King of Creation

Outside the Fish-Dragon Path, as one servant disciple after another emerged from the water, soaked to the skin and looking like drowned rats, the expressions of the crowd grew increasingly anticipatory.

Especially the outer disciples Ma Hun and Li Xuelong, who stared with wide eyes like fighting cocks, fixated on the waterhole of the Fish-Dragon Path, as if they wanted to stare Ye Zhen's figure out of that watery tunnel.

Because any servant disciple who fell into the Fish-Dragon Path could only crawl out through this waterhole.

Not far away, the gazes of several stewards from Chores Peak, especially the gaze of Manager Zhao from Hundred Pine Peak, were also tightly focused on this waterhole.

However, Manager Zhao's gaze was the exact opposite of Ma Hun's. He was actually dreading the appearance of Ye Zhen in that waterhole; he had placed great hopes on Ye Zhen, this dark horse.

From time to time, Manager Zhao's gaze would sweep toward the exit of the Fish-Dragon Path, hoping to see the figure of Ye Zhen. If a disciple succeeded in the challenge, they would emerge from the exit of the Fish-Dragon Path.

"I'm telling you, Old Zhao, there's no use looking. Even if you stare until your eyes bleed, Ye Zhen won't make it through the Fish-Dragon Path. With the Third Stage of Blood Training Cultivation, even if he has extraordinary talent, it's already difficult to pass the Fish-Dragon Path. Now with the reward of a Marrow Cleansing Pill at stake, there's a chance he might get sabotaged with a kick and it's game over.

Moreover, the first place hasn't even appeared yet. Staring at the exit of the Fish-Dragon Path, aren't you thinking that Ye Zhen could actually take first place? Let me tell you, your Hundred Pine Peak's performance this year is over..."

Suddenly, the steward who was speaking abruptly stopped, his mouth agape in astonishment as if he had swallowed a duck egg.

"He's out, he's out!" Manager Zhao cheered one moment, then abruptly froze, "First place, impossible, right?"

Ma Hun and Li Xuelong, who had been staring with eyes wide as fighting cocks, could not help but rub their eyes when they saw Ye Zhen, the first to walk out from the exit of the Fish-Dragon Path.

Silence!

As Ye Zhen emerged first from the exit of the Fish-Dragon Path, the gate suddenly fell into a deep silence. Many onlooking outer disciples gazed intently at Ye Zhen, as if trying to discern something.

"The first place winner of this year's Fish-Dragon Path, Ye Zhen!"

"The dark horse, hahaha, a surprise victory, a sweepstakes, the bookie wins it all!" After the Sect Steward in front of the Fish-Dragon Path confirmed Ye Zhen's ranking, Golden Yuanbao, who had earlier set up the betting pool, flipped onto the gambling table with a somersault, roaring with glee.

Conversely, the outer disciples who had placed bets were left feeling bitter, tearing up their betting slips in frustration.

The top three ranks of the Fish-Dragon Path were thus decisively confirmed. However, Wang Qi, who had been highly favored by many outer disciples for his innate divine power, even though he successfully passed the Fish-Dragon Path, only managed to rank ninth.

In the end, a total of three hundred and forty-seven servant disciples entered the Fish-Dragon Path, but only sixteen servant disciples successfully passed and became outer disciples, a staggeringly high elimination rate. Essentially, only those servant disciples with the strength of the Fourth Stage of Blood Training could possibly make it through the Fish-Dragon Path.

"Ye Zhen, this is your reward for placing first in the Fish-Dragon Path: one Marrow Cleansing Pill plus ten Blood Essence Pills. You can consume the Blood Essence Pills to increase your cultivation, but you need to wait until you break through to the Fourth Stage of Blood Training to use the Marrow Cleansing Pill for cleansing and refining your body."

The Qiyun Sect's way of handling matters was extremely swift and decisive; moreover, while the Fish-Dragon Path might be seen as an annual major event in the eyes of many servant disciples, to the higher-ups of the Qiyun Sect, it was as common as eating and drinking. Thus, the prizes were distributed on the spot by Steward Liu, who was in charge of the event.

To Ye Zhen's slight surprise, when Sect Steward Liu handed over the reward for first place in the Fish-Dragon Path to him, Ye Zhen noticed that many of the onlooking outer disciples envied him.

Clearly, these rewards were substantial even to the outer disciples.

"Brother, thanks a lot, ha," laughed Golden Yuanbao. True to his name, he looked a bit like a yuanbao [ingot], but his entire presence exuded shrewdness, and he was quite the familiar type.

Approaching Ye Zhen, he seized Ye Zhen's hand without caring whether Ye Zhen was willing, and his enthusiasm was as if Ye Zhen was a long-lost friend.

"Brother, don't worry about that Ma guy. As an outer disciple now, as long as you don't face him on the Martial Combat Platform, if you're not extremely unlucky during the end-of-year competition, he won't be able to do anything to you," Golden Yuanbao said, winking at Ma Hun who was glaring with grinding teeth in the distance.

"Brother, taking first place on the Fish-Dragon Path with Third Stage of Blood Training cultivation, impressive!"

"Brother...."

"Brother, you don't need the Marrow Cleansing Pill yet, so why don't you sell it to me?"

When Ye Zhen finally got a chance to speak, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. After all this fuss, it turned out that Golden Yuanbao was eyeing the Marrow Cleansing Pill in his hand.

Without a doubt, Ye Zhen refused Golden Yuanbao, but Golden Yuanbao didn't get annoyed. Instead, he patted Ye Zhen on the shoulder with a grin and said, "No worries if you don't sell, I understand." He made it seem as though Ye Zhen owed him for not selling it.

"Brother, remember me, Golden Yuanbao. If you lack anything or have any issues you can't solve, just come to me, I'll surely make you satisfied."

"Golden Yuanbao here, he's just a wheeler-dealer from Donglai Peak. If you want to trade something or are in need of anything, you could look him up. And you know what? Golden Yuanbao sure has his ways, even I have sought his help before," Manager Zhao said with a joyful face as Golden Yuanbao swaggered away.

"Heh, you little rascal have given me quite the surprise! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never believe you could clinch first place on the Fish-Dragon Path! Now, my Hundred Pine Peak is sure to get an exceptional rating!"

"Just luck, it's like a fisherman reaping an unexpected harvest," Ye Zhen said modestly as he recounted the events in the Fish-Dragon Path. Honestly, even though Ye Zhen was strong, facing Feng Haoran or Shi Tianjia, who had family martial skills, he wasn't confident he would definitely win against either of them.

"Before long, you'll realize that luck is also a part of strength!"

Manager Zhao began to reminisce, "Back in the day, all my fellow disciples who had luck on their side achieved more and went further than I did. Those of us without luck, like me, can only manage you kids."

In the distance, the Sect Steward who had been overseeing the Fish-Dragon Path was already urging Ye Zhen to come over.

Although Ye Zhen had successfully passed the Fish-Dragon Path and was about to become an Outer Disciple of Qiyun Sect, becoming an Outer Disciple wasn't a simple matter. There were still a ton of procedures to go through, including, it is said, paying respect to the Ancestral Master.

Being a servant disciple of Qiyun Sect was just a title. Remove the word 'disciple,' and that was their real status before. But becoming an Outer Disciple meant officially joining the Sect's ranks.

"Ye Zhen, go ahead. Becoming an Outer Disciple is a very serious matter."

"Ye Zhen, remember, after you finish all the procedures of becoming an Outer Disciple and the Sect Steward directs the new Outer Disciples to the Scripture Storage Tower to choose a Martial Arts Cultivation Technique, make an excuse and don't go for now. Come see me first," instructed Manager Zhao.

"Why?" Ye Zhen was somewhat startled.

Manager Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly: "Don't you trust me? Do you think I'd harm you?"

"How could I?" Amidst his astonishment, Ye Zhen nodded. "Thanks, Steward, for your guidance. I understand." After saying that, he strode towards the group of newly promoted Outer Disciples led by Sect Steward, including Feng Haoran.

"Sorry, looks like your reward offer wasn't enough!" Ye Zhen chuckled lightly as he walked past Ma Hun, infuriating Ma Hun to the point of gritting his teeth!

Youthful arrogance, enjoy first and deal with the consequences later, let the floods come as they may!

"Ye Zhen, you wait for me. Even if you've become an Outer Disciple, I'll still avenge my cousin. Just you wait and see!" Watching Ye Zhen's cheerful demeanor, Ma Hun, who had lost face because of the failed bounty, clenched his steel teeth in rage!

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PS: Had to step out for some errands, this is Old Pig's scheduled post. Considering the effort Old Pig goes through, brothers, how about you toss a few recommendation tickets my way!