A streak of sword light. It was a sword light of extreme cold. This streak of light appeared like the wind.

All dazzling radiance was contained within that single strike. Du Hui lay on the ground, staring blankly at the earth. He genuinely hadn't expected to be defeated so quickly, defeated by just one move, just one parry.

Now, his mind was entirely consumed by the image of the young man in green robes’ single strike; that sword move kept flashing behind his eyes. To this moment, Du Hui remained on the cold ground, replaying the previous strike. That strike was truly too profound, forcing Du Hui to endlessly revisit the memory.

A wry smile touched the corner of Du Hui’s lips. This was a joke—a person ranked 180th? Was this some kind of jest?

This ranking of 180th was truly the pits. Du Hui’s luck had always been terrible, the sort born of innate misfortune. He had initially thought that entering the Tenth Cabin competition and immediately encountering someone ranked 180th was a stroke of luck, a gain.

But it turned out that this person, whom he expected to be able to snatch a Five Immortals Token from, had defeated him with a single sword strike, and it was Du Hui’s own Five Immortals Token that was taken. Du Hui lay on the ground for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh. Forget it, forget it.

There were still fourteen and a half days left; he could still seize tokens from others. If his luck remained this poor for the next ten days, it would be better to simply change his name, as Du Hui was too unlucky—just thinking about his history of bad luck made him want to weep. Flipping the Five Immortals Token, slightly smaller than his palm and engraved with the words "Five Immortals," Lu Yuan toyed with it.

This must have been forged from some special refined iron. What great luck to obtain a token just by entering the Tenth Cabin competition. Excellent luck.

Next, he would continue searching for others. Of course, the newcomer ranked 80th he just faced was far below his actual strength, and because of his carelessness, he was finished in one strike. If the opponent had been serious, he might have withstood a few more moves, but regardless, he was absolutely no match.

For the upcoming opponents, there were basically no others who could fight him to a draw. Therefore, the majority of the subsequent battles would not be overly difficult. It might as well be an opportunity to practice his swordsmanship in this environment.

Since he had been wanting to master the Sword Intent of the Curtain, this pitch-dark setting was perfect for it. Lu Yuan picked up his wine gourd and took a drink, slightly quenching his thirst. He was still on the path within the dark mountain belly.

In the faint, dim light, scenes of swords clashing occasionally appeared, punctuated by the sound of steel meeting steel. "Hero’s Curtain"—when this move was unleashed, it carried a profound sense of desolate resignation. What an exquisite move.

This was the only thought currently in Lu Yuan’s opponent's mind. Lu Yuan’s opponent was a cultivator at the Ninth Heaven of Qi Refining, quite formidable, having ranked twenty-first in the Ninth Branch’s newcomer trials, possessing astonishing strength. This time, due to the scattering, he had been placed in the Tenth District.

He had expected to display his skills but instead ran into this young man in green robes whose swordsmanship was so refined. This move, Hero’s Curtain, had already forced the Qi Refining Ninth Heaven cultivator to abandon his sword. Although Lu Yuan’s opponent felt Lu Yuan’s sword techniques were exquisite, Lu Yuan himself shook his head with mild frustration.

Up to this point, he still hadn't managed to grasp the true essence of the Curtain Sword Intent; this Hero’s Curtain move was not yet perfected. The only reason his opponent found his swordsmanship refined was merely because the opponent’s own swordsmanship was too poor. The Curtain Sword Intent is truly difficult to master!

Lu Yuan tossed four Five Immortals Tokens into his Asura Pouch. This was the number of tokens the defeated Ninth Heaven Qi Refining opponent possessed. Once the Five Immortals Tokens were on someone, even if hidden within a spatial artifact, they could still be sensed.

The material of these tokens was unusual and enhanced with a special technique, allowing for this effect. This opponent, it seemed, had successfully accumulated four tokens before this, but now they were all in Lu Yuan’s hands. Right, I forgot to check the time.

The Tenth Cabin competition has already spanned two full days; it is now the third day. Including the four tokens just acquired, he now possessed a total of twenty-three Five Immortals Tokens. The Tenth District originally held 165 tokens, and twenty-three of them now rested in his possession.

The results are quite satisfactory, Lu Yuan mused internally. He continued forward, searching. The interior cavity of Azure Mountain was vast, and he hadn't moved too quickly even within the mountain belly, so he hadn't yet traversed the entire Tenth District of Azure Mountain.

Lu Yuan had actually noticed something else. On the first day, the opponents he encountered were basically acting alone. But by the second day, most of the opponents he met had started grouping up.

This was quite normal; on the first day, everyone entered the Tenth District of Azure Mountain through various openings. By the second day, after the buffer of the first day, those with existing relationships found ways to convene, and others who felt unable to cope alone had temporarily joined forces with others. Only Lu Yuan remained completely unconcerned, a single sword sufficient for him.

Of course, this was also due to Lu Yuan’s confidence in himself. Lu Yuan had learned from others that the most troublesome group in the Tenth District, the ones holding the most Five Immortals Tokens, were Zhao Qiankun and his faction. That group had also gathered together, and it was rumored they had seized many tokens, even more than he had.

And because they operated in a large group, they could simply overwhelm anyone they encountered. Compared to their collective action, his individual plundering was considerably slower. Lu Yuan continued walking forward.

Ahead, a patch of light appeared. Most of the mountain paths were gloomy; this illumination meant there must be many people ahead, and many of them were using Star-Burning Stones. He wondered who it was.

Lu Yuan quickened his pace and soon saw a group of people. The leader of this group was a middle-aged man with a commanding presence, whom Lu Yuan actually recognized: it was Zhao Qiankun. Besides Zhao Qiankun, there were several other familiar faces, such as Zhao Han and Huang Yun, along with over a dozen others whom Lu Yuan recognized vaguely, knowing them to be part of Zhao Qiankun’s faction even if he couldn't recall their names.

Zhao Qiankun’s group had just finished taking a few Five Immortals Tokens from a trio. As they were about to pack up, Zhao Han suddenly turned around and spotted Lu Yuan. Upon seeing him, Zhao Han became agitated: “Oh, isn't this Lu Liu?

I was wondering if you were in the Tenth District. If you weren’t, it wouldn’t have been any fun. I wanted to get revenge on you, and it’s lucky we ran into you here…” Zhao Han’s outburst drew the attention of the rest of the group onto Lu Yuan.

More than ten pairs of eyes fixed on Lu Yuan, each gaze sharp as a blade. Zhao Han grew boisterous in his triumph: “You hit me hard back then, what bad luck for you. Now that we meet here, Eldest Senior Brother will surely teach you a proper lesson about the vastness of heaven and earth.

How dare you strike one of my Eldest Senior Brother’s men? Today, we will definitely seize all your Five Immortals Tokens and leave you battered and bruised here—as long as we don’t kill or cripple you…” Zhao Han had never imagined such a satisfying event. Running into Lu Yuan here, and Lu Yuan being alone, while they had Eldest Senior Brother Zhao Qiankun and more than ten others—a dozen against one—was simply too delightful.

He felt a phantom twinge where Lu Yuan had struck him and now finally had his chance for retribution. How satisfying! Of course, he dared not act without permission and looked toward Zhao Qiankun, who stood at the center of the group.

Zhao Qiankun also fixed his gaze on Lu Yuan: “You dared to injure my subordinate back then; you truly have guts. Now, it’s time you realized what a grave mistake it was to injure my people. I am a naturally born Son of Destiny, and my subordinates are not to be disciplined by anyone other than me.

Opposing me will be your greatest error.” Zhao Qiankun’s voice was deep and filled with inherent authority. Zhao Qiankun held considerable prestige; his motto was always: those who follow me prosper; those who oppose me perish. In fact, almost every sect’s foremost true disciple possessed immense prestige.

Song Nanshan’s prestige was also considerable. The power held by the top true disciple was no small matter, far surpassing that of ordinary elders, and their future prospects were vast—they were inherently high in rank and great in power, naturally commanding immense presence. Only Lu Yuan was inherently incapable of projecting authority or putting on airs; he simply couldn't manage it, alas.

Returning to the matter at hand, in the dark mountain path, Lu Yuan had collided with Zhao Qiankun’s faction, and Zhao Qiankun’s statement had clearly declared his attitude. At this point, not a single one of the ten-plus pairs of eyes lacked killing intent. This fellow named Lu Liu was in for deep trouble.

“You all truly delivered yourselves right to my door. I was just wondering where to snatch some Five Immortals Tokens from, and you show up voluntarily. Thank you,” Lu Yuan said with utter ease, and the words he spoke caused the atmosphere to freeze instantly.

Everyone present paused, almost certain they had misheard. The situation was obvious: this Lu Liu was about to have his Five Immortals Tokens seized, and he was about to be severely beaten—not killed or crippled, but certainly left in a sorry state. That was the clear outcome.

Yet now, he claimed that Zhao Qiankun’s group was delivering tokens to him. This was truly arrogance beyond measure. After a moment of silence, a loud burst of laughter erupted.

Lu Yuan’s remark was truly too ridiculous. The opposition numbered over ten people, including a foremost senior brother of the Kunlun Immortal Sect like Zhao Qiankun. This brat Lu Liu dared to utter such nonsense; he truly didn't know the meaning of death.