"Lu Liu is impressive."

"How utterly amazing." The cultivators of the Wudang Immortal Sect buzzed with discussion. They hadn't expected Lu Yuan to win against the invisible sword qi either. With this victory, Lu Yuan advanced to the fifth round of the competition. After a moment, the fourth round concluded entirely, leaving only nine participants remaining.

Most peculiarly, among these nine survivors, Lu Yuan was the sole individual who had not reached the Fifth Level of Longevity; the others were all cultivators at that advanced stage.

This meant Lu Yuan had already secured a spot in the top nine.

"That Jin fellow is not bad."

"Indeed, occasionally a decent figure emerges from the Jin people."

"But in the next round, pitted against Fifth Level Longevity cultivators, he will surely be defeated." The cultivators of the Great Qin Kingdom also engaged in murmurs. It was unavoidable; Lu Yuan, a mere Second Level Longevity cultivator, making it into the final nine was an anomaly by any measure. After acknowledging his skill, they all concluded Lu Yuan was destined to lose the subsequent round.

Lu Yuan paid them no heed, proceeding directly to claim his reward. What would the prize for this fourth round be?

A Spirit Sealing Tablet was handed over. Lu Yuan swept his divine sense across it, discovering exactly six Cloud Element Cloud Tigers contained within. The reward for this stage was, unexpectedly, six large spirit beasts—they were certainly generous this time. Lu Yuan was already quite wealthy, but he had only accumulated twenty-three large spirit beasts in total; receiving six Cloud Element beasts in the fourth round of the True Martial Grotto-Heaven contest was exceptionally rich indeed.

Lu Yuan descended, feeling pleased, though the surrounding chatter had reached him. He knew that among the remaining nine, everyone else was at the Fifth Level of Longevity. And yet, he currently could not defeat anyone at that level. What was he to do?

He needed to devise a strategy. Lu Yuan mused internally, considering a thousand ideas and countless schemes, but ultimately, they all paled in comparison to sheer strength.

Only strength was the true foundation.

Improvement in swordsmanship seemed nearly impossible at this juncture.

Relatively speaking, boosting his magical power offered a better path.

How to increase his magical power?

He was currently stalled at the Second Level of Longevity, striving to break through to the Third. This threshold required condensing his Soul of Life and ensuring the integration of the Soul of Heaven and the Soul of Earth. The Soul of Earth had already returned within the Sword Dismantling Pool; only the Soul of Heaven remained missing. Because he possessed the Soul of the Heavenly Sword, he needed to find the Heavenly Sword at the Kunlun Heavenly Pass for his Heavenly Sword Soul to fully integrate.

The Heavenly Sword!

Now, situated within the True Martial Grotto-Heaven, how could he possibly journey untold distances to the Kunlun Heavenly Pass?

This problem, at the present moment, seemed fundamentally unsolvable.

The situation appeared locked in an impasse, causing Lu Yuan a flicker of irritation. He immediately lifted a bottle of wine and drank deeply. He sat in contemplation for a long while, yet no solution presented itself.

Could this journey into the True Martial Grotto-Heaven truly end here, preventing any further progress?

Lu Yuan pondered. If he were truly stuck here and lost the next match, there was nothing to be done; one could not force matters, though a deep sense of unwillingness lingered. Yet, a faint intuition suggested that he did not need to seek the Heavenly Sword at the Kunlun Heavenly Pass at all; he must have encountered the Heavenly Sword before. Where had he encountered a Heavenly Sword?

He had encountered many swords: his own Nourishing Myriad Sword, and the other nine swords belonging to the Nine True Disciples of Mount Hua's North Peak—the Balanced Virtue Sword, the Dragon Head Sword, the Crimson Jade Sword, the Faintly Thin Sword, the Vast Sun Sword, the Placid Sword, the Single Cry Sword, the Upright Sword, and the Circle Drawing Sword. Among the North Peak's Ninth Generation Elders, there was Elder Yuanyuan’s Primordial Spirit Sword, his Master’s Twilight Spirit Sword, Martial Uncle Dugu Ye’s Single Leaf Spirit Sword, Martial Uncle Ye’s Yang Circle Spirit Sword, Sima Changbai’s Great Sun Spirit Sword, Martial Uncle Fang’s Vast Integrity Spirit Sword, Martial Uncle Chu’s Flying Heaven Spirit Sword. He had also encountered Yuan Ling’s Transcendence Spirit Sword, along with various others. Ah, yes, in the North Peak Ancestral Court, he had seen the Second Generation Ancestor’s Emanating Cloud Immortal Sword, and he remembered Ancestor Yan’s Flying Swallow Immortal Sword.

Yes, the inspiration struck!

Ancestor Yan’s Flying Swallow Immortal Sword.

Wait, Ancestor Yan’s Flying Swallow Immortal Sword was an exquisitely agile immortal sword, moving like a swallow’s flight—it was definitely not a Heavenly Sword.

So, where lay the problem?

Lu Yuan pondered for a long time without finding the answer, while over there, the drawing of lots for the fifth round had already begun—the draw for the quarter-finals, advancing the nine to five. The result was that Lu Yuan received a bye. Everyone else exclaimed at Lu Yuan’s good fortune; in this round, he automatically advanced to the next stage without fighting.

Lu Yuan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, putting aside his thoughts. The Flying Swallow Immortal Sword was an immortal sword, not a Heavenly Sword. So which sword was the Heavenly Sword? None of the swords he had encountered possessed that qualification. Then, a flash of insight illuminated his mind, and he finally understood which one was the Heavenly Sword!

Among those he had encountered, there truly was a Heavenly Sword.

That wasn't a sword; it was a person.

The peerless Ancestor Yan Cangtian himself was a Heavenly Sword!

A Peerless Heavenly Sword! Born of uncommon origin!

His eyebrows were like swords, his eyes like swords, his hair like swords, his lips like swords, his robes like swords, his aura like swords, his courage like swords—the man himself was a sword. Was this not a Heavenly Sword capable of shaking the entire world?

He had been searching among the blades, forgetting that Ancestor Yan was the true Heavenly Sword of this era.

This realization made matters significantly simpler. He found a secluded spot, sat down calmly, and began to focus, recalling the time spent cultivating alongside Ancestor Yan. He had followed Ancestor Yan for a full year and was intimately familiar with his imposing aura. Recalling it now, the essence of the Heavenly Sword flooded his mind.

As this feeling took hold, a short sword gradually materialized above Lu Yuan’s head. This spectral sword was semi-transparent, and although very short, it radiated an aura akin to the sky itself, much like an ancient azure vault. If any cultivator witnessed this sight, they would likely be rendered speechless with shock.

The Soul of the Heavenly Sword! Every person’s soul differed, but the Soul of the Heavenly Sword was exceptionally rare. Once possessing the Soul of the Heavenly Sword, the Soul of the Earth Sword, and the Soul of Life Sword, one’s comprehension of the Way of the Sword reached an almost terrifying level. Fortunately, Lu Yuan had chosen a secluded place, so no one saw the manifestation of the Heavenly Sword Soul above his head.

“The Souls of Heaven and Earth reside externally, while the Soul of Life remains within. Let the Soul of the Heavenly Sword integrate!” Lu Yuan shouted loudly. As the shout echoed, the semi-transparent Heavenly Sword Soul projected towards the crown of his head, yet it hesitated, refusing to integrate smoothly. Lu Yuan roared again: “Integrate!” At this command, the Heavenly Sword Soul could resist no longer and merged inward.

As the Soul of the Heavenly Sword integrated, Lu Yuan felt his soul become significantly clearer. Many memories, almost entirely faded, resurfaced—some recalling his childhood frolics in Donglin Town, others practicing the sword with his Master, Li Yuanbai, and amusing his Master with his laziness.

It was an indescribably warm sensation. He resolved that he must take time to return home. As for his Master, he should be much relieved. Master, do not worry. If I can advance a few more levels of magical power, reaching the Sixth or Seventh Level of Longevity, even Sima Changbai might not dare confront me. If I have the chance then, I must deal with Sima Changbai.

The memories ceased there. Lu Yuan felt his three souls swell monumentally at that moment, rapidly expanding several times their original size before finally stabilizing.

Lu Yuan understood: he had now reached the Third Level of Longevity—Condensing the Divine Soul.

As long as he wished, his Divine Soul could continue to condense and strengthen until he reached the Fourth Level of Longevity—Achievement of the Primordial Spirit.

Once the Primordial Spirit was achieved, the distinction from before would be absolute.

Without a Primordial Spirit, how could one become immortal?

Moreover, only with a Primordial Spirit did one qualify to condense the Void Core, form the Golden Core, and stride toward the Great Dao of the Golden Core, eventually shattering the core to form the Nascent Soul, achieving the Nascent Soul stage, which was one of the crucial symbols of the Great Dao realm.

Naturally, the most immediate concern was that having reached the Third Level of Longevity and condensed the Divine Soul, he now stood a much better chance of facing the Fifth Level Longevity cultivators within the True Martial Grotto-Heaven.

——————

Following the incredibly brutal fighting of the fifth round, only five participants remained.

This group naturally included Lu Yuan, who had fortunately drawn a bye, and four others. Among these four were Song Dongxia of the Carefree Immortal Sect, Zhong Qiu of the Swordless Immortal Sect, Master Jifa of the Great Mahayana Temple, and one other lesser-known Fifth Level Longevity cultivator. The other major favorite, Ye Hou of the Red Dragon Immortal Sect, was defeated by Master Jifa when they fought. In that battle, Master Jifa displayed terrifying combat prowess, forcing even the other favorite, Ye Hou, to concede defeat.

It was now time for the rewards of the fifth round.

This is...

Lu Yuan looked at the reward in his hand. Inside a smooth, transparent bottle rested a mass of flame, accompanied by a piece of bright white meteorite iron weighing perhaps several dozen catties. The white iron shone like crisp autumn water, causing Lu Yuan to pause in surprise. Hongri, whose knowledge surpassed Lu Yuan's, explained, "That is the Eternal Flame, and the Taibai Meteorite Iron—materials used for forging Spirit Swords." He spoke with a touch of envy.

Flying swords were common in the cultivation world, but Spirit Swords were far rarer; few save Ninth Generation Sword Immortals possessed them.

As for Immortal Swords, they were objects one might meet by chance but rarely acquire. In the entire Great Jin Kingdom, the number of people possessing Immortal Swords would not exceed ten, and possibly fewer.

The True Martial Grotto-Heaven truly yielded excellent treasures; the Eternal Flame and the Taibai Meteorite Iron appeared as rewards from the fifth round.

In that case, he anticipated the later rounds even more eagerly.

Naturally, the opponents ahead would be even more formidable and difficult to handle, but wasn't that more interesting?

Mastering all forms of swordsmanship had always been one of his interests.

He had been lazy while staying at Mount Hua's North Peak, but since he was now traveling, it was time to take things seriously. After all, to achieve mastery in the way of the sword, one needed to experience all the various sword styles under heaven.

(This is the third update; there will be one more chapter tonight.)