Chapter 381: Chief

On the disheveled peak, the awkward situation continued.

Zhou Yuan and Xu Yan were only a few yards apart, yet no more fighting broke out. Zhou Yuan casually sat cross-legged on the ground, gradually dissolving the sharp invading Origin Qi within his body. Meanwhile, Xu Yan stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move, much less casually circulate his Origin Qi to expel the poison. His previous probing had made him realize how terrifying the blood-red poisonous gas was.

Thus, as the battles on the other nine peaks grew increasingly fierce, their side, however, became eerily quiet, and the atmosphere appeared remarkably harmonious. Facing this situation, the many disciples watching them didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Initially, they had thought Zhou Yuan stood no chance in this confrontation, but who would have imagined that Zhou Yuan would achieve victory through such an unconventional method?

It seemed that in this Purple Sash Selection, Sword Cometh Peak was destined to lose face because of Zhou Yuan.

On the peak, Xu Yan's expression fluctuated. He glanced at the large incense stick in the center of the square, which had already burned down by about one-third. On the other nine peaks, disciples had even begun to fall to the defenders. If this continued, the top spot this time might truly fall to Zhou Yuan. In that case, Sword Cometh Peak would lose all face, he would certainly be unable to account for his actions upon returning, and might even face punishment.

The thought of such a result made Xu Yan's face darken further. He then looked at Zhou Yuan and said in a deep voice, “Zhou Yuan, don’t think that making Sword Cometh Peak lose all face is a good thing for you.”

Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered open.

“Everyone knows that within the Cangxuan Sect, our Sword Cometh Peak disciples are the hardest to provoke. You are so aggressive today; after this, someone from Sword Cometh Peak will surely come to settle the score with you.”

Zhou Yuan calmly replied, “Senior Brother Xu Yan, so many Golden Sash disciples from your Sword Cometh Peak swarmed out to besiege me; do you call that me being aggressive?”

Xu Yan paused, then his tone softened as he said, “Junior Brother Zhou Yuan, I have a suggestion... As long as you concede now, I can guarantee that our Sword Cometh Peak will owe you this favor, the previous matters will be written off, and no Sword Cometh Peak disciples will trouble you in the future. What do you say?”

Zhou Yuan couldn’t help but laugh aloud. This fellow certainly had a thick skin to be able to say something like that; it seemed he was truly cornered by the current situation.

“Forget it, I can’t afford to accept Sword Cometh Peak’s favor.” He shook his head, his tone calm. How could he not know that he had offended Sword Cometh Peak today? But all of this was their own doing, yet now they still wanted him to concede to preserve their dignity. Zhou Yuan truly could not agree to such a shameless request.

Though Sword Cometh Peak was indeed powerful, what of it? Everyone was a disciple of the Cangxuan Sect, and if Sword Cometh Peak overstepped its bounds, it was unlikely that Sect Master Qing Yang and the other peak masters would stand by idly. Moreover, he wasn't a pushover. Sword Cometh Peak had pressured him so much this time, so he naturally felt a surge of anger. Since they had initiated this matter, then losing face in the end was simply what they deserved.

“Zhou Yuan, don’t go too far!” Xu Yan roared angrily. He had already lowered himself and tried to persuade him nicely, yet Zhou Yuan remained unmoved, clearly showing no respect for Sword Cometh Peak.

However, this time Zhou Yuan didn't even bother to acknowledge him. He subtly closed his eyes and focused his mind on dissolving the invading Origin Qi within his body. Seeing this, Xu Yan hastily shouted a few times, but seeing Zhou Yuan remain unmoved, he could only turn livid with rage.

And so, time slowly began to pass.

The large incense stick was now only half burned. By this point, battles on four of the other nine peaks had already concluded. Only Su Wan, Wang Chen, Xia Yu, and the other two first-ranked Golden Sash disciples from their respective peaks were still struggling to hold on against the veteran Purple Sash disciples before them. But from the looks of it, none of them could last much longer.

Seeing this, Xu Yan's expression grew even uglier. He spoke again, attempting to persuade Zhou Yuan, but Zhou Yuan still ignored him. The large incense stick burned down faster and faster, and finally, when it was only one-tenth of the way from its base, Su Wan and the others who had been struggling on the remaining five peaks finally reached their limits and conceded.

The moment they conceded, almost all eyes across the world converged on Zhou Yuan's peak. Those gazes, fixed on the two individuals who remained awkwardly facing each other, were extremely complex. Especially when their gazes locked onto Zhou Yuan, a hint of admiration appeared in their expressions.

The competition for the top spot was about who could last longer against these veteran Purple Sash disciples. Figures like Su Wan, Wang Chen, and Xia Yu could only do their best to delay for some time. However, compared to Zhou Yuan, there was a vast difference, because he had actually dragged the situation into a stalemate where both sides were affected. In other words, although Zhou Yuan did not defeat Xu Yan in this confrontation, he also rendered Xu Yan helpless against him. To a certain extent, this was already an absolute victory.

Looking at the young figure sitting cross-legged on the peak, although he appeared slightly disheveled at the moment, no disciple dared to underestimate him anymore. No one could find a single flaw in Zhou Yuan’s performance in this Purple Sash Selection. It could be said that this Purple Sash Selection had truly established Zhou Yuan as a significant figure within the Cangxuan Sect. His previous achievements, whether it was the Mountain Selection Ceremony or the struggles in the Origin Pool and Saint Genesis Peak, were far less astonishing than this one. After all, from a certain perspective, in this Purple Sash Selection, Zhou Yuan had almost single-handedly suppressed the entire Sword Cometh Peak. To suppress an entire peak by himself, even if it was only at the Golden Sash disciple level, was enough to draw countless exclamations of amazement.

Zhou Yuan's tightly closed eyes opened the moment Su Wan and the others conceded. He calmly looked at Xu Yan opposite him, who at this moment was pale and filled with despair. Clearly, at this point, Xu Yan knew the overall situation was set, and nothing he said would matter.

“Zhou Yuan, you will regret this!” he said through gritted teeth, looking at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan remained unmoved. He stood up and pressed his palm to the ground, and sharp streams of Origin Qi shot out, piercing numerous deep holes into the ground. The invading Origin Qi within his body was completely dissolved. Seeing this, Xu Yan’s expression subtly changed, clearly not expecting Zhou Yuan to dissolve his invading Origin Qi so quickly.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Xu Yan. This encounter with him had made Zhou Yuan realize his own shortcomings; it was merely a veteran Purple Sash disciple who had pushed him to this extent.

“The Chief Disciple competition at the end of the year will certainly be more difficult than this, because only the most top-tier Purple Sash disciples are qualified to participate in the contention among the chief disciples of each peak.”

“Someone like Xu Yan might not even be qualified.”

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing slightly. It seemed he couldn’t become complacent because of these achievements. This time, it was purely because Xu Yan had underestimated him that he was able to secretly infiltrate the Resentful Dragon Poison. Otherwise, Zhou Yuan couldn't guarantee that he could last until the end against Xu Yan. After all, it was already extremely difficult for him to defeat a disciple at the sixth layer of the Alpha Origin Stage with only the third layer. To then try and transcend another level to deal with a seventh-layer opponent would truly be asking too much.

As Zhou Yuan's thoughts churned within him, he suddenly sensed a gaze imbued with boundless power falling upon him. Immediately after, a gentle yet vast voice resounded across the world.

It was Sect Master Qing Yang!

“The Purple Sash Selection ends now.”

“The champion of this selection is Saint Genesis Peak’s... Zhou Yuan!”

As that vast voice echoed across the world, countless gazes, from both within and outside the mountain range, fell upon Zhou Yuan. Among them were awe and reverence... Finally, the numerous disciples, following tradition, simultaneously clasped their fists and bowed.

“Congratulations, Champion!”

The neat and resounding voices reverberated through the heavens and earth, shaking the seven peaks. At this very moment, for the first time, this name truly began to resound throughout the Cangxuan Sect.