Chapter 34: Mouling Waterfall

When Zhou Yuan, Yao Yao, Su Youwei, and others arrived at the Jade Spirit Waterfall, the area was already teeming with people. Students from all five academies of the Great Zhou Prefecture had gathered there, creating a deafening clamor of voices and an extremely lively atmosphere.

Zhou Yuan and his companions pushed through the crowd to the very center. With a glance, they saw Chu Tianyang's ashen face, and standing before him was Xu Hong.

Behind Xu Hong stood Qi Yue and Liu Xi.

Upon seeing Zhou Yuan arrive, Qi Yue couldn't help but flash him a smile, though it was laden with mockery.

Chu Tianyang also noticed Zhou Yuan, but he said nothing, instead glaring at Xu Hong with an ashen face, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked. He said in a cold voice, "Xu Hong, don't push your luck! The usage time for the Jade Spirit Waterfall was set ages ago. How can you change it on a whim?!"

"Heh heh, what are you talking about, Prefect?" Xu Hong chuckled. "The Jade Spirit Waterfall is the Great Zhou Prefecture's most crucial cultivation ground, so naturally, we should maximize its effectiveness. In the past, Academy Alpha was indeed the strongest academy in our Great Zhou Prefecture, and when it exclusively occupied three hours of the Jade Spirit Waterfall, we naturally had no objections. But what about now? Academy Alpha has been suppressed by our Academy Beta for two consecutive years, so it can no longer be considered the leading academy. Given that, for Academy Alpha to still occupy three hours of the Jade Spirit Waterfall seems a bit unreasonable, wouldn't you agree?"

A cold glint flashed in Chu Tianyang's eyes. He retorted, "The schedule for the Jade Spirit Waterfall was set by His Majesty himself. If you have any objections, take them up with the King."

Hearing this, Xu Hong smiled indifferently. "Ever since the Great Zhou Prefecture was established, its internal affairs have always been managed autonomously. Even His Majesty doesn't intervene, so Prefect, there's no need to use the King as a shield."

Having already pledged allegiance to King Qi, his reverence for Zhou Qing had naturally diminished significantly.

"You!"

Chu Tianyang was enraged, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes. He abruptly stepped forward, and his body trembled as a stream of crimson energy shot skyward from the crown of his head.

The crimson energy, resembling a vast, hundred-zhang-long red cloud, was incredibly hot. It swirled above Chu Tianyang, and as its crimson glow permeated the air, the entire surroundings became intensely heated.

A powerful oppressive aura swept outwards, causing all the students' expressions to change dramatically and their heels to tremble.

"Is this what a Heavenly Pass Realm expert is like? Truly terrifying! Energy breaking through the Heavenly Pass is enough to move mountains and shatter the earth!" many students exclaimed with awe. The primeval energy they could harness in the Vein Opening Realm was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean compared to an expert like Chu Tianyang from the Heavenly Pass Realm.

Zhou Yuan, standing behind Chu Tianyang, also looked at the formidable crimson energy with a hint of surprise. *Is this the primeval energy cultivated by the Prefect, the third-grade Crimson Sun Qi?*

Primeval energy is classified into nine grades; the more profound the cultivation technique, the higher the grade of primeval energy produced. The Great Zhou imperial family's most advanced cultivation technique could currently only yield fourth-grade primeval energy.

"Hmph, you want to resort to force? Do you really think I'm afraid of you?!" Xu Hong's eyes grew cold as he observed Chu Tianyang's stance. He took a step forward, and similarly, a powerful stream of primeval energy, like a torrent of light, burst forth from the crown of his head.

That primeval energy resembled a silver torrent, yet it was filled with bone-chilling cold. As the frigid aura spread, frost began to creep across the nearby ground.

Third-grade primeval energy, Silver Frost Qi!

As the two Heavenly Pass Realm experts confronted each other, two oppressive auras instantly permeated the area, instilling fear in the many students present, who were terrified of being caught in the crossfire. After all, once Heavenly Pass Realm experts engaged, it wouldn't be a mere skirmish like those in the Vein Opening Realm; their clashes could easily cause mountains to collapse and the earth to crack.

"Prefect Chu, Dean Xu, this is no place for a confrontation!"

However, just as Chu Tianyang and Xu Hong's formidable auras collided, someone finally shouted, breaking the tense standoff.

The person who spoke was a black-robed man, none other than Qin Xiao, the Dean of Academy Gamma. The deans of the other two academies quickly added their voices, knowing that if Chu Tianyang and Xu Hong truly came to blows here, it would benefit no one.

With the intervention of the deans, Chu Tianyang and Xu Hong knew they couldn't genuinely come to blows. Both immediately let out a cold snort, and their vast, crimson and silver-frost-like primeval energies swirled back, retracting into the crowns of their heads.

"Hmph, if you intend to alter the Jade Spirit Waterfall's time allocation, I will absolutely not agree today!" Chu Tianyang stated coldly.

Xu Hong's eyes flared with anger, just as he was about to speak. However, Qi Yue, standing nearby, suddenly offered a slight smile and interjected, "Prefect Chu, today's proposal isn't meant to target Academy Alpha. Rather, it's for the benefit of all students in our Great Zhou Prefecture. The Prefect should be aware of how crucial the Jade Spirit Waterfall is to our students. The previous time allocation was based on Academy Alpha being the leading academy, which is why when it monopolized three hours, none of us had any objections. However, with Academy Alpha's current decline, if it still monopolizes so much time, it would be quite unfair to the students of other academies. Therefore, this redistribution of cultivation time is truly the will of the people."

Qi Yue's voice was filled with righteous conviction, and his words caused many students around the Jade Spirit Waterfall to nod in agreement. Everyone knew that the Jade Spirit Waterfall had an excellent effect on opening veins, and if they could be allocated more time, their cultivation speed would undoubtedly increase. When it came to securing benefits for themselves, everyone naturally harbored a degree of self-interest.

Seeing his words prompt nods of agreement from the crowd, Qi Yue secretly smiled. He then looked at Chu Tianyang, whose expression was growing increasingly grim, and said, "Prefect Chu, while you are the Dean of Academy Alpha, do not forget that you are also the Prefect of the Great Zhou Prefecture. If you cannot remain impartial, I fear you will lose the trust of the people."

Chu Tianyang's expression changed completely. Qi Yue's words were a direct attack, and if he dared to refute them, he would likely alienate the other students.

"You!" Chu Tianyang's jaw muscles twitched faintly.

Behind Chu Tianyang, the many students of Academy Alpha were also speechless, their faces grim. Qi Yue's relentless focus on Academy Alpha's current poor performance and its supposed disqualification as the leading academy left them utterly unable to refute him.

"According to the rules, to strip Academy Alpha of its position as the leading academy, it must lose first place in the prefectural examination for three consecutive years," a calm voice suddenly interjected, just as the Academy Alpha students' faces turned grim. "This year's prefectural examination hasn't even happened yet, and you're already kicking Academy Alpha from its top spot. Isn't that a bit too hasty?" Many gazes followed the voice, settling on the slender youth with a scholarly aura standing behind Chu Tianyang.

It was Zhou Yuan.

Qi Yue saw Zhou Yuan speak and offered a faint smile. "Academy Alpha has already lost first place in the prefectural examination for two years running, and there will naturally be no surprises this year either. So, the title of 'leading academy' is already an empty shell. Why does Your Highness insist on this verbal bravado?"

"Rules are rules," Zhou Yuan replied with a calm, unruffled smile. "And furthermore, I don't believe our Academy Alpha will lose first place again this year."

Qi Yue's eyes narrowed, a hint of disdain curving his lips. He retorted sharply, "Your Highness's idea is quite naive. There are still several months until the year-end prefectural examination, but the outcome is already clear. Why should Academy Alpha continue to occupy three hours of the Jade Spirit Waterfall, needlessly wasting such valuable cultivation resources?"

Zhou Yuan shook his head. "I also don't believe that Academy Alpha cultivating in the Jade Spirit Waterfall constitutes a waste of cultivation resources."

Qi Yue scoffed. "Since you insist on being stubborn, do you dare to let the facts speak for themselves?"

"Oh?" Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Don't worry, I'm not suggesting you fight me; that would be too much like bullying," Qi Yue said with a noncommittal smile, the disdain and contempt in his words causing many students from Academy Alpha to turn livid with anger. He pointed to the cascading Jade Spirit Waterfall, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes. "If you are unconvinced, then let each of us send one representative into the Jade Spirit Waterfall. We'll see who can last longer. This way, it will naturally become clear who is truly wasting cultivation resources!"

At this moment, his true intentions were finally laid bare.

"You have already opened six veins, and your physical constitution is formidable," Chu Tianyang said in a low voice. "Who could possibly compare to you in terms of endurance within the Jade Spirit Waterfall?"

While Zhou Yuan had shown remarkable progress in the Jade Spirit Waterfall, lasting for increasingly longer periods, it was well-known that Qi Yue could achieve similar endurance due to his formidable physical constitution.

Qi Yue said indifferently, "On that point, if Prefect Chu finds it unfair, then blame your own Academy Alpha for lacking anyone who has managed to open six veins yet."

Chu Tianyang's eyes blazed with anger, and he was about to speak, but Zhou Yuan interjected first, "What's the wager?"

Zhou Yuan had already realized that Qi Yue was well-prepared today and wouldn't back down easily; thus, it seemed a confrontation was inevitable.

"A wager, you say... If our Academy Beta wins, then Academy Alpha will hand over one and a half hours of cultivation time," Qi Yue said, staring at Zhou Yuan with a smirk, as if he had just spotted prey about to fall into his trap. "One hour will go to our Academy Beta, and the remaining half an hour will be distributed among the other three academies. How does that sound?"

"One and a half hours?!" The other students of Academy Alpha immediately erupted in angry expressions upon hearing this. Losing essentially half of their three hours would be a significant blow to their academy.

The students from the other academies, however, remained silent. This situation was clearly a rivalry between Academy Beta and Academy Alpha, but if it ultimately led to them gaining more cultivation time in the Jade Spirit Waterfall, they would be quite satisfied. Therefore, most students maintained a wait-and-see attitude regarding Qi Yue's aggressive demands.

Zhou Yuan gazed at the smiling Qi Yue, his eyes narrowing slightly. After a moment, he slowly said, "One and a half hours? Agreed! But if you lose, Academy Beta must also hand over one and a half hours of Jade Spirit Waterfall cultivation time!"

If it were a direct fight, Zhou Yuan, who had yet to open his fourth vein, might not be confident against Qi Yue, who had opened six. But if the competition was about cultivating in the Jade Spirit Waterfall, then at this moment, Zhou Yuan was confident he feared no student in the Great Zhou Prefecture. He knew Qi Yue must have prepared something, but likewise, Qi Yue shouldn't underestimate him either. Moreover, while Qi Yue coveted Academy Alpha's three hours of Jade Spirit Waterfall cultivation time, Zhou Yuan secretly felt those three hours were far too short. He simply hadn't had a valid reason to change it. Now that Qi Yue had suddenly presented such a grand opportunity, Zhou Yuan saw no reason not to seize it.

Qi Yue's expression faltered slightly; he clearly hadn't expected Zhou Yuan to agree so readily. However, recalling his own trump card, a sinister glint involuntarily flashed in his eyes.

"Good! If we lose, our Academy Beta will forfeit one and a half hours as well!"

As Qi Yue's words fell, a low murmur of commotion erupted among the surrounding students, who immediately grew excited. Judging by the situation, it seemed they wouldn't even have to wait for the year-end prefectural examination; right here, Academy Alpha and Academy Beta were about to engage in another fierce, head-to-head confrontation. However, they clearly favored Academy Beta, as it had Qi Yue, the only student in the Great Zhou Prefecture who had opened six veins. His strength surpassed everyone else's. And Zhou Yuan, with only three veins opened, how could he possibly compare to Qi Yue? Prince Zhou Yuan had always been known for his composure. Why had he lost his cool so completely today?