Giant rocks continued to roll down from a certain mountain, where a figure was embedded deep into the side of a cliff. As the rocks fell, the figure was slowly buried...

The entire place turned silent at this moment.

Gaze after gaze blankly stared at this scene, unable to return to their senses for quite some time. Who could have imagined... that even after such ample preparation, Wu Hai would still end up being sent flying by a single punch from Zhou Yuan...

He may have been able to say he was caught off guard previously, but there was no longer any excuse for what happened this time.

Wu Hai had clearly brought out his full defense, but it was still unable to block Zhou Yuan’s unmatched punch. The power of this punch was something that many eighth layer disciples would not dare to underestimate.

The silence lasted for a long time, before ultimately being broken by thunderous, earth-shaking cheers.

With the exception of Lu Hong’s disciples, the disciples from every other peak generously cheered their hearts out. Zhou Yuan’s victory was just too damned breathtakingly beautiful.

One must know that Zhou Yuan’s odds had been lowest before the start of the chief disciple selection, with practically no one supporting him. In fact, several people even felt that he would be the first to be eliminated.

However, the reality before their eyes caused everyone who had looked down on him to tightly shut their mouths at this moment.

Fear and respect rose in the hearts of the crowd as they gazed upon the youthful figure standing amidst the rubble that was once a stone platform,

While cheers filled the sky, Lu Hong’s faction was deathly silent. Ugly expressions could be seen on the faces of numerous disciples. It was obvious that none of them had expected the first eliminee to come from their faction.

At the very front, Lu Hong’s face was akin to ominous black clouds. His eyebrows trembled, a sign that he was filled with rage inside.

"Useless trash!"

In the end, Lu Hong could only curse through gnashed teeth, pouring all of his anger onto Wu Hai.

This idiot had basically made him lose all face.

Lu Hong icily looked towards Shen Taiyuan, finding that the latter was beaming brightly, unable to contain his joy.

Upon detecting Lu Hong’s gaze, Shen Taiyuan turned his head and responded with a carefree grin.

Lu Hong let out an icy snort, before taking in a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart. Although Wu Hai’s defeat had been unexpected, the overall advantage was still with their side.

Without mentioning Yuan Hong’s side for the time being, the other four disciples alone were pretty much overwhelming the two participants from Lu Song’s faction, and victory was only a matter of time. Once they were free to deal with Zhou Yuan, it will be a tall task for him to escape the fate of being eliminated regardless of how he struggled.

Lu Hong cast a dark gaze at Zhou Yuan’s figure, brimming with stern iciness.

"I’ll let you celebrate for the moment..."

"You’ll understand sooner or later that against my faction, you are merely akin to a mantis trying to stop a cart."

"When the time comes, you will naturally realize the meaning of despair!"

...

High up in the sky, the scene of Zhou Yuan blasting away Wu Hai naturally landed in the eyes of the ten Chosens, immediately causing gasps of surprise to be heard.

"He... seems to have grown stronger again." Li Qingchan stared at Zhou Yuan in astonishment. As her gaze swept across Zhou Yuan’s glowing body, she muttered, "An external cultivation technique?"

Nearby, the Hongya Peak’s Shang Chunqiu was also staring intently at Zhou Yuan in amazement. As the Chosen of the Hongya Peak, he was naturally also a practitioner of the true Mythic Saint Body.

Hence, the jade glow from Zhou Yuan’s body felt a little familiar to him, while also puzzling him somewhat. Zhou Yuan was a disciple of Saint Genesis Peak, and it was impossible for him to have the qualifications to practice the Mythic Saint Body. So what was this external cultivation technique he had learnt?

Seated at the very end, Zhao Zhu’s expression was not looking too good. He clearly favored Lu Hong’s faction, and also had a small grudge with Zhou Yuan due to the Heaven mission. Of course he did not wish for Zhou Yuan to fall under the limelight.

"Amazing..." Chu Qing sighed in admiration. "Defeating even an eighth layer with the cultivation of the fourth layer. Junior brother Zhou Yuan’s Genesis Qi foundations are even stronger than when I was at the fourth layer."

People like Chu Qing and the other Chosens were naturally able to fight opponents above their cultivation level. However, even they had not been as ferocious as Zhou Yuan when they were at the fourth layer.

"Junior brother Kong Sheng, it seems that my odds of winning the wager have increased." Chu Qing grinned cheekily.

Kong Sheng remained expressionless as he nonchalantly said, "It is a little early for you to celebrate, a mere Zhou Yuan cannot affect the overall situation."

Although he had been somewhat surprised by how Zhou Yuan had overwhelmed Wu Hai, that was as far as it went, because Lu Hong’s side still held the absolute advantage.

Chu Qing rubbed his chin as he grinned, "Then shall we add on to the wager!"

Kong Sheng flatly said, "Not interested. My only goal is to make you accept my challenge. Once I defeat you, there shall no longer be any reason for us to interact in the future."

Chu Qing sighed as he sadly said, "Throwing me away after using me, you’re too heartless. That’s why I don’t like playing with you, Ye Ge treats me so much better."

Li Qingchan and the other Chosens cringed slightly.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Ye Ge shot an angry gaze over and said, "Do you want to die Chu Qing, don’t drag me into this."

Chu Qing revealed a dazzling smile and waved at Ye Ge.

The veins on Kong Sheng’s head twitched erratically, before he took in a deep breath and cast Chu Qing out of his mind, shifting his attention instead to the intense ongoing battles in the seven chief disciple peaks.

...

On the crumbled remains of the stone stage, Zhou Yuan looked in the direction Wu Hai had flown away in. He lightly exhaled as the jade light on his body slowly withdrew. He could feel countless gazes on him, but did not feel pleased with himself at all, because he clearly understood that this was only the beginning.

Lu Hong’s faction was still at an overwhelming advantage.

Zhou Yuan mumbled to himself, "I wonder how senior brother Zhou Tai and the rest are doing."

Theirs was the most important battle. If even the three of them joining forces failed to defeat Yuan Hong, the latter would really be a little too shockingly powerful.

However, he did not need to think about such things for the time being. Regardless of the situation over there, he had to make use of this opportunity to eliminate the four other participants from Lu Hong’s faction.

If they were allowed to join up with Yuan Hong, his chances of obtaining the chief disciple position would become abysmally small.

"Four left..."

Zhou Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he lifted his head to peer into the distant mists. He could sense some Genesis Qi undulations far away, which likely originated from Han Yan, Han Yu and the rest.

"Since the other side has superior numbers, I should first make some preparations."

Zhou Yuan’s eyes flickered in thought. Soon after, his toes pushed off the ground as his figure soared into the sky like a great peng, and swiftly disappeared into the mist.

To him, only now did the chief disciple selection truly begin.