It was completely silent in the originally chaotic campsite. Only the crackling sound of the campfire could be heard.

Both sides stared at the collapsed mountain in the distance in disbelief and shock. They had just witnessed Zhou Yuan send Xu Feng flying with a single kick...

That was an expert of the advanced Divine Dwelling stage!

Although Xu Feng had only stepped into the advanced Divine Dwelling stage two months ago, his fighting power was already incredibly tyrannical. Even Yi Qiushui, who had established an eight heavens Divine Dwelling, couldn’t withstand his might. So how had Zhou Yuan, who was also at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage, unleashed such terrifying power?

The expression on Zhao Yue’s beautiful face had frozen. It was only after a good while that some movement was seen on her neck. She seemed to be swallowing saliva.

“How is this possible?” A low voice emerged from her red lips. Although she should have been overjoyed that Xu Feng was defeated, the scene was just far too shocking.

Zhao Yue had always treated Zhou Yuan as a liar, and in truth, looked down on him a little. However, her suspicions now appeared extremely laughable.

Evidently, it wasn’t that Zhou Yuan had lied but that she was lacking in judgement...

At the thought of this, Zhao Yue, who had always been rather cold and haughty, felt quite ashamed.

Compared with Zhao Yue’s shame, the expressions of Mu Chao and the group of young men and women changed indeterminately. If Zhao Yue was said to be suspicious of Zhou Yuan previously, then they could be said to have never had a good opinion of this country bumpkin from another heaven.

Zhou Yuan had been a joke in their eyes for the past few days.

But it was obvious who was the laughingstock now.

Mu Chao gave a hollow laugh, and the smile on his face was incredibly forced. But to not appear cowardly in front of Yi Qiushui, he remarked, “It seems that the talented geniuses of other heavens aren’t all that bad...

“Zhou Yuan should be one of the top younger generation experts in his heaven.

“But although he is pretty good in our eyes, in Hunyuan Heaven—no, even among the Divine Dwelling stage experts of our Tianyuan region—he would most likely not be ranked on any list.”

His words and tone gave off a sense of superiority.

Next to him, the prided geniuses of other clans also echoed, “Our Tianyuan region has 38 people on the Divine Dwelling List of Hunyuan Heaven. These are the true prided geniuses blessed by the heavens. If Zhou Yuan were to encounter any one of them, it would be difficult for him to contend.”

Although they seemed to be discussing, they were obviously trying to convince themselves that Zhou Yuan’s strength was not that great so as to alleviate their shame.

A smile crossed Yi Qiushui’s face. “You seem to have forgotten that Zhou Yuan is currently at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage.”

Their voices suddenly came to an abrupt stop.

This was because almost every person on Hunyuan Heaven’s Divine Dwelling List was at the advanced Divine Dwelling stage, whereas Zhou Yuan was only at the intermediate Divine Dwelling stage. He might not have a huge chance of beating these Divine Dwelling experts now, but what if he also reached the advanced stage?

Considering Zhou Yuan’s astonishing power, even if Mu Chao and the others were reluctant to admit it, they knew that his strength would undoubtedly skyrocket once he stepped into the advanced Divine Dwelling stage.

When that happened, Zhou Yuan would likely be ranked on the Divine Dwelling List.

All the individuals on the Divine Dwelling List were remarkable talents. With the exception of Yi Qiushui, it was almost impossible for the younger generation of Xiaoxuan Province to be ranked on the list.

Therefore, a simple sentence from Yi Qiushui made them once again face the cruel truth.

Seeing that the group had fallen silent, Yi Qiushui’s red lips curved slightly. How could she not know what they were thinking? She knew that it was difficult to admit that others were better.

So what if Zhou Yuan was from another heaven, had prodigies not appeared from other heavens before?

While everybody was gradually waking up to the truth, the Wind Demon Bandits stared at the collapsed mountain in the distance before turning towards Zhou Yuan in terror.

Qiu Ji hurriedly said upon seeing the looks in their eyes, “Don’t worry, brothers of the Wind Demon Bandits. He may have defeated Xu Feng, but he must have exhausted all his strength in order to do so!”

Ch!

However, the bandits fled before his voice could fade.

They darted over to the crumbled mountain, destroyed the boulders, and finally dug out a body, after which they swiftly disappeared into the night.

Their movements were extremely decisive.

They evidently didn’t care about Qiu Ji’s intentions. As bandits, they were more sensitive to danger than ordinary people. Hence, they knew that if they stayed longer they might not be able to escape.

Qiu Ji watched the scene with an ashen face. The Qiu clan had secretly supported the Wind Demon Bandits for so many years, but he didn’t expect it to have no effect on them.

“A bunch of trash!” Qiu Ji gritted his teeth.

Immediately, he turned his head, fixing a fierce look on Zhou Yuan. A moment later, he took a deep breath and said, “Friend, your strength is really not bad, but you have to understand that your strength is still considered nothing to my Qiu clan.

“If you leave now, my Qiu clan can forgive you for the death of the young master.

“And if you like, you can capture Yi Qiushui. No matter what she gave you, my Qiu clan will double the amount!

“With the support of my Qiu clan, you can quickly step into the advance Divine Dwelling stage. You will have a great future!”

Zhao Yue’s expression changed. Qiu Ji was really cunning to think about pulling Zhou Yuan over to his side. If Zhou Yuan turned against them, their situation would become hopeless.

Zhao Yue turned to Yi Qiushui and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Miss!”

But Yi Qiushui waved her hand dismissively, quietly staring at Zhou Yuan. She didn’t try to offer a greater reward. She knew that Zhou Yuan wasn’t such a stupid person.

As expected, Zhou Yuan couldn’t help laughing. He shook his head. “It’s too late now. If I went with you to the Qiu clan, then maybe my ending will be even more miserable than Xu Feng’s.”

Zhou Yuan had experienced a lot over the years. How would he easily believe Qiu Ji’s words?

Qiu Ji’s face trembled, eyes turning more and more vicious. He glanced at the battlefield and understood that his mission was a complete failure.

He couldn’t stop Yi Qiushui from returning to Xuanzhou City.

“Well, I admit defeat this time, but Zhou Yuan, don’t look so pleased. You have angered my Qiu clan, so you are going to regret it in the future!

“Do you think the Yi clan, which can’t even protect themselves, would protect you?

“What a joke!

“When you fall into my hands, I will make sure you repay everything you have done today!”

Qiu Ji’s tone of voice was full of malice. After he left these words, he no longer hesitated. With a wave of his hand, he led his people to quickly retreat into the darkness and fled.

Zhou Yuan watched them flee with an indifferent expression, but he did not pursue them. After all, they had a large number of people on their side, and he could put himself into danger if he gave chase.

The most important task tonight was to resolve the Qiu clan’s besiegement.

However, with the retreat of the Wind Demon Bandits and the people of the Qiu clan, this task could be considered successfully completed.

The Divine Dwelling halos behind Zhou Yuan gradually faded. His body descended as he scanned the silent crowd. His eyes landed on Yi Qiushui. She was staring at him unblinkingly with her bright eyes.

Zhou Yuan cracked a smile.

“Miss Yi, you didn’t lose out in our deal, right?”

The slender girl stood tall beside the remaining campfire. Her bright eyes and pearly white teeth made her appear even more exceedingly beautiful. She smiled softly with her little hand covering her red lips.

While nodding slightly, a soft voice sounded.

“No.”