The Moon Asura let out bursts of mocking laughter. Even without the assistance of the Earth Puppets, she was confident that her own strength alone surpassed Lu Yuan's by a significant margin. For this junior to now claim he could defeat her single-handedly was laughable in the extreme. As she sneered, the Moon Asura unleashed a torrent of attacks.

Lu Yuan merely smiled. It seemed the Moon Asura was still certain of her victory. Too bad the tides had turned.

Now, it was his turn to counter.

All the magical power in his body surged into his sword, the Yang Wu Sword, causing its light to blaze forth brilliantly.

A sword light, smooth as a sheet of autumn water, shone brighter than the surrounding torches.

The sword moved.

The move "Wind Flows, Clouds Scatter" was unleashed. This technique was one of the classic stances among the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud. Executed, it circled the opponent, significantly draining their magical energy, scattering it to the winds. Lu Yuan was exploiting a critical weakness: the Moon Asura had been fighting continuously, and her magical reserves were already thin. Of course, another major factor was her incessant summoning of Earth Puppets—she must have relied on them heavily during her earlier fight against the five great direct disciples. Summoning those puppets consumed substantial mana, and continuous battle had naturally depleted her significantly.

"Winds Rage, Clouds Chaos"—this sword light was intensely chaotic, and beneath it, the very environment of the battle began to descend into disorder.

"Wind Crosses Rivers and Mountains, Leaving No Trace"—this was a particularly perilous move of stealthy assassination. The wind sweeps over the land without leaving even a shadow.

"A Gentle Breeze Brushes the Face"—this strike allowed one to be afflicted before they were even aware.

...

"Wind Cannot Be Chased"—this stance was one of the fastest among the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud; the sword light manifested as a single, swift shadow in pursuit of the opponent.

"Clouds Roll and Unfurl"—this move was utterly natural, supremely elegant, and incredibly free-spirited.

Amidst these techniques, the Moon Asura unconsciously found herself trapped within the flow of the sword moves. Initially, she intended to use her left foot to control the Earth Puppets, but she found this impossible. The moment her foot sought contact with the ground, a chilling sword light would sweep past, preventing her foot from ever touching the earth. Gradually, she realized she was sinking into an even more terrifying predicament.

Without realizing it, the movements of her own body were now being dictated by the momentum of her enemy's sword.

It wasn't that the Moon Asura entirely lost control of her body; rather, if she attempted to move downward, a sword light would flash past. Unless she was willing to have her legs severed by the blade, she could not descend. If she tried to move left, a sword light sliced through that space; if she wished to preserve her life, she dared not evade to the left.

The Moon Asura discovered she was ensnared by the sword momentum, influenced by the sword intent, slowly finding her movements beyond her will.

She was, quite literally, becoming Lu Yuan's puppet.

She usually commanded the Earth Puppets, but this was the first time she had been controlled as a puppet.

At this juncture, the Moon Asura finally understood. Although her opponent was incredibly young, appearing not even twenty years of age, his swordsmanship had already achieved the state of Hua Jing (Great Accomplishment). Damn it, hadn't swordsmanship reaching Hua Jing traditionally required at least the Ninth Generation? When had a Tenth Generation master of Hua Jing swordsmanship appeared?

A sword in hand, complete control over the opponent.

This was precisely the sensation Lu Yuan was experiencing.

This was genuine control: with the sword in hand, he dictated the opponent’s actions, their life and death held entirely within the dominion of his sword momentum. The One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud were unleashed in succession. Indeed, a significant characteristic of these swords was the 'Cloud' element: the more intimately they entangled the opponent, the more the foe felt trapped within gathering storm clouds.

Of course, saying Lu Yuan was relaxed would be untrue. After all, the Moon Asura’s magical power was two minor realms higher than his, and this advantage held even with the opponent having expended considerable energy and lacking her ultimate secret techniques.

His original fighting style, where every strike aimed at exploiting the opponent’s flaws, should allow him to defeat an opponent one minor realm higher.

But this current style, using his own longsword to command the opponent’s movements, should allow him to overcome a deficit of two minor realms.

This, he realized, was his current limit.

Indeed, swordsmanship was immensely powerful, but it required corresponding magical strength to sustain it. If the mana was too weak, no matter how brilliant the swordsmanship, it offered limited utility.

Lu Yuan’s own mana was severely depleted at this moment, yet immersed in this transcendent state, the sword light flashed continuously, the sword traces danced wildly; even though his body was reaching its absolute limit, he barely registered the fatigue. And precisely because Lu Yuan was so deeply immersed in this state, he remained completely unaware that a senior Sword Immortal had arrived at the periphery.

The Flying Sword Chu Fei had arrived. He had sensed the disturbance the moment Ye Fang’s protective talisman activated, and immediately fused with his sword, flying here to render aid. As he unfused from his sword light state upon reaching the area, taking in the scene, the hand he had raised to stroke his beard froze mid-motion.

This...

Was he seeing correctly?

With the strength of a senior Sword Immortal like the Flying Sword Chu Fei, he had seen the situation clearly at a glance: the Moon Asura was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, while Lu Yuan was only at the peak of the sixth level. The difference in magical power was substantial. Yet, looking now, it was Lu Yuan who held the upper hand, suppressing the Moon Asura. How was this possible? This was the first shock.

Chu Fei stood behind him, hands clasped, and immediately noticed the Earth Puppets. Did the Moon Demon Sect’s leader, the Moon Asura, summon Earth Puppets? If so, why were they completely motionless now? Chu Fei found this strange. In the cultivation world, those who could summon living beings to aid in battle often possessed great power. Why wasn't the Moon Asura using her puppets now that she was being suppressed? Chu Fei, with his sharp vision and the clarity of an outsider observing, quickly noticed the Moon Asura’s left foot. Lu Yuan was persistently targeting her foot, preventing it from touching the ground; there must be some trickery involved there. However, this detail only deepened Chu Fei's astonishment: a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, with access to the subtle meridians, who could also summon Earth Puppets, was being suppressed by a junior disciple at the sixth level of Qi Refining. This was the second shock.

Filled with doubt, Chu Fei focused intently, wanting to study Lu Yuan's swordsmanship closely. He knew Lu Yuan had grasped Sword Intent, but even comprehending Sword Intent usually allowed one to defeat an opponent by at most one minor realm. Here, Lu Yuan was suppressing his foe by two minor realms.

Chu Fei watched, and the more he observed Lu Yuan's technique, the more astonished he became. Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship was, fundamentally, quite simple: centered on the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud, supplemented by seemingly haphazard, unsystematic strikes—random, scattered moves. Yet, it was precisely these simple forms, executed with such fluidity, that displayed devastating power. This, he realized, was the Complete Comprehension of Sword Intent.

Sword Intent levels were divided into Initial Grasp, Mid-Stage Comprehension, and Complete Comprehension.

Complete Comprehension!

Chu Fei was utterly aghast. He, Chu Fei himself, had only achieved Complete Comprehension of Sword Intent over a century ago, by which time he was already over a hundred years old. Now, Martial Nephew Lu Yuan had achieved Complete Comprehension before even turning twenty. Watching from the sidelines, Chu Fei was filled with awe.

This Martial Nephew Lu truly was...