Twenty thousand Void Channels pointed toward the gates of the Sacred Land of Civilization. Yet, only fifteen thousand would reach it. Within those twenty thousand channels, all manner of things were occurring: some held arenas, some were plagued by strange beasts, and some featured harsh weather. Reaching the gates of the Sacred Land of Civilization was no easy feat; qualifying was one thing, but actually entering the Sacred Land was quite another.

At this very moment, at the intersection of six Void Channels, an arena was in full swing. The Unique Emperor, the Scarlet Emperor, and You Wuqiu, all at the Eighth Heaven of the World Realm, unleashed surging killing intent towards Lu Yuan. At such a critical juncture, Lu Yuan neither dodged nor retreated, actually retaining the leisure to pluck his sword—truly incomprehensible behavior. In the next instant, Lu Yuan was supposed to perish under the ultimate techniques of the three. And in that very instant, Lu Yuan flipped his hand.

With a flip of his hand, he summoned a sword light of astonishing, unparalleled splendor. What an utterly magnificent flash of light—within this single strike, one seemed to see mountains and rivers, an infinite expanse of earth. What sheer, treacherous peaks, and what majestic mountains! Raging waters appeared to surge forth within this sword strike, flowing downward past a walled city. The city was not large, yet it was remarkably prosperous, filled with countless structures. Within its walls stood all manner of exquisite buildings and an abundance of delicate artifacts. This was one sword strike! Manifesting the scenery of mountains and the sea of water within a single strike was not unheard of. However, this one sword strike actually conjured countless exquisite, minute details—the more refined and tiny they were, the harder they were to manage. Yet, this sword accomplished it.

The Unique Emperor discovered that his signature saber technique, My Survival, All Life Dies, had become a complete farce under this single sword strike. The Scarlet Emperor found that his Ancient Scarlet Emperor Fire Dragon Roar, amplified by the power derived from the Level Two character script ‘Burn,’ was rendered a mere joke in the face of this blade. You Wuqiu saw that his combination attack—involving the Ghost Ship and myriad ghostly followers—was purely comical when pitted against this sword.

Yes, they all realized that their most potent ultimate skills were utterly useless against this exquisitely magnificent sword. When the final radiance faded, the Unique Emperor found his saber move completely shattered. More than that, a terrifying, world-ending sword qi exploded within his throat, surging violently through his body. His inherent magical power could not suppress this annihilating energy in the slightest. The Scarlet Emperor stared blankly at his chest, where his heart had been completely pierced. This sword qi was incinerating everything he was; he was about to die! You Wuqiu suffered the worst fate. His Ghost Ship had long dissolved. Lu Yuan had merely grazed his shoulder. Logically, such an injury shouldn't be fatal, but for some inexplicable reason, a sword qi of supreme immensity, ultimate rigidity, perfect rectitude, and supreme yang flowed into him. This energy nearly burned him utterly to ash. He was almost transformed into a mere pillar of fiery light, his life force rapidly consuming itself. All his life-saving treasures of dark and deviant arts melted away like snow before this supremely potent and righteous force. He knew then, he was finished.

The Unique Emperor, the Scarlet Emperor, and You Wuqiu realized simultaneously that they were doomed. Lu Yuan had only unleashed a single sword strike—just one! Not only did it neutralize their ultimate moves, but it also killed all three of them. What was happening?

Just over two years ago, Lu Yuan had only just reached the Sixth Heaven of the World Realm. In the intervening time, there had been no news of him, save for the brief report that he was nearly killed by the Son of the Desolation. Everyone assumed Lu Yuan’s fighting spirit had been crushed by the Son of the Desolation, and that he couldn't possibly have strengthened significantly in the last two years. He hadn't even appeared when the Sword Gate was destroyed recently, dismissed merely as a stray dog. Yet, unexpectedly, Lu Yuan had become this powerful, achieving all this with a single sword.

Boom! The Unique Emperor was annihilated by the sword qi. The Scarlet Emperor's flames had continuously resisted Lu Yuan’s energy, but they could not hold out in the end. The sword qi tore through all the flames; the Scarlet Emperor fell here. You Wuqiu's entire being transformed into a ball of light and vanished within it. He ultimately could not withstand the attack derived from the initial character script, ‘Righteousness.’ Such dark and deviant cultivators feared the character ‘Righteousness’ most. In fact, among the thirty civilizations, the Fox Civilization, being similarly heterodox, also feared this character. Nearby, True Man Nanhua and Feng Xiaotian watched with drastically changed expressions.

It was over! They had all assumed that this time, the three of them would fall under the hands of the Unique Emperor trio—Lu Yuan dying first, followed by them. Who would have expected Lu Yuan to counter with a single sword strike, slaying the Unique Emperor, the Scarlet Emperor, and You Wuqiu all at once? Just one sword—Lu Yuan was this strong. So, the rumors that Lu Yuan feared the Son of the Desolation, that he hadn't shown himself for over two years, that he was just a stray dog—who dared utter those words now? What kind of stray dog possessed such terrifying power?

In these past two years, Lu Yuan had grown immensely stronger. Two years prior, Lu Yuan alone was perhaps unable to defeat the Unique Emperor in a straight fight, yet now, one sword could effortlessly finish off someone like the Unique Emperor. Truly terrifying, this Lu Yuan.

There was no other way to explain it; Lu Yuan’s growth over the last two years had been completely hidden from public view. First, he caused chaos in the Evil Sword Civilization, but since he was far away in the Lost Lands, very few received news. Following that, he studied under the Vice Master of the Confucian Civilization, using the name Li Taishi, and had quite the spree on Immortal Gamblers’ Island. Consequently, for the general public, Lu Yuan had a two-year gap in his record, leading many to doubt him, believing him to be a stray dog. However, this time, in front of these witnesses, Lu Yuan proved that he had returned, and not as a stray dog.

Lu Yuan lightly plucked his sword. "Alas, a simple strike would have sufficed, but it's been two years. I haven't used the Nourishing Immortal Sword in ages, so I couldn't resist showing off a bit. It turned out a little more flamboyant than necessary. Nourishing, our synchronization is quite good." This was the honest truth. The Nourishing Sword had nearly broken after being struck by the Son of the Desolation and hadn't been used since. While it was repaired using the Nine Layers of Righteous Qi, it hadn't truly been in action. In the Confucian Civilization, he had used the Transmitting Righteous Immortal Tome. Now, finally drawing the Nourishing Immortal Sword, the feeling of wielding it was entirely different from using the Immortal Tome. Using the Tome always left a sense of detachment, whereas wielding the sword felt immediate, like an old friend returned after a long separation. So satisfying!

Using the Transmitting Righteous Immortal Tome felt restrictive; wielding the Nourishing Immortal Sword was true exhilaration, absolute bliss. Lu Yuan had executed this single strike that killed his opponents, all of whom harbored murderous intent toward him—they deserved their fate. Afterward, Lu Yuan continued to gently stroke his long sword, his fingers tracing the area where the single crack lay—the only blemish on the Nourishing Sword. Though they were currently in a Void Channel, he felt closer to the Son of the Desolation than ever. Lu Yuan's fighting spirit soared. How would he fare facing the Son of the Desolation again! Lu Yuan's blood boiled with excitement, and he could hear the Nourishing Sword emitting a faint chime.

Lu Yuan turned to True Man Nanhua and Feng Xiaotian. "Sect Master Nanhua, Sect Master Feng, this trial should count as passed, correct?" "It certainly counts," True Man Nanhua nodded, still deeply shaken by the sheer brilliance of Lu Yuan’s single sword strike.

Immediately, the three openings leading out of the arena suddenly unlocked. Feng Xiaotian stated, "This battle was entirely your achievement. Pick one opening to enter." Lu Yuan casually chose the leftmost opening and stepped through.

Entering the left passage, he was back in a Void Channel, where a line of text materialized: "Congratulations on passing the arena. The arena constitutes the first half of the Void Channel. The latter half begins now, and it has only one characteristic: length." "The latter half of the Void Channel contains no danger, only length, and it is the longest of all twenty thousand Void Channels." Lu Yuan instantly grasped the difficulty of this second phase: length! Length meant time consumption. Increased time meant potentially falling behind the fifteen thousand who would qualify. In that case, he wouldn't even reach the gates of the Sacred Land, and he would automatically lose.

Upon reading this notification, and seeing no further instruction, Lu Yuan immediately pushed his sword light to maximum velocity. Since the defining feature of this second half was its extreme length—the longest of all twenty thousand channels—he had to focus on the concept of 'long' and seize every instant. Hesitation meant ruin. Lu Yuan drove his speed to the extreme. The velocity he now commanded was indescribable; a thousand miles flashed by in an instant, and ten thousand miles took no significant time.

However, this Void Channel was undeniably vast. The problem wasn't just length; it was also incredibly circuitous. Lu Yuan quickly realized he couldn't maintain absolute maximum speed because he constantly had to make turns. Colliding heavily with the spatial barriers would be an unpleasant experience. Lu Yuan constantly modulated his speed, maintaining near-maximum velocity while precisely controlling his turns—a feat requiring immense concentration, all while under the pressure of the time limit. Faster! Turn! Faster still! A perilous turn! Another turn! Damn it, another turn!

Time ticked by, second by second. Everyone in the twenty thousand channels faced different challenges. Lu Yuan had no idea if others had reached the gates of the Sacred Land yet. He only felt that the time consumed in this channel was immense. Could he make it among the top fifteen thousand to reach the gates of the Sacred Land? This time, it came down to luck! There was no alternative. He had encountered the longest of the twenty thousand channels; now he could only pray his luck wasn't utterly terrible, to see if he could arrive in time to secure one of the final fifteen thousand spots.

(Fourth update complete, requesting monthly tickets.)