To master the shattered Sword Scroll of the Minor Thousand World, Lu Yuan and the Son of the Sword were locked in a fierce battle.

The Son of the Sword unleashed his Sharpness-character avatar, an avatar of terrifying might.

Across the vast expanse of the sky, a character representing Earth—'Rock'—appeared. The Son of the Sword mused internally, Is the fifty-first character an Earth-element character? Does the cycle of fifty, following the Great Derivation Number, bring forth characters of a new element? As this thought formed, he immediately realized his error.

What appeared in the sky was not merely the character for 'Rock'.

The Earth element also carried characters like “Stone!”, “Thick!”, “Heavy!”, and so on.

Furthermore, characters like “Slow…” and “Halt!” and “Condense!” materialized in the void—these were Water-element characters.

Then came characters shimmering with golden light: “Slash!”, “Thrust!”, “Sharp!”, the Metal element characters.

Accompanying them were characters emitting a soothing, gentle green light: “Tree!”, “Grass!”, “Branch!”, the Wood element characters.

Simultaneously, there were bursts of crimson, flame-colored characters: “Blaze!”, “Fierce!”, “Melt!”, the Fire elementals.

Alongside these were characters glowing violet: “Annihilate!”, “Roar!”, “Quake!”, all belonging to the Thunder element.

And weaving through the air were “Sever!”, “Split!”, “Speed!”, the Wind element characters. Hadn't the previous Wind characters been destroyed? Why were they resurfacing?

In an instant, characters representing the seven elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Thunder—all manifested together! Their sheer quantity was unimaginable; counting them meticulously would likely reveal hundreds.

The Son of the Sword had previously relied on his Sharpness-character, which had proven unbeatable.

But now, faced with hundreds of characters simultaneously, his single Sharpness-character could only be raised above his head, serving as a protective barrier. The Son of the Sword was utterly perplexed as to how the Wind characters he had just shattered with his Sharpness-character had managed to regenerate.

What in the world was happening? The Sword Scroll was truly bizarre.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, also within the Sword Scroll, had just dealt with the Wind characters. He was now facing the descending Earth character. He inferred that the sequence might be fifty characters per cycle, meaning the next fifty would be Earth characters in order. Just then, he noticed that what was dropping from the sky was not just Earth characters, nor just one character, but over three hundred appearing in a single flash.

Seven distinct colors pulsed across the sky.

Golden Metal characters, cyan Wood characters, translucent Water characters, crimson Fire characters, ash-colored Earth characters, colorless Wind characters, and violet Thunder characters—each element boasted a full fifty manifestations, all present at once.

The pressure from a single character was significant.

Now, the combined pressure from three hundred and fifty second-level characters was absolutely overwhelming.

What in the world was this development?

Lu Yuan was utterly stunned!

But no time was granted for shock. A thunderous bombardment of countless characters instantly crashed down upon him. Lu Yuan was terrified and immediately activated Floating Life, Dreamlike, exclaiming internally, This is too intense! So many characters appearing at once gives absolutely no chance to buffer—it’s too fierce!

Too damn much!

Lu Yuan felt an unparalleled jolt of intensity.

Meanwhile, both the Son of the Sword and Lu Yuan were on the reverse side of the Sword Scroll.

Before the Water Mirror placed at the foot of Sword Extreme Mountain, numerous figures stood or sat.

Among them were Fa Xiaodizi, representative of the Ancient Law Civilization; Tong Liulei and Tong Shangxin, allies from the Bronze Civilization; the hidden leader of the Hidden Sword Sect, Jian Ruhai; a mysterious middle-aged scholar-swordsman; and various figures from the Sword Gate, such as Taishikong, alongside others. Amidst this group, Jian Ruhai kept sensing a distinct familiarity about this mysterious middle-aged scholar-swordsman.

Yes, it felt familiar.

But he couldn't quite place it.

The mysterious middle-aged scholar-swordsman offered Jian Ruhai a slight smile.

Immediately, however, Jian Ruhai had no capacity to dwell on this. His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the surface of the Water Mirror. And he was not alone; everyone else was also glued to the mirror, their eyes wide, pupils contracted, as if witnessing something utterly astonishing.

It truly was astonishing!

Everyone had mentally adjusted to the previous sequence of one character at a time. Even that steady progression, governed by pattern, had been incredibly difficult to handle. After all, the characters inscribed in the Sword Scroll were complex beyond measure, and even a single, singular-attribute character was a formidable foe—something only paragons like the Son of the Sword and Lu Yuan could manage.

But now? It was exaggerated beyond belief.

Three hundred and fifty characters from seven elements, appearing all at once.

This development escalated the difficulty by an incalculable magnitude. Stating the difficulty was merely 350 times greater than before might actually be an understatement.

Instantly, the assault descended upon the Son of the Sword and Lu Yuan like a furious tempest. Even their previous displays of dominance were reduced to barely maintaining a defense.

“What is this?”

Ancestor Jianmie descended. Upon seeing the scene in the Water Mirror, even he paused in surprise: “Could this be… the Celestial Sphere Character Array!”

Taishikong, as the Sword Master, had never heard of this Celestial Sphere Character Array.

Ancestor Jianmie explained, “The so-called Celestial Sphere Character Array is the most intense trial offered by the Sword Scroll. It appears rarely. Standard Sword Scroll trials proceed gradually, with characters manifesting one element at a time, cycling through the attributes. But the Celestial Sphere Character Array is the most violent manifestation: all three hundred and fifty characters of the Scroll appear simultaneously, each unleashing its supreme power. Under these conditions, claiming the Scroll becomes nearly impossible. To put it accurately, surviving this state is an achievement in itself. Throughout history, any Jianmen cultivator who encountered the Celestial Sphere Character Array either suffered grievous injury or death—there are virtually no exceptions.”

“And legend suggests that cultivators with great destiny or fortune are the ones most likely to encounter the Celestial Sphere Character Array when attempting to claim the Scroll.”

“So that’s it!”

Hearing Ancestor Jianmie's explanation, everyone finally understood the situation.

Taishikong inquired, “Then how does one break this Celestial Sphere Character Array?”

Ancestor Jianmie shook his head. “Breaking the Celestial Sphere Character Array is as difficult as ascending to the heavens. One must shatter every single character within the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn. If this is achieved, the characters cannot regenerate, and the trial is broken. If it is not achieved within the time limit, the characters will regenerate, cycling endlessly—hence, ‘Celestial Sphere’.”

Two sticks of incense, three hundred and fifty characters. How could this possibly be broken?

In the time it takes for two sticks of incense, shattering sixty characters would already be a monumental feat!

Let alone a full three hundred and fifty characters.

Even normal powerful cultivators manage about ten characters within that timeframe, and those are considered strong—the weaker ones wouldn't even dare to try.

Since the Celestial Sphere Character Array has been invoked, it seems neither the Son of the Sword nor Lu Yuan stands a chance of obtaining the Scroll.

However, the fact that Lu Yuan and the Son of the Sword can still hold on within the array is astounding. Unquestionably, the Son of the Sword relies on that Sharpness-character. But what is Lu Yuan using to sustain himself? Watching through the Water Mirror, the others found it baffling.

Back on the reverse side of the Sword Scroll, Lu Yuan was being bombarded by over three hundred characters, yet he lacked a Sharpness-character avatar, an artifact of immense power.

But one must not forget that Lu Yuan possessed the Gold-Devouring Dragon, the Thunder-Devouring Dragon, the Wood-Devouring Dragon, and the Water-Devouring Dragon. Four of the seven elements were subject to immediate consumption. Including Wind, five elemental characters were neutralized against him. Thus, when attacked by Earth and Fire characters, Lu Yuan dove directly into the zones occupied by the Gold, Thunder, Wood, and Water characters. Within the domain of these four elements, the attacks from the other two elements could not reach him.

Therefore, despite the extreme ferocity of the three hundred and fifty characters’ assault, while Lu Yuan appeared externally to be in mortal danger, in reality, he was quite safe. He was unharmed. Because he required the protection of the other four elemental characters, Lu Yuan was in no hurry to use his four Devouring Dragons to eliminate them. If he wiped them out entirely, he feared he might perish along with them.

Three hundred and fifty characters! The bombardment raged on. Lu Yuan was also experimenting. With a single sword thrust, he shattered one of the Thunder-Devouring Dragons—he recognized it as a Quake character. But moments later, another Quake character appeared in the sky. Recounting them, the number was still precisely three hundred and fifty: not one more, not one less.

It was confirmed: not only did the Wind characters regenerate, but the Thunder characters did as well.

How can one fight this? Lu Yuan wondered, realizing that if all characters regenerated, there was no way to win.

At this moment, a sentence coalesced from the characters in the void: “Shatter all characters within two sticks of incense to break the Celestial Sphere Character Array and claim the Sword Scroll.”

“I see!”

Lu Yuan mused to himself that destroying all the characters within two sticks of incense was no small feat.

But hesitation was no longer an option; he certainly didn't want the Son of the Sword to claim the Scroll.

Among all the characters, the Gold, Wood, Water, and Thunder elements could be swept away instantly using his four Devouring Dragons. Furthermore, since the Wind elements were associated with Wood, and he commanded two powerful Wood entities, Wind held little threat for him and could be cleared with minimal effort.

The remaining difficulty lay with the Earth and Fire characters. To eliminate these two elements in less than two sticks of incense would be extraordinarily difficult! How to counter the Earth and Fire characters—this was truly a knotty problem Lu Yuan wrestled with.

While contemplating this, Lu Yuan continued to evade, maneuvering himself into the defensive zone of the Gold, Wood, Water, and Thunder characters.