The buzz brought about by news of Zhou Yuan"s eight dragon baptism only lasted for a few days, before gradually fading away. What took its place was the hype for the upcoming cave match between Lu Hong and Shen Taiyuan"s factions.
The majority of Saint Genesis Peak being sealed off had led to the lack of cultivation resources such as cave dwellings. As such, every cave dwelling ended up being fiercely contested by numerous disciples.
The cave match this time would decide which faction the purple Genesis cave dwelling would ultimately go to.
It was an event that undoubtedly drew everyone"s attention. After all, a cave dwelling of such quality was considered a high cla.s.s cultivation resource even in the entire Cangxuan Sect, and ordinary disciples would only dream of owning one.
In addition, many disciples understood that though the match seemed to be for the purple Genesis cave dwelling on the surface, it was also part of the power struggle in Saint Genesis Peak.
Lu Hong"s faction had practically dropped from the sky into Saint Genesis Peak, and began s.n.a.t.c.hing away numerous cultivation resources from Shen Taiyuan and Lu Hong"s factions in an overbearing manner. The former clearly intended on being dominant faction.
In response, elder Lu Song had chosen to give in, while the old fas.h.i.+oned Shen Taiyuan opted to face them head-on, clearly unwilling to let an outsider take away their power and influence.
Saint Genesis Peak was already at a low point. If they were to let Lu Hong lord over them too, everyone would surely forget that they even existed, making it even more difficult for them to obtain cultivation resources for their disciples in the future.
Such an outcome would undoubtedly lead to them losing all their disciples, forcing the two elders into retirement, becoming elders without any authority in the sect.
Before the upcoming cave match, Lu Hong"s faction had won the majority of the matches between the three factions. This was also the main reason why they currently seemed so unstoppable.
Hence, Shen Taiyuan could only place his hopes into winning the upcoming match to stop their streak, because if they were allowed to continue winning, it would be a deadly blow to the morale of Shen Taiyuan"s faction.
Moreover, when news of this spread, the other peaks will look down even more on Saint Genesis Peak, and believe them to be useless, causing no one to even pity them if they ended up being replaced.
This was why Shen Taiyuan really did not want to lose the upcoming cave match.
…
After several days of antic.i.p.ation, the day of the cave match finally arrived.
On one of the mountains in Saint Genesis Peak was an enormous cave dwelling. Runes flickered at the entrance to the cave, forming a barrier that sealed it.
Even so, extremely pure and vigorous Genesis Qi still managed to seep out from the cave, making the greenery at its entrance appear even more vibrant than normal.
This was obviously a purple Genesis cave dwelling.
Outside the cave was a steep cliff surrounded by swirling mists. Several giant boulders had been cut and placed upon it, creating a s.p.a.cious stone stage.
This was where the cave match would be held.
Very few people would come here in the past, but today, it had become the most bustling place in Saint Genesis Peak.
Figures continuously streamed in from the sky, landing all around the mountain, making the place appear very crowded, the noisy din from the crowd breaking the usual peace of the area.
Elder Lu Song was seated in a stone pavilion atop a nearby cliff. Behind him stood Lu Yan and a few of his other purple sash disciples.
Outside the pavilion were even more gold sash and black sash disciples, quite an impressive number of them in total.
"Why are there so many people here today?" Lu Song had a tea cup in his hand, a slightly puzzled look in his eyes as he scanned the surroundings. Many figures were still streaming over at this time.
Moreover, these figures clearly did not belong to Saint Genesis Peak.
This observation was quite baffling to him. A cave match like this would at most affect one"s own peak, and have practically nothing to do with the disciples of the other peaks. So why had so many people come today? Since when had a cave match of their Saint Genesis Peak been able to draw so many disciples from the other peaks to watch?
Lu Yan frowned, but said in a gloating manner, "What else can it be? They must be here for Zhou Yuan."
Lu Song raised his eyebrows.
"A few days ago, elder Miao from Snow Lotus Peak said in front of everyone that Zhou Yuan"s future prospects were limitless., and he may even be able to match senior brother Chu Qing in the future." Said Lu Yan with a smile, but anyone could hear the sliver of disdain in her voice.
"What status do you think senior brother Chu Qing has in the hearts of the numerous disciples? Elder Miao"s words would naturally give rise to curiosity and disagreement. Since they"ve heard that Zhou Yuan will be partic.i.p.ating in the cave match today, they will naturally come and see whether or not he is as remarkable as she claimed…"
Only then did Lu Song understand. Looks like the disciples from the other peaks were not here with friendly intent.
If Zhou Yuan did not give an amazing performance today, the entire sect would likely soon hear of it. Who knows how much jeering and mockery he would have to face then.
Chu Qing was just too dazzling after all, making it such that even a less than extraordinary performance from Zhou Yuan would instead make him appear incompetent in comparison, even if it would only be incompetant when compared to Chu Qing.
"Elder Miao really has a large mouth. How can one so casually make such remarks." Lu Song frowned. Even if he had high expectations of Zhou Yuan, he would never say such words in public.
Now that such a crowd had been drawn, Zhou Yuan would definitely be under tremendous pressure.
Although Lu Song had chosen not to fight with Lu Hong, deep in his heart the former was still leaning towards Shen Taiyuan. There was after all no benefit to Lu Song"s own factions if Lu Hong"s side were to win another cave match and suppress Shen Taiyuan"s faction even more.
Lu Yan, on the other hand, was clearly ignorant to the situation. She placed her arms across her chest and said, "Zhou Yuan was asking for it. Stubbornly jumping into the limelight even though he"s just a new inner mountain disciple, does he really believe he"s the same as senior brother Chu Qing?"
"The tallest tree will always be the first to be blown down. Without enough ability, one should try to be a little less prominent such as to protect oneself."
Anyone could tell that as Chu Qing"s fanatical supporter, Lu Yan was very disapproving at elder Miao"s evaluation. In Lu Yan"s opinion, the two were on completely different levels. How could Zhou Yuan possibly be compared to senior brother Chu Qing.
It was only an eight dragon baptism, and who knew what the future would be. To say Zhou Yuan was comparable to senior brother Chu Qing based on this achievement alone was truly unconvincing.
As such, Lu Yan strongly believed that after the cave match, elder Miao"s high praise of Zhou Yuan would instead become the same material used to ridicule him. In fact, it may even become akin to a boulder placed upon Zhou Yuan"s shoulders, making him unable to raise his head.
Lu Song glanced at her and nonchalantly said, "If they lose, it will only grow the reputation Lu Hong"s faction, making them even more bold and overbearing. What good is this to us?"
Lu Yan froze for a moment, before she resentfully said, "It"s not like they"re depending on him… he"s only a third layer Alpha-Origin, and it probably there just to make up the numbers."
Lu Song sighed. How could he not know that Shen Taiyuan"s chances were indeed not optimistic.
While the two of them were conversing, a disturbance was suddenly felt in the mountain as countless gazes filled with interest cast towards a certain direction.
A group of figures was slowly walking over.
At the front was Shen Taiyuan, while Zhou Tai, Zhang Yan, Zhou Yuan, Yaoyao and the rest followed behind.
Their numbers were quite impressive. It was clear that all of the disciples under Shen Taiyuan had come this time to at least bolster their presence.
When Shen Taiyuan arrived, he was immediately stunned for a moment by the black sprawling ma.s.s of figures in front of the mountain. He too had not expected the cave match to draw such a crowd.
He frowned, but did not say anything as he continued to walk forward. With a nod to Lu Song, Shen Taiyuan entered another stone pavilion at the edge of a cliff.
Zhou Yuan stood inside the pavilion, feeling the countless unfamiliar gazes that were tinged with amus.e.m.e.nt. This told him that these disciples from the other peaks were likely here for him.
Yaoyao joked from the side, "How lively, looks like you"re going to become famous."
Zhou Yuan chuckled helplessly. They were more likely here to watch him make a fool of himself.
However, he was not angered by their presence, his eyes calm and serene. Regardless of why they had come, there was still only one goal he had today.
To win the purple Genesis cave dwelling.
Not long after Shen Taiyuan"s group arrived, a clamor was heard as another wave of figures aggressively surged into the area, their astonis.h.i.+ng presence drawing the attention of everyone present.
The one leading them was naturally Lu Hong.
However, Zhou Yuan saw a familiar figure at Lu Hong"s side.
Dressed in black that outlined a set of enchanting curves, her legs were long and slender, her waist supple and slim, while her eyes gave off a haughty and cold aura.
It was Lu Xuanyin.
The moment she appeared, her cold and haughty eyes immediately locked onto Zhou Yuan as a smirk appeared on her pretty face.
At the same time, hatred also began radiating from her eyes.
"Zhou Yuan, since you took the number one spot from Lu Feng, and stole the fame he should have had, I shall personally witness how you will be thoroughly humiliated today!"