Deep rends had been torn open on the cultivation platform, making it an exceptionally wretched sight. At the end of these rends, a cliff continued to crumble, as boulders tumbled down.
The entire place was completely silent.
Every gaze stared at the tumbling boulders in a dazed manner.
Lu Hong"s disciples had been laughing just moments ago, thus their smiles were still currently frozen on their faces, creating an extremely comical scene.
The faces of Shen Taiyuan"s disciples had been filled with panic at the sight of Zhou Yuan attempting to grab at Wu Hai"s lightning sword with his bare hand, only to find Wu Hai being sent flying a split second later...
The disciples around Lu Yan had likewise fallen silent, even Lu Yan herself dazedly staring at the young figure who was still in his punching posture.
Everyone had not expected Zhou Yuan"s counter attack to be so ferocious.
"How can this be?" Mumbled Lu Yan.
Her eyes were filled with bewilderment. From what she could sense, Zhou Yuan"s Genesis Qi undulations had barely grown any stronger than before. So why? Why had such a terrifying power exploded from his earlier punch?
Although Wu Hai had admittedly been somewhat caught off-guard by Zhou Yuan"s sudden explosion of power at the final moment, the layers of Genesis Qi defenses created by the former should still have been capable of easily defending against any attacks below the eighth layer.
And yet, all of these defensive layers had appeared as frail as paper in the face of Zhou Yuan"s punch.
Moreover, Zhou Yuan had not even used his Heaven Genesis Weapon. That black brush of his was still embedded in the cliff wall.
From the information released by the Mission Hall about the Black Flame Province mission, Zhou Yuan had only been able to contend against the Sacred Palace"s Yang Xuan due to his Heaven Genesis Weapon. Without it, the former could not possibly have been a match for the half step into eighth layer Yang Xuan.
But… Zhou Yuan had not used his Heaven Genesis Weapon in this fight!
Lu Yan"s gaze was tightly glued to Zhou Yuan. She could faintly sense that though the latter"s Genesis Qi undulations were the same as before, there was something different about him.
Under the numerous stunned gazes, Zhou Yuan slowly withdrew his fist as his glowing skin gradually returned to normal.
A look of amazement flitted across his eyes as he lowered his head to look at his fist. The little Mythic Saint Body was tyrannical indeed. Though he had just achieved the jade skin level, the amplified power it gave had already reached very alarming levels.
The jade skin combined with his Genesis Qi gave him the power to directly face initial eighth layer opponents.
As for Wu Hai, he had likely just barely reached the initial eighth layer stage.
Due to his carelessness, he had allowed Zhou Yuan to close in and deliver a punch that contained all of the power of his body and Genesis Qi. To be honest, Wu Hai deserved to be blasted away by the punch.
Most pract.i.tioners would make sure to keep their distance against an external cultivator with Genesis Qi attacks, because these external cultivators would only be able to bring out the superiority of their strong physical bodies at close range.
Zhou Yuan raised his head and looked towards the crumbling cliff, before his figure moved and appeared amidst the rubble. With a wave of his sleeve, Genesis Qi swept forth to blow the shattered rock away.
As the rock was blown away, the buried figure underneath was revealed.
Wu Hai was drenched in blood, making him an extremely pitiful sight. However, his eyes were still open as he glared at Zhou Yuan. Unfortunately, the former was unable to circulate any Genesis Qi due to Zhou Yuan"s ferocious punch from earlier.
There was only indifference in Zhou Yuan"s gaze as he looked down from above and said, "You"re the one who hit Shen Wanjin"s face earlier?"
Wu Hai icily retorted, "Don"t be too happy Zhou Yuan! I was merely caught off-guard earlier!"
However, Zhou Yuan ignored him, merely extending his hand and swinging it.
*Slap*!
Genesis Qi whizzed forth, transforming into a palm that viciously slapped Wu Hai"s face, causing a sharp and clear slap to echo.
A fresh, glaring red palm print appeared on Wu Hai"s face.
Wu Hai seemed to have been knocked silly by Zhou Yuan"s slap, but quickly returned to his senses a split second later. A hideous look immediately arose on his face as he roared, "You dare to slap me?!"
He was normally such an untouchable and high up existence in Lu Hong"s faction that enjoyed flattery from everyone. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Zhou Yuan would actually dare to slap him in public!
*Slap*!
However, the only response he received was another slap.
"Zhou Yuan, I"m going to kill you!"
*Slap*!
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you"re dead!"
*Slap*!
*Slap*!
Before Wu Hai could make any noise, Zhou Yuan sent yet another slap at the former, the loud and clear sound continuously echoing without being broken.
Around the cultivation platform, the disciples from the three factions were dumbstruck as they watched.
As the saying went, when beating someone, one should not hit the face. Zhou Yuan was obviously not planning on leaving Wu Hai even the slightest shred of dignity.
When some of the onlookers saw the icy light in Zhou Yuan"s eyes, they understood that the way Wu Hai and gang had humiliated Shen Wanjin earlier had indeed angered the former.
The faces of Lu Hong"s disciples were a mix of white fear and green anger. They wanted to shout out for Zhou Yuan to stop, but the sight of his chilling eyes made them subconsciously shrink back, leaving them no other option but to hurriedly say, "Quick, go call for reinforcements!"
Back on Zhou Yuan"s side, after a few dozen slaps, Wu Hai"s face had swollen to look like a pig. The Genesis Qi that attempted to gather in his body was dispersed by Zhou Yuan, making it impossible for him to put up any resistance.
"Stop! Stop!" The intense burning pain pulsed from Wu Hai"s face paired with the giddiness from being rapidly knocked left and right finally broke him, causing even his voice to change. "I"m no longer saying anything!"
Zhou Yuan"s hand paused as he indifferently said, "Sorry, I didn"t hear that."
His hand continued to raise again.
Wu Hai"s heart s.h.i.+vered as he hurriedly said, "Stop hitting me, I apologize!"
He could no longer endure the merciless Zhou Yuan. If this beating continued, Wu Hai"s face would really be beaten to a pulp.
Zhou Yuan"s gaze lowered a little. "Is an apology enough?"
"What else do you want?"
Zhou Yuan thought for a bit, before he said, "Genesis jade compensation. One hundred thousand pieces."
Wu Hai nearly vomited a mouthful of blood. He had used the same amount of a hundred thousand Genesis jade pieces to make fun of Shen Wanjin earlier. Who could have imagined that Zhou Yuan would now turn it on him. Wu Hai pushed down the sullen feeling in his heart and said, "I don"t have a hundred thousand Genesis jade pieces."
Zhou Yuan expressionlessly lifted his hand.
Wu Hai hurriedly said, "No please, no. I don"t have a hundred thousand, but I have thirty thousand."
He patted his spatial bag and Genesis jade immediately poured out. The jade filled the ground, gleaming dazzlingly under the light.
Only then did Zhou Yuan"s hand come to a halt. With a jerk of his sleeve, a surge of Genesis Qi swept up all the Genesis jade and sent it towards Shen Wanjin. "Keep them."
Shen Wanjin was stunned, his eyes glowing as he stared at the heap of Genesis jade. In the end, he clearly struggled inside as he said, "Little Yuan bro, I think it will be better that you take them."
"You"re the one who was beaten, not me. Take it as a little compensation." Said Zhou Yuan in an annoyed manner.
Shen Wanjin swallowed repeatedly as he mumbled, "Thirty thousand Genesis jade pieces for a beating?"
His eyes suddenly began to glow as he looked towards Wu Hai. "How about… senior brother Wu Hai beat me again?"
The corners of Wu Hai"s mouth twitched.
Zhou Yuan also rolled his eyes. This guy"s skin was surprisingly thick… he had previously been worried about whether Wu Hai and gang"s actions would cause lasting psychological damage to Shen Wanjin, but from the looks of things, Shen Wanjin"s mental fort.i.tude had surpa.s.sed his expectations.
With a sigh, he turned back to Wu Hai and pointed at the edge of the cliff. "Are you going to jump off yourself?"
Wu Hai"s expression turned rigid. "I still have to jump?"
Zhou Yuan was expressionless as he responded, "I can always throw you down."
Wu Hai could not help but gnash his teeth in anger. "Zhou Yuan, don"t take things too far!"
Zhou Yuan"s eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly raised his hand again.
At this moment, however, the sound of rus.h.i.+ng wind was heard as several figures descended from the sky and landed nearby. A powerful Genesis Qi pressure immediately spread, looming over the area.
"Zhou Yuan, let him go." An ice-cold voice rang out. There was clearly no intent of discussion, as if it was a command given by one of higher status to a lowly being.
Numerous disciples looked over, only for their expressions to change.
In contrast, Lu Hong"s disciples were overjoyed.
"Senior brother Yuan Hong!"
Zhou Yuan lifted his head, and saw several figures standing nearby. The one leading them was a tall and muscular gorilla-like figure. A powerful Genesis Qi pressure rippled from his body, causing fear and alarm to rise in the eyes of several disciples in the vicinity.
It was the first disciple of Lu Hong"s faction, Yuan Hong.
"To think that Yuan Hong has come!" Lu Yan"s expression changed slightly as wariness filled her eyes.
Under the many respectful and fearful gazes, Yuan Hong stood with his hand behind his back. His indifferent eyes looked towards Zhou Yuan as he said, "You"ve played enough. Let him go and return the Genesis jade. We"ll take it as this matter never happened today."
Behind Zhou Yuan, Shen Wanjin had a nervous expression, no longer daring to continue keeping the Genesis jade.
After all, Yuan Hong had quite a fearsome reputation in Saint Genesis Peak.
Countless gazes turned towards Zhou Yuan. In the face of the strongest contender for the upcoming chief disciple selection, he should yield no matter how domineering he was, right?
However, while such thoughts were swirling in their heads, Zhou Yuan withdrew his gaze from Yuan Hong"s figure and turned back towards Wu Hai.
Wu Hai laughed in a sinister manner. "Are you regretting your actions now? Let me tell you, it"s too late…"
Just as a smile was forming on his face, Wu Hai saw Zhou Yuan suddenly take a step forward as a ruthless punch was slammed into Wu Hai"s stomach. Violent power flooded into his body, dispersing the gathering Genesis Qi once again.
Next, Zhou Yuan grabbed Wu Hai"s hair and fiercely swung. His body was sent flying, falling from the cliff with a miserable cry.
Wu Hai"s terrified shriek continued to echo on the cliff.
Zhou Yuan dusted off his hands as he muttered under his breath, "Told you to jump and yet you kept wasting so much time."
He then lifted his head and looked towards Yuan Hong with a faint smile as he said, "Senior brother Yuan Hong, what were you saying earlier?"
The surroundings of the cultivation platform was deathly silent.
Everyone, including Lu Yan, was dumbstruck as they stared at Zhou Yuan. No one had expected that even after Yuan Hong appeared, the former would not only display no indication of trying to settle this matter peacefully, but instead throw Wu Hai down the cliff right before Yuan Hong"s eyes...
This was way too uncompromising!
Innumerable gazes s.h.i.+fted towards Yuan Hong. Sure enough, they saw his indifferent face gradually darken. A pair of tiger-like eyes locked onto Zhou Yuan as a dreadful pressure slowly surged from out from Yuan Hong"s body.
"Zhou Yuan, are you provoking me?"
The scalps of numerous disciples turned numb. As expected, Yuan Hong was now mad!