Why was Lu Yuan’s performance so astonishing, and why were his senior brothers, Qin Shuangcheng and Zhou Nuchi, both shocked and delighted?

This must be traced back to Taishi Kong himself. Taishi Kong was fond of wine and had been notoriously wild and unrestrained in his youth. Among the Nine Supremes, he had several bitter rivals whose relationships were extremely poor. This, in itself, was not a major issue, as Taishi Kong was no weakling.

However, the incident involving Yan Cangtian offending the son of the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization was blown out of proportion.

The Immortal Ancient Civilization was one of the Five Great Ancient Civilizations. Although the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization had hundreds of sons, even one of his sons could stir up immense trouble.

That incident at the time involved Nalan De, but there were other factors at play. In the end, when the matter escalated, several other Supremes from the Sword Gate united to suppress Taishi Kong, demanding that he capture Yan Cangtian and deliver him to the son of the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization to atone for his sin. Otherwise, the son’s wrath might bring disaster upon the Supreme Sect of the Sword Gate itself.

The affair caused a huge uproar back then, but Taishi Kong was fiercely protective of his own. He erupted in anger immediately and deployed all the resources at his disposal, managing only with great difficulty to send Yan Cangtian away from the Central Celestial Dynasty.

Following this incident, Taishi Kong suffered severe backlash. Due to his implication in the matter, his influence and standing within the Sword Gate declined, and he was essentially sidelined by several other Supremes.

For all these years since, no truly promising talent had been sent to his tutelage.

Although Taishi Kong continued to instruct his disciples, the lack of exceptional seedlings made his teaching rather dull.

And then, this time, Lu Yuan appeared within the Sword Gate.

Originally, given Lu Yuan’s talent—reaching the second level of the Soaring Sword Tower in just twelve hours—such a prodigious talent would not have fallen into Taishi Kong’s hands. However, Lu Yuan defeated the Star of the Sword, indirectly offending the Son of the Sword. Though the Son of the Sword was only considered a figure of the younger generation, his potential was immense, and his future achievements were certainly destined to surpass those of the Supremes.

Consequently, several Supremes sought to curry favor with Lu Yuan.

Thus, they intended to sideline Lu Yuan.

The final outcome was that Lu Yuan, someone already marginalized by multiple Supremes, was placed under the tutelage of Taishi Kong, a man also marginalized and suppressed by those same Supremes.

Both Taishi Kong and Lu Yuan being suppressed—what a perfectly aligned master and disciple relationship!

As mentioned, for many years, Taishi Kong’s disciples had lacked truly exceptional talents. Qin Shuangcheng, Zhou Nuchi, and the others possessed only mediocre strength. Despite Taishi Kong’s diligent instruction, the achievements of these eight disciples were quite ordinary; they mostly hovered around the Eighth or Ninth Layer of the Grand Dao Realm, and their command over the Sword Dao was unremarkable.

With Supreme Taishi Kong marginalized, the core disciples he managed to recruit over the years were not particularly strong either. This situation left Supreme Taishi Kong’s lineage in a rather awkward position.

Indeed, they were Core Disciples, inherently superior to Outer Disciples, but this particular cohort of Core Disciples under Supreme Taishi Kong was the weakest among all the core disciples in the Sword Gate. Within the Sword Gate, which of the Nine Supremes’ lineages paid any attention to the people under Supreme Taishi Kong?

Being the weakest cohort of Core Disciples—that moniker was certainly not flattering.

These years have been tough for Supreme Taishi Kong’s lineage.

Indeed, it has been incredibly difficult. Speaking of the hardships faced by Supreme Taishi Kong’s disciples, the bitterness was enough to make one want to vomit blood.

And now, they had finally encountered Lu Yuan. It turned out this junior brother’s swordsmanship was so extraordinary.

Therefore, Qin Shuangcheng, Zhou Nuchi, and the other seven were overwhelmingly joyous. Their affinity for Lu Yuan surged, hoping that as Lu Yuan grew stronger, he could reclaim some honor for Supreme Taishi Kong’s lineage.

The saying "glory shared is glory gained, loss shared is loss felt" applied perfectly here.

Precisely because of this sentiment, Qin Shuangcheng, Zhou Nuchi, and the other seven felt no jealousy toward Lu Yuan, only boundless delight, treating him with unusual warmth.

Taishi Kong tossed aside his wine gourd: “Very well, let the instruction commence. There are nine of you now, and your cultivation stages differ. I will not lecture generally, but address each of you individually. We start with Qin Shuangcheng. You are at the peak of the Supreme Golden Body within the Ninth Heaven of the Grand Dao Realm. You have reached the pinnacle of the Ninth Layer, but breaking through to the Tenth Layer is exceedingly difficult. To advance from the Ninth Layer toward the Great Perfection of the Tenth Layer requires an incomparably rich accumulation. You must focus on building that foundation slowly now.”

“Zhou Nuchi, you are in the middle stage of the Supreme Golden Body at the Ninth Layer of the Grand Dao Realm. This stage requires the Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect to resonate back into the self. There are several hurdles in achieving this feedback; you should proceed thus and thus.” Taishi Kong possessed intimate knowledge of each disciple’s cultivation, clearly making him a highly competent master.

“Ye Hanfeng, your magical power is at the peak of the Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect in the Eighth Layer of the Grand Dao Realm. Your key to reaching the Ninth Layer lies in initiating the feedback of the Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect into yourself. As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest part. Once you can open this pathway, you can enter the Ninth Layer. And this beginning should be initiated in this manner…” Lu Yuan listened from the side as Taishi Kong offered pointed guidance to each one. He felt he gained immense benefit, gaining a relatively clear understanding of the path ahead—the Eighth Layer’s Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect, the Supreme Golden Body, and so on.

Following this process of tailored instruction, he finally arrived beside Lu Yuan.

Taishi Kong looked over: “I am not entirely clear on your current strength. Unleash your Ancient Talismans.”

“Understood.”

Lu Yuan nodded and released the talismans hovering above his head.

Instantly, thirty-seven Ancient Talismans materialized simultaneously.

This revelation startled Taishi Kong and the other eight senior brothers and sisters. Taishi Kong was somewhat calmer, as he already knew his disciple was the Sword Emperor, and possessing thirty-seven talismans was normal for a Sword Emperor. Still, he held his wine bottle, swaying it, his eyes fixed on the giant, ominous Ancient Talisman among the thirty-seven floating above Lu Yuan’s head.

“The Ancient Talisman of Death.” Taishi Kong couldn’t help but be taken aback. Thirty-seven Ancient Talismans were impressive enough, but he hadn't expected one as rare as the Ancient Talisman of Death among them.

“The Ancient Talisman of Cloud as the Natal Law, manifesting the Natal Nascent Soul?” Taishi Kong stared blankly, then let out a muted laugh after a long pause. “Interesting. It’s the Cloud Natal Law, which is famously said to have the greatest potential but be quite ordinary at the current stage. Infinite potential—many choose this infinite potential as their Natal Law, but none have ever reached the peak. Lu Yuan, can you be the first?”

Taishi Kong realized that his newly accepted disciple was truly a monster whose potential was unfathomable—perhaps even having a chance to become the strongest among the younger generation next to the Son of the Sword. As for comparing with the Son of the Sword, that was impossible.

The Son of the Sword, one of the seven most favored by fortune in the Central Celestial Dynasty, was beyond comparison; otherwise, they wouldn’t be called the Seven Children of Fortune.

The Seven Children of Fortune were the seven individuals with the strongest destiny among the trillions upon trillions of beings in the Central Celestial Dynasty.

Taishi Kong could maintain his composure, but Qin Shuangcheng and the other seven could not.

“Thirty-seven Ancient Talismans.” Qin Shuangcheng was utterly shaken. He was the strongest among the eight, yet he possessed only seventeen Ancient Talismans in total. Moreover, his Ancient Talismans were acquired later, manifesting them through the Sword Gate’s supreme treasures once his magical power reached a certain stage. Everyone knew Lu Yuan could not have had access to the Sword Gate’s supreme treasure, the Lesser Thousand World Shattered Desolation Sword Scroll.

“That’s exaggerated, thirty-seven Ancient Talismans,” Zhou Nuchi exclaimed, equally stunned. He only had fifteen Ancient Talismans. He never imagined his junior brother had thirty-seven. The gap between thirty-seven and fifteen was vast. Everyone started with ten, so fifteen was five over the base, while thirty-seven was twenty-seven over the base—that was the magnitude of the difference.

“I finally understand why Junior Brother’s magical power is relatively low. With thirty-seven Ancient Talismans, breaking through each stage is incredibly difficult. To reach this level at his age is already remarkable. However, while breaking through is hard, the rewards gained upon success far surpass a normal breakthrough.”

“Junior Brother’s talent is formidable. Although he might not compare to the Son of the Sword, he is still an exceptionally powerful figure. Perhaps Supreme Taishi’s lineage has a chance to rise now.”

Senior brothers and sisters ranked from twenty-third to thirtieth exclaimed and discussed amongst themselves. When Taishi Kong first introduced that he had accepted a new disciple who wouldn’t require Sword Art lessons, everyone was curious, and now they finally witnessed the unparalleled charisma displayed by this junior brother.

Taishi Kong stood with his hands clasped behind his back, speaking calmly: “Very good. Your foundation is indeed incomparably solid. But this is also good; with such a solid foundation, you have a greater opportunity to ascend to the Supreme Great Dao in the future. However, you must also understand that since you chose this path, every subsequent breakthrough will be exceptionally difficult.”

“For example, to advance from the Sixth Layer of the Grand Dao Realm, Master of Nascent Soul, to the Seventh Layer, Manifestation of the (Qingyun/Auspicious Cloud) above the head—this is the first step in forming one’s own Minor Barrier or Minor Domain. If you wish to push for it, you will require far more Minor Barrier Pills than others. If you attempt to break through without them, it will be incomparably harder.”

“Now, I will explain to you how you should proceed to advance to the Seventh Layer of the Grand Dao Realm.” Taishi Kong explained the details to Lu Yuan meticulously. He even placed a palm on Lu Yuan’s head, transferring many of his insights regarding the push toward the Seventh Layer of the Grand Dao Realm directly into his mind.

Lu Yuan knew that his weakest aspect currently was his magical power, so he listened attentively. As Taishi Kong laid everything out, Lu Yuan felt he was gaining immense understanding.

Yet, even with the vast benefits gained, breaking through to the Seventh Layer of the Grand Dao Realm and forming the Qingyun would not be easy in a short time.

The Seventh Layer of the Grand Dao Realm, the Qingyun above the head—this realm was not easily attained.