In the year in question, this man was known as Snake Sword, possessing formidable swordsmanship and having grasped a unique sword intent. While he could not be called a Grandmaster or Titan of the Sword, he was absolutely a Sword Genius.

And such a Sword Genius, facing Lu Yuan, attacked twenty-three times, only to retreat twenty-three times, repelled effortlessly by Lu Yuan on every occasion; what’s more, Lu Yuan had not shifted his stance by a single step, rooted immovably to one spot.

The swordsmanship displayed by this junior, Lu Yuan, was truly worthy of both respect and awe!

The second to enter the fray was the Scholar Swordsman Yu Danqing. Yu Danqing appeared to be around forty years old, with an ordinary appearance but a temperament leaning towards the scholarly and refined. Although the Sword Sect on Siguo Peak boasted many members, few could overcome a Sword Genius like Snake Sword Liannian. Even Scholar Swordsman Yu Danqing’s swordsmanship was only marginally superior to Snake Sword’s, yet Yu Danqing possessed considerable confidence in his own craft.

Yu Danqing’s sword art was utterly unique; it was not derived from the Xiyi Sword Style, but from a rarely seen ancient lineage of swordsmanship.

Take the Xiyi Sword Style, for instance. Though an excellent set of techniques, too many people used it, and consequently, too many people knew how to break it. Since everyone was familiar with the style, it became easier to counter. Yu Danqing believed his own sword art was unique, seldom witnessed, and very few opponents had ever failed to gain an advantage when first encountering it.

Yu Danqing ascended to the summit of Siguo Peak. "Junior, your swordsmanship is indeed impressive. Do you happen to be versed in calligraphy? My sword technique is an integration of script into the blade, derived from Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Poems Composed at the Gathering of the Orchid Pavilion. In the ninth year of Yonghe, the year Ji Chou, at the beginning of late spring..." Before clashing swords, he recited the passage, then suddenly flicked his wrist, drawing his sword. Naturally, he inscribed the character 'Yong' () with his blade. Within this 'Yong', he concealed eight distinct killing techniques, known as the 'Eight Methods of Yong' (). The legendary Eight Methods of Yong were notoriously difficult to master; a single character 'Yong' could embody eight lethal maneuvers. This single character 'Yong' enveloped Lu Yuan entirely, poised to unleash various killing strokes the moment Lu Yuan shifted his stance.

Yu Danqing was immensely confident in this move: the Eight Methods of Yong—one word, eight kills. As a result, Lu Yuan countered with a sword stroke that sealed the void. Yet, Yu Danqing felt his Eight Methods of Yong had been completely locked down, unable to execute a single killing move.

Yu Danqing was mentally prepared, having known Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship to be supreme. He remained unhurried and countered with another stroke, sketching a small character 'He' () in the empty air. The right side of this 'He' was intended to circle and trap Lu Yuan, making him a prisoner beneath the brush tip. Lu Yuan countered again with a reverse stroke just as the character 'He' was about to be completed, sealing that character as well, preventing it from being written further.

Yu Danqing proceeded to inscribe the characters 'Jiu' () and 'Nian' () consecutively, but both were sealed by Lu Yuan just as they neared completion. He prided himself on integrating script into his blade, yet only the first character, 'Yong', was fully drawn; all others were halted halfway. This brought him an unprecedented sense of frustration. His celebrated Scholar-Sword technique was rendered impotent—it was like a master calligrapher being forced to write while a mischievous child gripped the brush handle.

No matter which character of the Orchid Pavilion Preface he attempted, the flow was broken. Overwhelmed by annoyance, he silently cursed, concluding that Lu Yuan must also understand the Preface and was countering his technique by following the script’s sequence. Deciding to switch styles, he changed to a lesser-known calligraphy model, Li Sheng’s stele inscription. This style of swordsmanship was characterized by resolute decisiveness, sharp angles, crisp and upright strokes, projecting an imposing and unconventional bearing.

This technique was also one of his proudest achievements, and since few were familiar with this particular calligraphy, few knew its subsequent variations, making it hard to counter. When he unleashed it, he felt deeply satisfied, certain that Lu Yuan could not possibly recognize this script.

Lu Yuan certainly did not recognize his calligraphy, but then again, whether he recognized it or not was irrelevant to him.

Regardless, he shattered his own technique with counter-strokes, again preventing the calligraphy from being fully rendered, character after character.

Yu Danqing was now so frustrated he felt like spitting blood. His most cherished work could not be completed. In a surge of hidden anger, he switched to the style of the Crazy Sage of Cursive, Zhang Xu’s Abdominal Pain inscription. This style was wild and swift, seemingly indistinguishable to onlookers—it was Yu Danqing’s most favored, strongest, and strangest sword move. If this technique was also broken, Yu Danqing admitted defeat. With this frenetic, wild cursive script, he had confounded numerous masters.

Yet, this too resulted in a single character failing to complete itself. Lu Yuan genuinely cared nothing for the underlying calligraphy. In Lu Yuan’s eyes, there was no calligraphy; there were only successive sword moves. No matter the script, he paid it no mind, countering with pure sword technique. No matter how exquisite the calligraphy, it must ultimately be reduced to the Five Elements.

Sword duels were not necessarily contests unto death.

All participants were figures of standing and reputation.

A clear victory was usually sufficient to conclude the matter.

As for how the winner was decided, their swordsmanship was formidable enough that the victor and vanquished were easily discerned.

Yu Danqing, after all, was a Sword Genius and a senior. Having watched all his various calligraphy-based techniques dismantled by Lu Yuan, he knew his own swordsmanship was far inferior. What shocked him most was the realization that Lu Yuan had not moved an inch throughout the entire contest, while Yu Danqing himself had shifted his footing countless times. To refuse defeat now would be utterly shameless.

"Enough, enough, young man, you have won. My sword technique is indeed no match for yours," Yu Danqing conceded with profound dejection.

His admission of defeat shifted the atmosphere into something awkward.

How could the atmosphere not be strange?

Who was Lu Yuan? A junior from the Sword Qi Sect.

And now, this junior from the Sword Qi Sect had forced two seniors from the Sword Sect to concede defeat. This did not bode well for the Sword Sect’s reputation. After all, the Sword Sect specialized in swordsmanship; how could they face this humiliation?

The reputation of the Sword Sect was utterly tarnished, especially since they had just mocked the Sword Qi Sect for their lack of specialization in the blade. This was a direct, immediate slap back in the face.

The happiest ones, naturally, were the Qi Sect members. The elders of the Qi Sect began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Hah! The Sword Sect elders’ skill is inferior to that of a Sword Qi Sect disciple."

"What right do they have to call themselves Sword Sect elders?"

"Truly laughable."

"Indeed. They should just hand the title of Sword Sect over to the North Peak. How dare they claim the name Sword Sect." The inherent conflict between the Sword and Qi Sects meant they would seize any opportunity for mockery. Being taunted like this left the Sword Sect members profoundly disgraced.

"Very well, allow me to test you myself," a steady voice, laced with a subtle magnetism, rang out. A middle-aged man, whose features leaned towards the handsome and sharp, emerged from the crowd of the Sword Sect. As this handsome, somewhat sinister-looking middle-aged man stepped forward, the surrounding crowd automatically parted a path for him.

This man, with his sharply raised, handsome and wicked eyebrows, possessed a status entirely different from the others. While others were also termed Sword Immortals of the Longevity Stage, their titles did not explicitly include 'Sword Immortal.' This man, however, was titled as such: Miscellaneous Sword Immortal Ximen Luan, one of the original Eight Sword Immortals of the East Peak.

No one had expected someone of Ximen Luan’s caliber to intervene. This was merely a junior; who could have predicted that such a mere junior would compel Miscellaneous Sword Immortal Ximen Luan himself to act? He was a Sword Immortal of the Sword Sect!

Everything now rested on Ximen Luan. If Xi Yuexiu lost as well, the Sword Sect’s honor on Siguo Peak would be completely lost.

However, for Ximen Luan to lose seemed nearly impossible. After all, he was one of the original Eight Sword Immortals of the East Peak, a man crowned with the title of Sword Immortal.

Lu Yuan’s heart tensed. Sword Immortal! He had always believed in his heart that his sword skills surpassed those of a Sword Immortal level, but he had never truly sparred with one. He didn't know if his lead was genuine or imagined. Now, he finally had the chance to engage a Sword Immortal in a true contest of swordsmanship, eager to see what formidable skills a Sword Immortal possessed. Other contests, especially against spellcasters or those wielding blades, felt tedious to Lu Yuan. But sparring with a Sword Immortal, to witness true Sword Immortal sword art—this ignited his profound interest; he was practically itching to begin.

Footfalls sounded, heavy and steady.

Ximen Luan reached Lu Yuan. Standing before Lu Yuan, he radiated an aura of overwhelming superiority. His cultivation level dwarfed Lu Yuan’s; he was a figure long established in fame. Standing before Lu Yuan, he didn't feel like a single person, but rather a sword itself—a torrent of sword energy piercing the heavens.

This sword presence caused the gathered spectators to draw deep, sharp breaths.

What profound mastery of the blade! He actually made the onlookers feel as if he were a divine sword shooting into the sky.

Ximen Luan placed his hand on his sword hilt. "My sword is the Spirit Sword Canhe, weighing one hundred and thirty-five jin, three feet, three inches, one fen long, and one inch, two fen wide. Junior, your name is Lu Yuan. As the tenth generation, you have reason to be proud, but you are destined to fall beneath my blade." His words were accompanied by an imposing, powerful aura.

Ximen Luan had every right to his confidence. Miscellaneous Sword Immortal Ximen Luan had mastered dozens of sword styles in the outside world, boasting terrifying offensive power, known as the Unmatched Attacker. In the East Peak, in terms of frontal assault strength, among the Eight Sword Immortals, only the Grand Dao Realm’s Yuan Yang Shangren and the East Peak’s Second Sword, Ling Luoshi, could rival Ximen Luan.

Once Ximen Luan attacked, his offense surged like a boundless river, washing over the opponent. The killing moves from his dozens of sword styles flowed relentlessly, leaving no room to evade or block.

Many who clashed with Ximen Luan were influenced by his momentum from the very first moment, then overwhelmed and defeated by the sheer volume of his killing moves. Ye Yangrong, one of the Six Sword Immortals of the North Peak, had once been defeated by him, unable to withstand the power of his Canhe Spirit Sword.

Standing there now, he held absolute certainty.

Defeating a junior? What difficulty could that present?

The honor of the Sword Sect must not be lost!

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