The World Realm Second Layer expert found himself unable to flee from the sword light cast by the junior, Lu Yuan.

Damn it!

Xuanyuan Wang could barely believe it, yet it was the undeniable truth.

Xuanyuan Wang cursed his rotten luck. Under normal circumstances, he still had the ultimate move of self-detonation. For a World Realm Second Layer master in the Heaven-Opening Realm, the vital energy within his personal dimension was inherently unstable, allowing for a self-detonation maneuver. This was precisely how Xuanyuan Wang had escaped during the chaos in the Sword Gate. However, self-detonation was not a casual trick; after using it once, he would need many years before he could attempt it again. It was a grand escape mechanism, but alas, he had wasted it during the internal strife at the Sword Gate, rendering it unusable now.

"Go," Lu Yuan uttered, unleashing the technique: The Universe Drunkard’s Single Sword.

The sword flashed forth, and Xuanyuan Wang’s massive head tumbled to the ground.

Simultaneously, a destructive sword aura flooded his body, obliterating every last spark of his vitality.

Xuanyuan Wang, the foremost Sovereign of the Sword Gate, the schemer who had sown discord for years and nearly usurped the position of Gate Master, finally died beneath Lu Yuan’s blade. His final thought was a flicker of disbelief: I, the great Xuanyuan Wang, slain by a mere junior? But death is death; what difference does a thought make once life has fled?

At this moment, Lu Yuan felt a wave of deep emotion.

When he had first entered the Sword Gate, he was tormented by Xuanyuan Wang’s underlings and disciples. Xuanyuan Wang had repeatedly sought his demise, presenting an insurmountable mountain to the nascent Lu Yuan. Now, Xuanyuan Wang finally lay dead by his hand—what a difficult journey it had been.

In fact, during his final confrontation with Xuanyuan Wang, Lu Yuan had realized something critical.

At the World Realm, he could no longer leap over two minor tiers to defeat an opponent, as he had done in the preceding realms of Qi Refining, Body Tempering, Eternal Life, Great Dao, and Chaos Cauldron. Now, he could only reliably overcome one minor tier above his own. The reason wasn't that his swordsmanship had weakened, but because the gap between each stage within the World Realm was exponentially vast.

What kind of immense chasm prevented him from bypassing two minor tiers?

Of course, defeating an opponent one minor tier above him was absolutely certain, with no room for error—a fact proven during the exchange with Xuanyuan Wang.

Concurrently, he had secured substantial resources from Xuanyuan Wang.

Regarding spirit stones, his previous supply had been nearly depleted while breaking through to the World Realm. This time, however, he acquired a specific type from Xuanyuan Wang. These stones were immense, each the size of a palm, colored a muted ochre, and their spiritual energy far surpassed that of the High-Grade Spirit Stones.

These were Earth-Tier Spirit Stones!

Spirit stones were categorized into five tiers: Low-Grade, Mid-Grade, High-Grade, Earth-Tier, and Heaven-Tier.

While Earth-Tier stones were less precious than Heaven-Tier ones, they were still remarkably valuable. A typical World Realm Second Heaven expert might possess one or two thousand Earth-Tier stones. However, Xuanyuan Wang was no ordinary person; having served as the Sword Gate's Supreme Sovereign for so long, his collection was vast—a full four thousand stones. Now, all of them belonged to Lu Yuan. In essence, his current spirit stone fortune stood at four thousand Earth-Tier Spirit Stones.

Furthermore, the Defensive Crystals obtained from Xuanyuan Wang totaled twenty units, adding to his existing supply, bringing his total to fifty units. Defensive Crystals were items of significant future utility.

Take spirit beasts, for instance. What he gained from Xuanyuan Wang was far from common—they were Mythic-Grade spirit beasts. Mythic-Grade beasts were extraordinary. They still bore the forms of Dragons and Phoenixes but were colossal in scale. A single Mythic-Grade divine beast now stood thousands of feet tall, a stark contrast to the palm-sized spirit beasts he acquired in the past—an unfathomable difference. Including his original collection, Lu Yuan now possessed twenty Mythic-Grade spirit beasts.

Next, Lu Yuan descended to Mount Hua. As for why Xuanyuan Wang had been so concerned about Mount Hua, Lu Yuan understood the reason.

Lu Yuan paused briefly on Mount Hua, offering slight guidance to its inhabitants. With his current strength, even minor pointers from Lu Yuan were immensely beneficial to the people of Mount Hua. Naturally, Lu Yuan also enacted strict sect rules. Mount Hua currently held singular dominance in the Jin Kingdom; should its disciples become arrogant, the consequences could be dire, necessitating firm regulations.

At the same time, Lu Yuan left three strands of Sword Qi within Mount Hua.

These three strands of Sword Qi were superior to the ones Zhou Qingxuan had left years ago. Even a World Realm First Layer expert would struggle to break through them quickly, and those below the World Realm would find it utterly impossible.

Having accomplished this, Lu Yuan did not linger long on Mount Hua and departed immediately.

Lu Yuan flew directly, consuming a considerable amount of time to return to the Sword Gate.

The world was vast; even at his current speed, it required a significant duration.

His return to the Sword Gate was surprisingly peaceful.

Lu Yuan’s current residence was on Sword Gate Star, situated within a mountain range he himself had shaped, called Jiuchuan Mountain. This range contained numerous pools fed by naturally occurring springs of wine—a truly blissful domain. Lu Yuan did not rush into cultivation; he decided to indulge in leisure first.

One cannot live life perpetually burdened.

If there is time to relax, one should relax.

Lu Yuan returned to his comfortable rhythm, though he still dedicated his spare moments to instructing the Sword Gate disciples in swordsmanship.

He used to feel the immense pressure emanating from the Son of the Sword, but now, having reached the World Realm, he faintly felt that pressure lessen, allowing him this period of ease. Of course, Lu Yuan knew he couldn't relax completely. Soon, he would need to strive harder. The difference of a few tiers in the World Realm was monumental; his previous ability to surpass two minor tiers now reduced to just one clearly showed the magnitude of this gap.

The Son of the Sword was no weakling, and the path to surpassing him still required effort. Regardless, Lu Yuan was determined to achieve ultimate victory over the Son of the Sword.

Amidst this relatively relaxed existence, Lu Yuan did notice a few brewing conflicts.

These clashes were essentially between disciples loyal to the former Xuanyuan Wang faction and those aligned with the former Taishi Kong faction. Xuanyuan Wang’s faction had been too numerous for Taishi Kong to purge entirely when Xuanyuan Wang fled; eliminating them would have stripped the Sword Gate of over half its disciples. After Xuanyuan Wang's escape, these disciples had kept their heads down, afraid to act brazenly. For unknown reasons, they had recently started growing arrogant again.

Right, he still hadn't reported slaying Xuanyuan Wang to his master, Taishi Kong. Ah, he’d been too idle lately, drinking too much, forgetting matters of importance.

The current Sword Gate Master, Taishi Kong, remained on Kong Mountain.

Lu Yuan entered familiar territory. Upon reaching Kong Mountain, he found the former Gate Master, Zhuge Zhishang, also present. Moreover, Eastern Wild Sovereign had returned, while Marquis Xiahou Sovereign and Baili Sovereign seemed to still be at the World Volcano. Jian Xiong, the newly appointed Sovereign, was also present.

"Oh, Lu Yuan has arrived."

Taishi Kong let out a hearty laugh and tossed a wineskin over. "This is a Fire Wine I just acquired, forged in actual flame. The wine is refined directly with fire, with nothing in between. The taste is supreme."

Lu Yuan, naturally, did not refuse, downing the Fire Wine in one gulp. It felt like swallowing fire, a unique and exhilarating sensation of pain.

Taishi Kong continued, "You certainly made a name for yourself at the World Volcano. In the Central Celestial Dynasty, who doesn't know that the Sword Gate has a Lu Yuan, invincible beneath the World Realm?"

Lu Yuan took a few more swigs, satisfying his craving, before remarking, "Right, there’s something I forgot to mention. I took care of someone in the Outer Domain recently."

"Who?" Eastern Wild Sovereign asked. "It couldn't have been some formidable Sovereign who unfortunately fell into your hands, could it?"

"It was a Sovereign, indeed," Lu Yuan replied casually. "Xuanyuan Wang."

As the name Xuanyuan Wang left his lips, Taishi Kong, former Gate Master Zhuge Zhishang, Eastern Wild Sovereign, and Jian Xiong all fell silent, stunned.

"What? Xuanyuan Wang!" Taishi Kong sputtered.

"Xuanyuan Wang!" Zhuge Zhishang murmured.

"It’s truly Xuanyuan Wang!" Eastern Wild Sovereign was rooted to the spot.

"Xuanyuan Wang!" Jian Xiong was aghast.

Clearly, it was beyond anyone's comprehension that Lu Yuan had slain Xuanyuan Wang.

"Yes, Xuanyuan Wang," Lu Yuan said, tossing out the Sovereign Immortal Sword with a casual flip of his hand. This sword had been Xuanyuan Wang's constant companion. Presenting the sword itself left no room for doubt.

Taishi Kong spoke, his voice laced with disbelief: "How could you possibly kill Xuanyuan Wang! Could it be...? You reached the World Realm?"

"Correct," Lu Yuan nodded lightly, as if stating the time of day.

"What!" Taishi Kong, former Gate Master Zhuge Zhishang, Eastern Wild Sovereign, and Jian Xiong were all struck dumb. The World Realm was not an easy threshold to cross; it was the final major division in the path of cultivation, notoriously difficult to breach. There was an old saying: 'To charge into the World Realm is harder than ascending to the heavens.'

Eastern Wild Sovereign had been stuck trying to break through for years without success, and he was not alone; every single person present had spent many years stalled at that barrier.

But now, now Lu Yuan declared he had ascended to the World Realm.

Yet, Lu Yuan did not lie, nor had he ever lied. And since he had slain Sovereign Xuanyuan, only one conclusion remained: Lu Yuan had, unequivocally, broken through to the World Realm.

A genius!

To achieve the World Realm in such a short time—Taishi Kong felt an overwhelming surge of joy at having accepted such a fine disciple.

Former Gate Master Zhuge Zhishang, who had once favored Lu Yuan, even using his authority as Gate Master to broker the eight-year pact when the Son of the Sword sought Lu Yuan’s life, had not truly expected such success back then. Yet, Lu Yuan had managed to reach the World Realm in just over three years—half the time allotted by the pact! The difficulty of breaking into the World Realm was universally known.

Lu Yuan's innate talent and potential far surpassed his own protégé, Han Ji.

His impending battle with the Son of the Sword was bound to be spectacular.

(Second update delivered.)