Lu Yuan had undeniably defeated the Ghost King Sect with ease, once again achieving the miracle of one man against an entire sect. However, during this battle, he had sustained serious injuries. To fear injuries to the kidneys—using Sword Nine, the Sword of Seven Emotions, against the Ultimate Weapon inevitably incurred harm. But there was no alternative; without this method, the Ultimate Weapon could not be broken, and failing to break it meant Lu Yuan was certain he could not defeat the Ghost King Sect, the Peerless Sect, or others. Thus, he had reluctantly chosen this path.

But what could be done?

What did injury matter?

He absolutely had to break into the top ten and secure the chance to enter the Sacred Land of Civilization. This was a path destined to be perilous.

The third round of the competition concluded under these circumstances, bringing relief to some and sorrow to others. The number of remaining sects had dwindled, leaving only two hundred and fifty. Next, the two hosts, the Martial King Imperial Scion and the Old Man of the South Pole, would announce which sects lost their position at the World Volcano and which ones secured it—joy for the winners, gloom for the losers.

The fourth round was about to begin, still determined by a semi-random draw. The fourth round would narrow the field from two hundred and fifty to one hundred and twenty-five. In this round, Sword Gate was matched against the Middle Pole Sect. Lu Yuan had encountered the Middle Pole Sect before at the World Volcano. They employed the Middle Pole Divine Fist, said to be a legacy from the Empress Houtu.

The Middle Pole Sect consisted mostly of women, all notably forthright and composed. They primarily cultivated the Middle Pole Houtu Heart Sutra and possessed considerable grace and charm. Their Ultimate Weapon was the Book of the Earth Mother—a colossal, book-shaped artifact whose sheer mass exerted an overwhelming pressure, capable of crushing a person to death. As everyone anticipated how Lu Yuan would break this Ultimate Weapon, he simply began devouring the Book of the Earth Mother in great gulps.

It tastes good.

Within the Book of the Earth Mother, Lu Yuan sensed an emotion called Love. The Empress Houtu loved all living beings, transforming her own body into the earth to guard the populace of that era; she was brimming with affection for all life. The Middle Pole Sect inherited this aspect, infusing their Ultimate Weapon with love. Lu Yuan consumed all of this, which simultaneously helped him forge the Sword of Seven Emotions: Love! Of course, in forging the Sword of Seven Emotions: Love, Lu Yuan also injured his intestines from the Book of the Earth Mother, worsening his existing wounds.

Love wounds the intestines.

After forging the Sword of Seven Emotions: Love, Lu Yuan noticed a buzz of discussion around him.

"He ate it again, he ate it again."

"Indeed, starting to consume Ultimate Weapons again."

"I predict Lu Yuan will become the new benchmark for the 'Gluttonous Stream' style."

"I've decided to invent a term: Lu Yuan's Stomach."

"If Lu Yuan keeps devouring Ultimate Weapons like this, who can possibly stop him?"

"Could he really lead Sword Gate into the top ten strongest sects single-handedly?" When Lu Yuan first boasted this, everyone thought he was mad, but now they saw a sliver of possibility that he might actually bring Sword Gate into the ranks of the ten strongest, however minuscule that chance might be.

After Lu Yuan consumed the Book of the Earth Mother, the members of the Middle Pole Sect immediately conceded. Lu Yuan's swordsmanship had left too deep an impression on them; when his sword art was unleashed, even a World Realm Sixth Heaven master like Elder Fu hadn't managed to utter the words "I concede."

In the fifth round, Sword Gate faced the Yin-Yang Sect, a sect dedicated to dual cultivation—no, not just dual cultivation; they could practice multiple unions. Lu Yuan had previously framed an enemy for the crime of thirteen simultaneous unions, an idea inspired by the Yin-Yang Sect. Legend held that the Yin-Yang Sect's highest recorded achievement was nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine simultaneous unions—truly astonishing and worthy of awe.

Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine unions—what a chaotic scene that must have been. Lu Yuan could only admire such practitioners.

The Yin-Yang Sect's Ultimate Weapon was the Bottle of Yin-Yang Two Energies. This artifact didn't attack head-on; instead, it sucked opponents inside, dissolving them into essence within moments. Lu Yuan devoured this artifact without hesitation. By consuming the Bottle of Yin-Yang Two Energies, Lu Yuan witnessed all manner of desires, including the vivid visions of the nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine union vivid springs, causing many to click their tongues. Even such scenes of lust emerged, and concurrently, Lu Yuan forged the Ninth Sword: Desire!

Naturally, injury was unavoidable. Desire wounds the spirit. By this point, Lu Yuan had already wounded his heart, kidneys, spirit, and intestines, forging the Sword of Anger, Sword of Joy, Sword of Fear, Sword of Love, and Sword of Desire. Only the Sword of Sorrow and the Sword of Malice remained. His injuries were mounting, though he showed no outward signs. Now, after shattering his opponent's Ultimate Weapon, the opponent usually surrendered immediately. They knew his swordsmanship was too profound; if they realized the extent of his severe injuries, they might fight to the death, escalating the damage to Lu Yuan.

He absolutely could not allow his injuries to become too severe, as he needed to challenge the top ten strongest sects and maintain optimal focus for that endeavor.

In the sixth round, Sword Gate faced the Spring Water Sect. This sect was predominantly female. Something quite bizarre had recently occurred here: the Sect Mistress, along with her twin daughters—three women in total—had married one man surnamed Wang, three women serving one husband. This was scandalous, becoming the eternal shame of the Spring Water Sect. They had been ridiculed severely, so they entered the ranking battle to wash away their disgrace, fighting fiercely enough to reach the sixth round.

The Spring Water Sect's Ultimate Weapon in the sixth round was the Spring Water Zither of Sorrow. Its sound produced an overwhelming sense of grief, directly killing opponents through its vibrating strings—a uniquely potent technique. Many sects found this artifact exceedingly troublesome, but without a doubt, Lu Yuan consumed it in a few bites. Using the Spring Water Zither of Sorrow, Lu Yuan forged the Ninth Sword: Sorrow!

This time, the injury was to the lungs. Sorrow wounds the lungs.

In the seventh round, Sword Gate faced the Heaven's Malice Sect, a vicious and depraved group. Their Ultimate Weapon was the Spear of Extreme Malice, which Lu Yuan promptly shattered with his teeth and ate, thereby forging the Ninth Sword: Malice! Malice wounds the spleen, adding another injury from this encounter.

Finally, having forged the Seven Swords of Emotion, Lu Yuan felt an overwhelming sense of fulfillment. On this journey through the sect battles, he had successively consumed the Unparalleled Arrow, the Ghost King's Banner of Fear, the Book of the Earth Mother, the Bottle of Yin-Yang Two Energies, the Spring Water Zither of Sorrow, and the Spear of Extreme Malice—six Ultimate Weapons—forging the Sword of Joy, Sword of Sorrow, Sword of Fear, Sword of Love, Sword of Malice, and Sword of Desire.

Now, within his Sword Space, Lu Yuan gazed at the seven swords materializing in the surrounding void.

"Seven Swords merge, the Sword of Seven Emotions!" Lu Yuan shouted, and the seven swords floating nearby began to draw closer, slowly converging into a single blade. During this process of merging, significant resistance arose, but Lu Yuan forcefully suppressed it all with sheer willpower.

Then, in an instant, a single sword appeared! This sword continuously flashed with seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—and intermittently emitted the seven emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, malice, and desire. This was the Sword of Seven Emotions. Simultaneously, Lu Yuan noticed that all the sword qi within his Sword Space were bowing in deference to this sword.

Ninth Sword, the Sword of Seven Emotions! This sword was terrifyingly potent, the true sword among swords, the King's Sword, the Sovereign's Sword, the Emperor's Sword. Therefore, all the essence of the Sword Space had to pay homage to this single blade. The Ninth Sword, the Sword of Seven Emotions, was finally complete! Lu Yuan was filled with profound emotion; achieving this sword had been immensely difficult. However, once achieved, this sword was extraordinary, capable of counteracting all techniques in the world. As long as a technique contained soul or emotion, it could be subdued; techniques without soul could never truly be powerful.

"Seventh round of the sect competition, Sword Gate versus Heaven's Malice Sect. Sword Gate wins!" the referee, the Martial King Imperial Scion, declared. "Congratulations to Sword Gate for advancing to the final sixteen!"

The final sixteen! They were already among the top sixteen, agonizingly close to the final top ten! At this moment, countless people were deeply moved. Everyone had assumed Sword Gate could not defy the odds and enter the top ten, yet now they were only one battle away from that rank. Countless eyes turned toward the young man in green robes suspended high above the vast Ping Tian Plateau.

Incredible! A miraculous figure! This was the general perception of Lu Yuan among the other sects. The Eighth Son of Destiny was indeed extraordinary.

Currently, the people from the Civilizations were the most distressed. Thirty ordinary Civilizations and five ancient ones had come to observe the sect battles, primarily to recruit talented individuals with potential. But now, compared to Lu Yuan, the most outstanding youths from other sects paled in comparison. Yet, Lu Yuan was someone who could never be inducted into a Civilization. It was the painful process of comparison.

The situation reverted to the competition: the seventh round had concluded, leaving only sixteen sects remaining. The Ten Strongest Sects were all present, and Sword Gate was among them. The Bamboo Joint Sect, under the Bronze Civilization, was also listed. Additionally, four other historically high-ranking sects were present. With only the final sixteen left, it was time to vie for the top ten strongest sects.

The sect battle had reached its climax. Who would face whom now? Which sect would be Sword Gate's next opponent?

On the screen behind the Martial King Imperial Scion and the Old Man of the South Pole, the names of the sixteen sects flashed continuously before finally settling. The matchups for the final sixteen were set.