Tian Zhong, who traveled alone under the moniker Wanli Duxing (Ten Thousand Miles Solitary Traveler), possessed the corresponding movement technique and boundless courage. Incredibly experienced in combat, he harbored a penchant for pilfering all manner of flying swords. Having once escaped confrontation with a Body Tempering stage cultivator while only at the Qi Refining stage, he was already quite famous among rogue cultivators at his level, to the point where claiming him invincible at the Qi Refining stage might not be entirely accurate, but it certainly wasn't far off.

This time, Wanli Duxing Tian Zhong had intended only to steal a sword and depart quickly, but an unexpected discovery drew the siege of so many Huashan disciples. Undaunted, Tian Zhong’s short sword flashed repeatedly. He wielded a sword art called the Feisha Zoushi (Flying Sand Drifting Stone Sword Technique), whose greatest characteristic was its peerless speed. Never mind Sword Intent; he would simply cleave down with a single strike, putting his maximum speed into the attack.

“When this Lord comes, I come; when I leave, I leave! What can you lot possibly do to me?” Tian Zhong roared with laughter. He had already cleaved through the encirclement of eight core disciples—the true heirs from the East, South, West, and Central Peaks—and shattered the sword momentum of Elder Wu from the North Peak. Spotting a youth in green blocking his path, he attacked without a second thought, unleashing a powerful slash.

His method of swordplay was rather peculiar; he rarely stabbed, preferring to cleave. In his estimation, this youth in green was merely an ordinary true heir. In the current Huashan Immortal Sect, only the top two or three true heirs from the Five Peaks possessed respectable strength; the rest of the true heirs were frankly lacking in Tian Zhong’s eyes. Of course, this was also because the true heirs of each peak were still too young, having not yet fully matured.

Tian Zhong’s sword descended.

At that precise moment, Lu Yuan made a subtle shift, guiding his Yangwu Sword to meet the incoming attack. Facing an opponent whose sword momentum was extremely fast, Lu Yuan opted for an extreme slowness. The move, Yunyi Mianmian (Clouds of Intent, Continuous), was deployed, drawing Tian Zhong’s rapid assault into his own slow-moving technique. If the opponent was fast, he would be made slow—this was the very essence of Cloud-style swordsmanship.

Tian Zhong unleashed his swift strike, only to be blocked by Lu Yuan, causing him to express mild surprise.

However, at that moment, he still regarded it as nothing more than a minor anomaly.

Tian Zhong immediately deployed the Feisha (Flying Sand) move from his Feisha Zoushi technique, which erupted like a sudden gale. If this move failed to cleave through the green-robed youth, then something truly strange was afoot. To his immediate surprise, Tian Zhong discovered that this sudden gale had also been thwarted. He instantly sensed something was amiss.

This green-robed youth’s swordplay appeared formidable. Tian Zhong dared not be careless any longer, escalating the speed of his Feisha Zoushi technique, each successive move faster than the last. Once fully unleashed, the Feisha Zoushi Sword Technique moved like a raging storm and lightning, its speed unparalleled.

Tian Zhong had fully expected that once he deployed his signature Feisha Zoushi technique, his opponent would have no recourse but to evade.

But Tian Zhong quickly realized his assumption was mistaken.

His opponent moved neither hastily nor slowly. First, he deployed a few casual strikes, pointing directly at Tian Zhong’s openings, forcing Tian Zhong’s swordplay, which was already at its absolute limit of speed, to decelerate.

This was only the beginning; what followed was even more bizarre. Tian Zhong observed that the opponent’s moves seemed remarkably simple, yet under the cover of these simple techniques, his own lightning-fast Feisha Zoushi Sword Technique was involuntarily being dragged into a slower rhythm.

Tian Zhong, whose moniker was Wanli Duxing, truly lived up to his name when it came to retreat; he would never linger for even a moment.

Seeing that Lu Yuan’s swordplay was strange and difficult to counter, he marvelled inwardly, but his feet were swift. He prepared to slip away. However, just as Tian Zhong was about to bolt, he suddenly gasped. He found himself unable to break free of Lu Yuan’s circle of swords. The moment his foot attempted to step outside the perimeter defined by Lu Yuan’s blade, it was met with the immediate threat of being severed.

A long sword measuring three feet and three inches. A circular boundary of three feet and three inches. This felt like a domain. Within this domain of the sword, any foot that dared to step out risked being cut off; any hand that reached out risked being severed. Such swordsmanship.

Tian Zhong realized with alarm that he had held a clear advantage against the eight core disciples previously, easily shattering their combined siege. How, then, was he now trapped by a single core disciple like Lu Yuan? Tian Zhong secretly cursed, thinking he had truly capsized in a ditch, but this green-robed youth’s swordsmanship was simply too formidable.

...

In truth, it wasn't just Tian Zhong. The core disciples watching nearby—Liu Ming and Liu Ye’er from the East Peak, Wei Bei and Shen Luo from the South Peak, Zhao Nan and another disciple from the West Peak, and the two disciples from the Central Peak—along with the Elders of the Five Peaks, were all gaping in utter astonishment.

The eight core disciples, eight against one, could not subdue Tian Zhong, who had handled them with apparent ease.

Yet now, Lu Yuan, facing Tian Zhong alone, was suppressing him to such an extent.

Every core disciple could clearly see that Tian Zhong had lost his will to fight. He wanted to flee, but within Lu Yuan’s profoundly strange sword circle, escape was utterly impossible. He wanted to run but couldn't; his lauded ultimate skill, the Wanli Duxing movement technique, was proving completely useless.

Illuminated by the bright lamps, Lu Yuan continued his duel with Tian Zhong.

Wanli Duxing Tian Zhong’s current appearance was utterly wretched, entirely stripped of his solitary traveler demeanor by the bizarre sword circle generated by Lu Yuan’s Yangwu Sword.

...

Meanwhile, several renowned Sword Immortals who had rushed over from the outer gate of the Huashan Immortal Sect stood frozen, watching Lu Yuan fight Tian Zhong alone. These famed Sword Immortals had hurried over, fearing harm might come to the core disciples, only to arrive at the exact moment Lu Yuan engaged Tian Zhong solo.

Initially, the Sword Immortals found the scene odd—how could a core disciple like Lu Yuan be fighting Tian Zhong, such a notorious sword thief, one-on-one? As they focused their gaze, the expressions of these renowned Sword Immortals turned grave. Within Lu Yuan’s sword forms, the faint, hazy essence of—Intent—could be perceived.

Sword Intent! This can’t be real, he actually comprehended Sword Intent!

These renowned Ninth Generation Sword Immortals, most of whom had only grasped Sword Intent around the age of one hundred, found this revelation hard to accept initially. Thus, they observed with intense scrutiny. As they watched, they finally confirmed it: Lu Yuan had indeed attained Sword Intent.

Wind Sword Intent and Cloud Sword Intent. Truly remarkable.

Even merely letting these famous Ninth Generation Sword Immortals know that Lu Yuan possessed Sword Intent caused their complexions to shift slightly. If they were to learn that Lu Yuan had even elevated his Wind Sword Intent to a state surpassing mere Intent, these seasoned Sword Immortals would likely be utterly shocked.

——————

The subsequent events unfolded without incident. Wanli Duxing Tian Zhong was clearly no match for Lu Yuan and was eventually subdued. Since Lu Yuan was the one who captured him, Elder Wu escorted Tian Zhong to the Northern Peak Celestial Prison. It was late at night; after a day of strenuous activity combined with Tian Zhong’s disturbance, everyone was exhausted and naturally retreated to their tents to rest.

The darkness outside the Huashan Immortal Sect's outer gate slowly returned to the quietude that existed before Wanli Duxing Tian Zhong’s arrival. Yet, within the various encampments, hushed whispers persisted, secretly discussing just how powerful Lu Yuan was. The core disciples were astounded; the Elders were astonished; even the people who had come to seek refuge with the Huashan Immortal Sect were amazed.

Eventually, however, these murmurs gradually faded to almost nothing.

The tranquil night finally descended.

Deep into the night, the breathing sounds from the tents grew lower and steadier. The sound of wind rustling the leaves in the forest outside the tents, the rush of water scouring the stones, and the occasional chirps of various insects were all audible in the profound stillness. The moon hung suspended in the clouds as if frozen. In such a quiet night, even the hiss of a meteor falling through the sky could be clearly heard as it streaked by.

The area outside the outer gate of the Huashan Immortal Sect had become truly silent. Meanwhile, news was spreading across several peaks within the Huashan Five Peaks. The South Peak was relatively unperturbed; after their trials in Donglu County, the renowned Sword Immortals of the South Peak had already learned that Lu Yuan had achieved the Sword Intent level. The Ninth Generation Sword Immortals of the East Peak, having been reminded by the first true heir, Shi Chaoyang, could also accept the news of Lu Yuan achieving Sword Intent. However, the renowned Sword Immortals of both the South and East Peaks found themselves simultaneously amused and exasperated. These two peaks were known as the Sword Sects, famed for their mastery of sword techniques, holding a far greater reputation in the Way of the Sword than the Qi Condensation Sect of the North Peak.

And yet, the first to achieve Sword Intent among the Tenth Generation true heirs was not a disciple from the Sword Sects, but a disciple from the North Peak of the Qi Condensation Sect! How could they stomach this?

...

Now, the Central Peak and West Peak of the Qi Sect—peaks that previously knew nothing of Lu Yuan achieving Sword Intent—were suddenly rocked by the news: the Sixth True Heir of the North Peak, Lu Yuan, had suppressed Tian Zhong and attained the Sword Intent level. This was terrifyingly fast.

How young was he? How could he have reached the Sword Intent level so quickly? This had to be a joke! But clearly, the renowned Sword Immortals of every peak knew their intelligence networks didn't joke around; they had no choice but to accept the reality. The Qi Condensation Sect had produced someone so astonishingly skilled in the Way of the Sword; the Sword Sects were likely facing doom. Amidst their shock, the renowned Sword Immortals of the Qi Sect suddenly remembered something to mock the Sword Sects about. By all normal reasoning, the first person to reach the Sword Intent level should have emerged from the Sword Sects. Instead, it appeared in the North Peak of the Qi Condensation Sect. Now they had a reason to ridicule the Sword Sects.

The most frustrated among the renowned Sword Immortals in the two Qi Sect peaks was Zhao Cangzhi, the Azure Qi Sword. Pity him! He had once been a romantic rival to Li Yuanbai, only to have his dream woman stolen away by him, leaving him deeply hurt. However, with Li Yuanbai’s lifespan nearing its end, Zhao Cangzhi could finally triumph over him in longevity.

He had barely started feeling proud of this when news arrived that his own disciple had been defeated by Lu Yuan. The anger he felt at that moment was immense!

Then, the news arrived again: Lu Yuan had actually mastered Sword Intent!

This time, Zhao Cangzhi felt like spitting blood. He just wanted to surpass his old rival, Li Yuanbai, even once—why was it always so difficult?

His former dream girl was taken by Li Yuanbai, and now his disciple was inferior to Li Yuanbai’s disciple.

Could it be that I, Zhao Cangzhi, will never be better than Li Yuanbai in this lifetime? (It seems many readers disagree with Liu Ye’er being the heroine. The heroine issue remains unresolved; the protagonist continues his solitary journey with only his sword. Incidentally, today should be a triple update, so prepare your subscriptions, monthly tickets, and rewards.)V