"No choice, the Asura heads are just piling up," Ye Yuan said, hoisting a severed head. Before descending into the Underworld, the two of them had assumed securing one or two Asura heads would suffice as a successful first trial. Ranking last among the Ten Core Disciples, they harbored no grand ambitions; their highest aspiration was to eventually secure a position among the Six Sword Immortals of the North Peak in a few centuries. For this inaugural Underworld trial, even one or two Asura heads would count as mission accomplished.

Yet, unexpectedly, their luck had soared this time. The sack slung over their backs was laden with three or four Asura heads. Asuras are inherently heavy, and even a single head carries considerable weight. Carrying three or four was deeply burdensome. A mere strong man would be exhausted, but fortunately, cultivators possess immense natural strength, rendering the weight a manageable inconvenience.

Ye Fang and Ye Yuan knew that this unexpected haul wasn't purely down to luck; they owed it entirely to Lu Yuan. If they hadn't been with him, they would have been eliminated from the trial long ago, forfeiting their qualification.

As for Lu Yuan’s own sack, it contained a full ten Asura heads, making it incredibly weighty. Fortunately, his own cultivation had already reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Condensation, meaning these heavy heads were nothing to him.

Ye Fang laughed heartily: "Sixth Junior Brother, this time we’re relying on you! When we get back to the surface world, I’ll treat you to drinks."

Ye Yuan nodded: "If you provide the wine, I’ll arrange a feast of delicacies."

With Ye Fang supplying the wine and Ye Yuan the food, Lu Yuan nodded, laughing joyfully: "Good, good! I’ll eat heartily then, absolutely no holding back."

Lu Yuan’s contribution to Ye Fang and Ye Yuan’s trial in this demonic Underworld was immense. The harvest of three or four Asura heads was secondary; more importantly, this experience helped Ye Fang and Ye Yuan grow accustomed to fighting within the Underworld, accustomed to battling the Asuras.

The teaching of Venerable Yuan Yuan, "The Raging Thunder Shakes, and the Serpent Transforms into a Dragon," held profound truth. This first trial allows Core Disciples to slowly acclimate to combat against the subterranean demons; this initial period is crucial. Succeeding here, building confidence, and mastering the combat rhythm sets the stage for rapid future growth.

Pass this hurdle, and one transforms into a dragon.

Fail this hurdle, and one devolves into a worm.

Whether one becomes a dragon or a worm is largely decided by this first trial.

And this was Ye Fang and Ye Yuan’s greatest gain.

When Ye Fang and Ye Yuan offered to treat Lu Yuan to fine wine and food upon returning, it felt worlds apart from what they had gained in reality. But first, neither Ye Fang nor Ye Yuan were the type to voice their gratitude; they preferred to keep it in their hearts, finding outward expression uncomfortable.

Secondly, friendship often functions on mutual support. If friends start meticulously calculating every favor, the bond dissolves.

A friend is a friend.

Back when Lu Yuan hadn't yet mastered Sword Intent, he often spent time with Ye Fang and Ye Yuan. The three of them had faced down numerous external threats together. Such a deep friendship couldn't be summarized in a few casual words.

If Ye Fang and Ye Yuan possessed the means to help Lu Yuan, they would undoubtedly do so.

This is friendship.

Where friends are present, even the pitch-black depths of the Underworld feel significantly more joyful.

——————

The three continued their trek through the Underworld, holding their torches aloft.

At this moment, Ye Fang exclaimed, "Eh, there’s a coded signal here." Lu Yuan leaned closer, and his expression instantly shifted slightly. It was a signal indicating nearby danger. Every Immortal Sect maintains its own unique set of codes capable of conveying layered meanings when necessary. Furthermore, the study of cryptography is a profoundly complex discipline, and where there are codes, there must be code-breaking. Over time, the codes used by the major Immortal Sects are constantly evolving. As Core Disciples destined to lead, they are naturally required to learn these systems; over the past eleven years, he had studied three different code sets.

The first two had already been discarded because someone managed to crack them.

It must be admitted that his aptitude for code-breaking had always been poor. He was naturally inclined toward laziness, interested only in swordsmanship, leaving his other studies decidedly mediocre. However, even with his limited grasp, he recognized this signal as a warning of nearby peril.

Almost immediately, Lu Yuan heard the faint sounds of a skirmish.

"Let's go," Lu Yuan leaped forward, with Ye Fang and Ye Yuan quickly following in pursuit.

When they arrived, they saw a fight had just concluded. A faint, pale-green barrier of talisman light was erected around a human figure. Despite its thin appearance, this pale-green light proved impenetrable to the attacks of the sixth-level Qi Condensation Asura.

"It must be the defensive talisman sent by Martial Uncle Chu Fei," Lu Yuan instantly assessed. He then spotted the young woman standing casually within the glowing shield—it was Third Senior Sister Ling Yuzhu. She had clearly activated the protective talisman, automatically signaling her disqualification from the trial.

"Looks like I was too late," Lu Yuan commented.

"Oh, it’s you, Sixth Junior Brother." Ling Yuzhu’s face showed a hint of regret. "Be careful. Your opponent is a sixth-level Qi Condensation Asura. Their attacks are incredibly fast, and they can use all four limbs as weapons; their attack sequences are bizarre and extremely difficult to handle." Ling Yuzhu herself had been forced to activate her defensive talisman within ten moves by this Asura. Without it, she likely would have been killed by this creature. Fearful that Lu Yuan might underestimate the sheer savagery, wild aggression, and phantom-like suddenness of the Asura’s attacks, she offered the warning.

"Understood," Lu Yuan shrugged, seemingly unconcerned by her caution. An opponent of this level was trivial. His Nourishing Self Sword flicked out of its sheath, the sword light slicing toward the Asura like a streak of pure clear water. The Asura, furious that it couldn't reach the blood-food trapped within the pale-green barrier, immediately let out a savage cry upon seeing three new meals approach. It instantly lunged toward Lu Yuan, eager to devour this human prey.

Lu Yuan now possessed extensive experience fighting Asuras of this caliber. There was no need to rush the victory; instead, he sought to test his fully realized Sword Intent. He unleashed his Longhong Sword, and within a dozen moves, he had forced the Asura completely into his sword-net. If the Asura tried to move upward, it could only move up; it dared not stray elsewhere.

If he willed the Asura to move right, it absolutely had no choice but to move right; even the angle of its movement was dictated by the control Lu Yuan exerted on his longsword.

Sword in hand, controlling the opponent.

This was the mastery of complete Sword Intent—truly exhilarating, far more satisfying than his previous technique of always aiming for the opponent’s weak points.

Lu Yuan fought with increasing pleasure, deploying moves spontaneously, without needing pre-set forms.

...

Meanwhile, Ling Yuzhu was utterly dumbfounded. When she faced this Asura, she was knocked into activating her defensive talisman within ten moves, acutely aware of the creature's terrifying speed, lethal power, and baffling attack angles that had left a lasting impression on her mind.

Yet now, Ling Yuzhu watched as the sixth-level Qi Condensation Asura, which she found so terrifyingly powerful, moved beneath Sixth Junior Brother’s sword as if it were a mere puppet, controlled by every twitch of his wrist. As a sword practitioner herself, Ling Yuzhu knew this must be the result of superior swordsmanship—but what level of terrifying swordsmanship was this?

Ling Yuzhu was left completely speechless.

As for Ye Fang and Ye Yuan, they were already accustomed to Lu Yuan’s supremely exquisite sword skills. In other words, they had been sufficiently shocked so many times that they were now desensitized. If they reacted with shock every time, their nerves would have snapped long ago. However, despite this, Ye Fang and Ye Yuan felt a strange urge to weep openly in their hearts.

After a long silence, Ling Yuzhu finally spoke: "Right, let me inform you—it seems that currently, within the Underworld, out of the eight Core Disciples from our North Peak, including myself, five have already been eliminated."

"And of the seven Core Disciples from the South Peak, only two have been eliminated so far. In this comparison, the North Peak is significantly lagging behind," Ling Yuzhu reminded them.

"Now, it rests on the three of you," she concluded. Although she said 'the three of you,' it was realistically up to Lu Yuan alone to retrieve the North Peak’s honor and prevent a crushing defeat.

The honor of the North Peak was the honor of them all.

The elite, focused cultivation system of the Huashan Immortal Sect instilled a profound sense of loyalty and unity among its elite disciples.

(This chapter required significant editing and deletions—two thousand characters were cut—which is why the update is a bit late.)