Within the towering structure that pierced the clouds, one fierce battle after another was raging.
Now, the one charging most ferociously was Xiao Fengxiong. This man was truly of unparalleled mettle; he had already pushed through to the twenty-third stage. His martial art was equally unique: the Twenty-Eight Dragon-Subduing Palms. With every strike, it seemed as if several true dragons were taking flight—this was the genuine power of multiple dragons.
The strength of true dragons surged from his hands towards the various demonic beasts. His Twenty-Eight Dragon-Subduing Palms were a world-stabilizing art; one palm unleashed caused wind and thunder to roar.
With every strike, a true dragon materialized. Facing his onslaught, the beasts ahead were effortlessly crushed flat.
Given his speed, he could have ascended even higher, but this man had a profound addiction to wine; frequently, after conquering a stage, he would stop for a long drink, much to everyone's exasperation.
Yet, for a man of his age to possess such profound magical power and terrifying palm techniques stunned even Zhou Zhongyong, the Sovereign of the Great Yong Kingdom. The Sovereign felt that Xiao Fengxiong would likely surpass him significantly in the future—this was a figure with near-limitless potential. The Sovereign’s conviction stemmed from the fact that this man had achieved such power using only second-rate cultivation methods, and rumor had it that he had achieved this without any prior great fortune or fortuitous encounters—it was pure, hard-earned mastery.
Trailing closely behind, Yin Wuji had reached the twenty-first stage. Observed through the Water Mirror Technique, every palm strike Yin Wuji unleashed radiated pure Yang energy—unadulterated, supreme solar power. Such a profound technique would be considered excellent even in the Central Heavenly Dynasty; he was undeniably a peerless genius.
And then there was Guo Kan, lumbering behind, simple-minded yet clearly a force, who had managed to reach the nineteenth stage.
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Murong Huangfu had pushed through to the seventeenth stage.
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Meanwhile, Mo Zihe had impacted the thirteenth stage.
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Huang Rongrong from the Peach Blossom Country had astonishingly reached the eleventh stage.
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The maid A Qing had made it to the tenth stage.
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As for the present, Lu Yuan was currently battling his way through the fifth stage. The fifth stage contained two hundred and fifty demonic beasts, whose strength had seen a slight enhancement. Lu Yuan unleashed his wood-elemental sword arts—at times using the Gale Sword Style, at others the Raging Thunder Style, sometimes the Seventy-Two Forms of the Dense Forest, or the Gentle Cloud Sword Technique, or perhaps the Sword Style of May’s Lush Growth and Bird Song.
The various sword styles flowed ceaselessly from his hands, and while executing them, his mind was locked in deep contemplation.
What exactly was the Wood Emperor Sword Dao? Grass! Wind! Softness! Rage! Thunder! Wood! What was the common thread connecting them all?
Lu Yuan pondered this while executing his strikes.
The wood element was divided into three main categories: Wood, Wind, and Thunder. What were the similarities and differences between these three? As for Softness, it could be placed within Wood or perhaps even Wind. Rage could be integrated into Thunder.
Take Wood first: the vitality of the wood element. Wind: should represent gentleness, omnipresence. Thunder: destruction, ferocity.
These three seemed impossible to reconcile.
So, what was the true essence?
Just as he was concentrating deeply, sensing a nascent thread of understanding, a notification flashed: "One hour remaining until the three-day period concludes. Failure to successfully pass the stage by then will result in disqualification." Hearing this, Lu Yuan redoubled his efforts, swiftly dispatching the remaining opponents.
Stage Six: The opponents were three hundred demonic beasts, their strength again increased. Stage Seven: Three hundred and fifty demonic beasts, strength further amplified.
Lu Yuan honed his swordsmanship stage by stage, immersed in his own Dao. He spent the full three days in each stage. Naturally, his ranking plummeted repeatedly, but Lu Yuan paid it little mind, continuing his ascent. Every time he reached the stairwell between stages, he noticed fewer and fewer people remained, having been eliminated. Those who remained were curious that someone was still pushing this late, naturally assuming Lu Yuan was barely scraping by each stage only to be eliminated on the next.
Stage Eight: This was the fourteenth day since entering. Many cultivators were surging ahead, and countless others had been purged.
Lu Yuan, however, remained unconcerned. He had finally grasped the outline of the Wood Emperor Sword Dao.
A torrent of thoughts flooded his consciousness. He seemed to witness the void, where a rolling thunderclap resonated, shaking the very vitality between heaven and earth. Grasses began to push upward from the soil; leaves sprouted new buds. Wind swept across the land, carrying seeds and pollen to every corner, spreading them afar.
Heaven began!
Vitality surged!
Life force grew stronger.
And soon after, colossal lightning crashed down, striking and felling countless trees. A killing wind stripped the leaves bare, ushering in the cold winter. Grasses withered and died in waves; trees withered, hiding from the harsh cold.
This was the Wood Emperor Sword Dao! The Wood Emperor Sword Dao! It was not merely simple growth, but a cycle across life and death, a turning wheel. In fact, the so-called Cycle Sword Dao was fundamentally built upon the life-and-death cycle of the Wood Emperor Sword Dao. The Cycle Sword Dao carved a unique path, not centered on the sharp Metal Emperor Sword Dao, nor the fierce Fire Emperor Sword Dao, nor the all-encompassing Water Emperor Sword Dao, but focused instead on the life-and-death cycle of the Wood Emperor Sword Dao.
The Wood Emperor Sword Dao was finally complete!
Lu Yuan let out a long breath. Achieving the Wood Emperor Sword Dao was not easy. Now, he had to test its effects. He immediately began to experiment, discovering that the so-called Wood Emperor Sword Dao was used to mend injuries with spiritual power.
The Wood Emperor Sword Dao resided in life and death, possessing extraordinary restorative capabilities—transforming death back into life. It required substantial spiritual power to instantly repair wounds, and Lu Yuan tested this deliberately, allowing a vicious carving eagle to slash his shoulder, instantly leaving five deep, bloody gashes. He immediately activated the Wood Emperor Sword Dao. Visibly, the wounds began to mend at a discernible rate, though his spiritual power also depleted at an equally visible pace.
So powerful!
Even in the Body Refining stage, there was the effect of limb regeneration, but that took far too long and demanded immense spiritual power. To heal the injury just sustained would have taken at least an hour, whereas the Wood Emperor Sword Dao worked instantly. This was a completely different concept. The cost in spiritual power was severe, but once his reservoir grew stronger, such consumption would cease to matter.
Now, he had finally mastered all Five Emperors and Five Sovereigns of the Cycle Sword Dao, lacking nothing, omitting none.
The Cycle Sword Dao was about to be realized.
The Tenth Iron Rule: Cycle.
Lu Yuan began to test it, realizing that he had only just begun to grope toward this law of Cycle; he needed to master it step by step. Naturally, this mastery wouldn't require more time spent in sudden enlightenment; he would simply adapt to how the Cycle Sword Dao functioned through combat.
After all, there were still forty-plus stages left in the Tower of Babel, filled with countless demonic beasts. He could afford to experiment slowly.
Lu Yuan felt no urgency whatsoever.
Inside, however, a surging elation filled him.
The Wood Emperor Sword Dao was complete; finally, he could grasp the Cycle.
He recalled following Ancestor Yan to learn the Five Emperors and Five Sovereigns Cycle Sword Dao. Back then, he’d wondered how long it would take to master fifty sword intents. That was when he was still in the Body Refining stage. Now, he had mastered the Five Emperors and Five Sovereigns Cycle Sword Dao, grasping the first element of the Tenth Iron Rule: Cycle.
The Sword Sovereign realm! He had finally attained it.
Sword Sovereign! The Emperor among Swords!
The so-called Sword Sovereign realm was the third-to-last echelon of sword attainment. Beyond it lay the Sword Saint realm, and then the Sword God realm.
Sword Sovereign! In the Cultivation World, this rank was exceptionally rare. In the Jin Kingdom, there were only two Sword Sovereigns: Lu Yuan and Zhou Qingxuan. Generally, a kingdom boasted at most one or two Sword Sovereigns. Even in the Central Heavenly Dynasty, it was rumored that Sword Sovereigns were scarce, and Sword Saints even rarer. A Sword Saint was defined as one who had comprehended two or more of the Ten Iron Rules; the more Iron Rules a Sword Saint grasped, the more formidable they were—a Nine-Rule Sword Saint stood at the very peak of the sword Dao.
As for the Sword God realm, though legend claimed its existence, it was entirely unsubstantiated; no one knew if even the Central Heavenly Dynasty harbored such a figure.
The greatest benefit of entering the Sword Sovereign realm was that advancing past two subsequent realms would now be as simple as chopping melons and slicing vegetables. Back at Deer Crossing Mountain, facing top-tier figures like A Qing, Murong Shi, and Zhong Heming, who were two small realms above him, he had achieved mixed results, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. As for the battle defending Mount Hua against the Heaven-Replacing Alliance, that victory relied partly on the fact that Fang Xie, Yuan Ling Shangren, and others were not the absolute peak of their respective realms, and partly because Lu Yuan’s conviction at the time was so overwhelming that he performed far beyond his usual level.
Now, having stepped into the Sword Sovereign realm, Lu Yuan could officially treat opponents two minor realms above him like cutting vegetables.
Jin Kingdom, Water Mirror Province.
"What is happening? Six of the fourteen participants have already failed their Tower of Babel trials, their scores terminated."
"Indeed. These six had mediocre results in the first phase, the spiritual power assessment. Now, their progress in the Tower is too low; they have essentially forfeited any hope of reaching the final assessment."
"Eight remain, but looking at their current rankings, it seems very difficult for them to make it near the top of the Tower run, making entry into the final assessment unlikely."
"Who is leading the charge right now?"
"It's Yuan Yang Shangren; he has reached the eleventh stage. His current rank is three thousand six hundred and fifty-third."
"Over three thousand? It looks impossible to break into the top two hundred and forty-nine."
"Then what is the ranking of Elder Lu of Mount Hua?"
"Him? He is currently ranked sixth thousand nine hundred and thirty-first."
"What? He is the foremost genius of our Jin Kingdom, how has he fallen to sixth thousand nine hundred and thirty-first?"
"Is he not supposed to be a peerless genius? How is he nearly seven thousandth?"
"Yes, it seems our Jin Kingdom will be wiped out this time."
"Wiped out again?"
The people of Jin Kingdom murmured amongst themselves. Those in the lower and middle ranks, unaware of the full picture, were growing anxious, and even the higher-ups showed concern. They knew Lu Yuan’s true combat prowess was immense, but this was the final stage of the Southern Territory assessment; only the top two hundred and forty-nine mattered, and Lu Yuan, at sixth thousand nine hundred and thirty-first, was far too distant.
Would Lu Yuan also fail?