Lu Yuan actually declared he would settle things within ten sword strikes.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha." The Blood God King burst into laughter, roaring toward the sky as if he had encountered something utterly ridiculous. "Settle the Blood Gate within ten strikes? Preposterous, Lu Yuan. You need to realize you are a severely injured World Realm Sixth Heaven expert right now, whereas I am a World Realm Seventh Heaven, a Heavenly Venerable! Ten strikes… you actually dared to think that."

Not just the Blood God King disbelieved him; not a single person present held any hope.

It was simply too outrageous.

"Cough, cough." Lu Yuan coughed up blood, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

The next ten strikes would be the most heart-stopping ten strikes imaginable.

This meant that within the following ten strikes, he had to channel every ounce of his ability, every bit of his power, into them. A single slip, a minuscule error, and his current precarious state could lead to utter defeat. Lu Yuan focused his mind, his essence, spirit, and energy reaching an apex at that instant. Now was the time to fight for his life.

He had no choice but to fight desperately!

"Sword Five, Solitary Sword!" Lu Yuan’s Yang Wu Immortal Sword swept out. The very first strike he unleashed was Sword Five, Solitary Sword! With the proclamation of Sword Five, Solitary Sword!, everything between heaven and earth vanished, leaving only a single sword floating in the void. This was a state of complete Man-Sword Unity—the man was the sword, and the sword was the man; beyond the sword, there was nothing else.

The Blood God King had not expected Lu Yuan’s opening move to be so ferocious. However, as the Master of the Blood Gate and a Heavenly Venerable, he was naturally not weak. He summoned the Blood God Scripture, and countless seas of blood materialized between him and Lu Yuan. Yet, this strike from Lu Yuan was supremely pure and yang, actually piercing straight through the sea of blood. The Blood God King immediately unleashed another tide of blood while retreating. In the first strike, the Blood God King had already been put at a disadvantage. Still, he didn't pay it much mind; as long as he could endure the remaining nine strikes, the fight would be over. Even acknowledging Lu Yuan's formidable swordsmanship, he truly did not believe Lu Yuan could slay him within nine more strikes.

"Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring!" It had been mentioned before that the Pingtian Plateau, and indeed the entire Pingtian Continent, was forged by a Civilization Deputy Lord. It was originally intended to serve as a Civilization Continent; every civilization possessed such a landmass. The creator of this land was the Fair Civilization Deputy Lord, who condensed the concepts of "Fairness" () and "Balance" () from the cosmos. By obtaining these two characters, he sought the ultimate fairness within heaven and earth.

And within this Pingtian Plateau, vestiges of that fairness still lingered, though not as intensely as in the past.

Lu Yuan’s Sixth Sword, Heaven-Deterring! This strike inherently possessed the ability to draw upon surrounding celestial energy for attack. Thus, it naturally gathered the lingering essence of fairness into the sword.

At this instant, Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring!, transformed into the Sword of Fairness!

While this Sword of Fairness was not as overwhelmingly powerful as the Fairness Ruler wielded by the former Fair Civilization Deputy Lord, it remained an extraordinarily potent technique.

As Lu Yuan thrust this sword forward, his mind attained absolute clarity.

Yes, fairness.

The injuries he and the Blood God King sustained needed to be balanced.

Given the extensive damage he had suffered, if the Fair Civilization Deputy Lord had used the Fairness Ruler, the Blood God King would have sustained wounds of equal severity.

But Lu Yuan’s Sword of Fairness was merely a miniaturized version. Consequently, while the Blood God King would certainly be wounded, the damage would not be catastrophic.

This move, Lu Yuan’s Sword of Fairness, seemed to resonate a symphony of justice throughout the realm. The Blood God King vaguely perceived a phantom image of the Fair Civilization Deputy Lord in the void. His soul nearly scattered in fright, and more critically, he realized he was utterly incapable of resisting the Sword of Fairness.

The blade passed through his shoulder, torrents of blood erupting—this was Lu Yuan’s first strike, and it had already wounded the Blood God King.

Lu Yuan wasted no time, executing the third strike with fluid grace: "Sword Seven, Minor World Realm!" With this sword technique.

The Blood God King had barely processed the shock of Sword Five, Solitary Sword, and Sword Six, Heaven-Deterring. He was secretly hoping that no strike as devastating as the previous two would follow, only to hear Lu Yuan immediately shout the words for Sword Seven, Minor World Realm.

Under normal circumstances, Sword Seven surpassed Sword Five and Sword Six in strength!

Damn it, that meant an even stronger technique was coming.

However, the Blood God King was not one to be easily overcome. He unleashed his Blood Slaves; thousands upon thousands materialized in the void, intending to transform this space into his Blood World. He was not yet a World Realm Eighth Heaven expert; if he were, he could truly convert a domain into his personal Blood World, where he would reign supreme.

At that very instant, Lu Yuan unleashed Sword Seven, Minor World Realm! Innumerable phantom images of immortal swords filled the void. The Blood God King recognized this move—it was similar to his Blood Slave technique, both aimed at simulating a Minor Thousand World to assail the opponent.

The technique of simulating a Minor Thousand World was immensely powerful.

My World, I am the King.

This was a supreme killing move reserved for true experts at the World Realm Eighth Heaven True Realm. Any technique below that level simulating a Minor Thousand World was inherently an ultimate, devastating technique.

Seeing Lu Yuan deploy Sword Seven, Minor World Realm, the Blood God King sneered. As a dignified World Realm Seventh Heaven master, close to creating his own Minor Thousand World, he was inherently closer to the True Realm than Lu Yuan. To simulate a Minor Thousand World should be vastly easier for him. He believed destroying Lu Yuan’s technique would be trivially simple. Lu Yuan, your swordsmanship is strong, but you shouldn't have used this particular move.

Just as the Blood God King felt victory was assured, his simulated Blood World slammed violently into Sword Seven, Minor World Realm! The two techniques collided fiercely—countless Blood Slaves crashed against the illusory Minor Thousand World. But to the Blood God King's astonishment, his Blood Slaves were effortlessly shattered by the myriad immortal swords.

The Blood World, his astonishingly powerful signature move, was utterly defeated by Lu Yuan's Sword Seven, Minor World Realm, cleanly and decisively.

How could this be? He was closer to the World Realm Eighth Heaven True Realm, closer to forming a complete Minor Thousand World; how could he lose to Lu Yuan’s simulated Minor Thousand World? The Blood God King spat out a mouthful of blood, utterly bewildered.

The reason was actually quite simple. The Sword Seven, Minor World Realm that Lu Yuan used was not a world he had virtually simulated, but an actual, existing Minor Thousand World. Crushing a simulated world with an inherent one guaranteed the victory of Lu Yuan’s Sword Seven, Minor World Realm.

After wounding the Blood God King, Lu Yuan immediately followed up with the eighth strike, "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One."

"Sword Eight, Ten Thousand Swords Return to One!" he roared. Countless sword techniques manifested from Lu Yuan’s Yang Wu Immortal Sword. This move now integrated the profound mastery of one thousand immortal swords into a single attack. The Blood God King had just been severely wounded by Sword Seven, Minor World Realm, his Blood Slaves shredded. Before he could even formulate a plan for the next move, Lu Yuan’s subsequent strike was already descending. The Blood God King had never witnessed such a terrifying technique, one that integrated so many ultimate skills into a single onslaught. He was relentlessly wounded, suffering blow after blow. After Sword Eight, Ten Thousand Swords Return to One!, his body was riddled with holes, bearing countless injuries.

The Blood God King was now thoroughly terrified. He had only faced four of Lu Yuan’s strikes—Sword Five, Six, Seven, and Eight—and he was already gravely injured. He realized Lu Yuan still had six strikes remaining, and even if those six were less terrifying than the first four, they would still be enough to kill him.

Faced with this reality, he immediately summoned the Blood Cocoon! The Blood Cocoon was a unique technique of the Blood Gate, wrapping his body in layers of scarlet light, with countless vengeful spirits swirling around him. For a certain duration, even a World Realm Eighth Heaven expert could not breach the Blood God King’s Blood Cocoon, meaning he would remain unharmed.

The Blood God King had originally intended to save the Blood Cocoon for the top four contention, but confronting Lu Yuan's world-shattering swordsmanship, he understood that without it, he would perish. Thus, he deployed the Blood Cocoon without reservation, planning to endure the remaining six strikes. He assumed Lu Yuan, weakened by his own severe injuries, would eventually have to concede.

A deep crimson Blood Cocoon enveloped the Blood God King completely.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan’s Yang Wu Immortal Sword flickered and shifted in the void: "Sword Zero, Heart-Piercing Strike! Quadruple Assault!" A streak of sword energy shot toward the Blood Cocoon. The Blood God King felt assured; his Blood Cocoon was forged from the essence of a million lives and should not shatter so easily. Yet, with a sudden whoosh, he spat out a mouthful of blood. He had just been hit by the quadruple assault.

What was happening? The Blood Cocoon hadn't shattered, so how had he been struck four times in succession! Before the Blood God King could fully process this, Lu Yuan unleashed Sword Zero again. In almost an instant, the Blood God King was struck repeatedly, his life force draining away bit by bit.

Boom! The Blood Cocoon shattered! The cocoon contained the blood and the vengeful spirits of a million people, requiring immense power to be suppressed. Normally, the Blood God King, with his superior strength and cultivation of the Blood God Scripture, could easily maintain control. But now, under the assault of Lu Yuan’s swords, even the Blood Cocoon could no longer hold.

The vengeful spirits within the Blood Cocoon, long suppressed by the Blood God King, dared not resist or retaliate, but they dared to flee. With a resounding blast, they all dispersed.

In that single moment, the Blood God King was left exposed, a severely wounded man with absolutely no defense. A river of his own blood already flowed beneath his feet.

And at that precise moment, Lu Yuan delivered his final sword strike.

This was the last strike meant to end the Blood God King's life.

This strike was not derived from any formula within the ancient sword path; it was a sword intent born purely from the depths of his own heart. Naturally, it did not belong to the Heart Sword series either.

The origin of this ultimate strike was also highly peculiar.

The Sixth Sword was now unleashed.