Chapter 816: Enough?

As Zhou Yuan shot into the sky and landed like a cannonball on the plaza in the center of the lake, countless eyes from all directions converged, filled with peculiar expressions.

“Is that... the new Deputy Pavilion Master of the Wind Pavilion, Zhou Yuan?”

“Is he planning to enter the arena?”

“Even Ye Bingling lost. What good can he, a mid-stage Divine Dwelling expert, do? He’s practically bringing shame upon himself.”

“It seems he’s unwilling to give up.”

“The power gap is evident; what difference will his unwillingness make?”

Numerous whispers spread around the lake. Clearly, few were optimistic about Zhou Yuan. Although he had gained fame in the Four Pavilions by creating the Wind Mother Pattern, this contest for Pavilion Master was all about raw strength. Therefore, in their eyes, Zhou Yuan's entry into the arena at this moment was merely a display of his unwillingness to concede.

But what could such unwillingness change?

At the Fire Pavilion, Lu Xiao watched the scene with a calm expression, then said to Han Yuan beside him, “As expected, he couldn’t hold back.”

Han Yuan, however, was rather intrigued. He smiled and said, “This kid has some guts; he dares to provoke Chen Beifeng even in his current state?”

Lu Xiao replied, “That’s because he knows he has to step forward. Otherwise, if Chen Beifeng becomes the Wind Pavilion Master, his life will become difficult later on...”

“Although he’s only at the mid-stage Divine Dwelling, his combat power is quite formidable. It’s said that he possesses a mutated Divine Dwelling, giving him a considerable Genesis Qi foundation. If he advances to the late-stage Divine Dwelling, Chen Beifeng would not be his match.”

“Mutated Divine Dwelling?” Han Yuan was surprised; after all, mutated Divine Dwellings were rare.

“That’s somewhat interesting.”

Han Yuan smiled, but his demeanor was nonchalant. Both he and Lu Xiao were among the top Divine Dwelling experts in the Tianyuan Region, and even someone like Chen Beifeng had a considerable gap compared to them. So, even if Zhou Yuan possessed a mutated Divine Dwelling, he still didn't warrant Han Yuan's full attention.

As for Zhou Yuan advancing to the late-stage Divine Dwelling, perhaps he could then contend with them, but when would that be? By then, they might already have entered the Heavenly Sun stage. In Genesis Qi cultivation, one swift step often leads to swift progress overall. After all, when it came to talent and resources, would they truly be inferior to Zhou Yuan?

“I hope his mutated Divine Dwelling can hold out a bit longer; otherwise, it’ll be rather dull,” Han Yuan said with a hint of malice in his smile. He had no particular grudge against Zhou Yuan, but seeing the latter held in high regard by Xi Jing and putting on such a spirited performance made him inwardly sneer.

“Oh, that person actually entered the arena?”

At the Forest Pavilion, Mu Qingyan looked at Zhou Yuan’s figure and then, a little surprised, spoke to Mu Liu.

The burly Jiang Man grumbled, “He’d better not be defeated by Chen Beifeng in a single move.”

Mu Liu shook his head. “This fellow is probably not that simple.”

He glanced at Lu Xiao and Han Yuan nearby, then said with a half-smile, “Though Lu Xiao and Han Yuan are quite strong, their foresight is nowhere near mine. I wonder how interesting their expressions will be when they see Zhou Yuan thoroughly thrash Chen Beifeng?”

Seeing his confident demeanor, Mu Qingyan and Jiang Man exchanged glances, both half-believing and half-doubting.

“I didn’t expect you’d actually have the courage to enter the arena...”

Chen Beifeng slowly descended from mid-air, his arms crossed, his gaze playfully fixed on Zhou Yuan. Yet, despite his outward demeanor, he couldn’t conceal the wild joy in his heart regarding Zhou Yuan’s participation, as it gave him a legitimate reason to thoroughly settle old scores.

Zhou Yuan clenched his fist, then relaxed it, saying casually, “It’s not like a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair; what courage is needed?”

Chen Beifeng’s eyes held a cold smile as he said faintly, “I hope you’ll still think that way later.”

He had made up his mind: today, in front of everyone, he would utterly crush Zhou Yuan, ensuring that Zhou Yuan could never hold his head high in the Wind Pavilion again!

Whoosh!

Vast waves of deep yellow Genesis Qi surged across the sky behind Chen Beifeng. An overwhelming pressure spread outwards, the Genesis Qi illuminating the void, revealing countless Genesis Qi stars—a terrifying total of fifteen million.

“Come on, show me what you’ve got?” Chen Beifeng said mockingly.

Zhou Yuan’s expression remained unchanged as he felt the Genesis Qi pressure permeating the air. The next moment, the long roar of a flood dragon erupted from within him, and azure-gold Genesis Qi shot skyward, like a green dragon ascending.

With a clench of his hand, a sword pellet materialized.

“Demon Sweeping Sword Pellet Art!”

Zhou Yuan wasted no time. Fierce sword qi howled through the void, and the next instant, a sword light tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, striking directly towards Chen Beifeng.

However, facing Zhou Yuan’s fierce overhead strike, Chen Beifeng stood with his arms crossed, his toes several feet off the ground, his face utterly unperturbed.

When the sword light transformed from the sword pellet was dozens of feet from Chen Beifeng, strong winds howled through the air, and a deep yellow wind blade materialized out of thin air, colliding heavily with the sword light.

A metallic clang resonated, unleashing a Genesis Qi shockwave.

The sword light and the wind blade recoiled almost simultaneously.

The wind blade spun around Chen Beifeng once before vanishing into thin air.

This first exchange between the two, witnessed by many, predictably caused a stir. Zhou Yuan’s sword strike was quite fierce, but unfortunately, Chen Beifeng’s Genesis Qi foundation surpassed his by a full four million!

With such a disparity in Genesis Qi, even if Zhou Yuan used a High-grade Heaven Genesis Art, he still struggled to gain any advantage.

Han Yuan watched the scene and said, “While it’s quite extraordinary for a mid-stage Divine Dwelling expert to possess this level of Genesis Qi foundation, it’s still far from enough to defeat Chen Beifeng.”

He shrugged at Lu Xiao and smiled. “It seems the position of Wind Pavilion Master will finally fall to your Heavenly Spirit Sect this time.”

Lu Xiao’s expression remained calm and unruffled, clearly finding nothing surprising in the matter.

Meanwhile, at the Forest Pavilion, Mu Qingyan also frowned slightly and said to Mu Liu, “He seems a bit weak, doesn’t he?”

“Just keep watching,” Mu Liu said leisurely.

On the plaza.

“A Genesis Qi foundation of around eleven million...”

Chen Beifeng chuckled lightly, seemingly disappointed. “Is that all you’ve got? If so, you’re probably not even as good as Ye Bingling.”

Zhou Yuan swept his sleeve, retracting the recoiling sword pellet into his body. He paid no heed to Chen Beifeng’s feigned mockery. His previous move was merely to test the strength of fifteen million Genesis Qi stars.

However, the result indeed surprised him; his Demon Sweeping Sword Pellet Art had been effortlessly blocked by his opponent.

A gap of four million Genesis Qi stars was indeed startling.

Since that’s the case, he would enhance his foundation.

Zhou Yuan’s expression remained calm. At that moment, everyone saw a faint azure light emerging from the back of his hand.

“Is he going to activate the Wind Spirit Rune?”

Yet, some still shook their heads, sighing. Zhou Yuan had only been in the Wind Pavilion for two months; at best, he might have reached 50% completion with the Wind Spirit Rune. Such an increase shouldn’t significantly impact the overall outcome.

“Are you really planning to piece things together from here and there?” Chen Beifeng couldn’t help but laugh aloud. With Zhou Yuan’s low completion rate of the Wind Spirit Rune, how much Genesis Qi foundation could it possibly boost?

The azure light on the back of Zhou Yuan’s hand grew increasingly bright.

Winds seemed to howl around him, and the Genesis Qi in the heavens and earth subtly, yet violently, surged.

Such a commotion finally made some people's eyes grow wide with surprise and uncertainty, because this setup was unusual. Neither Chen Beifeng nor Ye Bingling had caused such a stir when they activated their Wind Spirit Runes earlier.

Countless gazes converged on the back of Zhou Yuan’s hand. There, after the azure light intensified to its peak, an ancient Genesis Rune slowly began to emerge.

The Genesis Rune was azure, and every line in it was perfectly complete, showing no signs of imperfection.

The pupils of those who understood what they were seeing immediately constricted, and horror surged onto their faces.

“A complete Wind Spirit Rune?!”

A sharp cry of astonishment suddenly broke out.

Around the lake, the expressions of both Lu Xiao and Han Yuan drastically changed.

The next moment, the Genesis Qi within Zhou Yuan surged violently, his aura rapidly escalating. The Genesis Qi swept outwards, illuminating the void, which was dotted with countless stars.

Over fourteen million!

The complete Wind Spirit Rune had boosted Zhou Yuan’s Genesis Qi stars by nearly three million!

Around the entire lake, the uproar abruptly ceased, replaced by dead silence. Countless people stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

Even Chen Beifeng, whose face had held a mocking smile, found it slowly stiffening at that moment.

In the widespread silence, Zhou Yuan felt his incredibly nimble body and smiled with satisfaction. Then, he looked up at the stiff-faced Chen Beifeng.

“Now, is that enough?”