The Son of the Sword placed his hand on his hilt. Ancestor Sword Annihilation placed his hand on his hilt. Things had reached this juncture; the preceding theatrics were now over. The Son of the Sword had secured the advantage of timing, the advantage of location, and had the support of the Imperial Scions from three civilizations; he also held roughly half of the advantage of human support. The performance by True Man Sword Fury had made the Son of the Sword appear genuinely wronged, coupled with his immense reputation within the Sword Sect, the Son of the Sword understood human nature intimately. He knew that whatever he did, he had to stand on the side of righteousness first, so he deliberately manufactured an air of grievance around himself. Timing, location, human support—he commanded it all. Moreover, the Son of the Sword was absolutely convinced that the sword in his hand could utterly surpass Ancestor Sword Annihilation.
Ancestor Sword Annihilation nodded. “Excellent, Son of the Sword. Today, let us cross swords and see how you, the zenith of sword dao fortune, measure up against your ancestor.” Ancestor Sword Annihilation drew his sword—it was the Immortal Slaying Sword, an ancient blade saturated with an aura of annihilation. The moment it was unleashed, a tempest of destructive energy swept across the entire area.
He also knew that the Son of the Sword was no ordinary adversary; this challenge likely meant the opponent possessed terrifying strength. Thus, he opened with his signature technique, the Annihilation Guard Sword Style. Because it must protect, it is powerful. Therefore, all who seek to harm what is guarded must be utterly destroyed. This was the Annihilation Guard Sword Style. Ancestor Sword Annihilation had advanced the Annihilation Guard Sword Style to an astonishing degree. His blade erupted with the light of ninety-nine stars, each point of light wielded with exquisite subtlety. Ninety-Nine Stars—this was the zenith of world-class sword techniques, proving Ancestor Sword Annihilation had mastered them completely.
The Son of the Sword sneered. “A world-class sword technique. Quite useful, perhaps, but only useful. Against me, mere usefulness is useless. Heavenless Sword Style.” With a sweep of his hand, he unleashed the Heavenless Sword Style, an apocalyptic technique. When he had previously fought Lu Yuan using this style, he had withheld all his spiritual power. Now, injecting his spiritual power, the true essence of the Heavenless Sword Style manifested completely. Heavenless Sword Style, Second Cut: Sword Crosses the Star Sea—the sea of stars is vast and endless, yet one lonely sword bridges it. By executing this move, Ancestor Sword Annihilation’s most formidable offensive was forcefully blocked. The Son of the Sword immediately followed up with the third strike of the Heavenless Sword Style: Sword Flaunts the Stars! With this sword in hand, looking down upon the galaxy, Ancestor Sword Annihilation was utterly pushed onto the defensive. “Heavenless Sword Style, Fourth Cut: Ten Thousand Swords Share the Grief.” As this strike was executed, an infinity of sorrow and endless starlight washed over the battlefield. Ancestor Sword Annihilation was covered in wounds, seemingly unable to avoid them. “Heavenless Sword Style, Fifth Cut: Solitude is Heaven!” This cut was deployed with blinding speed, leaving Ancestor Sword Annihilation severely battered. Time seemed to pause in that instant, and the Son of the Sword’s blade rested horizontally against Ancestor Sword Annihilation’s throat: “You have lost.” He acted like a cat playing with a mouse, showing no haste to finish him. He could not do so in front of the assembled members of the Sword Sect, but once he held power, he would use the matter of True Man Sword Fury to utterly dismantle Ancestor Sword Annihilation, extracting every last bit of value from him. His outward appearance would remain snow-white and immaculate, but his interior? He chuckled inwardly. Ancestor Sword Annihilation had been defeated. The expert at the fifth heaven of the World Realm had managed to withstand only four strikes from the Son of the Sword. Such an outcome stunned everyone watching. Indeed, from the start, everyone understood that the Son of the Sword’s challenge was ill-intentioned, but no one expected him to defeat Ancestor Sword Annihilation in just four moves. How overwhelmingly powerful he was. Within the Sword Sect, he was nearly unrivaled in swordsmanship. However, those allied with Ancestor Sword Cloud’s faction understood the true nature of the Son of the Sword. If he truly seized power, the Sword Sect would become a terrifying hell, and their faction would have no path to survival.
The Son of the Sword looked toward Lu Yuan. “Then, who else challenges? Any member of the Sword Sect is qualified to challenge. This position of Sword Ancestor Star Lord belongs to the capable—the one who can lead our Sword Sect to glory.” The Son of the Sword was riding a wave of high spirits, eagerly awaiting Lu Yuan to walk into his trap. His target was Lu Yuan. He intended to thoroughly crush Lu Yuan in front of these witnesses, and not only that—he planned to leave Lu Yuan grievously wounded, destroying his confidence and shattering his future prospects. Even if he didn't kill Lu Yuan, he would cripple him halfway, making Lu Yuan understand exactly what the Son of the Sword among the Seven Sons of Fortune truly represented. Previously, the Son of the Sword had always occupied a supreme position in the Way of the Sword. But Lu Yuan’s arrival prevented him from maintaining that perpetual superiority. Furthermore, in recent days, whispers had spread about Lu Yuan whose swordsmanship matched his own. He had also seen the Son of Martial Arts, who regarded him with unconcealed mockery, clearly laughing at him for being caught up to by someone outside the Seven Sons of Fortune. How could the Son of the Sword not be enraged? It was time to utterly destroy Lu Yuan.
And what was Lu Yuan doing now? The Son of the Sword looked at Lu Yuan and saw him with his eyes closed, seemingly deep in contemplation. He sneered; this was avoidance of the challenge. Lu Yuan, having witnessed the Son of the Sword defeat Ancestor Sword Annihilation in four moves, was terrified and now sought to evade confrontation.
In truth, Lu Yuan was occupied with something else. He had certainly seen the Son of the Sword fell Ancestor Sword Annihilation in four strikes, acknowledging that the Son of the Sword’s current strength likely surpassed his own by a degree. However, Lu Yuan was not one to flee a challenge. The reason he closed his eyes was that just moments ago, the token within his Sword Domain—the very token obtained from the Ancient Desperate Land—had suddenly exploded. The intensity of this explosion was so great that Lu Yuan was compelled to send his consciousness within to investigate. Upon observation, he realized that the token displayed a brilliant light. New characters had appeared on the original token: The Token of the Sun Sword Wielder. Probing it further with his divine sense, he understood the function of this Sun Sword Wielder Token: it possessed the authority to suppress other sword wielders, commanding all swords to submit. Lu Yuan murmured inwardly, wondering why this Sun Sword Wielder Token had suddenly activated. He couldn't fathom it, but through his divine sense, he detected a similarly familiar aura nearby. Lu Yuan traced the sensation, gradually discovering that this aura originated from the direction of the Son of the Sword. In other words, the Son of the Sword also possessed one of these Wielder Tokens. These tokens had been passed down from the previous epoch and held the power to command other sword wielders. He truly hadn't expected the Son of the Sword to also possess a Wielder Token. It seemed the Son of the Sword’s fortune was indeed genuine, and he had activated the token’s power even before Lu Yuan.
Having confirmed this, Lu Yuan opened his eyes. When he did, he saw Ancestor Sword Cloud being struck squarely in the chest by a single sword thrust from the Son of the Sword, leaving a long, gushing wound that sprayed blood everywhere. Ancestor Sword Cloud knew well that once the Son of the Sword gained power, the consequences would be dire. Given the Son of the Sword’s temperament, he would slowly torment and destroy his opponents in the coming days. This was why Ancestor Sword Cloud had stepped forward immediately after Ancestor Sword Annihilation’s defeat. Naturally, Ancestor Sword Cloud had not entered the fight without any chance; before this battle, he had consumed a Demon Reversal Pill—a substance he acquired through an obscure channel, whose side effects were not considered severe. Ancestor Sword Cloud thought the pill would grant him a sliver of advantage, but the result was a single sword strike! The Son of the Sword dispatched Ancestor Sword Cloud in just one move, leaving him gravely wounded. The current strength of the Son of the Sword was terrifying! Four moves to heavily wound Ancestor Sword Annihilation, one move to grievously injure Ancestor Sword Cloud. Both Ancestor Sword Annihilation and Ancestor Sword Cloud were among the top five experts in the Sword Sect. Even the surrounding Holy Sons nodded in reluctant acknowledgment; the Son of the Sword’s execution was undeniably brilliant. His combat skills were now clearly on par with those Imperial Scions.
The Son of the Sword then fixed his gaze on Lu Yuan. “Is there anyone else to challenge? The position of our Sword Sect’s Sword Ancestor Star Lord goes to the capable?” He locked eyes with Lu Yuan, and many noticed the focus of his stare. Unquestionably, the Son of the Sword was issuing a direct challenge to Lu Yuan. But under the current circumstances, seeing the Son of the Sword’s might, Lu Yuan seemed momentarily hesitant. Lu Yuan’s aura seemed to diminish; perhaps he truly wasn't a match for the Son of the Sword.
The Son of the Sword spoke again, but given his recent display of power, no one in the Sword Sect dared to challenge him. The presiding figure, Imperial Scion Saint of Law, frowned. The Sword Sect lay within the jurisdiction of the Ancient Law Civilization, making his oversight appropriate. “Very well, if no one challenges the Son of the Sword within ten counts, then the Son of the Sword’s master, True Man Sword Fury, shall become the Sword Ancestor Star Lord.” “One…” “Two…” “Three…” Imperial Scion Saint of Law did not count quickly, but even slow counting was useless now; no one dared to challenge the Son of the Sword. “Nine…” Imperial Scion Saint of Law counted to nine. If he reached ten, the Son of the Sword would win, and True Man Sword Fury would take the position. The Imperial Scion Saint of Law opened his mouth… Countless eyes turned toward the Son of the Sword. The outcome was sealed; the momentum of the Son of the Sword was fully established. In this round, the Son of the Sword was victorious, Ancestor Sword Annihilation was defeated, and Lu Yuan had lost. “Wait a moment.” At the critical juncture, a voice rang out sharply. Who? Who dared to call for a halt? Who was it? After witnessing the Son of the Sword’s terrifying fighting prowess, who else would dare utter a demand to wait? The crowd turned toward the source of the sound and saw the person who spoke had just opened his eyes.
Lu Yuan gave a wry smile. “My apologies, I was momentarily lost in thought. Yes, the one who called for a halt was me.” Imperial Scion Saint of Law looked at Lu Yuan. “What are you doing up here?” Lu Yuan faced the Son of the Sword. “Oh, it’s like this. I’m not interested in vying for the Sword Ancestor Star Lord position, nor do I have the inclination for it. I just remembered something: the Son of the Sword owes me one hundred thousand Earth-rank spirit stones. Oh, and True Man Sword Fury also owes me one hundred thousand Earth-rank spirit stones. I’m here to collect the debt.” “I don’t owe you anything; stop talking nonsense,” the Son of the Sword snorted coldly.