The third level of the Great Dao Realm, truly living up to its name. Lu Yuan felt the mana surging within him, almost to the point of explosion.

He had never experienced two successive realm advancements before, yet this time, his mana had leaped two full levels. The gap between the initial grasp of the Great Dao at the first level of the Great Dao Realm and the myriad Laws held by those at the third level was astronomical.

Having suddenly ascended two tiers, how could Lu Yuan not feel the immense surge in power? It felt as if every movement he made carried the potential to annihilate everything.

Moreover, those he couldn't stand against in a direct fight before—those at the fourth level of the Great Dao Realm, like Tie Mu'er—were now defeated in just a few of his sword strikes. They were completely no match for him now.

This was the elevation of strength, such a massive leap that Lu Yuan had only one thought: exhilarating. As for Tie Mu'er, his heart was utterly desolate.

He, a renowned reincarnated Grandmaster, was actually defeated by a junior who had only cultivated recently. Damn it!

And he had been defeated twice in a row! This defeat struck Tie Mu'er harder than the first time he lost to Lu Yuan.

After savoring the vast mana in his body and his newfound control over the Laws around him, Lu Yuan turned his attention to the rankings, as this battle also carried ranking points. A short while later, the rankings were tallied.

In this battle, Lu Yuan had defeated six esteemed figures from the Great Yuan Kingdom. With these victories, Lu Yuan’s points now placed him at forty-third.

That was right, he had jumped directly from seventy-second place to forty-third—a progression of twenty-nine spots. One should not underestimate these twenty-nine positions; the higher the rank, the greater the point differential, and the harder it becomes to climb further.

It was a pity he hadn't broken into the top thirty yet, Lu Yuan mused internally. If he could reach the top thirty, he would gain more time within the Dao Enlightenment Treasure Pavilion.

He would have to continue pushing the rankings in the future. The small-scale war between the Great Jin Kingdom and the Great Yuan Kingdom thus drew to a close, concluding with the victory of the Great Jin Kingdom.

This particular small war had essentially become Lu Yuan’s personal showcase. From the highest to the lowest ranks in the Great Yuan Kingdom, everyone now knew that Lu Yuan possessed the potential to mature into the likes of Yan Cangtian.

As long as he didn't decline, he would surely be the next Yan Cangtian. The people of the Great Yuan Kingdom could only sigh in lament.

They had thought that with Yan Cangtian’s ascension, the Great Yuan Kingdom could finally catch a breath, only to see Lu Yuan emerge immediately after. How were the people of Great Yuan supposed to live?

If they knew that a significant portion of Lu Yuan’s training had come from Yan Cangtian himself, they would likely spit blood in frustration. Next up was the clash between the strongest Murong Kingdom against the Great Qin Kingdom and the Great Ye Kingdom.

The Murong Kingdom dispatched sixty participants, the Great Qin Kingdom forty, and the Great Ye Kingdom twenty, making for an equal sixty versus sixty engagement. If the previous match was Lu Yuan’s solo performance, then this one was the personal showcase of Murong Huangfu, the number one ranked fighter.

Perhaps spurred by Lu Yuan’s display, Murong Huangfu exerted himself significantly this time. His power at the sixth level of the Great Dao Realm was overwhelmingly dominant; no one could stand against him.

The Great Qin Kingdom possessed numerous secret arts: the Invisible Sword Qi, the seventy-two ultimate techniques of the Great Fahua Temple, the Son of Heaven Sword Art, the Tianshan Nine Yang Hand, and other profound skills. The Great Ye Kingdom also had techniques like the Good Dragon Sword Art and the Good Dragon Heart Method, all created by the peerless Lord Ye.

However, all these supreme techniques were completely shattered by Murong Huangfu. This encounter allowed Lu Yuan to deeply engrave Murong Huangfu’s signature technique in his memory: Star-Shifting Transformation.

This world-suppressing supreme art could effortlessly redirect any attack, be it magic or swordsmanship, back towards the opponent. Invincible!

Murong Huangfu’s personal performance in this match displayed utterly crushing strength, perfectly mirroring Lu Yuan’s earlier display. No one else, including Yue Nü Xiaoqing, who was hailed as a semi-peerless genius, could compare to these two.

The two peerless geniuses, Murong Huangfu and Lu Yuan, truly lived up to their reputations. Lu Yuan, for his part, felt his fighting spirit thoroughly ignited.

Back in the Jin Kingdom, among his peers, he had never encountered a peerless genius who could truly contend with him. Now, he had finally found one—Murong Huangfu.

What was most intriguing was how many brilliant sword techniques he possessed; it was inevitable, given Lu Yuan’s own fascination with swordsmanship and the sword itself. The small-scale Seven Kingdoms War concluded with this final clash.

“Everyone performed well in this small Seven Kingdoms War, especially Murong Huangfu and Lu Yuan,” said Grandmaster White Ape. At Mount Yuelu, participants from each nation generally lodged together.

Those from the Jin Kingdom stayed near the White Crane Spring. The contingent from the Great Ye Kingdom stayed near the Love-Evening Pavilion, famous for its maple trees—vast expanses that resembled an ocean of crimson.

A poet once inscribed verses there: “Climbing the cold mountain path, the trail winds up; where white clouds rise, a hamlet is seen. I halt my carriage because I love the late maple woods, where frosted leaves are redder than the flowers of spring.” Thus, it earned the name Love-Evening Pavilion.

On this day, as the sun dipped below the horizon, the maple forest blazed like fire, merging with the setting sun in the sky. A young man in cyan robes descended from the air: “Lu Yuan, a junior from the Jin Kingdom, has come to seek guidance from the senior Ye Guruan of the Great Ye Kingdom.” Ye Guruan’s ranking on the score board was thirtieth, higher than Lu Yuan’s.

He wielded the Good Dragon Sword Art masterfully; when unleashed, it seemed as if a true dragon was pacing the air. As Lu Yuan landed and called out, his voice, though not loud, carried clearly to those nearby.

It was plainly a challenge. Such challenges were not malicious.

Generally, one was permitted to accept two challenges from individuals of other nations per month. Ye Guruan nodded and stepped forward.

Lu Yuan had shown proper courtesy, and as for these challenges, Ye Guruan accepted them monthly, long accustomed to the practice; mutual challenges and combat were the swiftest paths to advancement. “Please,” Ye Guruan offered.

“Please.” The two exchanged formal sword salutations. Ye Guruan had witnessed Lu Yuan’s battles against Tie Mu’er and others and knew Lu Yuan was not to be trifled with.

Thus, his opening move was the Good Dragon Sword Art’s ‘False Dragon Crouching on the Wall.’ Lu Yuan, not rushing, countered with ‘Clouds and Mists Entwining,’ using the power of clouds to wrap around the false dragon. Clouds cannot bind a true dragon, but they can certainly hold a false one.

What a move by Lu Yuan! Using the simple ‘Clouds and Mists Entwining’ to manifest such profound intricacies.

Ye Guruan did not hold back, unleashing ‘True Dragon Descending.’ If ‘False Dragon Crouching on the Wall’ was a feinted killing move, then ‘True Dragon Descending’ was the genuine ultimate strike. This move descended like a dragon taking form, an illusory dragon formed of sword technique.

Lu Yuan retaliated by striking out with ‘Dragon of Sword Technique,’—If you have the Dragon Descending, I have the Dragon of Sword Technique—let us see who is superior. In an instant, within the small space, two dragons materialized from sword techniques, colliding with each other.

The two sword-dragons grappled within the confined area. In truth, Ye Guruan’s ‘True Dragon Descending’ was potent, practically making the man emulate a dragon of sword technique, but it ultimately could not sustain itself against a genuine ‘Dragon of Sword Technique’ for long.

Ye Guruan was about to concede. Although this exchange hadn't resulted in an obvious defeat, in this contest of technique, a stalemate where one yields on the fine points counted as a loss.

Then, Lu Yuan retracted his ‘Dragon of Sword Technique,’ saying, “Martial Uncle Ye is truly formidable; let us have another round.” Ye Guruan thought to himself that Lu Yuan was indeed a courteous junior, far more so than Murong Huangfu, knowing how to preserve another’s dignity by not forcing a swift defeat. He failed to realize Lu Yuan was genuinely interested in the essence of swordsmanship itself and had no urgency to dispatch Ye Guruan quickly, wishing instead to observe more of the Good Dragon Sword Art’s forms.

The result of this battle was already sealed. Ultimately, Lu Yuan ascended to the thirty-third position.

Those from the Great Wu Kingdom resided near the Mid-Mountain Pavilion on Mount Yuelu. This pavilion held a legend where a Buddhist-Daoist Grandmaster once achieved enlightenment, proclaiming: “Half mountain, half hut, named Half-Cloud; half an acre, half a plot, half rugged land.

Half thatch roof, half mountain stone; half clear sky, half shade above. Half wine, half poetry to escape the vulgar; half immortal, half Buddha, good for mending the heart.

Half a room, half cloud; hearing half the pine song, hearing half the zither.” One day, the cyan-robed youth descended: “Lu Yuan, a junior from the Jin Kingdom, specifically seeks instruction from Senior Wu Zichai of the Great Wu Kingdom.” Wu Zichai ranked twentieth on the leaderboard and practiced the Subtle Son Sword Art, a set Lu Yuan found immensely interesting, prompting his visit. “Good, Lu Yuan, I shall meet you,” came a voice.

A composed and handsome middle-aged man approached with firm strides. This middle-aged man possessed extraordinarily large hands, as if wishing to grasp the entire world, and his eyes shone with wisdom, suggesting that everything was accounted for in his plans.

No one witnessed the course of this battle, but the final result was Lu Yuan’s victory over Wu Zichai, raising his rank to twenty-fourth. The Great Yue Kingdom occupants dwelled within the Birdsong Forest, home to hundreds of avian species.

Every morning, the air filled with melodious bird calls. In the early morning, amidst the crisp chorus of birds, the cyan-robed youth landed on the ground: “Lu Yuan of the Jin Kingdom specifically seeks guidance from Senior Sister Xiaoqing of the Yue Kingdom.” Yue Nü Xiaoqing’s seniority was not particularly high, hence Lu Yuan omitted the title of ‘junior.’ Yue Nü Xiaoqing currently ranked thirteenth on the board.

In this fight, Lu Yuan truly understood what the Yue Maiden Divine Sword meant. Lu Yuan discovered that Yue Nü Xiaoqing’s achievements in the Way of the Sword were astonishing; she was actually striving to break into the Sword King realm.

Someone of her generation was aiming for the same breakthrough—this was Lu Yuan’s first encounter with such a phenomenon, broadening his horizons. There were many geniuses in this world, and this woman named Xiaoqing was indeed remarkable.

“Lu Yuan, I will surpass you,” Xiaoqing shouted when Lu Yuan saw his rank shift to eighteenth. Xiaoqing had fallen to the ground, her bright and pristine Yue Maiden Sword lying beside her.

Her graceful figure was clearly outlined, sweat beaded on her face, and strands of dark hair clung to her fair skin. Despite the fierce battle, she had lost, yet her expression was filled with refusal to accept defeat.

Watching the cyan-robed youth retreat with her back to him, Xiaoqing looked down at her finger, where the ‘Thread of Affection’ that had wrapped around it had turned pink. “The Thread of Affection turns to dust, entwined for a lifetime, embroiled in grievances for a lifetime.” This was the evaluation given to Xiaoqing by the foremost fortune-telling Grandmaster of the Yue Kingdom.

Xiaoqing bit her pink lower lip. Entwined for a lifetime, embroiled in grievances for a lifetime?

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