Chapter 239 The Elder in Gray

As the two Genesis Rune Brushes danced on the jade board, stroke after stroke took shape and began to attack one another as if they were on a battlefield, while a kind of desperation seemed to spread within the silence.

A contest based on Genesis Runes like this was not affected by how strong one’s Spirit cultivation was, and purely relied on one’s understanding of Genesis Runes.

Zhou Yuan stood behind Yaoyao, amazement in his eyes as he watched their game unfurl.

He could faintly sense the brilliance behind every stroke that was laid down, a feat that required extremely high mastery of Genesis Runes.

At the very least, the majority of the strokes made the area between his brows seem to swell in pain.

“Who is this old man? It’s hard to believe he’s able to compete in Genesis Runes with big sis Yaoyao…” Zhou Yuan looked in astonishment at the solemn looking old man in gray. Yaoyao’s Genesis Rune mastery was practically immeasurable. In fact, this was the first time he had seen Yaoyao’s serious appearance.

However, the elder in gray was clearly having a very hard time against the serious Yaoyao, as could be seen from the intense look on his face.

The two went at it as if possessed, the deadlock lasting for an incense stick of time.

Yaoyao gently stroked Tuntun's soft fur as she glanced at the elder and said, "Old mister, you've been attacking for so long without any breakthrough, why keep stubbornly persisting?"

The elder in gray huffed at his beard, seemingly on the verge of hiding his face in shame as he retorted, "Don't be so conceited little girl, I merely held myself back because you're a junior."

Yaoyao's red lips curled downwards. "Old mister, the only gap between us is in our Spirit cultivation, which is only there because you have the advantage of age. If we were to solely compare Genesis Rune mastery and foundations, I'm afraid that you may not be able to beat me."

The elder's voice was tinged with embarrassment and anger. "Little girl, don't think that you can spout whatever nonsense you want just because you're pretty!"

"You weren't even born when I was learning Genesis Runes!"

Yaoyao nonchalantly said, "You've trained for so long, and yet you can't even beat me. I can only say that old mister still has plenty of room for improvement."

Her voice sounded gentle, but her words were mercilessly.

The elder huffed angrily as he glared at her. With a wave of his sleeve, the strokes on the jade board were wiped clean as he snorted and said, "I'll be going back to research some things for a bit. I'll break your defence next time."

Behind Yaoyao, Zhou Yuan could not help but laugh. This old man's skin was really thick, to think that he would even resort to such tactics.

Upon hearing Zhou Yuan's laughter, the old man in gray glared at him, a faint threatening pressure rising.

Zhou Yuan was taken aback, his laughter coming to an immediate stop as he looked towards the elder in uncertainty. This old man did not seem to be ordinary…

"You can flaunt your power after beating me." Said Yaoyao at this moment.

Upon hearing Yaoyao's blunt words, the elder in gray could not help but say, "Do you know who I am little girl? You dare to say such things to me!"

"Don't know. Don't care." A faint smile rose on Yaoyao's beautiful face.

The elder glared daggers at her for a long time, before letting out a bitter laugh. "How did a weirdo like you appear in this batch of outer mountain disciples…"

"But your mastery over Genesis Runes is indeed exceedingly amazing. It seems that you've learnt from someone else, right?" The elder's tone seemed to hint at something deeper.

Yaoyao indifferently responded, "Why? Does the Cangxuan Sect not allow us to bring our own skills in?"

The elder in gray chuckled. "We do permit it. The Cangxuan Sect accepts anyone as long as they harbour no ill intent towards us."

He smiled as he continued, "Little girl, I've seen how outstanding your Genesis Rune talent is. Are you interested in entering the Spirit Rune Peak? If you are, I can recommend you in now, and let you directly become an inner mountain disciple."

Zhou Yuan was slightly shocked. To become inner mountain disciples, one had to go through that peak selection ceremony. The old man before them could allow one to bypass this important test. Looks like his status was not low at all.

Zhou Yuan was already aware that the Spirit Rune Peak was one of the seven peaks of the Cangxuan Sect. It was a rather unique peak as all of its disciples focused solely on Genesis Runes. It was said that the sect’s cultivation paradise, Genesis Mountain, was one of the works of the Spirit Rune Peak.

Yaoyao glanced at the elder and shook her head. “Not interested.”

The elder in gray was stunned, never expecting that Yaoyao would be such a character. She clearly did not care about this chance to directly become an inner mountain disciple.

He extended a finger and pointed at Yaoyao for a long time. In the end, he shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “Fine, do as you want.”

“You only need to let me know if you ever become interested in joining the Spirit Rune Peak in the future. My Spirit Rune Peak has numerous ancient Genesis Runes, and we can be said to have abundant resources.”

One could tell that he had become very fond of Yaoyao’s talent. After all, the Genesis Rune talent she displayed had truly taken his breath away. None of the disciples he had encountered in the past had ever displayed such amazing talent.

At the words ancient Genesis Runes, Yaoyao’s eyes seemed to move, but she eventually shook her head. Zhou Yuan needed to enter the Saint Genesis Peak to obtain the second Saint Rune, hence, she was not willing to go somewhere else.

The elder in gray helplessly chuckled, no longer trying to convince her.

“Your Genesis strokes have a certain uniqueness to them. I’ll go back and research how to deal with them.” He slowly stood up, and suddenly looked at Zhou Yuan. “As for you, you’ve been causing quite a ruckus in the outer mountains recently.”

He began to size up Zhou Yuan as he continued to speak, “However, the fact that you were able to help others sense apertures is indicative of your ability. Only someone with extremely sharp Spirit senses will be able to do so.”

Zhou Yuan smiled, but did not say anything. He was naturally not going to reveal the existence of the Decoder Saint Rune.

"The two of you are not simple at all."

Remarked the elder in gray with a grin, before he turned around and slowly left.

Zhou Yuan watched him leave and asked, “Big sis Yaoyao, who is he?”

Yaoyao lazily yawned before replying, “No idea. I was studying Genesis Runes here earlier, when he suddenly popped out and said he wanted to teach me. So I told him that he’s not good enough to be my teacher.”

“Then he got angry, and wanted to compete with me in Genesis Runes. In the end, he was unable to win.”

Zhou Yuan's mouth opened and closed. Big sis Yaoyao, you really are a domineering tyrant.

The elder in gray was clearly not ordinary, and likely had pretty high status in the Cangxuan Sect. And yet you so bluntly told him that he’s not good enough… thank god his temper isn’t bad, or he would have flipped.

Zhou Yuan shook his head, deciding not to dwell on this matter. With a smile, he said, “Forget about him. Let’s go. I’ll bring you guys to the Hundred Fragrances House to eat to your heart’s content today.”

He patted the Universe bag at his waist and said in a rather pleased manner, "We've got money now."

Roar!

There wasn’t much of a response from Yaoyao, but Tuntun roared excitedly, its beady beast eyes glowing brightly.

They had passed by the Hundred Fragrances House quite a few times previously, and Tuntun had always tried to dash in again. However, it was forcibly dragged back by the prepared Zhou Yuan, because he really could not afford it at that time.

Since he had just made a killing, Zhou Yuan naturally intended on rewarding Tuntun. After all, if Zhu Yue suddenly went crazy and decided to seek Zhou Yuan out, he would have to throw Tuntun out and let it do its work.

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