Jian Ruhai prepared two methods, one being the Water of Sorrow and the other the Technique to Control Anger, both intended to enhance Lu Yuan's Seven Emotions, yet both failed.

With the Seven Emotions lacking, reaching Lu Yuan's current stage truly left no apparent solutions. Even Jian Ruhai was at a loss.

If Jian Ruhai had no way, then Qiu Qingshan, who had initially been optimistic, and Jian Yunzhongzu were even more helpless. Their insight was inferior to Jian Ruhai's, and a sense of foreboding darkened their hearts. They were all aligned with Lu Yuan's faction; if Lu Yuan stalled his progress, when the Sword Child counterattacked, they too would face ruin.

Ji Qianyu, having received aid from Lu Yuan and fought alongside him several times, naturally wished for him to break through to the fifth level of the World Realm, the Creation Realm, but what could she possibly do?

As for Su Yingxiu, Zhu Tianrong, and Zhu Liefeng, although this was their first time fighting alongside Lu Yuan, they had forged a deep camaraderie with him and wished to help, but seeing that both the Water of Sorrow and the Technique to Control Anger were useless, they too couldn't immediately conceive of any means to assist him.

Would Lu Yuan ultimately fall because of his missing Seven Emotions?

Unwilling! He absolutely refused to be defeated by the absence of the Seven Emotions.

When Jian Ruhai had no solution, Lu Yuan decided to find his own.

"I need solitude."

After saying this, Lu Yuan picked up his wine gourd and left, walking across the territory of the Hidden Sword Sect.

As he walked, he gradually relaxed. Spotting a distant peak, Lu Yuan swiftly scaled it, arriving at the summit where he sat, tilting the wine gourd to gulp down the contents. The massive mountain winds whipped his azure robes into a frenzy, leaving his hair utterly disheveled.

Lu Yuan sat atop the mountain peak, closing his eyes.

There was the wind beside him.

And a faint fragrance, the scent of huā. It was springtime on this star. Huā bloomed, one after another.

Lu Yuan listened to the sound of the wind, inhaling the perfume of the huā. Suddenly, a stir arose in his spirit. At the Sword Oblivion Stele, the last memory he retained was of a single sword; nothing else existed. It was precisely because of this that he forged Sword Five: Only Sword! This single strike. His deficiency in the Seven Emotions was likely related to this. And now, as he listened to the wind and smelled the huā... Could he perhaps listen to the sound of the sword, and smell the sword's emotions? Maybe his Seven Emotions were not meant to be his own, but rather the Seven Emotions of the Sword itself.

Within the Hidden Sword Sect, he had spent time in a Sword Listening Chamber, where he perceived the sword’s sentiments—its joys, angers, sorrows, and delights. What he needed to do now was to listen once more to the sword's joys, angers, sorrows, and delights.

Lu Yuan abruptly stood up and flew at top speed to Jian Ruhai. "I need to go to the Sword Listening Chamber." The Sword Listening Chamber was a small wooden hut, not large at all. At that time, Lu Yuan, Jian Qian, and Jian Jue had all visited this chamber, and Lu Yuan had ultimately prevailed, earning the right to enter. Now, Jian Jue had fallen to the Sword Child's blade, and Lu Yuan returned to the chamber once more.

Lu Yuan drew his Yangwu Immortal Sword, holding it before his eyes, silently listening to the sound of the blade. In the stillness, Lu Yuan gradually merged with the sword.

The Yangwu Immortal Sword began to convey to Lu Yuan the myriad events of the past, particularly those in the Central Heavenly Dynasty. The focus was the intense excitement felt when facing the Tai'a Immortal Sword; the sword had been excited even when defeated by the Tai'a Immortal Sword. In the instant of contending with the Sword Child, the sword itself was in a state of extreme excitement, only now revealing it to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan heard the sword's Joy! Joy in defeating the Sword Child, joy in slaying demons and eradicating evil.

Lu Yuan heard the sword's Anger! Anger for failing to defeat Zhan Kuangtie! Anger for being unable to execute the hypocrite Ling Qingtian. While personal factors were involved, there was also an element of justice; Zhan Kuangtie treated human lives as nothing, and such a person must be eliminated to prevent him from harming others. Ling Qingtian was a charlatan whose continued existence served only to cause harm.

Lu Yuan heard the sword's Sorrow! How declined the Way of the Sword was now! So few people practiced swordsmanship; a mere fifth-level World Realm expert could claim to be the foremost swordsman in the Central Heavenly Dynasty. What profound sorrow this was—a wave of the sword's grief permeated Lu Yuan’s soul.

Wait, he couldn't hear the sword's Fear! His own sword had always been fearless. The problem was that his current Seven Emotions deficit required him to hear the sword's Fear. What then? A faint tremor resonated from the Sword Realm. There, he sensed the sword’s Fear. An immeasurably vast scene seemed to unfold before him; he could not see the front, only countless Immortal Swords being destroyed amidst an atmosphere of endless ruin. He dimly perceived that the sliver he witnessed was a fraction of the annihilation of the ancient Sword Civilization at the end of the previous epoch. Even seeing just a corner revealed the desolation, the despair, and the defiance of that battle.

He had heard the sword's Fear.

Lu Yuan gently stroked the sword in his hand. Now, Lu Yuan understood he wasn't just listening to his own sword, but to many, many swords. The various swords of the Sword Realm had opened their Sword Hearts for him to listen to.

Lu Yuan continued listening. This time, he focused on the sounds of numerous swords, the voices of swords, the hearts of swords.

Lu Yuan heard the sword's Love! The sword's love was protection, endless guardianship over the swords that needed safeguarding, and the people who required defense.

Lu Yuan heard the sword's Evil. Hypocrites are evil; true villains are evil. This constituted the sword's Evil. The sword favored the upright and the righteous, those who moved forward directly, just like the sword itself, advancing relentlessly.

Of the Seven Emotions, he had now heard six, lacking only the last: Desire (Yù). How could he not hear the sword's Desire? What exactly was the sword's desire? Lu Yuan listened intently to the sword’s voice but could not locate its Desire. Finally, upon an incomparably ancient sword within the Sword Realm, Lu Yuan found the sword's Desire.

The sword's Desire was the search for a stronger Way. The sword's Desire was the aspiration to become stronger than anyone. The sword's Desire was the will to defy the Heavens with sheer force, to fight Heaven without regret.

This was the sword's Desire.

Defy Heaven!

Lu Yuan seemed to see colossal characters hovering in the void above: Defy Heaven. The characters were written with vigorous, swirling strokes, imbued with infinite vitality and spirit.

Lu Yuan was utterly composed. In the small Sword Listening Chamber, he had heard the sword's Joy, its Anger, its Sorrow, its Fear, its Love, its Evil, and its Desire. He now understood the sword’s Seven Emotions completely. This comprehension sparked a faint wave of profound emotion deep within his soul.

Lu Yuan walked out of the Sword Listening Chamber with perfect tranquility, still immersed in that endless feeling of being moved.

Jian Ruhai saw Lu Yuan emerge so calmly and assumed he had failed. Jian Ruhai truly hadn't expected that the Water of Sorrow and the Technique to Control Anger he had prepared would have zero effect. On the other side, Jian Yunzhongzu and Qiu Qingshan were already sinking into despair; they were destined to be part of Lu Yuan's faction, destined to be purged when the Sword Child grew stronger.

Lu Yuan spoke calmly, "I wish to test my Seven Emotions again, to see where they stand now." Jian Ruhai nodded; since there was nothing else to try, they might as well test.

"Begin testing the Emotion of Joy." Exactly the same as before, a wave of liking and pleasure flooded into Lu Yuan’s mind. Moments later, the instrument reported, "Emotion of Joy: Mid First Grade." Indeed, it was still such a low reading, essentially useless.

"Wait, test the Emotion of Joy again." Lu Yuan stated calmly.

"Is that so? Then test it once more." Jian Ruhai was indifferent, bordering on despair.

The test for the Emotion of Joy began again, but this time Lu Yuan approached it differently. He imagined himself as a sword, listening to the sword’s Joy. In that instant, Lu Yuan felt boundless delight surge through him—it was the joy of vanquishing demons and eliminating evil, a joy the sword also shared.

"Emotion of Joy: Upper Ninth Grade." What! The Emotion of Joy, which was just Mid First Grade moments ago, had jumped to Upper Ninth Grade?

For those aiming to ascend to the Creation Realm, Mid First Grade was near the bottom, and Lower First Grade was the absolute worst. Upper Ninth Grade, however, was the absolute best. It was rumored that those at Upper Ninth Grade hardly needed any Origin Stones; they could simply spend a significant amount of time honing themselves to forcefully reach the Creation Realm. Yet, individuals achieving Upper Ninth Grade were exceedingly rare, almost nonexistent.

Lu Yuan had been at Mid First Grade just moments ago, how had he achieved Upper Ninth Grade in the blink of an eye?

What had happened?

Jian Ruhai’s eyes widened, his pupils contracting. Jian Yunzhongzu and Qiu Qingshan, who had already resigned themselves to despair, involuntarily lifted their heads upon hearing the news. Beside them, Ji Qianyu, Su Yingxiu, Zhu Tianrong, and Zhu Liefeng also looked up simultaneously, unable to believe what they heard.

"Did we mishear?" "We couldn't have." "Is it really Upper Ninth Grade?" "How can it possibly be Upper Ninth Grade?" "This is too exaggerated." "Mid First Grade becoming Upper Ninth Grade—is the emotion testing instrument malfunctioning?" Jian Ruhai also suspected the instrument was flawed, so he immediately re-tested. The result of this subsequent test was identical to the previous one: Emotion of Joy, Upper Ninth Grade. This represented a qualification exceptionally suited for breaking through to the fifth level of the World Realm, the Creation Realm. What was going on?

Jian Ruhai asked, "How is this possible? How did you achieve this? My Water of Sorrow and Technique to Control Anger had no effect."

Lu Yuan felt no need to conceal anything. "I just went to the Sword Listening Chamber, listened to the sound of the sword, listened to the sword's emotions, heard the sword's Joy, and then I integrated the sword's Joy into my own Joy. I discovered this at the Sword Oblivion Stele: the deepest memory I possess is of a sword, not any other memory."

Sword! Sword! Sword!

Jian Ruhai, Jian Yunzhongzu, Qiu Qingshan, Ji Qianyu, Su Yingxiu, Zhu Tianrong, and Zhu Liefeng were all left dumbfounded. This actually worked? Furthermore, if this method proved viable, Lu Yuan’s fundamental nature was incredibly strange, completely unlike that of ordinary people. What kind of monstrous talent was Lu Yuan?

Jian Ruhai immediately prepared to test the remaining six emotions, wanting to see Lu Yuan’s subsequent readings for Anger, Sorrow, Fear, Love, Evil, and Desire.