"Now, for the next round. Take this." From within the spinning sword wheel, torrents of water-element sword techniques were unleashed: "Raging Rivers," "Fierce Ocean Battle," "Misty Drizzle," "Splashing Water Droplets," and "Icy Heart of Tears." Each strike embodied a different facet of the water element—a raging deluge, an infinite sea, a clinging mist, and the gentle sorrow of liquid yielding to ice. All manner of moves were displayed.

Lu Yuan seemed to see rivers and seas swirling around him; he felt trapped in an absolute world of water. This water domain was ill-suited for defense, and it immediately surged toward him, intent on suffocating him utterly within its liquid confines.

In this boundless realm, there was only himself, and the overwhelming, earth-shattering water. It seemed he had to face an entire world alone. One person, one sword, one world.

Lu Yuan raised his hand, and a wave of sword light descended. In the cycle of the Five Elements where opposition is absolute, Earth conquers Water—the saying goes that water drowns earth. Lu Yuan launched strike after strike of Earth-element sword techniques, but each one was ruthlessly swept away by the massive flood. It was the water of a great ocean; what use was a mere small peak against it?

Lu Yuan unleashed Earth techniques, one after another, using Mountain styles, but against the great rivers and oceans, they proved utterly useless. He was knocked down again and again. The sea submerged Lu Yuan.

"This time, you lost," Zhou Qingxuan said, hands clasped behind his back. "Yes, I lost." Lu Yuan admitted. In this duel, he was defeated. While he could eventually find a way around the offensive weakness of the Mountain style, this time, facing the water-elemental sword techniques, he was helpless.

"Again," Zhou Qingxuan commanded sharply.

The sword wheel began releasing an overwhelming barrage of sword strikes once more: "Boundless Ocean," "World-Overturning Flood," "Water Rolling the World," and "Great Yu Cannot Tame It." A cascade of water-elemental techniques surged towards him. He was once again immersed in a water world, and in this domain, every move he made was an attempt to shatter the techniques Zhou Qingxuan himself had crafted. Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! Even though this was merely half of the swordsmanship his Martial Uncle-Ancestor Zhou possessed.

Once more, Lu Yuan was overwhelmed and submerged by the water world. He lost again. If this were the real world, this would be called utter rout.

"Again."

Again and again, he faced the challenge, again and again he was submerged by the world of water. During another instance where the water world threatened to engulf him, a sudden flash of profound wisdom illuminated his mind. He grasped the true essence of Earth, the true essence of Mountain—what kind of soil it was that, once manifested, caused the Mountain style sword techniques to endlessly proliferate and multiply. Xitu (Nourishing Earth)!

In that instant, Lu Yuan understood countless profound truths. He instantly unleashed a sword technique. The Mountain style seemed slow and clumsy, yet as soon as the Earth emerged, it transformed into more Earth and Mountain techniques, constantly generating new soil and rock, causing massive peaks to rise under Lu Yuan's sword, suppressing everything in all directions. The ocean still tried to resist, but countless mountains slammed down upon it heavily. Suppression complete!

It turned out he had never truly grasped the ultimate secret of the Earth Sovereign; only now did he comprehend the final mystery of the Earth Sovereign—the marvel of Xitu. Mountains are subdued by Water! Water is also subdued by Mountains!

One Yin and one Yang; Water and Mountain naturally counteract each other. This was the marvel of Yin-Yang, the power of Yin-Yang Balance. Mastering the balance between Mountain and Water allowed one to break any sword technique derived from either element. Of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang, he had now mastered one Yin and one Yang.

Having forged this foundation of one Yin and one Yang of Mountain and Water, future Mountain and Water techniques held no hidden flaws for him to see, unless they possessed an absolute iron rule. Yin-Yang Balance seeks out imbalance—the king of flaws.

However, mastering one Yin and one Yang out of the total Nine Yin and Nine Yang seemed too easy. Back then, cultivating the Samsara Sword Dao, the Five Emperors and Five Sovereigns, which comprised ten parts, had been incredibly difficult; each Emperor and each Sovereign had consumed immense spiritual power. While Lu Yuan pondered this, Zhou Qingxuan seemed to read his thoughts: "The so-called Nine Yin and Nine Yang requires nine separate lessons, but unlike Samsara, where the difficulty of the Five Emperors is equivalent, and the Five Sovereigns are equivalent, the difficulty of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang varies. For instance, Heaven and Earth, this one Yin and Yang, the Sword Intent of Heaven and the Sword Intent of Earth are both extraordinarily difficult to comprehend. The Sword Intent of Heaven is renowned as one of the ten most difficult Sword Intents to grasp. Furthermore, the Sword Intents of Good and Evil deal with the unpredictable nature of the human heart, also counted among the ten most difficult to master." The human heart is unpredictable! The heart of Heaven is unknowable!

Zhou Qingxuan was able to discern Lu Yuan's thoughts so quickly because he had mastered Yin-Yang and could see into people's hearts.

...

After establishing the foundation of one Yin and one Yang in the Great Law of Nine Yin and Nine Yang, and after explaining the general principles, Zhou Qingxuan ceased any further specialized training for Lu Yuan.

With Lu Yuan's current strength, it was more than sufficient to handle the final assessment required to enter the Central Dynasty. With normal luck, he was guaranteed entry into the final assessment; only the final ranking might shift. Moreover, Lu Yuan's recent progress had been immense, and pushing too hard now might destabilize his foundation.

"Show that fellow Nalan De your true strength when the time comes. Don't shame our Mount Hua," was the last sentence Zhou Qingxuan left for Lu Yuan.

As the words faded, the voice became distant.

Lu Yuan knew he might not see his Martial Uncle-Ancestor Zhou again for a long time. Zhou Qingxuan had appeared only because Lu Yuan had not yet matured, and the secrets of Yin-Yang had not been imparted. Now that Lu Yuan had largely grown and received the Yin-Yang teachings, his uncle would likely not reappear. Lu Yuan remembered the figure of the woman his Martial Uncle-Ancestor had carved, the deep emotion apparent in his expression while working on that statue.

Under the bright autumn sun, so intense it made one want to doze off, Lu Yuan finally returned to the city gates of Dayong. He was back in Dayong City. Only ten days remained until the final assessment.

Lu Yuan realized he had become incredibly lazy. Since completing the lesson on one Yin and one Yang, he had rested extensively, spending his days basking in the sun, sleeping, drinking, and indulging in all manner of exquisite food—a truly immortal existence. However, he had left Mount Hua recently and arrived outside the Dayong checkpoint.

Within Dayong City stood a structure called the Genius Tower. It was massive and inaccessible to ordinary people, built specifically for those participating in this assessment. Of course, only those who passed the initial screening, securing a spot among the top 249 candidates, earned the right to reside there.

Upon entering, Lu Yuan recognized several faces he had last seen half a year ago. For instance, not far away was a slender young woman with skin like snow and features like a painting. That must be Huang Rongrong from the Peach Blossom Kingdom, Lu Yuan recalled, searching his memory.

"You're here too," Huang Rongrong said lightly, sitting on a branch and gently swinging her small feet.

"Yeah," Lu Yuan shrugged. They were acquaintances who exchanged a few words. Lu Yuan was actually curious about Huang Rongrong's swordsmanship, the "Falling Flowers and Brilliant Plumage Sword." It seemed flashy, yet subtly contained extraordinary powers. If she had been a man, Lu Yuan would have certainly sought a duel.

Dayong Kingdom was responsible for training only thirty individuals; the rest had returned to their respective homelands for training, and most of them had done so. Lu Yuan surveyed the scene and noted that the strength of most people had barely improved. Indeed, making significant progress in the Half-Step realm was incredibly difficult, and any gains were minuscule.

Reaching this stage was the result of years of accumulated strength; advancing further was no easy feat.

"I heard Dayong City initiated a Thirty Genius Cultivation Project, nurturing candidates ranked from second to thirty-first, pooling the kingdom's resources and spiritual objects for their training. Their strength must have soared by now."

"These people are the elite among the elite."

"Exactly. I heard their progress has been staggering."

"Wrong. It’s not the second through thirty-first. Lu Yuan, ranked eleventh, did not join this special training," mentioned one Dayong native, clearly well-informed. The others immediately grew curious and asked why Lu Yuan, ranked eleventh, was excluded. The Dayong genius replied quietly, "It is rumored that Lu Yuan offended Lord Nalan, the Second Sovereign of our Dayong Kingdom." He dared not speak Nalan De’s full name directly, only whispering it here.

"What a pity."

"Indeed. Eleventh place, a very high ranking. With his talent, if he had received Dayong’s boundless resources, he could have advanced further, perhaps even making it into the Central Dynasty without issue. But now... it’s tough. Without the Central Dynasty's specialized training, what can his remote Jin State offer him? His strength has likely stagnated."

"Right. He might not even qualify for the Central Dynasty now, all because he offended the Second Sovereign of Dayong and lost such a rare opportunity."

"Such a waste." Everyone lamented on Lu Yuan’s behalf, though their expressions stopped at mere verbal sympathy. Asking them to stand up for Lu Yuan was out of the question. Nalan De was the Second Sovereign of Dayong, rumored to be slated to take over as First Sovereign in a century. Who would dare provoke such a figure?

At that moment, thirty powerful auras descended towards the Genius Tower. The Thirty Genius Cultivation Project had just concluded, and these thirty individuals were now resting there briefly.

What strong thirty people! The enhancement in their auras compared to half a year ago was palpable. The cultivation plan fully sponsored by Dayong Kingdom was not to be underestimated. Among them, one aura, powerful and arrogant, heralded the arrival of Mo Zihe. His arcane power was significantly stronger than before.

Six months ago, he was at the peak of the sixth level of the Great Dao Realm. Now, he was in the early stages of the seventh level.

In half a year, he had successfully crossed the threshold between the sixth and seventh levels of the Great Dao Realm—a massive leap. Mo Zihe felt an indescribable smugness. He was among the few in the thirty geniuses who had progressed the most, currently ranking close to the top ten among them.

He searched the crowd for the figure clad in green.