As Lu Yuan was about to strike with the ultimate blade from the Nine Desolations, he felt an overwhelming urge to draw his sword.

Yes, an intense, pressing impulse.

This urge seemed to emanate from the Chaos Stomach Crystal.

Simply put, when the Chaos Stomach Crystal entered Lu Yuan's New Sword World, it carried endless demonic thoughts. These thoughts were thoroughly cleansed by the initial primary character, leaving absolutely no trace. However, simultaneously, there was this compelling need to strike. Indeed, this 'stomach' had lain dormant for countless years, having quieted for too many epochs.

And after such a long dormancy, there finally appeared a master of the Chaos Stomach Acid—Lu Yuan himself.

Thus, an impulse suppressed for untold myriads of years was crashing against Lu Yuan, compelling him toward the urge to strike. Only after this one decisive blow could he feel true satisfaction.

Since that was the case, he decided to unleash this long-suppressed catharsis with unrestrained vigor.

Nourish My Immortal Sword hummed in the void: "Nourish me, oh Nourish me, haven't you been suppressed for over two years as well?" True, he had indeed struck once within the void passage, but that was only against three opponents at the Eighth Level of the World Realm. It hadn't been a true, satisfying release; it was merely an appetizer.

Now, it was finally time for the real contest.

The opponents included genuine powerhouses.

At this moment, it wasn't just the years of suppressed urge from the Lake of the Stomach.

It was also the pent-up drive of Nourish My Immortal Sword.

Appear now, Sword of Myriad Acids.

Under the force of this compulsion, Lu Yuan followed his truest nature and drew his Nourish My Immortal Sword.

Simultaneously, within his New Sword World, the Strong Acid Lake secreted a substantial amount of potent acid, while the Sword of Counter-Desolation exuded its power to restrain desolation. So, attack! Lu Yuan's long sword morphed in the void—this was destined to be a shocking strike. Of course, it had been mentioned before that the Sword of Myriad Acids was a peculiar sword; outwardly, it appeared utterly ordinary, yet it was terrifyingly potent beneath the surface.

This strike, too, looked exceedingly plain.

Facing him first was Jiuhuang Ji (Nine Desolation Extreme).

Jiuhuang Ji was still operating under the assumption of his previous victory: "Lu Yuan, I will show you the peerlessness of my blade technique! Die!" Compared to Lu Yuan’s seemingly unremarkable sword move, Jiuhuang Ji's saber art was far more robust, faintly imbued with the aura of civilization, lending his technique a grander scope.

The exquisite and brilliant saber dance clashed instantly with the mundane sword move.

Jiuhuang Ji's saber cleaved down heavily onto Lu Yuan's sword. In that moment, Lu Yuan felt he deserved to lose; he felt a degree of satisfaction in his heart, viewing Lu Yuan as a mere stepping stone—a truly excellent prospect. Wait, something was wrong. What was happening? What was going on! How could Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship suddenly become so terrifying? When they had fought just moments ago, Lu Yuan’s sword felt distinctly weak; how could it be so ferocious now?

Before he could react, the Sword of Myriad Acids had pierced his throat. Simultaneously, that terrifying myriad acid surged into his body, and Lu Yuan’s fearsome sword Qi followed suit. In that instant, he was utterly devastated, brought to the brink of death almost immediately.

"How is this possible? You were clearly defeated by my fifteen strikes! How could you possibly triumph over me now?" Jiuhuang Ji roared, "Did you break through mid-battle? Impossible! You were supposed to be inferior to me—how could you achieve a breakthrough right here?" He truly believed he had won the first exchange, which was utterly ridiculous. Unwillingness flashed across Jiuhuang Ji's eyes—how could he, of all people, be defeated by Lu Yuan?

However, he soon had no time to dwell on his single-strike defeat, as he realized the sword Qi and the terrifying strong acid Lu Yuan had injected were not merely intended to heavily wound him, but to annihilate him.

"Damn it! You intend to kill me? How dare you kill me?" Jiuhuang Ji glared at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan’s figure flashed past Jiuhuang Ji, their forms briefly crossing. "Why wouldn't I dare kill you? You intended to cleave me into forty-nine pieces earlier! You want to kill me, so I kill you. It’s that simple."

"Who are you to dare challenge me? I am the son of the Deputy Lord of the Desolate Sea Civilization! Naturally, I kill you! You dare not kill me!" He still tried to spout nonsense, but with a booming sound, Lu Yuan's sword Qi and acid exploded inside him, and he died instantly. In truth, it wasn't that Lu Yuan enjoyed killing; he generally preferred to kill as little as possible. But these people from the Ancient Desolation had come here proclaiming war and murder. Since the opponent sought his death, only a fool would hold back.

As for the fact that the opponent was the son of the Deputy Lord of the Desolate Sea Civilization—who cared?

Being afraid to retaliate against someone with powerful backing and allowing them to kill you—no, that was truly not his style.

Since the Sword Gate had already been taken away by Zhou Qingxuan, he was free to roam the heavens and earth. At worst, he could sacrifice his own life.

For the sake of living out his life with satisfaction, he wouldn't even balk at losing his life.

A person should live freely and joyously.

At this moment, Lu Yuan realized his strike was incomplete.

Because the urge to strike had not yet subsided. The Lake of the Stomach and his own Nourish My Immortal Sword had been suppressed for far too long. Defeating only Jiuhuang Ji, who was at the Seventh Level of the World Realm, could not possibly dissipate this drive. He needed to defeat a stronger opponent.

This strike accelerated its momentum.

...

Killing Jiuhuang Ji with a single sword stroke—how was this possible? Lu Yuan originated from swordsmanship, and the sword was naturally countered by Desolation—this was a fundamental law of heaven and earth. Furthermore, Jiuhuang Ji had defeated Lu Yuan in fifteen moves just moments ago.

Therefore, Lu Yuan defeating Jiuhuang Ji in one move now caused immense shock.

And this strike’s momentum was far from spent.

Immediately, Jiuhuang Tai (Nine Desolation Embryo), a warrior at the Eighth Level of the World Realm, appeared before Lu Yuan: "Jiuhuang Ji, a mere Seventh Level of the World Realm, actually lost? That is truly beyond my expectations. However, I shall be the one to stop you, to be your opponent, and to strike you down." Jiuhuang Tai was full of confidence. He had fought the Son of the Sword once before and won. Lu Yuan’s combat strength was always considered slightly higher than the Son of the Sword’s; if he could defeat the Son of the Sword, he could naturally defeat Lu Yuan.

Jiuhuang Tai possessed unusually large hands. These twin palms morphed in the void into the Primordial Giant Egg. The primordial state was inherently egg-shaped, and the Primordial Giant Egg Art he practiced was essentially a simulation of the beginning of the Primordial Era, channeling its immense power to strike the opponent. This was how he had defeated the Son of the Sword previously.

And now, unleashing the Primordial Giant Egg Art once more, he was truly brimming with self-assurance.

The egg, representing boundless cruelty, materialized in his hands and descended upon Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan’s hand flickered, and Nourish My Immortal Sword was instantly drawn, targeting Jiuhuang Tai’s hands directly.

This strike by Lu Yuan remained utterly unremarkable on the surface.

The Primordial Giant Egg collided with Lu Yuan’s sword in the void. Jiuhuang Tai, who had been brimming with confidence, immediately sensed something was wrong the moment of impact. He felt endless strong acid emanating from Lu Yuan's sword. That boundless acid instantly corroded his prized Primordial Giant Egg; the egg, which simulated the dawn of the Primordial Era, proved utterly useless. Simultaneously, the sword light engulfed him in a sea of swords, a sea of acid.

"How is this possible! Defeated in one move!" Jiuhuang Tai roared. He simply could not believe he was defeated in a single move. Even the piercing sword Qi of that one strike, coupled with the intensely acrid flavor of the strong acid, had completely submerged him, inflicting injuries of the utmost severity before finally extinguishing his life.

Jiuhuang Tai, a warrior at the Eighth Level of the World Realm, was also wiped out in a single strike. His proud record of slightly surpassing the Son of the Sword offered him no protection whatsoever.

His final lingering question before death was: Everyone said Lu Yuan and the Son of the Sword were the twin gems of swordsmanship, so why was this gem of Lu Yuan so overwhelmingly stronger than the other one? The rumors were utterly deceptive.

This!

This single sword strike was still not finished.

Yes, even after heavily wounding Jiuhuang Tai, this strike had not concluded its path.

Because the situation for the Imperial Sons Fa Xiaodi and Fa Qiangdi was too perilous, Lu Yuan’s sword continued its straight trajectory toward that area.

...

What an incredibly plain and ordinary sword move!

Even after defeating Jiuhuang Tai, this strike maintained its mundane appearance—this was the characteristic of the Sword of Myriad Acids: outwardly too common, inwardly terrifyingly potent.

But the first half of Lu Yuan’s strike had already vanquished Jiuhuang Tai, so the Ancient Desolation forces dared not underestimate it. Jiuhuang Ba (Nine Desolation Hegemon) roared loudly: "Leave it to me!" The direction Lu Yuan's sword was aimed was precisely toward him. Being naturally boundless in dominance, he felt compelled to take the lead. Jiuhuang Ba was also a saber wielder.

He suddenly roared: "Cleave!" With that shout, he unleashed his overwhelmingly dominant Primordial Hegemonic Saber. This saber technique was created by the Deputy Lord of the Hegemonic Desolation Civilization and was saturated with measureless might.

Indeed, this saber technique was not refined, but it relied solely on its overwhelming, dominating momentum to win.

With such a domineering presence, who could not be defeated?

This move was designed for a life-or-death clash with Lu Yuan. If Lu Yuan’s courage faltered in the slightest, he would be severely wounded by the saber. But Lu Yuan’s courage showed no sign of diminishing.

The domineering, desperate saber crashed head-on with the plain, unremarkable sword.

Whoosh!

What! What was going on with Lu Yuan’s sword? From a distance, it looked utterly ordinary, but when unleashed, it was an incomparably potent strong acid. At this moment, dominance clashed with strong acid—one dominating spiritually, the other materially. They struggled in a deadlock, seemingly matched, but—no. Why did Lu Yuan’s sword carry an aura of terrifying power? The Counter-Word clone instantly took effect. Before Jiuhuang Ba could react, his saber-wielding right hand was cleanly severed, spurting blood like a fountain.

Heavens! A figure like Jiuhuang Ba, a powerhouse from the Ancient Desolation Civilization at the Ninth Level of the World Realm, was so grievously wounded by Lu Yuan before even completing half of the sword move!

Although Jiuhuang Ba differed from Jiuhuang Tai and Jiuhuang Ji in that he was not yet dead, he had lost all fighting capacity.

Half a sword move! Was this truly only half a sword move?

And at this moment, the sword was still not done.

This strike seemed to carry infinite demonic power, continuing its advance.

(First update delivered.)

(To be continued).