As time pa.s.sed, the fights that broke out in this ma.s.sive mountain range grew increasingly intense, while the remaining disciples grew stronger and stronger.
Meanwhile, the remaining partic.i.p.ants gradually moved towards the depths of the mountain range.
At a certain location in the mountain range.
Three disciples from the same peak were currently travelling together. They huddled close, vigilantly scanning their surroundings as they walked. Genesis Qi surged around their bodies, ready to deal with any unforeseen occurrences.
Swoos.h.!.+
The trio immediately turned their heads to the right, only to see a wispy smoke-like figure zip past at a speed too quick for them to get a proper look. Instead, they were only able to detect the trees shaking faintly in its wake.
"Who?!" They shouted as the Genesis Qi around their bodies whizzed even faster in preparation to strike.
However, before they could send out a blast of Genesis Qi, the wisp-like figure had already vanished from sight.
The trio was dumbstruck as they turned to look at each other. Cold sweat appeared on their foreheads as they said, "Who was that? That was way too fast! Just like a rabbit!"
They didn"t even manage to catch a glimpse of his appearance before he vanished.
"Never mind, it doesn"t matter who it was. Someone so fast should be no pushover." One of them said.
The other two nodded in agreement.
Just as they were about to change course, they suddenly felt powerful Genesis Qi ripples rapidly closing in on them from all directions, causing their expressions to change drastically.
The trio hastily huddled together back to back, Genesis Qi surging as they vigilantly swept their gazes in the directions of the Genesis Qi ripples.
Several dozen breaths later, the trees shook as seven or eight glowing figures shot out. They stood atop the surrounding trees, menacingly staring at the huddled trio.
"They"re from Sword Cometh Peak!" The eyes of the trio widened when they saw the appearances of the glowing figures.
The Sword Cometh Peak disciples glanced at the three Hongya disciples and shouted, "Sword Cometh Peak is hunting Zhou Yuan, and we hope that everyone else will not interfere!"
After leaving these words, they ignored the trio and shot forth once again.
The trio was stunned by the Sword Cometh Peak disciples departure. Soon after, they could not help but mutter, "To think that Sword Cometh Peak is going all out to hunt down Zhou Yuan."
"That"s overkill, right?" One of the disciples frowned, before he said with disdain, "Sword Cometh Peak is really shameless. Zhou Yuan is only one of the newer disciples. I can"t believe they"re ganging up on him."
The other two nodded, and said with some sympathy, "That figure we saw previously should be Zhou Yuan. He"s really unlucky to have the entire swarm of Sword Cometh Peak disciples after him."
"I"m afraid that he won"t be able to escape this time around. The Sword Cometh Peak disciples have made it clear that they will not allow him to become a purple sash disciple…"
…
News of this hunt quickly caused a huge commotion in the depths of the mountain range. Numerous disciple sighing Sword Cometh Peak"s shamelessness and how unfortunate Zhou Yuan was...
However, even though they sympathized with Zhou Yuan, practically no one was planning to a.s.sist him. After all, Zhou Yuan"s foundations were weak, and Saint Genesis Peak was in a pitiful state. Therefore, it didn"t seem worthwhile to a.s.sist him and incur the wrath of the rising Sword Cometh Peak.
This situation naturally also caused quite an uproar outside the mountain range, numerous disciples showing their disapproval. After all, it was really unbecoming of Sword Cometh Peak to gang up and bully Zhou Yuan.
However, their criticisms would not change anything, because there was no such thing as absolute fairness in the world. Zhou Yuan"s reputation had grown too quickly, and it was unavoidable for him to eventually suffer some backlash.
The most outraged amongst them were naturally Shen Taiyuan"s disciples. Sword Cometh Peak"s actions were clearly displaying their complete disregard for Shen Taiyuan"s faction. Hence why they could so blatantly go about this operation without any fear of retaliation.
Shen Taiyuan"s expression darkened slightly, as anger flashed across his eyes. However, he ultimately suppressed his rage with a deep breath.
The purple sash selection was a cruel test, and there were barely any rules. Therefore, he did not really have any grounds to lodge a complaint to sect master Qing Yang.
As such, Zhou Yuan could only rely on himself.
Elder Lu Song and his disciples were outraged as well. After all, they were fellow disciples from Saint Genesis Peak, making Sword Cometh Peak"s actions also a display of disrespect towards them.
In the face of this scene, even Lu Yan, who always seemed to have some misgivings about Zhou Yuan, frowned deeply as she gritted her teeth and said, "Sword Cometh Peak is simply too shameless!"
However, there was nothing else she could do besides swearing out loud. Even if the partic.i.p.ants from their faction went to a.s.sist Zhou Yuan, they would only be akin to a mantis before a cart.
The other disciples around her fell silent.
Lu Yan stared at that fleeing young figure as she gritted her teeth and said, "Zhou Yuan, if you manage to surprise me again today... then I… I will acknowledge that the future you has the qualifications to chase after senior brother Chu Qing!"
The disciples around her stared at her in shock. This was the first time a die-hard fan of senior brother Chu Qing like herself had spoken such words...
Lu Yan menacingly glared back at them. "What are you guys looking at? Do you really believe that he can do it?!"
All of them shut their mouths, speechless as they shook their heads.
Against the most elite gold sash disciples from Sword Cometh Peak, how could he possibly turn the tables by himself?!
In contrast to the anger from Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song"s disciples, Lu Hong"s disciples were rejoicing at Zhou Yuan"s misfortune. They were originally from Sword Cometh Peak, and did not consider themselves Saint Genesis Peak disciples.
As such, they only felt delight when Zhou Yuan was being hunted by Sword Cometh Peak was.
Wasn"t he being really arrogant previously? But now, it seems like all he can do is to flee like a dog that has lost its home.
…
As the crowd watched, the pursuing figures chased deep into the mountain range. In the end, the faint silhouettes of ten misty mountain peaks began to appear.
It seems like they were beginning to approach the end.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yuan darted into a valley. Dense mist churned in the valley, obscuring his figure.
Behind him, the sound of rus.h.i.+ng wind was heard as glowing figure after figure descended from the sky, blockading the entire valley.
Le Tian and Lu Xuanyin"s figures also descended, landing on a giant tree.
They stared at the valley before them, and exchanged a look as mocking smiles appeared on their faces.
After such a long chase, the panicked wild beast had finally run out of stamina.
Quite a number of disciples soon appeared in the vicinity of the valley. The commotion caused by the Sword Cometh Peak disciples was far too large, and had naturally drawn over the disciples from the other peaks.
Le Tian"s gaze swept about the area as he cupped his fists together with a faint smile, "This is between Zhou Yuan and my Sword Cometh Peak. If we have disturbed anyone, allow me to apologize."
He was subtly warning them not to get involved.
The eyes of the disciples that had rushed over flickered faintly in thought. However, they ultimately did not say anything in response. They were after all not close to Zhou Yuan, and naturally did not want to offend Le Tian and his crew.
However, not everyone was of the same opinion.
"Humph. Le Tian, isn"t your Sword Cometh Peak being too shameless? If you still have a backbone, go and fight Zhou Yuan one on one. At least you"ll have a respectful victory if you win. Why resort to such measures" A clear voice sounded as an alluring beauty walked out and coldly snorted.
It was Su Wan of Cangxuan Peak.
After all, she had close ties to Gu Hongyi, and the latter had even specifically asked her to aid Zhou Yuan. Therefore, when she saw Zhou Yuan being bullied, she naturally had to stand up for him.
Le Tian frowned slightly when he saw Su Wan step forward.
However, even before Le Tian could reply, another voice interjected, "Su Wan, you"re still such a busybody. Since you seem to have so much time on your hands, how about you and I have a fight now?"
The crowd turned their heads, only to see a man in black robes walking forward. Though he looked rather ordinary, the eyes of the crowd widened at the sight of his face.
Lightning Prision Peak, w.a.n.g Chen.
He was also one of the top contenders for the champions.h.i.+p.
"w.a.n.g Chen!" Su Wan"s brows tightly knitted together as she icily said, "And what does this have to do with you?"
w.a.n.g Chen was expressionless, not giving her an answer. However, his stance was already clear. If Su Wan intervened, he would step forward to stop her.
Su Wan angrily clenched her fists.
The other disciples secretly shook their heads. Looks like Le Tian was set on giving Zhou Yuan a good dressing down, and had already made preparations in case someone tried to help him.
Now that there was someone to stop Su Wan, it seems like Zhou Yuan"s fate was sealed.
Le Tian withdrew his gaze. He stared at the now locked down valley, his eyes narrowing slightly as his indifferent voice sounded.
"Go."
"Send him out."
At the sound of his voice, the surrounding Sword Cometh Peak disciples immediately charged into the valley.
Atop the tree, the corners of Lu Xuanyin"s lips raised slightly as she watched this scene.
Zhou Yuan, there"s no way you"ll win this time!