As everyone was observing which sect was matched against which, this sudden, wild laughter drew all eyes to the source: it was Yuan Yeying, the Master of the Raging Eagle Sect, roaring with mirth.

"What incredible luck! I never imagined that this time, our Raging Eagle Sect would be pitted against the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect, notorious for being the easiest to see their ranking plummet, truly—Heaven itself intends for the Raging Eagle Sect to win this round and claim the title of Supreme Great Sect! This is wonderful." Yuan Yeying was usually an arrogant man, and facing the evidently much weaker Sword Sect only fueled his laughter. In his eyes, the Sword Sect was already languishing near the bottom; he was guaranteed victory.

The Master of the Raging Eagle Sect, Yuan Yeying, was indeed this confident.

The others, hearing Yuan Yeying's bellow, understood the reason immediately.

It was the Sword Sect they were facing; the Raging Eagle Sect truly had astonishing luck this time.

There was no choice but to acknowledge the Raging Eagle Sect's great fortune.

The Sword Sect was once incredibly formidable, but three internal rebellions and one external assault by the Frenzied Sect had utterly depleted its strength. What did it matter if they produced one Lu Yuan? Could one man defy the heavens? This was not a one-on-one duel, but a battle between entire sects. No matter how strong a single individual was, without sect cooperation, they were useless.

It seemed highly likely that the Raging Eagle Sect would ascend to become a Supreme Great Sect this time, perhaps even lucky enough to join the ranks of the 365 Supreme Great Sects and secure a foothold on World Volcano. The importance of World Volcano should not be underestimated; it directly correlated with how many people could ascend to the World Realm, and the significance of the World Realm for any sect was self-evident.

Yuan Yeying laughed maniacally for a while before stopping, focused on securing victory after crushing the Sword Sect.

And now, the first round of battles had finally begun.

The first round proceeded through successive turns, with various sects taking their stage. A sect battle meant that a sect dispatched a predetermined number of elites—the exact number was flexible, ranging from a few dozen to perhaps just five or six. However, they must be elites, at least cultivators at the fifth tier of the Chaos Cave Realm (Huntongjing). Those below this threshold were practically irrelevant; such low strength offered little fighting capability in these large-scale sect clashes.

The very first match of the first round pitted the Nanhua Sect, one of the Top Ten Strongest Sects, against a sect ranked outside the top thousand. Facing such a minor force, the Nanhua Sect, despite being among the elite ten, only dispatched four individuals, yet they completely annihilated the opposing sect’s contingent, vividly demonstrating the might of the Top Ten. They were called the Top Ten Strongest Sects for a reason; they were truly exceptional.

In the subsequent matches, other powerful sects also made their presence known, especially the Top Ten, whose every appearance showcased their strength. Most terrifying, however, was the Blood Sect. They sent only three individuals onto the stage. Not only did these three sweep away the entire opposing sect, but every blow struck by these three 'Blood Shadows' resulted in immediate death—not even an injury was inflicted. The opposing sect members were beaten into submission, pleading for mercy. They were genuinely terrified; the Blood Sect’s ruthlessness—death with every strike, one after another—was too horrific until Lou Pan finally called a halt.

And such battles continued.

Among them, sects familiar to Lu Yuan, such as the Desolate Beast Sect and the Peerless Gate, both secured victories. Both the Desolate Beast Sect and the Peerless Gate were ranked among the 365 Supreme Great Sects.

Finally, it was the Sword Sect’s turn to enter the arena.

The Sword Sect’s moment had finally arrived.

The Sword Sect possessed several dozen cultivators at the Chaos Cave Fifth Tier, and this count included their Shadow Guards—individuals whose role in the Xuan Yuanwang rebellion had been briefly introduced. Currently, the Sword Sect had about ten cultivators at or above the World Realm, and roughly forty at or above the Chaos Cave Fifth Tier. This was the general composition of their forces.

This strength was remarkably weak.

The original Sword Sect had been immensely powerful, but the successive internal strife had weakened it to its absolute limit.

Lu Yuan, being part of it, naturally ascended and stepped onto the platform. Fifty Sword Sect members took the stage in total.

The Raging Eagle Sect members laughed heartily and leapt onto the stage as well. The Raging Eagle Sect Master, Yuan Yeying, possessed profoundly vast magical power, belonging to the sixth tier of the World Realm. His boundless confidence was rooted in this power. Normally, the master of a sect ranked outside the top thousand would be around the fourth or fifth tier of the World Realm. Yuan Yeying, however, had encountered a massive fortuitous encounter that boosted his power to the sixth tier, fueling his utter certainty. In fact, many sects ranked eighth or ninth were already inferior to the Raging Eagle Sect in sheer power.

Furthermore, the Raging Eagle Sect had brought eighty cultivators at or above the Chaos Cave Fifth Tier, truly outnumbering the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect had suffered too heavily; originally, they should have had close to fifty such experts, but now they only had fifty in total, effectively being outmatched by the Raging Eagle Sect in this regard.

Now, both the Sword Sect and the Raging Eagle Sect forces were arrayed.

On the Sword Sect side, their strongest figures were the World Realm Sixth Tier master, Sword Extermination Ancestor, and Lu Yuan.

They had ten World Realm experts in total. And forty cultivators ranging from Chaos Cave Fifth Tier to the Half-Step World Realm.

On the Raging Eagle Sect side, their strongest figure was the World Realm Sixth Tier master, Yuan Yeying himself.

They had fifteen World Realm experts in total. And sixty-five cultivators ranging from Chaos Cave Fifth Tier to the Half-Step World Realm.

Whether judging by quality or quantity, the Raging Eagle Sect held a significant advantage over the Sword Sect. Although the Sword Sect possessed the ultimate weapon, the Endless Sword, which the Raging Eagle Sect lacked, the comparison of inherent quality and numbers suggested a high probability of victory for the Raging Eagle Sect.

It seemed the Raging Eagle Sect had indeed come prepared, their arrogance backed by genuine strength.

The outcome of this battle strongly favored the Raging Eagle Sect. The Sword Sect was poised to be struck from the list of Supreme Great Sects, while the Raging Eagle Sect was set to claim that honor.

Yuan Yeying sneered, "Your Sword Sect is about to be purged from the ranks of the Supreme Great Sects today. A mere Sword Sect! The world belongs to us! Sword Extermination Ancestor, your fame has lasted for years, yet it is hollow. Lu Yuan, you achieved fame young, but tragically you met me—your youthful reputation will be ruined! Sword Sect, perish!" He was supremely confident that he could defeat both the Sword Extermination Ancestor and Lu Yuan single-handedly. This confidence stemmed naturally from his World Realm Sixth Tier power, and equally, from his Raging Eagle Claw technique. He had inherited the true teachings of the Ancient Eagle Demon God, acquiring a set of Raging Eagle Claws that could pierce the boundless void, unleashing the awe of that ancient deity.

Even before moving his claws, a dense black energy condensed between his ten fingers. This black energy was the essence of the Ancient Demon Eagle, capable of piercing any defense, be it magical artifacts or spell barriers. Many had suffered grievous losses under the shadow of his Ancient Demon Eagle Claws.

And now, he intended to crush the Sword Extermination Ancestor and Lu Yuan utterly.

The Raging Eagle Sect needed renown for its resurgence, and Lu Yuan’s fame was immense. Therefore, defeating Lu Yuan was undoubtedly the best path for the Raging Eagle Sect to make its name.

After today, the Raging Eagle Sect could truly become renowned throughout the Central Heavenly Court.

Sword Extermination Ancestor, Lu Yuan—you will both serve as my stepping stones, trodden beneath my feet.

As Yuan Yeying made his move, all members of the Raging Eagle Sect surged forward, aggressively attacking the Sword Sect members. They were laughing wildly; winning this battle meant becoming a Supreme Great Sect, bringing endless future benefits—an intoxication of pure delight!

Trampling the Sword Sect members—the Raging Eagle Sect’s collective strength was indeed superior to the Sword Sect’s at this moment. Their assault was like countless demonic eagles descending from the heavens, intent on devouring flesh and blood.

The Sword Sect finally clashed with the Raging Eagle Sect forces. Upon contact, the Sword Sect immediately fell into a decisive disadvantage. Normally, they could form the Endless Sword to unleash far greater power, but Yuan Yeying’s dual claws targeted Lu Yuan and the Sword Extermination Ancestor. With the formation’s core, the Sword Extermination Ancestor, under attack, the Endless Sword could not be activated for the time being.

And with the ultimate weapon, the Endless Sword, unusable, the situation became dire.

Had the Sword Sect not endured three internal rebellions and one bloody feud with the Frenzied Sect, their strength would have considerably surpassed the Raging Eagle Sect’s. But alas, having suffered those calamities, their weakened state meant many Sword Sect members were quickly grievously wounded by the Raging Eagle Sect’s onslaught. The Sword Sect was already on the verge of collapse.

Lu Yuan realized he had to intervene. Initially, he had intended to let the other members of the Sword Sect handle their opponents. The Sword Sect could not rely solely on him; this was a battle between sects, after all. But seeing the current decrepitude of the Sword Sect, he knew he had to bear the burden.

It wasn't that the Sword Sect was incompetent, or that Sword Cultivators were without merit.

It was simply that the Way of the Sword was currently undergoing a period of profound decline.

Since they had stumbled into this era of extraordinary decline for the Way of the Sword, he felt he had both the obligation and the qualification to help the Sword Sect navigate through it.

Only by passing through this decline could the Sword Sect possibly welcome a new zenith.

At this moment, one of Yuan Yeying’s Ancient Demon Eagle God Claws had effectively trapped the Sword Extermination Ancestor, pressing him into an absolute disadvantage, while the other pinned down Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan dodged among the myriad demonic eagles emanating from the Ancient Demon Eagle God Claw, looking towards Yuan Yeying and stating calmly, "Yuan Yeying of the Raging Eagle Sect, what misfortune. I am about to act. Your defeat is imminent."

"Stop joking," Yuan Yeying scoffed. "A mere World Realm Fifth Tier, making such grand pronouncements—aren't you afraid of twisting your tongue from boasting too loudly?" In Yuan Yeying's perception, Lu Yuan was merely scrambling beneath his Ancient Demon Eagle God Claws, yet still spouting nonsense.

"Is that so?" Lu Yuan gave a cold laugh and placed his hand on his sword hilt.

The sword shot from its sheath in that instant!

A flash of pure light streaked past.