As the Lord of North Peak, it was indeed necessary for Elder Yuanyuan to speak with Lu Yuan before the real battle commenced.

Was this not what a leader should do?

Outside the placid serenity of the Central Harmony Fasting Hall, white clouds drifted lazily.

Elder Yuanyuan, Li Yuanbai, Dugu Ye, Fang Ru, Ye Yangrong, and Chu Fei—all six turned their gazes toward Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan felt immense pressure, though not because six Ninth-Generation Sword Immortals were looking at him. It was because of the way Dugu Ye was looking at him. Why did this Martial Uncle’s gaze feel like a mother-in-law sizing up a son-in-law? This sensation was chilling; he absolutely had to shake off this feeling, shake it off completely.

Such a feeling simply could not be allowed to linger.

Truthfully, he had no desire for marriage right now, even if the object of affection was the radiant, captivating, independent, and strong Third Senior Sister, Ling Yuzhu.

A person was truly free and happy when unattached.

Elder Yuanyuan spoke, "Now, you understand. Essentially, you are the last bastion of the younger generation. If you fail, the loss won't be catastrophic—it’s just that the face of the entire Great Jin Kingdom will be lost, affecting morale. Perhaps along the border, the Great Jin Kingdom will lose many more soldiers due to this drop in spirit." Lu Yuan managed a wry smile, thinking these consequences sounded rather severe for "not much loss." "Very well, Martial Grand-uncle, if you say I must win, I will give it my utmost effort."

Elder Yuanyuan nodded in satisfaction, adopting an air that suggested Lu Yuan was suitably receptive.

"Good. Let me introduce your opponent. Your opponent, Tiemuer, is no simple character. Have you heard of the Vajrayana Tantric empowerment ceremony, the Abhisheka? It involves directly transmitting the experiences of a past life." However, the Tantric sect does not bestow Abhisheka upon just anyone; there must be the passing of a Tantric Sect Master before a reincarnation child—the Tulku—can emerge, thus enabling the empowerment..."

"And your opponent, Tiemuer, is actually the reincarnation of the third-generation Sect Master of the Tantric sect. Through the Grand Method of Tantric Empowerment, he has recalled the experiences of his previous existence..."

"As a result, his cultivation speed is extraordinarily fast. However, the depth of his magical power remains unknown to us. He appears to be around thirty years old, but even we cannot gauge the true extent of his strength. This isn't because his power has reached an unknowable depth, but because the Tantric sect employs unique mental cultivation methods that mask it, methods we cannot pierce. Although he carries the experience of a past life," he continued, "to be frank, he still has to cultivate slowly; it's just that his cultivation progresses faster than others."

"Frankly, sometimes one must admit that the people of the Great Yuan Kingdom have exceedingly thick skin. The Tantric sect is truly shameless. They awaken a reincarnated Tulku and then treat him as an ordinary member of the younger generation to challenge us," Dugu Ye interjected, to which the other Ninth-Generation Sword Immortals nodded emphatically.

"Still, the man is barely thirty years old, and if he counts as the younger generation, then so be it," Elder Yuanyuan sighed. "We have no choice, as we lack the whole system of empowerment and reincarnation."

"If you can win, then win. If you cannot, it will indeed damage the morale of our Great Jin Kingdom," Elder Yuanyuan stated.

Lu Yuan inquired from the side, "Did they arrive with such a grand procession just to damage the morale of our Great Jin Kingdom? If so, they seem awfully idle."

Elder Yuanyuan explained, "It is simple. The Great Jin Kingdom and the Great Yuan Kingdom are currently holding truce negotiations in a location in the Western Regions known as Hetao. If our morale is damaged now, we will be at a disadvantage in these negotiations, and we will lose much more. That is why they desperately need you to win. But do not force it; just do your best. If you truly cannot defeat him, so be it. The opponent is too shameless; they even deployed a reincarnated Tulku just for leverage in these talks."

Lu Yuan shrugged. It was as he suspected.

Everything was never as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Might and politics were always intertwined.

Victory in martial strength led to greater advantage in politics.

At that moment, an elder hurried in: "The Emperor of the Great Jin, the current Emperor Jinrong, has arrived." The Imperial Retinue was here.

This matter had indeed escalated significantly—even the Emperor had come.

Everyone knew that the current Emperor of the Great Jin, Emperor Jinrong, was merely a puppet.

However, he was still the Emperor, and even a puppet deserved basic courtesy.

Hearing of Emperor Jinrong’s arrival, Elder Yuanyuan could only shrug. "Let’s go and greet him. Oh, and Lu Yuan, don't even think about slipping away." He immediately called out to Lu Yuan, who was trying to sneak off. "Emperor Jinrong will certainly want to see you when he arrives. If you leave now, fine, but if you wait, Emperor Jinrong might personally visit Changchun Residence. If you don't want the Emperor himself coming to Changchun Residence, then come with us."

Lu Yuan’s face immediately twisted into a grimace.

Emperor Jinrong truly lived up to his designation as a puppet: a middle-aged man with a pale, slightly swollen face, clad in a golden robe embroidered with a five-clawed dragon, yet radiating no imposing aura. This exalted position of the Nine-Five Sovereign seemed quite lacking. But then again, it made sense. If the Five Great Immortal Sects were to support the Great Jin Emperor, they would naturally choose someone ineffectual. Why choose someone shrewd?

It was enough for the Five Great Immortal Sects to govern the world; there was no need for Emperor Jinrong to manage anything. He should remain a compliant puppet, and the more useless the puppet, the easier it was to control. Elder Yuanyuan and the other Ninth-Generation Sword Immortals did not perform deep bows upon seeing Emperor Jinrong; a simple clasping of fists sufficed between them.

Emperor Jinrong turned his attention to Lu Yuan. "Not bad. Handsome, and seems like a good person. To reach this level at such a young age, very commendable, very good. Tell me, Lu Yuan, are you married? I have several daughters; the Third, Fifth, and Seventh Princesses are not yet wed. You may choose among them." This was clearly an attempt at recruitment.

But this level of political maneuvering seemed too crude, lacking the finesse of Elder Yuanyuan’s spring breeze greeting. Emperor Jinrong's skill was truly lacking, Lu Yuan thought internally. Meanwhile, Li Yuanbai was already stepping in to gently decline the offer.

Li Yuanbai knew his disciple’s nature well: unwilling to be entangled in conflict, preferring to shirk responsibility whenever possible. If there were anyone else in the Great Jin capable of standing against the envoy Tiemuer from the Great Yuan, Lu Yuan would happily spend his time sleeping in. Marrying a princess? What a joke. Every succession dispute involving royalty was troublesome enough; Lu Yuan had zero interest.

Lu Yuan's true sentiment at that moment was: Only a fool would marry a princess. Whether the princesses were beautiful was unknown, but marrying one meant bringing home massive trouble.

The matter was thus settled.

The North Peak offered no true sanctuary; only this realm of white clouds remained peaceful.

Lu Yuan now lay atop the white clouds.

He took a sip of wine and closed his eyes halfway.

His Shu Gui longsword rested beside him.

The scene below was now too lively and noisy. He truly never adapted well to overly boisterous places. It was far more comfortable here in the White Cloud Immortal Realm. Sipping wine and dozing off, he unconsciously felt his magical power surging. Only then did he realize his cultivation was on the verge of a breakthrough. Indeed, he was nearing a breakthrough without even putting significant effort into forcing it.

Since the breakthrough was imminent, he decided to focus properly. He retrieved the Five Elements Spirit Sealing Talismans from his Lesser Sumeru Pouch, set up a Spirit Sealing Array, and took out three hundred spirit stones. With a slight flick of his wrist, he pierced them one by one. Instantly, torrents of spiritual energy poured out. Lu Yuan sat down cross-legged, rapidly circulating his Cloud Dragon Heart Method.

Countless amounts of magical power flooded into his body, assisting him in breaking through numerous barriers as he absorbed the inflow of energy.

During the Body Tempering stage, magical power had condensed within the five viscera and six entrails, making them exceptionally strong. Now, the magical power seemed to stop condensing in the organs and was surging toward a new direction: the blood. However, integrating magical power into the blood to refine it did not seem easy; there appeared to be a difficult bottleneck blocking the way.

Lu Yuan was not anxious. He slowly absorbed the magical power, the Cloud Dragon Heart Method turning lazily.

Let everything follow its natural course.

Cultivating naturally, practicing the sword naturally—this was the greatest secret to Lu Yuan’s success. Merging his being with nature, merging his heart with nature.

Human cultivation is often fraught with obstacles.

But nature itself is without obstruction; nature itself is perfect.

To immerse one's body and heart into nature meant these obstructions would naturally vanish.

However, achieving this integration of body and heart was far from simple. Even Lu Yuan could not maintain it at all times; usually, a single trip down the mountain would see his heart unsettled by the three thousand mundane distractions. But once he returned to North Peak, idled away his time, and lingered in the White Cloud Immortal Realm, he would quickly regain that state.

This state was something others could only hope for by chance.

Bang! After an indeterminate time, Lu Yuan suddenly felt as if a certain bottleneck within his body had shattered, and countless magical powers poured into his blood, beginning to refine it. A portion of his blood had already begun to change, becoming purer, more refined. Simultaneously, the core structures responsible for blood generation in his body began to produce blood madly.

Mad generation of blood meant the blood grew increasingly pure.

This was the ultimate manifestation of the Blood Refining Realm.

Of course, in the normal Blood Refining Realm, the effect was mainly deeper magical power, with only marginal benefit in actual combat. However, this was different for Lu Yuan because of his Blood Sword Sword Techniques.

He had reached the fourth level of the Body Tempering stage: the Blood Refining Realm. Lu Yuan let out a long breath. This time, it was truly interesting—he had reached the Blood Refining Realm while lying on the white clouds, drinking wine and dozing off. Achieving such an easy breakthrough felt truly carefree. Good; this ascent to a new level gave him greater confidence against Tiemuer, especially since the opponent’s magical power was currently immeasurable, making victory uncertain.

He took out the Blood Sword Sword Techniques from his Lesser Sumeru Pouch and seriously began to study the technique of Blood Sacrifice Sword.

A gust of fierce wind swept past, lifting the pages of the Blood Sword Sword Techniques and billowing the youth's blue-green robes.

The white clouds also stirred slightly, fragmenting a little.

(The third update for today is delivered—three chapters total. Calling for monthly votes. I had intended for four updates, but half the day was spent planning the plot—thinking through the transition introducing the Great Yuan story arc and planning the next arc concerning Li Yuanbai’s demise—leaving little time for writing. I only finished this now.)