What manner of flames are these! Some simmer at tens of thousands of degrees, others soar past one hundred thousand, and within them, Fire Phoenixes continuously gestated. These Fire Phoenixes, even if slain, could perpetually Nirvana and be reborn. What bizarre flames were these! In the Central Heavenly Dynasty, if these were normal fires, how could the common folk of the Central Heavenly Dynasty survive?
Everyone present was a figure of the Great Dao Realm, yet they found existing within these flames exceedingly difficult. No matter how formidable the people of the Central Heaven were, or how dozens of times richer their spiritual energy was compared to the outside, they could not possibly allow ordinary people to possess the strength of the Great Dao Realm.
So, how did the common residents of the Central Heavenly Dynasty manage to live?
Of the twelve hundred geniuses, the vast majority were utterly confused, only sensing that the flames of the Central Heavenly Dynasty were profoundly strange.
They did not realize that within the Central Heavenly Dynasty, every faction—from grand civilizations down to petty sects—had erected their own sacred grounds, completely isolating themselves from the outside world. Smaller entities, like sect-level powers, refined stars to serve as their domains, the stars floating above the void, utterly separated from the terrifying world beneath the ground.
As for the great civilizations, they employed more extensive methods; they could refine hundreds of stars to form the foundation of their sect, or they could. However, most did not choose that path; the majority instead established their own Minor Thousand Worlds, maintaining a degree of isolation from the Central Heavenly Dynasty's Grand Thousand World, where safety was significantly enhanced.
Within these very flames, people continued to drop down, one after another.
Lu Yuan casually unleashed the Water Sovereign Sword Dao, but his mind remained tethered to Zhuo Lingyun’s words.
Did a sword path resisted by this current epoch truly have no future?
And without a doubt, if one’s spirit was not engaged in the battle, how could they manifest their full strength?
As he struck out, sword strike after sword strike, the Water Sovereign Sword Dao was not as sharp as usual. Before he knew it, an immense number of Fire Phoenixes had gathered around him. These Fire Phoenixes were born from the supreme flames of the Central Heavenly Dynasty, harboring an innate loathing for the water element. Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship, however, was the paramount ruler of water—the Water Sovereign Sword Dao.
As a result, at least several dozen Fire Phoenixes lunged toward Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan unfurled his swordsmanship: "Ocean Surging Tide," "Fierce Sea Contention," "Sovereign of the Waters," and other moves were displayed. The Water Sovereign Sword Dao was executed, annihilating these Fire Phoenixes one by one. But after destroying just over ten, even more appeared—hundreds materialized at once, and the Phoenix True Fire had coiled into an incredibly surging torrent, a terrifying force bent on obliterating everything.
Under normal circumstances, Lu Yuan could have managed one or two.
But now, his thoughts were troubled, his mind preoccupied; his focus was not entirely on the fight. Although the Water Sovereign Sword Dao was swung forth, it failed to exert its full ten-tenths of power. The scorching, blazing, radiant, majestic, and brilliant Phoenix Fire crashed violently into Lu Yuan’s Water Sovereign Sword Dao, and the fiercely intense, high-temperature Phoenix Fire blasted apart his water defenses.
Bang!
Lu Yuan plummeted!
This time, Lu Yuan ranked 300th in the fall, placing 900th overall, earning a meager two points. Normally, Lu Yuan would not have fallen this early; even with his mind elsewhere, his inherent combat power remained. It was precisely because his execution of the Water Sovereign Sword Dao attracted the attacks of hundreds of Fire Phoenixes that he fell so soon.
Having fallen, Lu Yuan absorbed the ambient spiritual energy and the continuous influx of elemental vital energy from the exotic beast-grade spirit beasts, yet he continued to ponder that question.
What was the path forward for the sword? Water Mirror Arts revealed that the people of the Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western Domains, as well as the Lost Lands, were all watching this contest. The Water Mirror Prefectures and Counties established in various regions existed precisely for this moment; far too many eyes were fixed upon this battle.
On the Southern Domain side.
“Xiao Fengxiong, fight on!”
“Murong Huangfu, fight on! Young Master Murong is so handsome!”
“Xukongzi, fight on! Xukongzi is so cute…” Xukongzi was bald and young, which did lend him a measure of appeal.
“Liu Guo, fight on…”
“……”
“Mo Zihe, fight on! He has to break into the top four hundred…” one person shouted fiercely.
“Huh? Mo Zihe? Who is that, Senior Sister?” “Yeah, Senior Sister, didn’t you like Lu Yuan before?”
“I did. Look at him now—young, rising from a border country, with massive potential, so handsome…”
“Handsome indeed. But look at him now—zero points in the first little Primordial Chaos Environment assessment, ranked 1200th. Two points in the second Flame Environment assessment, ranked 900th. He truly has no future. It seems all his potential was burned up in the Southern Domain assessments,” the woman addressed as 'Senior Sister' replied. “But this Mo Zihe you speak of, he’s also handsome, and astonishingly talented. He’s already a Grandmaster of the Seventh Layer of the Great Dao Realm. Senior Sister now has high hopes for him…”
In the Southern Domain.
The people of Mount Hua gripped their fists tightly. Although they believed their Sect Master was invincible, these first two assessments—a zero and a two—were indeed somewhat disappointing. What was worse, peering through the Water Mirror Arts, they noticed their Sect Master seemed deeply thoughtful, wrestling with some problem, clearly not in the right state of mind!
The Sect Master’s strength was immense! But if he wasn't focused, he might lose his chance to enter the Central Heavenly Dynasty because of it.
Sect Master! Regain your focus!
Sect Master! You are the invincible leader of Mount Hua!
The second trial, the Central Heavenly Dynasty Flame Environment assessment, concluded. Lu Yuan’s result remained unsatisfactory, yielding only two points. However, Lu Yuan himself paid it no mind. Mo Zihe had intended to flaunt his victory before Lu Yuan, but upon seeing the ethereal, fairy-like woman seated beside him, a chill ran down his spine, remembering how he had been defeated in just three strikes earlier.
Lu Yuan, you are lucky this time, having the Fairy of the Void-Empty Sword sitting next to you. Otherwise, I would have humiliated you further. But according to the plan, you won't live much longer.
In the Central Heavenly Dynasty Flame Environment, the ones who endured the longest were ultimately Xiao Fengxiong, Gu Qiushui, and Fu Ying—the trio. Li Qiuhuan’s defensive capabilities were truly lacking, making his environmental endurance weaker. As for Xiao Fengxiong, Fu Ying, and Gu Qiushui: Xiao Fengxiong shattered everything; Fu Ying severed everything; Gu Qiushui merged with everything. No one had much hope regarding these top four; the real contest was for the fifth position.
And now, the Central Heavenly Dynasty’s Lightning trial was about to commence!
Everyone flew into the mid-air, and immediately, lightning materialized in the void. This lightning did not immediately strike down. Instead, it gathered in the higher reaches of the void, forming pools of lightning at a loftier altitude. These pools grew larger and larger, and within them, shapes of lightning beasts vaguely formed: lightning Dragons, lightning Jiao (serpents), lightning Phoenixes, even lightning Celestial Gods and their chariots. Vaguely, a palace made of lightning even began to appear. The pools grew exponentially; they started as mere ten-mile squares, then expanded to a hundred miles long, and eventually, to a thousand miles wide!
This was too terrifying!
Even though the lightning within the pools had not yet struck, the condensed lightning had already taken the form of so many dreadful entities—lightning Dragons, lightning Celestial Gods, lightning chariots, and even a lightning palace. Once unleashed, this would be world-shattering. The environments of the Central Heavenly Dynasty were truly beyond ordinary severity.
Immense pressure bore down on the hearts of the twelve hundred geniuses. Only a few, naturally bold individuals laughed aloud, showing no concern whatsoever.
The colossal lightning finally struck. While normal lightning strikes would be ordinary flashes, here, the lightning descended as streams of Thunder Dragons and Thunder Jiao! The Thunder Dragons and Jiao rushed down with the intent to annihilate all. The Central Heavenly Dynasty was truly terrifying; if Thunder Dragons and Jiao were to descend in the Jin State, it would cause a major disaster. Yet, here, such occurrences were commonplace.
Horrifying!
Lu Yuan swung forth his Earth Sovereign Sword Law to resist the lightning. The Earth Sovereign Sword Law proved quite effective against the electricity.
While defending against the lightning, Lu Yuan’s mind remained stuck on his previous contemplation.
The path of the sword—was it truly without prospect?
To be actively resisted by the current epoch was indeed a terrifying matter. Heaven was a part of this epoch; Earth was a part of this epoch. Mountains, rivers, and seas were all components of this epoch. Flying birds, beasts, monstrous beasts, and divine beasts, along with the people among them, were all part of this epoch. Even time and space were included. More crucially, the Fortune of this epoch was also part of this epoch.
Wait, I cultivate the sword. My personal fortune is not bad. Logically, my fortune should be quite poor. Could it be that I inherited some residual fortune from the previous epoch? He thought of the Sword Children in the Central Heavenly Dynasty; the fortune of the sword had not yet completely vanished in this era.
Furthermore, and most importantly, even if the sword is resisted by this epoch, so what?
With the sword in hand, he would never let go.
Born for the way of the sword!
Dying for the friend, the Dao!
I am destined to be born for the sword.
If the sword is resisted by Heaven, I will cleave open Heaven.
If the sword is resisted by Earth, I will cleave open Earth.
If the sword is resisted by mountains, rivers, and seas, I will cleave open mountains, rivers, and seas.
If the sword is resisted by flying birds, beasts, monstrous beasts, and divine beasts, I will cleave open flying birds, beasts, monstrous beasts, and divine beasts.
If the sword is resisted by people, I will slay those who stand in the way of the sword path.
If the sword is resisted by this entire epoch, I will cleave open this epoch.
What if it is one person? What if it is one sword?
I dare to stand alone, plunging my sword against the entirety of Heaven, Earth, and the Epoch.
What if there is no civilization for the sword within the Central Heavenly Dynasty? I will carve out a Civilization of the Sword with my own hands!
If this epoch truly does not tolerate the Civilization of the Sword, I will pursue the Eternal Gate that predates the epoch, existing longer and more eternally than the epoch itself, a gate that even the shattered epoch cannot touch. My sword, my Dao, is destined for eternity.
This is my confidence.
This is my grand aspiration.
This is my path of the sword.
If there is no road ahead for the sword path, then there is the three-foot sharp edge in my hand to open up a supreme Dao of the Sword!