In the drizzling rain, before the cascading spray of the Flying Silk Waterfall, a youth and a maiden, both clad in green, danced their swords in the air.

The Yangwu Sword and the Qingye Sword clashed incessantly above.

The ringing of steel was sharp and clear—Clang, clang, clang—a sound that harmonized beautifully with the roar of the waterfall striking the rocks.

Amidst the symphony of clashing blades and splashing water, the green-clad youth and maiden darted and weaved with incredible speed.

Their movements were graceful and ethereal, the arcs of light from their swords rising and falling like the continuous, silken curtain of the waterfall itself.

And above it all, the full, bright moon.

Time slipped by, and the night deepened.

The evening shower had just ceased, and the moon, at some unknown moment, had ascended high over the western mountains. The distant peaks appeared even darker and more remote beneath its silvery gaze.

Yan'er shook the dampness from her robes and flew through the mountain forest, the evening breeze carrying the particular coolness unique to the aftermath of rain.

Lu Yuan walked the narrow path threading through the woods. He had finally grasped the Sword Intent of Rain—a significant achievement for this trip. As the hour was late, Junior Sister Liu Ye'er had already returned to her celestial abode in the Spirit Domain, and he, naturally, had to return to his own lodgings. He quickened his pace, a quiet sense of satisfaction warming his heart.

Progress in the Lieshu arts meant that advancing his swordsmanship to his current level was proving exceedingly difficult.

Turning past another thicket of trees, he spotted a cluster of pavilions in the distance. The dark, glazed tiles of these structures reflected the moonlight overhead.

Lu Yuan pulled the wine gourd from his waist and took a deep draught. To describe his current state in two words? Utterly—blissful.

“Sixth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother!” A shout echoed from behind him. Lu Yuan turned, scrutinizing the newcomer, finding a disciple in his mid-thirties who looked vaguely familiar. After a second look, he realized this was one of the ordinary disciples who usually trailed around Ye Fang. Such disciples often sought favor with the core True Disciples, for everyone knew that provided they didn't fall by the wayside, the futures of the True Disciples were boundless, affording them immense status within the sect. Every True Disciple was accompanied by a retinue of ordinary followers—except Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan barely had enough time to sleep, drink, and practice his sword forms; he certainly had no interest in cultivating a large following.

Lu Yuan stopped and stood his ground.

The ordinary disciple rushed up, gasping for breath. “Sixth Senior Brother, something terrible has happened! Our North Peak’s True Disciples… they got into a fight at the Taiji East Origin Gate with the True Disciples from the Qi Sect’s West Peak! The scale has blown up; even First and Second Senior Brother have joined the fray! Song Nanshan from their side is involved too. We are in grave danger.”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan froze.

The individual martial competition had concluded several days prior. In the ensuing days, the True Disciples had enjoyed rare leisure, wandering about. The famed scenic spots of East Peak were, naturally, the primary destinations: the Azure Dragon Pool, Sweet Dew Pond, Three Apple Cave, Pure Void Cave, Eight Views Palace, and the Taiji East Origin Gate, among others.

You go to these hotspots, and I go to these hotspots.

When everyone converges on the same locations, collisions are inevitable.

And the relationship between the Five Peaks of Mount Hua was hardly cordial. The Mount Hua Immortal Sect was divided into the Sword Sect (Gou Zong), the Qi Sect (Qi Zong), and the Sword-Qi Sect (Ke Qi Zong). True Disciples who grew up within these three branches—barring a few eccentrics—held vastly different ideologies. The Sword Sect believed swordsmanship was the ultimate path; the Qi Sect believed swordsmanship was unnecessary, that only mystic arts held true power; while the Sword-Qi Sect held that integrating both was the supreme way.

Disparate philosophies were one thing, but these True Disciples—most of them only around twenty years old, save for the top two—were naturally full of youthful fire.

Conflicting ideologies plus youthful impetuosity—what happens when they meet could be easily imagined.

Thus, over the past few days, countless skirmishes had erupted at these renowned scenic spots.

Regarding the conflicts among the True Disciples, the established Sword Immortals of the Ninth Generation from each peak generally turned a blind eye. They held little interest in interfering; a bit of sparring among the True Disciples was fine, as it helped hone their combat experience, which benefited their future. Of course, there was a caveat: they could not lose the fight. A victory brought no reprimand; a defeat guaranteed a dressing-down.

However, this current incident was different; it was a large-scale brawl.

Significantly larger than the usual affairs.

According to the ordinary disciple, all ten True Disciples of the Qi Sect’s West Peak had been deployed. On North Peak, all nine True Disciples—excluding Lu Yuan, who had been occupied cultivating the Rain Sword Intent—were present. A battle was raging near the Taiji East Origin Gate, and Lu Yuan knew he had to hurry. He broke into a run, moving with blurring speed.

Although he could fly now and could have soared there much faster than running, he was unfamiliar with East Peak and didn't know the location of the Taiji East Origin Gate. His only option was to let the ordinary disciple guide him. The two sprinted onward toward their destination.

As they ran, Lu Yuan questioned the disciple and learned the reason behind the massive confrontation.

It turned out that today, Yun Yi and a few other True Disciples were enjoying themselves at the Taiji East Origin Gate when they encountered several True Disciples from the Qi Sect’s West Peak. A trivial matter sparked a disagreement between the two groups. Given their differing philosophies and their youthful vigor, a fight broke out. The West Peak group lost the initial skirmish and subsequently went to call for reinforcements, causing the fight to escalate until nearly all the True Disciples from both peaks were engaged.

The Taiji East Origin Gate was a famous landmark on Mount Hua’s East Peak.

Built halfway up the mountain, it was not a site developed by East Peak itself. The Taiji East Origin Gate was a relic left behind over five thousand years ago. It was a gateway arch, entirely pale blue, inscribed with the four small seal script characters Taiji Dongyuan Men. According to scholarly texts left by the Mount Hua Immortal Sect, five millennia ago, a minor sect once existed on East Peak. This sect's cultivators were not particularly powerful, but they possessed a unique mastery of talismans. The archway bore some of the beautiful talismanic script they had etched there, which attracted many visitors over time.

Eventually, the place became a tourist attraction.

The archway stood perhaps five zhang high, supported by six pillars. The pillars were uniformly pale blue, carved with flowing, aesthetically pleasing talismanic patterns. Although time had eroded the completeness of some inscriptions, the structure remained quite captivating.

At this moment, however, the people gathered at the Taiji East Origin Gate paid no attention to the relic itself; their eyes were fixed entirely on the two clashing sides. There were quite a few onlookers enjoying the spectacle.

Initially, there were a few people from the other peaks besides North and West, but they had mostly departed when the fight between North and West escalated. As the True Disciples of North and West clashed, the crowd swelled, captivated by the sheer brilliance of the battle unfolding between the elite disciples.

The root cause of the fight between the True Disciples of North and West peaks needed no deep probing; it was inevitably down to trivial disputes, youthful passion, and conflicting ideologies. Such contests had occurred countless times throughout the five thousand years of Mount Hua Immortal Sect’s history—this was merely a repeat performance of the same old script.

Bang! Bang! Several muffled explosions sounded in quick succession. Yun Yi gasped for breath, kneeling on his right leg. He gripped his Zhongzheng Sword, his hand trembling slightly. Among the nine North Peak True Disciples, he was the only one left capable of fighting, and even his capacity was severely depleted. Before him, the clean-shaven Song Nanshan advanced with long, steady strides.

Yun Yi knew it. He was finished this time. He had been defeated badly. All the True Disciples of North Peak, save for Sixth Junior Brother, had fallen here. The West Peak Qi Sect disciples would not necessarily harm him, but this loss of face was absolute, and North Peak’s prestige would suffer a severe blow.

The defeat of a single True Disciple caused a minor loss of face for a renowned Sword Immortal.

But the defeat of nine True Disciples from one peak meant North Peak itself was disgraced.

Song Nanshan looked at Yun Yi and shook his head. The Tianzi Sword in his hand slashed out. Tian—Heaven, Zi—Noble.

The Tianzi Sword, the noble ear beneath the vast heavens, was unleashed. A surge of body-refining stage spiritual power infused the blade, slamming into Yun Yi’s Zhongzheng Sword with a sharp impact. Yun Yi was sent flying backward onto the stones near the Taiji East Origin Gate, and his Zhongzheng Sword clattered away.

Song Nanshan had lost to Lu Yuan in the individual competition, a fact that had deeply irritated the perpetually arrogant Song Nanshan. Now, having disabled all nine North Peak True Disciples, he felt a measure of his anger vented. As he watched a green-clad youth soar into the fray, Song Nanshan couldn't help but smile.

Excellent. He had initially thought he would only manage to dispose of the other nine North Peak True Disciples, but now Lu Yuan had arrived. He could deal with Lu Yuan as well.

Song Nanshan smiled faintly. In a one-on-one duel, he had lost to Lu Yuan—he had been slightly inferior that day. But he reminded himself that here, all ten True Disciples of West Peak were present. The combined strength of the ten West Peak True Disciples far surpassed that of the ten North Peak disciples. Defeating Lu Yuan with a ten-to-one advantage would be miraculous if he didn't win, and Song Nanshan could hardly be criticized for using such overwhelming numbers, especially since nine North Peak disciples lay defeated nearby, having simply lost the fight moments earlier.

As long as he vanquished all ten North Peak disciples here, he could reclaim the honor lost in the individual contest. Song Nanshan felt a flush of excitement, his heart pounding rapidly.

Observing the approaching green-clad youth, Song Nanshan shook his head. “You’re late. Only you remain on your side, while we still have all ten of us. If you had arrived earlier, ten against ten, we might have had a real fight…” He sounded genuinely regretful.

Lu Yuan arrived swiftly. He took in the situation at a glance and faced Song Nanshan’s taunt with an indifferent lift of his eyebrows. He replied calmly, “Oh, not too late. Even if those nine are neutralized, I can take on all ten of you myself…”

The words hung in the air, and the entire field instantly fell silent.