Well now, you truly delivered yourselves right to my doorstep. I was just wondering where I could snatch the Five Immortal Tokens from. You showing up so proactively… thank you.” Lu Yuan’s simple, entirely truthful statement was met with a booming wave of laughter.

“This guy really has no idea how to pick his time to die…”

“Zhao Han, so you weren’t exaggerating when you said this person courts death. I didn’t believe you before, but now I finally see it.”, “I’ve never seen someone so eager to die.”, “How dare he speak like that in front of the Eldest Senior Brother? It’s hilarious. If the Eldest Senior Brother makes one remark, it’s perfectly normal for this person’s future in the Cultivation World to be ruined…” If Lu Yuan were anyone else, this would be standard procedure. The foremost true disciple of the Kunlun Immortal Sect held immense sway in the Cultivation World; ruining a minor figure was simple. The prerequisite was that Lu Yuan had to be an ordinary minor figure.

Zhao Qiankun also managed a slight smile; he found the situation utterly amusing.

Of course, despite the laughter, Lu Yuan, who had uttered such words, needed a thorough lesson.

The Cultivation World had its own established order.

To offend the Eldest Senior Brother of the Kunlun Immortal Sect—this was the consequence.

The Kunlun Immortal Sect was the most rule-bound of the Five Great Sects. Their rigid, maddening regulations could make one vomit blood. Naturally, having so many rules stemmed from being the oldest among the Five Great Immortal Sects, supposedly possessing the deepest heritage in ancient times. A sect or dynasty that had passed its zenith and was declining from prosperity often carried a host of outdated, impractical rules that no longer fit reality.

“Eldest Senior Brother, allow me to handle this person…”

“No, Eldest Senior Brother, let me do it.” They were all scrambling to claim this merit. These individuals weren't necessarily all members of the Kunlun Immortal Sect, but by currying favor with the Eldest Senior Brother, they hoped Zhao Qiankun could shield them once he gained prominence. They viewed Lu Yuan purely as an opportunity for merit, ceaselessly vying amongst themselves.

Ultimately, they failed to reach an agreement among themselves, so they ceased arguing and rushed toward Lu Yuan together. After all, whoever ultimately subdued Lu Yuan would claim the credit.

At that moment, they viewed Lu Yuan as mere meat upon the chopping block.

And in the instant they charged, Lu Yuan raised his hand and drew his sword.

Sword light rises, sword light moves, sword light vanishes.

Rise, move, vanish.

Just three simple phases.

Yet, within this sequence of sword light rising, moving, and vanishing, there was an extraordinary resonance. The blade of the Yangwu Sword emitted a soft glow, rotating like flowing water. Amidst this breezy, elegant sword light, the men who rushed Lu Yuan fell one by one, each wounded by Lu Yuan’s long sword.

This time, it was again the laceration of both wrists.

With so many strikes, every single one sliced the exact same location on both wrists, severing the tendons of the right hand. Not a fraction deeper, nor a fraction shallower than the last; the placement was identical for every blow.

Lu Yuan felt a pang of melancholy. He wondered when he had started severing tendons again. Back in the Eastern Dao Prefecture, and before that, he had cut quite a few tendons. Testing it now, he realized he was quite proficient.

Lu Yuan’s swift, multiple strikes causing so many men to fall in moments stunned the remaining onlookers. They had heard Zhao Han speak of Lu Liu, but in Zhao Han’s telling, this Lu Liu was a severely mediocre character. They knew Zhao Han tended to belittle his opponents, but ranking at 180th—how could anyone doubt Lu Yuan’s apparent low strength? Yet, when the fight actually began, Lu Yuan’s skill proved to be at this terrifying level.

Among those who rushed out earlier were individuals ranked 130th, 83rd, 61st, and even one ranked as high as 41st.

The result? All these powerful figures couldn't withstand a single exchange with Lu Yuan.

This ranking of 180th truly wasn't just a slight exaggeration!

Zhao Han felt a bitter taste in his mouth. The last time Lu Yuan had beaten him into a pulp, he could still console himself by claiming Lu Yuan had secured an advantage by attacking first and wounding him before dominating. But now, with the strength Lu Yuan displayed, Zhao Han’s heart tightened. Thankfully, the Eldest Senior Brother was present; with the Eldest Senior Brother’s power, Lu Yuan would surely be reduced to a pulp.

The others were also shocked by Lu Yuan’s profound swordsmanship, yet they were convinced the Eldest Senior Brother would triumph. The Eldest Senior Brother’s Body Tempering stage cultivation could not possibly be matched by Lu Liu’s Qi Refining stage mana coupled with subtle sword techniques.

“Allow me to face you.” Zhao Qiankun finally stepped forward. “I will make you understand that opposing me is your greatest mistake.” Zhao Qiankun drew his Qiankun Sword. His sword was incomparably noble; its blade shone brilliantly, like pure sunlight, far fiercer than the gentle, water-like aura of the Yangwu Sword. The Qiankun Sword contained the essence of Heaven and Earth—its name itself embodied an extreme form of dominance. With a flick of Zhao Qiankun’s wrist, the Qiankun Sword transformed into a streak of ethereal light, sweeping horizontally toward Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan casually flipped his hand, sweeping his Yangwu Sword back in a counter-slash.

Clang! The gentle, water-like Yangwu Sword collided with the fiercely solar Qiankun Sword.

Lu Yuan remained rooted, unmoving as a mountain, while Zhao Qiankun was sent flying backward.

This!

In truth, Lu Yuan found this result entirely normal. He was currently in the middle stage of the third layer of Body Tempering—Essence of Sun and Moon—while his opponent was only at the late stage of the first layer of Body Tempering—Leaving Qi to Glide. There was a gap of two whole heavens between them. To struggle against him in a direct mana confrontation and not win would have been abnormal. Yet, while Lu Yuan found it normal, everyone else found it anything but. That was Zhao Qiankun, the Eldest Senior Brother of the Kunlun Immortal Sect, a cultivator at the first layer of Body Tempering, and in a direct clash of mana against a young man barely twenty years old, he was clearly at a disadvantage.

How were they supposed to accept this!

Zhao Han also felt it was impossible. Initially, Lu Liu was a newcomer ranked 180th. Later, he discovered Lu Liu’s strength was no less than his own. The few men who rushed out earlier were swiftly defeated by Lu Liu’s sword. Now, even the Eldest Senior Brother’s much-vaunted Body Tempering mana was suffering a loss against this Lu Liu. It seemed Lu Liu’s mana was even stronger! How could this be! Zhao Han felt his entire world being inverted. What terrified Zhao Han wasn't just Lu Liu’s immense mana; it was Lu Liu’s youth combined with such formidable power. He must have an extraordinary background; his origins couldn't be simple. If Lu Liu leveraged that backing to deal with him, Zhao Han would truly be in trouble. Could the Eldest Senior Brother protect him? Zhao Han had always considered the Eldest Senior Brother his greatest pillar of support among the tenth-generation youths, but seeing the Eldest Senior Brother batted away by a single sword strike made him less certain.

The ensuing combat, if one word could describe it, it would be: Overwhelming.

It was absolutely crushing.

Now facing Zhao Qiankun, Lu Yuan was in no hurry to use exquisite sword moves. He relied entirely on raw mana, hacking and slashing directly, leaving Zhao Qiankun utterly without recourse. Zhao Qiankun, who prided himself on his mana, was being defeated precisely in the area he was most arrogant about—this was Lu Yuan's method. Zhao Qiankun screamed internally: How is this possible? How could I possibly lose!

In his entire life, Zhao Qiankun had sailed smoothly.

The authority Zhao Qiankun wielded in the Kunlun Immortal Sect far surpassed that of Song Nanshan in the Huashan Immortal Sect.

Zhao Qiankun was always accustomed to success for those who followed him and ruin for those who defied him.

But he had never imagined defeat, let alone such a humiliating defeat, with his most cherished asset—his mana—proving vastly inferior.

Exhilarating! Lu Yuan hadn't expected the wealth of Zhao Qiankun and his group. They possessed sixty-seven Five Immortal Tokens among them—three times the amount Lu Yuan had managed to collect alone. This was a huge windfall! This fight had been truly enjoyable. In fact, it was natural for Zhao Qiankun’s group to have amassed so many Five Immortal Tokens.

Collecting the Five Immortal Tokens wasn't a solo endeavor.

The Tenth Sub-district of Cangzhi Mountain was vast; no matter how powerful you were, if you couldn't encounter anyone, it was useless. Lu Yuan was collecting them alone, so his efficiency was naturally low. Zhao Qiankun and the others, however, gathered in groups of over ten to collect tokens. They frequently spread out, and upon spotting others, they would immediately converge to seize the opponent's tokens. This method was far, far faster than Lu Yuan working alone.

Zhao Qiankun’s group had enjoyed smooth sailing until now, taking two full days to snatch over fifty Five Immortal Tokens. Including their own, they totaled sixty-seven tokens. They had planned to continue robbing and then move on to the other nine districts, never dreaming they would run into Lu Yuan.

Their entire stock of sixty-seven Five Immortal Tokens instantly made Lu Yuan rich.

Adding to Lu Yuan’s original twenty-three tokens, he now possessed ninety Five Immortal Tokens. This meant that of the 165 tokens in the Tenth Sub-district, ninety had fallen into Lu Yuan’s hands, and this was only the third day.

Lu Yuan discovered that honestly seeking out weaker individuals yielded few tokens—some people only had one or two. Winning a confrontation against a powerful group like Zhao Qiankun’s yielded far more.

Furthermore, this time brought more than just the satisfaction of acquiring Five Immortal Tokens.

He had thoroughly beaten Zhao Han this time. As for the supposed grudge with Zhao Han, that was purely Zhao Han’s one-sided notion. Lu Yuan had never considered himself to have a feud with Zhao Han. Zhao Han was merely a dog constantly barking at him; what qualification did a mere Zhao Han have to incur his enmity? Still, an incessantly barking dog was annoying. This time, Zhao Han was truly beaten into a severely injured state. While he wouldn't be permanently crippled, he would need a long period of recuperation, and likely this dog would never dare bark at him again. Striking Zhao Han had actually felt quite gratifying.

As for Zhao Qiankun, Lu Yuan had thoroughly beaten him as well. Why? Zhao Qiankun simply rubbed him the wrong way. Lu Yuan was someone whose actions were driven by immediate feeling. Seeing Zhao Qiankun displeased him, and since Zhao Qiankun had also provoked him, there was no alternative but to administer a beating.

If it were Song Nanshan, he would certainly have to consider the goodwill between the Huashan Immortal Sect and the Kunlun Immortal Sect. He might let the matter slide for the sake of future relations between the two major sects. But Lu Yuan was never one to consider the bigger picture.

The bigger picture? To hell with it.

To consider the greater good? To hell with that concept.

He never believed in such platitudes.

“If I am strong enough, then I am the bigger picture.” This was a phrase spoken by Yuan Ling, the traitor of North Peak. Though Lu Yuan dared not voice it openly, deep down, he somewhat agreed with the sentiment.