Chapter 531: Determining the Outcome

"Snap!"

At the moment the silver sword pellet shattered, countless disciples from various peaks, who had been watching the scene, couldn't help but gasp. Their faces were filled with an indescribable shock.

Who could have imagined that Zhou Yuan would be so fierce, directly shattering Baili Che's Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet with a single palm strike? How powerful must that attack have been?!

"How could this happen…?" The elite disciples from Sword Peak were stunned. This was the first time they had ever seen the Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet shattered by someone.

Zhou Tai, Lu Yan, and the others collectively swallowed hard. A hint of awe appeared in their eyes as they gazed at the young figure high in the sky.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan's aura was incredibly powerful.

Countless gazes shifted towards Baili Che. The moment the Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet shattered, his face turned pale.

*Pfft!* He ultimately spat out a mouthful of blood, and his Genesis Qi became chaotic, indicating significant injury. Since the Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet was linked to him, its destruction naturally affected him.

"Zhou Yuan! How dare you shatter my sword pellet?!" Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but Baili Che glared at Zhou Yuan, his eyes seemingly about to burst, and let out an enraged roar.

Although he had relied on external forces to cultivate this Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet, it was still a difficult achievement. With continued practice, he could have gradually solidified it.

But now that Zhou Yuan had directly shattered it, all his previous arduous cultivation had clearly gone to waste. How could Baili Che not be furious?

High in the sky, Zhou Yuan looked down on Baili Che with an indifferent gaze, clearly in a superior position. The moment the Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet was shattered, the outcome of this confrontation was already decided.

Although both had mastered the Cangxuan Seven Arts of their respective peaks, Baili Che's illusory sword pellet, which relied on external aid, clearly lacked the qualification to withstand the Grand Mystical Holy Spirit Art.

After all, the Holy Spirit Seed was something Zhou Yuan had cultivated through his own arduous efforts. Although it was only in its preliminary stage, it was by no means something Baili Che's level of Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet could contend with.

"Chief Baili, will you withdraw yourself, or shall I make you?" Zhou Yuan asked.

Baili Che's expression changed slightly. His gaze swept over the two battlefields in the distance, but Kong Sheng and Zhao Zhu were both locked in fierce combat and clearly unable to assist him.

In his current state, it was clearly impossible for him to fight Zhou Yuan.

His eyes flickered. The next moment, he suddenly shot backward at full speed, apparently intending to first evade the sharp-edged Zhou Yuan and then find an opportunity to regain control.

The disciples from various peaks in the distance gasped in an uproar, their faces complex. Who could have imagined at the outset that the confrontation between Baili Che and Zhou Yuan would end with Baili Che's retreat?

Seeing Baili Che's retreating figure, Zhou Yuan shook his head, his eyes cold. "Still not giving up?" he said.

He stomped his foot, and his figure shot out like a beam of light.

The Holy Spirit's luminous shadow also swooped down at this moment, enveloping Zhou Yuan's body. With a single flicker, it appeared above Baili Che like a phantom.

Zhou Yuan's face was expressionless as he slammed a palm down fiercely.

This palm strike gathered immense power. Combined with the enveloping Holy Spirit phantom, the impact caused the very void to emit a low rumble, as if intensely vibrating.

"Ah!" Baili Che roared, his Genesis Qi exploding from his body without reservation, desperately resisting.

However, Zhou Yuan's palm strike was so powerful that it exceeded what Baili Che, in his current state, could withstand. As the palm whistled down, his silver Genesis Qi completely crumbled.

A few seconds later, Zhou Yuan's palm print ferociously landed on Baili Che's chest.

*Pfft!* A mouthful of blood erupted from Baili Che's mouth almost simultaneously. The next moment, his figure shot backward like a cannonball, crashing violently onto the surface of the sea.

*Boom!* The sea surface, spanning ten thousand feet, collapsed at this moment, forming an enormous crater.

And Baili Che's figure lay at the very bottom of that crater.

"How... how could this be...?" His pupils were wide, his clothes torn. He struggled to stretch out a hand, reaching towards Zhou Yuan in the void, but ultimately it fell limply.

Even at this moment, he couldn't believe that he had been defeated by Zhou Yuan.

The person he had always looked down upon turned out to be far stronger than he could have imagined.

As various scenes of their previous conversations flashed through Baili Che's mind, he finally understood how ridiculous and absurd his arrogance and condescension had been.

After a while, the seawater gradually converged. A beam of light rose from within, enveloped Baili Che's figure, and tossed him out of the Genesis Pool.

Silence fell across the world.

The disciples from various peaks watched this scene with solemn expressions. As they gazed at the young figure standing in the void, it was clear that the battle between the two chiefs of Sword Peak and Saint Genesis Peak had been decisively concluded.

However, to everyone's surprise, no one had expected that Zhou Yuan would be the one left standing.

A hint of awe flashed in the eyes of the various peak disciples. Previously, they had thought Zhou Yuan's provocation of Baili Che was an arrogant act of overestimation, but the final outcome made them realize their mistake.

It wasn't that Zhou Yuan lacked self-awareness; rather, their own perspectives had been too narrow.

Of course, one could also say that the newly appointed Chief of Saint Genesis Peak was truly unfathomable.

Nevertheless, after this battle between the two peak chiefs, it's unlikely that anyone would still consider Zhou Yuan's position as Chief of Saint Genesis Peak to be undeserved compared to the chiefs of other peaks.

***

Outside the Genesis Pool.

The moment Baili Che was ejected from the Genesis Pool, the Sect Master Qing Yang and the other peak masters, except for Peak Master Ling Jun, narrowed their eyes slightly.

"Truly a formidable young man," Sect Master Qing Yang sighed.

"Zhou Yuan's Grand Mystical Holy Spirit Art is clearly much more solid than Baili Che's Demon-Slaying Sword Pellet Art. It seems he put in a lot of hard work," Peak Master Lian Yi remarked, glancing sideways at Peak Master Ling Jun with admiration.

Faced with this, even Peak Master Ling Jun's composure faltered, and his expression turned somewhat grim. "When it comes to understanding the Cangxuan Seven Arts," he said in a low voice, "Elder Xuan is probably the most knowledgeable in the entire Cangxuan Sect. For Zhou Yuan to have initially mastered the Grand Mystical Holy Spirit Art, he must have received guidance from Elder Xuan. Otherwise, how could he have achieved it on his own?"

Sect Master Qing Yang waved his hand. "To be able to secure Elder Xuan's guidance, that in itself speaks to the young man's capability," he said.

Seeing Sect Master Qing Yang's words, Peak Master Ling Jun could only refrain from further comment, though his expression remained displeased.

"The competition between Sword Peak and Saint Genesis Peak within the Genesis Pool has concluded with a clear result. However, this matter should be a one-time event, not repeated. It's understandable that Sword Peak felt resentment over its previous defeat, but it must know when to stop," Sect Master Qing Yang said, looking at Peak Master Ling Jun. His expression was as gentle as ever, but his words carried a warning.

Previously, facing the collective indignation of Sword Peak, Sect Master Qing Yang had found it difficult to forcibly suppress them. Thus, he tacitly allowed Sword Peak's actions in the Genesis Pool this time, hoping their disciples would vent their grievances.

But no one had expected that Sword Peak would not only fail to disperse its resentment but would instead be thoroughly suppressed by Saint Genesis Peak, despite the latter's mere few hundred disciples.

Now, even Sword Peak's chief had been defeated and eliminated.

This meant it wasn't that Sword Peak hadn't been given a chance; rather, they simply hadn't measured up.

As the Sect Master, Qing Yang naturally would not allow Sword Peak to repeatedly leverage its greater power to deliberately suppress Saint Genesis Peak. That would be too unfair.

Upon hearing this, Peak Master Ling Jun, though somewhat vexed, could only nod.

Not far away, Elders Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song were still immersed in the shock of Zhou Yuan's defeat of Baili Che. It was a long while before they gradually recovered.

"Old man, you've truly taken in a treasure..." Lu Song sighed with envy.

Who could have imagined that Zhou Yuan could master the Grand Mystical Holy Spirit Art in just two months? This skill was truly hidden too deeply.

Shen Taiyuan stroked his beard, trying to maintain his composure, but ultimately he couldn't stop smiling. He knew that from the moment Zhou Yuan defeated Baili Che, Saint Genesis Peak had become the winner of this Genesis Pool Festival.

This battle ensured that other peaks would no longer show any contempt for Saint Genesis Peak. In the future, Saint Genesis Peak would also receive more cultivation resources, gradually rise, and eventually truly become the Seventh Peak of the Cangxuan Sect.

Shen Taiyuan looked at the young figure in the Genesis Pool, and a sense of gratification filled his eyes.

He knew that Saint Genesis Peak's gradual recovery from its decline a year ago to its current standing was primarily due not to him, the acting peak master, but to this young man named Zhou Yuan.

At this moment, Shen Taiyuan felt immensely fortunate that when he first met the young man who passed the Mountain Selection Ceremony, he had unhesitatingly, and against all opposition, taken him in as a disciple and given him the utmost support.

The support he had invested back then had now clearly yielded returns far beyond his imagination.

The young man who was once not highly regarded by many was now gradually becoming a prominent figure among this generation of Cangxuan Sect disciples. In fact, Shen Taiyuan vaguely felt that in the future, Saint Genesis Peak might even resound throughout Cangxuan Heaven once more because of this young man...

Just like in the past, when Patriarch Cangxuan resided at Saint Genesis Peak.