"Culture and Martial?"

Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered brightly after opening. At this very moment, he finally understood why Cang Yuan had said that the Heavenly Yuan Brush was both a Genesis Weapon and a Genesis Rune Brush.

It was due to this rune known as 'Culture and Martial' that bestowed two different forms to the Heavenly Yuan Brush.

"Martial form!"

Brush in hand, a thought flashed in Zhou Yuan's mind as he softly called out.

Buzz!

Intense light exploded from the Heavenly Yuan Brush. Next, Zhou Yuan's eyes were filled with amazement as he watched the foot-long brush in his hand suddenly start to grow.

In the short span of several breaths, a roughly five foot long thick black brush appeared in Zhou Yuan's hand. This black brush was almost as tall as Zhou Yuan and its mottled body faintly flickered in a glossy manner.

In particular, the soft snow-white hairs that were originally at the tip of the brush were now tightly packed together and flickered with cold light. At a glance, it seemed like the sharp tip of a spear.

"It's pretty heavy!"

Zhou Yuan gazed upon the rather enormous black brush in his hands. It was not light and even caused his arms to sink a little.

"I should test its power."

Zhou Yuan left the room and walked into a spacious courtyard. With a thought, the Heavenly Yuan Brush shook slightly as the surrounding Genesis Qi rippled and poured into the brush.

A Genesis Weapon was able to absorb Genesis Qi and release tremendous power.

As Genesis Qi poured into it, the brush gradually started to glow. In particular, light seemed to lengthen and shorten indeterminately on the brush tip made from snow-white hairs as if it was a sharp tip of a spear.

Zhou Yuan brandished the brush with both hands as if it was a heavy spear. He had never used such a strange weapon before and naturally appeared rather untrained. However, the force generated by the spear was not weak and was akin to a ferocious tiger as it swung about.

Ch!

The spear suddenly turned and ferociously thrust at a copper cauldron by the side. A clear and crisp sound was immediately heard. One would look over only to find that the tip of the brush had pierced the cauldron and exited from the opposite side.

"Not bad. It's sharp enough." Zhou Yuan's eyebrows raised slightly when he saw this. This level of sharpness would easily tear apart the body of a two channel practitioner.

"It should have barely reached the Normal mid tier Genesis Weapon level."

Zhou Yuan was rather pleased with this outcome. If he continued to nourish it by allowing the Heavenly Yuan Brush to absorb beast spirits, it would likely reach the Black tier pretty soon.

Zhou Yuan mumbled to himself, "It really is somewhat surprising for a brush to become a weapon. Although it is a brush, it is similar to a spear. I should learn some spear techniques in future."

His gaze now burned a little hotter as he stared at the Heavenly Yuan Brush. To think that the first rune had already caused such a transformation. Zhou Yuan wondered how formidable the brush would become when all nine ancient runes completely recovered.

Zhou Yuan waved the martial form Genesis Rune Brush until he was satisfied before a thought flashed in his mind. "Culture form!"

The tall as a human Heavenly Yuan Brush suddenly shrunk till it was a foot long and landed in Zhou Yuan's hand. The brush tip that was previously sharp enough to pierce metal also became soft, its brush hairs gently swaying back and forth.

With a gently flick of his fingertips, the Heavenly Yuan Brush nimble spun a single time in his hand as light emerged from the soft tip of the brush.

This form was called the Genesis Rune Brush and could be used to draw Genesis Runes.

"Such a magical Culture and Martial Genesis Rune." Zhou Yuan sighed in praise. Genesis Runes that were able to change the form of an object were certainly not ordinary. This 'Culture and Martial' rune was surely very high grade.

"Finally activated the first rune?"

While Zhou Yuan was excitedly changing between the two forms in the courtyard, a somewhat surprised voice was heard. Zhou Yuan raised his head and saw Yaoyao elegantly standing outside the courtyard, while a whimpering Tuntun closely followed at her feet.

"Yea, just a while ago." Zhou Yuan nodded. The Heavenly Yuan Brush turned into its culture form and landed in his hand as he somewhat eagerly said, "Big sis Yaoyao, I now have a Genesis Rune Brush. When will you teach me Genesis Runes?"

Yaoyao's steps were light as she slowly walked over. She stood before Zhou Yuan as a

snow-white hand was outstretched.

The corners of Zhou Yuan's mouth turned downwards when he saw this. He had no choice but to instruct a servant girl to bring over a jade bottle. "This is Red Tiger Liquor, an extremely strong alcohol that I stole from father's secret stash."

Yaoyao received the jade bottle and tipped back her head slightly, revealing her slender swan-like neck, as she took a small sip. Her pretty face immediately flushed red as her eyes sparkled. "Not bad, you did not skimp on me."

One could tell that she was very satisfied with the liquor Zhou Yuan had found.

Zhou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. Just as he was about to speak, he felt a tug a his clothes and lowered his head only to find Tuntun biting at his trousers, before it stuck out its tongue and extended a paw.

"You're the same as your owner!"

The corners of Zhou Yuan's eyes twitched as his cursed inside. However, he could only instruct a servant girl to bring over a plate of dried Genesis Beast meat and place it at his foot.

Only then did Tuntun release Zhou Yuan, perfectly satisfied as it lay down and gobbled up each piece of meat with a single gulp, its eyes narrowing in pleasure as it enjoyed the delicious dried Genesis Beast meat.

Zhou Yuan squatted and stroked Tuntun's soft fur as he gave it two forceful strokes. In response to this, Tuntun glanced at the former. It decided not to pay much attention to that disrespectful fellow on the grounds that he had brought it meat.

"Alright, I will teach you grade 1 Genesis Runes today."

After a few mouthfuls of Red Tiger Liquor, Yaoyao nodded in contentment before walking into the stone pavilion. Jade tablets for Genesis Rune practice had already been placed on the stone table within.

Yaoyao elegantly stood before the table and shot a glance at Zhou Yuan as she said, "I'll first write while you watch."

With a clench of her hand, a slender green Genesis Rune Brush appeared within it. This Genesis Rune Brush gave off a faint green glow and numerous runes of light seemed to flutter within the glow, making it appear extremely mystical.

Zhou Yuan's heart was a little moved by this sight. This Genesis Rune Brush of Yaoyao's was obviously not ordinary.

Yaoyao's pretty face immediately became serious as she held the brush. A distinct aura spread from her body as the brush tip gently landed on a jade tablet and began to move as she desired.

Zhou Yuan stood by the side and watched Yaoyao's gently moving hand as he could not help but praise in his heart. "Such a pretty hand."

Yaoyao's small, slim and slender hand seemed to be suffused with jade light. It was so pretty that one would find impossible to shift one's eyes away.

However, Zhou Yuan did not dare to pay too much attention to it, and his gaze very quickly shifted to the jade tablet.

Light immediate surfaced on the tablet the moment Yaoyao's final stroke was complete. A complicated rune seemed to have leapt onto the tablet as a tiger roar was faintly heard.

Yaoyao explained in an unenthusiastic voice, "This is known as the Tiger Roar Rune and is a grade 1 Genesis Rune. It can be inscribed on the throat and when activated, a tiger roar sound wave would erupt. If used at close-range, it may even stun the enemy."

"A sound wave type Genesis Rune?" Zhou Yuan was a little taken aback. This type of Genesis Rune was rather rare and could save one's life or even turn the tides of the battle if used at the opportune moment.

"Take a closer look. How many strokes are there in this Genesis Rune?" Said Yaoyao in a casual manner.

When Zhou Yuan heard this, he understood that Yaoyao wanted to test his foundations in Genesis Runes. After all, no matter how high grade a Genesis Rune was, it was still made from the combination of various strokes. The ability to identify and recognize these strokes was the fundamentals of learning Genesis Runes.

Zhou Yuan carefully observed the 'Tiger Roar Rune' on the jade tablet. A short period later, he slowly said, "I can see four hundred and thirty seven strokes."

Previously, when Zhou Yuan was studying elementary Genesis Runes, there would at most be approximately a hundred strokes. This grade 1 Genesis Rune had more than four times that amount.

Yaoyao nodded and said, "To be more precise, there are four hundred and forty eight strokes. However, the fact that you were able to see four hundred and thirty seven strokes is proof enough that your fundamentals are rather decent."

"In the following few days, you will practice copying this 'Tiger Roar Rune' and fully master this grade 1 Genesis Rune."

A surge of eagerness surfaced in Zhou Yuan's eyes when he heard this. If he was able to learn this grade 1 Genesis Rune, his strength would be greatly boosted.

Given how close the newcomer exam was, he needed to the strength of four channels to get into the top ten. Thus, he would take any chance he could to grow stronger.