Meng Wei had been struck with astonishment when the Vice Chief of the Confucian Civilization had stated that Grand Historian Li's techniques had reached their zenith and required no further tutelage. Now, having witnessed this Junior Brother Li achieve an almost unimaginable state in terms of Righteous Qi and Literary Attainment—ten levels of Righteous Qi and the Book of Civilization—Meng Wei was both surprised and intrigued, thus prompting the desire to spar with Grand Historian Li to test his skill in combat techniques.
Lu Yuan readily agreed; a casual spar would be fine either way.
Kong Ni and Su Yue Mian stood by to observe the match.
“Meng Wei, as you spar with your Grand Historian Li Junior Brother, we hope you don't mind if we watch as well,” a voice suddenly rang out. Lu Yuan turned to see a strikingly handsome man with a refined air, holding a fan—a figure reminiscent of a roguish charmer who frequented pleasure houses.
There are many types of scholars: The rigid, bookish pedants. The noble, high-minded ancient gentlemen. The dissolute, charming literary talents who wander among the flowers. This man was clearly the latter type.
“Who is this?” Lu Yuan transmitted telepathically to Su Yue Mian.
Su Yue Mian replied, “He is the senior disciple of the Vice Chief of the Three Books Civilization, Kong Mingde. He is at the Half-Step Civilization Realm and is exceptionally skilled in combat techniques.”
So, this was Kong Mingde, the senior disciple of the Vice Chief of the Three Books Civilization, a formidable figure at the Half-Step Civilization Realm. He was not alone; several others accompanied him—either disciples of the Vice Chief of the Three Books Civilization or those of the Vice Chief of the Integrity Civilization—all having come to witness the excitement. Earlier, the Vice Chief of the Heavenly Retribution Civilization had arrived suddenly, causing the Vice Chiefs of the Three Books and Integrity Civilizations to arrive unexpectedly as well. When the Vice Chief of the Heavenly Retribution Civilization was present, Zhu Renyu was about to engage Grand Historian Li. Grand Historian Li's exceptional mastery in both Righteous Qi and Literary Arts had earned praise from both Vice Chiefs. After they departed, they continued to speak highly of Grand Historian Li.
Upon hearing their masters speak of the exceptionally gifted Grand Historian Li emerging from the Confucian Civilization, the disciples under the other two Vice Chiefs also became curious to see just how brilliant this Grand Historian Li truly was, and thus, they had all gathered.
When they arrived, they heard Meng Wei proposing a spar with Grand Historian Li regarding techniques, which is why they had spoken up to observe.
These individuals were disciples from the same civilization and were generally familiar with one another, so they naturally consented to allow this group to watch.
Meng Wei and Lu Yuan stood facing each other.
After exchanging the initial salutations, Meng Wei spoke, “Then I, as the Second Senior Brother, shall strike first.” With a wave of his hand, he unleashed an Immortal Scroll. The Immortal Scroll, the weapon of the Confucian Civilization, was akin to the Immortal Swords of the Sword Gate; his own Immortal Scroll had been passed down by the Vice Chief of the Confucian Civilization and was named the Transmitting Meng Immortal Scroll.
As his Immortal Scroll unfurled, it swept toward Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan was about to summon his Nourishing Self Immortal Sword for a counterattack, but then he paused. He was currently assuming the identity of Grand Historian Li and should not be using a sword, but rather a book as his weapon.
If a book was to be used as a weapon, then naturally he must use the Transmitting Righteous Immortal Scroll, which had also been bestowed upon him by the Vice Chief of the Confucian Civilization.
Lu Yuan instantly raised the Transmitting Righteous Immortal Scroll.
Meng Wei’s Transmitting Meng Immortal Scroll struck, and Lu Yuan’s Transmitting Righteous Immortal Scroll parried. Lu Yuan possessed superior insight and knew exactly where his opponent's attack was aimed, but in the execution, he was initially quite unaccustomed to it. Lu Yuan clearly felt that this Transmitting Righteous Immortal Scroll was entirely different from the Nourishing Self Immortal Sword—one was a sword, the other a book; their shape and inherent nature were distinct, making the initial handling quite awkward.
In the first few exchanges, Meng Wei held a slight advantage. He grumbled internally, The Master said Junior Brother Li’s technique was at its peak; why is he so mediocre in a real fight? Did the Junior Brother misjudge him?
During these initial moves, Lu Yuan was rapidly adapting to the Immortal Scroll as a weapon.
He found that the length and width of the scroll differed greatly from that of a sword—that was the first point. The second point was that a sword was fixed, but a book could be flipped, offering a host of variations. Lu Yuan kept adjusting to these changes.
Lu Yuan's proficiency in combat techniques far surpassed that of others in the World Realm. After an initial few moves of slight awkwardness, within ten exchanges, he had gained a substantial understanding of the Immortal Scroll as a weapon. His counterattack was also nearing readiness. Lu Yuan raised his hand and unleashed the technique: Line of Heaven of the Book.
Line of Heaven of the Book and Line of Heaven of the Sword were fundamentally the same technique; only the weapon differed—one used an Immortal Scroll, the other an Immortal Sword.
Meng Wei laughed heartily, “Junior Brother Li, Line of Heaven of the Book is nothing extraordinary.”
As soon as he said this, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
He abruptly realized that Grand Historian Li’s Junior Brother was connecting the Line of Heaven of the Book technique with successive instantaneous shifts (teleportation). While this wasn't inherently impossible—Meng Wei could also perform it—he soon discovered the discrepancy.
Connecting Line of Heaven of the Book with ten shifts was fine; fifteen shifts, no issue; twenty shifts, still manageable. Connecting it with twenty-five shifts became incredibly difficult; twenty-five shifts with thirty shifts became unimaginably hard. Thirty-five shifts? How was that possible! How could anyone sustain thirty-five successive shifts! And yet, he stopped only after achieving thirty-seven shifts!
If Meng Wei knew that Lu Yuan’s limit with a sword was forty successive shifts, and he had performed three fewer shifts because he was using an Immortal Scroll instead of an Immortal Sword, his astonishment would have been immeasurable.
The moment Lu Yuan executed that move, Meng Wei knew he was far inferior and had already lost.
However, since this was Lu Yuan's first time wielding an Immortal Scroll, he was playing with relative ease. After finishing the sequence of Line of Heaven of the Book followed by thirty-seven shifts, Lu Yuan began to transpose his sword techniques onto the book—merely playing around, as it were.
Sword Technique, Swallow’s Return Flash! transformed into Book Technique, Swallow’s Return Flash!
Sword Technique, Three Extremes Returning to One Stance! transformed into Book Technique, Three Extremes Returning to One Stance! Wait, on a whim, he also executed the Five Extremes Returning to One Stance! He refrained from using the overly domineering Six Extremes Returning to One Stance.
Sword Technique, Prosperous Flowers Flash Past the Eyes in One Season! transformed into Book Technique! Prosperous Flowers Flash Past the Eyes in One Season!
Sword Technique, Sorrowful, Bitter Sword! transformed into Book Technique, Sorrowful, Bitter Sword! This sword move was actually the unique skill of Zhou Qingxuan, whose techniques often carried a sense of melancholy.
Sword Technique, Severing the Cloud’s Qi, Bearing the Azure Heavens! transformed into Book Technique, Severing the Cloud’s Qi, Bearing the Azure Heavens! This move was actually the ultimate skill of the Son of the Sword, and since Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship was all-encompassing, having seen the Son of the Sword use it once made it impossible for him not to master it. Lu Yuan played with unrestrained delight, converting some of the sword techniques he had witnessed into book techniques. Lu Yuan's swordsmanship was so broad and profound it nearly surpassed the limits of everyone else; casually drawing out a few moves and transforming them into book techniques, none of the spectators could recognize that they were originally sword arts.
In fact, the onlookers did not have the composure to analyze them; everyone standing nearby was already sweating profusely.
This was true for Kong Ni, Su Yue Mian, and even the disciples accompanying Kong Mingde from the other two Civilization Vice Chiefs’ factions.
Lu Yuan’s techniques were ingenious and unparalleled in their brilliance. If it had ended there, it would have been enough. However, as Kong Mingde and the others watched, they involuntarily developed a profound sense that the opponent’s book techniques were far superior to their own—a feeling that compelled them to surrender in awe. This realization shocked them.
Watching Lu Yuan execute move after move, they could only sigh in wonder that such book techniques existed in this world. Kong Ni, Meng Feng, and Su Yue Mian finally understood why the Vice Chief of the Confucian Civilization had declared that Grand Historian Li’s skill in combat techniques had reached its peak and needed no further improvement. At this level, it truly was the apex.
Without a doubt, Meng Feng had lost.
Kong Mingde clicked his tongue, saying, “Too strong, too strong! This Grand Historian Li Junior Brother’s techniques are truly astonishing. He must possess the strongest technique below the Civilization Realm in the Confucian Civilization.” Such high praise. Beside Kong Mingde, someone remarked, “Senior Brother Kong, when you advanced from the Seventh to the Eighth Heaven of the World Realm, your Minor Thousand World was four times that of a normal person—that was also considered exceptional.”
This remark touched upon Kong Mingde’s sensitive spot.
He had deep karmic roots, and when he advanced to the Eighth Heaven of the World Realm, his Minor Thousand World was four times the size of a normal person’s, an event that was long celebrated. Kong Mingde thought to himself, Indeed, Grand Historian Li’s skill in techniques is incomparably strong, but his foundation is probably not as deep as mine. My Minor Thousand World, four times the size of a normal person’s back then, remains an unbroken record.
The outcome of the victory and defeat had now been settled.
Just then, a telepathic message reached Lu Yuan’s ears.
It was clearly from the Vice Chief of the Confucian Civilization: “Lu Yuan, I just received news that the Son of the Wilderness has gathered some people to attack the Sword Gate, intending to utterly destroy it. Everyone else hasn’t reacted yet.”
“What!” Lu Yuan jolted violently.
“Don’t panic. Just as the Son of the Wilderness was about to succeed, a middle-aged man wielding a sword with a sorrowful air suddenly appeared. He wielded excellent swordplay and was only slightly disadvantaged against the Son of the Wilderness. Then, this sorrowful sword-wielding middle-aged man drew the Sword Gate into his own Minor Thousand World and vanished. The Sword Gate disappeared without a trace, and the Son of the Wilderness did not pursue.”
Hearing the transmission, Lu Yuan calmed down. The sorrowful sword-wielding middle-aged man was most likely Zhou Qingxuan.
Yan Cangtian could not come to the Central Celestial Dynasty now, as he had not yet undergone the Heaven and Earth verification. He could not protect the Sword Gate, so he had no choice but to entrust the task to Zhou Qingxuan. Therefore, the Sword Gate should be safe for now.
Lu Yuan felt an intense, singular fury!
Yes, how could he not be enraged?
The Son of the Wilderness—that individual was too detestable.
The last time, he had nearly killed Lu Yuan. If the Vice Chief of the Confucian Civilization hadn't appeared, Lu Yuan would have been finished.
And the news arriving now was that the Son of the Wilderness intended to destroy the Sword Gate.
Lu Yuan did not know that the Son of the Wilderness had initially planned to wait for Lu Yuan to reveal himself so he could kill him. Since Lu Yuan had remained hidden, the Son of the Wilderness decided to destroy the Sword Gate instead, only to be thwarted by the sudden appearance of the sorrowful sword-wielding middle-aged man.
Lu Yuan now harbored a monstrous rage toward the Son of the Wilderness. Son of the Wilderness, I must kill you! This was the first time Lu Yuan had felt such a strong desire to execute someone. The Son of the Wilderness was simply too wicked, too hateful, causing Lu Yuan’s resentment to surge uncontrollably.
As Lu Yuan’s hatred intensified, his new Sword World seemed to sense this surge of anger and began accelerating its evolution.
The stagnation during his time at the Seventh Heaven of the World Realm was finally about to end.