How one should live their life—on this, perhaps many people hold differing views.

Some strive for peerless fame, for greater renown.

Some pursue grand endeavors, ambitious to forge a greater legacy.

Some seek absolute supremacy over the world.

And others dedicate themselves diligently to their sect.

Still others chase immortality, the pursuit of eternal life, extinguishing all sentimentality just to attain that elusive, ageless existence.

Then there are those who seek only pleasure, engaging in dual cultivation everywhere they go.

Everyone has their own way of living.

Everyone has their own pursuits.

People are inherently different from one another.

Lu Yuan was never an ambitious man. Renown across the realm, world-changing achievements, invincibility, sect continuation, sect development, eternal life, dual cultivation—all of these were irrelevant to him. He merely wished to be a lazy good-for-nothing nestled on the North Peak, drifting through life waiting for death, while sampling various delicacies along the way.

This was his hobby and interest.

If he had to name any true interest, it would be a considerable fascination with swordsmanship. This was an innate curiosity; sometimes he felt it would be quite interesting if one could integrate all things into the art of the sword.

One could say that if not for his Master’s dwindling lifespan and the pressure exerted by the lineage of Sima Changbai forcing their way to his doorstep, Lu Yuan would have remained unchanged, continuing to eat and wait for death. Even after cultivating Sword Intent and becoming the foremost swordsman of the North Peak’s tenth generation, he remained generally lethargic.

Like now, sitting with two good friends, sipping Wuliang Yellow Wine, savoring wind-cured roast chicken, smashed garlic white meat, salted duck, and smoked cured sausage—the taste was excellent. Such days were essentially what he pursued; such days were inherently comfortable. Perhaps he couldn't live forever, but he guaranteed he would live every day well, so even if he died of old age, he would have no regrets.

At this moment, Lu Yuan sat on the rooftop, enjoying fine wine and food, alternating between a sip of wine and a bite of dish—a true immortal would not trade this experience. Yet, at this very time, two stern-faced youths entered. The leader among these stern youths was both cold and mournful, as if everyone owed him a great deal of money. This person was precisely Wei Bei, the fourth true disciple of the South Peak.

The other individual was of average looks, with a slightly more feminine appearance, lacking even a beard, and he was Shen Luo, the fifth true disciple of the South Peak’s tenth generation.

As soon as Wei Bei and Shen Luo entered the courtyard, their gazes fixed upon Lu Yuan.

“Sixth Junior Brother is here.” Since they ranked fourth and fifth, they naturally addressed Lu Yuan as Junior Brother.

“So, what business do the two Senior Brothers have seeking me out?” Lu Yuan asked, raising his eyes, though his hand still held the wine bottle.

Wei Bei looked at Lu Yuan: “We have come this time to ask Sixth Junior Brother for guidance.”

“Precisely so,” Shen Luo added from the side. “However, we also know that since Sixth Junior Brother managed to defeat Yue Xiuluo, a one-on-one contest might not be something we can win. Therefore, we propose a two-against-one match to test Sixth Junior Brother and see exactly to what level his swordsmanship has reached.”

The reason why these two true disciples of the South Peak, Wei Bei and Shen Luo, initiated this challenge was quite simple: the arrogance of the Sword Sect.

The Sword Sect did indeed emphasize Qi cultivation, but relatively speaking, they placed more weight on sword practice. Within the Sword Sect, there were numerous different sword styles, and disciples could learn many powerful techniques, which tended to offer faster progress. Generally, in their youth, they appeared stronger than those from the Qi Sect or those who balanced both sword and Qi.

This accumulation over five thousand years fostered a certain arrogance within the Sword Sect.

This arrogance was built up over five millennia.

When they came for this training expedition to Donglu County, they had earlier heard they would be training alongside true disciples from the North Peak. At that time, they had all been laughing, saying they must severely humble the North Peak and make them understand that the Sword Sect was the strongest. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent the eighth true disciple, Gu Mi, to test the waters.

Initially, the true disciples of the South Peak were extremely conceited, believing that the South Peak would surely dominate and gain the upper hand during this expedition. However, the actual result was that due to Lu Yuan’s outstanding performance, the South Peak suffered a crushing defeat. This was very difficult for the South Peak true disciples to accept. Still, they presumed Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship must be exceptional, and a one-on-one fight would likely be unwinnable.

Therefore, Wei Bei and Shen Luo intended to challenge him two-on-one to gauge Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship.

Even though it was two against one, a victory achieved would still count as a win. Of course, behind this challenge, the figure of the ninth-generation Sword Immortal Gu Fei was not absent. Gu Fei had not witnessed Lu Yuan’s sword techniques firsthand, so he also wished to see what level Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship had attained, thus leading to this challenge.

Challenge

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned. A challenge sounded rather interesting. He had long wanted to witness the South Peak’s ultimate sect sword technique.

Every peak possessed its own ultimate sect technique and ultimate sect mental cultivation method.

For the North Peak, the ultimate sword technique was the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud, whose sword intent embodied the intent of Wind and the intent of Cloud.

As for the South Peak, their ultimate sword technique was the Thirteen Hundred Forms of Myriad Transformations, Cloud and Mist (Bai Bian Qian Huan Yun Wu Yi Qian San Bai Shi). This technique was the most complex among the five ultimate techniques of the Five Peaks of Mount Hua. Compared to the North Peak’s One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud, which involved only a hundred and eight forms, even if difficult to master, one could barely memorize and learn it given enough time—after all, the aptitude of every true disciple was not poor. Whether one could truly master it and grasp the sword intent was another matter entirely. Unfortunately for the South Peak's ultimate technique, it involved not just a hundred forms, but a total of thirteen hundred forms, earning it the reputation of Mount Hua’s most intricate swordsmanship.

This technique, Myriad Transformations, Cloud and Mist, was so difficult to master that very few true disciples could achieve it. Once mastered, its power was immense.

Lu Yuan had long heard of its fame and had been eager to spar against the South Peak’s ultimate technique. Hearing the challenge from Wei Bei and Shen Luo immediately filled him with joy: “Have you two mastered the Thirteen Hundred Forms of Myriad Transformations, Cloud and Mist?”

Wei Bei shook his head: “How could the Thirteen Hundred Forms of Myriad Transformations, Cloud and Mist be so easily mastered? I have mastered the Cloud Sword of Myriad Transformations, and Shen Luo here has mastered the Mist Sword of Thousand Illusions.”

Shen Luo nodded: “That is why the two of us wish to join forces to challenge you.”

This South Peak technique, the Thirteen Hundred Forms of Myriad Transformations, Cloud and Mist, was too complex; most true disciples could not master it. Eventually, an elder from the South Peak split this overwhelmingly complex technique into two separate sword styles: the Cloud Sword of Myriad Transformations and the Mist Sword of Thousand Illusions.

Once split, these sword styles became much easier to learn, and most true disciples could practice them. However, their power was also significantly reduced. But one had to admit that the ancestor who split them was truly talented, as these two resulting styles, the Cloud Sword of Myriad Transformations and the Mist Sword of Thousand Illusions, could also be combined. If a practitioner of the Cloud Sword of Myriad Transformations joined forces with a practitioner of the Mist Sword of Thousand Illusions, they could unleash about sixty to seventy percent of the power of the original Thirteen Hundred Forms of Myriad Transformations, Cloud and Mist.

No wonder Wei Bei and Shen Luo proposed a joint challenge. It turned out one had mastered the Cloud Sword of Myriad Transformations and the other the Mist Sword of Thousand Illusions. At this, Lu Yuan became even more excited. Even though he couldn't see the original Thirteen Hundred Forms of Myriad Transformations, Cloud and Mist, witnessing the combined technique of the Cloud Sword of Myriad Transformations and the Mist Sword of Thousand Illusions would still be quite worthwhile.

(Finally, the fifth update is done. I’ve finished writing this now, I’m so tired. Also asking for recommendation votes.)