As sect master Qing Yang’s voice boomed across the area, light began to spread from the disciples inside the Genesis reservoir, wrapping around their bodies, before soaring into the sky.

Outside the Genesis reservoir.

Countless glowing figures descended, as the disciples from seven peaks were sent out of the reservoir. They landed on the many mountains in the vicinity, as the land soon began to be filled with excited noises.

Some of the disciples collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, but their faces were stilled with content smiles.

The difficulty of this year’s Genesis reservoir ceremony had been unimaginably high. Fortunately, the seven peaks had ultimately managed to persevere by working together.

After going through such difficulties, what awaited them was a fruitful conclusion.

This was the moment the disciples looked forward to the most.

Meanwhile, at the tallest point in the area.

Sect master Qing Yang and the peak masters gazed upon the countless disciples that covered the land, naturally seeing the latter’s expectant eyes.

Sect master Qing Yang softly chuckled, before he said, "Although the young ones made use of a little trick towards the end, they’ve not disappointed us."

His gaze swept across one of the mountaintops, where a youthful figure was currently surrounded like stars gathering around the moon. It was obviously Zhou Yuan.

Given sect master Qing Yang’s strength, everything that had happened in the Genesis reservoir naturally entered his eyes, including Zhou Yuan neutralizing the Dragon Saliva True Water, and collecting some of it to defend against the ten thousand foot aquatic beast’s final attack.

He had originally planned on using the ten thousand foot aquatic beast to force the Chosens into a corner, and make them struggle with their lives on the line. However, due to Zhou Yuan’s appearance, the Chosens were clearly saved from being pushed to their limits.

Even so, sect master Qing Yang was still quite satisfied with their overall performance.

At the very least, he knew that the seven peaks were able to put aside their differences, and work together in the face of danger.

The other peak masters also nodded in approval, only peak master Ling Jun remaining expressionless. He had been far too disappointed in Sword Cometh Peak’s performance this time, causing some of the Sword Cometh Peak elders to try their best to become invisible. They could already see how the entire Sword Cometh Peak was going to suffer under peak master Ling Jun’s rage after the Genesis reservoir ceremony was over.

"Since the ceremony has concluded, it’s time for evaluation and rewards." As sect master Qing Yang’s kind voice spread, the boiling atmosphere froze for an instant, before countless gazes began to burn with excitement.

They had all been waiting for this very moment.

"Disciples of the seven peaks, get ready to be ranked according to your Genesis essence collected."

Sect master Qing Yang’s finger gently pointed at the air.

Bzz!

Glowing balls of various sizes suddenly rose from the bodies of the disciples. The glowing balls rapidly converged, forming a giant light pillar that swiftly grew taller and taller.

In the area where the disciples of the seven peaks were gathered, seven light pillars rapidly rose into the sky.

Boundless pure energy was contained within the light pillars that clearly originated from Genesis essence.

"The higher the Genesis essence pillar, the better your rankings."

The eyes of countless disciples were currently glued to the pillars in the sky.

Under their gazes, the seven light pillars continued to extend, reaching a thousand feet in the blink of an eye. However, when this happened, everyone realized one of the pillars had stopped growing, immediately becoming the last amongst the seven peaks.

It was Sword Cometh peak!

Innumerable gazes looked over, only to find the Sword Cometh Peak disciples dejectedly hanging their heads.

Amidst them, Kong Sheng, Zhao Zhu, and the eliminated Baili Che’s expressions fluctuated indeterminately.

All of their hard-earned Genesis essence had ended up being snatched away by Saint Genesis Peak after falling to Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao’s trap. Although they had desperately hunted more later on, how many aquatic beasts could a mere hundred elite disciples possibly hunt?

As such, the amount of Genesis essence they managed to scrounge up in the end was to no surprise the least amongst the seven peaks.

In the thousand foot light pillar, one could faintly see four dragon silhouettes. This meant that the Sword Cometh Peak disciples would at best get to enjoy a four dragons baptism this time.

It was a very bad result for Sword Cometh Peak. After all, the worst result they had gotten in previous years was a five dragons baptism.

Of course, this result was only with regards to the ordinary disciples. The Chosens and chief disciple would receive a better reward based on their personal evaluation. From the looks of things, however, Kong Sheng, Zhao Zhu and Baili Che would at best reach a seven dragons baptism this time, which honestly held very little allure for them.

The disciples from the other peaks sighed, before turning towards the remaining six pillars. It was better to be more concerned about their own situation. Sword Cometh Peak only had themselves to blame for such an outcome, and were not deserving of pity.

Under the attention of countless gazes, the remaining six pillars continued to grow, quickly leaving Sword Cometh Peak’s pillar behind.

After a few breaths, Spirit Rune Peak’s pillar was the first to reach its limit. However, Hongya Peak, Lightning Prison Peak and Snow Lotus Peak also began to slow soon after, and did not surpass the former by much.

The gap between them was rather insignificant.

These four peaks reached about four thousand feet, the silhouettes of six dragons coiling within their pillars.

This meant that the disciples from these four peaks would get to enjoy a six dragons baptism.

The disciples from these four peaks nodded in content, before looking in amazement towards the final two pillars. One of two unsurprisingly belonged to Cangxuan Peak. After all, Cangxuan Peak’s overall strength was known to be the highest in the Cangxuan Sect. What surprised them was the other rising pillar that belonged to Saint Genesis Peak...

One must know that only a few hundred disciples from Saint Genesis Peak had participated this time, which was basically an insignificant number when compared to the other peaks.

However, everyone also knew that Saint Genesis Peak had taken Sword Cometh Peak’s Genesis essence. Hence, their achievement was in a sense built upon Sword Cometh Peak’s body...

The Sword Cometh Peak disciples expression filled with frustration as they watched the steadily climbing pillars.

The Saint Genesis Peak disciples were the only one who were cheering like crazy, while burning excitement overflowed from their eyes. It had been many many years since they had enjoyed such treatment, as they would always end up last at the end of past Genesis reservoir ceremonies. At times, they would even be bursting with gratitude if they could somehow reach a four dragons baptism.

Vieing with Cangxuan Peak for number one was something they did not even dare to imagine in the past.

The numerous Saint Genesis Peak disciples could not help but look towards Zhou Yuan’s figure. In this moment, the eyes of both Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song’s disciples began to fill with respect.

They knew that this result was basically all thanks to Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao’s efforts, while the rest of them had merely been the supporting cast.

The Saint Genesis Peak disciples felt very glad indeed. After so many years of silence, they had finally welcomed such a strong and powerful chief disciple.

Countless gazes watched the two rapidly rising light pillars. The champion of this year’s ceremony would be decided between the two.

Under their attention, Saint Genesis Peak’s pillar finally began to slow after several dozen breaths, before being exceeded by Cangxuan Peak’s pillar.

Sighs of pity erupted in the area. People would often look forward to an exciting reversal after all. However, Saint Genesis Peak’s foundations were still too weak, and even after stepping on Sword Cometh Peak, there was still some distance between them and Cangxuan Peak.

The numerous Saint Genesis Peak disciples felt a little regretful, but their faces were still filled with smiles. Second place was already far beyond their expectations after all.

Zhou Yuan chuckled as he watched, before he made a grabbing motion. A dazzling gem-like brilliance erupted as the ten thousand foot aquatic beast’s Genesis essence appeared in his hand.

Bzz!

The ten thousand foot aquatic beast’s Genesis essence immediately transformed into a shining beacon of light as it soared into the sky, and merged into the pillar that had stopped growing. In the next instant, the Genesis essence pillar rapidly grew, surpassing Cangxuan Peak’s pillar in the blink of an eye.

After a few dozen breaths, the two light pillars slowly came to a stop.

Saint Genesis Peak had surpassed Cangxuan Peak by a hundred feet.

Seven dragon silhouettes were coiling within it!

The Saint Genesis Peak disciples stared at this scene with their mouths hanging wide open, clearly unable to believe their eyes.

The world around them was somewhat silent, as the disciples from the other peaks blankly stared at Saint Genesis Peak’s rising pillar. Who could have imagined that the champion of this year’s Genesis reservoir ceremony would be the very same Saint Genesis Peak that always had to be protected by others?!

Gazes filled with complicated expressions and respect look towards Zhou Yuan, who stood like a crane amongst chickens amidst the other disciples.

To have single handedly pulled the last place Saint Genesis Peak all the way here... this new chief disciple had undoubtedly vanquished any doubt others had of him.

From this very moment, no one in the Cangxuan Sect would dare to underestimate the chief disciple of Saint Genesis Peak...