The Fire Sword Tower. Fist to Overturn the World! If the sovereign decrees death upon the subject, the subject must obey.

Facing this overwhelming torrent of fist intent, facing the ultimate skill of the true Four Great Immortal Sects—the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect—Lu Yuan unleashed a terrifying battle will. Yes, your ultimate skill of the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect targets the heart and mind, but so what? You may be the sovereign, the emperor, but I am a cultivator, and I certainly do not fear your mortal emperor.

Lu Yuan drew his sword with casual grace. The Nourish My Sword traced a path through the air, a stroke as light and tranquil as the wind and clouds. A man of the wilderness, a cultivator, is not to be bound by you.

A man of the wilderness, a cultivator, shatters the Imperial Fist with a single sword strike. After breaking the Imperial Fist, Lu Yuan let out a long breath. Finally, he had broken through this mind-attacking technique; it was truly the first time he had encountered such an esoteric skill aimed at the psyche.

However, before Lu Yuan could fully relax, the crimson-gold iron figure moved its hand, manifesting a golden longsword. This golden blade unleashed blazing sword techniques the moment it appeared, subtly suggesting a golden dragon coiled within its sharpness. This was the "Heavenly Emperor Slays All Immortals" technique, derived from the supreme lore of the Scarlet Dragon Sect, the Emperor Sword Arts.

At this moment, Lu Yuan felt an intense sensation: even though he was a cultivator, even if he were a god in the heavens, he ought to submit. It was as if he were merely a cultivator, while the opponent was the Heavenly Emperor himself. Even among immortals, there exists an Emperor, instilling a powerful urge to yield beneath the edge of that sword.

The Heavenly Emperor reigns supreme, unifying the Four Quarters, Six Directions, Eight Extremes, and Ten Voids. All cultivators are but ants beneath the hand of the Heavenly Emperor. Submit, yield, submit quickly.

A voice seemed to be constantly echoing within Lu Yuan’s body, reminding him to surrender.

Most people in this world hold their own faiths. Ordinary folk worship immortals; Buddhists venerate the Buddha and Bodhisattvas; cultivators pay homage to the Three Pure Ones. The Heavenly Emperor holds an exceptionally high status in Taoist mythology, and nearly every cultivator harbors a deep-seated awe for the exalted Emperor above.

Now, it seemed a Heavenly Emperor had manifested before Lu Yuan, demanding his annihilation. The Heavenly Emperor decrees the demise of the immortal; the immortal must perish.

Lu Yuan had bowed countless times to the Three Pure Ones and the Heavenly Emperor alongside the elders of his sect. This influence still touched him, but bowing and submitting was never going to be easy for him. He didn't want to yield so readily. Gritting his teeth, he dug his fingers into his flesh, attempting to use the sharp pain to stimulate himself—yet, under the oppressive aura of the Emperor Sword, his movements were sluggish.

The Emperor Sword was, by its nature, the most powerful absolute art of the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect. Deploying it against a cultivator was almost invariably effective; few cultivators could counter it. This psychological suppression, this mental crushing force, was not something one could simply dispel.

But to defeat him with this alone? So what if you are the Heavenly Emperor? I am merely a lone, wild crane.

"One man, one sword, one cup of wine, finding true freedom. Though the Heavenly Emperor calls, the wild crane remains untamed."

This battle, in fact, solidified Lu Yuan’s foundation. Ordinary cultivators worship the Three Pure Ones and the Heavenly Emperor; most immortals in the Immortal Realm also revere them. But there exists a type of person—the free, untethered wanderers—who worship no one, living contentedly and merrily. The Ancestor of Earthly Immortals, for instance, belonged to this group. At this moment, Lu Yuan felt incomparably joyous.

This was a joy born of the spirit. From this point forward, he would never again fear the Heavenly Emperor.

Lu Yuan countered with a reverse draw of his sword. Having achieved such spiritual elation, the Nourish My Sword moved with supreme agility. The stances of the Emperor Sword were not inherently difficult to break; what was difficult was its profound spiritual influence. Lu Yuan let out a loud cry: "Break for me!" The Nourish My Sword carved an exquisitely intricate trajectory, utterly dismantling the Emperor Sword technique.

With a sharp bang, a token fell to the ground, inscribed with the characters "Scarlet Dragon."

Tucking the token into his robes, Lu Yuan stepped through the doorway and emerged into the outside world. Upon reaching the main hall of the Fire Sword Tower, he found everyone staring at him with utterly slack-jawed disbelief. They were genuinely stunned; some cultivators’ jaws hadn't even managed to close.

"Did I just see that right? The data next to that Jin Kingdom man has changed to four." "Yes, four. It means he has successfully surpassed the challenges of all four gates." "Challenged four gates and broke through four! How formidable!" "No, you all need to pay attention to the fourth gate he challenged—it was the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect." "What? The Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect?" "Are you certain you weren't mistaken?" some asked with shock. "How could I be mistaken? It was definitely the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect." "The Emperor's ultimate technique! The Imperial Fist is hard to break, but the Emperor Sword is notoriously the most difficult of the difficult! In the past forty years, among cultivators below the Longevity Stage, even within our Great Qin Kingdom, only one person managed to break through the Imperial Fist and the Emperor Sword of the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect once. How could this man from Jin accomplish it?" "Indeed. Our Great Qin Kingdom's cultivation level far surpasses Jin's. If even we can’t break it, how could a Jin person do it?" "What manner of celestial being is this Jin man?" "He looks quite ordinary. How can he be this powerful?" "Right. Even in our Great Qin Kingdom, among those at the Longevity Stage, while many can break the Imperial Fist, very few can break the Emperor Sword."

All eyes fixed upon this strange young man from Jin. The young man smiled slightly and replied, "Actually, the techniques of the Great Qin Kingdom are not that difficult to break."

Lu Yuan retorted without holding back, effectively slapping them in the face with his success. They had provoked him earlier, severely so. He had no intention of arguing with them; verbal sparring was the most tedious activity. Now, he used undeniable fact to silence them, leaving them speechless.

The moment Lu Yuan uttered those words, everyone who had previously taunted him fell silent. It was unbelievable. How could a man from the Jin Kingdom, usually reserved and humble, act so high-profile in the Qin capital? Of course, their anger intensified. How dare a mere Jin man be so arrogant?

These people were consumed by rage, but facts were facts. One fact outweighed a thousand words.

After the Imperial Fist and Emperor Sword of the Scarlet Dragon Immortal Sect were broken, they were left with nothing to say.

Lu Yuan fully savored the moment. Everyone has their own pleasures.

Some prefer carnal desires, some enjoy the thrill of combat, some like researching new inventions, some crave absolute power, and some relentlessly pursue eternal life. Lu Yuan had few passions, essentially limited to three: drinking wine, practicing the sword, and lazing about.

To master the various sword techniques of the world and fight against them—what exhilaration could be greater?

When Elder Yan Cang had instructed him to travel a million li to challenge sword masters across all regions, Lu Yuan had genuinely been tempted. Facing diverse sword styles—what a delightful prospect! However, he quickly reconsidered: a million li, sword masters scattered everywhere, finding them would be difficult. Thinking of that, he abandoned the idea and chose to indulge his laziness instead.

But now, within the Fire Sword Tower, he could encounter all sorts of sword arts. Although he couldn't grasp the true divine essence of these techniques, the swordsmanship used by these iron figures was close to the Sword Intent level. Encountering and learning all these techniques here was certainly a time-saver—a way to be lazy while also satisfying his desire for exhilarating practice.

Besides the four major Immortal Sects in the Great Qin Kingdom, there were several superior Immortal Sects whose strength was not far behind the Huashan Immortal Sect, and the number of middle-tier sects was even greater. Otherwise, how could the Great Qin Kingdom be called a border superpower? How could the Qin people be so arrogant?

For instance, within the Great Qin Kingdom, there was the Mount Tai Sect. This sect ranked at the very bottom among the superior Immortal Sects, incomparable to the pinnacle masters of a superior sect like Huashan. Nevertheless, they possessed some unique swordsmanship. The Mount Tai Sect’s sword style tended toward the heavy and profound: the Mount Tai Foundation Sword, the How is Mount Tai?, the Eighteen Terraces of Mount Tai, and the Five Officials Sword.

The Mount Tai Foundation Sword was utterly stable, every movement robust, a sword style built upon the very mountain. The How is Mount Tai? technique struck like a mountain being cleaved in two, possessing immense destructive power. The Eighteen Terraces of Mount Tai combined peril with stability, featuring eighteen variations. This style shared some similarities with the Seventeen Movements of Fast and Slow from the Azure City Immortal Sect’s Six Ultimate Swords. The Five Officials Sword was derived from the pine trees growing upon Mount Tai.

Many interesting sword techniques! Lu Yuan felt this trip was absolutely worthwhile. He had encountered such fascinating sword styles. The Mount Tai Immortal Sect's techniques brought him considerable joy for a time. Naturally, the final outcome was never in doubt: he defeated the black iron figure and obtained another token. After acquiring it, he returned to the center of the Fire Sword Tower and saw that the number following his avatar had now changed to five.

Five!

What did that signify?

It meant Lu Yuan had challenged the techniques behind five gates and passed all five.

Counting carefully, most people currently displayed zero. Only a select few had reached one. Those reaching four were extremely rare, let alone five. Those whose avatars bore the mark of five could be counted on one's fingers; in fact, there were only a handful in total, such as several established masters at the Ninth Level of the Body Tempering Stage in the Great Qin Kingdom, like the one known for the line, "Sunlight bathes the incense burner, giving rise to purple smoke."

At this point, the mood of many Qin cultivators grew quite strange.

Lu Yuan couldn't be bothered with them; he was already entering the next gate, the sixth one. This gate was named after the Kongtong Immortal Sect. The Kongtong Immortal Sect was also a formidable immortal sect. Many of their sword techniques were merely average, such as the Azure Spirit Sword Art or the Flying Dragon Sword Art—they leaned towards the commonplace. However, their ultimate technique, the Seven Emotions and Seven Injuries Sword Art, was an exceptionally profound skill.

Joy, anger, sorrow, contemplation, grief, fear, alarm—these constitute the Seven Emotions. Humans possess seven emotions. The Seven Emotions and Seven Injuries Sword Art targeted these seven emotions, manifesting seven types of injury.

"Come, a good challenge!" Lu Yuan was now thoroughly energized, feeling an indescribable vitality course through him. He took a deep swig of wine. The liquor flowed down his throat, melting into a warm current in his abdomen, meeting another fascinating sword technique—the Seven Emotions and Seven Injuries Sword Art! He tossed the wine gourd into his Asura Pouch, and his Nourish My Sword began to move with utmost dexterity.

(First update delivered.)