The next day, Zhou Yuan prepared himself to head over to old Xuan"s place. However, moments after leaving the cave dwelling, he was intercepted by a disciple who told him to go to the Dao Seeker Hall.
A law enforcement elder was coming to Saint Genesis Peak to confirm the partic.i.p.ants of the chief disciple selection.
Only by having one"s name recorded by the elder, would one officially be recognized as a partic.i.p.ant of the selection.
After all, the chief disciple of each peak represented the true elites amongst their generation, a group from which the future elders of the sect would likely come from. Hence, the selection was an extremely significant event, which was very important to the sect.
Zhou Yuan naturally understood the importance of this matter, and thus decided to temporarily put aside his visit to old Xuan.
"Let"s go to the Dao Seeker Hall then." He cupped his fists together towards the messenger disciple in thanks.
Yaoyao also walked out carrying Tuntun at this moment and said, "I"ll also tag along to have a look."
Yaoyao was basically the most unique individual in the Cangxuan Sect. Till now, she was strictly speaking still not a disciple of any of the peaks. All the bosses were fighting over her, ultimately resulting in a deadlock without outcome.
Others may feel miserable about this situation, but Yaoyao preferred it somewhat. Hence, she did not raise any complaints and continued to maintain her unique status in the Cangxuan Sect.
Zhou Yuan naturally did not have any objections towards her decision, and brought Yaoyao along as they rushed to the Dao Seeker Hall.
By the time they arrived, the place was already filled with countless figures. The disciples from all three factions of Saint Genesis Peak were gathered here, making the place extremely lively.
Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao landed near Shen Taiyuan and the rest. The latter gave them a nod of acknowledgement upon seeing them.
Zhou Tai beckoned towards Zhou Yuan, to which the latter responded by coming over. His gaze looked towards the front where an elder with gray hair could be seen on the stone stage.
"That"s elder Lu, the one who will be acting as the judge for the upcoming chief disciple selection of our Saint Genesis Peak. He"s here today to confirm the partic.i.p.ants of the selection, before reporting it to the sect master." Said Zhou Tai in a low voice.
Zhou Yuan faintly nodded, before his gaze s.h.i.+fted elsewhere. Elder Lu Song"s faction was nearby, but the one with the greatest presence was still the group directly opposite...
Elder Lu Hong stood at their head, while row after row of disciples stood behind him. Their numbers were even greater than the other two factions combined, creating an intimidating sight.
Elder Lu looked towards Shen Taiyuan, Lu Hong and Lu Song and said with a smile, "Since all three elders and their disciples are here, let me invite each faction to begin confirming the partic.i.p.ants for the upcoming chief disciple selection."
The three elders nodded and walked forward.
"Three of my disciples will be partic.i.p.ating this time." Elder Lu smiled and beckoned as three figures jumped onto the stage.
"Lu Yan, Deng Tong and Mu Shenglei."
Three figures stood on the stage with Lu Yan at their head. Her tall, slim figure and das.h.i.+ng aura making her quite an eye-catching sight.
This trio was extremely well known in Saint Genesis Peak, and were also the strongest amongst the disciples under Lu Song. Hence, no one was surprised that they were representing Lu Song"s faction.
Upon seeing this, Shen Taiyuan said, "There will also be three partic.i.p.ants from my faction."
"Zhou Tai, Zhang Yan…" As he said their names, Zhou Tai and Zhang Yan landed on the stage, drawing numerous cheers. As the pillars of Shen Taiyuan"s disciples, these two individuals were indeed qualified to partic.i.p.ate.
"And… Zhou Yuan."
However, it was no surprise that Shen Taiyuan"s last few words immediately caused whispers to spread. Besides his faction, the other disciples were clearly filled with confusion.
Although Zhou Yuan had been rapidly rising as a star in the sect for the past year, he was still a new disciple at the end of the day. Wasn"t he still lacking in experience to partic.i.p.ate in an event such as this?
Under numerous gazes, Zhou Yuan calmly ascended the stage.
"They actually sent him to partic.i.p.ate in the chief disciple selection?" Muttered Lu Yan as she looked over. Though she no longer looked down on Zhou Yuan, she still felt that he was not dependable enough to stand on this stage.
However, she did not say anything in the end. After all, this was an affair of Shen Taiyuan"s faction, and it would not affect her if Zhou Yuan ended up humiliating himself.
Lu Hong swept a glance at Zhou Yuan, before displaying a superficial smile to Shen Taiyuan. "Hehe, elder Shen, has the quality of your disciples really fallen so far? Aren"t you afraid that sending a fourth layer disciple to partic.i.p.ate in the chief disciple selection will hurt your reputation?"
His words were clearly full of acidic sarcasticness.
Lu Hong"s words were also accompanied by roaring laughter from his disciples, while the expression of Shen Taiyuan"s disciples turned somewhat ugly.
Shen Taiyuan, however, remained expressionless as he responded, "This old face of mine isn"t worth much anyways, there is no need for elder Lu to worry on my behalf."
"I feel that you should be the one who should be careful instead. If something unexpected happens, it will likely not be as simple as losing face for you."
Peak master Ling Jun had spent a tremendous amount of effort and brainpower to s.h.i.+ft elder Lu Hong"s to Saint Genesis Peak against the wishes of the majority. Their goal was clear; becoming the master faction of Saint Genesis Peak.
If Lu Hong failed, they would most definitely be recalled by peak master Ling Jun and become such a disgrace that they would likely no longer dare to raise their heads in the sect.
Lu Hong could not hold back his laughter when he heard this, before glancing at Zhou Yuan in a disdainful manner.
"Something unexpected? So this is what elder Shen is hoping for? Well then, I can only say that you"ll be disappointed…" Lu Hong shook his head, before clapping once.
Swis.h.!.+ Swis.h.!.+
His clap was immediately followed by the sound of rus.h.i.+ng wind. Next, the crowd watched as six figures appeared behind Lu Hong.
These six figures were led by the tall, muscular and indifferent looking Yuan Hong. As he stood there, a faint pressure seemed to spread.
The other five disciples behind him also gave off powerful Genesis Qi undulations. Everyone could tell with a single glance that they were not here to make up the numbers.
A total of six partic.i.p.ants!
The expressions in Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song"s eyes changed slightly, as their faces turned a little ugly. They had poured all their efforts into nurturing their disciples, only to end up with three that had the qualifications to partic.i.p.ate.
In contrast, Lu Hong sent out six partic.i.p.ants with a casual wave of his hand. This truly was a show of how his faction alone could rival the combined might of the other two.
It could be said that his faction was overflowing with talent.
On top of this, the most worrying thing for Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song was still the disciple called Yuan Hong. He had already made quite a reputation for himself back in Sword Cometh Peak, and though he had become very low-key after coming to Saint Genesis Peak, everyone knew that it was because he felt it beneath him to mingle with the disciples here.
In the upcoming chief disciple selection, elder Lu Hong"s faction had the absolute upper hand in both quant.i.ty and quality.
The two elders were not the only ones who could see this, even their disciples fell a little silent at this moment.
Lu Hong"s disciples, on the other hand, grew even more arrogant as they roared with laughter. Their gazes were filled with ridicule when they looked towards the other two factions, causing the latter to become rather angry.
But anger was ultimately only anger. The cruel reality was not something that could be changed by mere words.
Lu Hong"s eyes seemed to smile as he looked at the six figures behind him and gave a satisfied nod. He then turned back to Shen Taiyuan, casting a quick glance at Zhou Yuan, as he said, "Does elder Shen still feel that something unexpected will happen?"
Shen Taiyuan"s expression turned stormy, but he did not reply.
Lu Hong"s smile grew even wider when he saw this, his pleased appearance clearly showing that he already felt the chief disciple seat was in the bag.
Elder Lu merely swept his gaze about the place without saying anything, though he did cast a pitying glance at Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song. These two had been so bitterly trying to support Saint Genesis Peak for so many years, only to end up being thoroughly suppressed by Lu Hong, who had basically appeared out of nowhere.
Nothing could be done about it. Lu Hong was from Sword Cometh Peak, and was even supported by peak master Ling Jun, making the former a force that Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song could not possibly hope to match.
If Lu Hong"s faction managed to become the master faction in the future, one could easily imagine how the other two factions would be even more miserably bullied. From then on, Lu Hong"s faction would quickly become the master of Saint Genesis Peak.
Elder Lu raised a jade scroll. Light blossomed from the scroll, reflecting onto the partic.i.p.ating disciples from the three factions. As such, the partic.i.p.ants of the chief disciple selection were formally confirmed.
"I hope that everyone will do their best in two months."
Lu Hong, Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song cupped their fists together.
Lu Hong was all smiles as he swept yet another glance at Zhou Yuan, before turning to Shen Taiyuan in a teasing manner. "Elder Shen, I"ll be waiting to see what kind of surprise you"ll have for us in two months. I do hope that it will make things a little more exciting."
With one last loud laugh, he turned around and left.
Yuan Hong"s emotionless eyes also swept a glance at everyone, pausing on Zhou Yuan for a moment as he said, "I hope that you guys will really have some kind of surprise. Otherwise, the chief disciple selection will be far too boring."
As his words faded, he turned around and left. The other five disciple also chuckled softly, their laughter filled with contempt.
Zhou Tai and Zhang Yan"s complexions turned an angry green.
Rage could also be seen on Lu Yan"s pretty face as she glared at Yuan Hong"s back. In the end, she walked over, glanced at Zhou Tai and Zhang Yan, before looking towards Zhou Yuan as she resentfully said, "What the heck are you guys doing? Can"t you even gather three people? Did you really have to pull this kid over to make up the numbers?"
Zhou Tai felt rather awkward. Lu Yan was always overly direct when she spoke, showing no regard for anyone. How could she say such things when Zhou Yuan was right in front of her.
However, Zhou Yuan expression remained calm. He merely glanced at Yuan Hong"s leaving figure, before turning to cup his fists together at Shen Taiyuan. After which, Zhou Yuan also took his leave.
Instead of grumbling and complaining here, it would be far better to spend his time training.
Since Lu Hong"s faction was so fond of surprises, he would have to work a little harder. It would not be nice of him to disappoint them too much, right?
Lu Yan stomped her foot in anger at how Zhou Yuan had basically ignored her, pouring her rage onto Zhou Tai and Zhang Yan.
"Look at this! A few accomplishments has already made him so proud. Does he really think the likes of him is qualified to partic.i.p.ate in the chief disciple selection?"
She gnashed her teeth, indignation boiling within her.
"Humph, when the chief disciple selection beings, I"ll be waiting to see what right he has to act so arrogantly!"