Chapter 24 Show of Migh
Qi Yue’s face twitched, his eyes like dark clouds as he said in a chilling voice, "It seems that we’ve been tricked by Zhou Yuan. He used Genesis Qi in his previous kick, meaning he has already unblocked at least one meridian channel!"
Lin Feng’s and Liu Xi’s pupils shrunk. They knew that Zhou Yuan’s eight meridians refused to show themselves so why had they suddenly been unblocked now?
Zhou Yuan had concealed himself very deeply indeed!
Qi Yue inhaled deeply and darkly said, "He has likely unblocked his channels recently and cannot possibly have opened too many. Pei Yun lost so quickly because he was caught off-guard and did not even have the chance to use any Genesis techniques."
"If he was prepared, Zhou Yuan might not have won."
Upon hearing this analysis, Lin Feng and Liu Xi regained their calm and nodded in agreement. Zhou Yuan had purposely hidden his strength, making his opponent careless before taking victory in a flash.
"Such craftiness." Liu Xi sneered. "However, this method can only be used once. Let’s see how he fares in the next match!"
Lin Feng slowly nodded. He had originally planned to wait for Zhou Yuan to be thoroughly humiliated in front of Su Youwei. Lin Feng never imagined that Zhou Yuan would pull off something like this and it truly angered him.
Qi Yue’s eyes flickered as he darkly stared at Zhou Yuan’s figure. No one knew what the former was thinking.
Meanwhile, on the observation platform, Chu Tianyang’s face was filled with shock as when he saw this scene. Bewilderment fluctuated indeterminately in his eyes as he said, "How did prince Zhou Yuan become so powerful?"
He clearly understood that Zhou Yuan had only been able to begin his channel opening training a month ago. Yet, the power of that kick from before had been even greater than that of a three channel practitioner!
He could not figure it out at all and could only inwardly shake his head. However, he also secretly sighed in relief. Looks like Zhou Yuan did have some chance in this newcomer exam.
No wonder he had declared that he would enter the A class through the newcomer exam a month ago. It turned out that he did have the ability to match his words.
Beside Chu Tianyang, Xu Hong frowned a little when he saw Zhou Yuan obtain victory, but did not say anything. Although the power that Zhou Yuan had shown was astonishing, it was still rather optimistic for him to take one of the top ten positions. Thus, there was no need to worry.
Under the gazes of astonishment from all around, Zhou Yuan hopped off the arena after hearing the referee’s decision and walked towards Su Youwei.
"You’ve really concealed your abilities really well!" Su Youwei pouted a little as she looked at Zhou Yuan. To think that she had been worrying all along because she was in the dark with regards to the fact that he had already begun unblocking his channels.
Zhou Yuan hurriedly explained, "There was no time to tell you because I was training non-stop."
Su Youwei softly snorted, a clearly unhappy look on her small face as she replied, "Then tell me truthfully, how many channels have you opened?"
"Two." Zhou Yuan chuckled, not hiding anything. After all, everyone would know after today.
Su Youwei’s long and shapely eyebrows furrowed slightly as she shot a skeptical look at Zhou Yuan. "That kick from earlier was not from a two channel practitioner."
That attack had been able to kick even a three channel practitioner off the stage. Its power was completely unlike something a two channel practitioner was capable of.
Zhou Yuan could only let out a helpless laugh. The quality of his two channel body was practically akin to a four channel practitioner. Hence, sending Pei Yun flying with a kick was not difficult at all. However, he naturally could not explain this so as to avoid drawing attention he could not afford.
Fortunately, Su Youwei did not dwell on this topic. Instead, her eyes contained joy as she said, "Two channels. If you add in your Genesis Runes, you might even have a chance of charging into the top ten rankings."
Zhou Yuan nodded with a smile.
The newcomer exam went on while they talked. An unceasing string of intense battle on the various arenas continued to incite cheers and shouts from the numerous surrounding boys and girls.
It soon came to Su Youwei’s turn.
Su Youwei’s opponent was a mere two channel new student. The latter’s face turned somewhat pale when he realised he had been matched with her. After all, the gap between both parties was far too great.
Thus, there was no suspense at all in this match. After a few exchanges, Su Youwei’s opponent had been completely defeated and he subsequently jumped off the stage.
After a few more rounds, Zhou Yuan’s turn came once again.
"Zhou Yuan, Shi Yu!"
When this shout rang out in the field, numerous gazes were instantly drawn over. The first match had ended way too quickly and many people did not understand how Zhou Yuan had won. Hence, they were extremely curious about this next match.
Zhou Yuan walked onto the arena unde the attention of numerous gazes. The boy called Shi Yu facing him had a rather well-built body. However, Shi Yu was currently full of vigilance as he stared at Zhou Yuan. It was evident that this second opponent had learnt a lesson from his predecessor.
"Begin!"
Shi Yu made his move the instant the judge’s shout was heard. "Three channels open!"
Following Shi Yu’s roar, Genesis Qi flooded into his body. His clothes flapped about, while light that could be seen with the naked eye swirled on the surface of his body. It was a rather imposing sight.
As he felt the explosion of power in his body, the wariness in his eyes receded substantially. Shi Yu tightly stared at Zhou Yuan and a split second later, the former’s foot pushed off the ground as he shot forward.
His body appeared in front of Zhou Yuan, five fingers curling like an eagle’s claw while Genesis Qi light flowed at his fingertips. The sharpness of this attack was enough to tear through rock.
Shi Yu’s attack was extremely swift and ferocious, reaching Zhou Yuan’s neck in the blink of an eye. However, just as it was about to land, Zhou Yuan’s feet suddenly inclined as his body turned blurry.
The hand-claw surrounded by wisps of Genesis Qi light slashed downwards, but what made Shi Yu’s pupils shrink was that his originally sure-hit attack had landed on empty air.
"Not good!" A chill rose in his heart.
However, a figure flashed before his eyes before he could pull back his hand and defend. Zhou Yuan rapidly closed-in, a slim palm penetrating Su Yu’s defences and lightly landed on his chest. The palm strike seemed to be a light blow, but it contained astonishing power.
Thump!
Shi Yu was barely able to direct Genesis Qi light to his chest in defence before he quickly felt an overbearing power pour onto his chest.
Shi Yu’s body was directly blown away by the power and his sorry figure landed on the arena.
He miserably steadied himself before hastily rolling away in hopes of avoiding Zhou Yuan’s follow-up attack. However, the moment his body stopped, Shi Yu saw a flash from the corner of his eyes as a figure closely followed him like a shadow, causing him to scared out of his skin.
However, before he could take any action, he felt a hand grab his forehead. Power surged at the center of the hand, causing his body to freeze, no longer daring to make any movements.
If that power was released, his head would be crushed.
"I admit defeat!" Cold sweat drenched Shi Yu’s body as he loudly shouted without the slightest hesitation.
Upon hearing Shi Yu concede, Zhou Yuan released his hand and his gaze swept around him. The surroundings of the arena were completely silent.
Everyone’s mouths were wide open having seen the swift and direct end to the match.
"Great!"
This silence lasted for a split second before countless cheers followed. The swiftness and ferocity Zhou Yuan had shown earlier paired with his almost phantom-like speed was truly stunning.
Was this still the prince that was rumored to have been unable to begin channel opening cultivation?
On the tall platform nearby, Qi Yue, Liu Xi and Lin Feng turned silent while their expressions fluctuated indeterminately.
Lin Feng slowly said, "Very fast!"
A serious look had finally appeared in his eyes.
As an observer, he was naturally able to clearly see that Shi Yu had lost because of Zhou Yuan’s speed. No matter how the former retreated at full speed, Zhou Yuan had followed behind like a shadow.
Liu Xi gritted her teeth as she angrily scolded Shi Yu, "What a useless piece of trash."
Qi Yue was expressionless. His hands slowly stroked the railings as he said in a voice void of any warmth, "The quality of his body is very high, practically able to match a four channel practitioner."
His tone turned much icier as he looked towards Lin Feng. "Three channel practitioners are no match for him. It seems that we can only rely on you."
Cold light flowed in Lin Feng’s eyes as he nodded. "Relax. He will not pass me. I will let him know just how powerful a true four channel practitioner is!"
On the viewing platform, shock was revealed on Chu Tianyang’s face as he mumbled to himself, "The quality of his body is comparable to a four channel practitioner, but the Genesis Qi undulations are not as strong as a four channel practitioner, strange..."
Zhou Yuan jumped off the stage. He could feel an additional trace of respect in the gazes that were cast at him from all around, respect not because of his status or identity, but because of the power he had displayed.
In a world where cultivation was the mainstream, even a prince like Zhou Yuan being unable to start channel opening cultivation would make others feel sympathy and pity for him.
Zhou Yuan did not like those gazes. That was why he had such a strong attachment to Genesis Qi cultivation.
Now, these feelings were no longer present in the gazes that were directed at him.
"So powerful." Su Youwei’s pretty face was filled with astonishment as she watched Zhou Yuan walk over. As a four channel opener, she could naturally tell how formidable his attacks had been on the arena. Especially that speed, even she did not dare to underestimate it.
Zhou Yuan chuckled before turning his head as he looked towards the tall platform nearby. Qi Yue’s gaze coincidentally met Zhou Yuan’s, both seeing the frostiness in each other’s eyes.
Qi Yue stared at Zhou Yuan in a cold and dark manner as his lips cracked open into a smile, revealing a set of sinisterly white teeth. Subsequently, he extended his hand and slid it across his throat, an action that was filled with provocation.
Zhou Yuan merely let out a laugh in response as he softly said to himself.
"Still so lively. Just wait and see how I will beat you to death in the class ranking exam at the end of the year..."