To pierce the heavens, to pierce the clouds above the great lake—even before reaching the lake's surface, it stirred the waters of Lake Tai. Such was the terrifying sword energy projected by the elders of the Sword Sect.

The Sword Sect elders then descended upon the island in the middle of the lake.

Leading them was the Sword Immortal of the Sword Sect, the Unharmed Sword Immortal, Nangong Wushang. This Nangong Wushang’s surname was Nangong, and indeed, he never harmed others. Do not ever mistake him for a kindhearted soul who is too tender to injure anyone; that would be a grave error. He doesn’t fail to harm people; he only kills them. Cultivators of the Righteous Path generally possess little killing intent, but Nangong Wushang was a stark exception, possessing an immense, almost unparalleled degree of killing desire. This forced the Sword Sect to commit him only to the subterranean battlefields or the fronts against the Yuan Nation. If there were no wars, he was forbidden from taking action. Nangong Wushang appeared incredibly cold and stern, yet his whole being radiated killing intent.

However, on this occasion, his purpose was much like Fang Ru’s—merely present to oversee the matter, not required to fight personally.

The Gentleman Sword Immortal, Fang Ru, faced the Unharmed Sword Immortal, Nangong Wushang, for a while in a silent confrontation.

Two distinctly different streams of sword energy clashed in the air. After a significant period, the energies between them finally subsided.

Following Nangong Wushang were fifty cultivators, each radiating soaring sword energy. Standing there, it was immediately apparent that these fifty cultivators possessed an aura slightly stronger than that of the group at North Peak; their strength was clearly extraordinary.

Lu Yuan did not recognize these individuals; he only felt their sword auras piercing the clouds, especially a few among them who seemed even more terrifying.

Beside him, Ye Xiao murmured in a low voice, "No way... so terrifying? Tsk tsk, even Jian Tan Lingyun has come out." Jian Tan Lingyun was an extremely famous figure in the Sword Sect. It was said he was obsessed with swords—collecting all manner of famous blades. He had once abandoned his wife and children in pursuit of a specific sword, earning widespread opprobrium. This fanaticism for swords allowed him to master five Sword Intents, making him the person under the rank of Sword Immortal who had comprehended the most Intents. Below the level of a true Sword Immortal, few could match him.

This Jian Tan appeared as an utterly down-and-out old man, carrying eight swords on his back, and surely the number of swords within his spatial artifact was even greater.

"What?" Xuanhuo Double Eyes, Elder Zhou Wu, is also here." This "Xuanhuo Double Eyes" possessed naturally extraordinary eyes. Merely looking at an opponent could force forth endless flames, which, combined with his fire-element sword techniques, made him a figure of absolute terror. This man, resembling a ruthless warlord, had eyes the color of red fire.

"The Subterranean War Sword, Zhao Wuji, is actually alive." This Subterranean War Sword Zhao Wuji carried a massive longsword, radiating oppressive malevolence. He was rumored to have made his name in the subterranean regions many years ago. His most celebrated feat was slaying an injured Sword Immortal-level figure, killing a Sword Immortal while not being one himself. Although that Sword Immortal was wounded, it was a campaign that cemented Zhao Wuji’s fame. He disappeared long ago; everyone assumed he was dead, never expecting him to still be alive.

"The Yuan-Extinguishing Sword, Zhu Bayi, has also arrived!" Ye Xiao could scarcely believe it. The figure with a face full of killing intent and two long scars across his visage—was that not the Yuan-Extinguishing Sword, Zhu Bayi? The other North Peak cultivators shared his disbelief. The Yuan-Extinguishing Sword Zhu Bayi was no ordinary figure. He had slain countless cultivators of the Yuan Nation during the war between the Jin and Yuan states, earning him the moniker "Yuan-Extinguishing Sword." His strength was also terrifying; one could almost call him the foremost expert beneath the Sword Immortals.

"The Extreme Dao Sword Disciple, Fang Qiankun!" This person also caused a massive stir. This Extreme Dao Sword Disciple was only a little over two hundred years old and was the fastest-rising talent before Lu Yuan, hence the title "Extreme Dao Sword Disciple." Extreme Dao—the path of rapid ascent. This Fang Qiankun stood utterly cold and aloof, as if nothing else mattered.

"Jian Tan Lingyun, Xuanhuo Double Eyes Zhou Wu, Subterranean War Sword Zhao Wuji, Yuan-Extinguishing Sword Zhu Bayi... and the Extreme Dao Sword Disciple!" A chorus of sharp intakes of breath erupted. The elders of North Peak were genuinely stunned by the lineup from East Peak.

The five names just announced were all figures approaching the level of Sword Immortals.

At North Peak, someone like Chu Lang was considered among the most famous talents.

But compared to these five, Chu Lang was far behind.

Every one of these five possessed immense arrogance, standing there radiating it.

It was rumored that someone once assessed that once these five reached the True Sword Immortal level, they would all become truly formidable Sword Immortals.

Some of these five were rumored to have died long ago, while others had vanished from public view. Who would have thought they would all appear now, during the contention for Lake Tai, the Soul Lake?

The appearance of these five meant that North Peak’s chances of victory were practically nonexistent.

Ye Xiao was rendered speechless by shock. Lu Yuan, however, calmly continued drinking his wine, though he was the only one among the fifty at North Peak to maintain such an attitude.

The Gentleman Sword Immortal, Fang Ru, and the Unharmed Sword Immortal, Nangong Wushang, stood between the two groups of cultivators. Nangong Wushang finally spoke, "Alright, we can probably begin now."

Fang Ru nodded, "Indeed, we can begin. This time, the rule is to establish a non-directional teleportation array on the island in the lake. From there, people will randomly enter the five-hundred-mile expanse of Lake Tai. Combat will occur within this area. Serious injury is forbidden; surrender is permitted. Each person holds a token containing a lamp wick. If someone surrenders, they must extinguish the wick on their life token to signify their loss. whichever side has people remaining at the end wins."

With a dizzying shift, Lu Yuan found himself in an unknown location within Lake Tai.

Lake Tai was vast.

Combat was permitted both in the air and on the water.

Lu Yuan looked around; the scenery here was exceptional.

Before he could fully appreciate the lake and mountain colors, the space before him shimmered. An elder then appeared in the void, clearly having just teleported in. This Sword Sect elder laughed heartily, "Good luck! Meeting a North Peak member so quickly. You look like quite a young elder!" He had clearly mistaken Lu Yuan for an elder from North Peak.

The Sword Sect elder showed no courtesy. He flipped his hand, revealing his flying sword, and launched an attack directly at Lu Yuan. His opening move was the Xiyi Sword Technique. His Xiyi Sword Technique was incredibly swift, and when the sword sliced through the air, it made no sound. Deploying the Xiyi Sword Technique immediately showed this man's deep confidence in the style.

A superb move, "If Xiyi, then Yi." Coupled with his cultivation at the Sixth Layer of Longevity, the sword was practically striking Lu Yuan’s chest the moment it was drawn.

This move will surely force the young elder opposite me to surrender, the Sword Sect elder thought to himself. But at that very instant, his vision swam. In the next moment, Lu Yuan's Yangwu Sword had not left its sheath, yet the tip of the scabbard pointed directly between the Sword Sect elder's eyebrows: "You lose. You can extinguish the wick on your token."

The Sword Sect elder hadn't even fully processed what had happened before he slowly grasped the situation—he had lost to Lu Qiang. "Who are you? How do you possess such terrifying sword techniques?"

"Lu Yuan," Lu Yuan replied.

"Lu Yuan, that prodigious disciple? How can he be this strong!" the Sword Sect elder muttered, almost disbelieving. Although he had heard of Lu Yuan's reputation, he had always considered him merely a junior for the future. Lu Yuan’s most brilliant recorded victory was against the Blood Transformation Sword Immortal, Si Nan, who was also at the Sixth Layer of Longevity. While cultivators at the Sixth Layer of Longevity could be called Sword Immortals in mid-sized sects, they didn't quite qualify in major immortal sects. Therefore, Lu Yuan's victory over Si Nan wasn't taken seriously. Before the fight, everyone agreed that North Peak needed to worry about Chu Lang and a few others; no one had paid attention to Lu Yuan. Yet, when the actual fighting began, Lu Yuan proved to be overwhelmingly powerful.

He had managed to defeat his opponent in a single move without even unsheathing his sword.

It couldn't be helped; recently, Lu Yuan had even defeated figures like the Thirty-Six Stars of the Wandering Devils and the Poison Hand Medicine King. A mere Sixth Layer of Longevity was nothing to Lu Yuan.

The elder mumbled a few times but accepted his defeat. He extinguished the wick on his token and, following custom, headed toward the island in the lake to withdraw from the competition.

As he withdrew, Lu Yuan reattached the Yangwu Sword, sheath and all, back to his waist and began surveying the surrounding scenery. It was only upon closer inspection that he realized the view was absolutely sublime.

This Lake Tai seemed alive. Layers of scaled waves rose with the wind, accompanied by the leaping sunlight, flashing like golden scales.

The lake water whispered faintly through the withered reeds. Further in the distance, fish leaped joyfully out of the water. One white fish had just sprung out when, snap, it landed in the beak of a bird. This bird was of an unknown species, possessing an extremely long neck. White birds floated gently on the water’s surface, lightly shaking their snow-white feathers, stirring the ripples, causing droplets to scatter.

After a while, the fish sank back into the depths, and the birds soared high into the air. The wind died down, and the lake returned to stillness.

The still lake was like a flawless mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and the shadows of the aquatic plants.

A faint layer of mist seemed to hover, blurring the distant mountains into hazy silhouettes.

Lu Yuan gradually sank into contemplation. Back in the Cloud-Piercing Immortal Realm, he had pondered the Sword Intent of Water, but at the time, he hadn't grasped it. Now, he felt an imminent breakthrough. Lu Yuan completely forgot the struggle for Lake Tai, the Soul Lake, and simply stared fixedly at everything.

Such beautiful scenery induced a state of utter absorption, where the self and the external merged.

Yet, one question surfaced in his mind: What is a lake? What is the Sword Intent of the Lake?

The ocean water was too intensely blue, the color of a sapphire too deep; even a master painter would struggle to capture it. But the lake water, with its subtle hues—that was something paint could capture and depict. In his contemplation, Lu Yuan unconsciously drew the Yangwu Sword from his waist, his body moving with the blade.

The sword light stirred.

The sword techniques he employed now were all created spontaneously according to his will; there were no fixed forms. Initially, the movements were riddled with flaws, but these flaws were all imbued with a sword intent that resembled a lake, a dream.

One lake represented one dream.

One Sword Astonishes the Dream!