Chapter 30: Opening the Three Channels

Splash! Zhou Yuan emerged from the lake, his face brimming with excitement. His gaze was fixed ardently on the enormous Jade Spirit Waterfall. He hadn't expected that by using the power of his spirit, he could actually draw in the nearby jade marrow qi.

Others could only passively absorb the jade marrow qi from the water current that impacted their bodies, but he could actively absorb it, and from a wider range. The difference between the two was self-evident.

“At this rate, it’ll only be a few days before I can open my third meridian!” Zhou Yuan had originally estimated it would take about half a month to open his third meridian, but now, that time had been cut in half. This clearly showed how potent the Jade Spirit Waterfall was.

“This is the benefit of a Spirit Cultivation Realm spirit,” Zhou Yuan couldn’t help but exclaim. Other students hadn't cultivated soul-forging techniques, so their spirits couldn't be as strong as his. Naturally, they couldn't sense the jade marrow qi, let alone absorb it.

Splash! As Zhou Yuan mused, a figure dropped into the water beside him and then surfaced. It was Su Youwei. At this moment, her delicate face was a little pale, and her fair, jade-like wrists were covered with bruises.

Zhou Yuan’s gaze drifted downwards, and then he found himself unable to look away. His nose even felt a little warm.

Because of falling into the water, Su Youwei’s clothes were completely drenched, clinging tightly to her lithe figure. This instantly accentuated her exquisite and alluring curves, with glimpses of fair skin subtly revealed, radiating youthful charm.

Splash! Before Zhou Yuan could get a proper look, a handful of water splashed onto his face. He looked up to see Su Youwei glaring at him, her delicate face flushed crimson.

Zhou Yuan gave an awkward laugh. Su Youwei gritted her teeth. This guy really didn’t miss an opportunity to take advantage! If it had been anyone else, she would have slapped them by now. But facing Zhou Yuan, she couldn't feel disgust, only indignant embarrassment.

“Pervert!” Su Youwei pushed with her jade-like palm, sending a wave of water splashing onto Zhou Yuan's head. Then, using the momentum, she gracefully shot out of the lake, and with a nimble flash, landed by the lakeside. At the same time, streams of Genesis Qi coiled around her body, quickly evaporating the water from her clothes.

Zhou Yuan, soaked to the bone, shook his head helplessly. He too shot out of the lake and landed on the open ground.

“Not bad, both of you lasted about ten minutes. For your first time in the Jade Spirit Waterfall, that’s quite good,” Chu Tianyang said, a relieved expression in his eyes as he looked at them.

Among the many students of Class A previously, apart from Yang Zai and Song Qiushui, most of the veteran students in Class A only managed to last around ten minutes. Therefore, as newcomers to the Jade Spirit Waterfall, Zhou Yuan and Su Youwei’s performance was quite impressive.

Yang Zai, Song Qiushui, and other veteran students nearby stared at the two with surprise. They weren’t too surprised by Su Youwei’s performance, as she had, after all, opened four meridians. However, Zhou Yuan was different; he had only opened two meridians, yet his endurance was no weaker than someone with four meridians.

“Heh heh, if that much time is considered good, then this Jade Spirit Waterfall is truly being wasted.” Just as they were exclaiming, a scoff suddenly echoed, silencing the atmosphere on Class A’s side. Then, angry glares were shot towards the source of the voice.

However, when their gazes landed on the speaker, they froze again.

Zhou Yuan frowned slightly and looked up, to see a large group of people who had arrived nearby at some unknown time. At the front of the group stood Qi Yue, hands behind his back, handsome, tall, and imposing. Beside him, Liu Xi was also dazzling and eye-catching. At this moment, her delicate face showed disdain as she stared at the students of Class A. The scoff had come from her.

The other students from Class B also wore faint sneers on their faces, as if looking down on the performance of the Class A students.

“It’s Class B,” Yang Zai said, his face filled with anger. The others were also indignant. Class B was truly going too far, even interfering with their cultivation.

Zhou Yuan also gave Liu Xi a cold glance, and said calmly, “May I ask how long you lasted in the Jade Spirit Waterfall your first time?”

Liu Xi’s delicate face froze, and she remained resentfully silent.

Qi Yue said with a faint smile that wasn’t quite a smile, “Prince Zhou Yuan, why bother stooping to a girl’s level? I’m not sure how long Liu Xi lasted her first time, but I do recall that I lasted thirty minutes on my first attempt.”

Although they knew Qi Yue was deliberately trying to demoralize them, Yang Zai, Song Qiushui, and the other Class A students were still somewhat speechless and disheartened. Someone could last thirty minutes on their first try, but what about them? Even now, they only managed just over twenty minutes.

With a prodigy like Qi Yue in Class B, could Class A ever hope to rise again?

Immediately, the morale on Class A’s side sagged.

“Are you going to cultivate or not?!” Just as they fell silent, Chu Tianyang’s sharp voice suddenly rang out. He then looked at Qi Yue and the others, and said expressionlessly, “If it’s not yet Class B’s turn, do not interfere with others’ cultivation here. Otherwise, you will be punished according to regulations!”

Seeing Chu Tianyang’s cold gaze, the other Class B students recoiled, only Qi Yue remained unconcerned, smiling faintly as he said, “Headmaster, there’s no need to be angry. We are just gathering here early to wait for the Jade Spirit Waterfall. If merely watching from here interferes with cultivation, then the students of Class A are far too delicate.”

Hearing the veiled sarcasm in his words, many Class A students gritted their teeth in anger.

“Continue cultivating!” Chu Tianyang cast a cold glance at Qi Yue, then retracted his gaze and gravely ordered the Class A students.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zai and the others turned around and headed towards the Jade Spirit Waterfall once more, though the atmosphere remained somewhat somber.

“That guy is really annoying,” Su Youwei also whispered. Everyone was cultivating well before, but as soon as Qi Yue arrived, he completely deflated everyone’s spirits.

Zhou Yuan lightly tapped his slender fingers. He looked at Qi Yue and said, “Half an hour, is that a long time?”

After speaking, he didn’t waste any more words with Qi Yue. He simply turned and walked towards the Jade Spirit Waterfall. Since this guy was so malicious as to try and use such means to undermine Class A’s morale, then today, he absolutely could not let him succeed.

“Tch, such big talk! By the looks of it, he seems to want to compete with you, doesn’t he?” Liu Xi looked at Zhou Yuan’s retreating figure and couldn’t help but let out a contemptuous laugh, clearly taking Zhou Yuan’s words as mere bravado.

Zhou Yuan’s performance in the great examination was indeed good, but it depended on who he was being compared to. The Qi Yue before them was currently the strongest student in the Great Zhou Prefecture.

Qi Yue also smiled, but his smile was full of playful amusement: “Then I’ll just have to wait and see. Though I do hope he tries to overexert himself; the only one who will suffer is him.”

The other Class B students also nodded in agreement. They also didn’t understand what qualifications Zhou Yuan, with only two open meridians, had to compare himself to Qi Yue.

Under the watchful eyes of the Class B students, who were expecting a show, Zhou Yuan once again approached the Jade Spirit Waterfall. He looked at the thunderous, massive cascade of water, and without a moment’s hesitation, stepped right in.

His body plunged into the waterfall. Zhou Yuan slightly bent his knees, gripping the ground firmly. At the same time, as the powerful current crashed down, he closed his eyes, and the spirit in his glabella vibrated.

A suction force, imperceptible to ordinary people, silently emanated. Instantly, wisps of jade marrow qi gathered from the water curtain, and along with the water’s impact, all struck Zhou Yuan's body.

The Genesis Gathering Rune on his back glowed, continuously drawing wisps of jade marrow qi into his body.

Streams of warm and cool qi circulated within Zhou Yuan’s body. Wherever the qi flowed, the intense pain brought by the powerful water impact began to be significantly alleviated.

Zhou Yuan’s previously somewhat shaky body gradually became stable, remaining as firm as a rock no matter how the waterfall crashed against him.

At the same time, within his body, wisps of jade marrow qi surged forth, constantly impacting his third meridian, causing it to loosen more and more.

Splash! Splash! In the lake, students were continuously being washed down again. Perhaps due to low morale, many students performed even worse this time than before, with their endurance times steadily shortening.

Chu Tianyang on the shore watched this scene, his face turning dark.

Meanwhile, Qi Yue, Liu Xi, and the others from Class B had increasingly prominent smiles on their faces.

Splash! Su Youwei also fell down. This time, she lasted a full twenty minutes or so, which amazed the students of Class A. Her time was almost catching up to Yang Zai and Song Qiushui.

Su Youwei’s performance did ease Chu Tianyang’s expression slightly.

Immediately after Su Youwei, Yang Zai and Song Qiushui also fell. As they landed in the water, they both sighed inwardly, because they still hadn't managed to last thirty minutes.

The crowd silently climbed ashore, the atmosphere heavy. Suddenly, Su Youwei exclaimed in surprise, “Zhou Yuan is still up there?!”

Hearing her words, everyone was startled, and looked towards the Jade Spirit Waterfall, where indeed a faint figure was still visible.

“Zhou Yuan is almost at thirty minutes?!” Song Qiushui exclaimed, covering her red lips with her jade-like hand.

Yang Zai scratched his head, his face full of disbelief.

Su Youwei, however, frowned slightly, a hint of worry in her eyes. She worried Zhou Yuan was deliberately overexerting himself, which could cause injury to himself and affect his meridian opening.

“Interesting,” Qi Yue murmured, watching the scene and letting out a soft chuckle. He gazed at the faint figure in the waterfall, his eyes filled with contempt deep down. In his view, Zhou Yuan’s forced display of strength would only harm him.

“I’d like to see how long he can keep up this charade!” Liu Xi also sneered, her delicate face filled with schadenfreude.

Thus, everyone’s gaze was fixed on the figure in the waterfall. Su Youwei and the others didn’t even think about climbing back up; they just stared at Zhou Yuan from there.

And so, time rapidly passed under their intense scrutiny.Thirty minutes.Forty minutes.An hour!

When the one-hour mark was reached, everyone on the shore fell silent. Even Qi Yue’s eyes flickered, and his brow slowly furrowed, a faint sense of unease creeping over him.

The Class B students also exchanged glances. An hour — no one in their Class B, except Qi Yue, could achieve that. And it was important to remember, Qi Yue had opened six meridians!

What about Zhou Yuan? Two meridians!

“Could something have gone wrong with him?” Liu Xi gritted her teeth and couldn’t help but ask.

Just as her voice fell, a sound came from the waterfall. Zhou Yuan’s body finally dropped, plunging headfirst into the lake.

In the lake, Zhou Yuan’s figure surfaced, but his eyes were tightly shut.

Seeing this, Liu Xi immediately sneered, “Looks like he’s quite injured.”

Just as her sneer appeared, Zhou Yuan suddenly opened his eyes in the lake. Then, everyone saw streams of Genesis Qi coiling around his body, stirring the surrounding lake water into whirlpools.

His robes billowed, and faint rumbling sounds emerged from within his body. Streams of World Genesis Qi continuously poured into him, causing his aura to suddenly surge at that moment.

“This is?!” Seeing this, Qi Yue, Liu Xi, and the others’ pupils instantly constricted.

“How is this possible?!” Su Youwei, Yang Zai, and Song Qiushui also gasped.

Chu Tianyang was also moved at this moment, his eyes shining brightly as he stared intently at Zhou Yuan, and he said, word by word, “He actually… opened his third meridian?!”