Clang!
A loud and clear "clang" echoed across the mountain top. The Heavenly Yuan Brush in Zhou Yuan"s hands drew a line of dazzling sparks on the ground as he gradually steadied his body.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared to the front, where a somewhat ragged looking Yuan Hong stood holding a scarlet-red broadsword.
Wave after wave of Genesis Qi pulsed powerfully from Yuan Hong"s body, causing a grave look to streak across Zhou Yuan"s face.
"Low grade Heaven Genesis Weapon…"
Zhou Yuan was naturally able to sense the Genesis Qi in Yuan Hong"s body steadily rising when he held the sword. It was obviously a real Heaven Genesis Weapon, and nothing like the quasi-Heaven Genesis Weapons used by Wu Hai and the rest before.
A Heaven Genesis Weapon could absorb Genesis Qi from the surroundings to augment the user"s strength. As such, Yuan Hong"s battle power had grown even higher after taking out the Heaven Genesis Weapon.
This was something Zhou Yuan had clearly experienced in their most recent exchange of blows.
In other words, the Yuan Hong was now using his true power.
Under the countless watching gazes, Yuan Hong wielded Heaven Flame as he stared at Zhou Yuan with the feral eyes of a tiger. Wave after wave of Genesis Qi continuously pulsed from the former"s body, rippling s.p.a.ce around him.
"I truly never expected that there would actually be a day where I would be forced so far by a fourth layer disciple." Yuan Hong revealed a set of eerily white teeth, his voice filled with iciness.
There was a sliver of anger in the depths of his eyes. Being pushed so far by Zhou Yuan had clearly made him feel humiliated.
Yuan Hong had never once viewed Zhou Yuan as a threat. Even though the latter had achieved several impressive battle accomplishments, Yuan Hong had always looked at him like a senior looking at a newcomer.
However, he would never have imagined that this newcomer he often overlooked or neglected, would actually force him into such a miserable state in the chief disciple selection.
This was clearly something that Yuan Hong could not accept.
Hence, he needed to display true power that would let Zhou Yuan understand the gap between them.
The feral look in Yuan Hong"s eyes grew more and more ferocious. In the next instant, berserk Genesis Qi exploded from his body, as his figure suddenly appeared high in the sky.
Genesis Qi surged out, pouring into the Heaven Flame Sword in his hand. Everyone could see its originally scarlet-red blade grow brighter and brighter.
A terrifying head spread from within, causing even the s.p.a.ce around it to distort a little.
"Flame Light!"
Yuan Hong"s roar was akin to thunder. His hands formed a seal as the Heaven Flame Sword transformed into a flash of scarlet light as it shot forth. Scarlet-red waves of fire churned around it, as if it was falling from the sky while dragging along a sea of fire, quick as rus.h.i.+ng thunder as it viciously chopped downwards at Zhou Yuan below.
Swoos.h.!.+
Patches of forest on the chief disciple peak began to burn, and even the boulders started to melt.
The expressions of countless disciples changed at the sight of this attack.
After being augmented by the power of a Heaven Genesis Weapon, Yuan Hong had obviously become even more frightening.
No one knew if Zhou Yuan would be able to withstand such a terrifying attack...
Zhou Yuan stood on the ground, the stone floor beneath his feet slowly turning scarlet-red. He lifted his head as the sea of fire rapidly grew in his eyes.
Huu.
He took a deep breath. Though his expression was grave, not the slightest trace of fear could be seen.
Yuan Hong had brought out even his hidden Heaven Genesis Weapon, and clearly no longer dared to hold anything back. Since this was the case, the subsequent struggle would be a test of their true skills.
However, no matter what, Zhou Yuan was absolutely not going to yield the chief disciple position to Yuan Hong today!
Boom!
A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yuan"s eyes as he slammed his foot into boiling hot scarlet-red ground, causing it to crumble. His figure turned into a wisp of smoke as it rose into the air.
His hands tightly gripped the Heavenly Yuan Brush as Genesis Qi star after star in his Qi Dwelling began to light up. Genesis Qi endlessly surged out, flooding his four limbs and skeleton.
"Jade skin stage!"
His skin began to give off a jade glow.
"Silver bone stage!"
Silver light emerged from his bones.
Zhou Yuan pushed the little Mythic Saint Body to its limits at this very moment.
Physical power and Genesis Qi gathered, allowing every swing of his fist and feet to be accompanied by an explosion of terrifying power.
Rumble!
The Heavenly Yuan Brush dashed towards the sky, bringing with it Zhou Yuan"s strongest power as it collided with the scarlet light and sea of flames.
Clang!
The two Genesis Weapons smashed into each other, causing a loud "clang" to sound. A ripple that could be seen with the naked eye swept outwards, as faint cracks appeared in the surrounding s.p.a.ce.
Zhou Yuan"s figure was forced back, but he managed to stabilize his body with a jerk of the brush.
The scarlet light also forced back, the sea of fire scattered as the light transformed back into a sword and orbited around Yuan Hong.
Neither side had gained the upper hand in the ferocious clash.
Zhou Yuan and Yuan Hong"s gazes met in the air, iciness flickering in their eyes. In the next instant, the Heaven Flame Sword roared forth once more, scarlet light sweeping across the land as it transformed into countless sword shadows that began to attack Zhou Yuan.
In response to Yuan Hong"s aggressive offensive, Zhou Yuan howled at the sky, brandis.h.i.+ng the brush as he shot forward to meet the attacks head-on.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Genesis Qi clashed in the sky above the mountain top like thunder, sending out wave after wave of destruction.
Yuan Hong controlled the Heaven Flame Sword with his Genesis Qi, sending it cutting through the air along with waves of fire. Scarlet-red sword shadows transformed into frightening attack after attack, like the relentless rage of a fire G.o.d.
On the other hand, Zhou Yuan wielded the Heavenly Yuan Brush with raw physical force and Genesis Qi like a t.i.tan, every swing shaking even s.p.a.ce itself.
In the sky, every clash between the two would cause destructive shockwaves to unfurl, making the giant mountain below tremble.
Both parties poured out of their power, anger seemingly growing with each strike.
Outside the chief disciple peak, countless gazes watched the intense clash with shock. No one had expected Saint Genesis Peak"s selection to reach such intense levels.
In a certain manner of speaking, the intensity here was already not the least bit inferior to the other six peaks.
Gaze after gaze stared unblinkingly at the sky above the chief disciple peak, neither Shen Taiyuan nor Lu Hong"s factions daring to breathe too loudly.
On the mountain top, Lu Yan, Zhou Tai and Zhang Yan had huddled together to avoid the aftershocks of the battle happening above them. When they looked up to watch the dancing black brush wielded by a young figure in the sky, their expressions turned extremely complicated.
All of the doubts and skepticism from before had already faded away.
Rumble!
Under the countless watching gazes, Zhou Yuan and Yuan Hong fought over a hundred rounds in the sky at lightning speed. They gave their all in every single exchange, not holding anything back.
Boom!
After yet another ferocious clash, the Heaven Flame Sword rose into the air and revolved around Yuan Hong, its scarlet light appearing somewhat dim.
Zhou Yuan steadied his body, blood dripping from his hands as he gripped the Heavenly Yuan Brush.
Cold sweat had appeared on the foreheads of both individuals, and breathing had turned rather ragged. The intensity of the previous clashes was clearly exceedingly taxing on both of them.
From this, one could see how fierce and desperate the exchanges had been.
Zhou Yuan wiped away the blood on his hands as his brows knitted together. Yuan Hong was indeed an incomparably difficult opponent. The former had not expected to be incapable of defeating the latter even with the silver bone stage of the little Mythic Saint Body.
While such thoughts swirled in Zhou Yuan"s mind, he was unaware that flames of rage in Yuan Hong"s heart were burning even hotter. In fact, fire was nearly spewing from his eyes as he glared at Zhou Yuan.
He had brought out even the Heaven Flame Sword to claim back the face he had lost. However, he was still unable to crush Zhou Yuan in a convincing manner that would teach him the gap between them. This was very hard for Yuan Hong to swallow.
"Zhou Yuan!"
Yuan Hong"s expression darkened.
Meanwhile, high up in the sky above the Cangxuan Sect.
While he watched the slugfest, peak master Ling Jun"s eyes turned as deep as the night as a strange light flickered in his eyes. A long finger reached out from his sleeves as he gently trapped in the air.
In that same moment.
Yuan Hong suddenly sensed the Heaven Flame Sword emit a peculiar buzzing noise, as what seemed to be a strange glowing rune appeared on its body.
Yuan Hong"s pupils shrank slightly when he saw this. He cast an unnoticeable glance towards the sky above as a sliver of hesitation flitted across his eyes. However, the hesitation ultimately faded, replaced by resolve.
His hands came together as he made a strange hand gesture.
Buzz!
The Heaven Flame Sword began to vibrate as it moved to hover above his head. It then began to sink little by little, making it appear as if it was inserting itself into Yuan Hong"s head from a distance.
Zhou Yuan frowned when he saw this scene, as a faint sense of unease rose within them.
However, before he could do anything, the Heaven Flame Sword had already completely submerged into Yuan Hong"s head in a bizarre manner.
Yuan Hong stared at Zhou Yuan, and said with cold indifference, "Zhou Yuan, I"ll admit that you"re very capable to have pushed me so far, but unfortunately for you, you never had a chance in this chief disciple selection!"
His eyes slowly closed at this moment.
A deep, indescribable berserk sensation seemed to quietly echo, causing the surrounding Genesis Qi to instantly turn hot as if placed in a furnace.
"Sword! Feeding! Technique!"