Within a study in the Great Zhou royal palace.

Zhou Qing was seated at his disk with Qin Yu by his side. In front of them stood Wei Canglan, Wei Qingqing and the Black Venom King with their hands behind their backs.

There was a golden slip of paper in Zhou Qing’s hand. His expression was somewhat complicated as he touched it and said, "An envoy from the Cangxuan Sect paid us a visit earlier."

The words Cangxuan Sect caused the expressions of everyone present to tremble.

They clearly understood what these words represented. That one of the overlords of Cangxuan Heaven, an existence that made the Great Zhou Empire look akin to an ant.

Alpha-Origin practitioners were basically the most elite battle force in the Great Zhou Empire, but when put in the Cangxuan Sect, they would only be ordinary disciples.

Wei Canglan and the rest were nervous. After all, both sides were nowhere near the same level. If the Cangxuan Sect wanted to do anything to the Great Zhou Empire, they would not even have the qualifications to resist.

The sight of their expressions made Zhou Qing chuckle for a moment, before he said, "No need to be so nervous, the letter says that Yuan’er has distinguished himself from the numerous geniuses in the Saint Remains Domain, and has been recruited into the Cangxuan Sect. He is now likely already on his way there."

These words stunned Wei Canglan and the Black Venom King. Soon after, they could not help but sigh in amazement.

"His highness truly is a genius blessed by the heavens. I can’t believe that he has joined the Cangxuan Sect!" Wei Canglan was rather taken aback, his heart filled with admiration. They clearly understood how bright Zhou Yuan’s future would be after joining the Cangxuan Sect.

By the side, Wei Qingqing’s eyes also rippled, a little emotional as she recalled their first encounter. The first time she had seen Zhou Yuan in Canglan Country, he had still appeared rather immature though his worth was gradually being revealed.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

How could she have imagined, that the one she had once believed to have cheated his way to first place in the class ranking exam, would in a short span of a year, reach such giddying heights.

Zhou Yuan’s name had long since spread across the entire Cangmang Continent... everyone knew the epic of how the prince of Great Zhou had, with his Heaven Gate stage strength, defeated the Alpha-Origin prince of Great Wu, Wu Huang, in the Saint Remains Domain, becoming the number one individual amongst the Cangmang Continent’s younger generation...

And now, Zhou Yuan had stepped through the doors of the Cangxuan Sect like a carp jumping through the dragon’s gate. It was becoming more and more difficult to imagine how dazzling the young man would be when they met again.

"His highness truly is a sacred dragon." Sighed the Black Venom King.

He had no choice but to acknowledge Zhou Yuan’s battle accomplishments. From what he could see, even he may not be able to achieve victory against Zhou Yuan now.

The immature young man he had encountered in Blackwater had already begun to surpass him.

Their words made Zhou Qing grin widely, a smile filled with pride.

Zhou Qing said, "On the letter, Yuan’er told us to be a little more careful of the Great Wu Empire, especially the now angered king Wu."

Wei Canglang cupped his fists together and said, "Don’t worry your majesty, I have already sent the majority of our forces to the border to keep a tight eye on any activity from the Great Wu Empire."

Zhou Qing nodded. He then looked towards the Black Venom King and inquired, "How is the progress at the Battle Puppet Sect ruins?"

"We’ve already discovered five Alpha-Origin battle puppets, and the number of Heaven Gate puppets has reached the hundreds, and we foresee even more in the future."

Zhou Qing nodded his head in satisfaction. Five Alpha-Origin battle puppets and several hundred Heaven Gate battle puppets was a powerful force. Such a force would undoubtedly greatly boost the Great Zhou Empire’s might, making it such that the Great Wu Empire would not be able to achieve anything significant unless they used all of their forces to attack.

The Great Wu Empire’s forces were currently tied up, making them unable to do so.

"Great. It’s been hard one everyone. The Great Zhou Empire needs to conceal our strength and bide for time as we accumulate power. I believe that the day will eventually come when the Great Zhou Empire will regain our former glory!" Said Zhou Qing with a faint smile.

From Zhou Qing’s expression, Wei Canglan and the Black Venom King could sense the former’s growing kingly dignity. A change that could be attributed to removing the shadow in his heart and the gradual recovery of his strength.

A complicated expression rose on Wei Canglan’s face. The Great Zhou Empire was no longer depressing and waning like before, but instead filled with a certain drive as it steadily grew...

It seemed as if everything had begun to change when their prince found his eight meridian channels and began to cultivate.

The face of a gentle and calm youth surfaced in Wei Canglan’s mind as he sighed in his heart. "The Zhou clan does indeed have a sacred dragon."

After a brief discussion, Wei Canglan and the rest withdrew, leaving Zhou Qing and Qin Yu behind.

The smile on Zhou Qing’s face faded, his fingers feeling the golden paper in his hand as he softly sighed. "I wonder when Yuan’er will return..."

Qin Yu’s eyes were slightly red. She was the most pained and unwilling to see her son go so far away.

"But don’t worry Yuan’er. Father may not be as capable as you, but I will do all I can to protect the Great Zhou Empire and ease your worries. You only need to concentrate on your cultivation in the Cangxuan Sect." Zhou Qing raised his head, his expression turning a little grim as his gaze penetrated the window and looked towards the direction of the Great Wu Empire.

King Wu was a giant mountain that loomed over the entire Great Zhou Empire...

Zhou Qing knew that the former had already stepped into the Divine Dwelling stage, wielding power that far surpassed his own.

"King Wu, you are indeed an outstanding individual... on this point I admit that I am inferior to you."

"However, you’ve made one fatal mistake."

"That is... you’ve overly underestimated the sacred dragon of my Zhou clan!"

"So what if you’ve reached the Divine Dwelling stage..."

"When the sacred dragon of my Zhou clan returns, it will be time for your Wu clan to pay its debts!"

...

High up in the sky.

The clouds were suddenly torn open as a giant shadow zoomed past. The shadow cleanly cut layer after layer of cloud into two, its speed as fast as a shooting star.

At closer inspection, one would discover that it was a giant boat. Countless ancient patterns had been carved into the boat’s body, giving off magnificent Genesis Qi undulations.

The boat was known as a Sky Breaker Shuttle.

It was a Genesis treasure used for rapid long distance travelling, and boasted extremely high speeds. In addition, it could withstand numerous natural elements, allowing it to travel freely.

On the giant boat was a beautiful hundred flowers pattern, indicating that it belonged to the Hundred Flowers Fairy Palace.

The passengers on board were the six envoys and the chosen geniuses from the Cangmang Continent.

The Cangmang Continent was extremely far from the continent where the six sacred sects were situated, and not all the continents along the way were equipped with teleportation arrays. Therefore, the only option was to travel through these continents. However, there were strong astral winds between the continents, which could only be crossed by a vessel such as the Sky Breaker Shuttle. Trying to cross without one was extremely exhausting, and not a feat that ordinary people would be capable of.

Given the cultivation of Zhou Yuan and the rest, they clearly did not possess the qualifications to cross between continents.

On a certain level on the giant boat.

Mu Wuji was seated crossed-legged as he puffed his pipe. Before him were Zhou Yuan, Yaoyao, and the other dozen or so geniuses that had been chosen to enter the Cangxuan Sect.

Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao were seated at the front, clearly the leaders of the group.

In the small group behind them was a familiar figure. It was the junior city lord of Saint Remains City, Xiao Tianxuan...

At the very beginning, Zhou Yuan had been rather astonished that Xiao Tianxuan had managed to enter the Cangxuan Sect. Later on, Mu Wuji explained that he had given his permission because the city lord had personally pleaded.

Although Zhou Yuan was not really fond of the guy who had given him quite a bit of trouble in the Saint Remains Domain, he did not make things difficult. After all, following Zhou Yuan’s rise in strength, Xiao Tianxuan was no longer a threat.

Xiao Tianxuan was a smart individual, and knew that his status as junior city lord was useless here. Hence, he was much more well-behaved on their journey, as if afraid that Zhou Yuan would target him.

"At our current speed, we should reach the Shengzhou Continent in a month..."

"Do all of you know of the Shengzhou Continent?" Mu Wuji felt that it was a good time to teach these little ones some common knowledge.

Everyone shook their heads.

Mu Wuji sighed and began to explain, "The Shengzhou Continent is the number one continent in Cangxuan Heaven. Legend says all of the other continents in Cangxuan Heaven were split off from Shengzhou Continent."

"Hence, if one were to say that the total blessings of Cangxuan Heaven was ten, the Shengzhou Continent would be blessed with sixty percent. That’s why it has been called the gathering place of Genesis Qi..."

"The Shengzhou Continent’s vastness is far beyond your imagination, and every one of the six sacred sects have been established there. Although we six sacred sects are the strongest factions in Shengzhou Continent, there exists several sects with ancient roots and strong foundations that are not to be underestimated."

After spending a good part of the day talking, Mu Wuji took one final puff of smoke, before he glanced at the group and slowly said, "Besides all this, there is something I should tell all of you. Although you guys were selected by me, it does not mean that you will be able to truly become disciples of the Cangxuan Sect."

These words caused everyone’s expression to freeze for a moment.

"There are millions of continents in Cangxuan Heaven, and the geniuses of these continents will also be selected by the Cangxuan Sect. At the end of the day, the number of new disciples will likely be over ten thousand..."

"These individuals are the same as yourselves, each one an outstanding elite in their respective continents."

"After you guys arrive at the Cangxuan Sect, all of the new disciples will have three months to acclimatise and train. After which will be the peak selection ceremony. And only by passing the peak selection ceremony would you be allowed to enter one of the seven peaks, and formally become disciples of the Cangxuan Sect."

"About half of the participants will be eliminated during the peak selection ceremony. In other words, likely half or even more of you guys will be eliminated. These individuals can only become recorded disciples which may only train outside the peaks. Only after making sufficient contributions will they be permitted to join the seven peaks..."

Upon hearing these words, even Zhou Yuan’s eyes widened slightly. To think that half would be eliminated... looks like it wasn’t so easy to enter the Cangxuan Sect.