Among the two thousand sects, the existence of a Wine Gate, and then, it stands to reason that there should also be a Gambling Gate.

In fact, there really is a Gambling Gate.

The current Gate Master of the Gambling Gate is named Sikong Du! This name is so dominant! Whether it is death or losing all his wealth, he must gamble! This shows what an unshakeable resolve he possesses for gambling.

It is said that Sikong Du was not originally a member of the Gambling Gate. He hailed from the Eastern Frontier region of the Outer Domain. Apparently, during one of his gambles, he suddenly received news that his wife was having an affair. For a man, the infidelity of his wife should be a matter of utmost gravity, something that demands immediate attention. However, Sikong Du was simply different.

He wasn't in a hurry. Only after he finished his satisfying gamble did he deal with the matter of his wife’s affair. Do you know how he handled it?

He found the paramour and they had a massive gamble.

They had agreed beforehand: if Sikong Du won the gamble, he would kill the paramour; if he lost, he would let the paramour go free.

And then, that time, he lost the gamble, and he honored his promise by letting the paramour go. As the saying goes, the offense of stealing one's wife is unforgivable, yet for the sake of gambling, he could let even this pass. A Saint of Gambling!

Afterward, he was noticed by the former Gate Master of the Gambling Gate, who was traveling at the time. The former master believed this man possessed the necessary aptitude for the Dao of Gambling and brought him into the Gambling Gate to cultivate the most powerful scripture, the Heart of No-Gambling Sutra. After achieving mastery of the Heart of No-Gambling Sutra, he was selected as the current Gate Master of the Gambling Gate and now presides over it.

Many people find conflicts with the Gambling Gate troublesome. Their Heart of No-Gambling Sutra is quite strange; their attacks can occasionally surpass the opponent's level by one tier, and occasionally drop by one tier. This is uncontrollable; even members of the Gambling Gate cannot command it. Occasionally, the attack can even jump two tiers up or down, although such occurrences are extremely rare.

After introducing the Gambling Gate, let's return to the current Sect Ranking Battle.

Since the Gambling Gate is so fond of gambling, how could they possibly miss the Sect Ranking Battle?

For every battle between sects, the Gambling Gate would set up odds, betting on which side would win. However, most of the standard odds weren't very interesting. For example, a battle between the Top Ten Strongest Sects—where victory is almost guaranteed—is hardly a gamble, making it uninteresting to wager on. But the fight between the Sword Gate and the Raging Eagle Sect offered substantial betting opportunities.

The Sword Gate itself held a very high rank, yet its strength had been severely depleted. The Raging Eagle Sect was a newly risen, powerful faction.

Ultimately, the offered odds were: a payout of five-to-one for betting on the Sword Gate, and a payout of two-to-one for betting on the Raging Eagle Sect. The odds clearly indicated that very few people favored the Sword Gate; the majority favored the Raging Eagle Sect. Even with such odds, most bets favored the Raging Eagle Sect, with very few placed on the Sword Gate.

Turning back now, on the Pingtian Plateau at this moment.

Lu Yuan drew his sword, Hua.

Yuan Ye Ying watched as Lu Yuan unsheathed his blade. He naturally needed to pay attention to Lu Yuan. Although he possessed absolute confidence in defeating Lu Yuan, he still needed to be cautious. He planned to defeat Lu Yuan at the peak of his swordsmanship, wanting to show the people of the Central Celestial Dynasty just how powerful he, Yuan Ye Ying, truly was.

But at that very instant, he found he couldn't look away.

It wasn't that Lu Yuan’s sword light was beautiful; Lu Yuan’s sword light was merely ordinary. Amidst this ordinariness, there seemed to be an incomparably firm will.

But Yuan Ye Ying discovered he could not move. What was this!

Yuan Ye Ying was the Gate Master of the Raging Eagle Sect, a powerhouse at the sixth heaven of the World Realm. His experience was vast, and he immediately estimated that this must be time solidification coupled with spatial lockdown. He was not inexperienced, so he immediately activated the countermeasures he usually employed against temporal solidification and spatial lockdown. But it didn't work. The methods he usually used to break free from time solidification and spatial lockdown were ineffective against the effect generated by Lu Yuan's sword strike. What was happening?

And in that instant, it wasn't just the Raging Eagle Sect Master, Yuan Ye Ying, who was frozen; countless others were too. Every member of the Raging Eagle Sect who had entered the battlefield was completely locked down; they were all frozen solid.

It wasn't just the Raging Eagle Sect members; the Sword Gate members were also locked down at that moment. At this moment, everyone was sealed!

Everyone except Lu Yuan could not move!

And in that instant, Lu Yuan moved. His sword light rotated in the void, slashing toward the experts of the Raging Eagle Sect. The numerous masters of the Raging Eagle Sect saw this sword light approaching. Some stood rooted, attempting to resist, only to find they were utterly incapable of movement. Some had expressions of horror. Some tried to channel their magical power, but discovered they couldn't even transmit a single iota of it outside their bodies. Some attempted the blood sacrifice method to summon the Ancient Demonic Eagle, but found that even the blood in their veins was immobilized.

In this area, there was no sound; sound had ceased. In this area, no light beam moved, because light itself had been stopped. There was no time! There was no space! This was an absolute zone of death.

Countless streams of sword light moved within this zone. Everyone had lost control over themselves.

Finally, with a sharp whoosh, Yuan Ye Ying managed to shatter the absolute nullity of this region. Boom—he felt his limbs regaining mobility. He could finally move. Just as he was about to roar and engage Lu Yuan in a decisive battle, he realized Lu Yuan was already before him, and simultaneously, countless sprays of crimson blood erupted. Seventy-nine experts of the Raging Eagle Sect, save for Yuan Ye Ying himself, transformed into seventy-nine crimson blossoms! Beautiful and terrifying!

And at this moment, Lu Yuan, the man in the blue robe, was slowly sheathing his sword. There was no blood on the blade; the sword’s speed was so extreme that blood could not possibly adhere to it.

That previous strike was actually Jian Er (Sword Two), a technique Lu Yuan had just created: Guardian!

This was a move conceived spontaneously because he realized that the path of the sword in the Central Celestial Dynasty was currently too fragile. Precisely because the Way of the Sword was so weak now, it required his guardianship. The principle behind it wasn't overly complex: Time Solidification! Spatial Lockdown! Combined with the Seventh Level of Hegemon’s Aura! And, the Absolute Heart of Protection! The Heart of Protection could also cause everything to solidify. If he intended to guard this area, he naturally had to envelop the entire region within his domain. Thus, Guardian also carried the essence of universal solidification.

He had long wanted to forge a Jian Er to replace Yi Qing (Remembrance/Emotion), as he already possessed Jian Qi (Sword Seven), the Seven Emotions Sword, making the rudimentary version like Yi Qing somewhat redundant. Just now, acting on inspiration, he finally created Jian Er, Guardian. And that strike just now was Jian Er, Guardian! A name that sounded bright but was inherently terrifying.

It possessed no destructive power, yet it acted like the protector wishing to guard the person and the Dao he sought to protect.

Yuan Ye Ying’s eyes were almost bloodshot. He had never imagined such a thing could happen. The seventy-nine masters of his Raging Eagle Sect—they represented the hope for his sect’s resurgence—but now, all those hopes were utterly extinguished by Lu Yuan. All seventy-nine had perished under a single move by Lu Yuan.

“Lu Yuan, I want you dead! I will let you witness the true power of the sixth heaven of the World Realm!” Yuan Ye Ying roared maniacally. His pitch-black aura surged forth; he was initiating the ultimate transformation: the Eagle Demon God transformation. Instantly, he morphed into an incomparably massive Eagle Demon God, towering a hundred zhang high. Its speed was like lightning, and it could ignore any defense, piercing through barriers.

Yuan Ye Ying was maddened. He fully unleashed the might of the sixth heaven of the World Realm. Given the Sword Gate’s current fragile strength and the number of injured members, Yuan Ye Ying could completely overwhelm every member of the Sword Gate single-handedly. He intended to slaughter every last member of the Sword Gate.

But regrettably, what awaited him was a sword—a clear, crisp sword light, a powerful blade capable of severing his aura. Facing such a formidable sword, Yuan Ye Ying could only retreat. But immediately, he found himself trapped in a peculiar loop. He realized that throughout the combat, he was gradually being completely tethered by Lu Yuan. It seemed that wherever Lu Yuan willed him to retreat, he had to retreat; if he didn't retreat, he risked losing limbs. He was like a puppet dancing beneath Lu Yuan’s sword.

What was happening!

He was clearly the Gate Master of the Raging Eagle Sect, such a formidable existence, a dignified sixth heaven of the World Realm, yet when pitted against Lu Yuan, who was at the fifth heaven of the World Realm, he was actually unable to gain the upper hand!

Previously, many people doubted how someone could possibly defeat an opponent a full minor realm above them, given the vast difference between each heaven of the World Realm. Now, Lu Yuan was demonstrating to them exactly how to defeat someone a full minor realm higher, and Yuan Ye Ying was naturally relegated to the role of a passive sparring partner.

One after another, ordinary yet exquisitely perfect sword lights appeared in Lu Yuan’s hands. Unconsciously, many onlookers nearby took out their Magnetic Mirror Techniques and began recording Lu Yuan’s strikes. This was because every single one of Lu Yuan's sword strikes had reached the pinnacle of technique, the utmost limit—at least for the Supreme Great Sects, this represented the Extreme Realm.

They were recording every sword strike with the Magnetic Mirror Technique, intending to study them closely later. They sensed that Lu Yuan’s sword light contained infinite profound skills; if they could grasp even a fraction or two, the benefits would be boundless.

No one paid attention to Yuan Ye Ying, the Raging Eagle Sect Master, anymore. Everyone realized that even though Yuan Ye Ying was at the sixth heaven of the World Realm, he stood no chance against Lu Yuan; he was fated to be defeated beneath Lu Yuan’s sword. The only hope remaining for everyone was that Yuan Ye Ying could last a few more exchanges, allowing them to witness more of these ultimate techniques. Such extreme martial displays were rarely seen.

Alas, Yuan Ye Ying did not grant them their wish.

A sword light brushed past Yuan Ye Ying’s throat, simultaneously shattering every trace of his vitality.

At this time, on one of the five highest platforms, there sat a handsome, fair-skinned young master dressed in white. This white-robed youth possessed a head of snow-white silver hair, giving him an appearance of delicate beauty. This white-robed youth watched the battle below with indifference, calmly observing Lu Yuan’s display: “Lu Yuan isn't bad, a bit stronger than the Son of the Sword, who was both a defeated opponent and trash.” Sitting in the spectator seats of the Immortal Ancient Civilization, he delivered this critique. The silver hair, the extremely delicate appearance, coupled with dismissing the Son of the Sword as both a defeated opponent and trash, made this person’s identity immediately obvious.

And this person's might surpassed that of any Gate Master in the Supreme Great Sects, including those at the eighth heaven of the World Realm.