The painting-like landscape spanned ten thousand li, a scroll of swords unfurling beneath it. On the reverse side of this sword scroll were inscribed over three hundred characters imbued with mysterious, magical power.

Whoever could gather these characters would master the scroll. Meanwhile, the light radiating from the Jiàn zhī zǐ's Jiān zì Fēnshēn above his head grew ever brighter.

He had begun rhythmically shattering the array of surrounding characters. As his Jiān zì Fēnshēn became more adept, it was highly probable he could break through all three hundred and fifty characters within the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, thereby claiming the sword scroll.

Below Sword Apex Mountain, before the Water Mirror Technique display. "The Circadian Character Array—this is an exceptionally difficult formation.

For someone at the sixth heaven of the World Realm, simply surviving within this array would be a notable achievement. Even a Heavenly Venerable at the seventh heaven of the World Realm would find it impossible to break through three hundred and fifty characters here, let alone obtain the scroll.

But looking at the situation now, the Jiàn zhī zǐ truly might succeed in claiming it. "In this contest, it appears the Jiàn zhī zǐ will win." "The Jiàn zhī zǐ, truly worthy of the title Jiàn zhī zǐ." "Indeed." "What's so great about him?

It's all thanks to the cultivation provided by Brother Lord of the Mace Civilization. Without this Jiān zì Fēnshēn, on what grounds could he possibly claim the sword scroll?" voices rose from within the Sword Gate, laced with clear disdain.

Indeed, quite a few in the Sword Gate currently held contempt for the Jiàn zhī zǐ's actions. Everything stemmed from the war between the Mad Gate and the Sword Gate; that event had truly dashed the hopes and expectations of the Sword Gate members regarding the Jiàn zhī zǐ.

"While it is true he has received immense help from Brother Lord of Civilization, the Jiàn zhī zǐ himself possesses incomparably great fortune; this feat could not and would not have been achieved otherwise." "Exactly." They continued to chatter amongst themselves. Once their discussions subsided, their gaze shifted toward Lu Yuan's position.

Lu Yuan was currently nourishing his sword, accumulating momentum, and making preparations. The real battle had begun!

What he truly needed to confront this time were the Fire-element characters; the other elemental characters would take relatively little time to deal with easily. There were exactly fifty Fire-element characters, all of which were Second-Tier Characters.

Here, an explanation is necessary: Second-Tier Characters and Initial Characters can share names. For instance, there is the Fire of an Initial Character and the Fire of a Second-Tier Character.

However, the power of the Initial Character Fire is vastly superior, perhaps by tens of thousands of times, or even more, compared to the Second-Tier Character Fire. Every Initial Character was incomparably powerful!

Turning back, Lu Yuan was not facing Initial Characters now, but merely Second-Tier Characters. Fifty Second-Tier Fire-element characters lay before him.

Lu Yuan raised his Yǎng Wú Xiān Jiàn and thrust it toward the character Wēn (Warmth). This strike was extremely swift.

The character Wēn was not a particularly powerful Second-Tier Character. Lu Yuan unleashed the Kuáng Fēng Guò Jìng (Furious Wind Passing Through), one of the 108 Swords of Wind and Cloud.

While the 108 Swords of Wind and Cloud were currently considered foundational sword techniques, even foundational techniques wielded by masters could prove formidable. As Lu Yuan executed this move, he couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia; he had favored this move greatly in the past, yet how long had it been since he last used it?

The sword moved like a gale, the wind passed, turning the water cool, no longer warm. The character Wēn, already weak among Second-Tier Characters, was pierced through by Lu Yuan’s strike.

Shattering all three hundred and fifty characters within the time limit of two incense sticks burning was the requirement for claiming the sword scroll. And now, the time calculation began.

The instant Lu Yuan pierced the character Wēn, a ferocious counterattack from the Fire element surged toward him. In the void, the characters Yán (Blaze) and Rè (Heat), two Second-Tier Fire characters, manifested simultaneously.

These two were not as mild as Wēn; they were considered quite ferocious Second-Tier Characters. Furthermore, these two characters combined in the void, instantly scattering countless streams of intense heat.

It was a ferocious combination of Second-Tier Characters! Facing this combination, Lu Yuan drew his sword instantly, employing Yan Cangtian’s technique, Yàn Huí Shǎn (Swallow’s Return Flash)!

However, when Yan Cangtian originally taught him Yàn Huí Shǎn, it involved striking thousands of times in a single moment. What Lu Yuan executed now was far beyond that; he unleashed tens of thousands of strikes in one instant.

Elevating the count from a few thousand to tens of thousands was an incredibly difficult feat; speed was the hardest aspect to improve, even more so than sheer power. Back at Mount Hua, Lu Yuan had only managed a few dozen strikes per instant.

Now, it was tens of thousands of strikes in a single instant—the speed was almost unimaginable. Just the sheer number of tens of thousands of strikes was already astounding.

Yet, that wasn't all; these tens of thousands of strikes were perfectly controlled, dispersing the heat emitted by the combination of Yán and Rè into tens of thousands of minute components. No matter how potent the heat, dispersing it into so many parts would significantly diminish its effective destructive power.

Lu Yuan seized this opportunity, striking both Yán and Rè, eliminating two characters, leaving forty-seven Fire characters remaining. At this moment, the character Róng (Smelt) within the void shone brightly, unleashing an almost endless torrent of lava toward Lu Yuan.

This lava erupted from every angle, its minuscule particles reaching almost atomic size. Lu Yuan’s Yǎng Wú Xiān Jiàn danced through the void.

Creating a shield dense enough to block macroscopic objects was not difficult, but weaving it tight enough to block lava particles at the atomic level was exceedingly difficult. Nevertheless, Lu Yuan succeeded.

Just as the brilliance emanating from the Róng character began to dim slightly, Lu Yuan countered, and after the eruption ceased, he cleaved the Róng character down with a single sword stroke. Time elapsed further.

He had now pierced four Fire characters, with forty-six remaining. Time was tight.

Instantly, a blinding light erupted ahead—a remarkably powerful Second-Tier Character: Rì (Sun)! This was no ordinary character; it was as if a miniature sun had materialized in the void.

Facing this formidable Rì character, the Yǎng Wú Xiān Jiàn in Lu Yuan's hand erupted with sword light mirroring the sun itself—just as brilliant, just as dazzling. If the sun is fiercely hot, then my sword will compete with it in intensity.

Bring on the fight! More time slipped away.

He had now broken through five Fire characters, leaving forty-five. Time flowed continuously.

Half an incense stick’s time passed, during which Lu Yuan had vanquished sixteen Fire characters. One full incense stick’s time passed.

During that hour, Lu Yuan had defeated a total of thirty-three Fire characters. One and a half incense sticks’ time passed.

In that span, Lu Yuan had annihilated forty-nine Fire characters. Yes, exactly forty-nine.

Only the last Fire character, Rán (Burn), remained in the void, blazing fiercely. Lu Yuan gazed at it, his Yǎng Wú Xiān Jiàn unfurling into the Hán Shān Jiàn Fǎ (Cold Mountain Sword Technique).

This technique possessed a profound poetic quality, evoking the lines: “Outside Gusu City, Hanshan Temple, the midnight bell tolls to the traveler’s boat.” It was unclear which Sword Gate ancestor had created this style, but it carried a distinct flavor. Lu Yuan loved such verses and this feeling, which is why he had mastered this set of Cold Mountain Sword Techniques.

Though merely a World-level technique, Lu Yuan executed it with exceptional grace, finally extinguishing the last character, Rán. Fifty characters destroyed.

The time consumed was one and a half incense sticks, leaving half a stick’s time remaining. He had finally dealt with all the Fire characters.

It seemed his venture would succeed, Lu Yuan mused inwardly. The remaining six elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Earth, Wind, and Thunder—presented no real obstacle.

Half an incense stick’s time was absolutely sufficient. He was determined to claim this sword scroll.

Lu Yuan paused briefly, as the time pressure had eased, allowing for a short rest. During the preceding period, he had maintained the highest state of mental focus against the Fire characters.

For one and a half sticks of incense, his mind had not ceased functioning; it was genuinely tiring. After a slight recovery, Lu Yuan maneuvered his sword forward, thrusting toward the Wind characters.

Wind characters were not as easy as Metal characters, but they were significantly easier to break than Fire characters, since the Wind element would not inherently work against him. Meanwhile, below Sword Apex Mountain, there was no doubt that those watching had just witnessed an absolutely magnificent spectacle, a true feast of swordsmanship.

Indeed, the performance Lu Yuan delivered over that one-and-a-half incense sticks while dealing with the fifty Fire characters was simply breathtaking. Those fifty Fire characters were all distinct from one another.

Facing any single one of them was a formidable task. Yet, Lu Yuan’s execution throughout was undeniably brilliant.

Against each unique Fire character, he displayed a different, magnificent response. Every sword strike delivered was flawless, his reaction and swordsmanship utterly impeccable.

Such skill could serve as a textbook for the Sword Gate—though not for ordinary disciples, who couldn't grasp it at all; rather, it should be the textbook for the Elders. Every single sword move by Lu Yuan was peerless, his reactions lightning-fast, with not a sliver of error, operating with machine-like precision.

Undoubtedly, handling fifty Fire characters in just one and a half incense sticks was fast. However, the problem was this: the Circadian Character Array required neutralizing all three hundred and fifty characters within two incense sticks.

While Lu Yuan’s speed was certainly cause for pride, he was destined to fail; he simply ran out of time, falling far short. It seemed he would not pass the Circadian Character Array, which was inherently one of the most difficult formations imaginable.” Glancing back at the Jiàn zhī zǐ's side, the Jiàn zhī zǐ had also been using the Jiān zì Fēnshēn to break characters during that time.

In the same one-and-a-half incense sticks, he had destroyed one hundred and fifty characters. Clearly, he also had no chance of immediate success this time, but as the Jiàn zhī zǐ gained more proficiency with the Jiān zì Fēnshēn, it appeared he would achieve success sooner than Lu Yuan, perhaps even finishing earlier.

It seemed the Jiàn zhī zǐ had won this round. It was a pity; Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship was truly exceptional, but the Jiàn zhī zǐ possessed the Jiān zì Fēnshēn.

The Sixth Child of Fortune, the Jiàn zhī zǐ, pitted against the Eighth Child of Fortune, Lu Yuan! The contest was fierce!

(First update delivered.) (To be continued)

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