In a secluded courtyard.

Chi Jing was lying on a bamboo chair with her long and slender legs resting over the railing in front of her. She held an ancient book in one hand and was thumbing through it casually. She didn’t lift her eyes until Zhou Yuan came in. 

“Senior sister.” Zhou Yuan gave a glance at his senior sister’s particularly long legs, then averted his eyes, looking straight ahead.

Chi Jing gracefully stood up. She was dressed in a relaxed training robe that, together with her flat chest, straight legs and short burgundy hair, made her look especially formidable.

“Junior brother’s performance these past few months are very impressive.” Chi Jing smiled.

The Wind Pavilion had won several battles against the Fire Pavilion since she had sent Zhou Yuan to the Wind Pavilion. This was enough to prove Zhou Yuan’s ability.

“Without senior sister’s support, how would I have this kind of achievement?” Zhou Yuan smiled. This wasn’t a compliment but what he truly felt. The Heavenly Spirit Sect was behind the Fire Pavilion, so if he didn’t have a supporter, he would have suffered many underhanded tactics.

He at least wouldn’t have been able to escape when hall master Xi Guang attempted to assassinate him.

Chi Jing waved her small fair hand, and then with a flick of her fingers, a ray of red light landed in front of Zhou Yuan.

It was a red copper sphere. The surface was engraved with mysterious patterns, and inside were blazing golden flames.

“It’s your share of Heavenly Sun Flames from the Heavenly Flame Ritual. There are 240,000 in total. I have sealed them for you. When you need to use them, you only need to control it with your Spirit,” Chi Jing explained.

Zhou Yuan received it, his eyes blazing with excitement. He finally got his hands on them. These days he had eagerly been waiting for the distribution of the Heavenly Sun Flames.

“We’ve also received news that the various regions are already starting to talk about the nine region tournament.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan’s face suddenly turned solemn. He hadn’t forgotten his mission of coming to the Tianyuan Region. 

“Has the date been confirmed?” he asked hurriedly.

Chi Jing shook her head. “Not yet, but if nothing unexpected happens, it should be within a year.”

“Within a year.” Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment and said, “Then it seems I have to seize the position of chief pavilion master as soon as possible and unite the four pavilions.”

“You’re so confident in beating Lu Xiao?” The tip of Chi Jing’s eyebrows was raised slightly.

“Because I can’t fail,” Zhou Yuan answered calmly.

The Ancestral Dragon Lantern was related to Yaoyao’s recovery. So no matter how difficult it would be, he couldn’t give up. If he wanted to win the Ancestral Dragon Lantern, his first step was to become the chief pavilion master of the four pavilions in the Tianyuan Region and integrate the power of the four pavilions.

Chi Jing glanced at him and said seriously, “But even if you really defeat Lu Xiao, there is still a long way to go before you can obtain the Ancestral Dragon Lantern.

“Lu Xiao is ranked ninth on the Divine Dwelling list of the Hunyuan Heaven, but in truth, this position is somewhat due to the other regions giving face to our Tianyuan Region. Based on real strength, he will drop a few rankings.”

Zhou Yuan was really surprised to hear this. Although he hadn’t fought Lu Xiao before, he could tell his strength from the dangerous aura he emitted. If Zhou Yuan didn’t take advantage of the chance to break through to the advanced Divine Dwelling stage, he might have no chance of beating Lu Xiao. But now Chi Jing was informing him that Lu Xiao’s ranking on the Divine Dwelling list was an overstatement.

From this, it was clear how terrifying the people at the top of the Divine Dwelling List were.

Is the Hunyuan Heaven this terrifying? No wonder it’s called the best of the heavens? 

“Then how strong are Wu Yao and Su Youwei, who are ranked second and third respectively?” Zhou Yuan suddenly asked.

Hearing Zhou Yuan specifically point out these two people, Chi Jing looked at him in surprise and asked curiously, “Do you know them?”

Zhou Yuan didn’t deny it and frankly answered, “They are both from the Cangxuan Heaven. Wu Yao is a rival of mine and Su Youwei is my friend.”

Even Chi Jing was taken aback by his answer and couldn’t help but repeat, “You and Wu Yao are rivals? Su Youwei is your friend?”

She then immediately smiled. “They’re now the most dazzling pearls of Hunyuan Heaven. I’m surprised you have some sort of relationship with both of them. It seems that there are some stories behind this?

“Haha, if this information gets out, I feel that at least half of the people in the top 20 of the Divine Dwelling list will want to spar with you.”

The corners of Zhou Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly when he saw Chi Jing’s curious face. “Senior sister, why would you be interested in this kind of gossip!”

Chi Jing smiled. “However, Wu Yao and Su Youwei will both become mountains blocking your path at the nine regions tournament. No matter what stories you have with them from before, you will have to be careful.

“They’re both very strong now.”

“If Lu Xiao were to face them, he would no doubt be beaten. There would be no other outcome.”

Zhou Yuan nodded, sighing inwardly. He had briefly fought against Wu Yao and was suppressed almost the entire time back when he was at the Great Wu Empire. If Yaoyao hadn’t come in time, he would have had to escape. Therefore, he had expected Wu Yao to be this strong.

He sighed because Su Youwei, the little girl who used to follow behind him and repeatedly call him His Highness, had become so powerful after so many years.

I don’t know if she would still remember the highness of the Great Zhou Empire when we meet again? Zhou Yuan felt a little melancholic. Su Youwei was obviously no longer the little girl who had nobody to depend on. Given her current status, in her eyes, the Great Zhou Empire might be like a small puddle of mud, and the so-called His Highness might be even more like a joke.

When a person becomes a dazzling pearl that attracts everybody’s attention, would they think about crawling and rolling in a mud pool? It would be a bad memory, wouldn’t it?

Zhou Yuan shook his head, throwing away those thoughts from his mind. What Su Youwei had achieved was through her own hard work, so no matter what choice she made, Zhou Yuan wouldn’t blame her. It was just that they would go separate ways in the future.

“I know that the nine regions tournament isn’t easy, but I also believe that as long as I am given time, I won’t be weaker than anyone.” Zhou Yuan looked directly at Chi Jing in front of him, his eyes resolute and full of utmost confidence.

Chi Jing admired Zhou Yuan’s confidence very much. She nodded. “You have courage. No wonder the master thinks highly of you.

“By the way, the materials you mentioned before are quite special. I’m searching for them now for you, and they shouldn’t be a big problem, but it will take some time.”

Zhou Yuan nodded. The materials he had asked Chi Jing to help him find were what he needed for Silver Shadow’s evolution. He had gathered some of them, but many were quite special and incredibly rare.

When Chi Jing’s voice faded, she waved her hand, and a jade box appeared before them. It opened by itself, revealing four different glowing beast spirit crystals. Each one emitted a ruthless roar, causing the air to vibrate violently.

“These are the beast spirit crystals you wanted. They are all grade 6.”

She thoughtfully looked at Zhou Yuan and said, “You have awakened the Heavenly Yuan Brush to the Spirit Devour stage?”

Zhou Yuan chuckled, “Senior sister is indeed intelligent.”

The nostalgia in Chi Jing’s eyes soon turned to jealousy. “I begged our master for a long time, but he refused to give me the Heavenly Yuan Brush. In the end, it went to you.”

Zhou Yuan forced a smile and dared not speak.

“But it’s good that you’re prepared. The Heavenly Spirit Sect has been plotting for the position of the chief pavilion masters for many years. Given old man Xuan Kun’s personality, he will inevitably give Lu Xiao as much help as possible. Of course, you don’t need to worry, because he won’t dare to go too far,” Chi Jing cautioned.

“Senior sister, don’t worry. I will also go into closed-door cultivation soon.”

Zhou Yuan grasped the red copper sphere, feeling the heat emitting from it.

He knew that Lu Xiao was only the first of the more difficult obstacles on the path to obtain the Ancestral Dragon Lantern. No matter who his opponent was, as long as that person obstructed him from helping Yaoyao recover, Zhou Yuan would defeat them!