The Blood-Red Rainbow Sword transformed into a fleeting streak of light, its trace almost impossible to discern.

The Asura Bone Saber, thin as a cicada's wing, exceedingly slender and swift, was likewise impossible to track.

Clang! The Blood-Red Rainbow Sword and the Asura Bone Saber collided.

Both Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship and Han Nanluo’s saber techniques were far beyond the ordinary; otherwise, at such speeds—nearly imperceptible to the naked eye—they would never find their opponent. Such mastery in both sword and saber arts was truly outstanding. Following this clash, Lu Yuan found himself at a slight disadvantage. However, Han Nanluo clearly sensed something peculiar about the blood-red sword; it seemed to be neutralizing the magical power radiating from his Asura Bone Saber.

Han Nanluo knew his current magical power held an advantage. Yet, it wasn't so overwhelming as before, where sheer power could completely override exquisite sword techniques. This meant that from this point onward, they would have to fight with technique as well as power, not just rely on the previously dominant display of magical superiority.

But Han Nanluo didn't mind; Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship was indeed good, but his own saber arts were no less impressive. The supreme saber art of the Asura Clan was naturally the Seven Great Hates Saber Techniques—a set of seven moves embodying seven distinct resentments.

The First Hate: Youth withered too soon. The Second Hate: Time is hard to reclaim. The Third Hate: The world is capricious and uncertain. The Fourth Hate: Human hearts are difficult to fathom. The Fifth Hate: Life holds no regrets. The Sixth Hate: Death offers no peace. The Seventh Hate: Heaven is merciless.

These Seven Great Hates were the highest mysteries of the Asura Clan, yet no current member could master even a fraction of them. However, besides the Seven Great Hates, the Asura Clan possessed numerous other formidable skills, and Han Nanluo had synthesized these moves to create his own personalized set of saber techniques.

This set was called the Seven Absolutes, crafted in emulation of the Seven Great Hates.

The Seven Absolute Saber Techniques also consisted of seven moves: First Absolute—Cleaving Absolute; Second Absolute—Chopping Absolute; Third Absolute—Lashing Absolute; Fourth Absolute—Thrusting Absolute; Fifth Absolute—Severing Absolute; Sixth Absolute—Blocking Absolute. The names of the first six techniques sounded rather plain, but they reflected Han Nanluo’s confidence in his creation. The history of the Asura Clan stretched back ages; while the subterranean demons boasted diverse species, few dared to compare their lineage length to the Asura. The history of the Five Great Immortal Sects paled in comparison. With such a long history came an immense repository of saber techniques, and Han Nanluo believed he had summarized every saber art from the Asura Clan’s past masters.

For the First Absolute, Cleaving Absolute, Han Nanluo believed he had integrated the most supreme essence of every cleaving technique known in the Asura Clan up to that point into this single move, hence the name Cleaving Absolute.

The subsequent five moves followed the same pattern; he had merged the ultimate essence of the chopping technique into the Second Absolute, the ultimate essence of the lashing technique into the Third, and so on for thrusting, severing, and blocking, incorporating the pinnacle of each into his Six Absolute Saber Techniques. The final, Seventh Absolute, was even more magnificent.

The Seventh Absolute differed greatly from the first six; its title was Breaking Immortal Absolute. He named it such because he believed this single strike possessed the power to obliterate countless cultivators—hence, Breaking Immortal Absolute.

The Seven Absolute Saber Techniques were truly extraordinary.

This set, created by Han Nanluo, had once been described by the Bright Demon Emperor simply as a "decent" set of saber skills. Yet, coming from the Bright Demon Emperor, even the term "decent" carried extraordinary weight.

Han Nanluo was deeply confident in his creation; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to adopt such audacious names. Seven Absolutes, Seven Absolutes—such supreme confidence demanded genuine capability.

Even though the battle now required matching Lu Yuan in both power and technique, Han Nanluo remained supremely confident.

The First Absolute of the Seven Absolutes, Cleaving Absolute, was unleashed with overwhelming momentum, seemingly intent on splitting the very void before him in two. As Han Nanluo executed this strike, his confidence peaked, his essence, vital energy, and spirit all surging to their apex. The saber carved an almost esoteric trajectory through space. Han Nanluo anticipated that even if this blow failed to wound the young upstart Lu Yuan, it would at least force him into a desperate defense.

To his astonishment, Lu Yuan merely replied with a gentle sword thrust—a movement reminiscent of the Cloud-Coming Sword Art from the Mount Hua Immortal Sect. Han Nanluo had witnessed this technique before, but never with such devastating efficacy; a mere gentle sword pass effortlessly neutralized his peak-level saber strike.

To break his attack so simply! Han Nanluo recoiled in shock.

In truth, Lu Yuan admired the power of Han Nanluo's saber strike. Measured against the standards of the Sword Path, this move resided at the pinnacle of the Second Realm of Swordsmanship. However, without reaching the Third Realm—the realm of Sword Intent—it remained ultimately ephemeral. Furthermore, Lu Yuan himself stood at the zenith of Sword Intent, having transcended it entirely. His next step was merely to merge various Sword Intents into a single output. A typical Sword Intent master encountering Lu Yuan would be at a disadvantage, let alone Han Nanluo, who was currently only at the peak of the Second Realm of Swordsmanship.

Han Nanluo was drenched in sweat. In the preceding barrage, he had already unleashed several of his ultimate moves: the First Absolute, Cleaving Absolute; the Second, Chopping Absolute; the Third, Lashing Absolute; the Fourth, Thrusting Absolute; and the Fifth, Severing Absolute. He had executed a sequence of his most profound saber techniques.

These five absolutes represented the culmination of Han Nanluo's life’s work, and he had always been utterly confident in them. Yet, as his ultimate skills were deployed, Lu Yuan casually deflected them with a few effortless sword passes, all while simultaneously applying immense pressure, seemingly able to conjure the perfect counter-move with every casual stroke. How was this possible? Han Nanluo violently retreated after unleashing the Sixth Absolute, Blocking Absolute, only to find the same result as the previous five—utterly useless, and leaving him completely suppressed.

Damn it! There was no other way!

Han Nanluo could only place his final hope on the Seventh Absolute, Breaking Immortal Absolute. This was his strongest strike, and now it erupted forth, imbued with the fervent belief that this blow could shatter immortals! With this swing, Han Nanluo seemed to carve away the space before him and behind him; there was no path forward, no path back—only this singular moment defined by intense killing intent and utter destruction.

What a powerful saber art. This strike subtly brushed against the very edge of the Intent realm. Lu Yuan inwardly registered a slight surprise. Such a move certainly warranted attention, but only attention. This technique was immensely strong, yet for Lu Yuan, whose mastery of the Sword Path far surpassed Han Nanluo's, he could discern significant flaws within this ultimate attack—flaws much larger than those in the previous six moves. With a swift movement, Lu Yuan shifted, his sword rotating, and the blood-red blade pierced through Han Nanluo’s throat. Against an opponent as magically potent and skilled with the saber as Han Nanluo, hesitation was not an option.

Blood instantly surged forth. The Asura Clan indeed possessed phenomenal vitality; even with his throat pierced, Han Nanluo’s Asura Bone Saber swung back toward Lu Yuan. However, the blood-red sword lodged in Han Nanluo’s throat seemed to be ferociously and malevolently devouring the lifeblood, sapping the final strength from the returning saber strike. Lu Yuan twisted sideways to evade the attack.

Finally dispatching his opponent, Lu Yuan let out a breath of relief. While it appeared he held the advantage throughout, his foe possessed profound magical reserves and excellent saber skills, demanding absolute focus. In truth, the primary issue lay in the injuries sustained early in the fight before he fully utilized his Blood Sacrifice Sword Art. Those accumulated wounds had taken a toll, and despite recovering his spirit for the prolonged battle, the victory left him greatly fatigued. Nevertheless, he had eliminated his greatest adversary to date. Why was the surrounding area so utterly silent?

Lu Yuan glanced sideways and realized that every living being—cultivators and demons alike—was staring at him in stunned silence.

Was this necessary?

Lu Yuan felt a surge of confusion.

He was unaware of the profound significance attributed to the title of Dùzhǔ (Helm Master) in the subterranean world. Everyone judged power by cultivation realm, but realms were not easily discerned unless one engaged in combat. For ordinary individuals, discerning a realm level was impossible; thus, status and titles became the primary metrics for judging strength. It was analogous to the surface world, where a True Disciple was an insurmountable figure to common disciples—status alone declared the opponent unbeatable. A renowned Ninth Generation Sword Immortal was even more untouchable, universally acknowledged as too dangerous to provoke.

In the subterranean world, the standards of judgment differed. Being a Xiāngzhǔ (Fragrance Master) signified regional prowess. A Dùzhǔ level, however, generally denoted the single strongest expert within that entire region. As for Tángzhǔ (Hall Master) level, each one could be described as unfathomably deep.

This hierarchy was deeply ingrained.

Han Nanluo was a Helm Master on the demonic side, placing him in the Dùzhǔ class within the subterranean realm.

The status of a Dùzhǔ was anything but trivial.

And now, Lu Yuan, a mere youth, had slain Han Nanluo, a Dùzhǔ! How could this be? He was a Dùzhǔ! The significance of a Dùzhǔ was universally understood.

And the Master of a Helm was now dead.

What made it more unbelievable was that Lu Yuan was still such a young junior. Everyone had assumed the strongest of the Tenth Generation, like Zhao Qiankun or Zhang Qingshu, who were at the first stage of the Body Tempering realm, would be instantly crushed by experts from the preceding generation. Instead, Lu Yuan continually shattered the limits of what the younger generation could achieve, first defeating a Xiāngzhǔ, and now a Dùzhǔ!

This was truly… inconceivable!

At this moment, only the word 'inconceivable' seemed adequate.

Among the cultivators, many possessed eloquence, and their vocabulary should not have been so impoverished. In reality, their minds had been stunned into momentary paralysis, leaving them only capable of mechanically repeating, "Inconceivable." Had they not been so deeply shocked, the literary masters among them would surely have found richer words.

Many cultivators and demons were astonished. Should a figure of this caliber still be considered part of the younger generation? He ought to be ranked among the Ninth Generation for fairness. The dismissive rumors about him being 'watered down' vanished entirely. Now, everyone was certain that Nangong Lie, facing Lu Yuan, was destined only to lose, with no conceivable chance of winning.

After shaking off his daze, Gu Chenzi muttered, "I'm increasingly convinced that my junior martial nephew Zhao Qiankun is courting death by making Lu Yuan his enemy..."

"Agreed," Gu Yunzi nodded emphatically.