The setting sun shifted through hues in the western mountains, boundless crimson clouds staining the peaks.

The clouds were in constant flux.

The fading sunlight cast a pale, golden dusk over the grove and flora of Changchun Residence. Lu Yuan stood precisely in the courtyard as the white-haired, white-bearded Li Yuanbai walked the grounds, hands clasped behind his back: “The setting sun is infinitely beautiful, yet it nears the dusk.” So much meaning held within a single line of poetry.

Lu Yuan remained silent; no utterance was required of him now.

At that moment, Li Yuanbai moved his hand, snatching the Chui Mu Ling Jian—the Lingering Dusk Sword—from inside the room and pulling it through the air. Lu Yuan thought to himself that this single feat was far beyond his current capability.

Li Yuanbai turned his gaze toward Lu Yuan: “Today, let us master and disciple cross swords, to see what fruit your two months of practice have borne, and what sword intent you have grasped.” Lu Yuan’s sword practice had always been solitary; he pursued his training independently, and Li Yuanbai never intervened, allowing Lu Yuan to develop according to his own nature. Lu Yuan thrived in this style of instruction; forcing him down a rigid path would truly ruin him. One could say that if Lu Yuan had been a disciple under Fang Ru, the Gentleman Swordsman, he would have been utterly wasted.

Of course, even with freedom in his development, an assessment of his progress was necessary.

As long as I can be his master for one more day, I will be that master.

Li Yuanbai sighed inwardly. In his entire life, he had known only one wife and one disciple. His wife had long since passed; only this disciple remained.

“You attack first. If you can force me to move a single step, consider your master defeated,” Li Yuanbai stated calmly. Though the sun was setting, he was, after all, one of the Six Sword Immortals of the North Peak, his power unfathomable.

“Good.” Lu Yuan nodded, and his Yang Wu Jian—Nourishing Sword—was unsheathed in a flash. The bright blade aimed directly at Li Yuanbai, starting with the move, Frenzy Across the Land.

Frenzy Across the Land was incomparably fierce.

This strike was a famously ferocious technique from the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud. After this attack, it was just like a raging storm sweeping through; it was not only fierce but also swift, sweeping toward Li Yuanbai.

Li Yuanbai moved his hand, flipping the Chui Mu Ling Jian in his grip in reverse to parry. It seemed that Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship showed no change compared to before.

“Cloud Approaches, Wind Disturbs.”

“Wind Passes Over Mountains and Rivers, Leaving No Trace.” With each successive sword move, Li Yuanbai grew increasingly perplexed. His disciple’s techniques seemed virtually unchanged from before. What exactly had his disciple been cultivating during these past two months? It was certainly worth examining.

Just then, Lu Yuan attacked again. The starting posture indicated the move Wind Cannot Be Pursued, the fastest strike in the One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud. Li Yuanbai remained unhurried; he was intimately familiar with the Wind and Cloud style, knowing at least five methods to counter this specific technique.

He casually chose one method to neutralize Lu Yuan’s Wind Cannot Be Pursued.

At that very instant, Li Yuanbai’s expression shifted.

In that moment, Lu Yuan’s sword speed doubled from what it had been. So fast—combined with the Wind Cannot Be Pursued technique, it reached an absolute zenith, a speed so extreme that Li Yuanbai nearly couldn't react.

Indeed, this was the moment Lu Yuan had been waiting for.

First, deploying other sword moves at his previous speed to lull Master Li Yuanbai into a sense of complacency. Then, suddenly unleashing his current peak sword speed while executing the fastest technique, Wind Cannot Be Pursued, in an attack at maximum velocity—this was Lu Yuan’s strategy.

Sword combat, too, required intellect.

Just then, Li Yuanbai moved his hand. His Chui Mu Ling Jian shifted at its quickest pace, and instantly, Lu Yuan felt his own sword speed being inexplicably slowed. Because the speed was diminished, his lightning-fast strike had its momentum seemingly reduced mid-air, losing its power.

“The Chui Mu Sword Intent, like the waning twilight, can slow an opponent’s movements,” Li Yuan stated. “However, to force me to use the Chui Mu Sword Intent, you are indeed quite exceptional.” Li Yuanbai felt a surge of emotion. This test of his disciple’s skill had unexpectedly compelled him to reveal the Chui Mu Sword Intent.

“It seems your training these past two months has been focused on increasing your sword speed twofold out of thin air. Very good.” The Chui Mu Ling Jian was already returned to its sheath. Since the disciple’s cultivation had been tested and the fruits of his secluded practice ascertained, there was no need to continue the spar.

Lu Yuan was also deep in thought.

When Master Li Yuanbai deployed the Chui Mu Sword Intent just now, his movements had become sluggish, and there was a perceptible dimming. If the Chui Mu Sword Intent were fully manifested, one would only sense an overwhelming darkness surrounding them, and movements would become excruciatingly slow. In contrast, if Sima Changbai unleashed his sword intent, it would likely erupt in blazing light, akin to the scorching mid-day sun.

It was no wonder that Sima Changbai stood in opposition to his master.

If his master were at full strength, and Sima Changbai were at full strength, their clash would surely be fascinating to witness.

“Oh, right. Senior Brother Yuan Yuan’s five-hundredth birthday celebration is in three days. I hear Cang Qi Sword Zhao Cangzhi from Lotus Peak on the West Peak of the Qi Sect has also arrived. He’ll likely cause trouble for me again when he gets here—you must be careful as well.”

“Yes.” Lu Yuan nodded, aware of some of his master’s past grievances.

For instance, his master had what amounted to half an enemy: Zhao Cangzhi, the Cang Qi Sword from the West Peak of the Qi Sect. It was rumored the conflict stemmed from the Master’s wife back in the day. The rumor claimed the wife was devastatingly beautiful, like a celestial maiden descended to earth, attracting countless suitors, among them Master Li Yuanbai and Zhao Cangzhi from the West Peak.

As the wife ultimately chose the Master and married into the Li family, Zhao Cangzhi harbored intense hatred toward the Master afterward. However, since they were technically from the same sect, he was only considered a half-enemy.

— — — — — — —

Speak of the devil, and they appear.

Scarcely had the Cang Qi Sword from the West Peak of the Qi Sect, Zhao Cangzhi, been mentioned, when he arrived at Changchun Residence to pay a visit. He was a man who looked rather aged, perhaps around fifty, dressed in a plain grey Daoist robe. As he walked, the surrounding vital energy stirred, indicating formidable cultivation—a testament to the Qi Sect’s mastery in channeling essence. The Qi Sect’s renowned nine generations of Sword Immortals might have varying degrees of swordsmanship, but their mastery over spiritual power was consistently impressive.

“I did not expect Senior Brother Li to have so little time left; it is truly a pity,” Zhao Cangzhi remarked, after a few polite exchanges, steering the conversation toward his own disciple, Zhao Nan. According to him, his apprentice Zhao Nan was the third true successor disciple of the West Peak, possessing exceptional spiritual power. His exact words were something to that effect.

“I hear Senior Brother Li’s disciple has always been rather idle and lazy, which is a shame. My disciple, Zhao Nan, is quite outstanding; he recently reached the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining.” The true successors of the Qi Sect were indeed impressive. While Ling Yuzhu, the third true successor disciple of the North Peak, was only at the early stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining, the third true successor of the West Peak had already attained the peak of the seventh level.

“My disciple truly wastes his talent; otherwise, he could have reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.”

In essence, the main thrust of the Cang Qi Sword Immortal Zhao Cangzhi’s conversation was this: his own current strength was superior, far better than Li Yuanbai’s, who was living on borrowed time.

His disciple, Zhao Nan, was exceptionally strong, a notable rising star of the West Peak, far surpassing Lu Yuan, whose reputation was built on being lazy.

Fundamentally, he was asserting that he was currently much stronger than Li Yuanbai.

Clearly, this Zhao Cangzhi had come specifically to gloat.

In truth, those who knew of Lu Yuan’s exceptional sword skills were limited to the North and South Peaks. Shi Chaoyang, the first true successor disciple of the East Peak, was aware, but he hadn't spread the word. The North Peak naturally kept the affairs of its own peak private, while the South Peak, being the Sword Sect, would certainly not leak intelligence to the West Peak of the Qi Sect.

Therefore, Zhao Cangzhi still believed that Lu Yuan was an utterly indolent fellow with no real strength.

And in Zhao Cangzhi’s mind, he surpassed Li Yuanbai; at least he was alive and well, with infinite possibilities ahead, whereas Li Yuanbai had, at most, two or three years left to live, perhaps even less.

His disciple, Zhao Nan, was a genius of the West Peak, reaching the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining at such an age, far outclassing Lu Yuan, who had always been infamous for his sloth.

Consequently, Zhao Cangzhi had arrived here in triumph to boast.

One should not fault Zhao Cangzhi for his pettiness; the pleasure of showing off before a rival from the past was simply too intoxicating.