The Blood God King's words were astonishing; Lu Yuan had sustained grievous injuries, causing surprise among the onlookers, for Lu Yuan showed no outward sign of being wounded. Yet, the Blood God King's declaration was fervent, seeming anything but false.

Lu Yuan was slightly intrigued. "How did you know?" This question served as an admission.

The members of the Sword Gate instinctively turned their heads; they truly hadn't known Lu Yuan was injured. And if he was wounded, they couldn't gauge the severity, raising questions about how this battle could proceed.

The Blood God King smiled faintly. "Of course. Our Blood Sect is vastly different from every other faction. The Blood Sect cultivates the Blood Scripture, feeding on essence blood. For extended periods during this cultivation, one must even transform into a mass of blood—without eyes, without a nose, possessing nothing but the consciousness of blood. Only upon mastering the Blood Scripture to the point of condensing the True Ancestor's Blood can one restore the human form." This was common knowledge, the very reason the Blood Sect was deemed heretical.

"Once the True Ancestor's Blood is condensed and human form is restored, one develops a profound ** for blood, far exceeding that of ordinary people." The Blood God King grinned wickedly. "Injury results in bleeding; blood and injury are eternally linked. Therefore, I possess an extraordinary familiarity with wounds. Each time you shattered one of the Ultimate Weapons, you sustained an injury."

"When you broke the Peerless Arrow of the Unrivaled Gate, sorrow wounded the heart—your heart took a significant blow."

"And when you broke the Flag of Fear of the Ghost King Gate, fear injured the kidneys—your kidneys suffered no light damage."

"When you broke the Earth Mother's Book of the Middle Extreme Gate, desire injured the intestines—your intestines took a considerable beating."

"And when you dealt with the Yin-Yang Gate's Yin Ancestor Dual Qi Vases, lust injured strategy, causing severe damage to your spirit."

"Breaking the Spring Water Gate's Spring Water Sorrowful Zither wounded the lung through grief."

"Smashing the Heaven's Evil Gate's Fierce Calamity Spear afflicted the spleen with malice—your spleen sustained grave injury."

"Your entire body now bears six injuries: heart, kidney, intestine, spirit, lung, and spleen," the Blood God King roared. "Shattering the Ultimate Weapons came at no small cost to you."

Hearing the Blood God King's detailed enumeration, the surrounding audience started to grasp the situation. Initially, they were astounded that Lu Yuan could consume the Ultimate Weapons, but now they understood that this consumption did incur harm. Though still difficult to accept, it was somewhat more palatable than the idea of consuming them without injury.

An Ultimate Weapon was just that—an Ultimate Weapon.

The Blood God King clapped his hands again. "Unleash the Blood God Drum!" The Blood God Drum was the Blood Sect's Ultimate Weapon; they hadn't intended to use it, but Lu Yuan’s attainment of the World Realm Sixth Heaven forced their hand. The Blood Sect members instantly took their positions, five hundred of them channeling their magical power in unison.

A colossal drum rapidly materialized in the void.

That drum must have spanned several thousand zhang. It was blood-red, an intensely sinister shade, appearing as if countless streams of blood had been condensed into its substance. Indeed, the forging of the Blood Sect’s Ultimate Weapon required an immense amount of blood; one hundred percent of the sect’s practitioners were irredeemable villains who practiced the Blood Scripture.

Simultaneously, two drumsticks seemed to ceaselessly strike the surface.

A shrill and terrifying sound pierced the air, like the wails of ten thousand ghosts, as black energy dispersed outward. No, it wasn't a single plume of black energy, but distinctly two separate streams—one darker, the other lighter, yet both equally terrifying.

The Black Qi of Fear! The Black Qi of Malice!

The Blood God Drum, being the Ultimate Weapon of one of the Ten Greatest Factions, differed fundamentally from those that followed. The Blood God Drum carried two interwoven emotions: fear and malice. These two plumes of black energy instantly enveloped the entire Ping Tian High Stage.

Under this influence, every member of the Sword Gate was affected, experiencing simultaneous pangs in their kidneys and spleens.

This was the inherent side-effect of the Blood God Drum! Even considering only its passive effects, it was formidable.

But the drum’s true terror lay in its attack. Under the Blood God King's direction, the drum's power reached the level of the World Realm Eighth Heaven. This assault manifested as sound waves directed at the Sword Gate contingent. Simply put, should this attack connect with any member of the Sword Gate, they would likely be pulverized into dust.

In that critical instant, Lu Yuan moved.

He shot rapidly toward the Blood God Drum, inhaling sharply toward it. The Blood God Drum attempted to resist, but Lu Yuan granted it no opportunity; with one mighty gulp, he bit down upon it. Since the Blood God Drum contained the energies of fear and malice, Lu Yuan, having mastered Sword Nine and the Sword of Seven Emotions, should no longer be harmed by the emotions embedded in Ultimate Weapons (injury only occurred during the mastery process). This time was no exception. However, the Blood God Drum possessed an overwhelmingly dense aura of bloodlust—a veritable explosion from a sea of blood—which aggravated Lu Yuan’s existing injuries, causing him to forcefully spit out a mouthful of blood.

But thankfully, the Blood God Drum was broken.

Another wave of blood energy surged, nearly forcing him to vomit again.

The injuries he currently held were quite severe, but dealing with the Blood God King was not an impossible task; he remained confident in his ability to prevail. Lu Yuan looked at the Blood God King. "Your Blood Sect's Ultimate Weapon, the Blood God Drum, seems ineffective as well."

The Blood God King stood with his hands clasped behind his back, seemingly unconcerned by the drum’s destruction. "I unleashed the Blood God Drum precisely for you to break. Breaking an Ultimate Weapon increases your injury load, and you have now done so."

He was slightly mistaken; Lu Yuan didn't necessarily incur additional injury from the breaking process anymore, only from the sheer density of the weapon's inherent bloodiness. Regardless, the Blood God King's objective—to exacerbate Lu Yuan's wounds—had been achieved.

Lu Yuan smiled faintly. "So what? With my current injuries, taking you down is hardly difficult."

The Blood God King said coldly, "Such confidence. To be so badly wounded and still believe you can defeat me—I truly don't know where you derive such certainty."

"From you unleashing the Blood God Drum to worsen my injuries. If you were confident of victory, there would have been no need to summon the drum and deepen my wounds," Lu Yuan countered, his words sharp as blades.

The Blood God King laughed heartily. "It seems I was underestimated. My strength is not so easily overcome. The reason I used the Blood God Drum was merely my habit of acting only when I possess absolute certainty. Initially, I had only a seventy percent chance of defeating you; now, I have eighty percent. Soon, I will have one hundred."

The Blood God King opened his mouth and slowly conjured a blood-colored bead in the void. As this bead appeared, twin beams of crimson light shot from the Blood God King's eyes, instantly causing the bead to explode. As it detonated, Lu Yuan violently spat out seven mouthfuls of blood—yes, a full seven streams.

Furthermore, Lu Yuan clearly realized something: his injuries had just worsened twofold, tripling their original severity.

Immediately, waves of excruciating pain surged from the six afflicted areas: heart, kidney, intestine, spirit, lung, and spleen, far more intense than before. After vomiting seven times, he nearly expelled an eighth stream.

At this moment, discussions erupted from the audience stands.

"That is the Supreme Blood Soul Bead. I hear it can only be used once every thousand years, and each use triples the opponent's existing injuries."

"Anyone who is wounded fears that Supreme Blood Soul Bead."

"The Blood Sect only deploys the Supreme Blood Soul Bead when facing a super-powerful foe."

"Lu Yuan was already injured; now his wounds have instantly tripled in severity. He must be gravely wounded."

"Most likely. Lu Yuan’s condition has reached a point of no return; he might be unable to even strike."

"It seems the Blood Sect will win this time."

"Indeed. The Blood Sect, as one of the Ten Greatest Factions, possesses deep reserves, far beyond what a dark horse can match."

"Still, even so, Lu Yuan has done remarkably well to force out both the Blood God Drum, their Ultimate Weapon, and the Supreme Blood Soul Bead. In the subsequent battles, the Blood Sect cannot use these two ultimate techniques again. Their path to the top four is practically sealed."

"It doesn't matter. Simply reaching the Top Eight, securing a spot in the Top Ten, is excellent enough. The Top Ten earn entry to the Sacred Land of Civilization." The audience was unanimous; they believed Lu Yuan was defeated, his injuries too critical to overcome.

The Blood God King stood with hands behind his back, radiating calm assurance. "Now, your injuries are severe. By my estimate, you can muster at most ten more moves, ten more swords. After those ten strikes, your body will collapse entirely," the Blood God King stated calmly. "Therefore, I have won this battle."

He looked at the young man in green robes. The youth’s face was pale, and he spat out another gout of blood, crimson staining his green garment.

His flowing long hair danced with the wind.

"That is correct. I can only unleash ten final swords; I cannot cut the eleventh. Ten strikes is my current limit," the wounded youth in green nodded faintly. "That is the reality, but who says I will lose? I shall simply resolve all of you within these remaining ten strikes. It's no great matter."

What did Lu Yuan just say?

He claimed he would eliminate the Blood Sect's five hundred experts, including two hundred at the World Realm or above, within just ten sword strokes.

A joke! Not even someone at the World Realm Eighth Heaven could accomplish such a feat here. Where did Lu Yuan find such confidence?