The festivities of Saint Genesis Peak lasted for three whole days.

However, Zhou Yuan waved the white flag on the second day, and hid away in his cave dwelling. He had experienced several desperate battles one after another, and was tired both in body and mind, so he really no longer had the energy for another bout of wild celebrations.

Moreover, his attempt at unsealing the main peak would begin three days later, a matter which not only affected the future of the entire Saint Genesis Peak, but also the second Saint Rune he deeply yearned for.

Hence, he locked himself away on the second day to adjust his condition, in order to ensure he was at peak performance three days later.

…

The peaceful and cooling cave dwelling was lush with greenery.

Zhou Yuan had just completed his daily training, and had changed into a set of comfortable, loose-fitting robes. He sat in a stone pavilion, leisurely sipping on fragrant tea, as he admired the view before him.

It was the view of a flower garden, where hundreds of beautiful flowers vied for attention. At this current time, a slim and graceful girl with her hair pulled back into a bun, was wandering about in the garden as she tended to the many plants with a look of concentration.

Light sprinkled down from above, shining on her perfect face. The light made her skin glow, making it impossible for anyone to turn away.

This scene was even more enchanting than a hundred beautiful flowers.

Under Zhou Yuan’s admiring gaze, Yaoyao completed her inspection, before stretching her back, revealing her soul-stirring curves.

She leisurely walked out of the flower garden, and sat down in the stone pavilion. Upon realizing that Zhou Yuan’s gaze was still fixed on her, her eyes turned a little frosty.

Zhou Yuan immediately let out an awkward laugh as he withdrew his gaze, and hurriedly poured Yaoyao a cup of tea.

Yaoyao ignored him, and instead retrieved a letter from her sleeve and placed it on the table. “Shen Taiyuan sent someone to deliver this while you were training earlier. It seems to concern the Cangmang Continent.”

Zhou Yuan’s expression trembled faintly when he heard this. He had previously been informed that although the Cangxuan Sect could not directly interfere, they would help him observe the situation in the Cangmang Continent.

He speedily tore open the letter, before carefully reading it.

Moments later, Zhou Yuan breathed a small sigh of relief as he looked towards Yaoyao and said, “Over the past year, the Great Wu Empire has begun slowing their other campaigns, and are clearly turning attention towards the Great Zhou Empire.”

“It seems that king Wu has finally begun to take note of the Great Zhou Empire he had once forgotten.”

Yaoyao said, “You nearly killed Wu Huang, of course he no longer dares to neglect the Great Zhou Empire.”

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, “However, the Great Wu Empire is still being cautious. They’ve offended quite a number of top tier empires during their earlier campaigns, and do not dare to take action against the Great Zhou Empire till they are absolutely certain.”

“But it’s only a matter of time.”

Zhou Yuan let out a long, drawn-out sigh as his expression turned focused. “There’s isn’t much time left…”

Yaoyao slowly said with a tone of warning in her voice, “But you cannot rush things. Your progress is already very swift, and if you attempt to speed things up, your hardfought foundations will end up being destroyed by you instead.”

Zhou Yuan nodded. There was naturally no way he would be so short-sighted.

His fingers gently tapped the surface of the table and suddenly asked, “How strong are the Chosens of the Cangxuan Sect?”

Yaoyao shot a glance at. “Oh? Turning your sights to the Chosens so soon after becoming a chief disciple?”

“They’re the next step.” Zhou Yuan grinned. Though a chief disciple was strong, a Chosen was the true ultimate goal.

Yaoyao propped up her chin with a hand, making herself appear lazy as she said, “You’d better not think about Chosens for the time being. Even the tenth ranked Zhao Zhu is far beyond your capabilities.”

“So powerful?” Asked Zhou Yuan in a skeptical voice. His Genesis Qi cultivation was currently at the fifth layer, but his foundations were extremely strong, making him no weaker than ordinary eighth layer disciples.

When the power of his physical body was added into the mix, Zhou Yuan felt that he might be able to match even a ninth layer disciple.

Yaoyao slowly said, “The gap between the eighth and ninth layers is the biggest in the Alpha-Origin stage.”

“How many stars do you currently have in your Qi Dwelling?”

“Four thousand.” Replied Zhou Yuan.

“To have reached such a number at the fifth layer, your Genesis Qi foundations are indeed extraordinary.”

“But do you know how many stars ordinary ninth layer disciples have?”

She looked towards Zhou Yuan as she extended a single slender finger.

“Ten thousand.”

Zhou Yuan’s heart shook a little, somewhat shocked. Ordinary eighth layer disciples should only have about four thousand Genesis Qi stars, but a ninth layer actually reached the realm of ten thousand?

This did seem to be a rather large gap.

“Although Zhao Zhu is ranked last among the Chosens, the fact that he was able to become one is more than evidence of his outstanding talent. As such, his foundations will be stronger than ordinary disciples, which means that he will also have more Genesis Qi stars.” Yaoyao’s clear eyes looked towards Zhou Yuan. “That’s why your current chances against him are very slim.”

Zhou Yuan let out an awkward laugh. Only now did he truly understand why Yaoyao had stopped him from fighting Zhao Zhu the day before. It turned out to be because of the gap between them.

Yaoyao unhurriedly said, “Do not underestimate the Chosens of the Cangxuan Sect… the higher ranking few are much more powerful than you imagine. Do you really believe that they’re unable to step in to the Divine Dwelling stage after so many years of training?”

“What do you mean?” Zhou Yuan was a little taken aback.

“From what I can see, Chu Qing and the rest can choose to enter secluded cultivation and advance to the Divine Dwelling stage any time they wish to. They are merely unwilling.”

“But why?” Zhou Yuan was quite confused.

“Because they are proud individuals that refuse to have an ordinary breakthrough.” Yaoyao laughed softly, before she continued, “Elder Shen Taiyuan should be the one telling you this after you reach the ninth layer, but I can inform you about it in advance.”

“The Divine Dwelling stage is the evolution of the Qi Dwelling. The Divine Dwelling can contain more Genesis Qi, for instance, if your current Qi Dwelling is akin to a river, the Divine Dwelling will be the sea…”

“Do you recall the different grades of Qi Dwelling back when you opened yours? The Divine Dwelling is naturally the same…”

“The Divine Dwelling stage is also known as the Nine Heavens Divine Dwelling stage, but is usually simplified to Nine Divine Dwelling… because when the Qi Dwelling evolves, different changes would occur according to one’s Genesis Qi foundations.”

“When an ordinary person experiences a breakthrough, three heavens at most would form in the Divine Dwelling, which is called a Three Divine Dwelling.”

“The stronger one’s foundations, the more heavens would form during a breakthrough, with nine as the maximum!”

“Chu Qing and the rest have refused to advance, because they are continuously strengthening their foundations in hopes of evolving a higher grade Divine Dwelling.”

“Their goal is likely above the Six Divine Dwelling, the high class Divine Dwelling.”

“For this target, they have patiently accumulated Genesis Qi for many years.”

“Hence, the most important thing to do at the ninth layer Alpha-Origin stage is to accumulate more Genesis Qi and strengthen one’s foundations. However, when one reaches that level, one’s foundations would already be extremely sturdy and compact, making further strengthening it as difficult as ascending the heavens. Thus, one would also require a substantial amount of luck.”

Zhou Yuan’s expression slowly turned solemn. It seemed that he had severely underestimated the Chosens. It turns out that the reason why they had been unable to advance for many years, was not because they lacked the ability, but because they were purposely suppressing a breakthrough...

After so many years of accumulation, how solid would their foundations be now?

“Is a Nine Divine Dwelling very difficult to achieve?” Asked Zhou Yuan in a hesitant manner.

Yaoyao took a small sip of her tea, before she unhurriedly said, “In the history of the Cangxuan Sect, no more than three individuals have succeeded in attaining the Nine Divine Dwelling, while patriarch Cang Xuan was the first amongst them. So what do you think? Is it difficult?”

Zhou Yuan gasped a little. Only now did he truly feel the difficulty of the Nine Divine Dwelling. Even in such an old sect, only three out of the innumerable geniuses had been able to attain a Nine Divine Dwelling?

Exactly how crazy of a foundation did one require at the Alpha-Origin stage to achieve a Nine Divine Dwelling?

Looks like he still had a ways to go in the Alpha-Origin stage!

However, what he needed to do now was to first calm his heart, and prepare to unseal the main peak.

As Yaoyao gazed upon the now silently thinking Zhou Yuan, the corners of her mouth raised slightly. How could she not tell that he had become a little relaxed after winning the chief disciple seat.

Hence, it was time to give him a knock on the head to make him understand the gap between himself and the Chosens. Only then would he sincerely train with a clear mind.