The Ancestor of the Mad Gate, War-Mad Iron, appeared with a sudden, earth-shattering surge of madness that enveloped the entire surface of the Earth Dragon Planet.
An immense divine sense locked fiercely onto Lu Yuan, who had just emerged from the ground.
“Seven emotions are lacking; ascending to World Realm Fifth Heaven is difficult. You are destined to die by my hand.” War-Mad Iron glared at Lu Yuan, certain he had found Lu Yuan’s weakness and determined to kill him. If Lu Yuan could truly reach the Fifth Heaven of the World Realm, War-Mad Iron would sooner believe he could be beaten to death, but he was resolved to kill Lu Yuan, and thus, to win.
The aura was arrogant! The presence was extraordinary!
War-Mad Iron fixed his gaze on Lu Yuan: “Lu Yuan, I will slay you. I will take your head to the Sword Gate and completely tear down their defenses.”
Lu Yuan looked back at War-Mad Iron: “What is happening with the Sword Gate?”
“What is happening with the Sword Gate? Naturally, our Mad Gate has declared full war on your Sword Gate. Though, I estimate your Sword Gate’s turtle shell is quite sturdy, not easily breached.” War-Mad Iron laughed heartily, his madness flaring: “But in the end, it will undoubtedly be shattered by us.”
Lu Yuan paused, his expression thoughtful: “So, while you, War-Mad Iron, attack me, the main force of the Mad Gate is attacking the Sword Gate?”
“Correct,” War-Mad Iron nodded. “Of course, you don't need to think about saving the Sword Gate, because you will die beneath my blade.”
Lu Yuan was not overly concerned that the Sword Gate would be breached immediately. With preparation, the Sword Gate possessed a defensive Grand Array left behind over spans measured in hundreds of thousands of years. As long as that array was activated, even if the Mad Gate brought experts of the World Realm Sixth Heaven, breaching the defense would not be easy in a short time.
However, the Mad Gate launching an attack was no minor incident.
The Archaic Script Law civilization was indeed assisting the Sword Gate, especially when other civilizations tried to oppress them. But since the Mad Gate also fell under the rule of the Archaic Script Law civilization, it was impossible for the ruling power to favor one side without compromising its position as the ultimate arbiter.
Furthermore, given the long-standing enmity between the Mad Gate and the Sword Gate, the Archaic Script Law civilization had absolutely no justifiable reason to intervene and stop their war.
The current move by the Mad Gate—sending War-Mad Iron to kill Lu Yuan while simultaneously launching a major offensive against the Sword Gate headquarters—was not trivial. This likely signaled the Mad Gate’s true intention. In past history, when both factions engaged in such full-scale assaults, the result was always the near-annihilation of one sect. These were truly ferocious battles, far beyond ordinary combat.
And now, it seemed, another such devastating war was about to commence.
A grand war!
This was unlike any battle Lu Yuan had faced since entering the Central Heavenly Dynasty. Most of his previous engagements in that realm had been small-scale; the largest was merely an internal rebellion.
What was about to unfold now was a fight to the death between two supreme great sects—a battle of unparalleled scale.
And now, the fight had begun.
War-Mad Iron looked at Lu Yuan, his hand resting on the hilt of his saber. He stood suspended in the void: “This saber is named Tiger Wing. It was forged from the wing of an ancient White Tiger. It possesses the ferocity and might of the tiger, yet the thinness and speed of a wing.” His body and saber seemed to gradually merge into one. The Mad Gate was truly an exceptional sect; they predominantly used sabers, and their saber techniques were explosively wild. The blades of the Mad Gate were already renowned throughout the realms.
This offensive by the Mad Gate against the Sword Gate coincided with the Sword Gate being at a point of extreme weakness. Thus, the Mad Gate’s prospects for victory were exceptionally high. It was hard to conceive any reason for the Mad Gate not to win; the Sword Gate might face total extinction this time.
Similarly, in War-Mad Iron’s mission to kill Lu Yuan, it was hard to imagine a scenario where War-Mad Iron would fail. With Lu Yuan’s deficiency in the seven emotions, his probability of death approached ten-tenths—far exceeding ninety-nine percent. There was no plausible reason for Lu Yuan to survive.
War-Mad Iron was magnificent, standing supreme in the void: “I feel quite inclined to slaughter today. I shall kill all of you at the Third and Fourth Heavens of the World Realm. I have no interest in the rest; you are too weak.” War-Mad Iron was inherently bloodthirsty, and his declaration to eliminate all those in the Third and Fourth Heavens was perfectly in character.
While War-Mad Iron was displaying his might, Lu Yuan sent a telepathic message to Ji Qianyu and the others: “Which of you possesses a high-speed flying artifact?”
Su Yingxiu replied: “My Sleeve Arrow Ship is very fast.”
“Very well. When I attack, immediately summon the Sleeve Arrow Ship, and we will all flee together,” Lu Yuan instructed.
Undoubtedly, despite having six individuals at the Fourth Heaven of the World Realm and one at the Third Heaven (Qiu Qingshan), they were absolutely no match for War-Mad Iron at the Sixth Heaven. The gap between the Sixth and Fourth Heavens of the World Realm was vast beyond measure.
Su Yingxiu startled and transmitted back: “It’s useless. The entire atmosphere is currently under War-Mad Iron’s suppression; we cannot escape.”
“I will use a move to injure his legs, disrupt his momentum, and then we can break out,” Lu Yuan said. “Moreover, if his legs are injured, his flying speed is bound to slow down.”
“What!” Su Yingxiu exclaimed in shock. “He is World Realm Sixth Heaven. You can injure his legs?”
“That is impossible, even for you, Lu Yuan,” interjected Zhu Tianrong of the Fire Control Sect.
“Indeed. The difference between the Sixth and Fourth Heavens of the World Realm is unimaginable. How could you possibly injure him?” This was Zhu Liefeng, also from the Fire Control Sect.
It wasn’t that they doubted Lu Yuan as a person, but his words were too astounding. The gap between the Sixth and Fourth Heavens was immense. If the Sixth Heaven War-Mad Iron truly intended to kill them, it would take no more than three moves—in fact, one move would suffice. Injuring War-Mad Iron was something they dared not even conceive of.
And now, Lu Yuan, also only at the Fourth Heaven, intended to injure War-Mad Iron.
This was an utterly impossible task!
Lu Yuan shrugged: “Impossible or not, I will show you immediately.” Above in the void, the wildly maniacal War-Mad Iron looked toward Lu Yuan: “Oh? Are you communicating telepathically? I have no interest in using sound-intercepting arts. Tell me what you are saying to each other.”
Lu Yuan was surprisingly frank: “I was saying that I plan to injure you with a move shortly. By the way, I intend to injure your feet.” Lu Yuan’s statement left Ji Qianyu, Su Yingxiu, Zhu Tianrong, Zhu Liefeng, Sword Cloud Ancestor, and Qiu Qingshan all dumbfounded. They never expected Lu Yuan to be so transparent, telling the enemy his plan beforehand. Could he even wound him?
War-Mad Iron nearly burst out laughing. This was utterly ridiculous. Lu Yuan, a mere ant at the Fourth Heaven of the World Realm, dared to try and injure him? Truly laughable, a death wish: “Very well. Draw your sword. I want to see if you can even scratch a single hair on me?” He possessed absolute confidence, given the massive gulf between the Sixth and Fourth Heavens.
Lu Yuan’s hand gripped his sword hilt: “Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring.” Yes, the move Lu Yuan was about to use was precisely Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring! Since creating the Ancient Sword Dao, the most extreme technique he had utilized was only Sword Five, The Only Sword. He had never used Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring! Now, Lu Yuan was unleashing it. What kind of majesty would Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring unleash? Expectations soared.
Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring! This was a sword strike meant to compel the surrounding heaven and earth into submission. It was born from sensing his own sword at the Monument of the Forgotten Sword, allowing the deepest memories and the surrounding sword intent to move the world. Lu Yuan had sworn an oath that made heaven and earth retreat in fear when creating this move. Its function was simple: to marshal everything within the surrounding cosmos into this single strike.
The more formidable the surroundings, the more terrifying this sword strike would be.
And now, one element surrounding him was the Earth Dragon Star itself.
Yes, Lu Yuan intended to detonate a portion of the Earth Dragon Star’s surface to injure War-Mad Iron.
A normal stellar explosion could never harm War-Mad Iron; at most, it could only momentarily obstruct him. But the Earth Dragon Star was no ordinary celestial body; it contained numerous Earth-rank spiritual veins. Once unleashed, the power contained within the star would be terrifyingly immense.
Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring! The strike was launched, and the entire surrounding realm submitted to it.
Before War-Mad Iron could react, endless explosions erupted around him.
What terrifying detonations! Countless beams of light, countless roars, countless sounds erupted in that single instant, far more intense—hundreds of times more intense—than the explosion of an ordinary star.
In that moment, there was only boundless explosion!
It seemed that in the infinite void, only the words Boom! Explosion! could be heard.
This was an unprecedented, massive firework display. Even from locations far beyond countless stars, this brilliant explosion could be witnessed.
And in the heart of this explosion, War-Mad Iron’s legs were blasted into bloody ruin.
Yes, Lu Yuan had succeeded.
By relying on the technique Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring! He had managed to wound War-Mad Iron’s feet.
Initially, when Lu Yuan announced his intention to injure War-Mad Iron’s legs, everyone—both on War-Mad Iron’s side and Lu Yuan’s companions—assumed he was bragging. It seemed absolutely impossible for someone at the Fourth Heaven of the World Realm to injure an expert at the Sixth Heaven. But now, the reality was laid bare: Lu Yuan had achieved the impossible using Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring.
This world-shocking feat had actually been accomplished by Lu Yuan.
If this news spread, Lu Yuan would become famous throughout the Central Heavenly Dynasty.
Because such an accomplishment was already considered a miracle within the Central Heavenly Dynasty! A colossal miracle!
What astonishing swordsmanship was capable of achieving such a record?
(This is a transitional chapter for a major arc. I strive to make even these transitional chapters thrilling to read.)