"Have you heard? That kid Zhou Yuan actually managed to snatch away a little Heaven Genesis technique from the hands of Xiao Tianxuan and his squad!"

"That can’t be, right? Isn’t Zhou Yuan only at the Qi Nourishing stage?"

"I heard that he took advantage of the moment when Xiao Tianxuan’s group and the grade 4 Genesis Beast exhausted each other."

"Tchtch, what great luck. That’s a little Heaven Genesis technique!"

"Heh, Xiao Tianxuan has promised 3 million Genesis crystals to anyone who can catch Zhou Yuan. Many have already went to the area he was last seen in hopes of capturing him, taking the little Heaven Genesis technique and then the bounty on his head."

"What a case of treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime. He’s so weak and yet he still dares to have designs on a little Heaven Genesis technique, that’s practically courting death."

"Shall we go and try our luck too? If we somehow meet him, it will be akin to striking lottery."

"Heheh, that’s exactly what I had in mind. He’s only at the Qi Nourishing stage, it should be easy to deal with him if we encounter him."

"Quick then, let’s go!"

"......"

......

Xiao Tianxuan stood with his hands behind his back on a certain mountain top. As he gazed at the figures that seemingly covered the sky and land as they searched for a particular individual, a chillingly eerie look emerged in his eyes.

"He is really good at hiding!"

Xiao Tianxuan frostily said. He had done as Gu Ling suggested, and sure enough, many individuals had been drawn over to search for any traces of Zhou Yuan. Although there was a lot of activity, they were still unable to find Zhou Yuan.

"No need to be anxious. Zhou Yuan is definitely still in the area." Gu Ling consoled from behind. Her long and narrow eyes stared at the vast mountain forests like a viper as she said, "He is now merely a rat that has already been caught in our net. As long as we continue to tighten the net, he will eventually appear."

"When that happens, his Qi Nourishing stage strength will not be able to save him from death!"

Xiao Tianxuan nodded, before forcefully expelling a long breath of air as he wanted to get rid of all the resentment he had towards Zhou Yuan.

His path had been smooth sailing for many years, and his status as the junior city lord of Saint Remains City made it such that praise and compliance were all he would meet wherever he went. He never imagined that he would actually succumb to a ploy from a Qi Nourishing stage kid.

No matter what, he would not take this lying down.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Gu Ling softly said, "Come on, a rat is not worth getting angry over. How can such a person compare to you? Even when you discount your status, you’re still someone who has already stepped into the realm of the advance Heaven Gate stage, and is even an elite amongst those of the same cultivation level. Besides those few individuals, who else amongst the entire younger generation of the Cangmang Continent can match you?"

Xiao Tianxuan let out a bitter laugh. "If not because I used up too many trump cards to deal with the Wind Thunder Beast, I would not even fear those few super elites."

There would be no deficient if he had been able to kill the Wind Thunder Beast with those trump cards, and he would have even grown his reputation, unfortunately...

While Xiao Tianxuan and Gu Ling were talking, they suddenly detected a disturbance from the mountains some distance away. They immediately exchanged a look, seeing the joy that was surging out in each other’s eyes.

Was it that little rat?

Their figures abruptly shot forth, landing on a giant tree several minutes later as their gazes looked to the front where several figures could be seen.

These figures had surrounded a certain location, a faintly visible cave that had been blocked with a boulder.

"So he’s been using Genesis Runes to conceal any Genesis Qi undulations. No wonder we couldn’t find him!" Xiao Tianxuan’s gaze swept across the cave, sensing the faint Genesis Rune undulations from behind the boulder as he icily chuckled.

"The rat is hiding inside. Break the boulder. Whoever brings him out will be rewarded 3 million Genesis crystals!" Xiao Tianxuan’s chilling voice echoed across the area.

The eyes of several figures brightened. 3 million Genesis crystals was no small sum.

"Heh heh, to think that a little Qi Nourishing rat would be worth such a fortune. I’ll be glad to take it!"

Voices rang out one after another. A dozen figures swiftly shot forward, streams of powerful Genesis Qi lashing at the boulder blocking the cave entrance.

Boom!

The entire mountain seemed to shake as the boulder was destroyed.

"Charge!"

The dozen figures had already begun dashing towards the cave as rock fragments shot outwards, each clearly intent on being the first to reach the target so as not to lose to the others.

Xiao Tianxuan smiled indifferently as he watched the dozen figures charge towards the cave. All of them had the strength of the Heaven Gate stage. There was no way Zhou Yuan would be able to escape.

Boom!

However, while Xiao Tianxuan was waiting for Zhou Yuan to be dragged out, an astonishing Genesis Qi ripple suddenly pulsed from the cave like an erupting volcano.

Rumble!

The Genesis Qi ripple was tyrannically domineering, causing cracks to form on the cave.

Thump thump!

When the astonishing Genesis Qi erupted, everyone also saw the dozen figures, that had just moments ago been menacingly charging into the cave, being flung out from the cave.

They tumbled on the ground like bottle gourds, bumping against the ground till their faces were a bloody mess.

"What’s going on?!" Xiao Tianxuan’s pupils shrank.

One of the figures that had been sent flying replied in a horrified voice, "He... he has ascended to the Heaven Gate stage!"

This caused even more frowns of confusion. Even if Zhou Yuan had ascended to the Heaven Gate stage, he would merely be at the initial level. However, the pulse of Genesis Qi earlier did not seem to be that of an initial Heaven Gate stage practitioner.

Bzzbzz!

While many were still puzzled, the Genesis Qi undulations from the cave grew more and more berserk as the entire mountain began to tremble.

Rumble!

Genesis Qi crazily converged towards the cave until a certain moment when it pierced through the walls of the mountain and dashed straight into the heavens!

Everyone watched as a dozen feet wide pillar of dark gold Genesis Qi soared into the sky, rapidly rising feet by feet...

"He has indeed ascended to the Heaven Gate stage!" Xiao Tianxuan’s voice was filled with iciness.

Gu Ling coldly snorted. "The phenomenon of Qi dashing through the Heaven Gate is measured in feet. Do you recall how many feet your Genesis Qi reached when you reached the Heaven Gate stage?"

Xiao Tianxuan indifferently answered, "Only 94 feet."

His tone was normal, but clearly contained a faint trace of pride. Such an accomplishment was after all already top tier amongst those of the same generation.

A smile surfaced from the corners of Gu Ling’s ruddy little mouth. "The Genesis Qi of ordinary individuals usually reached about 20 feet when they advance to the Heaven Gate stage. Your 94 feet has already surpassed the great majority."

Xiao Tianxuan sighed. "So what, I heard that when Wu Huang’s Qi dashed past the Heaven Gate, his seemingly endless Genesis Qi soared straight into the sky, reaching a height of 238 feet."

Gu Ling also sighed when she heard this. "Its rumored that Wu Huang has a gold Qi Dwelling. Achieving such a feat is not strange at all."

Her eyes seemed to swivel, a hint of mockery in her gaze as she looked towards the slowly rising dark gold Genesis Qi from the mountain top before them. "This kid has hidden for so long, believing that he will be able to turn the situation around once he reaches the Heaven Gate stage. I’m really interested to find out how many feet his Genesis Qi will rise to."

Xiao Tianxuan laughed inside, no longer anxious for the time being. He intended to patiently wait till Zhou Yuan fully ascended, when the latter was full of confidence, to thoroughly beat him into the ground, a defeat so complete that it would leave a shadow in his heart that would be almost impossible to break free of.

Xiao Tianxuan placed one hand behind his back, a toying look in his eyes as he looked to his front.

The gaze of everyone in the area converged on this very spot.

Hence, under the attention of numerous gazes, the dark gold Genesis Qi that was still shooting out of the cave rose feet by feet at a steady pace...