On Mount Yuelu, several Grandmasters resided permanently. Under normal circumstances, one would seek out these Grandmasters for instruction. Naturally, Masters from other locations would occasionally arrive. For this training assembly of two hundred individuals, one hundred and ten studied the sword, sixty-three studied sorcery, and the remaining thirty-seven focused on other disciplines like palm arts. The one hundred and ten sword students customarily studied under Grandmaster Yuan Bufan, the White Ape. The Ape Duke Divine Sword! Lu Yuan, along with the other one hundred and nine students, sat cross-legged on a plateau high up in the mountains of Yuelu. This plateau somewhat resembled the Giant Palm Flatland on Mount Hua’s Eastern Peak. All one hundred and ten sword students had arrived. Since they all specialized in the sword, this was Grandmaster Yuan Bufan’s inaugural lecture on swordsmanship. If his lecture proved suitable, they would listen there; otherwise, they were free to return to self-study. The degree of latitude granted was quite high. However, this high degree of latitude was understandable. Excluding someone like Lu Yuan, nearly everyone present was at the third, fourth, or even fifth layer of the Great Dao Realm in terms of magical power; they were all powerful cultivators. They were not like true disciples who required hand-holding instruction. How much you learned depended entirely on your own capacity. Furthermore, even the Grandmaster’s instruction was not vastly superior to what those present could already achieve. Thus, there was still the concept of suitability. Consequently, on the first day, everyone had come to listen. If it suited them, they would continue; if not, they would resume private cultivation. Yuan Bufan had also arrived, seating himself on the high platform—a position from which all one hundred and ten students could see him clearly. He cleared his throat slightly. “All of you are esteemed superiors of the Great Dao Realm, all dedicated to the sword. Having cultivated to this point, every one of you has mastered several Sword Intents. In the Way of the Sword, you are far beyond mere novices.”

“The cultivation methods for the sword techniques of various sects differ. However, by the time you reach this level, your own Sword Dao should be established, and you no longer require instruction on the grand principles…”

Yuan Bufan continued, “Therefore, I have no interest in lecturing on the grand axioms of the Sword Dao—such as the idea that the Sword Dao is the Heavenly Principle, and the Heavenly Principle is the Dao of the Sword. What I intend to discuss are the minor tricks I have grasped regarding the sword, or perhaps, my personal insights into the Sword Dao.”

“For instance, I will begin with the issue of integrating multiple Sword Intents within a single strike.”

Yuan Bufan explained, “How to unleash numerous Sword Intents through one strike—this is a matter of great concern to many of you here…”

He continued his lecture. Lu Yuan, however, felt an overwhelming urge to doze off listening to this topic. It couldn't be helped; he had long since mastered the technique of merging numerous Sword Intents into a single, devastating strike, and had even developed a more profound, sequential sword art beyond that. Nevertheless, since this was the first lesson, departing felt inappropriate.

Fortunately, Yuan Bufan did not dwell on this topic for long, concluding it before moving on to a specific area he excelled in: the Sword Intent of the Mountain. Lu Yuan, however, suddenly became interested. Among Earth-element Sword Intents, Lu Yuan knew only three: the Sword Intent of Earth, the Sword Intent of Defense, and the Sword Intent of Stone. He truly lacked knowledge of the Sword Intent of the Mountain, so he listened to Yuan Bufan’s explanation with intense focus. Yet, absorbing the Sword Intent of the Mountain simply by hearing it explained once was utterly impossible. What Lu Yuan needed to practice now were Metal, Earth, and Wood elemental Sword Intents. Any of these three elemental paths would suffice. After all, his current objective was the Sword Dao of the Five Emperors’ Reincarnation.

Grandmaster Yuan Bufan led the one hundred and ten sword practitioners to the front of the Library Pavilion. This was clearly a newly established library. The pristine structure bore the inscription: “Yuelu Mountain Library Pavilion,” written in six grand characters. Yuan Bufan began his introduction. “Across the Seven Nations, among the various Immortal Sects—the Great Sects, the High-Grade Sects, the Middle-Grade Sects, and so on—there are countless secret techniques, sword skills, and incantations that are not the exclusive secrets of any single sect. This time, the Seven Nations have pooled these resources and collected the texts here for your perusal.” Naturally, the proprietary secret techniques and ultimate skills of various Immortal Sects would never be made public. However, the territory covered by the Seven Nations was vast beyond measure. With such a large expanse and so many cultivators, there were bound to be numerous cultivation methods that were not sect-specific secrets. These methods had now been gathered here for everyone’s use. The Grandmasters themselves were Great Dao Realm cultivators; they could not offer extensive, hands-on guidance to the esteemed superiors present. The primary purpose of assembling these cultivators was to allow these geniuses to gauge themselves against each other, generating pressure that would spur rapid growth. Of course, the Seven Nations had also prepared an abundance of resources.

Returning to the present, Yuan Bufan escorted the one hundred and ten sword students into the Library Pavilion. Inside the pavilion were several smaller doors. One was labeled "Sword Dao," while others were marked "Sorcery Dao," "Heart Methods," and various other categories. Yuan Bufan guided the hundred and ten into the door marked "Sword Dao." Upon entering, they immediately began scrambling for the secret manuals. Everyone understood that an outstanding manual, once taken by one person, would be inaccessible to others until they returned it. They all wanted to view the superior sword techniques first.

“Heavens, this is a fragmented volume of the Wanderer’s March Sword Art!” one person exclaimed with surprise. Legend held that the Wanderer’s March Sword Art was a World-Suppressing class technique. To find even a fragment was cause for immense joy, and the person immediately snatched it up to study.

“This is a fragment of the Evil-Dispelling Sword Art!” The Evil-Dispelling Sword Art was also a formidable technique, classified as World-Suppressing. Even this remnant section was astonishing.

“Nangong Eight Swords Fragment…” The Nangong Eight Swords was another World-Suppressing technique, even more famous than the Evil-Dispelling Sword Art. Although this was merely a fragment, it was still no small thing. However, the person who called it out was a step too slow; Murong Huangfu had already seized it. Of course, a book like this could only be borrowed for a maximum of ten days. After ten days, it had to be returned, and it could not be borrowed again for a year—this was the rule of the Library Pavilion, ensuring equitable access. World-Suppressing level sword techniques were truly rare; there were only these three fragments of World-Suppressing arts.

These individuals vied and snatched with practiced skill. Among this group, Lu Yuan was perhaps the most composed. Lu Yuan felt no urgency to grab any World-Suppressing sword techniques. A sword technique, no matter how powerful, ultimately relied on the individual wielding it. Moreover, Lu Yuan had long understood that his foremost priority was achieving Reincarnation before pursuing anything else. One Iron Rule was called Sword Emperor; mastering two Iron Rules constituted a Sword Saint; mastering ten Iron Rules made one a Sword God. A mere sword technique, even a World-Suppressing one, held limited utility for him now. Of course, being granted access to the Library Pavilion this time was immensely useful to him. Lu Yuan mused internally: there were at least hundreds of sword techniques here. While some might not be particularly strong, his goal was to look through the sword techniques, pierce through the facade of the art to grasp the essence, reverse-engineer the underlying Sword Intents, and then truly and diligently cultivate various Sword Intents to complete the Reincarnation cycle. Lu Yuan, holding the status of a Sword King, had long surpassed the concern for the intrinsic quality of sword forms themselves. As for the others, including Murong Huangfu, trying to compare their mastery of sword techniques with Lu Yuan was a joke. For instance, Murong Huangfu had only just reached the realm of Sword Marquis. He could integrate multiple Sword Intents into one strike, whereas Lu Yuan had entered the Sword King realm an age ago. If this was true for Murong Huangfu, the others were even less comparable.

Lu Yuan casually picked up a sword manual, Mountain Overlap Sword Art, and began the process of reverse-engineering the Sword Intent of the Mountain. During this period, Lu Yuan was immersed in the ocean of books within the Library Pavilion. Every day, the moment he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by diverse sword techniques. Now, Lu Yuan had sunk back into that state of absolute obsession with cultivation, even missing the scheduled time for the Enlightenment Treasure Pavilion. But it was unavoidable; when Lu Yuan entered that state of absolute absorption, he forgot everything else. Fortunately, missing the Enlightenment session—which was only one shichen and a half later, equivalent to one month and a short while—was not a great loss. Lu Yuan felt his comprehension of various Sword Intents increasing relentlessly. This was not the growth of a single intent, but the simultaneous advancement of numerous intents. Although he hadn't yet fully grasped the merging of many intents, his understanding of them had grown exponentially. The month concluded, and Lu Yuan had remained perpetually immersed in the Library Pavilion.

As the month ended, a new ranking was released. First place: Murong Huangfu, still firmly holding the top spot. Second place: Zhong Heming, an esteemed cultivator from the Qin Nation, also secured the second rank. Third place: Murong Shi. The top three remained unchanged. Fifteenth place: Yue Nu Xiaoqing, who had shown marked improvement. Thirty-second place: Yuan Yang Shangren. Slight progress, but not substantial. One Hundred and Twelfth place: Tiemu Er. Significant improvement. Two Hundredth place: Lu Yuan. That’s right; this time, Lu Yuan was ranked directly at the bottom, two hundredth. Over this month, Lu Yuan had not initiated a single challenge against any of the other one hundred and ninety-nine individuals, nor had he entered the Sword Dao Chamber, Sorcery Chamber, or Speed Chamber even once. Consequently, he had been overtaken by the nineteen cultivators below him, dropping him directly to the two-hundredth position.

Lu Yuan himself was oblivious to this. He was completely lost in that state of absorption, unfeeling even if the heavens fell. The others, however, were buzzing with discussion. Lu Yuan had already earned a renowned reputation as an unparalleled genius yet to reach his prime. When his initial ranking placed him at one hundred and eighty-first, people said nothing. But for such a genius with immense potential to actually drop nineteen places in a single month—how could they comprehend it? Moreover, even if Lu Yuan had known, he wouldn't have cared. This was a critical juncture in mastering Reincarnation; how could he possibly slacken? The Ten Iron Rules were the inherent Ten Rules of the Sword Dao, transcending all external manifestations of sword techniques. By analyzing so many sword techniques, he was deciphering their fundamental Sword Intents. Without this joint training exercise of the Seven Nations, where else could he find access to so many sets of sword techniques? At Mount Hua, finding even a dozen manuals for him to look at would be a luxury. Such a heaven-sent opportunity—how could it possibly be missed?