The atmosphere was flooded with excitement outside the misty mountain range, numerous disciples staring excitedly at the sky, where intense battles were being projected by every mirror.

The ones who had the qualifications to participate in the purple sash selection test were basically the elite gold sash disciples in the Cangxuan Sect, who possessed fairly high status. Therefore, when all of these individuals were gathered together for a competition, the fights between them were so exciting that most disciples were unable to turn away.

Splash! Splash!

Disciples were continuously swept up by beams of light, and tossed into the winding river around the mountain range. Those were the disciples that have been eliminated.

"Wow! Senior sister Su Wan from Cangxuan Peak is truly incredible. She had already gotten five seals."

"Senior brother Mu Chunlei from Snow Lotus Peak has obtained five seals as well."

"There’s also senior brother Le Tian from Sword Cometh Peak and little senior sister Xia Yu from Spirit Rune Peak... Tsk, tsk, it’s no wonder they are the top gold sash disciple of amongst the various factions of their respective peaks. Their battle achievements are truly astonishing."

"They are very powerful indeed. The rest of the disciples are still somewhat lacking compared to them."

"......"

Many disciples spiritedly discussed amongst themselves as they watched the Genesis Qi mirrors.

There were also disciples who had their attention on Zhou Yuan. When they looked towards his Genesis Qi mirror, cries of surprise suddenly rang out, "Is that senior brother Luo Dao from Sword Cometh Peak? I can’t believe he bumped into Zhou Yuan so early!"

Their words instantly drew the attention of numerous individuals.

The numerous disciples broke out into whispers when they saw the two individuals facing each other in the Genesis Qi mirror.

"To think that he would run into senior brother Luo Dao. Zhou Yuan is really unlucky."

"Yeah. Even amongst the many Sword Cometh Peak gold sash disciples, senior brother Luo Dao can be ranked amongst the top three, and is definitely an extraordinary fellow."

"Agreed. I was watching senior brother Luo Dao’s battles since earlier, and he has already defeated three disciples."

"Heh heh, didn’t Zhou Yuan defeat four opponents earlier? However, it seems that he has finally ran into a tough opponent."

"......"

The duel between Zhou Yuan and Luo Dao was obviously going to be an interesting one, and it immediately drew the attention of more and more disciples as news of their clash quickly spread.

Gu Hongyi was also alerted, causing her to frown a little. She had naturally heard of Luo Dao, and was well-aware that he was quite the formidable individual. She never expected that he would be the first Sword Cometh Peak disciple Zhou Yuan encountered.

"It seems like junior brother Zhou Yuan’s luck is not very good." Beside Gu Hongyi, the senior brother named Qin Lan narrowed his eyes slightly, and remarked with a sarcastic smile.

"More importantly, Le Tian, Lu Xuanyin and the other Sword Cometh Peak disciples are all heading towards him. If Zhou Yuan allows himself to be tied down by Luo Dao, it will only be a matter of time before he’ll be trapped."

Gu Hongyi coldly glared at him. Though she didn’t retort, her hands could not help but clenched tightly. Zhou Yuan was indeed in a tough spot.

Zhou Yuan, please stay safe!

"Oh, are they about to start?" Qin Lan suddenly chuckled while fixed on the Genesis Qi mirror.

Derision appeared on Qin Lan’s lips as he said, "Haha, what a brave fellow. He actually dares to use his bare fist to meet Luo Dao’s sword? Doesn’t he know that the Genesis Qi of the Sword Cometh Peak disciples are the sharpest in our Cangxuan Sect?"

He had just seen Zhou Yuan extend his arm and grab at the sword.

Gasps immediately erupted from the numerous surrounding disciples. Some of the female disciples even shutting their eyes as if anticipating that Zhou Yuan’s palm would be sliced apart.

Gu Hongyi’s face also turned a little pale.

The mocking smile on Qin Lan’s lips grew. He stared intently at the Genesis Qi mirror, eagerly waiting to see Zhou Yuan’s miserable fate.

Under his intense stare, all of the disciples watched Zhou Yuan’s palm turn golden in a flash, before grabbing the sword. His hand slid down the sword, causing sparks to fly.

Not even a single drop of blood could be seen.

Next, Zhou Yuan instantly closed the distance between him and Luo Dao, and quickly delivered a punch packed with power into the latter’s gut.

The fight came to an abrupt end.

The expression of numerous disciples immediately froze at this moment, staring in disbelief as Luo Dao slowly crumpled to the ground...

It was only a single punch.

Luo Dao, the third most powerful gold sash disciple from Sword Cometh Peak, was defeated just like that?

Loud gulping sounds were heard one after another.

It was completely different from the outcome they had imagined!

The derisive smile on Qin Lan’s face froze little by little. Soon after, the corners of his lips twitched as he exclaimed, "How is this possible?! How could he have received Luo Dao’s sword with his bare hands?"

Given Luo Dao’s strength, even someone as strong as Wei Youxuan would only end up getting cut if he were to try and receive the attack with his bare hands. So how had a third layer Alpha-Origin like Zhou Yuan done it?

Beside him, Gu Hongyi heaved a deep sigh of relief, before shooting him an indifferent look. Even though she didn’t utter a single word, the mocking expression in her eyes was enough to make Qin Lan’s face instantly turn red with embarrassment.

He had been mocking Zhou Yuan just a moment ago. In the blink of an eye, however, his words returned to slap him in the face.

"Senior brother Qin Lan, if you want to watch, it wouldn’t hurt for you to remain quiet and keep your remarks to yourself." Said Gu Hongyi in a calm manner. Her words, however, were extremely merciless, showing no respect for Qin Lan’s dignity.

Qin Lan’s face was an angry mixture of white and green. However, he did not dare to do anything to Gu Hongyi, and had no choice but to swallow his anger. His dark gaze glared at Zhou Yuan’s figure in the mirror as he secretly swore, "What’s there to be happy about? When Le Tian shows up, you will be in for a good time!"

On the mountain peak where Shen Taiyuan and his disciples were standing.

A wave of cheers immediately exploded from them when they saw this scene. They had previously been worrying their hearts out for Zhou Yuan.

On the edge of a cliff, Li Qingchan with drew her gaze and said, "That was very decisive of Zhou Yuan. The fact that he dared to use his bare palm against a Sword Cometh Peak disciple is proof of his bravery."

Yaoyao off-handedly replied, "Just a small fry."

Li Qingchan could not help but be startled by these words. She was a little upset as she said, "He may indeed be a small fry to you, but I’m afraid that it won’t be the same for Zhou Yuan. Luo Dao likely wasn’t expecting Zhou Yuan to pull off such a stunt. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been defeated by a single blow."

"Moreover... even though he defeated Luo Dao, he has now been marked by the Enchanting Jade Fragrance from Luo Dao’s pendant, a fragrance unique to Sword Cometh Peak. Hence, I believe that every Sword Cometh Peak disciple will soon track him down."

"When that happens, he will be in huge trouble."

"Tch, a situation where a single person takes on all of the disciples from one of the peaks has never happened before in our Cangxuan Sect."

Yaoyao fell into thought for a while, before she earnestly said, "Well, it will happen soon."

Li Qingchan froze. Her beautiful eyes stared at the young figure in the Genesis Qi mirror, falling silent for a moment, before she said, "I hope he will not disappoint you."

...

Swoosh!

In the midst of the dense forest, Zhou Yuan’s body was akin to a wisp of smoke as he dashed past, leaving faint after-images in the space behind him.

He had pushed his speed to the limit.

Though he could no longer smell the fragrance from his body, he could feel that he was being marked by an extremely faint and peculiar scent. The scent was extremely stubborn, making it nearly impossible for him to erase for the time being.

His eyes rapidly scanned his surroundings.

He knew that the Sword Cometh Peak disciples were forming an encirclement around him at this very moment.

His eyes flickered faintly in thought as he muttered to himself, "Since you guys want to hunt me, I shall find a good spot to prepare a big surprise for all of you."

As his words faded, his figure had already flashed past, disappearing into the dense forest.

Not long after Zhou Yuan’s figure disappeared, the sound of rushing wind was heard as two figures landed on a thick tree branch.

The pair consisted of a male and a female. There were Le Tian and Lu Xuanyin from Sword Cometh Peak.

"He sure runs fast." Lu Xuanyin had an icy expression as she spoke.

Le Tian, on the other hand, wore his typical smiling expression as he said, "It seems that he has noticed us."

Lu Xuanyin frowned. "Now that he’s desperately running at full speed, it’s going to be rather difficult to catch up."

Le Tian casually replied, "A panicked wild beast will always flee for its life. However, it will become easy pickings when it runs out of stamina. The other Sword Cometh Peak disciples have already formed a barricade around this area, and there is no way he can escape."

Le Tian scratched his face and sighed, "My only concern is that it’s quite shameful for so many of our talented Sword Cometh Peak disciples to deal with a mere Zhou Yuan."

"However, I’m not very fond of surprises. Therefore, since I have already committed myself to this task, I will do everything I can to prevent any accidents from occurring, and destroy any glimmer of hope he may have had."

Beside him, Lu Xuanyin was in complete agreement as she said, "That kid is a strange one, and seems to always exceed everyone’s expectations."

Her bright eyes looked towards Le Tian as she smiled, "Unfortunately for him, he is up against senior brother Le Tian this time."

She approved of Le Tian’s meticulous way of doing things. After all, if their Sword Cometh Peak was unable to deal with Zhou Yuan even after sending out this many disciples, it would be a tremendous blow to their reputation.

Le Tian chuckled. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked in the direction Zhou Yuan had disappeared in, and waved his hand. A playful smile emerged on his face.

"Prepare to pull in the net."

"It’s time to let junior brother Zhou Yuan experience the methods of our Sword Cometh Peak..."