Exhilarating! So exhilarating! Only now did Lu Yuan begin to feel truly thrilled.

It seemed the impulses suppressed for years in the Lake of Lakes, and the years of restraint on his Yangwu Sword, had finally found a slight release.

But only a slight one; he craved encountering even stronger opponents, desiring a more profound and satisfying battle.

And the sword strike currently in his hand continued its advance. "I shall deal with you." The speaker had extremely thin lips and a hooked nose; this man was Jiu Huang Zhui, a peak expert at the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm and a trusted confidant of the Son of the Desolate Lands. "The Son of the Desolate Lands once sought to kill you but was saved by someone on the Fiftieth Heaven Ranking.

Consider yourself lucky.

Today, I will achieve this great merit for the Son of the Desolate Lands." He was incomparably domineering, radiating absolute self-assurance.

His confidence stemmed from a simple fact: he was a figure of the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm and had received direct tutelage from the Son of the Desolate Lands, making him one of the master’s closest associates.

As someone standing at the zenith of the World Realm, he truly could not believe he would be incapable of handling this strike from Lu Yuan.

Although this sword move was undoubtedly peculiar, so what? The only reason Jiu Huang Tai and Jiu Huang Ba had lost was because they were too weak—it was that simple.

And he was absolutely strong enough.

Jiu Huang Zhui unleashed the Life-Reaping Spear Art.

Jiu Huang Zhui was originally talented in tracking, not particularly formidable in frontal combat.

However, afterward, the Son of the Desolate Lands bestowed upon him an ancient spear technique, the Life-Reaping Spear Art.

This technique was terrifyingly esoteric.

While everyone has weaknesses, and many can perceive them, this spear art relentlessly pursued those vulnerabilities.

As it tracked weaknesses, it continuously built momentum; once its force fully accumulated, becoming increasingly dense, its subsequent eruption became nearly irresistible.

To fight the Life-Reaping Spear Art, one must achieve victory swiftly; otherwise, the longer the battle drags, the more one loses.

After receiving this technique from the Son of the Desolate Lands, Jiu Huang Zhui had achieved forty-nine consecutive victories against other experts at the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm, transforming from a tracking specialist into a powerhouse in direct confrontation.

This single feat further illuminated the sheer terror of the Son of the Desolate Lands.

Jiu Huang Zhui’s utter certainty of victory against Lu Yuan stemmed precisely from the confidence built over those forty-nine victories achieved with this Life-Reaping Spear Art against peers of the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm. "Lu Yuan, your path ends here.

This battle's outcome will not change because of you," Jiu Huang Zhui stated calmly.

While his words were placid, his spear technique was the complete opposite, instantly reaching the stage known as Infinite Ferocity.

This was one strike within the Life-Reaping Spear Art, named the Sun of Life-Reaping.

Wherever this Sun shone, it illuminated the enemy's weaknesses, and he instantly pinpointed Lu Yuan’s frailties.

Yes, Lu Yuan's left hand was a weakness; he never trained it, using it only for holding wine, rarely for the sword.

There was also a weakness in the sword itself; it appeared to have suffered a grave injury, likely inflicted when struck by the Son of the Desolate Lands.

Furthermore, Lu Yuan’s current sword move possessed a flaw in its latter half, having lost most of its potential for variation in momentum.

And Lu Yuan’s stomach seemed to harbor a weakness, one that had been recently altered and was not perfectly synchronized with the rest of his body.

This would have resolved itself over time, but it was immediately exploited by Jiu Huang Zhui upon engagement.

Hmm, another weakness: the waist, an old wound sustained when Lu Yuan was tightly ensnared by the Lord of the Chaos Demon Tongue.

And one more weakness, located in the Divine Soul—it appeared to have been split in two.

Jiu Huang Zhui instantly cataloged six weaknesses in Lu Yuan: the left hand, the sword body, the sword move, the stomach, the waist, and the Divine Soul.

Six weaknesses—and he dared to engage him? How laughable.

Jiu Huang Zhui immediately unleashed the subsequent maneuvers of the Life-Reaping Spear Art. "Flaw-Chasing Soul." "Flaw-Chasing Life." "Flaw Overlap." "Flaw Reinjury." All of these were moves designed to relentlessly pursue breaches, continuously accumulating momentum.

The stronger the momentum, the more devastating the final explosion.

This was the unique flaw-exploiting mechanism of the Life-Reaping Spear Art, far superior to ordinary attacks targeting weaknesses.

Under this assault, Lu Yuan’s sword light seemed to dim considerably.

No—at that instant, just as the sword light was about to vanish completely, it erupted with the most brilliant radiance imaginable.

What an excruciating sight! It was like a volcanic world spewing forth, but instead of flames and lava, the eruption was an endless, potent acid.

How could there exist such an acidic sword technique! Jiu Huang Zhui was instantly alarmed, pushing his Life-Reaping Spear Art to its absolute extreme.

And Lu Yuan pushed his own sword strike to its limit as well.

Both reached their zenith.

In truth, this was one of the characteristics of the Sword of Myriad Acids.

Indeed, Jiu Huang Zhui’s Life-Reaping Spear Art could stack flaws, but similarly, the Sword of Myriad Acids culminated in fusing all its endless acidity into its most corrosive state at the final moment.

Both techniques relied on stacking, but Jiu Huang Zhui’s flaw stacking had just begun, whereas Lu Yuan’s acidity had been accumulating for a long time, layered and layered, ready to explode in this very instant.

It was an ocean of acid, a vast sea of acid, a Minor Thousand World of acid.

Endless acid danced forth at that moment.

Jiu Huang Zhui watched in horror as his spear was continuously corroded, the corrosion spreading along the weapon toward him.

He instantly let go, but the acid crossed the void and reached his body, instantly dissolving several fingers.

Seeing the danger, Jiu Huang Zhui immediately invoked the Indestructible as a Mountain vital art from the Ancient Desolate Civilization.

Indestructible as a Mountain was an exceptionally firm defensive technique, but Jiu Huang Zhui instantly sensed a terrifying force seemingly capable of restraining his own power, which sliced through his Indestructible as a Mountain almost instantaneously.

The acid surged in, commencing the savage erosion of his entire body.

He prepared to summon a magic artifact for defense, but that artifact was immediately restrained and devoured by an equally terrifying, dominating force.

Jiu Huang Zhui’s heart churned with confusion.

He realized Lu Yuan’s sword move contained not only the overwhelming, widespread deluge of Myriad Acids but also a frightening energy that seemed capable of countering the Desolate power.

How could the Desolate power, which should dominate the sword, now be counter-dominated by the sword? What was happening! Regrettably, Jiu Huang Zhui would never have the chance to voice this question.

Lu Yuan’s sword strike—the Sword of Myriad Acids fused with the Sword that Counters Desolation—detonated Jiu Huang Zhui at its most brilliant instant.

Jiu Huang Zhui, Dead! Fa Xiao Emperor Son and Fa Qiang Emperor Son, alongside Yuan Chi Xin and Yuan Chi Jue, and the four from Ancient Desolation and Ancient Law, were all utterly shaken.

The single sword Lu Yuan had just unleashed looked ordinary on the surface, yet was bizarre and terrifying within.

And with that one sword, he had killed Jiu Huang Ji of the Seventh Heaven of the World Realm, Jiu Huang Tai of the Eighth Heaven, and Jiu Huang Zhui of the Tenth Heaven, while simultaneously severely wounding Jiu Huang Ba of the Ninth Heaven.

To achieve this feat with a single strike—how could such a sword exist, so terrifyingly potent? It was too preposterous! If they had not witnessed it firsthand, relying only on a third-party account, none of the four from Ancient Desolation and Ancient Law would have believed it.

But they had seen it with their own eyes.

This sword strike was simply off the charts! Lu Yuan's performance was absolutely off the charts! And not just slightly off the charts, but monumentally, super-off the charts! Fa Xiao Emperor Son and Fa Qiang Emperor Son both knew Lu Yuan from years past; Fa Qiang Emperor Son had even personally trained him.

At that time, Lu Yuan was indeed remarkable, but only within the scope of the Chaos Hole Realm.

Both had viewed Lu Yuan as a junior, believing that even with his potential, it would take an immensely long time for him to catch up to the Emperor Sons themselves.

But now? Not much time had passed, and look at him—Lu Yuan had slain three figures from the Ancient Desolate Civilization with one sword and gravely wounded another, including Jiu Huang Zhui of the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm.

Jiu Huang Zhui’s strength was certainly not below Fa Xiao Emperor Son's, and he even surpassed Fa Qiang Emperor Son.

This meant Lu Yuan’s current combat power now towered over both Fa Xiao Emperor Son and Fa Qiang Emperor Son, and by a significant margin.

This realization brought an indescribable wave of emotion to Fa Xiao Emperor Son, who had watched Lu Yuan grow, and Fa Qiang Emperor Son, who had trained him personally; they were profoundly moved.

They had initially worried that Lu Yuan would fall into complete silence after the battle with the Son of the Desolate Lands.

Instead, Lu Yuan had remained dormant for over two years, only to erupt now with astonishing, incomparable brilliance that inspired awe from the very depths of their beings.

The two from the Ancient Desolate Civilization, Yuan Chi Xin and Yuan Chi Jue, were also stunned.

They had long heard of Lu Yuan’s reputation, but they hadn't paid much attention to a mere sword cultivator.

Sword cultivators had always been beneath them, mere stepping stones to be trodden upon; why should they care? Moreover, hearing that the Son of the Desolate Lands had left Lu Yuan near death in one exchange made them think nothing of him.

When Jiu Huang Ji had struck him into the core of his stomach with fifteen moments ago, they despised Lu Yuan further for failing to even defeat Jiu Huang Ji.

Who could have imagined that Lu Yuan, with a single turn of fortune, would unleash such a terrifying sword strike, slaying three and severely wounding one? Even Jiu Huang Zhui, of the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm, had lost.

Yuan Chi Xin and Yuan Chi Jue, both at the Ninth Heaven, realized they stood no chance against the current Lu Yuan.

They possessed this much self-awareness; although they couldn't grasp the source of Lu Yuan's sudden strength, they knew they were definitively inferior to him now.

Fa Xiao Emperor Son and Fa Qiang Emperor Son were veterans with sharp judgment.

Despite their own numerous injuries, seeing that Yuan Chi Xin and Yuan Chi Jue had lost all fighting spirit, they seized the opportunity.

In an instant, they forced the two into a disadvantageous position, nearly driving them to death.

Since Yuan Chi Xin and Yuan Chi Jue had previously shown no mercy in attacking them, the Emperor Sons offered none in return.

These two great Emperor Sons unleashed their potent battle capabilities, causing the injuries on Yuan Chi Xin and Yuan Chi Jue to worsen incessantly, pushing them to the brink of collapse.

And Jiu Huang Ba lay on the ground, gasping heavily; his injuries were too severe.

Everything had happened too quickly.