Peerless Yan Cangtian. This was the consensus assessment given by the cultivators of the Jin Cultivation Realm to Yan Cangtian, the Sect Master of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect. Peerless! He truly deserved the title. He had single-handedly comprehended ninety-seven forms of Sword Intent, making him the foremost expert and grandmaster of the Great Jin Cultivation Realm. Even Dongfang Yao, the Lord of the Myriad Caves and Myriad Demons of the subterranean demonic world, had once been defeated by Yan Cangtian’s hand. The Mount Hua Immortal Sect's standing as the foremost among the Five Great Immortal Sects was owed entirely to the existence of this Peerless Yan Cangtian.

Yan Cangtian hailed from the East Peak, the Morning Sun Peak, being the eighth generation of that lineage. However, he had long since stepped away from the East Peak of the Sword Sect. The current master of the East Peak, Venerable Yuanyang, was his disciple. He no longer concerned himself with the affairs of the Five Peaks; essentially, Peerless Yan Cangtian managed nothing, merely holding the title of Sect Master of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect. He spent his time either in seclusion or wandering, yet merely holding the title was enough to intimidate all demons and petty villains.

Generally, Yan Cangtian commanded no other substantial force. But relying solely on his longsword—one man, one blade—he firmly held the position of Sect Master, and none dared to object.

Within the Mount Hua Immortal Sect, the East Peak held primary seniority.

This Five Peaks Grand Competition was being held on the East Peak.

The East Peak, Morning Sun Peak, possessed the Morning Sun Terrace at its summit. The very first ray of sunlight each day would touch the Terrace, and the very last ray of sunlight would linger there before vanishing. This is how it earned its name. Legend held that the founding ancestor of Mount Hua, the True Man Tongxiao, achieved enlightenment upon the Morning Sun Terrace, gazing upon the rosy hues of dawn, thereby comprehending the Supreme Great Method and subsequently establishing the Mount Hua Immortal Sect.

The tenth day of the eighth month: Auspicious for marriage and housewarming. This day was set for the Five Peaks Grand Competition.

Lu Yuan rose exceptionally early today. When he first got out of bed, a fine drizzle fell outside, and the sky was overcast. Still, such a day was welcome, as it was the height of summer; a grey, drizzly day like this offered a measure of coolness. Today was an important day.

The Five Peaks Grand Competition.

After a light breakfast of thin congee and side dishes, he set off with his Master toward the East Peak. Truthfully, the North Peak and East Peak were quite distant, but as cultivators, their pace was swift, and the journey wouldn't take long, which was why they hadn't gone earlier.

After finishing breakfast, he followed his Master straight toward the East Peak.

This must be his first trip to the East Peak. Before taking him as a disciple, his Master had been seriously injured and rarely ventured out, never visiting friends on the East Peak. As for Lu Yuan himself, he had always been quite indolent; why bother walking when he could be sleeping in the Longevity Residence? Thus, through a series of delays, he had genuinely never been to the East Peak—this was his first time.

His impression of the East Peak remained anchored to one point: the beautiful Junior Sister Liu there. He had virtually no other memories of it.

Following his Master this time, as he stepped onto the soil of the East Peak, he took in the surrounding scenery. Gigantic, towering pines, their dense foliage blocking the sun, lined the path, creating an atmosphere of deep serenity. Threading through the pine woods, above them formed a canopy of green shade, like umbrellas spread wide. Before his ears rose and fell the sounds of the wind sweeping through the pines, akin to the plucking of strings and blowing of pipes.

Ascending higher and higher, they finally reached the venue for this Five Peaks Grand Competition—the Immortal Palm Plain.

The East Peak was characterized by its precipitous dangers, with few level areas. But halfway up the mountain, there was an immense expanse of flat ground. This plain wasn't perfectly level, but rather resembled the impression left by a gigantic palm print. Legend claimed that a celestial being named the Giant Spirit Immortal could transform into a form tens of thousands of feet tall. While eradicating demons in the mortal realm, this deity struck Mount Hua’s East Peak with one palm, creating this flat space. This area was the East Peak’s Immortal Palm Plain.

Now, the Immortal Palm Plain was intensely crowded.

The contingents from the Five Peaks had mostly already arrived.

Looking over, the East side was occupied by the renowned Sword Immortals of the Five Peaks. Seated centrally was the East Peak Master, Venerable Yuanyang, flanked by Venerable Huifeng from the South Peak, Venerable Yuanyuan from the North Peak, Venerable Zixia from the West Peak, and Venerable Yuzhen from the Central Peak. Beside these five Venerables sat the notable Sword Immortals from each peak, including the Gentleman Sword Fang Ru, whose name was prominently listed. Lu Yuan recognized all the famous Sword Immortals from the North Peak, and perhaps half of those from the other peaks. Li Yuanbai’s position was naturally on the East side, seated with this group of famous Sword Immortals. Before leaving, Li Yuanbai had considered giving some instruction, but on second thought, realizing his disciple rarely needed much guidance, he said nothing.

Lu Yuan looked further. In the center stood a high platform, clearly the martial arena for this Five Peaks competition.

To the South sat a crowd of unfamiliar faces, people he barely recognized. This area was mostly populated by the relatively unknown elders from the Five Peaks. While the Five Peaks had numerous elders, only a handful were renowned; most lacked fame and modest in strength. The difference between a Ninth Generation Famous Sword Immortal and an ordinary elder was akin to the difference between a core disciple and a regular disciple.

Seated to the North were the core disciples from each peak. Compared to the elders, Lu Yuan recognized far more of the core disciples. Alright, he admitted, he had defeated many of them externally, which is why he knew them better. Lu Yuan glanced over and spotted the innocent-faced Liu Ye'er seated among them.

A feast for the eyes. Even if he lacked any specific intention, seeing such an innocent girl was certainly pleasing.

The West side, unsurprisingly, was reserved for the vast number of ordinary disciples. The Five Peaks Grand Competition naturally permitted disciples to observe from the sidelines, allowing the regular disciples to witness the strength of the core disciples and inspiring their own ambition.

The East, South, West, and North sides were filled with people, yet not a single external spectator was present.

Originally, the Five Peaks Grand Competition of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect was a massive event. As the foremost Immortal Sect in the Great Jin Kingdom, the current progress and potential of Mount Hua’s core disciples naturally drew immense attention from powerful factions and major forces. Many wished to attend as observers.

Regrettably, the Mount Hua Five Peaks Grand Competition never issued a single invitation, nor did it permit outsiders to witness the event. This left those outside Mount Hua agonizing with curiosity, unable to gain entry even though thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of visitors might have attended had the sect opened its doors.

Lu Yuan arrived and took a seat in the northern circle reserved for core disciples. There weren’t many seated there—only about forty or so in total. Lu Yuan settled down casually. A moment later, Liu Ye’er took a seat next to her elder brother, Liu Ming. Unfortunately, Liu Ming was seated right beside Lu Yuan, which meant Liu Ye’er ended up sitting right next to Lu Yuan.

What kind of luck was this, sitting beside Liu Ye’er again?

As Lu Yuan sat there, close enough to catch the faint, delicate fragrance wafting from Liu Ye’er’s side, he unscrewed his wine gourd and took a sip. At this moment, after exchanging a few words with his sister, Liu Ming turned to Lu Yuan: "Junior Brother Lu, it has been a while. The swordsmanship you displayed last time against Wanli Duxing Tian Zhong was astonishing. I am impressed, truly impressed…"

Lu Yuan smiled and replied, "Oh, nothing much, just average."

Beside them, Liu Ye’er finally noticed Lu Yuan: "Oh, you're that senior brother who likes to drink wine. That sword technique you used last time was really good; I can’t replicate it. Afterward, the martial uncles and elders said it was at the Sword Intent level, but I didn't quite understand what they meant." Liu Ye’er spoke with a light smile, the two dimples on her cheeks looking exquisite.

Both the term "Sword Intent level" and the sight of the innocent girl Liu Ye’er immediately drew attention. Indeed, as Liu Ming, Liu Ye’er, and Lu Yuan spoke, more than half the surrounding core disciples turned their gazes here. It was rather uncomfortable to have so many people watching just for saying a few sentences.

However, Liu Ming, Liu Ye’er, and Lu Yuan were not particularly close, so after chatting for a few moments, the conversation naturally died down.

Only Liu Ye’er continued to watch Lu Yuan drink. She was genuinely curious whether the wine Lu Yuan was drinking today would be sweet. After tasting the sweet wine at the Cloud Mist Palace last time, she had tried drinking several times back on the East Peak, but found all those wines to be extremely bitter and utterly unpleasant.

So, she began to wonder if the wines on the North Peak were sweet, and the wines on the East Peak were bitter.

If people knew her inner thoughts, they would likely be amused to the point of tears; one had to admit, this absentminded girl was truly scattered.

The other core disciples began to chat among themselves. Their main topics revolved around who would win first place in the individual competition this time, and which peak would claim victory in the team competition. For the team contest, most held the view that the winner would emerge from among the East, South, and West Peaks, as these three were the strongest; the other two peaks were considerably weaker. No one believed the North Peak or Central Peak stood any chance whatsoever.

As for the individual competition's top spot, after much discussion, most pointed to the top core disciple of the Qi Sect’s West Peak. After all, Song Nanshan had reached the Body Tempering stage of cultivation, possessing a boundless reservoir of magic power befitting that realm. Of course, there was also the possibility of Shi Chaoyang, the top core disciple of the East Peak; Mo Qianbian, the top core disciple of the South Peak; and Lu Yuan, the sixth core disciple of the North Peak.

That’s right. In the eyes of the core disciples from other peaks, Lu Yuan was merely a potential winner of the individual contest. In reality, Lu Yuan rarely fought publicly, and his true strength was only clearly known to the Ninth Generation Famous Sword Immortals of the North Peak, and those who had fought him and despaired. Others didn't grasp the full extent of it.

In comparison, Song Nanshan, having reached the Body Tempering stage, appeared even more formidable.

Such were the thoughts of the core disciples. They held great confidence in their respective lineages and paid little heed to the Jianqi Sect’s intermediate peaks, which felt like a buffer zone.

Naturally, they could not have known that Lu Yuan had also reached the Body Tempering stage.

This was the first day of the Five Peaks Grand Competition; the first day was for everyone to familiarize themselves with each other, with no rush to begin the actual events. The true competition would commence tomorrow. Lu Yuan sat there, listening to the chatter of the core disciples from various peaks, unconcerned, taking pull after pull from his wine gourd.

While the other core disciples engaged in heated discussions, Lu Yuan, without realizing it, simply drifted off to sleep.