Chapter 44: Su Youwei's Progress

“This Profound Light Art has two levels, called Azure Light and Violet Light. What you’ve achieved now barely meets the threshold of Azure Light,” Yao Yao said, seeing Zhou Yuan successfully cultivate the Profound Light Art.

Zhou Yuan nodded, gazing at the faint azure light flickering at his fingertips. “The destructive power of this Profound Light Art is indeed astonishing, but its drawbacks are the difficulty in condensing it and its high consumption of Genesis Qi.”

If he hadn’t used the Dragon Absorption Art to forcefully draw in a large amount of Genesis Qi from heaven and earth, he probably wouldn’t have been able to compress and condense this wisp of azure light, no matter how long he struggled.

With his current strength of four opened meridians, he could only condense this single wisp even with all his might. Therefore, if he used it in combat, he would have to defeat his enemy with one strike, because if the fight dragged on, the Profound Light would dissipate on its own.

“If only I could enter the Qi Nurturing stage,” Zhou Yuan sighed. Only by reaching the Qi Nurturing stage could one truly be considered to have mastered the basics, as opening a Qi Mansion would allow him to store cultivated Genesis Qi within his body. This was infinitely better than his current situation, where he could only pitifully draw wisps of impure Genesis Qi from the world whenever he needed to use it.

With sufficient Genesis Qi support in his body, these Profound Genesis Arts could truly unleash their power.

After a moment of sighing, Zhou Yuan composed himself. After all, one had to take things one step at a time. What he needed to do now was to open all eight meridians to lay a solid foundation for his future cultivation.

“Alright, I’m going to go slaughter that beast first. How dare it delay my cultivation; it’s unforgivable!” Zhou Yuan stood up, called out to Yao Yao, and then shot off like an arrow, heading straight for the mountain forest.

He was eager to test the power of the Profound Light Art.

Entering the forest, Zhou Yuan headed straight for the depths. After a while, he stood on a large tree and immediately sat down cross-legged. He knew that the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros was extremely sensitive to scents, and it would likely have sensed him the moment he entered the depths. So, all he had to do was wait for the rhinoceros here.

Zhou Yuan’s eyes were slightly closed. About ten minutes later, he felt the ground begin to tremble. Looking towards the depths of the forest, he saw large trees being smashed apart, and a fiery red shadow charging furiously, creating thunderous roars.

The fiery red shadow, roughly several yards tall, finally stopped in the clearing. Its scarlet beast eyes fixed on Zhou Yuan in the tree, and it let out restless grunts.

It was the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros.

Its body was covered in what looked like a fiery red armor, hot and sturdy, encasing it firmly.

“It’s here, isn’t it?” Zhou Yuan looked down at the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros and smiled slightly. Instead of dodging as he usually would, he leaped down to the ground.

“Come on, beast,” Zhou Yuan said, beckoning with a finger towards the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros.

As if sensing Zhou Yuan’s disdain, the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros’s crimson eyes flared with increased ferocity. Then, it stomped its beast foot, cracking the ground, and its massive form transformed into a fiery blur, charging directly at Zhou Yuan with terrifying impact.

At the same time, the thick layer of fiery armor on its body emitted a reddish glow, as if burning.

The air itself seemed to explode under its charge.

Faced with the death charge of a Fiery Armored Rhinoceros, even a seven-meridian cultivator would only choose to temporarily avoid its edge.

However, Zhou Yuan remained motionless, showing no intention of retreating. His eyes were lowered, and within his meridians, Genesis Qi formed a vortex, constantly compressing and condensing.

A few breaths later, Zhou Yuan slowly extended his palm, and a layer of faint azure Profound Light slowly emerged on its surface.

As the Profound Light flickered, Zhou Yuan’s body shot out, colliding head-on with the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros in the blink of an eye.

Just as they were about to collide, Zhou Yuan’s palm became like a blade, striking down with the force of splitting a mountain, slicing into the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros’s ferocious head.

With a single strike, a subtle sound seemed to echo, and in the next instant, blood spurted out. The enormous body of the fiercely charging Fiery Armored Rhinoceros was astonishingly split into two!

Due to the massive inertia of its body, the split Fiery Armored Rhinoceros still charged a significant distance forward before finally crashing down, its blood staining the ground.

Zhou Yuan stood motionless in place, maintaining the posture of his downward strike. A mist of blood floated down, landing on his face, giving him an ethereal appearance.

The faint azure Profound Light on his palm gradually faded, and Zhou Yuan’s body swayed slightly before he collapsed onto the ground. That previous strike had completely drained his strength.

He turned his head and looked at the Fiery Armored Rhinoceros, now in two halves, and couldn’t help but grin.

The destructive power of this Profound Light Art was truly terrifying.

And from now on, he, Zhou Yuan, would be the little overlord of this mountain forest.

In the mountains, there was no sense of time; winter ended, yet the year remained unknown.

While Zhou Yuan cultivated peacefully in the deep mountains, Qi Yue was having an extremely unpleasant time. This was because, despite all their efforts to search during this period, they couldn’t find any trace of Luo Hao, let alone the Profound Light Art.

“Second Young Master, we’ve expanded our search to many cities, but there’s still no trace of Luo Hao. It’s as if he completely vanished,” Qi Ling said with a grim expression in the room.

A cold glint flickered in Qi Yue’s eyes. After a moment, he said, “If even this level of searching can’t find him, I suspect Luo Hao might not even have a corpse left.”

Qi Ling frowned slightly. “You mean he’s been killed?”

Qi Yue gritted his teeth. “Although I don’t know who killed him, I have a premonition that the Profound Light Art is likely in Zhou Yuan’s hands!”

Qi Ling’s expression shifted. “If that’s the case, it’ll be troublesome.”

Since the last incident, Zhou Qing had increased Zhou Yuan’s protection, and Lu Tieshan had also expelled all strangers from Zhou Yuan’s area, making it impossible for a similar event to happen again.

A sinister look appeared in Qi Yue’s eyes. After a moment of silence, he said coldly, “Go find Liu Xi for me.”

Qi Ling glanced at Qi Yue. Although he didn’t understand what he planned to do, he followed the order.

The setting sun cast its rays, and the afterglow enveloped Great Zhou City.

At Great Zhou Manor, after Su Youwei finished her lessons, she left the manor and headed home towards the south of the city. Since Zhou Yuan hadn’t been in the Great Zhou Manor recently, she didn’t linger there much each day.

The girl’s figure was slender, her long, straight legs lightly hopping over roadside ditches. Her ponytail bounced, exuding youthful vitality, occasionally drawing admiring glances from passersby.

She expertly navigated through the streets, and just as she turned a corner again, her steps suddenly halted. She raised her beautiful eyes, looking ahead.

There, Liu Xi leaned against a wall, accompanied by several figures.

Liu Xi’s pretty face was cold, her beautiful eyes fixed indifferently on Su Youwei. Su Youwei’s clear and elegant appearance caused a flicker of jealousy in Liu Xi’s eyes. She sneered, “Su Youwei, come with me.”

“What do you want?” Su Youwei’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

“Hmph, Zhou Yuan stole something from Qi Yue. I’ll take you away and make him come exchange you,” Liu Xi scoffed coldly.

Hearing this, Su Youwei’s pretty face also turned slightly cold. “That’s a joke. Does His Highness even care for Qi Yue’s things?”

“You sharp-tongued brat!” Liu Xi’s eyebrows shot up. “Seize her!”

As soon as she spoke, two figures shot out from behind her, their bodies faintly pulsating with Genesis Qi. They were clearly two cultivators who had opened five meridians.

Su Youwei’s beautiful eyes coldly watched the two figures charging towards her, but she remained motionless. Only when their hands, like eagle talons, reached for her, did she suddenly act.

Her slender, jade-like finger extended, its tip glowing with a jade light. Sharp Genesis Qi coiled around it like a vortex, tearing through the air.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

As her two fingers struck, the two figures were violently sent flying backward, blood gushing from their shoulders.

Su Youwei’s jade hand lowered slightly, and streams of Genesis Qi light coiled around her body, causing her aura to steadily rise.

Liu Xi stared with wide, beautiful eyes at Su Youwei’s rapidly rising aura, nearly grinding her silver teeth. “You’ve actually opened your sixth meridian?!”

She clearly remembered that Su Youwei had only opened her fifth meridian just over a month ago. How could she have opened her sixth meridian so quickly?

“I opened it ten days ago,” Su Youwei said calmly.

During the more than a month since Zhou Yuan left Great Zhou Manor, Su Youwei had not been idle. She received full training from the Manor Lord, Chu Tianyang. Unlike the explosive Zhou Yuan, Chu Tianyang viewed Su Youwei’s stable talent as more reassuring. Thus, during this time, he had been putting all his effort into training her.

So, as Zhou Yuan progressed, she did not stand still either.

Liu Xi’s pretty face turned livid, and the jealousy in her eyes almost spilled over. She had spent so long cultivating and consumed so many resources to open her sixth meridian just half a month ago. Yet now, Su Youwei, in half the time, had already caught up to her. How could this not make her envious and jealous?

“Do you think you can just leave today, just because you’ve opened six meridians?” Liu Xi said coldly.

“Liu Ye, seize her! And better yet, scratch that little vixen’s face for me!”

As Liu Xi’s voice fell, a figure slowly stepped out from behind her, exuding robust Genesis Qi, clearly a seven-meridian cultivator.

Upon seeing this, Su Youwei’s pretty face finally became solemn. However, just as she was pondering a solution, her heart suddenly stirred. Two figures suddenly shot out from behind, landing in front of her.

They were two seemingly ordinary men, but the Genesis Qi fluctuations emanating from their bodies both reached the seven-meridian level.

“Who are you?” Su Youwei was also startled to see them.

The two men chuckled softly. “Miss Su, we were sent by His Highness. He was worried that Qi Yue might go mad and take it out on you, so he always had us secretly protecting you.”

Hearing this, Su Youwei’s beautiful eyes blinked. Although she didn’t speak, her red lips couldn’t help but curve slightly upwards. Her mood, which had been soured by Liu Xi, instantly improved.

The two men looked up at Liu Xi opposite them and said indifferently, “Miss Liu, please mind your conduct. Don’t let Qi Yue use you as a pawn.”

Liu Xi’s pretty face turned livid with anger at these two ruining her plans. However, she also knew that with their protection, she couldn’t do anything more to Su Youwei.

“Damn you, Zhou Yuan!”

Liu Xi cursed angrily. Without lingering, she stomped her foot and retreated with her people.

“Miss Su, we’ll escort you home first,” the two guards turned and said softly to Su Youwei.

“Thank you, big brothers,” Su Youwei replied, not refusing. She paused, then asked, “How is His Highness? He’s been gone for two months now.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Su. His Highness’s cultivation is progressing well. He will definitely return for the Prefectural Exam in half a month.”

Su Youwei nodded slightly. She wondered how His Highness’s arduous cultivation this time had turned out, because as far as she knew, Qi Yue had already opened his seventh meridian. Therefore, for the year-end Prefectural Exam, if their Alpha Manor wanted to reclaim first place, a bitter struggle would likely be unavoidable…