The Central Heavenly Dynasty was the terrestrial counterpart to the celestial courts. There, the spiritual energy was so dense it was nearly suffocating. Those in the remote territories, having never visited the Central Heavenly Dynasty, could scarcely imagine its true might. The spiritual energy in the Central Heavenly Dynasty was so abundant that the place held no mere mortals; everyone there could cultivate immortality, though the depth of their attainments varied greatly. Furthermore, the rice grown from their soil was unlike that of any other nation. Their grain, known as Lingya Mi (Spirit-Tooth Rice), pulsed with spiritual essence, and the cultivators there even cultivated a strain called Longya Mi (Dragon-Tooth Rice), which yielded ten thousand jin per mu and was imbued with potent spiritual energy.

Similarly, the monstrous beasts of the Central Heavenly Dynasty were far more terrifying than those in the outlying nations. While earthworms in remote lands were minuscule, those in the Central Heavenly Dynasty could grow to the size of serpents, and mantises often reached the dimensions of a small room—this was the degree to which even common fauna evolved there. The true demonic beasts were terrifying beyond measure. In the Central Heavenly Dynasty, demonic serpents could easily swell to the frightfulness of actual dragons.

It was even rumored that actual dragons existed within the Central Heavenly Dynasty. In nations like Jin, merely possessing the strength of one dragon qualified a person as a Grandmaster. Yet, in the Central Heavenly Dynasty, where dragons were rumored to exist, the noblemen—the great powers, the titans, the unparalleled heroes, the figures of ancient legend—could reportedly harness dragons to pull their chariots. The Central Heavenly Dynasty was a realm utterly inconceivable from the perspective of Jin.

Having elaborated all this, the summation remains: their spiritual energy was astonishingly abundant. To reach the Great Dao Realm in Fengyang Dynasty was almost as impossibly difficult as achieving the Longevity Realm in Jin. In the Central Heavenly Dynasty, advancing even a few minor tiers within the initial stages of the Great Dao Realm presented negligible difficulty. A difference between the first and third layer of the Great Dao Realm, within the Central Heavenly Dynasty, was hardly significant.

Consequently, the assessments in the Central Heavenly Dynasty did not gauge one’s raw magical power, but rather proficiency in offense, whether through swordsmanship or sorcery. This, precisely, was the goal of the Central Heavenly Dynasty.

Lu Yuan flipped his hand, and his Yangwu Spirit Sword ignited in his grasp. “Please…” After executing a formal sword salute, he began his attack in a prescribed manner, unhurriedly at first. He casually unleashed a strike embodying the Sword Intent of Wind, merely testing the waters. The purple-robed Deputy Angel paid it little mind and responded with an equally casual block. Swords clashed and parted; blades rose and fell.

Behind the purple-robed Deputy Angel, the seventh white jade bead was struck down.

Finally, it came to the eighth white jade bead—the moment when the purple-robed Deputy Angel would need to become serious. The Deputy Angel’s expression finally hardened. None of the forty-four Great Dao Realm cultivators from Jin had ever managed to strike down a single white jade bead once the purple-robed Deputy Angel grew serious. This time would be no different. The Deputy Angel spun his hand and unleashed that magnificent sword strike.

This one blow contained the essence of untold sword techniques; the distillation of thousands upon thousands of moves manifested in an instant. The antiquity of the Way of the Sword, its raw feeling, its inherent terror, its singular dominance—all were revealed.

This was a highly prevalent style in the Central Heavenly Dynasty. It was the Boundless Sword Art!

It concentrated countless sword moves into a single, instantaneous outburst. While outlying regions could manage only one move per instant, the Central Heavenly Dynasty possessed the means to strike with hundreds or thousands of sword techniques simultaneously. The sheer power of the Central Heavenly Dynasty was inherently unimaginable.

With a single sword stroke, heaven and earth were sealed off.

Lu Yuan’s entire being was enveloped in a sky made of swords. Between heaven and earth, innumerable sword moves erupted.

A tremendous pressure of the blade bore down upon Lu Yuan’s spirit. He roared, unleashing his full magical power. I am the Sword King, the King among Swords, the Sovereign of the Blade! In that instant, Lu Yuan reversed his grip and struck with a single sword.

This was merely one strike, yet every incision, every subtle turn, every variation in the blade was absolute perfection. Such a perfect strike cut toward the Deputy Angel’s Boundless Sword Art. The Deputy Angel suddenly realized that dozens of his own sword techniques within the Boundless Sword Art were being systematically dismantled.

And this was only the beginning.

The Deputy Angel was momentarily stunned, unleashing a few counter-moves. Before Lu Yuan, thousands upon thousands of sword strikes materialized—countless techniques, the entire civilization of the Way of the Sword, converging into a single entity. Under this civilization of the sword, any individual technique lost its inherent meaning. Yet, Lu Yuan’s current flourish, though appearing as one sword, had already formed a momentum—like a white dragon weaving through the infinite array of incoming strikes, targeting the weakest point in every assault, relentlessly shattering the techniques. It was the Boundless Sword Art against the Sword Dragon Technique—a true dragon of the blade!

Whoosh!

The purple-robed Deputy Angel certainly lived up to his title as an Angel of the Central Heavenly Dynasty; even facing the perfect Sword Dragon Technique, he found a way to cope. Several moves of the Boundless Sword Art had already been broken, and he had no intention of letting the Sword Dragon Technique continue to thrive. He did not believe he could not handle the Sword Dragon Technique, but before he could launch a renewed counter-attack, the dragon’s maw had already seized the bead—the white jade bead. The eighth bead, which no one before had ever broken, was shattered by Lu Yuan.

He had just set a new record.

Lu Yuan’s control over the Sword Dragon Technique was no longer what it was initially, where exhaustion from using it completely depleted his power, leaving him needing rest and numerous mid-grade spirit stones to recover his vigor. The current challenge was the ninth white jade bead.

The purple-robed Deputy Angel looked at Lu Yuan. “You are formidable. The Sword Dragon Technique grants you the first eight points, but no more. I will not allow you to claim the ninth or tenth. I can break the Sword Dragon Technique.”

“Is that so?” Lu Yuan smiled faintly. “I have also found the flaw in your swordsmanship.”

“Excellent,” the Deputy Angel returned the smile. This young man from Jin was indeed impressive, but to suggest he could defeat the Deputy Angel—he had broken the Sword Dragon Technique before. He had merely been caught off guard just then. The Deputy Angel raised his spirit sword once more.

This strike was still the Boundless Sword Art.

But this iteration of the Boundless Sword Art was even more terrifying than before. The previous few strikes were like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers—countless sword moves converging. Now, the sword energy was a grander river, a greater flood, approaching the magnitude of the sea itself.

Your Sword Dragon, formed by the Sword Dragon Technique, might churn rivers and pound seas, but that was its limit. A greater river, a vaster sea, was something it could not handle. The Deputy Angel was certain of victory over Lu Yuan.

At that moment, Lu Yuan too struck, plunging straight toward the greater river and sea of the sword. The instant he entered, he felt countless sword moves, like massive rivers and oceans, surging toward him. He seemed trapped within it, and now, trying to break out using the Sword Dragon Technique was utterly impossible! The Central Heavenly Dynasty was indeed the Central Heavenly Dynasty; the Sword Dragon Technique that caused panic in Jin was now effortlessly held back by this Angel.

Lu Yuan inwardly offered a silent compliment, Pity it met me.

In truth, just a moment before, Lu Yuan hadn't intended to break this Boundless Sword Art through sheer force of a thousand or ten thousand strikes.

But in that fleeting second, Lu Yuan had an epiphany. His Five Emperors Five Sovereigns Sword Dao was, in full, the Five Emperors Five Sovereigns Reincarnation Sword Dao.

He had never understood the purpose of the word ‘Reincarnation’ because it was unnecessary in Jin. But here, he found its utility. Facing the Deputy Angel’s sea-like Boundless Sword Art, Lu Yuan reversed his stance, channeling his Water Sovereign Dao and Fire Sovereign Dao. However, he did not use them for direct collision. Instead, he used them to influence and control the sea of sword moves generated by the Deputy Angel. Under the sway of the Two Sovereigns Sword Dao, the water and fire-attributed sword techniques began to twist. After all, these were Sovereign Daos, possessing innate imperial might. While the Five Sovereigns Sword Dao alone was insufficient—only two Sovereigns had been realized, lacking full power—he borrowed some influence from the Five Emperors Sword Dao. The manipulation succeeded.

The opposing sword river, the sword sea, began to warp together, and Lu Yuan seized the opportunity, thrusting forward rapidly. His Yangwu Spirit Sword sliced a path, a trace of swift passage, imbued with imperial might, twisting the surrounding sword techniques as it traversed an almost invisible, faint line at incredible speed.

The sword stopped!

Another white jade bead was shattered.

Lu Yuan let out a breath. This was the power of Reincarnation.

If he could fully master the Five Sovereigns Sword Dao, achieving true Reincarnation, the result would be far more terrifying than this. Currently, he was merely finding openings within the opponent’s endless sword strikes; if the Five Sovereigns Sword Dao were complete, he could potentially control the opponent’s entire technique, transforming it into cycles of Reincarnation.

It became clear now: Ancestor Yan’s Reincarnation Sword Dao was not meant for situations like those in Jin. It was crafted specifically to contend with opponents of the Central Heavenly Dynasty’s caliber.

No wonder only Martial Uncle-Ancestor Zhou had witnessed Ancestor Yan’s Reincarnation Sword Dao in Jin; no one else was worthy to see it. What manner of sword technique and what level of sword mastery must Martial Uncle-Ancestor Zhou’s Yin-Yang possess!

The Tenth Absolute Rule: Reincarnation! The Tenth Absolute Rule: Yin-Yang!

The purple-robed Deputy Angel’s expression shifted drastically. He could not fathom how his fully committed Sword Art, the Boundless Sword Art, could still result in the ninth white jade bead being broken.

“Next, the tenth white jade bead,” Lu Yuan shrugged, having grasped the true meaning of Reincarnation, his confidence soaring.

Following a dazzling display of peerless sword light, the tip of the Yangwu Spirit Sword stopped one foot short of the white jade bead, yet the resulting sword aura was enough to shatter the tenth bead.

The time registered exactly ninety-five breaths.