Yuan’s voice was filled with resolution. Without any hesitation, he pulled even harder, removing the mottled bone fragment from Yaoyao’s grasp. His expression was incomparably serious as he kept it.

On the path of cultivation, the state of one’s heart was the most important. Zhou Yuan’s past experiences taught him that determination was essential if one wanted power. Once one was set on a goal, one needed to do all one could to realize it. Hence, one needed great willpower!

Yaoyao watched Zhou Yuan keep the mottled bone fragment and sighed. “Four Genesis resources are needed for you to begin practicing the Dragon Ancestral Scripture’s first level.”

Yaoyao took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhou Yuan.

With a glance, Zhou Yuan saw the beautifully written words on the paper. However, when he took a closer look at the four Genesis resources needed, his face could not help but twitch.

“Genesis Swallowing Rock? Heavenly Gold Marrow? Nine Underworld Black Spring Crystal? Grade 4 python type Genesis Beast spirit?!” Each of the four ingredients caused Zhou Yuan to cry out in surprise as his hands subconsciously trembled.

Every single one of them was an extremely rare Genesis resource. Amongst them, Zhou Yuan had heard a little of the Heavenly Gold Marrow, which just happened to be present in the royal treasury. However, there were only a few drops.

The addition of a single drop while forging a Genesis Weapon would allow the weapon to become much sharper than usual, and might even raise the grade of the final product. This was why it was extremely valuable.

Moreover, the one that troubled Zhou Yuan the most was the grade 4 python type Genesis Beast spirit. Grade 4… this was comparable to a human Alpha-Origin stage expert!

There were only a handful of Alpha-Origin stage experts in the Great Zhou Empire and obtaining a grade 4 Genesis Beast spirit was no different from killing an Alpha-Origin stage expert.

The mere thought of this task made Zhou Yuan’s heart shiver.

After reaching the Qi Nourishing stage, one needed to use one’s body as a furnace in order to refine your own Genesis Qi. To further elaborate, the Genesis Qi absorbed from the world is the most basic ingredient, while the Qi cultivation method is the blueprint or instructions. Genesis resources on the other hand are supplementary materials that can be added according to the blueprint. It is through refining and fusing all of these various components together followed by tempering that one will ultimately be able to create Genesis Qi of one’s own.

Every single piece is indispensable. Hence, even the supplementary Genesis resources must be properly prepared.

Upon seeing Zhou Yuan’s rather uncomfortable looking face, Yaoyao could not help but laugh and say, “Do you regret your choice? There is still time to change.”

Zhou Yuan let out a bitter laugh, he did feel a little regret. Just the first level of the Ancestral Dragon Scripture already required such rare Genesis resources. Who knew what kind of mysterious ingredients were needed for the second, third and fourth levels?

Only now did Zhou Yuan understand how difficult it was to practice the Ancestral Dragon Scripture. The prerequisites alone were already insane.

However, determination quickly filled his eyes. “I will think of a way to get these Genesis resources.”

Since his choice had already been made, such difficulties were naturally unable to shake him. Otherwise, he would have given up long long ago.

Zhou Yuan’s unwavering determination was a little admirable in Yaoyao’s eyes. “You’ll have to hurry up if you do not plan on using the most basic Genesis Qi after reaching the Qi Nourishing stage.”

Ordinary Genesis Qi had no attribute nor any special effects. Hence, it was very lacking in battle power when compared to Genesis Qi produced through Qi cultivation methods.

Zhou Yuan smiled bitterly as he nodded. Looks like he would have to trouble Zhou Qing since the current him really had no means of gathering these materials.

…