Chapter 2045: The Choice

"What's going on? Turning down Dan Yu Celestial twice isn't surprising, but why did they all go to Ye Yuan?"

"In previous years, everyone would be scrambling to become a disciple of a Paragon."

"Piao Yu Celestial defeated Dan Yu Celestial, yet they still didn't choose him?"

…

From the Celestial seats came a murmur of astonishment.

The actions of Luo Tianqi and Li Qing were truly baffling.

As for Dan Yu Celestial, his face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

When had he, the foremost figure of the Southern Domain, ever stooped to personally recruit disciples?

Today, he had spoken twice in a row, only to be rejected both times!

This time, he had truly lost face in front of everyone.

But what astonished them even more was yet to come.

The third!

The fourth!

…

All the way to the eighth, every single one chose Ye Yuan!

The Grandmasters could no longer sit still. As the ninth stepped forward, Lie Yang Celestial immediately spoke: "Zhou Yunhao, come to me, and I will impart all my knowledge."

Cheng Feng Celestial also spoke: "Zhou Yunhao, my disciples are now all formidable figures in their own right. Follow me, and you will surely rise to prominence in the future."

Besides these two, others also chimed in.

Zhou Yunhao stood there, his expression hesitant, but his gaze kept drifting toward Ye Yuan.

Everyone was secretly shocked—the Grandmaster Zhou Yunhao had his heart set on was clearly Ye Yuan.

What kind of magic did this Ye Yuan possess, that he could make these geniuses abandon Paragon-level experts to choose him?

Soon, aside from the two Paragons, all the other Grandmasters spoke up, offering heavy incentives to recruit Zhou Yunhao.

Only Ye Yuan remained silent, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Ye Yuan understood clearly: these assembly geniuses were acting this way because of Ning Siyu's stunning performance.

Anyone who wasn't a fool could see that Ye Yuan was an excellent teacher, far superior to those so-called Paragons.

After a brief hesitation, Zhou Yunhao still chose Ye Yuan.

This time, the Celestials were truly astonished.

Some Grandmasters had even swallowed their pride and made very heavy promises, yet Zhou Yunhao still chose Ye Yuan!

Next, the ninth!

The tenth!

…

The twentieth!

All of the top twenty in the Five-Star Group had chosen Ye Yuan.

The experts in the Grandmaster and Celestial seats were nearly popping their eyes out.

Such a scene had never occurred in any previous Cloud Alchemy Assembly.

After all, even with Dan Yu Celestial as a Paragon, many lower-ranked geniuses had enough self-awareness to know they wouldn't be chosen, so they opted for other Grandmasters.

But this time, all twenty had chosen Ye Yuan without exception!

The shock was too overwhelming.

Even Piao Yu Celestial looked at Ye Yuan in astonishment, his gaze full of confusion.

He wasn't jealous, just surprised.

After all, he had defeated the Southern Domain's foremost figure, Dan Yu Celestial, in front of everyone, yet not a single genius had chosen him.

"This… why is this happening?"

"Unfathomable! Truly unfathomable! Even if he's exceptionally talented, he's only a Six-Star Alchemy God, and his realm hasn't reached Paragon. Yet why hasn't a single person chosen the two Celestials, Dan Yu and Piao Yu?"

"Have these youngsters all lost their minds?"

…

Those Celestial experts could no longer contain their doubts and began discussing among themselves.

For these Seven-Star Alchemy Gods, taking on disciples was a trivial matter; the real event was the Summit Alchemy Meet.

As for the Cloud Alchemy Assembly, they only bothered to note which geniuses stood out.

How could they have imagined that the actions of these young geniuses were all because of a young girl?

The presiding Celestial was filled with shock; he had never encountered such a situation before.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his astonishment, and spoke again: "Next, Six-Star Group, Yun Yi."

From the Six-Star Group, Yun Yi slowly stepped forward.

Everyone knew the real highlight had arrived.

After all, no matter how strong the Five-Star Group was, they were still five-star and required a long time to nurture.

But the Six-Star Group was different; these geniuses were already formidable in their own right.

With proper training, their future advancement to Seven-Star Alchemy God was almost a certainty.

Even the Grandmasters perked up, ready to compete for them.

As for Yun Yi, they didn't bother to consider him.

He was Dan Yu Celestial's great-grandson; it was obvious he would choose Dan Yu, so no one else would waste their efforts.

"Yi'er, come here." Dan Yu Celestial spoke slowly.

As he spoke, he cast a proud glance at Ye Yuan.

A few five-star brats—so what?

He, Dan Yu, had Yun Yi as his great-grandson, and that was enough.

Yun Yi was his favorite descendant, with alchemy talent that far surpassed his peers.

Of course, excluding freaks like Ye Yuan.

But Yun Yi did not walk toward Dan Yu Celestial's projection; instead, he stood still, hesitating.

Dan Yu Celestial frowned, his voice deepening: "Yi'er?"

At that moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on Yun Yi.

At every Cloud Alchemy Assembly, the first-place winner of the Six-Star Group was the target of competition among major powers.

This time, because it was Yun Yi, everyone had remained silent.

But now, the situation seemed off!

Suddenly, Yun Yi took a deep breath, knelt directly before Dan Yu Celestial, and said: "Ancestor, forgive me. Yi'er wishes to become Ye Yuan's disciple. I hope the Ancestor will grant this!"

"What!"

Dan Yu Celestial shot to his feet, his eyes filled with disbelief.

It was one thing for others to choose Ye Yuan, but now even his own great-grandson had chosen Ye Yuan—how could he not be shocked?

Not only Dan Yu Celestial, but everyone was dumbfounded, staring at Yun Yi in disbelief.

Dan Yu Celestial's great-grandson had chosen his archrival Ye Yuan—how could they not be shocked?

"You… you unfilial wretch!" Dan Yu Celestial pointed at Yun Yi, his whole body trembling, clearly furious.

Yun Yi's expression was calm: "Ancestor, your descendant is unfilial. But I hope the Ancestor will understand my pursuit of the alchemy path."

With that, Yun Yi unhesitatingly walked toward Ye Yuan's projection and stood at the very front.

There was no mockery, no ridicule; Yun Yi's action stunned everyone.

With Yun Yi's move, the subsequent choices held no suspense.

The top twenty of both the Five-Star and Six-Star Groups, forty people in total, all stood before Ye Yuan's projection.

Before the projections of the other thirteen Grandmasters, there was not a single person.

The square fell into dead silence.

Everyone's gaze focused on Ye Yuan.

At that moment, Ye Yuan slowly rose, and under the gaze of all, he spoke slowly: "Siyu."

Ning Siyu was overjoyed; she quickly stepped forward and knelt directly before Ye Yuan.

"Master!"

Ye Yuan nodded slowly: "Over these thousand years, you have followed me in alchemy and attended to me. Today, I will formally accept you into my school as my disciple. Are you willing?"