Chapter 241: Competition Continues

Over the next five days, the spirit art competition between Zhou Yuan and Zhu Yue undoubtedly became the main topic of conversation throughout the outer mountain area, creating a buzz and attracting the attention of countless disciples.

No one expected Zhu Yue to choose this method to retaliate against Zhou Yuan.

This move was undoubtedly very clever; since it was just a spirit art competition, no one could accuse Zhu Yue of bullying the weak.

However, this move clearly put Zhou Yuan in a disadvantageous position, as everyone believed that no matter how talented Zhou Yuan was in cultivating the Transcendent Art, he likely still couldn't compare to Zhu Yue, who had been immersed in the art for nearly two years.

After all, having become an inner mountain disciple, Zhu Yue was certainly not as easy to deal with as one might imagine.

Consequently, many outer mountain disciples felt regret, knowing that if Zhou Yuan lost, they would have no choice but to return to Zhu Yue for their Transcendent Art training.

***

Outer Mountain Area, a small building.

Lu Feng, dressed in white, sat cross-legged in a stone pavilion. The Genesis Qi from heaven and earth surged in, transforming into white mist that entered his body through his nostrils.

A whooshing sound came from behind him. Lu Feng opened his eyes and saw a blue-robed youth standing there. The youth had narrow, smiling eyes, but his smile had a razor-sharp quality that made it hard to look directly at him.

The blue-robed youth was named Yang Xiu, a prominent figure among the outer mountain disciples, ranking third among the top ten, just below Lu Feng and Gu Hongyi.

"Hey, have you heard?" Yang Xiu said with a smile. "That kid named Zhou Yuan is actually going to compete against Zhu Yue in the Transcendent Art."

Lu Feng's expression was indifferent. He merely said, "Overestimating himself."

Yang Xiu chuckled, "It seems you have a strong opinion of him..."

Lu Feng's expression was calm. "He isn't significant enough for me to have an opinion of him," he said. "It's just that this person is quite cunning, deliberately approaching Hongyi, presumably to climb the social ladder."

"And recently," he added, "Hongyi has been interacting with him far too often."

Lu Feng's eyes lowered slightly, and a hint of coldness flashed within them.

"This person really doesn't know his place," Lu Feng muttered to himself. "I had warned him before."

Hearing Lu Feng's words, Yang Xiu smiled and said, "Then this kid is really unlucky to have provoked you..."

Lu Feng said indifferently, "However, it seems I won't need to intervene now. Although Zhu Yue is just a Black Belt disciple, he has, after all, entered the inner mountain. Even if it's just a Transcendent Art competition, he should be able to suppress that kid."

"Zhu Yue isn't that capable," Yang Xiu said, his tone conveying considerable disdain for Zhu Yue. "After all these years, he's still just a Black Belt disciple in the inner mountain."

Lu Feng glanced at him and said, "Don't underestimate him. This Zhu Yue is quite cunning and has probably hidden a lot of his true abilities."

He raised his head, looked toward a certain direction in the outer mountain area, and in his otherwise calm eyes, a hint of coldness and contempt emerged.

"Once Zhu Yue crushes that ignorant kid," he mused, "he should learn to behave himself, right?"

"A prince from a remote, backward place," he sneered, "dares to compete with me, Lu Feng, for a woman?"

Lu Feng's lips curved slightly. He said to Yang Xiu, "When the time comes, let's go watch this good show."

***

In the past few days, the training in the mountain stream had not stopped. Zhou Yuan continued to help everyone open their acupoints, but for most of the time, he was also immersed in his own cultivation.

By the stream, many disciples occasionally looked at Zhou Yuan with complex expressions.

They could feel that Zhou Yuan seemed to be intensifying his training, racing against time, in these past few days. However, in their eyes, this undoubtedly made them feel that Zhou Yuan wasn't fully confident.

This made them sigh repeatedly, because with Zhou Yuan, their cultivation progress had been remarkably pleasing.

The thought of losing this in a few days made them very disheartened.

After the training ended, many disciples slowly dispersed. Gu Hongyi came to Zhou Yuan's side and said, "Hey, your state has seemed a bit off these past two days."

She also felt that Zhou Yuan had been much quieter these two days, and his entire being seemed tense, as if he was feeling the pressure from Zhu Yue.

Zhou Yuan slowly opened his eyes and smiled helplessly. "Zhu Yue has, after all, been cultivating the Transcendent Art for much longer than me, so of course I have to speed up my training."

"Last-minute effort..." Gu Hongyi pursed her red lips. She hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Do you want my help? I can arrange to have Zhu Yue transferred back to the inner mountain directly."

Her ancestor was the Peak Master of Hongya Peak and held a very high position; if she just spoke up, transferring an inner mountain disciple back would indeed not be difficult.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Gu Hongyi with some surprise, and couldn't help but chuckle, "Aren't you the one who hates pulling strings the most?"

He remembered that at the very beginning, Gu Hongyi had strongly disliked him because she mistakenly thought he had become a first-rank disciple through connections.

But now, the proud Gu Hongyi was actually willing to pull strings to help him, which greatly surprised Zhou Yuan.

Hearing this, Gu Hongyi's pretty face couldn't help but blush. Then she glared fiercely at Zhou Yuan and said, "I'm doing this for the sake of the many outer mountain disciples who are cultivating the Transcendent Art. You have the ability, so you're naturally the most suitable person. Why should you be replaced?"

"Besides," she added, "you promised me you'd help me master the second stage of the Transcendent Art. If you're deemed unqualified to teach, what will I do?!"

Zhou Yuan smiled, feeling a little more favorably towards Gu Hongyi. However, he still waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I'd rather resolve this matter myself."

After all, if he relied on Gu Hongyi's connections and the matter got out, it wouldn't be good for either his reputation or Gu Hongyi's.

A single Zhu Yue wasn't significant enough to force him to rely on a woman's connections.

Seeing this, Gu Hongyi let out a soft snort and said, "Let's see how long you can keep up this pretense of strength."

Although she spoke like this, she secretly felt a slight relief. If Zhou Yuan had truly agreed to her suggestion, even though she would have understood, she probably would have been a little disappointed.

The young man before her, though gentle and handsome when he smiled, clearly had no less pride in his bones than anyone else.

"Then you should cultivate diligently," she said. "I want to see what you can achieve with this Transcendent Art in just a few days..."

Gu Hongyi twisted her slender waist and turned to leave decisively, a streak of red darting away like a vibrant flame.

***

The five days passed quickly under the eager anticipation of the many outer mountain disciples.

By the morning of the fifth day, a ray of morning light broke through the thick clouds, shining upon the continuous mountain ranges, and the outer mountain area, which had been silent all night, suddenly erupted with activity.

Countless figures, stepping on Genesis Qi, rose into the air and then soared towards a large mountain.

In front of a certain building, Zhu Yue, fully prepared, stepped out; Zhu Feng was already waiting at the entrance.

"Brother, today," Zhu Feng chuckled, looking at the radiant Zhu Yue, "you can finally get back all the frustration from before."

Zhu Yue's expression was indifferent. He looked at the bustling outer mountain area, his eyes slightly narrowed, and a sneer of disdain finally emerged from the corner of his mouth. He stomped his foot, and Genesis Qi rose.

"Let's go," he declared. "After today, I will make Zhou Yuan never dare to mention the Transcendent Art again!"