As the nine regions tournament drew near, countless forces in Hunyuan Heaven began to cast their eyes over.

Everyone knew about the importance of the nine regions tournament. From a different angle, the tournament was a contest and competition between the nine regions, and its result could shake the entire Hunyuan Heaven.

Therefore, these days, the nine regions tournament became the only topic discussed in Hunyuan Heaven, and the topic of who would become the final winner naturally started heated discussions.

“The final winner will definitely be Zhao Mushen of the Wanzu Region.”

“That's not necessarily the case. Wu Yao of the Wushen Region and Su Youmei of the Zixiao Region aren't any weaker than Zhao Mushen, and they mustn’t be provoked.”

“I agree. Zhao Mushen can only sit stably in first place because Wu Yao and Su Youwei do not value the rank much.”

“Actually, Wang Xi of the Xuehai Region also isn’t ordinary.”

“Haha, who on the top eight of the Divine Dwelling List is ordinary?”

“What about Zhou Yuan of the Tianyuan Region?”

“He's also a top heaven pride, but unfortunately, he is still lacking. If he can connect through to the ninth Divine Dwelling, he might have a chance to compete against them. But who doesn’t know that the last two Divine Dwellings are the most difficult to connect? He was born at the wrong time.”

“Yes, it's amazing that he beat Chen Xuandong, but it still depends on who he is compared to.”

“The Tianyuan Region is probably going to rank last again in this year’s nine regions tournament.”

“--”

Similar discussions happened in every place of Hunyuan Heaven. It was clear that everybody thought highly of Zhao Mushen, Wu Yao and Su Youwei, the famous super heaven prides. They were as bright and dazzling as the sun.

And compared with them, Zhou Yuan was much dimmer and almost forgotten. When he was occasionally mentioned, everybody spoke about him in a pitiful tone of voice. Some people even had a disdainful attitude towards him. After all, the nine regions were the overlords of Hunyuan Heaven, and the strength of the other eight regions was tyrannical and unshakable. On the other hand, Tianyuan Region’s position had become unstable following the disappearance of supreme sovereign Cang Yuan. Therefore, there were many people who wanted to strike at the Tianyuan Region while it was down.

There were presumably many forces in Hunyuan Heaven with this malicious mentality, and they hoped that the Tianyuan Region would truly deteriorate and they would have the opportunity to rise. After all, if they were to get a bite of a colossal monster like the Tianyuan Region, they would become full.

It was under this kind of attention that the nine regions tournament finally came.

Wanzu Region.

In a lush green bamboo forest, a figure stood with hands clasped behind his back. He stood there, tall as a pine tree. His face was handsome, and his facial features were sharp as if carved from stone. In the center of his brows was a mysterious lotus flower mark. He simply stood there, but he still looked like a dazzling sun and attracted everybody’s attention.

He was Zhao Mushen, the person whom countless people of the Divine Dwelling stage in Hunyuan Heaven looked up to.

He was looking forward respectfully where a man was holding a carving knife in one hand and a stalk of bamboo in the other. The knife swung down, and bamboo shavings whirled into the air.

The man looked extremely young and seemed to be a similar age to Zhao Mushen. His face was pale, and his appearance was far inferior to Zhao Mushen's, but facing him, Zhao Mushen revealed deep awe and reverence on his face.

The person before him was the founder of the Wanzu Region and one of the oldest saints in Hunyuan Heaven, supreme sovereign Wan Zu.

A moment later, supreme sovereign Wan Zu’s knife finally stopped. He blew at the bamboo carving, sending the bamboo shavings whirling into the air, and then he turned to Zhao Mushen.

Wan Zu's face was young, but his eyes at that moment were indescribably old.

“Mushen, in this nine regions tournament, if there is a chance, capture this person and bring him back in secret.” He tossed the bamboo sculpture in his hand to Zhao Mushen.

Zhao Mushen carefully received it. The bamboo carving was a lifelike figure of a man that he recognized. “Tianyuan Region’s Zhou Yuan?”

He was a little surprised. He had heard of Zhou Yuan's name before, but he didn’t pay much attention to him because he considered Zhou Yuan's achievements insignificant.

Therefore, no matter how fierce a noise Zhou Yuan created these days, Zhao Mushen had never regarded him as an opponent.

However, Zhou Yuan's name had even passed to supreme sovereign Wan Zu’s ears, and he even personally ordered Zhao Mushen to capture him.

Supreme sovereign Wan Zu glanced at Zhao Mushen and said indifferently, “That Zhou Yuan comes from another heaven, and I suspect he has something to do with old man Cang Yuan.”

Although Zhou Yuan's identity hadn't been exposed in any way, supreme sovereign Wan Zu was a little suspicious of Zhou Yuan, but his suspicion wasn’t enough for him to do something.

But if he did do something himself, it would have too great of an impact. Therefore, he couldn't take action personally. After all, even though Cang Yuan had disappeared, there were still people in Hunyuan Heaven who were devoted to him.

Zhao Mushen's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't ask much before he took the bamboo sculpture and accepted the order. “Okay.”

His tone was indifferent, as though he were crushing an ant.

As the leader of the Divine Dwelling List, he had that qualification.

Supreme sovereign Wan Zu nodded and didn’t say anything else. If it weren’t for the fact that Zhou Yuan might be connected to Cang Yuan, how would Zhou Yuan have caught his attention given his strength? And for Wan Zu to personally give the order to capture him? That was impossible if not for this.

Zhao Mushen bowed respectfully. “Then, I will set off now.”

It was only after supreme sovereign Wan Zu nodded again that Zhao Mushen turned and left the bamboo forest.

Outside the bamboo forest were tens of thousands of figures standing orderly, all emitting tyrannical Genesis Qi. They gestured with frantic enthusiasm when they saw Zhao Mushen walking out.

Zhao Mushen’s eyes swept over the crowd and motioned with his hand.

“Go!”

The next instant, the thousands of figures rushed up like clouds.

In the bamboo forest, supreme sovereign Wan Zu peered in the direction they left. After a long moment, his voice suddenly spread throughout the bamboo forest.

“Cang Yuan, you always ruin things!”

Supreme sovereign Wan Zu’s face was devoid of expression, and only a ripple of energy spread out from his body.

Chi!

The bamboo forest within thousands of miles was turned to nothing as though it never existed.

The power that had destroyed the forest was silent but incomparably terrifying.

Gazing at the empty land, supreme sovereign Wan Zu let out a sigh, and his expression gradually relaxed. With a flick of his sleeve, the Genesis Qi between heaven and earth began to gather together, turning into dewdrops that sprinkled about.

Green sprouts grew from the ground at an astonishing speed.

Thousands of miles of bamboo forest was restored within seconds.

He was able to destroy with one hand and create with the other.

The power of a supreme sovereign was remarkable.

“Cang Yuan, I want to see how long you can hide!”

Wushen Region.

Wu Yao’s red dress was fluttering in the wind as she peered at the thousands of disciples gathered before her. They were this generation's elites in the Wushen Region. They simply stood there, but their presence caused the Genesis Qi across the world to bubble forth.

Thousands of the Wushen Region elites were gazing at the powerful and domineering Wu Yao with awe.

Behind Wu Yao were two tall and imposing figures.

One was Lan Ting, and the other was a handsome man whose presence wasn’t in any way inferior to his. If Zhou Yuan were here, he would have identified him at a glance, because when Wu Yao returned to the Great Wu, this person had followed her and even attacked Zhou Yuan from behind.

His name was Zhao Yunxiao.

And at this moment, as they stared at Wu Yao's back the depths of their eyes sparkled with admiration.

Then, they exchanged a glance with each other. In their indifferent and calm expressions they revealed a competitiveness.

“Junior brother Yunxiao, your closed-door cultivation this time wasn’t short. I wonder if your ranking on the Divine Dwelling List will remain at number 19th this time?” Lan Ting asked with a smile.

For the nine regions tournament, the Wushen Region had concealed their strength very well. Lan Ting was incredibly strong yet wasn’t ranked on the Divine Dwelling List, and Zhao Yuanxiao had remained at the 19th position.

This was why Zhao Yunxiao had the nickname Zhao Nineteenth within the Wushen Region.

Only people who were familiar with the situation knew that Zhao Yunxiao’s 19th position was only for outsiders to see. In terms of strength, he didn’t attach any importance to the people ranked above him, except for the top eight.

Zhao Yunxiao calmly replied, “After the nine regions tournament, senior brother, you shouldn’t need to conceal your strength anymore. I wonder what your ranking will be.”

The two men’s gazes collided, and sparks sputtered out.

Wu Yao paid no attention to the fight between the two. She lifted her beautiful hand and transformed into a stream of light in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

Following closely behind her were the many elites of the Wushen Region.

Zixiao Region.

On a cloud platform, Su Yuwei gazed at the impressive-looking flag in front of her. That day she was dressed in a long purple dress, and her long black hair was tied up, revealing her beautiful glowing face.

She lifted her head, peering into the distance, and the corners of her lips curved in a subtle arc.

That moment shocked everyone present.

“Your Highness, I can finally see you again.”

Xuehai Region.

Shengwen Region.

Xuanji Region.

There were mighty figures rising into the sky from all nine regions of the Hunyuan Heaven.

And after that, countless forces also quickly followed after them.

The curtain of the grand event that belonged to the young generation of Hunyuan Heaven was finally lifted.