The Wu Fa Li Sword Hall, one of the Five Great Sword Halls, was the second stop for Lu Yuan and his companions. This Sword Hall presented a moderate difficulty. Above the moderate level were the 'Closed-Eye Combat' difficulty and the 'Seated Combat' difficulty, which was super difficult. Yet, even the moderate level proved too much for Yan Fei Yi; he failed. This 'moderate' difficulty was anything but ordinary.

"Next, Gu Qiushui."

Gu Qiushui stepped forward, his hand resting on his Wang Tang Immortal Sword. The name of the Wang Tang Immortal Sword naturally held a beautiful story, but Gu Qiushui had no inclination to recount it now. Look up the Huashan Immortal Sect on Baidu for updates. Some stories are meant to be savored alone, in the quiet corners of twilight, watching the sun set while sipping a bitter wine.

Gu Qiushui was quite accomplished at fighting by borrowing the surrounding elemental energy of heaven and earth while being without innate power. He cultivated the Book of Forgetting Sentiment in Heaven and Earth, which was divided into fifteen techniques: Heavenly Intent, Earthly Momentum, Sovereign, Familial Thought, Teacher's Instruction, Metal Severance, Wood Persistence, Water Flow, Fire Extension, Earth Burial, Sun Brightness, Moon Reflection, Wind Flow, Cloud Shroud, and Selflessness. From the names of these fifteen techniques, one could discern the function of this Book of Forgetting Sentiment in Heaven and Earth. Indeed, the Wu Fa Li Sword Hall—a place devoid of innate power—played directly to Gu Qiushui’s greatest strength. Entering the challenge with his strongest suit gave him a degree of confidence.

Seeing Gu Qiushui step up, the Cross Daoist’s expression remained unchanged; he merely let out a soft 'Yi,' noting the opponent's unique skill in controlling the surrounding elemental energy, though he felt it wouldn't be enough to win.

Lu Yuan watched from the side. As he observed, Lu Yuan calculated that Gu Qiushui had a seventy percent chance of losing, for two primary reasons: First, while Gu Qiushui’s mastery over manipulating elemental energy for combat was impressive, he was still a notch below the Cross Daoist. In such high-stakes combat, even a single notch was potentially fatal. Second, the Cross Daoist had resided in the Wu Fa Li Sword Hall for years and possessed an intimate knowledge of the local elemental energy distribution, whereas Gu Qiushui was a newcomer. Between masters, the slightest imbalance becomes a vast, battle-altering chasm. This round, Gu Qiushui was destined to lose.

Lu Yuan realized his own window of opportunity was closing fast. He had originally intended to rely on his sixth sword technique, She Tian (Deterring Heaven)! However, the current situation made it abundantly clear after witnessing the duels of Yan Fei Yi and Gu Qiushui: relying solely on She Tian was unviable. He needed a new strategy, and fast. Should he try to infuse his sixth sword technique, She Tian, with greater complexity? If he were to add technique, how should he layer it? How many variations would be required? Lu Yuan calculated relentlessly in his mind, his brain operating at light speed. Yet, no matter how he crunched the numbers, he concluded it wouldn't work! It wouldn't! He could refine She Tian into an exquisitely subtle move, but against the Cross Daoist, his current refined forms would likely fall victim to the same flaw as Gu Qiushui’s—a lack of understanding of the local elemental flow. Playing a game of subtlety against the Cross Daoist here was the entirely wrong path.

So, what was the correct way? Lu Yuan fell into deep contemplation, even feeling a strange dissonance at the thought of adding subtlety to She Tian. Wait! He realized it! She Tian was inherently a path of absolute dominance and power. Adding subtlety would naturally feel awkward, and moreover, no matter how subtle he made it, he couldn't surpass the Cross Daoist, who had mastered fighting without innate power. If that was the case, he must commit fully to the path of sheer dominance. He needed to comprehend a Sword Intent of Overlordship—a 'Ba' () intent.

Lu Yuan was not naturally an overbearing person; his disposition was usually gentle, like clean wind or a free-roaming crane. Violating his very nature to grasp the Ba Sword Intent would not be easy. Lu Yuan began recalling his most domineering moments. He identified two primary instances. The first was during the defense of Huashan: facing hordes of monstrous demons, he stood utterly alone, unconcerned, his aura never yielding an inch. He declared exactly who he would crush and in how many moves, acting with absolute command. The second instance was during the recent Sect Ranking Battle, where he simply devoured whatever ultimate weapon another sect threw at him—that too was dominance.

At that moment, within the Sword Space, the words 'Sudden Realization' (、) flashed brightly. It had been noted before that when 'Suddenness' and 'Enlightenment' combined, they could unleash immense power. Though he hadn't utilized this synergy before, the moment it was needed, the two characters sprang into action. In mere moments, an ancient, dominant 'Ba' talisman rose above Lu Yuan’s head. He had added a second Sword Intent. This new intent was significant; it could greatly amplify the power of his sixth sword technique. Then, Lu Yuan had an internal thought: He still possessed his Dao Character Clone. What would happen if he fused the Ba Sword Intent, the Dao Character Clone, and She Tian together? Dominance, dominance! These concepts were inherently compatible. While this wasn't a literal joining of characters, the fusion of a character-based clone with a Sword Intent should be feasible.

A thousand ideas flooded Lu Yuan’s mind, and he immediately began testing the power of his new sixth sword technique. The initial simulation revealed a level of profound mastery he hadn't anticipated. Although he couldn't fully test it, merely running the scenario in his mind imbued him with the sensation of an overwhelming force capable of shattering everything. Excellent!

As this transformation occurred, Lu Yuan noticed his little Sword Dao Tree was also growing, blossoming flowers. Furthermore, one of the two main components of his 'Iron Rule of Adaptation'—the 'War Adaptation' aspect—had increased to twenty percent, a direct gain of ten percent. Interesting, truly interesting, Lu Yuan mused inwardly.

Having finally prepared everything, he was ready to challenge the Wu Fa Li Sword Hall. Lu Yuan opened his eyes just as Gu Qiushui was defeated. The Wu Fa Li Sword Hall differed from the previous one; while the Eyebrow Sword Hall considered thirty strikes a loss, here, defeat came from being overwhelmed into inability to counterattack, or having a vital point seized. Since the hall itself lacked innate power but allowed manipulation of surrounding energy, the fighting was not drastically different from normal combat. After his loss, Gu Qiushui was naturally subdued, meaning that of the four who initially entered the Sword Halls, only Lu Yuan remained. And this was only the second hall, with three more formidable ones ahead. The magnitude of the remaining challenges was easy to imagine.

"Next, Lu Yuan," stated the Evil Ultimate Sovereign, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

Lu Yuan stepped forward to face the Cross Daoist.

The Cross Daoist looked at Lu Yuan and shook his head. "I had expected someone truly extraordinary to attempt the Five Great Sword Halls. Turns out, you are nothing special. For such a person to dare challenge these Halls is laughable. Very well, today my Wu Fa Li Sword Hall will strike you all down. You gained a small advantage in the simplest hall, the Eyebrow Sword Hall; don't assume the Five Great Halls are easy to conquer." "You sword cultivators, who come from the Outer Domains and the Central Celestial Dynasty, how could you possibly comprehend the subtle profundities of our Evil Sword Civilization from the previous epoch," the Cross Daoist’s tone dripped with absolute confidence and disdain. Unquestionably, he despised Lu Yuan's swordsmanship, the swordsmanship of the Outer Domains, and the swordsmanship of the Central Celestial Dynasty. If the Central Celestial Dynasty possessed any sword art worth mentioning, it would be that of the Mace Civilization, but even that, encased in the armor of the mace, couldn't be considered pure sword technique.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but be amused. Since starting his journey, he had never been disdained for his sword skill—at worst, for his magical power. To have his swordsmanship scorned was a first.

At that moment, the Cross Daoist’s sword light unfurled in the void, drawing in the surrounding elemental energy. He intended to end this swiftly and put an end to the joke of challenging the Five Great Sword Halls. "With this strike, I shall show external sword cultivators like you the marvels of our Evil Sword Civilization."

Lu Yuan gave a cold smile. "Very well. I will see whether the sword arts of your Evil Sword Civilization are superior, or mine." As he spoke, Lu Yuan extended a single finger. "One strike. I will defeat you in a single blow."

The Cross Daoist had just achieved consecutive victories against Yan Fei Yi and Gu Qiushui. Now, Lu Yuan claimed he would defeat the Cross Daoist in one move.

The Cross Daoist was nearly roaring with laughter. He found this young man hilariously entertaining, not just moderately so. In matters of swordsmanship, the Evil Sword Civilization was supreme, and in the realm of fighting without innate power, the Cross Daoist considered his own skill to rank among the top three under the Civilization Realm. Ridiculous! What utter boasting! This was the Cross Daoist's assessment of Lu Yuan.

But at that precise instant, Lu Yuan unleashed his new sixth sword technique: Ba Dao She Tian (Dominating Overlordship, Deterring Heaven)! In an instant, an aura of sheer dominance was layered onto the She Tian technique. And it wasn't just that; the Dao Character Clone was also emitting an extraordinary pressure. If the Ba Sword Intent added power, the amplification from the Dao Character Clone was truly terrifying, for the character 'Dao' was considered the foremost character among the myriad heavens. Innumerable whirlpools materialized around Lu Yuan's sword, sucking in all the surrounding elemental energy of heaven and earth. What a devastatingly dominant sword strike this was!

The Cross Daoist discovered that his intimate knowledge of the local elemental energy was useless, as every shred of it was being absorbed by this single attack, leaving nothing behind. How was this possible? How could a sword art possess such overwhelming dominance? Absorbing absolutely everything, leaving the onlookers with zero residual power to utilize. Fully charged, Lu Yuan launched his first and most absolute strike: the new She Tian—Ba Dao She Tian! This attack slammed down, and in that single moment, the Wu Fa Li Sword Hall shook violently. Under the impact of that single blow, the Cross Daoist became nothing more than a leaf caught in a raging torrent, utterly submerged.