Resting on the eagle's back, Lu Yuan pondered. In the battle against Yuan Ling, Yuan Ling had only used a single finger, yet Lu Yuan felt that within that one strike, countless sword intents were swirling, which was why he was so easily defeated.

He, too, understood sword intent, but in his sword strikes, he could only unleash one sword intent at a time.

For instance, if this strike manifested the Sword Intent of Wind.

To unleash the Sword Intent of Rain, it required the next strike.

But upon careful reflection, in that battle, Yuan Ling had casually flicked out a single finger that simultaneously carried the Sword Intent of Yang, the Sword Intent of Wind, and the Sword Intent of Cloud.

The gap between them was starkly clear; everyone understood this: while Yuan Ling could strike with several sword intents in a single blow, Lu Yuan could only unleash one. Naturally, he was at a disadvantage. This meant Lu Yuan’s path to advancing his swordsmanship lay in two areas: first, comprehending more sword intents; second, converging multiple sword intents into a single strike.

Improving in both aspects was exceedingly difficult.

Now, he needed to attempt merging more sword intents into one strike.

Could the Transcendent Sword Intent of Wind and the Transcendent Sword Intent of Cloud be unleashed in a single strike?

If he could cut with both Wind and Cloud in one go, his swordsmanship would leap forward by an entire tier.

Thinking back, someone like Yan Cangtian, who could unleash ninety-seven sword intents in one strike, was truly unstoppable. The First Grandmaster of the Great Jin was indeed the First Grandmaster of the Great Jin. Just the mere thought of it evoked feelings of awe and reverence. Lu Yuan picked up his wine gourd, took a long swig, and began to meditate.

His mind churned with thoughts as he lay on the eagle’s back, feeling the wind rush past him while watching the white clouds overhead.

For a time, he was utterly lost in contemplation.

He did not know how long passed—the sky darkened and brightened, then brightened and darkened again.

Day turned into night, and night inverted into day.

Two days slipped away like this.

Lu Yuan let out a long breath. To merge several sword intents into a single strike was truly no easy feat. This attempt had failed, but then again, advancing swordsmanship wasn't supposed to be simple. If he had succeeded on the first try, it would have felt too artificial. Had this attempt succeeded easily, Lu Yuan would have suspected he was the Heavenly Emperor’s illegitimate son.

The truth proved that although he possessed decent luck, he was still quite a distance from being the Emperor’s favored child.

What Lu Yuan did not know was that… the level of unleashing multiple sword intents in one strike was actually superior to the level of the Transcendent Sword Intent itself. Among the Six Sword Immortals of the Northern Peak, only Venerable Yuan Yuan could achieve this. Yuan Ling could do it, but Cao Qiu, the Vice Hall Master of the Tenth Hall of the Five Immortal Alliance, could not. Gongyang Sanguang, who possessed Vice Hall Master strength, could not either; only the Hall Master could accomplish it.

Purely in terms of swordsmanship, Lu Yuan was no longer inferior to those at the level of Sima Changbai; he was at a fundamentally similar realm, perhaps only lacking comprehension of one or two more sword intents.

The tier of unleashing countless sword intents in a single strike was a level neither Lu Yuan nor Sima Changbai had grasped yet.

Ah, only two days had passed.

It was time to return to the Tenth Hall. After all, the results of the Tenth Hall Competition were about to be announced, and the rewards were quite substantial, including several artifacts that could allow him to slack off. Though being struck down by Yuan Ling had momentarily changed his disposition, he was still prone to laziness when the time called for it—though he would also strive exceptionally hard when effort was required.

Upon returning to the Tenth Hall, the atmosphere was unusually lively. Everyone was discussing the results of the competition set to be released the next day, curious about what they would be. As for Yuan Ling’s appearance, unfortunately, aside from the few who witnessed it firsthand, no one else knew Yuan Ling had been there.

To be precise, in the cultivation world of the Great Jin Kingdom, many people had no idea Yuan Ling even existed.

Yuan Ling’s strength was no less than that of the Demonic Path heavyweight, the Blood Sword Ancestor. However, because he was a traitor, the Five Great Immortal Sects never publicized him, choosing instead to set him up as a negative example—a traitorous archetype—to discourage others from following suit. A figure like the Blood Sword Ancestor, who was already a recognized Demonic Path leader, could be promoted without fear of inspiring copycats.

Yuan Ling himself did not care about his obscurity. His faction, North Ling Mountain, possessed no fixed strongholds. Did he dare to have one? His feud with the Mount Hua Immortal Sect was ancient history, and this time he had abducted members from the Azure City Immortal Sect and the South Sea Immortal Sect, instantly antagonizing two major sects. Furthermore, his actions were always reckless, provoking countless enemies. If he maintained a fixed base, it would surely be targeted for immediate annihilation.

After all, the Five Great Immortal Sects were the truly powerful entities.

Whether facing the Subterranean Demons or Yuan Ling’s traitor organization, the Heaven-Defying Alliance, none were as formidable as the Five Great Immortal Sects.

The strength of the Five Great Immortal Sects was unfathomably deep.

Returning to the main narrative: Lu Yuan arrived back at the Tenth Hall. Everyone there was chattering about tomorrow’s results. Few knew Yuan Ling had visited. Lu Yuan naturally paid them no mind and continued on. He did run into Zhao Han midway, but Zhao Han had been thoroughly intimidated by Lu Yuan; now that even his backer, Zhao Qiankun, had been defeated by Lu Yuan, his legs nearly buckled upon seeing him.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had no time to deal with him.

Discussions drifted from ahead: “This time, the clear first place should go to Elder Wu Chendong of our South Sea Immortal Sect. He collected two hundred and fifty-one Five Immortal Tokens.” This statement naturally drew sounds of admiration. Two hundred and fifty-one Five Immortal Tokens! In the Cāng’s Mountain Tenth District, only a little over sixteen hundred tokens were put into circulation in total. He alone secured two hundred and fifty-one—such a result was not merely good; it was astonishingly good.

Earlier, some people might have been inclined to offer a rebuttal, but upon hearing the figure of two hundred and fifty-one, they lost the courage to argue.

Two hundred and fifty-one… that was simply too many.

Those who managed to acquire a few dozen Five Immortal Tokens usually carried themselves with pride, considering it a considerable achievement, but a few dozen paled in comparison to two hundred and fifty-one.

This was naturally followed by a wave of flattery.

“By the way, which sub-hall does Elder Wu of your South Sea Immortal Sect belong to?” “Of course, the First Sub-hall. The First Sub-hall had the best results this time.” “Tsk tsk, the First Sub-hall is truly dominant. It seems the First Sub-hall has won the Tenth Sub-hall Competition.” Amidst these discussions, Lu Yuan walked back to the newcomer's quarters and collapsed onto his cot.

He was utterly exhausted. Over the past two days, he had immersed his mind in nature to contemplate, attempting to merge several sword intents into one strike. Ultimately, he had failed, draining a massive amount of mental energy. Now, all he wanted was a good rest. As for tomorrow’s results, that could wait until tomorrow.

The Tenth Hall was currently holding an important meeting.

The Hall Master was absent.

Vice Hall Master Cao Qiu presided over the session, with the ten Sub-hall Masters seated in attendance.

“The Hall Master has gone to pursue Yuan Ling. I will host this meeting,” Cao Qiu announced. One of the Sub-hall Masters spoke up, “The Hall Master’s strength should be slightly inferior to Yuan Ling’s, and Yuan Ling has made enemies among many factions over his long conflict with the Northern Peak. He is as cunning as a fox; won’t pursuing him be dangerous?” Over the years, countless masters had died by Yuan Ling’s hand, including many from the Longevity Stage. Yuan Ling was easily one of the top five figures on the wanted list of the Five Great Immortal Sects for the last few centuries.

“The Master of the Ninth Sub-hall, the Half-Demon Yin Banbanyan, has also gone,” Cao Qiu stated.

Hearing that the Master of the Ninth Sub-hall, the Half-Demon Yin Banbanyan, had gone too, the other Sub-hall Masters felt reassured.

Indeed, Yuan Ling was a top-tier figure in the Demonic Path, certainly ranking within the top five.

But the Five Immortal Alliance, being the strongest fighting corps of the Five Great Immortal Sects, had ten Hall Masters in total. Having two Hall Masters personally track him down meant that even if they encountered Yuan Ling, they should prevail over him. Even if Yuan Ling had set up traps and ambushes, it would not be difficult for them to retreat unscathed, especially since the Half-Demon Yin Banbanyan was among them, possessing the formidable Yin Void Evasion technique, which was notoriously difficult to break.

This Master Yin had a lineage tracing back to the Demon Race. Initially, people were distrustful of him, but after he successfully slew Elder Tongzi Motong, one of the Ten Great Elders of the Subterranean Demons, all doubt vanished. Moreover, successfully slaying one of the Ten Great Elders was an achievement worthy of immense merit.

The Subterranean Demons, with their myriad caves and billions of fiends, presented a superficially loose structure. However, the Subterranean Demons already possessed a unified governing framework.

At the apex was the Demon Emperor, and the current Emperor was Dongfang Yao.

Beneath the Emperor were the two Imperial Demons: the Bright Demon Emperor and the Dark Demon Emperor.

Following them were the Four Color Demon Kings, whose titles varied but adhered to the structure of four.

Beneath the Four Color Demon Kings were the Five Element Demon Marquises, categorized by the Five Elements: the White Metal Demon Marquis, the Azure Wood Demon Marquis, the Marsh Water Demon Marquis, the Crimson Fire Demon Marquis, and the Pale Earth Demon Marquis.

Below the Five Element Demon Marquises were the Ten Elders.

It could be said that the Ten Elders held extremely high status among the Subterranean Demons.

Since the Half-Demon Yin Banbanyan could slay Elder Tongzi Motong, one of the Ten Great Elders, he was certainly trustworthy and was thus appointed as the Ninth Hall Master of the Five Immortal Alliance.

Yuan Ling dared to cause trouble during the Tenth Sub-hall Competition, so the Five Immortal Alliance naturally would not let it slide, especially since three members had been abducted.

“Very well, since the two Hall Masters are pursuing Yuan Ling, we will proceed with announcing the results of the penultimate stage of the Tenth Sub-hall Competition. The final results will be announced tomorrow,” Cao Qiu said. Gongyang Sheng, the Master of the Third Sub-hall, inquired, “What about the Five Immortal Tokens left behind by the three abducted elders?”

“The Five Immortal Tokens left by those three will be divided equally among their remaining seven teammates,” Cao Qiu replied.

Cao Qiu then fell into a brief silence. Yuan Ling’s appearance had been an unexpected event, as was Lu Yuan’s mastery of the Transcendent Sword Intent. At the time, the situation was focused on the Water Mirror Technique projecting the contest between the First and Third Sub-halls, meaning only he had noticed Lu Yuan unleash the Transcendent Sword Intent.

Otherwise, even if the other Sub-hall Masters had not comprehended sword intent, they should have recognized some forms of it.

Not to mention a master expert like Gongyang Sanguang; he would certainly have recognized the Transcendent Sword Intent.

At this moment, perhaps not many people had yet discovered Lu Yuan’s possession of the Transcendent Sword Intent. Once more people detected it, he would instantly become famous throughout the world—that was the Transcendent Sword Intent.

What Cao Qiu did not know was that Lu Yuan was currently still attempting to cultivate an even higher level: merging countless sword intents into one strike—a profound level that even Cao Qiu could not reach.

If he knew, Cao Qiu’s expression would certainly be quite interesting to behold.