Chapter 37: Double Breakthrough

Inside the room, Qi Yue’s eyes were bloodshot. He smashed everything within reach to smithereens. After a long while, he finally stopped, panting, his face contorted and extremely menacing.

"Zhou Yuan!" Qi Yue gritted his teeth, punching a deep dent into the desktop.

Beside him, Liu Xi waited for him to finish venting before coming forward to comfort him. "Qi Yue, there's no need to be angry. This time, Zhou Yuan was just lucky. If you were to truly fight him, he's no match for you at all. He merely relies on his Spirit being slightly accomplished."

Qi Yue gnashed his teeth. Of course, he knew that in a real fight, Zhou Yuan was no match for him. But he had lost this wager, and he had lost it so humiliatingly in front of all the students of the Great Zhou Institute.

He could imagine that most of the reputation he had painstakingly built at the Great Zhou Institute would be ruined by this incident.

Furthermore, he had given away an hour and a half of the Jade Spirit Falls training time, which originally was only two hours for the Beta Division. He could well imagine that even if the students from the Beta Division dared not say anything, they would certainly resent him in their hearts.

The thought of those strange looks made the proud Qi Yue so frustrated he felt like spitting blood.

"The Prefectural Examination isn't far off," Liu Xi said. "When it comes, you can defeat him fair and square, and show him the true gap between you two. You'll get all of this back then."

Qi Yue took a deep breath, suppressing the fury in his heart. He slowly nodded and said, "Don't worry. During the Prefectural Examination, I'll make him give all of this back to me!"

"But this kid is very strange. I can't afford to relax. I'll have to intensify my training now, leaving him no chance to turn the tables."

Hearing Qi Yue's words, Liu Xi nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. After all, Qi Yue hadn't been blinded by anger; instead, he had begun to view Zhou Yuan as a true opponent. She believed that with Qi Yue's talent, as long as he didn't underestimate Zhou Yuan as before, Zhou Yuan wouldn't be able to compete with him at all.

At the Prefectural Examination at the end of the year, Qi Yue would be the most dazzling one.

And when she had called him a toad back then, she hadn't been wrong!

Qi Yue slowly unclenched his hand. His eyes narrowed, gleaming with venomous intent.

"Zhou Yuan, you mark my words!"

Over the next dozen or so days, the students of the Alpha Division had a remarkably comfortable time. Their access to the Jade Spirit Falls increased from three hours to four hours, which significantly boosted the speed at which many students opened their meridians. Some even began attempting to open new meridians.

In the past, the students from the Beta Division would always be arrogant when they saw them, but recently, they avoided them and no longer mocked them, which made the Alpha students feel even better. Students from other divisions, having benefited from Zhou Yuan's efforts, were extremely friendly when they encountered the Alpha Division students. For a time, the morale of the Alpha Division students soared, and their respect for Zhou Yuan deepened even further.

Rumble!

Within the Jade Spirit Falls, Zhou Yuan's eyes were slightly closed, allowing the immense currents of water to rush over him while continuously absorbing wisps of jade marrow energy into his body.

As Zhou Yuan was quietly cultivating, he suddenly heard cheers from the shore.

"Wow, Youwei, you're amazing! You've already opened your fifth meridian so quickly!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan opened his eyes, slightly surprised. Through the water, he could vaguely discern Su Youwei's figure on the shore, surrounded by many Alpha Division students.

"Oh? Youwei has opened her fifth meridian? That's really fast!" Zhou Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. Su Youwei's talent was indeed exceptional; it was remarkable that she performed so outstandingly even with limited cultivation resources.

"Excellent, Youwei, you've done very well!" On the shore, Chu Tianyang also smiled as he looked at Su Youwei, his expression joyful. This meant their Alpha Division now had three students who had opened five meridians.

Su Youwei gave a small smile, but her beautiful eyes looked towards the Jade Spirit Falls, vaguely discerning a familiar figure in that direction who seemed to be giving her a thumbs-up.

As a result, the curve of her lips deepened, making her look even more beautiful and charming.

"Youwei has already opened her fifth meridian. I can't fall behind. But good, I'm close too!"

Zhou Yuan quickly calmed his mind, sensing his body. In these days of cultivation, he could feel his fourth meridian becoming increasingly loose, very close to being fully opened.

Zhou Yuan's eyes slowly closed again, and he began to absorb the jade marrow energy from the Jade Spirit Falls at an accelerated pace.

He remained with his eyes closed for a full hour.

As the setting sun gradually descended, its afterglow illuminated the Jade Spirit Falls, turning the water a reddish hue.

Within the Jade Spirit Falls, Zhou Yuan's body began to tremble slightly at this moment. He clenched his teeth, as if enduring intense pain.

Inside him, streams of jade marrow energy surged forth under Zhou Yuan's guidance, powerfully striking at the last bit of blockage in his fourth meridian.

Faintly, a subtle, unusual sound seemed to resonate. Immediately afterward, Zhou Yuan's eyes snapped open, and the Genesis Qi from the heavens and earth surged towards him, pouring into his body.

Crackle! Pop!

As Genesis Qi surged, his flesh and blood seemed to boil, and his bones emitted faint vibrations, like crackling firecrackers. Under the constant washing of Genesis Qi, Zhou Yuan's physical constitution once again ascended.

Waves of hot energy flowed throughout his limbs and body.

His fourth meridian was finally opened at this moment!

Wisps of Genesis Qi light coiled around Zhou Yuan's body, so intensely that even the powerful water currents couldn't penetrate them. Feeling the surge of power within him, a triumphant smile appeared on his lips.

After more than a month of arduous cultivation, his fourth meridian was finally open!

"Now that my fourth meridian is open, I won't fear a direct confrontation with Qi Yue. However, by the time of the Prefectural Examination at the end of the year, Qi Yue will have at least reached the seventh meridian. So, to secure first place in the examination, just having the fourth meridian open isn't enough." Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

He had finally begun to catch up to Qi Yue's pace, but he wasn't absolutely confident about decisively winning against Qi Yue in the Prefectural Examination. After all, while he was getting stronger, Qi Yue wasn't standing still; he might even open his seventh meridian soon.

However, what bothered Zhou Yuan now was that, with the opening of his fourth meridian, he noticed the Jade Spirit Falls' effect on him was diminishing. He figured this was because his body had absorbed too much jade marrow energy and had developed some resistance.

Therefore, if he wanted to open his fifth meridian, he probably couldn't rely on the Jade Spirit Falls anymore.

Zhou Yuan rubbed his forehead in frustration, muttering to himself.

"It seems I need to find other methods. Otherwise, even when the Prefectural Examination arrives, I probably won't have opened my fifth meridian yet..."