The other branch halls of the Five Immortals Alliance were all actively recruiting, and those ranked higher naturally received favored attention from the major halls. As the Five Immortals Alliance recruited, all sorts of news flew across the land, constantly being relayed further afield. If the Five Peaks Grand Competition served to make a sect famous, then the competition at the Tenth Hall made one renowned across the entire Great Jin.

For instance, Zhang Qingshu’s strength was stable, reflecting the steadfast style of the Wudang Immortal Sect—not outstanding, not conspicuous, yet certainly not mediocre.

Occasionally, news would also feature newly emerged, formidable true disciples, or young elders with conspicuous strength, such as Wu Chendong.

However, among all these reports, the most prominent, standing above all others, was just one item.

Mount Hua Immortal Sect: Lu Yuan. His strength surpassed legend.

Furthermore, he had seized the top position in the rankings—a list largely dominated by young elders—achieving a final tally of six hundred Five Immortals Tokens, vastly exceeding the second-place holder's two hundred and ninety-eight tokens. This result indicated only one thing: Lu Yuan’s strength far outstripped that of every other true disciple, including Zhang Qingshu, Song Nanshan, and Zhao Qiankun.

Lu Yuan was twenty years old.

Song Nanshan, Zhao Qiankun, Zhang Qingshu, and the others were all over forty.

Lu Yuan followed Li Yuanbai, an ordinary Ninth Generation Sword Immortal. Song Nanshan followed the Master of Mount Hua’s West Peak, the Venerable Zixia. Those whom Zhao Qiankun and Zhang Qingshu followed were in no way inferior to the Venerable Zixia in terms of strength or status.

It could be said that in terms of both age and lineage of mentorship, Song Nanshan, Zhao Qiankun, and Zhang Qingshu held overwhelming advantages over Lu Yuan. Yet, Lu Yuan’s actual strength surpassed theirs so thoroughly.

Upon receiving this intelligence, many found it hard to believe. For example, the intelligence department of Kunlun Mountain, upon confirmation, all showed a slight change in expression: "Unbelievable, utterly unbelievable."

At Qingcheng Immortal Sect, a middle-aged Daoist of refined and handsome bearing, carrying an ornate scabbard on his back, studied the report: "That reckless boy from the Eastern Prefecture has actually grown to this extent." This refined Sword Immortal was Sun Qingyi, the Clear Sound Sword Immortal, famous throughout the cultivation world.

At Wudang Immortal Sect, Mo Qi, one of the Seven Sages of Wudang—a middle-aged man perpetually sporting stubble and fond of drink, appearing quite derelict—looked on. Of course, those familiar with the inner workings of the Seven Sages knew that despite not being the Sect Master, this dissolute drunkard was likely the most powerful among them. "Lu Yuan, a promising young drinker. Good. Much more interesting than that kid Zhang Qingshu. Zhang Qingshu's lesser strength than Lu Yuan must be because he dislikes drinking..." As he spoke, the handsome, neatly groomed middle-aged man beside him couldn't help but burst out laughing.

This man was Yin Zheng, another of the Seven Sages of Wudang.

Yin Zheng smiled: "Junior Brother Mo, you do talk nonsense. Qingshu has always been steady. While he may currently be inferior to that Lu Yuan from Mount Hua, if he continues to cultivate with such steadiness, succeeding the Wudang Immortal Sect in the future will not be difficult. As for Lu Yuan, the report that just arrived contains Qingshu’s assessment..."

"Qingshu stated that when he engaged Lu Yuan, he deployed the Two Extremes Sword Formation, the Three Talents Sword Formation, and the Four Symbols Sword Formation—a combined effort of nine individuals—only to have Lu Yuan break them all."

"What!" Mo Qi jumped up, his eyes wide as saucers: "Are you serious? Three major sword formations linked together were broken by a junior in his early twenties? Even if none of those nine masters had truly grasped Sword Intent, meaning they couldn't unleash even one-tenth of the three formations' power, it’s still not something a junior should be able to shatter..."

Yin Zheng nodded: "Yes, that’s why it feels so strange. Qingshu said that when he fought Lu Yuan, he felt as if he were wrestling with the wind, battling the clouds..."

Mo Qi grew dubious: "Are you saying that young Lu has already mastered the two Transcendent Sword Intents from his North Peak master’s 'One Hundred and Eight Swords of Wind and Cloud'—the Intent of Wind and the Intent of Cloud? That’s impossible! Transcendent Intent is too high a level! To master it so young—it's absurd! Mount Hua only produced one Yan Cangtian, and everyone is waiting for him to ascend before we can breathe freely. Now, with another boy like Lu Yuan appearing, we Wudang will continue to be suppressed..."

Yin Zheng shook his head: "I also think it’s impossible. It’s unlikely that young Lu has mastered Transcendent Intent. It was probably some similar magical artifact that created that effect; it’s unlikely he truly mastered it." Both were men of profound insight, yet neither would concede that Lu had achieved Transcendent Intent without witnessing it firsthand.

Transcendent Intent was infinitely more difficult to achieve than mere Sword Intent.

Thus, the situation settled into a peculiar state: those who had fought Lu Yuan found the Transcendent Intent too esoteric to recognize, while those who hadn't fought him simply refused to believe he had mastered it.

Regardless of the truth, Lu Yuan’s performance in the Tenth Hall competition had instantly secured him fame throughout the Great Jin.

It was time to return to Mount Hua. After taking leave of Song Jianjiu, the leader of the Tenth Hall, he also received a token. Engraved upon it was a single character amidst intricate scrollwork. According to the Hall Master, this was the Unique Token of the Five Immortals Alliance, signifying his first-place victory in the Tenth Hall competition.

Every previous winner of the Tenth Hall competition received this token. With it, one could go directly to any of the other nine branch halls and choose their destination without requiring selection by the hall itself—this was the privilege of the Tenth Hall champion. Moreover, visiting these halls would guarantee considerable favor.

However, there was one more place he needed to visit before returning.

Lu Yuan walked some distance from the Tenth Hall, pausing in the yellow sand and shouting sharply: "Little Eagle!" The cry soared to the heavens. Moments later, a massive black eagle descended from the sky, its powerful talons digging into the ground. The Golden-Eyed Eagle had landed.

Lu Yuan gently stroked the eagle's feathers: "Little Eagle, I am about to return to Mount Hua, to a place very, very far away. Will you come with me if you are willing? If not, then forget it." The Golden-Eyed Eagle pondered for a moment, then shook its huge head slowly.

Lu Yuan had already foreseen this outcome.

Eagles were proud, free spirits.

If an eagle were tamed, it would lose its inherent joy.

Lu Yuan had stated it the first time he sat upon its back: Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire. He himself was like the wandering clouds, disliking constraint. And was the eagle any different? If he treated the eagle as a mere mount, forcing it to follow him to Mount Hua, what would become of the Golden-Eyed Eagle after losing this expanse of wilderness, this boundless sky, this stretch of earth? Would it still be the same eagle? Seeing it shake its head now, Lu Yuan smiled; he had known this would be the result all along.

Of course, eagles of the wild differed from the Cloud Eagles. Cloud Eagles were born to a single location, unlike wild eagles that soared everywhere. Cloud Eagles possessed less innate wisdom than natural eagles; their destiny was to be sealed within Spirit Cages. This was fundamentally different from the inherent nature of creatures in the great outdoors.

Since that was the case, then farewell.

"Farewell, Little Eagle," Lu Yuan said with a trace of detachment, feeling little reluctance. Lu Yuan was a man of inherently breezy disposition, and the Golden-Eyed Eagle nodded back. Though slightly reluctant to part with the well-mannered young man in green who had treated it so well, its deepest desire remained the open sky of this wilderness.

A fish cannot leave the water; an eagle cannot leave this sky.

Lu Yuan took out thirty spirit stones from his Minor Sumeru Pouch: "Little Eagle, I hope we have a day to meet again. These spirit stones are a parting gift." He stroked the eagle’s feathers one last time, waved his hand, and walked away without looking back. One must depart gracefully, without unnecessary sentiment.

Perhaps, there might be a reunion in the future.

But the future was too distant, and there was no need to dwell on distant tomorrows.

Lu Yuan, Ye Fang, and Ye Yuan headed toward Mount Hua together. They too were returning. The nine months of rigorous training had been punishing for them as well. Traveling with them was Meng Bai, who got along famously with Ye Fang and Ye Yuan, filling the journey with nonstop laughter and chatter.

Lu Yuan occasionally interjected, and so they gradually moved away. Sometimes, looking up, he thought he glimpsed a dark eagle faintly visible among the clouds.

He smiled and continued forward.

Finally, they left the intensely arid desert, traversing the rolling sands. Leaving the Hundred Mines Province and entering other regions, they were met by continuous spring rain, willows gently swaying in the breeze, and small bridges over flowing water. A wave of emotion washed over him; nine months had passed just like that, and now, they were finally returning to Mount Hua.

"I suggest we go eat and drink something first. After nine months in the middle of the desert, my mouth is practically dead from blandness," Lu Yuan proposed.

"Seconded," Ye Fang nodded first.

"Agreed..." Ye Yuan nodded second.

Meng Bai grinned excitedly: "So, you also don't favor asceticism, preferring good food and drink? Excellent!" He had just discovered kindred spirits; his former martial brothers had always been too rigid. The four young men laughed heartily and charged toward the first tavern they encountered.

Roars of laughter echoed through the establishment as they recounted entertaining stories. Since Meng Bai had only just met Ye Fang and Ye Yuan, their shared conversation topics were limited, so the discussion naturally centered around the Tenth Hall training they had all endured. Naturally, Meng Bai didn’t fail to recount some embarrassing anecdotes from Lu Yuan’s past, making Ye Fang and Ye Yuan laugh loudly while teasing him.

Lu Yuan was not one to be outdone and immediately began detailing embarrassing incidents from Meng Bai’s history.

This, this was youth!