When the disciples outside the mountain range saw Zhou Yuan ascended the peak and encounter Xu Yuan from Sword Cometh Peak, a commotion naturally ensued.

"To think that it would be senior brother Xu Yan from Sword Cometh Peak..."

"This championship battle involves veteran purple sash disciples?"

"The other nine have also been stopped by someone, all of whom are extremely powerful veteran purple sash disciples from the various peaks..."

"Could this championship battle be about who will be able to defeat these veteran purple sash disciples?"

"That can’t be possible. Senior brother Xu Yan and the rest have all stepped into the seventh layer Alpha-Origin stage. Furthermore, they are purple sash disciples that practice grade 6 Genesis Qi methods and cultivate grade 6 Genesis Qi . In comparison, Su Wan and the rest may be the first seat gold sash disciple of their respective peaks, but the Genesis Qi they cultivate is only grade 5. What’s more, there is a gap in their Genesis Qi cultivation as well, making victory practically impossible."

"That’s right. The championship battle shouldn’t require them to defeat senior brother Xu Yan and the rest..."

"......"

Many whispers echoed within the crowd. The format of the championship battle had clearly taken many by surprise.

Atop one of the mountain peaks, Yaoyao and Li Qingchan were also watching the scenes inside the Genesis Qi mirrors.

"Xu Yan from Sword Cometh Peak..." A look of astonishment flashed across Li Qingchan’s gorgeous and icy face as she said, "It seems like Zhou Yuan and Sword Cometh Peak are fated to be pit against one another. Can’t believe he still managed to run into them after picking a path at random."

A look of thought could be seen on her face as she continued, "To think that sect master and the rest would send out the veteran purple sash disciples. I believe the goal of this championship battle won’t be for Zhou Yuan and the rest to defeat their opponents, but how long they will be able to last against these veteran disciples."

Li Qingchan looked at Yaoyao and said, "If so, Zhou Yuan is quite the unlucky one. If it was anyone else from another peak, that person will likely hold back a little. However, there is no way that Xu Yan will be showing any mercy."

"Therefore, Zhou Yuan’s hopes of winning the championship might be dashed."

At this point, she felt a little regretful for him. After all, she had personally witnessed how Zhou Yuan had fought all the way to reach this juncture. Who could have imagined that he would encounter such a strong foe at the final stage.

Yaoyao’s hands gently stroked Tuntun’s head. Her clear eyes gazed at the two figures facing each other in the Genesis mirror, as she slowly said, "Like I said, you’ll never know what’s going to happen until the end."

Li Qingchan responded with slight annoyance, "Don’t you think that you are blindly putting too much faith in Zhou Yuan? The reason why he was able to eliminate Le Tian and the rest was because they did not know about his hidden trump card, allowing him to lure them into the valley and set up a boundary. However, Xu Yan is likely already aware of this information, and there is no way that he will allow Zhou Yuan to set up a boundary."

"Without the boundary, Zhou Yuan may not even be able to defeat Le Tian with his own strength, let alone Xu Yan, a seventh layer Alpha-Origin expert."

Li Qingchan was a fairly logical person. That was why she could not understand Yaoyao’s thoughts.

She did not deny that Zhou Yuan was extremely outstanding. However, she believed that there were still limits. He was currently only at the third layer Alpha-Origin stage, and if Yaoyao believed that Zhou Yuan would be able to match Xu Yan in a clash of Genesis Qi, she would be severely underestimating the four layers gap between them.

Yaoyao did not reply. She also knew that Zhou Yuan would face a tremendous amount of pressure against such a powerful foe.

However, she also felt that this pressure would be good for him.

As for the end result, it was honestly not important.

...

While the area outside the mountain range was in an uproar, in the rocky arena, Zhou Yuan wore a slightly grim expression as he stared at Xu Yan. The Genesis Qi vibrations from the latter made him feel a significant amount of pressure.

Seventh layer Alpha-Origin stage.

Compared to Le Tian and the rest, this opponent was on a different level.

Xu Yan nonchalantly looked towards Zhou Yuan, and unhurriedly said, "The last time we met, I respectfully gave you a way to apologize to junior sister Lu Xuanyin in order to resolve the grudge between the two of you. However, junior brother Zhou Yuan, you were simply too arrogant and directly rejected my kind gesture."

"Therefore, in order to help junior brother Zhou Yuan understand your situation, I made a request of junior brother Le Tian and the rest..."

"Haha, of course, senior brother Zhao Zhu was also involved."

Zhou Yuan frowned a little. After all this time, it turns out that Le Tian and the rest had been on Xu Yan’s instructions. Moreover, Zhao Zhu? Wasn’t he the second Chosen of Sword Cometh Peak? Why would he want to make things difficult for Zhou Yuan?

"It seems like I’ve disappointed my two senior brothers..." Said Zhou Yuan with indifference. Since the two of them were clearly intent on making life difficult for him, there was no need for him to pretend to be courteous towards them.

Xu Yan nodded and sighed, "Yes, I was indeed a little disappointed. I did not expect that Le Tian and the rest would be eliminated by you."

Even till now, Xu Yan found this result quite difficult to accept. In his opinion, Le Tian and gang was already a powerful line-up. Xu Yan would never have expected them to be defeated by Zhou Yuan.

Xu Yun grasped the handle of his sword with both hands, as its scabbard gently knocked on the ground. Indifference returned to his eyes as he said, "Since you have showed up in front of me, you no longer need to think about passing this stage."

"In order for my Sword Cometh Peak to regain some of its pride, I will need to give you a good thrashing."

"If you still have abit of rationality within you, I suggest that you surrender now. Otherwise..." Xu yan gently smiled, before he continued, "Don’t blame this senior for bullying you in order to teach you how to abide by the unspoken rules."

Zhou Yuan made a slight grabbing motion, and the Heaven Yuan Brush promptly appeared in his hand. Not a single ripple could be seen in his clear eyes as he lifted his head and looked towards Xu Yan. "Then let’s talk about the rules. Is the objective of the championship battle to defeat you?"

Xu Yan was taken aback, before he soon burst into laughter. However, his eyes turned colder and colder as a derisive smile appeared on his lips.

"Junior brother Zhou Yuan, it seems like your earlier victory has made you lose your rationality."

Xu Yan pointed at that three foot long incense stick behind him and said, "Right now, the top ten disciples of the selection will each encounter a veteran purple sash disciple from the seven peaks. The winner of the championship battle will hinge upon which of you will be able to last the longest."

"When this incense stick is burnt out, the one who is left standing will be the champion."

"Therefore, junior brother Zhou Yuan, what you should be thinking about now is not how to defeat me, but how long I will allow you to last..."

"Truthfully speaking, we are initially supposed to go easy on all of you such as to give face to the various peaks, allowing all of you participants to last a little longer, and maintain some sense of dignity."

"However..."

Xu Yan shrugged, his eyes turning a little colder as he stared at Zhou Yuan and said, "My plan is to make you the first one to be eliminated."

By this point, it was clear that Xu Yan was not going to show any mercy. As for going easy on Zhou Yuan, that was even more impossible.

A grim expression filled Zhou Yuan’s eyes, as the Heaven Yuan Brush in his hand rapidly grew. Its sharp snow-white tip was pointed towards the ground at an angle, while golden Genesis Qi rose to the sky like a plume of smoke.

The faint sound of a giant python hissing seemed to echo from within the golden smoke.

"Then I look forward to experiencing senior brother’s abilities." Zhou Yuan slowly said. Not a single hint of fear could be seen in his eyes. Instead, a burning fighting spirit surged within them.

His opponent was indeed very powerful, but Zhou Yuan was not afraid of formidable foes. In his opinion, every strong enemy was a whetstone he would use to temper himself through numerous battles.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

At the sight of Zhou Yuan, who was overflowing with battle intent, the derisive smile on Xu Yan’s lips widened.

"I sincerely hope that you will be able to keep up this spirit later on..."

The sword in his hand suddenly slashed behind him, causing tearing noises to be emitted from the air.

Ch!

The giant incense stick behind him was lit, a wisp of smoke slowly rising into the air.

Xu Yan wielded his sword with one hand, while the expression in his eyes abruptly sharpened. An eight hundred foot tall pillar of dark green Genesis Qi shot out from his head and soared into the sky.

His Genesis Qi was akin to a giant green sword that towered between heaven and earth.

A sharp and intimidating pressure swept forth, as the cry of a sword filled the sky.

"Zhou Yuan, you made my Sword Cometh Peak lose plenty of face earlier. Therefore..."

"It’s now time for payback!"