Gongyang Sanguang, the chief of the Fourth Branch under the Tenth Hall of the Five Immortals Alliance, was an ardent follower of this pursuit.

Due to his influence, everyone involved in this current Tenth Hall competition was drawn into a web of wagers, pulling even Cao Qiu, the Deputy Chief known as Lonely Lamp in the Night Rain, who otherwise wished to remain uninvolved, into the fray.

At that moment, Xuanyuan Zhong of the Ninth Branch wore a decidedly unpleasant expression.

Song Jianjiu, the Chief of the Tenth Branch, looked distinctly strange.

The one who held the winning hand, clearly, was Lonely Lamp in the Night Rain, Cao Qiu.

Originally, the true trump card for the Ninth Branch lay with Zhang Qingshu of the Wudang Immortal Sect, alongside two elders. While the Wudang contingent might not have possessed the strongest individuals in isolation, they were undoubtedly the most formidable when fighting in concert. The Ninth Branch was quite powerful, and this time, by sheer coincidence, Zhang Qingshu and his group had been assigned to the Ninth Sector.

In contrast, Zhao Qiankun of the Tenth Branch had, just as coincidentally, been placed in the Tenth Sector. Zhao Qiankun’s personal strength was not significantly weaker than Zhang Qingshu's, but if the Wudang contingent of over ten faced off against the Kunlun Immortal Sect contingent of over ten, it was certain the Wudang forces would achieve a complete victory.

The poor relationship between Xuanyuan Zhong and Song Jianjiu was no recent development.

This time, with the Tenth Hall competition underway, Xuanyuan Zhong clearly held the upper hand. When coupled with the gambling started by Gongyang Sanguang, Xuanyuan Zhong naturally sought to provoke Song Jianjiu.

Xuanyuan Zhong could be said to have been entirely correct; Zhang Qingshu’s faction was indeed stronger than Zhao Qiankun’s.

But wait…

Damn it. Unbeknownst to anyone, a youth clad in green suddenly materialized within the Tenth Hall. At that moment, one didn't need to investigate the youth’s identity to know he was Lu Yuan of the Huashan Immortal Sect. As the saying went, a true master reveals themselves with their first move; Lu Yuan’s identity could not remain hidden forever.

Lu Yuan's appearance was one thing, but the fact that the top True Disciple of the Huashan Immortal Sect was ridiculously powerful was another—he had actually managed to defeat all nine members of the Wudang Immortal Sect’s Three Great Sword Formations!

A record broken!

Truly a record-shattering feat.

The Three Great Sword Formations of the Wudang Immortal Sect had never before been broken by a True Disciple—and Lu Yuan had accidentally achieved this milestone.

Now, Xuanyuan Zhong was left with a bitter taste he couldn't articulate. How could this have happened?

Simultaneously, Song Jianjiu felt the same sense of strangeness. He hadn't noticed Lu Yuan at all previously; he must have been truly shortsighted, or perhaps, his victory felt strangely unearned.

Only Cao Qiu remained seated as if commanding the entire situation, displaying an air of prior knowledge that commanded respect—a Deputy Chief was indeed a Deputy Chief. Yet, in truth, Cao Qiu was utterly stunned, a monstrous wave of shock churning within him. Cao Qiu had always considered himself modest, often speaking with reservation. When he previously observed the sword marks, he had deduced that Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship might have reached the Sword Intent level, but he likely assumed Lu Yuan had only just attained that initial stage. Stating that Lu Yuan’s skill wouldn't be below his own had been a measure of humility. But watching Lu Yuan now, his swordsmanship had clearly transcended the mere Sword Intent level. Blast it, he himself had only reached the Transcendent Sword Intent level, and this junior had mastered it so soon! And he, Cao Qiu, was a dignified Deputy Chief.

This junior's swordsmanship was indeed comparable to his own, having reached the Transcendent Sword Intent level.

The Five Immortals Alliance had ten major Halls; becoming a Deputy Chief was no small feat. Lonely Lamp in the Night Rain, Cao Qiu, was certainly not inferior in strength to the Six Sword Immortals of the Northern Peak.

Lu Yuan of the Huashan Immortal Sect was certainly an interesting prospect. Cao Qiu smiled, clasping his hands behind his back. To have such an interesting young man appear; his future growth would be highly anticipated.

By the seventh day, Lu Yuan had swept through the Ninth Sector. The Five Immortals Tokens in his possession now totaled two hundred and forty. It had been noted earlier that it was impossible to collect every token within a single sector; after all, each sector was vast, and some people might hoard a few tokens tucked away in a corner—what could be done? Collecting two hundred and forty tokens across two sectors was practically the maximum possible yield. Thus, it was time to switch sectors again.

On the ninth day, Lu Yuan finished clearing the Eighth Sector. His token count rose to three hundred and fifty-seven. He hadn't encountered any opponents of comparable strength in the Eighth Sector either.

On the eleventh day, Lu Yuan cleared the Seventh Sector, bringing his token count to four hundred and seventy-three. He had encountered some troublesome opponents in the Seventh Sector, taking slightly more time to resolve them. Lu Yuan noted that the speed at which he cleared a sector was increasing. The reason was quite simple: the further along the competition progressed, the more the Five Immortals Tokens concentrated in the hands of fewer individuals. Defeating a small number of people meant acquiring the majority of the tokens.

When the tokens were few, they could be hidden in dark corners, making them hard to find.

The more Five Immortals Tokens one possessed, the harder it was to conceal them. A single token resembled a faint glimmer of light, which could be hidden, but many tokens together shone like a massive incandescent lamp in the darkness, clearly visible from a distance.

By the thirteenth day, Lu Yuan had cleared the Sixth Sector, bringing his token count to six hundred. The situation in the Sixth Sector mirrored that of the previous few; it required only a little effort. When he truly unleashed his sword arts, he remained unrivaled.

It was almost the fourteenth day, and Lu Yuan knew that the fourteenth day would not be so easy.

It turned out that when he killed the Daoist of the Blood Sword Sect, it was mentioned within the Tenth Hall that three to five people possessed the capability to handle the Blood Sword Sect Daoist. The Blood Sword Sect Daoist was at the fourth stage of Body Tempering. This implied that among the ten major branches of the Tenth Hall, three to five individuals possessed strength equivalent to the fourth stage of Body Tempering.

Up to this point, he hadn't encountered a single person at the fourth stage of Body Tempering.

Would he meet them next?

The connection between the ten sectors followed a specific pattern: from Sector One to Sector Ten. Sector Ten connected to Sector Nine, and Sector Nine connected to Sector Ten and Sector Eight. Sector One only connected to Sector Two. It was essentially linked sequentially.

He had swept through Sectors Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, and Six—a total of five sectors—and acquired six hundred Five Immortals Tokens.

The powerful opponents likely had similarly swept through Sectors One to Five. This meant that in the next two days, they would almost certainly cross paths with him—an unavoidable confrontation. Since evasion was impossible, why bother hiding? Lu Yuan decided to halt sector rotation for the time being and familiarize himself thoroughly with the environment in the Sixth Sector.

In high-level combat, victory wasn't determined merely by superior spiritual power or swordsmanship.

Contests between experts were composed of elements like timing, geographical advantage, inherent spiritual power, swordsmanship, on-the-spot adaptability, and psychological state.

It was rumored that in the Great Qin Kingdom, there was a Sword Immortal named Ximen Lengjue, who, before every duel, would bathe and purify himself with incense for three days before accepting the challenge. While this was an extreme example, it illustrated how crucial factors like adaptability and psychology were before a battle.

Now, he would familiarize himself with the terrain and cultivate his mindset in preparation for the final clashes. Naturally, Lu Yuan's way of cultivating his mind differed greatly from the Sword Immortal of the Great Qin Kingdom. Lu Yuan had absolutely no interest in bathing and burning incense; Lu Yuan preferred to drink and sleep—that was his most natural state, where his body achieved ultimate relaxation.

The fourteenth day of the Tenth Hall Competition.

Truly not a pleasant environment.

Lu Yuan lay on a flat slab of blue stone, taking a long swig of wine.

He really preferred lying out in the bright daylight, drinking leisurely—that was life.

In this dark and dry environment, drinking held none of the same satisfaction.

But, it would have to suffice.

A person could not be too demanding of their environment.

A person must learn to adapt to circumstances.

Lu Yuan sensed his opponents were close, likely arriving today. A faint sound of air being cut reached him from ahead—about ten distinct sounds. They were coming, drawing nearer. Lu Yuan remained in his usual posture, leaning lazily against the blue stone, taking a drink. Just then, the ten figures in the distance finally arrived.

So strong!

These ten were all young Elders, and at least four of them possessed spiritual power no less than his own, likely around the fourth stage of Body Tempering. Several others had formidable spiritual power, appearing to be at the second or third stage of Body Tempering. The weakest among them seemed to be at the tenth stage of Qi Refining. This was the strongest team in the Tenth Hall competition.

Indeed, they were formidable!

Lu Yuan now felt that even deploying his full power might not guarantee victory against the combined might of these ten. It seemed a tactic of 'fight and flee' would be necessary—using the Ten Thousand Miles Solitary Movement Technique to create distance, forcing them to pursue one by one, engaging with the fewest opponents possible, and avoiding encirclement.

Furthermore, if necessary, he could use the Sand Garment to burrow into the ground, then use the Summoning Order of the Queen to summon Earth Puppets to distract them while he struck.

He hadn't been merely drinking and sleeping idly while waiting for this final battle; he had planned for various contingencies.

Seeing that the opponents were about to surround him, Lu Yuan prepared to activate the Ten Thousand Miles Solitary Movement Technique to slip away.

Just at that moment, footsteps sounded from the darkness.

Those footsteps clearly landed on the ground, yet somehow, they seemed to strike against people's hearts, causing the hearts of the ten-plus individuals present to seize up momentarily. The person finally emerged into the light: a handsome young man with silver hair.

The youth's countenance held a distinctly demonic charm, aggressive and penetrating. His narrow eyes, when fixed upon someone, resembled a viper's, inducing a chilling dread. He was exceptionally tall, clad in robes of deep cyan.

If Venerable Yuan Yuan of the Northern Peak, or any of the other Six Sword Immortals of the Northern Peak, were present, they would likely leap up in shock. This silver-haired youth was a... traitor to the Northern Peak!