Chapter 53: I Can Do It Too

A faint green glow pulsed erratically by Qi Yue's palm. It was only about half a finger long, but as it expanded and contracted, the green light fluttered, even slicing through the air with a hissing sound and demonstrating its astonishing lethality.

Everyone present immediately recognized the origin of this green light. It was none other than the Profound Ray Art, one of the top Genesis Arts of the Qi Palace.

This art possessed formidable power; ordinary individuals wouldn't dare to confront it directly. Therefore, when Qi Yue unleashed this technique, combined with his current eight-meridian strength, it was highly probable that very few people below the Qi-Nourishing stage could contend with him.

Thus, in an instant, the situation on the field was reversed once more.

"To be able to push me this far, Zhou Yuan, I admit you're impressive," Qi Yue said grimly, his body seething with murderous intent as he stared at Zhou Yuan. "I never thought that a wretch from half a year ago could pose such a significant threat to me!"

"You make me feel a great threat, so I think it's better if I cripple you again!" Qi Yue bared his teeth, a sinister grin contorting his face.

Zhou Yuan gazed at the erratically pulsing green ray in Qi Yue's palm, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He clearly hadn't expected Qi Yue to have mastered the Profound Ray Art as well.

However, Qi Yue's green ray was very faint and subtly unstable, indicating he was clearly only able to conjure it with difficulty.

Even so, the power of this green ray far surpassed that of the Crashing Thunder Fist, which was also a low-grade Profound Genesis Art.

"I, on the other hand, am quite the opposite," Zhou Yuan said calmly, looking at Qi Yue's face contorted with murderous intent. "From beginning to end, I have never considered you a threat. In my eyes, you are merely a small stumbling block on my path of cultivation."

Qi Yue's pupils constricted, and he laughed in extreme rage. To be called a mere stumbling block by a "useless prince" whom he once disdained, made him feel an unprecedented level of humiliation.

"I truly hope you can still say such words when you're kneeling at my feet later!"

Qi Yue's murderous intent reached its peak. His aura was fierce as a tiger, and the green ray pulsed in his palm. The next instant, he could no longer suppress the killing intent in his heart. He stomped his foot, shattering the stone slab, and with countless gasps from the crowd, his figure shot towards Zhou Yuan.

His palm sliced through the air, the thin green light emanating extremely sharp fluctuations.

Qi Yue charged fiercely, while Zhou Yuan stood rooted to the spot, unmoving. In the eyes of the crowd, he looked as if he had been stunned by Qi Yue's overwhelming aura.

In the direction of the A-rank academy, Su Youwei's pretty face turned pale, and she almost couldn't resist rushing onto the stage, but reason held her back firmly.

Chu Tianyang, standing beside her, clenched his fists and tensed his face, staring unblinkingly at the stone stage.

On the high platform, Zhou Qing also leaned forward, with Genesis Qi subtly surging around him. He was clearly intending to intervene at the last moment to prevent any mishap to Zhou Yuan.

Below him, King Qi Yuan smiled faintly, as if victory was already secured.

Under the gaze of countless sympathetic eyes, Zhou Yuan looked at the charging Qi Yue. He seemed to whisper, "The Profound Ray Art... is it really that impressive?"

He stepped sideways, his body trembled violently, his spine undulating, and then he opened his mouth: "Dragon Respiration Art!"

Faintly, a dragon's roar seemed to echo, as the surging Genesis Qi between heaven and earth transformed into a white line, which Zhou Yuan swallowed in one gulp.

With his current proficiency in the Ninety-Eight Forms of the Dragon-Forging Play, Zhou Yuan no longer needed to perform the full movements; instead, he could execute the Dragon Respiration Art by vibrating his bones.

As a mouthful of dense Genesis Qi entered his body, it immediately began to rotate and compress rapidly within his meridians.

Zhou Yuan looked up at Qi Yue, who was now very close, his face becoming increasingly sinister. Zhou Yuan slowly extended his palm. And then, to the disbelief of countless spectators, a green light also appeared on Zhou Yuan's palm, pulsating erratically and tearing through the air.

The green light was identical in color to the one in Qi Yue's hand, and subtly, it seemed even more profound.

What's more, the green light in Zhou Yuan's hand was a full inch long, while Qi Yue's was still only half a finger!

A roar erupted across the entire square.

"Prince Zhou Yuan is using... the Profound Ray Art?!"

"How is that possible? Isn't that art exclusive to the Qi Palace? How could Prince Zhou Yuan know it?!"

"And Prince Zhou Yuan's green ray is denser and longer! Clearly, his mastery is superior to Qi Yue's!"

"How can this be..."

Waves of exclamations rose and fell continuously, as everyone was stunned by the scene before their eyes.

At such close proximity, Qi Yue's pupils also dilated at this moment, his eyes fixed on the erratically pulsing green light in Zhou Yuan's hand.

Zhou Yuan looked at Qi Yue's expression, and a corner of his mouth curved into a playful smirk as he said, "The Profound Ray Art? My apologies, but I know it too!"

The moment his last word fell, he abruptly stepped forward, his palm enveloped in a green ray, like an azure blade, and violently chopped down directly at the rapidly approaching Qi Yue!

*Swoosh!*

As his palm swept down, the air ripped apart, and even the ground beneath was torn, leaving a visible mark.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Zhou Yuan and Qi Yue's palms collided fiercely. The two green rays, radiating sharp auras, crashed into each other.

Faintly, a subtle sound seemed to echo.

Zhou Yuan and Qi Yue's figures crossed paths, then both stumbled forward a few steps before slowly coming to a halt.

They stood back to back, the green rays in their palms still flickering.

The entire square became incredibly quiet at this moment. All eyes were fixed intently on the two of them. They knew that the outcome of this intense battle was about to be revealed.

"How... how is this possible?" In the silence, a low murmur emerged from the stone stage. Qi Yue was seen muttering, "How can you possibly know the Profound Ray Art? And be this powerful?!"

"This, I'm afraid, is also thanks to you," Zhou Yuan said, his voice calm.

Qi Yue's pupils constricted as if he had remembered something, and his face instantly twisted into a grimace: "So... Luo Hao died by your hand!"

No wonder he couldn't find any trace of Luo Hao. It turned out Luo Hao had been killed by Zhou Yuan long ago, and the Profound Ray Art had fallen into Zhou Yuan's possession, secretly cultivated by him.

Zhou Yuan ignored Qi Yue. He gently waved his sleeve behind him, and a gust of wind seemed to whistle forth.

As the gust of wind swept past, countless people in the square gasped in horror. They watched as Qi Yue's entire arm slowly detached at that moment, finally falling to the ground with a gush of blood.

The severed part of the arm was as smooth as a mirror.

Only at this moment did Qi Yue's agonizing scream finally erupt.

The entire square fell silent. Everyone stared blankly at the screaming Qi Yue, for they knew that from this moment, the battle had a victor and a loser.

But this outcome clearly defied everyone's expectations.

No one had expected that Qi Yue, who had dominated the Great Zhou Prefecture for two years, would suffer such a humiliating defeat at Zhou Yuan's hands today.

Gaze after gaze, filled with a hint of astonishment, turned towards Zhou Yuan, who stood with his hands down on the stone stage. They never thought that this "useless prince," rumored to be unable to open his meridians and cultivate, had unknowingly begun to reveal his sharp edge.

Perhaps the Great Zhou Imperial Family was not as weakened as they had perceived.

On the high platform, Zhou Qing and Qi Yuan both watched the outcome of this scene with some shock. However, Zhou Qing's shock was one of pleasant surprise, while Qi Yuan's face turned ashen. Especially when he saw Qi Yue's arm severed by Zhou Yuan, he could no longer suppress the furious rage in his heart. He abruptly stood up and bellowed sternly, "You scoundrel, what a vicious method!"

The moment his furious shout fell, a golden pillar of Qi suddenly shot up from the crown of his head, finally transforming into a massive golden hand that swept down, grasping at Zhou Yuan on the stone stage.

Under this palm, the entire stone stage would be crushed.

Fourth-grade Genesis Qi: Golden Stone Primordial Qi!

However, just as the golden hand descended, an equally potent crimson Qi also shot skyward, transforming into a crimson hand that violently clashed with the golden one.

Fourth-grade Genesis Qi: Blazing Thunder Qi!

An earth-shattering sound erupted. The ground trembled, and terrifying gales swept forth, filling the sky with dust.

Simultaneously, Zhou Qing's voice, low yet filled with indignant fury, rang out.

"Qi Yuan, are you trying to incite a rebellion?!"