“It seems that the situation is under control.”

Zhou Yuan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He then smiled and received Yi Qiushui’s report on the Fire Pavilion and the Mountain Pavilion.

It had been a huge operation this time. He might appear ruthless, but the truth was that he was still rather worried about how it would turn out. If there was too much objection or if the matter was escalated too far, it would most certainly cause problems for him. After all, the Heavenly Spirit Sect was currently quite unhappy with him.

Fortunately, the worst outcome did not occur. With his interference, Lu Xiao could no longer unify the Fire Pavilion, let alone pose any threat towards the chief pavilion master.

By the side, Yi Qiushui faintly nodded. Soon after, she asked, puzzled, “But there was no movement from Lu Xiao this time. Otherwise, our plan would not have gone so smoothly. Could he have been beaten scared by you?”

Zhou Yuan chuckled and said, “Lu Xiao is no cowardly weakling.”

He already had a faint inkling. The reason why Lu Xiao neither supported nor opposed him was likely because he had ultimately dissipated the nine-headed python bloodline in Lu Xiao’s body.

The nine-headed python bloodline had already merged with Lu Xiao’s body and would affect Lu Xiao’s mind in the future. In the worst-case scenario, Lu Xiao would become a mindless snake demon.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuan’s dragon resentment qi was a greater existence than the nine-headed python bloodline. Hence, although Lu Xiao had been seriously injured, he had found fortune in disaster and was saved from the aftereffects of the nine-headed python bloodline.

From a certain point of view, this was a huge debt.

Of course, it was impossible for Lu Xiao to express his gratitude to Zhou Yuan. Hence, he chose to neither support nor oppose Zhou Yuan’s plan.

If not for this, it would have been much more difficult for Zhou Yuan to divide the Fire Pavilion. After all, Lu Xiao’s years of influence in the Fire Pavilion would not be wiped away by a single loss.

“Qiushui, I’ll be troubling you to keep an eye on the four pavilions.” Zhou Yuan rose to his feet as he displayed a fawning smile to Yi Qiushui.

The first thing he did as chief pavilion master was to transfer Yi Qiushui from the Wind Pavilion to his side. After all, a chief pavilion master had far more work than a wind pavilion master. Without Yi Qiushui’s aid, his head would burst from being overwhelmed.

From his appearance, Yi Qiushui knew that he wanted to slack off again. Hence, she unhappily said, “What are you up to now?”

Zhou Yuan’s face turned bitter as he said, “Wasn’t I permitted to receive a little Saint technique from the Thousand Technique Hall? I was too busy for the past few days, but now that there’s finally some peace in the four pavilions, I should pay the place a quick visit.”

Since his reason was acceptable, Yi Qiushui could not find any fault with him. She could only snort softly and let him off this time.

Zhou Yuan hurriedly fled the room. Genesis Qi surged out, and his figure soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of light that swiftly flew towards the Thousand Technique Hall.

...

The Thousand Technique Hall was located in the core district of the Tianyuan Utopia. It was an important place that ordinary people were not allowed to approach.

However, with the token of authority given to him by Chi Jing, Zhou Yuan successfully arrived in front of the Thousand Technique Hall although patrolling guards had stopped him twice.

The only structure on the island was an enormous hall. An ancient melody seemed to echo within its walls, and no one could tell how long the hall had stood here.

Zhou Yuan landed on the platform and swept a glance at his surroundings, only for his heart to shiver slightly. He had sensed several extremely terrifying Genesis Rune boundaries embedded in the land and air around him. Even a Nascent Source stage expert would be trapped if caught.

“These boundaries were personally set up by our master.”

A familiar voice sounded. Zhou Yuan raised his head and saw a figure smiling at him. It was Chi Jing.

When she saw Zhou Yuan begin scanning the surroundings again, she waved her hand and said, “I’ve already spread out my domain. No one can listen in to our conversation.”

Zhou Yuan was somewhat startled and alarmed. He was not the least bit aware that he had fallen into Chi Jing’s domain. He could not help but sigh. The Law Domain was far too powerful. If Chi Jing had even the slightest ill intent, he would have vanished off the face of this land without any resistance.

Smiling, Zhou Yuan cast away his thoughts. “Senior sister Chi Jing.”

Chi Jing’s long legs strode forward as she smiled and said, “You’re quite capable. I can’t believe you’ve already begun to integrate the four pavilions.”

She had evidently been observing the four pavilions over the past few days. Zhou Yuan was her junior after all, and she did not want to see him pulled down from his position soon after attaining it.

However, Zhou Yuan’s methods had somewhat surprised her: threatening with a big stick in one hand while dangling a carrot from the other. He had swiftly subdued the Fire and Mountain Pavilions.

Zhou Yuan smiled modestly.

Chi Jing jokingly said, “Although you’ve defeated Lu Xiao, I did not expect you to be placed fourteenth on the Divine Dwelling List. Are you angered by such treatment?”

Zhou Yuan casually shook his head. “Rankings don’t mean much, and being a lower rank has its benefits too. If I encounter a strong opponent in the future, they might underestimate me.”

“You’re surprisingly open-minded.” Chi Jing faintly nodded in acknowledgment. Soon after, she sighed softly and said, “But this is not good news for our Tianyuan Region. That lass from the Xuanji Region is not tactful at all.”

She looked towards Zhou Yuan as she continued, “When you meet that lass from the Xuanji Region in the nine regions tournament, teach her a lesson on my behalf.”

Zhou Yuan was somewhat speechless. He knew that Chi Jing was referring to Jiu Gong, the cultivator ranked six on the Divine Dwelling List. But you’re a mighty Law Domain stage expert...why are you bickering with a Divine Dwelling stage practitioner?

“Has the date of the nine regions tournament been fixed?” asked Zhou Yuan.

“It’s already in discussion. There should be an outcome within two months.” Chi Jing glanced at Zhou Yuan and chuckled. “However, you should pray for a little more time. Otherwise, you won’t be able to stand out in the tournament given your current strength.

“You should know Lu Xiao’s previous ranking on the Divine Dwelling List. Hence, defeating him doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to vie with those top heaven prides.”

She wanted to ground Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan nodded. The recent changes in the Divine Dwelling List allowed him to understand his place. However, he was unafraid. The top rankers had already linked up all nine of their Divine Dwellings and had perfectly polished them, while he had only connected seven. Once he was done with the final two, he might not be any weaker than the top rankers.

“Isn’t that why I rushed over for my reward the moment I found the time?” Zhou Yuan grinned.

He already intended to begin studying the little Saint technique upon obtaining it, and if time permitted, he would also turn his focus towards the mountain spirit rune and forest spirit rune and focus on unblocking the final two Divine Dwellings.

Once he accomplished all of this, he would be more than confident of facing any Divine Dwelling List ranker.

Chi Jing nodded. “Our master personally constructed the Thousand Technique Hall long ago. These Genesis Rune boundaries are his handiwork.”

As she spoke, she turned around and began heading towards the grand and ancient hall in the distance.

“Follow me. All these years, clan leader Mu Li has overseen the Thousand Technique Hall, and you’ll have to go through her to select a little Saint technique…”

She tilted her head backwards to display a playful smile at Zhou Yuan as her voice rang out, “Hence, you have to make her happy. If she’s happy, you’ll get a good little Saint technique. After all, you should know that even little Saint techniques have different ranks.”