The battle with Liu Xiang was surprisingly quick. Fear had rapidly taken root in him when he realized that Chu Yang had been defeated in such a short span of time. As such, it did not take long for Zhou Yuan to utterly crush the former.

In the end, Chu Yang was eliminated due to serious injuries.

Zhou Yuan was seated on the crumbled remains of a mountain top, the Heavenly Yuan Brush sticking out from the ground in front of him. Its snow-white brush hairs flowed from the tip of the brush, hanging over the cliff like white chains. At the ends of the chains were two unconscious heavily injured figures.

Chu Yang and Liu Xiang.

In contrast to the aggressive manner in which they had chased down Zhou Yuan earlier, the two were now clearly experiencing what it was truly like to be stray dogs that had lost their homes.

Zhou Yuan was in no hurry to leave after dealing with the Chu Yang duo. He had just been through three intensive battles in quick succession, and they had been highly taxing on his Genesis Qi. If not for his variant blood-red Qi Dwelling that boasted abundant Genesis Qi and recovery abilities beyond the norm, these three battles would have sucked him dry.

Huu.

The sound of breathing emerged from Zhou Yuan’s nose, gradually growing louder and louder as the faint roar of a dragon echoed in accompaniment.

The Dragon Breathing technique!

The surrounding Genesis Qi transformed into surging white mist, before being further condensed into white threads that were swallowed into his body one after another. The threads were quickly refined in his body, and then cast into his Qi Dwelling.

As he felt the slowly replenishing Genesis Qi in his body, Zhou Yuan lifted his head to gaze at the top of the misty chief disciple peak.

With the exception of Yuan Hong, Lu Hong’s entire team had basically been wiped out.

However, there was one thing Chu Yang had been right about. At the end of the day, they were merely the side dishes. The true trump card of Lu Hong’s faction was still the immeasurable Yuan Hong.

“I wonder how senior brother Zhou Tai and the rest are doing…” Zhou Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. However, he soon pushed away such thoughts. He needed to first recover to his peak condition, and then finish off the final participant besides Yuan Hong.

As for Yuan Hong, if he was really so formidable, they would eventually meet in the end.

…

While Zhou Yuan was recovering his Genesis Qi, he was unaware of how his elimination of the Chu Yang and Liu Xiang duo was already causing giant waves outside the chief disciple peak.

No one had expected Zhou Yuan to have secretly prepared a Genesis Rune Boundary in advance, lure the duo in, split them up, and then defeat them individually.

Such strength and tactics had finally forced everyone to begin viewing him as a serious contender.

Outside the chief disciple peak.

A seemingly endless uproar was still sweeping back and forth.

Shen Taiyuan’s disciples had excited looks on their faces as they continuously whispered to each other, admiration rising in their eyes when they looked towards the recovering figure in the chief disciple peak.

Zhou Yuan had defeated four of the participants from Lu Hong’s faction in a row… an achievement that was simply breathtaking.

In the very beginning, there had been no lack of individuals among them who were critical of Zhou Yuan’s participation. After all, Zhou Yuan did feel somewhat lacking in experience and maturity in comparison to several of the more seasoned purple ash disciples.

But by this point, such skepticism and doubts had already completely faded away.

Yaoyao was elegantly seated on a rock by the cliffside with Tuntun lying on her lap. Her bright eyes would occasionally look towards a certain figure in the chief disciple peak, as her red lips curled just an eensy little bit.

It had already been a year since Zhou Yuan first arrived at the Cangxuan Sect.

Over this year, he had clearly grown at an astonishing rate.

The young man who had walked out from the Great Zhou Empire back then had finally begun to find the light that belonged solely to himself, and allowed it to blossom, becoming a dazzling sight that drew everyone’s eyes.

…

In contrast to the atmosphere of excitement hanging over Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song’s disciples, Lu Hong’s disciples had fallen into a stifling silence. Disciple after disciple wore ugly expressions, while also stuck in deep disbelief.

Who amongst them had ever taken Zhou Yuan seriously over the greater part of the year? And yet, it was this very person who had single handedly forced their team into such an awkward and embarrassing position.

Black, ominous storm clouds hung over Lu Hong’s elderly face, making it easy for anyone to see just how furious he was. The surrounding disciples stealthily made themselves scarce, praying hard that he would not take any notice of them.

Lu Hong took in two deep breaths, suppressing the boiling rage in his heart and trying his best to make sure he did not appear overly affected.

By now, even he had no choice but to admit that the newcomer he had always looked down on, had somehow unknowingly grown to this level...

If they waited another year, Lu Hong would really be worried about the chief disciple position.

Fortunately, the heavens were ultimately standing on his side, allowing the chief disciple selection to begin this year instead…

…

The numerous disciples, Shen Taiyuan, Lu Hong, and the other elders were not the only ones who were closely following the situation here. In fact, even sect master Qing Yang and the other five hegemons at the highest spot in the sky had already discovered the current situation.

Sect master Qing Yang sighed and said, “Zhou Yuan is truly a good sapling. He has a high chance to become a Chosen in the future.”

Every Chosen of the Cangxuan Sect was the culmination of a tremendous amount of effort and grooming, and could be said to be the future backbones of the sect. As such, sect master Qing Yang’s assessment was high praise indeed.

The other hegemons faintly nodded in agreement.

Snow Lotus Peak master Liu Lianyi cast a sideway glance at peak master Ling Jun as she said, “Looks like someone is going to become a little nervous.”

Peak master Ling Jun’s handsome face was impassive. He swept a glance at the distant chief disciple peak and calmly said, “He is indeed rather talented. Unfortunately, this year’s chief disciple seat will not be his.”

Peak master Ling Jun did not even care that Wu Hai and the other three had been defeated by Zhou Yuan, because he understood that none of these individuals were even contenders for the chief disciple position.

They were merely tagging along to make the line-up appear more impressive. The true trump card still lay with Yuan Hong.

…

Half an incense stick of time later.

Zhou Yuan stood up as his hand closed around the Heavenly Yuan Brush. His figure rose into the sky, the brush hairs tightly wrapped around the two unconscious figures.

On another misty stone platform some distance away.

An intense battle was still ongoing here.

Two figures clashed ferociously, as powerful Genesis Qi swept outwards, leaving mark after mark on the stone stage.

Bang!

The two figures retreated after yet another clash.

Han Yu wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth as she gritted her teeth and stared at her opponent, a young man called Zhu Qing.

The two of them were roughly equal in strength. As such, no one had managed to gain the upper hand even though they had been fighting for quite some time.

Zhu Qing grinned as he gazed at Han Yu and mockingly said, “You seem to be rather desperate to defeat me. Why? Are you planning on going to help that guy?”

He could clearly sense the urgentness and anxiety in Han Yu’s attacks. It was this same anxiety that had instead allowed him to find several openings. If not for her speed, Han Yu would have lost long ago.

Han Yu’s expression sunk a little.

“Hehe, it’s already been so long. I feel that he has most likely already been dealt with.” Taunted Zhu Qing.

“How much despair do you think you’ll feel when Chu Yang and Liu Xiang return?”

Han Yu bit hard into her lips as iciness rose in her eyes. She did not bother responding as Genesis Qi surged out with intent of continuing her offensive.

She needed to defeat Zhu Qing as quickly as possible, and then proceed to support Zhou Yuan. Otherwise, they would soon be utterly defeated.

However, she suddenly heard the sound of rushing wind just as her figure was about to move.

Zhu Qing also raised his head, peering towards the distant mist as a wide grin grew on his face. “Looks like you’re finished.”

Han Yu lifted her face, turning somewhat pale as she looked towards the rippling mist.

The mist was soon torn apart as a figure slowly descended.

Next, the mocking look on Zhu Qing’s face solidified bit by bit.

In contrast, Han Yu’s mouth slowly opened wider and wider.

“Zhou… Zhou Yuan?!”

The one who had appeared was naturally Zhou Yuan. He smiled at Han Yu, before shifting his gaze towards Zhu Qing as he gave the Heavenly Yuan Brush a gentle swing. Two bodies tumbled towards the latter, ending up lying at his feet.

“Who did you say… was finished?”

Zhu Qing was dumbstruck as he stared at the two figures before him. A chill quickly rose from the bottom of his feet, surging straight towards his scalp.

Intense fear and dread rapidly surged out from the depths of his eyes.