The path of thorns was fraught with peril, occasionally revealing monstrous beasts. To be amidst it, one had to press onward.

This was no ordinary difficulty. And on the path of thorns, many pushed forward ceaselessly, especially Yuanyang Shangren.

Zixia Shangren, Yu Qingzhou, and Yu Qingdai, at the Dan stage, all displayed their ultimate techniques. Not too far from the starting point of the path of thorns, a young man in green robes sat cross-legged.

Jiaotu Bian, Jiaotu. What is Jiaotu?

What is the Might of the Dragon! Within the Primordial Chaos, dragons were born.

Of all things under heaven and earth, all beasts were led by the Qilin, and all birds by the Phoenix. But whether beasts or birds, all were ultimately led by the Dragon.

The Four Auspicious Beasts: Dragon, Phoenix, Qilin, Tortoise. The Four Sacred Beasts: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise.

Above all else, the Dragon reigned supreme. In Lu Yuan's mind, a dragon seemed to appear, flying.

This dragon, strictly speaking, was not a complete dragon, as Lu Yuan had never seen the true form of a dragon; he could only approximate its appearance based on the Black Water King Snake he had witnessed. Simultaneously, the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations, the Xuanming Dragon Transformation Art, the Lightning Dragon Transformation Art, and many others flashed through his mind one by one.

In the vastness of his mind, the image of the dragon grew clearer. However, it only grew clearer.

To manifest the complete visage of the dragon in one's mind required either having seen a real dragon or possessing the strength equivalent to the true might of one dragon—the level of Grandmaster. Undeniably, Lu Yuan was still far from either of those states; he could only perceive a portion of the dragon.

Gaze closely at the dragon's head in the mindscape. "The Might of the Dragon" rests largely within its head.

In Lu Yuan’s mindscape, the dragon's body was still shrouded in mist, but the dragon head was becoming increasingly distinct. It was a massive horse's head, yet far larger than any horse, crowned with antlers like a deer's, though the thickness surpassed that of ten deer antlers combined.

It possessed enormous ox ears and a host of massive whiskers. Might!

Grandeur! Lu Yuan felt truly shaken to his core.

Merely the combination of a horse's head, deer's antlers, ox's ears, and fish's whiskers was not enough to overwhelm him. But when these elements coalesced into the immense visage before him, Lu Yuan was involuntarily stunned—a shock so profound it almost compelled him to bow down in reverence.

It was a Dragon! Even if it was merely a part of a Dragon!

Yet, the feeling it imparted caused Lu Yuan to instinctively lift his spirit. I am the King of Swords; even if a true Dragon stood here, I would not bow.

How much less this mere dragon head in my mindscape? The King of Sword's Might warred against the Dragon's Might, met by the innate freedom and nonchalance emanating from Lu Yuan’s very spirit.

Coupled with the King of Sword's Might, the confrontation with the Dragon's Might finally ended with a sharp snap, and the Dragon's Might merged into Lu Yuan's vital energy. Simultaneously, his vital energy surged backward wildly, pouring into his back where a monstrous beast materialized.

This beast was smaller than the dragon head in Lu Yuan's mind. But it too possessed a horse's head, deer's antlers, ox's ears, and fish's whiskers.

Behind the small dragon head was the body of a conch or clam. This was Jiaotu!

He had finally mastered the Jiaotu Transformation. Once this transformation was active, he possessed the Dragon's Might.

Furthermore, he had, in essence, completed the eighth transformation of the Cloud Dragon, and mastering just two more would allow him to achieve the Cloud Dragon Ten Transformations and cultivate the might of one dragon—the mere thought was exhilarating. Of course, his immediate priority now was to comprehend the Laws of Heaven and Earth and reach the second layer of the Great Dao Realm.

Putting asides these thoughts, Lu Yuan gathered his focus; it was almost time to move on. Having reached this stage, he could only hope a miracle would occur.

Just then, a beam of treasure light sliced through the air, blazing fiercely. The light hovered above a person's head.

Lu Yuan looked over and saw a radiant young woman clad in multicolored silken robes flying directly towards him. This radiant young woman was Nie Lingfeng, a Shangren from the Kunlun Immortal Sect, currently at the second level of the Great Dao Realm.

Her elder brother was Nie Chenfeng, whom Lu Yuan had contended with in the Undying Realm. Nie Chenfeng’s innate talent was inferior to hers, leaving him lingering at the Half-step Great Dao Realm, while Nie Lingfeng had already attained the second level of the Great Dao Realm.

She held no good feelings toward Lu Yuan whatsoever. Recalling how her brother, Nie Chenfeng, had been defeated by Lu Yuan, losing the Elixir of Immortality—which he might have obtained had it not been for Lu Yuan, thus allowing him to enter the Great Dao Realm, a realm utterly distinct from the Longevity Realm.

Furthermore, her brother had lost the sect’s treasured artifact, the Profound Yin Myriad Poison Banner, into Lu Yuan’s hands. Upon returning to the sect, he faced severe punishment.

How could Nie Lingfeng harbor any fondness for Lu Yuan? However, despite the deep hatred she held, Nie Lingfeng knew that Lu Yuan’s achievements were beyond her reach.

To prevent bringing disaster upon the Nie family, she had strictly ordered everyone in the household never to seek trouble with Lu Yuan. Seeing him earlier claim five tens had nearly set her eyes ablaze with fury.

But now, seeing that Lu Yuan was still so far behind, lagging significantly behind those ahead, she felt an immense surge of satisfaction. Nie Lingfeng immediately increased her speed, flying ahead of Lu Yuan, secretly thinking, See?

It’s not just powerhouses like Yuanyang Shangren who can surpass you; even I, Nie Lingfeng, can get ahead. She felt ecstatic, only for that satisfaction to be immediately shattered by a streak of white light blasting forward.

Lu Yuan’s sword light! Blast.

How far could it blast? Nie Lingfeng muttered inwardly, Once he encounters a demonic beast, he’ll surely be entangled.

Lu Yuan, you are destined to be humiliated this time; this miracle cannot come true, she gloated internally. This feeling of triumph was almost as intoxicating as her secret self-gratification in the quiet of her chamber.

Nie Lingfeng was still a virgin cultivator, though sometimes she would indulge in such private pleasures. Suddenly, a colossal Golden Spider appeared.

Just as Nie Lingfeng rejoiced, she watched Lu Yuan pass right by the Golden Spider without the creature reacting in the slightest. What was that Golden Spider doing?

Letting Lu Yuan pass? Could that spider be fake?

Nie Lingfeng tried to follow to investigate, but immediately saw the Golden Spider turn and attack her directly, spitting threads of gold and silver. Nie Lingfeng was well aware of the Golden Spider’s lethality and cursed inwardly, wondering why the spider targeted her and not Lu Yuan.

She flicked her wrist, unleashing a beam of treasure light to engage the beast, thoroughly perplexed. At that moment, Lu Yuan began to accelerate frantically.

He was too far behind now; he needed to rush desperately. Before the Five Wheel Hall in the Imperial Capital, representatives from eight nations watched the final assessment.

Whether Lu Yuan could pull off a miracle in the end was the concern of everyone present. If he succeeded, the implications would be staggering.

“Someone has obtained the token from the hundred-thousand-mile final destination…” the Purple-Robed Deputy Angel announced. “Who is it?” “Is it Lu Yuan?” Murmurs erupted everywhere.

The Purple-Robed Deputy Angel flicked his fingers, activating over a hundred Water Mirror Spells. Finally reaching the endpoint, the first person to arrive was not the young man in green robes, but a dignified middle-aged Daoist in pale golden robes: Yuan Yang Shangren, the Sect Master of the Huashan Sword Sect.

It was strange that the first was not Lu Yuan. The Water Mirror Spell immediately shifted to show the second figure reaching the terminus: it was indeed Yu Qingzhou, the second son of the Wudang Immortal Sect.

The crowd continued to watch the Water Mirror Spells focusing on the end of the hundred-thousand-mile path of thorns. Why wasn't Lu Yuan the second?

Everyone began to feel a sense of unease. After about an hour, the third arrival appeared—and it was still not Lu Yuan, but Zixia Shangren.

Lu Yuan wasn’t even third. Fourth was Yu Qingdai, displaying a rather developed Tai Chi sword style.

Fifth was Huifeng Shangren, truly living up to the fame of his "Returning Wind Settles the Swan" technique. Ninth was a Shangren from the upper echelon of the Kunlun Immortal Sect.

Tenth was a Shangren surnamed Hai from the South Sea Immortal Sect. Lu Yuan wasn't even in the top ten.

Although everyone had initially conceded that Lu Yuan might not arrive first, the fact that he hadn't even cracked the top ten was utterly astonishing. It defied all expectations; even the Purple-Robed Deputy Angel, who had always held Lu Yuan in high regard, was momentarily stunned.

This Deputy Angel genuinely admired Lu Yuan and continued to rapidly cycle through the Water Mirror Spells, searching for him. Although the hundred-thousand-mile path of thorns had many pre-set checkpoints, locating someone was still difficult.

The Deputy Angel’s hands flickered constantly, channeling streams of vital energy to continue the search for Lu Yuan’s silhouette. Ten more figures flashed by—still no Lu Yuan.

Unbelievable, Lu Yuan wasn't even in the top twenty. Another ten flashed past—still no Lu Yuan.

Impossible, he wasn't even in the top thirty. This was simply inconceivable; Lu Yuan couldn't possibly perform so poorly under any circumstances.

Ten more figures streamed past, yet Lu Yuan remained absent. How could this be?

He wasn't even among the top forty. For a moment, nearly everyone present was speechless.

Forty-first, Lu Yuan. In the end, Lu Yuan ranked forty-first.

What was happening? To be ranked forty-first?

This poor result for Lu Yuan was truly beyond anyone’s expectation, utterly unimaginable. Before the Five Wheel Palace, a strange, cold silence descended.

“Ha, so this is the peerless genius of Jin State…” The delegate from Great Yue burst into laughter. “Indeed, out of forty-five contestants, he’s ranked forty-first.

What a peerless genius…” The people from Great Wu also laughed heartily. The representatives from Bai Pin State and Murong State remained silent, but their thoughts were undoubtedly similar: it seemed Lu Yuan was not much to worry about, far inferior to figures like Murong Huangfu or Xiao Fengxiong from their own nations.

This assessment required taking the token from the Central Heavenly Dynasty at the finish line and then returning. Twenty people had already secured the Central Heavenly Dynasty tokens and were already halfway back along the route.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan was still languishing in forty-first place. The miracle was surely destined to shatter.