Such a figure is no simple matter. In the cultivation world of Jin State, there are numerous traitors. But among all these traitors, the most notorious is Yuan Ling Shangren!

In the cultivation world, there are only a handful who can be called great demonic arch-rebels: Tian Chou Laoren from Kunlun, Zhang Xuxuan from Qingcheng, Yuan Ling Shangren from Huashan, Qiao Feidu from the South Sea, and Song Bieli from Wudang. Among these, Tian Chou Laoren has always cooperated with Yuan Ling Shangren, adopting a stance that makes him seem like the elder brother to Yuan Ling Shangren's second brother. Zhang Xuxuan specializes in formations; in a direct confrontation, he would likely not be a match for Yuan Ling Shangren.

As for Song Bieli, he did not join Ren Du's grand army, and recently fought a battle against Yuan Ling Shangren, resulting in Song Bieli being severely wounded and forced to flee. Thus, among the five great traitors, Yuan Ling Shangren holds the most infamous reputation. And Yuan Ling Shangren is indeed remarkably complex.

He dared to storm the Tenth Hall of the Five Immortals Alliance to seize talent, dared to ascend Huashan to abduct Tie Muer, and orchestrated the plot to annihilate the Northern Peak. If it weren't for Lu Yuan's interference, the Northern Peak would likely be under his control by now. This man's strength is formidable, his scheming terrifying.

Ren Du holds this man in high regard, considering Yuan Ling Shangren the only worthy successor to his mantle. And the combat prowess Yuan Ling Shangren just displayed—being able to anticipate Lu Yuan's attacks even before Lu Yuan struck—was nothing short of miraculous. He positioned himself first in an unassailable position, forcing admiration.

Yuan Ling Shangren is indeed Yuan Ling Shangren, worthy of being Ren Du's most favored figure, and a figure that has given Huashan centuries of headaches. And now, Lu Yuan spouts such audacious words, in this situation, demanding to obliterate Yuan Ling Shangren in five moves. What confidence!

What arrogance! Yuan Ling Shangren merely smiled dismissively. This was just Lu Yuan's tactic to attack the mind.

In contests between masters, victory hinges on the finest margin, and an assault on the psyche can certainly affect that margin. Yuan Ling Shangren was supremely confident in his own abilities and the combat data he had meticulously collected regarding his opponent; his resolve could never be shaken by such a strategy. Lu Yuan let out a long laugh and unleashed a sword strike!

This strike was fast, ruthless, and ever-changing! Quick, fierce, and infinitely mutable! The White Emperor Sword Style!

The Fire Sovereign Sword Style! The Metal Sovereign Sword Style! The three ultimate sword styles were deployed within a single thrust.

This strike soared forth, possessing boundless dominance, lightning-fast elegance, and absolute, electrical agility. Yuan Ling Shangren remained unconcerned. His body moved with incredible speed, and this movement precisely evaded Lu Yuan's strike—not by a hair's breadth, not by a fraction of an inch.

“Useless,” Yuan Ling Shangren stated calmly. “Your combat style, your battle data, it’s all in my mind. You cannot strike me.” “Is that so?” Lu Yuan showed no concern and launched another sword strike, again incorporating the White Emperor, Fire Sovereign, and Metal Sovereign styles into one blow.

This strike was vast as the heavens, fleeting as a startled horse. Yuan Ling Shangren swiftly shifted his body, evading Lu Yuan’s attack by the narrowest of margins, but what remained was a corner of his robe, fluttering down. Seeing the severed edge of his garment, Yuan Ling Shangren’s expression finally shifted.

To have a corner of his robe cut off represented a failure... “The third strike is coming,” Lu Yuan proclaimed, launching yet another attack, still melding the White Emperor, Fire Sovereign, and Metal Sovereign styles into one. This strike seemed as though myriad sovereigns and emperors were descending, imbued with supreme majesty and murderous intent, all merged together.

The sword light descended like a heavenly blade, cleaving towards Yuan Ling Shangren. Yuan Ling Shangren had already sensed something amiss. Losing a piece of cloth was minor, but in his absolute calculations, such a loss was impossible.

This could only mean one thing: his data calculation was flawed. As the third strike descended, his mind frantically recalculated, determining the single best counterattack at maximum speed—a perfectly executed rebuttal. But...

Crack! A sharp blade pierced his right rib. How could this be...!

He could scarcely believe his eyes, and just then, Lu Yuan’s fourth strike arrived. This fourth strike was not one of Lu Yuan's own inventions; it was Yuan Ling Shangren’s technique, the Primordial Genesis (Yuanshi Taichu). This strike descended, carrying boundless emptiness, infinite grandeur, and pure genesis, as if the universe itself began with this single sword thrust.

Yuan Ling Shangren knew the disruptive nature of the Primordial Genesis; he also knew the exact data Lu Yuan would use to employ this move. Yet, Whoosh! This strike, aimed from top to bottom, sliced obliquely, tearing an exceedingly long wound across Yuan Ling Shangren’s chest.

Why? Why was he so heavily wounded by this technique when he perfectly understood Lu Yuan’s fighting style and data, and was familiar with the Yuanshi Taichu move? “The fifth strike.

If you can block this one, I will not kill you,” Lu Yuan roared, taking a step forward—a single step spanning the horizon—and thrust his sword. This strike dissolved the very concept of void. Yuan Ling Shangren moved to defend, but the sword perfectly bypassed the accumulated layers of defense built from countless data points, plunging directly into Yuan Ling Shangren’s heart.

“I said five moves to destroy you, and I take five moves. How could I let you reach a sixth?” Lu Yuan shouted coldly, and flames erupted from his sword. Amidst the endless firelight, Yuan Ling Shangren weakly managed, “Why?

Why, when I am so powerful, when my data is so complete, was I still killed by you?” “Because,” Lu Yuan stated casually, “your so-called data stream—collecting fighting styles and combat data—was correct. You collected the right information. But during combat, my data is continuously growing.

The data from the moment before is entirely different from the moment after. That is why I shattered you.” It was a pity that Yuan Ling Shangren had already passed in the previous moment and could not hear Lu Yuan’s explanation. Lu Yuan swept his hand through the void, pulling in the very force of balance from Yuan Ling Shangren’s connection to the laws of heaven and earth.

Yuan Ling Shangren’s strength had been the peak among the handful he had just fought, and his balance force was likewise the greatest among them. Having slain Yuan Ling Shangren, Lu Yuan felt a measure of reflection. Yuan Ling Shangren, the greatest traitor of Huashan, the man who had repeatedly nearly destroyed the Northern Peak, the slayer of Martial Uncle Yuan Yuan—now, under his hand, he was nothing more than fragile clay and brittle wood.

Lu Yuan recalled the first time he encountered Yuan Ling Shangren during the trials at the Tenth Hall; he couldn't even withstand a single blow. At that time, Yuan Ling Shangren had seemed impossibly powerful. Yet now, under Lu Yuan’s sword, he couldn't even last five moves—mere clay and brittle wood.

Lu Yuan sneered and raised four fingers on his right hand. Four fingers: one heavily wounded, three lives of demonic grandmasters taken. How powerful!

Against Duan Dao Zuo Heng, a grandmaster of the Blade Way and a demonic leader, it took fifteen moves to sever his left arm, forcing him into a critical retreat. In fact, Zuo Heng was quite fortunate; among the four opponents Lu Yuan faced, he was the only one to escape with his life. Against the Scarlet Wing Demon King, a demon lord who could defeat even the five great immortal sects with ease, and who killed Li Yuanbai as easily as killing a chicken, it took ten moves to utterly slay the Demon King.

The supposed fastest speed in Jin State was broken four times by Lu Yuan without him shifting his stance once. Against the Star Constellation Old Immortal, famous throughout Jin State for the poison of the Seven Killings Constellation, the master of a mid-tier immortal sect—Lu Yuan charged into the demonic horde and killed him in one move, displaying unparalleled might. And against Yuan Ling Shangren, this demonic grandmaster, Huashan’s most formidable traitor, he was dispatched in five moves—a feat frightening beyond belief.

Four consecutive defeats! One heavily wounded, three slain. This was Lu Yuan’s record from the preceding engagements.

Lu Yuan stood atop the breach, which was now wide enough for six people to pass through simultaneously, allowing for a group assault. Yet, Lu Yuan’s performance had cowed everyone into silence; no one dared to attack him in a group. Whether seen by the members of the Heavenly Alliance or the people of Huashan, Lu Yuan now appeared as if he were a god or a demon.

Is this young man in green robes a demon from the depths of hell, or a divine spirit descended from the heavens? Who among them could withstand more than a few moves from this god-like young man? “We are the invincible demons of the world.” “We are wandering fiends, bloodthirsty devils.” “Once we return to our proper place, once we step back into Jin State…” The demons were about to chant the oath they made when leaving Jin State years ago, but every single one of them did so weakly.

Their morale had been crushed by the god-like Lu Yuan. Indeed, their surging demonic thoughts were like a great river, capable of dragging high monks into mortal desire and causing cultivators to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation and cling to worldly affections. But Lu Yuan stood like a divine being descended to earth!

His three-foot blade, plunged into the ground, seemed to have pinned that demonic dragon, forged from surging malevolence, to the earth itself. Say he’ll shatter you! He shatters you!

Say five moves! Five moves it is! What absolute dominance!

Many now understood that Lu Yuan had established an overwhelming momentum—the aura of one who slays gods and butchers Buddhas. Under this momentum, Lu Yuan was performing far beyond his normal level, and this peak performance would infuse his future conduct and style with absolute supremacy. Lu Yuan placed his hand on the hilt of his three-foot blade: “So, who else?” At this moment, every demonic grandmaster whose gaze fell upon Lu Yuan recoiled, their eyes darting away.

These mighty leaders seemed like small chicks being surveyed beneath the gaze of a hawk, their courage utterly dissolved! “S-s-s-s-s-s-so incredibly dominant,” muttered a spectator from the Qingcheng Immortal Sect, unable to contain himself. He repeated the word 'so' seven times; anything less would not capture the sheer magnitude of the dominance he witnessed.

The members of the Wudang Immortal Sect felt an urge to vomit blood. They had always been suppressed by Yan Cangtian, and they thought his ascension would be a blessing, but this Lu Yuan, judging by this aura of supremacy, would be far more terrifying than Yan Cangtian. As for the people of Kunlun and the South Sea Immortal Sects, they were utterly stunned.

The Kunlun members found their feet rooted to the spot; even from this distance, Lu Yuan’s sheer aura was paralyzing them. What a supreme sect master this is! What use were the 'Supreme Sect Masters' of other sects?

Lu Yuan was the true supreme leader; even the other immortal sects now felt the impulse to bow in worship before this divine being!