Chapter 496: Source Pool Festival

The clear chime of a bell echoed throughout the Cangxuan Sect. Countless disciples looked up at this moment, their eyes slightly widened in shock as they turned towards Saint Genesis Peak.

They all knew the immense significance of this event for the Cangxuan Sect.

Saint Genesis Peak was established by the Ancestor long ago. It contained vast cultivation resources, but had been sealed for many years, hidden from the light of day. Now that its gates were open again, it wouldn't be long before Saint Genesis Peak's power would once again grow, thereby enhancing the overall strength of the Cangxuan Sect.

However, what shocked and puzzled many disciples even more was the source of this event: Zhou Yuan.

Although Zhou Yuan had displayed astonishing strength during the chief disciple competition, most disciples had not been optimistic about his chances of passing the trial and reopening the peak's gates.

Simply put, the task was too difficult.

So, when the final result was revealed, many disciples were utterly shocked and disbelieving.

Who could have imagined that a disciple who had only joined the Cangxuan Sect a year ago could achieve such a feat?

After all, opening a peak's gates was a feat only a few peak masters in the Cangxuan Sect had ever accomplished. Although Zhou Yuan had only *reopened* the peak's gates, it was still incredibly impressive.

Zhou Yuan had achieved something that countless previous chief disciples of Saint Genesis Peak had failed to do, which clearly demonstrated his exceptional talent.

After this event, his status within the Cangxuan Sect would likely surpass that of other chief disciples, and even rival the Ten Great Saint Sons.

***

Snow Lotus Peak.

On a peak's summit, Li Qingchan stood tall and graceful. Her exquisite, serene face gazed at the soaring jade light from Saint Genesis Peak in the distance, a hint of surprise gracing her features as well.

“That guy actually did it,” Li Qingchan murmured, her beautiful eyes reflecting a complex emotion. She had witnessed Zhou Yuan's incredible progress over the past year.

He was like a sponge, madly absorbing the surrounding seawater, constantly enriching himself. No obstacle or difficulty seemed capable of stopping him.

His resilience even slightly startled Li Qingchan.

Previously, she had found it quite unbelievable that the exceptional Yaoyao was willing to stay by Zhou Yuan’s side, as in her opinion, someone as outstanding as Yaoyao seemed to be on a completely different level from Zhou Yuan.

No matter how she looked at it, Zhou Yuan did not seem to match Yaoyao.

Thus, she always felt a sense of pity, like a beautiful flower paired with cow dung, when thinking of them. However, over the past year, Zhou Yuan had repeatedly surprised her, leading her to gradually develop a different perspective.

Perhaps, what Yaoyao saw in Zhou Yuan was his potential.

***

Sword Cometh Peak.

In a stone pavilion, three figures sat facing each other.

“That boy really has some tricks up his sleeve,” Kong Sheng said slowly, his brows slightly furrowed as he looked towards Saint Genesis Peak.

Zhao Zhu's expression was somewhat displeased. He had previously declared that Zhou Yuan could never reopen Saint Genesis Peak's gates, yet the guy had actually done it.

Beside them sat Baili Che, the newly appointed chief disciple of Sword Cometh Peak.

He, too, was looking in that direction, his brows furrowed. As the chief disciple of Sword Cometh Peak, Baili Che had always held a somewhat condescending view of Zhou Yuan.

In his opinion, a chief disciple who emerged from the "small fry" of Saint Genesis Peak was simply not worthy of being considered his equal.

Even Yuan Hong, despite his decent strength, Baili Che was confident he could suppress him, as he had always done so while at Sword Cometh Peak.

Therefore, he had been somewhat dismissive of Zhou Yuan, the chief disciple of Saint Genesis Peak.

But now that Zhou Yuan had suddenly caused such a stir, his reputation had, surprisingly, overshadowed the chief disciples of other peaks, including himself, the chief disciple of Sword Cometh Peak.

This made Baili Che quite uncomfortable.

“Senior Brother Zhao Zhu, there's no need to dwell on it. Zhou Yuan was probably just lucky,” Baili Che said, looking at Zhao Zhu.

Zhao Zhu's expression remained grim. “That brat caused such a huge loss for our Sword Cometh Peak this time; even the Peak Master has been secretly furious multiple times. He's truly annoying. I think it's time to teach him a lesson.” He looked at Kong Sheng. “Senior Brother Kong Sheng, what do you think?”

Kong Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, considering for a moment. He said calmly, “Teaching these junior brothers how to be humble is indeed something we senior brothers ought to do.”

He lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger and said, “The Genesis Pool Festival should be starting this year, shouldn’t it?”

Zhao Zhu and Baili Che's eyes lit up at his words.

The so-called Genesis Pool Festival, as its name suggested, was naturally related to the Genesis Pool. Originally, only purple-sash disciples in the Cangxuan Sect were allowed to enter the Genesis Pool once every two months. Ordinary disciples could only gaze at it with longing envy from outside, or pitifully absorb some of the pure Genesis Qi that leaked out while waiting near the pool.

However, there were exceptions.

Every year at the beginning of the year, the sect would fully open the Genesis Pool once, without any restrictions, allowing disciples of all levels to enter and gain opportunities, as a reward from the sect for the disciples' year of diligent cultivation.

This was the Genesis Pool Festival.

However, the Genesis Pool Festival also had rules: entry was not on an individual basis, but rather by each peak as a whole, to acquire Dragon Genesis Marrow.

When the Genesis Pool Festival concluded, each peak would submit the Dragon Genesis Marrow they had collected. The sect would then assign a ranking, and finally, based on these rankings, all disciples of each peak would receive different levels of Genesis Marrow cleansing.

With the disciples from all seven peaks entering the Genesis Pool on such a large scale, disputes were inevitable. The sect elders did not prohibit these conflicts, as healthy competition also served to temper the disciples' cultivation.

Kong Sheng looked at Zhao Zhu and Baili Che, then towards the distant Saint Genesis Peak, and smiled faintly. “In previous years, what percentage of their final harvest did Saint Genesis Peak's disciples pay to our Sword Cometh Peak?”

“Only twenty percent,” Zhao Zhu chuckled. “In past years, it was out of consideration for the Lu Hong lineage that we only collected twenty percent as 'protection fees.'”

Whenever the Genesis Pool Festival commenced, the sect would activate the Genesis Dragon Vein, causing the Dragon Qi within the Genesis Pool to surge, naturally giving rise to more and stronger water beasts. This posed a considerable challenge for every peak.

Fortunately, each peak had a Saint Son presiding over it, who could handle large numbers of water beasts if encountered.

The only exception was Saint Genesis Peak.

Saint Genesis Peak was the weakest in strength and had the fewest disciples. In previous years, their participation in the Genesis Pool Festival was a joke; a single mistake could lead to them being encircled by water beasts and directly disqualified. So, Saint Genesis Peak later learned their lesson and sought help from other peaks. In return, they would share a portion of their collected Dragon Genesis Marrow. To put it bluntly, it was paying protection money for assistance.

This matter was a running joke within the sect.

And coincidentally, in previous years, Saint Genesis Peak had always sought the help of Sword Cometh Peak.

“Twenty percent, huh…”

Kong Sheng's lips curved slightly, and he said casually, “Then tell them that this year, our Sword Cometh Peak wants fifty percent.”

Baili Che chuckled, “Saint Genesis Peak's morale is high right now, and they even have a chief disciple. I doubt they'll agree.”

Kong Sheng smiled faintly, an inscrutable look in his eyes.

“If that’s the case, then they can rely on that chief disciple to unleash his divine power…”

“The waters of this Genesis Pool Festival run deep. I just worry that the chief disciple they've placed so much hope in won't be able to bear such a heavy responsibility…”