The second round of the Sect Ranking Battle was set, and the betting stalls for the Gate of Gambling were already open. The great war between the Sword Gate and the Peerless Gate had begun, with both sides deploying their ultimate weapons.

At that very instant, the Peerless Gate’s ultimate weapon, the Divine Arrow spanning a thousand zhang, shot fiercely toward the Sword Gate’s ultimate weapon, the Endless Sword. The two ultimate weapons were about to clash!

The collision of ultimate weapons was, without question, stunningly magnificent and dazzling every time, for an ultimate weapon represented the pinnacle of a sect’s power. This time was no exception.

The Arrow of Peerlessness against the Sword of Infinity! The extreme of joy against the extreme of rage.

Infinite bliss against boundless fury. Flames intertwined in the air, energy colliding in the void.

Boom! The Endless Sword was defeated!

The power channeled through the Arrow of Peerlessness was overwhelmingly strong, far surpassing that imbued in the Endless Sword. The immense magical force surged towards the people of the Sword Gate.

Moreover, everyone in the Sword Gate felt a deeper, piercing ache in their hearts. If the Arrow of Peerlessness struck home squarely, the Sword Gate would suffer devastating casualties this time.

In that critical moment, a sword manifested into a thousand-zhang sword qi—a vast, pure white torrent of Righteous Sword Qi—that rigidly blocked the Arrow of Peerlessness. The wielder of this sword qi stood, his blue robes snapping in the wind.

Yes, the one who acted was Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan was uncomfortable in large-scale battles, so he had not joined the Endless Sword formation.

Within the ultimate weapon, the Endless Sword, he was immobile, and his personal strength would not offer much more than what Old Ancestor Jian Mie could bring. However, when the Endless Sword was shattered and his brethren were in peril, he naturally had to intervene.

Lu Yuan held the thousand-zhang sword qi to intercept the Arrow of Peerlessness, but the Arrow was no easy thing to block. An ultimate weapon could channel the magical force of a minor cultivation realm upgrade—in this case, an attack fueled by the power of the World Realm Seventh Heaven, along with the corrosive emotion of ecstatic sorrow that washed over Lu Yuan, forcing him to retreat several steps in an instant.

The elders and other members of the Fu family of the Peerless Gate were overjoyed. They had always harbored concerns about Lu Yuan due to the many variables surrounding him, fearing he might pull some trick.

Now, Lu Yuan had delivered himself right to their doorstep, directly to the arrowhead of the Arrow of Peerlessness. This was a golden opportunity to severely wound or even kill Lu Yuan, nullifying any schemes he might have.

Fu Laoshuang laughed heartily, "Lu Yuan, you sought death by coming here yourself. Don't blame me; an ultimate weapon is not easily received." The Sword Gate had lost; their Endless Sword was easily demolished.

Lu Yuan had also lost; he should never have dared to rush to the very tip of the Arrow of Peerlessness to court death. To dare to assault the sharpest point of an ultimate weapon showed a staggering lack of self-awareness.

"Who says I was seeking death?" Lu Yuan looked at Fu Laoshuang, and then, he opened his mouth. As he opened his mouth, the sword light scattered.

The thousand-zhang Arrow of Peerlessness hurtled toward Lu Yuan. At that instant, an incomparably massive vortex seemed to appear in Lu Yuan’s mouth, instantly latching onto the arrow’s tip!

What was Lu Yuan doing? An ultimate weapon!

The strongest weapon of a sect, even in its ethereal form, was undoubtedly the pinnacle of that sect’s might, the result of countless combined efforts. To deal with another sect’s ultimate weapon required numerous strategies, and even with many plans, confronting such a force was never simple.

But now, Lu Yuan was using his mouth to bite the Arrow of Peerlessness. What did he intend?

Was he suicidal? The members of the Sword Gate, who had just pulled themselves back from elation, still feeling that sharp ache in their chests but alive, snapped back to awareness.

Seeing Lu Yuan biting the Arrow of Peerlessness—an ultimate weapon—they were stunned. Though they knew Lu Yuan was exceptionally skilled in combat, they never imagined he would resort to this.

The Sword Gate members could not fathom it, and neither could the members of other sects. Even the leaders of the Ten Strongest Sects could not have predicted Lu Yuan’s response.

Of course, one particularly powerful sect, the Bamboo Joint Gate, was inwardly cheering. The Bamboo Joint Gate was a subsidiary of the Civilization of the Mace and one of the Supreme Great Sects, possessing considerable strength (update on Baidu Huashan Immortal Gate forum).

Their most despised sect was the Sword Gate, and their most detested person was naturally Lu Yuan. Seeing him march toward his doom brought them immense satisfaction.

At the highest vantage point, the Emperor’s Scion Faqiang, who had once trained Lu Yuan, felt a flicker of curiosity. Why was Lu Yuan being so reckless this time?

Yet, having spent time with him, Faqiang knew Lu Yuan was not one to act without reason. What was the meaning of this?

Meanwhile, the Peerless Gate members, certain that Lu Yuan was about to perish by their hands, exerted even greater magical force upon the Arrow of Peerlessness. Lu Yuan bit off a piece of the arrowhead and swallowed it: "It tastes quite good." What!

Lu Yuan had actually bitten off a section of the Arrow of Peerlessness, swallowed it, and commented on its flavor as if it were a delicacy. This was an ultimate weapon!

How had he done it? Before anyone could process this, Lu Yuan took several more bites.

Everyone watched as Lu Yuan simply gnawed on the Arrow of Peerlessness. The arrow, normally impervious, was easily consumed by Lu Yuan, its sharpness utterly negated as it disappeared piece by piece into his stomach.

As the Arrow of Peerlessness entered his abdomen, Lu Yuan clearly felt his Sword Nine stirring. Sword Nine, the Seven Emotions Sword—this could be considered the most terrifying sword technique he had created.

Simultaneously, Lu Yuan could clearly sense that once he mastered this sword, it would be extraordinary, the bane of all sword techniques in the world. But this sword was not easy to master.

He had previously mastered the Sword of Anger from the Seven Emotions. Now, he intended to borrow the supreme joy emanating from the Arrow of Peerlessness to forge the Sword of Joy, the second of the Seven Emotions.

Boundless ecstasy flooded his spirit. This joy included the happiness of rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a distant land, a wedding night, success on the Imperial Examination, achieving immortality, a sudden surge in magical power, and a sudden rise to high status.

All manner of joyful emotions interwove and converged within his heart. Lu Yuan absorbed these myriad joys and finally exhaled slowly.

Sword Nine, the Sword of Joy, was achieved. He had finally forged the second sword of Sword Nine—a rare accomplishment.

However, Lu Yuan also detected a hidden danger. An ultimate weapon was, after all, an ultimate weapon.

He had indeed swallowed the Arrow of Peerlessness, consuming all the joy attached to it to forge the Sword of Joy! Yet, his heart still ached slightly.

Undeniably, he had been wounded by the Arrow of Peerlessness. He recalled his previous encounter with the Raging Fury Spear, the ultimate weapon of the Frenzy Gate; he seemed unharmed then.

Right, he understood now. He was a man of the Sword Gate, educated by the Sword Gate, mastering many of their techniques.

The Sword Gate’s ultimate weapon, the Endless Sword, was driven by rage. This meant that because he had learned some aspects of the Endless Sword, he was immunized against rage (update on Baidu Huashan Immortal Gate forum).

However, he had no immunity to joy, so although he swallowed the Arrow of Peerlessness, he was wounded by its sharpness. Consequently, his heart and lungs were injured.

The wound wasn't too severe; given time to heal, recovery wouldn't take long—it was a minor issue. But he was currently engaged in the Sect Ranking Battle and could not spare the time to heal.

Abandoning the Sect Ranking Battle was absolutely out of the question, as he needed to reach the Holy Land of Civilization and could not miss the opportunity to charge toward becoming the Master of Civilization. If he could not abandon the battle, his only option was to forge ahead against the tide.

To do so required mastering the Seven Emotions Sword, which meant enduring the impact of various emotions. Injury was inevitable; Lu Yuan accepted this.

To shatter the opponent’s ultimate weapon without a scratch was too much to hope for. But even if wounded, he had to press on against the odds.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes and found every gaze fixed upon him. These looks were filled with sheer, absolute shock.

Lu Yuan had just forcibly broken the Peerless Gate's ultimate weapon, the Arrow of Peerlessness. Ultimate weapons were renowned throughout history for being hard to break; for one person to shatter one was nearly impossible, unless their magical power vastly exceeded that of the wielder employing the ultimate weapon.

Yet, Lu Yuan, whose magical power was clearly inferior to Fu Laoshuang's, had shattered the Arrow of Peerlessness. If everyone thought Lu Yuan had prepared extensively, using a series of magical treasures, they might have accepted it.

But there was nothing of the sort. Lu Yuan had simply opened his mouth and swallowed the Arrow of Peerlessness whole.

The Arrow of Peerlessness, the ultimate weapon, had been eaten by him! Eaten!

Eaten! Everyone was completely stunned, moving like wandering spirits.

"I've lived for tens of thousands of years and seen every conceivable method for breaking an ultimate weapon, but I have never encountered this one—simply eating the ultimate weapon," sighed a knowledgeable observer (update on Baidu Huashan Immortal Gate forum). He realized his mind couldn't keep up.

What was wrong with the young people of this era that such a brutal technique had emerged? The silver-haired, white-robed young man from the Immortal Ancient Civilization narrowed his eyes.

Until this moment, he hadn't paid much attention to Lu Yuan; Lu Yuan’s performance had been within his expectations. But this feat was beyond expectation, making him slightly curious.

Oh, it seemed Lu Yuan was indeed somewhat unique and worthy of attention. Emperor’s Scion Faqiang nearly slapped his thigh.

Such sheer audacity! Lu Yuan was becoming more and more unique; Faqiang found this person increasingly fascinating.

Lu Yuan turned to the Peerless Gate Master, Fu Laoshuang, who looked like an old farmer. "The flavor of your Peerless Gate's ultimate weapon, the Arrow of Peerlessness, is quite good." Fu Laoshuang was on the verge of tears; he genuinely wanted to weep now.

Damn it, this was possible! He had to curse.

If he didn't curse, he wouldn't feel any better.