The next day.
The fiery-red sun seemed to slowly rise from the surface of the reservoir. As its rays s.h.i.+ned down, the mist covering the reservoir seemed to retreat slightly.
Dong! Dong!
The loud sound of a bell rang across the area, echoing in every corner of the Genesis reservoir.
The entire reservoir seemed to come alive the instant it was heard, as countless glowing figures rose into the air and began leaving the reservoir.
Ten days had pa.s.sed. The disciples that had entered the Genesis reservoir to search for Dragon Genesis Essence were naturally itching to leave and enjoy the effects of the Genesis Marrow Baptism.
After all, their ten days of hard work was all for this moment.
In the stone pavilion, Zhou Yuan"s eyes slowly cracked open, only to be greeted by the sight of two beautiful figures lying on the left and right side of the table in front of him. Their fine black hair hung from their heads, the outline of their enchanting curves made visible by their clothes.
Both of their faces were like warm jade, and currently appeared slightly flushed due to drinking too much. The usual coldness and indifference was no longer present, making them appear extremely adorable.
However, while Zhou Yuan was watching them with interest, Li Qingchan"s eyes suddenly opened. The dazed look in the depths of her eyes lasted for several breaths, before she abruptly sat up straight, iciness returning to her eyes as she glared at Zhou Yuan.
"Haha, you"re awake?" Zhou Yuan chuckled. "You were actually quite cute earlier."
The pretty face that had just regained its frosty look immediately blushed as Li Qingchan sent a vicious glare at Zhou Yuan. "If you dare to speak of what happened last night, I"ll kill you!"
Zhou Yuan smiled helplessly. She was acting as if they had done something unspeakable last night.
Li Qingchan regained control of her feelings as she also sent a vicious glare at Yaoyao. The former had no idea what kind of spell the latter had put her under, the slightest provocation would make her lose her usual cool, and become h.e.l.l bent on finding out who was better.
Spending the entire night drinking was something incomprehensible to the Li Qingchan of the past.
In comparison, Zhou Yuan felt like he understood. It was mainly because both girls were proud and cold, possessed both beauty and presence that far exceeded the ordinary, and also rather strong-willed and compet.i.tive.
Thus, neither party was willing to show any weakness in front of the other, and Yaoyao had made use of this to achieve the desired effect whenever she provoked Li Qingchan.
"You guys can leave the Genesis reservoir first." Li Qingchan rose to her feet, frowning when she realised she stank of alcohol, thoughts of taking a bath immediately rising within her.
Just as she was about to leave, she took another look at Zhou Yuan, the iciness in her eyes no longer present as she said, "It"s mostly thanks to you this time."
She was naturally referring to the Dragon Genesis Essence crystal she had obtained. Without Zhou Yuan"s help, both she and Kong Sheng would have returned empty handed.
"We merely made use of each other. Without senior sister Li, I would not have obtained this Genesis Dragon Essence crystal either." Zhou Yuan smiled.
Li Qingchan knew that Zhou Yuan was just being polite. After all, he would also have been able to hunt that thousand feet aquatic beast by borrowing Yaoyao"s power.
The initial bias she had against him due to their initial misunderstanding had already faded substantially over the past few days. If she were to be honest, she could feel that Zhou Yuan was indeed different from the rest.
"You should not undervalue yourself. You"re clearly only a gold sash disciple, but you"ve managed to reach the eight dragon blessing on your first time entering the Genesis reservoir. No one in this generation of the Cangxuan Sect has even done so."
Li Qingchan looked towards Zhou Yuan, her red lips parting slightly as she continued, "At the very least, even Chu Qing only had the chance to reach the eight dragon blessing after becoming a Chosen. In this aspect, you"ve already far surpa.s.sed him."
She turned around and left immediately before her last word faded.
Zhou Yuan gazed in surprise at her leaving figure, clearly not expecting such words of consolation and encouragement from her, especially given how cold and unapproachable she was.
"It seems that she has high hopes for you. To think that she"s even used Chu Qing to compliment you."
While Zhou Yuan was surprised, a lazy voice was heard. He turned his head to see Yaoyao stretching, before placing a fair hand on her cheek as she looked at him in amus.e.m.e.nt.
Zhou Yuan smiled helplessly. "It doesn"t mean anything."
The reason why he had been able to achieve an eight dragon blessing on his first time in the Genesis reservoir was due to the special characteristics of the Omni Python Qi. Therefore, it was naturally nothing to be proud of, and he should never believe that it would give him the right to disregard the Cangxuan Sect"s Chosens.
"At least that small compliment didn"t fry your brain cells, and you still understand your worth."
Yaoyao nodded in satisfaction. She rose to her feet, picked up Tuntun and said, "We should get going."
Zhou Yuan nodded as golden Genesis Qi began rising under his feet, bringing the two of them into the air and out of the Genesis reservoir.
He was already unable to wait for the start of the Genesis Marrow Baptism.
…
The area just outside the Genesis reservoir was already flooded with people, making the place extremely noisy.
Countless figures continued to arrive from the Genesis reservoir, landing on the mountains on the edge of the reservoir as they began to call out to their friends. It was quite a bustling sight.
Even more disciples were doing an inventory of their Dragon Genesis Essence crystals and estimating how many levels their baptism would be. Some wore joyful faces, while others sighed in disappointment.
Golden Genesis Qi whizzed past in the air, ultimately landing on one of the peaks, revealing Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao"s figures.
"Hehe, junior brother Zhou Yuan is out at last." A voice was heard the moment Zhou Yuan appeared. He looked to the front, only to find that Zhou Tai, Zhang Yan and the other disciples were already here.
Zhou Yuan cupped his fists and smiled at them.
"Junior brother Zhou Yuan, how did you fare over the past ten days?" A look of concern was revealed on Zhou Tai"s face.
Zhou Yuan could sense that the former"s concern was not fake, which instead caused him to hesitate for a moment. He knew that if he were to tell the truth, it would instead end up scaring the lot of them.
An eight dragon baptism was something that only Chu Qing could achieve amongst this generation of disciples, and he had even done it after becoming a Chosen. How would anyone believe Zhou Yuan if he told them he had done the same on his first time in the Genesis reservoir.
While Zhou Yuan was hesitating, Zhang Yan chuckled softly and said, "If junior brother Zhou Yuan did not manage to collect enough, us senior brothers can help by donating a little to you."
The other disciples that were close to him laughed, their gazes filled with mockery as they looked towards Zhou Yuan.
Senior brother Zhou Tai glared at them, before turning back to console Zhou Yuan, "It"s your first time in the Genesis reservoir after all, and its not strange for you struggle a little. We were also pretty lost the first time we entered ended up with barely any Dragon Genesis Essence crystals."
Zhou Yuan smiled and nodded, no taking the mockery of Zhang Yan and gang to heart. When the baptism began, they would naturally be incapable of laughing any more.
Nearby their group was teacher Lu"s faction, consisting of Lu Yan and the rest.
Lu Yan also detected the disturbance, her gazing sweeping across Zhou Yuan as she soft snorted. From his hesitant look, it was obvious that his haul in the Genesis reservoir was nothing to write home about.
"Humph, Zhou Tai was still bragging earlier that Zhou Yuan may have a chance to reach the eight dragon baptism in the future, a feat that can match senior brother Chu Qing… he really is quite ignorant."
Her red lips curled downwards. Did Zhou Tai really believe that anyone who became the champion of the peak selection ceremony could reach senior brother Chu Qing"s level?
A handsome disciple beside Lu Yan chuckled and said, "Hehe, no need to be angry senior sister. After Zhou Yuan has experienced the Genesis reservoir, he will naturally understand what an eight dragon baptism represents, and gain a clear grasp of the difference between him and senior brother Chu Qing."
Lu Yan nodded as she withdrew her gaze, paying no further attention to Zhou Yuan.
…
As time pa.s.sed, more and more disciples flew out from the Genesis reservoir.
Meanwhile, countless disciples that had not been given the opportunity to enter also rushed over from all directions. The Genesis Marrow Baptism was quite a momentous occasion after all, and hope to experience it and broaden their horizons.
The blazing sun rose high in the sky.
Dong!
The clear sound of a bell was heard as a torrent of Genesis Qi soared into the sky. A beautiful woman stood atop it, who was also the current elder on duty in the Genesis reservoir.
Elder Miao of Snow Lotus Peak.
She hovered above the giant altar in the sky as her gaze swept across the place. Genesis Qi wrapped around her voice as it rang out in everyone"s ears.
"Ten days have pa.s.sed,
"Let the baptism begin!"
The entire place seemed to erupt into a frenzy at this moment.