At the pinnacle of Heart Mountain, the Son of the Waste stood alone against the seven figures of the Seven Star Array.

Meanwhile, in the void at the heart of Heart Mountain, Lu Yuan alone faced the combat power equivalent of six Half-Step Civilization Realm experts.

It could truly be said that the scenes mirrored each other quite interestingly.

Currently, the primary focus at Heart Mountain was the Son of the Waste, and the secondary focus was Lu Yuan.

Naturally, the secondary focus was not as fierce as the main event, but it still commanded a significant amount of attention.

Lu Yuan pursued Zhu Renyu directly, unleashing his Second Sword, Lovesickness (Xiangsi).

Lovesickness was not Lu Yuan’s original technique; rather, it was a sword move he had witnessed once. There was a female swordswoman whose husband had left for a simple assignment. The wife waited at home, but after many days, he did not return. Distraught, she searched everywhere but could not find him. Finally, with no other recourse, she could only return to the Sword Gate to wait.

This female swordswoman waited devotedly, and in that waiting, she transformed her boundless yearning and longing into a single sword technique: Lovesickness.

News eventually arrived that the woman’s husband had been killed by the Young Sect Master of the Ghost Gate, one of the Ten Supreme Great Sects at the time.

The Sword Gate back then was only slightly stronger than it was now, excluding the Sword Son and Lu Yuan. But the Ghost Gate back then was overwhelmingly powerful—one of the Ten Supreme Great Sects. If a mere member of the Sword Gate was killed, so what? Who dared to hold them accountable?

The female swordswoman immediately went to the Ghost Gate, demanding they hand over the killer, who was, in fact, the Young Sect Master.

The dignified Ghost Gate naturally paid no heed to a mere figure from the Sword Gate; they not only ignored her but many within the Ghost Gate heaped verbal abuse upon her.

The female swordswoman's only reply was to draw her sword.

She unleashed Lovesickness, the technique forged during her long wait.

One strike felled one person.

One hundred strikes felled one hundred people.

Lovesickness was used a hundred times consecutively, and no one could break through it. Furthermore, she struck down the Ghost Gate Master, whose strength surpassed her own. The Young Sect Master of the Ghost Gate was naturally also killed by Lovesickness.

This was Lovesickness!

Lu Yuan had seen this strike in the ancient texts of the Sword Gate and was profoundly shaken. He felt this sword move was surely the strongest in the entire Sword Gate. However, this technique required an extremely powerful emotional state to master. Aside from this one female swordswoman, no one else in the Sword Gate had ever mastered it. Only after Lu Yuan refined the Seven Emotions to the Tenth Grade did he finally manage to execute this single strike of Lovesickness.

But he had never had the opportunity to use it. Now, facing Zhu Renyu, he invoked the sword of Lovesickness.

As the sword was summoned, the sword light resembled endless tears of longing—there was no longer any mere sword light, only boundless yearning. This was a love that strained the eyes until they blurred, seeing through the world, a longing where only one thing mattered in the cosmos. As he executed this strike, the image of the Sword Spirit Empress suddenly surfaced in Lu Yuan’s mind.

The mere fleeting image of the Sword Spirit Empress intensified the flavor of Lovesickness in the strike.

The eaves-tree’s cold shadow grows thin; the neighboring pestle sounds urgent in the night. Where has the longed-for meeting gone? Gazing afar, I stand in vain.

The sword of Lovesickness burned Zhu Renyu. He was struck instantly, his situation growing perilous. He realized that Lu Yuan not only understood his techniques completely but was employing moves that specifically countered him.

After finishing the move Lovesickness, Lu Yuan immediately followed up with a sword technique, Heartbreak (Duan Chang).

This stance, Heartbreak, was the ultimate art of Zhou Qingxuan. Zhou Qingxuan’s life had been marked by misery, and his techniques reflected that. The sword of heartbreak—the person’s heart breaks when the sword is drawn, and the heart breaks even before the sword is drawn. In this instant, the sword light had already vanished; one could only hear the sound of the most desolate erhu.

Erhu breaks the heart; the sword breaks the heart.

Zhu Renyu, too, felt his heart break. He was struck again. His techniques had always shielded him from all emotions, essentially never forcing him to confront them directly. But Lu Yuan’s sword light cast him into the grip of every conceivable emotion. His body was wounded, but his spirit was truly terrified.

Lu Yuan then flipped his hand and delivered another move, following up immediately, continuing one strike after another, until he struck Error (Cuo)! This technique.

Within this single word, Error, lay numerous stories.

This story materialized as: One ear hears, a cup of sorrow lingers, years of separation. Error! Error!

Error!

Facing Lu Yuan’s Error!, Zhu Renyu finally and utterly collapsed. He realized Lu Yuan was precisely his natural nemesis; he was completely outmatched. In such a desperate situation, he naturally thought of calling for aid. Wait, this is six against one, not one-on-one. The others will help me; what do I have to fear?

But as Zhu Renyu thought this, he immediately realized he was wrong.

It was indeed six against one.

However, as long as the Floating Life is Like a Dream formation remained unbroken, it wasn't a six-against-one situation at all. Lu Yuan ignored the attacks from the other five masters entirely, focusing only on a one-on-one engagement. At this realization, Zhu Renyu descended into near despair. In a flash, Lu Yuan moved his hand and unleashed a move called Wrath (Nu)! This technique was one he created himself.

Wrath for the misfortune of the Sword Gate, wrath for the misfortune of the Way of the Sword, wrath for being defeated by the Son of the Waste, wrath for the breaking of his cherished sword!

The sword of Wrath pierced heavily through Zhu Renyu’s chest, skewering him.

The magnificent fire of the Seven Emotions burned Zhu Renyu.

Lu Yuan arrived beside Zhu Renyu and slightly altered his voice to transmit a message: “That doctrine of ‘Preserve Heavenly Principle, Extinguish Human Desire’ is useless.”

Zhu Renyu felt his life force draining rapidly. What shocked him even more was the voice transmitting the words from Lu Yuan—it sounded so familiar. Wait! Lu Yuan is Li Taishi, and Li Taishi is Lu Yuan! In an instant, Zhu Renyu grasped this possibility and immediately understood why Lu Yuan knew his moves so intimately and could suppress them so easily.

“You... you are....”

“That’s right, it’s me,” Lu Yuan smiled faintly. The sword light spun rapidly, completely extinguishing Zhu Renyu. Knowing Zhu Renyu too well, coupled with the power of Truth (Zheng) that could suppress all of Zhu Renyu’s capabilities, meant Zhu Renyu couldn't even utilize his final gambits.

After slaying Zhu Renyu, Lu Yuan lightly flicked his sword. “I heard that killing a Half-Step Civilization Realm expert is very difficult. Now, unfortunately, I’ve killed one. Six Half-Step Civilization Realm masters—I’ve taken one down. You five remaining, how long can you last?”

Under the combined assault of the six great masters, Lu Yuan had not only failed to be quickly defeated but had instead turned the tide, slaying one expert with his sword—how ruthless could that be?

And Lu Yuan was certainly ruthless. Having already forged a deep enmity with the Copper Saint Emperor’s Son and the Deputy Master of the Copper Civilization moments ago, he had now slain Zhu Renyu and the Deputy Master of the Heavenly Principle Civilization, instantly making two formidable enemies. No normal person would be this reckless.

“He just offended two Civilization Deputy Masters at once.”

“If it were a normal person, even if the Copper Saint Emperor’s Son and Zhu Renyu wanted to kill them, they could only defend themselves, not strike back lethally against the two, given the immense backing these two possess.”

“Indeed.”

“This man is a lunatic.”

Hearing many discussions branding him a lunatic, Lu Yuan let out a disdainful smile. This was precisely who he was. Lu Yuan shifted his sword light and looked toward the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son: “Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son, you escaped my hands once before. Back then, I lacked the experience to kill Half-Step Civilization Realm experts. Do you think I have gained that experience now?”

He lightly flicked his fingernail with his left finger, displaying an air of utter contempt. “It’s always been rumored that killing Half-Step Civilization Realm experts is hard. But I’ve found that killing them isn't as difficult as the legends claim.”

Lu Yuan spoke with chilling malice. Hearing this, the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son felt his heart tighten. Defeat at Lu Yuan’s sword last time hadn't left him with a major psychological scar, but seeing two Half-Step Civilization Realm experts, the Copper Saint Emperor’s Son and Zhu Renyu, die by Lu Yuan’s blade consecutively, his psychological burden multiplied immensely.

The Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son’s expression shifted. He realized that deep within his core, he was afraid of Xu Yuan.

Impossible, impossible! he roared internally. I am the dignified Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son, commanding the Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies, ruling the four corners of the universe, with billions upon billions of beings bowing at my feet! How can I fear a mere junior swordsman! This was absolutely impossible, yet he found he could not lie to himself.

Lu Yuan then looked at the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son: “Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son, you once defeated the combined might of my former Sword Gate Master, Zhuge Zhishang, and the Hidden Sword Sect Master, Jian Ruhai, which was quite impressive. You even inflicted an irreparable injury upon the former Master. Back then, you could have easily crushed me. Looking at it now, you are nothing special.” Lu Yuan wielded the power of language slowly.

Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son grew genuinely more terrified. He had never imagined that the insignificant ant from back then could grow to this extent; this growth was astonishing. Back then, he hadn't killed Zhuge Zhishang and Jian Ruhai simply because he hadn't cared about those two ants—they truly weren't worth caring about. But he never expected those two insignificant ants would nurture such a terrifying figure.

Lu Yuan!

The Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son sensed Lu Yuan’s killing intent growing denser.

The Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son was certain that given Lu Yuan’s nature—someone who dared to injure anyone—there was perhaps a sixty percent chance that Lu Yuan would disregard his powerful backing and kill him outright. This possibility sent a chill down the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son’s spine. He had operated freely for many years, acutely aware that very few people in the Central Celestial Dynasty dared to kill him, meaning he rarely encountered true mortal peril.

But now, the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son knew he stood at the edge of death.

Excellent! Lu Yuan thought. He had been applying pressure to the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son, and now that immense pressure was established. Lu Yuan seized the opportunity, his sword light shifting, sweeping torrentially toward the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son. While the Desolate Saint Emperor’s Son might not be the weakest among the remaining five, when a psychological crack appears, he is absolutely the most vulnerable.

This was his strategy. This battle would absolutely not be easy.

Since he had to face six Half-Step Civilization Realm experts, his swordsmanship, psychological control, and use of language all had to reach their absolute peak, utilizing everything he possibly could.

(Second update delivered. A second sealing! I am truly moved. Uh, requesting subscriptions for Chapter 99 to hit the goal of ten thousand regular subscriptions.)