"Heh, everyone’s fate is different. You have your encounters, and I have mine. Though you’ve taken that step, it hasn't freed you from being a piece on the board; you’ve merely become a slightly larger piece. It is not impossible for me to defeat you!" Hearing Dugu Bachen’s words, Xuanyuan Jue merely offered a faint smile.

Dugu Bachen fell silent. Xuanyuan Jue spoke the truth. Even having reached the Yu-level, he hadn't escaped the shackles of destiny; everything he did remained bound by the Heavenly Dao. That Blade Master from years ago had reached the peak of the Yu-level—what a formidable existence—yet didn't he still perish? The only path from being a piece to becoming the player was that final step. But how impossibly difficult that step was! Never mind himself, those five old fellows and the three Demon Lords had cultivated for untold eons, yet they too failed to take it.

A single step away, yet separated by ten thousand miles—Dugu Bachen understood this reality all too well.

“So what if I am a piece? There is still a fundamental gap between pieces. Xuanyuan Jue, you haven't broken through to the Yu-level; you cannot defeat me. You should leave!” After a long silence, Dugu Bachen spoke again.

“Heh, did I say I intended to defeat you? I only need to hold you back for a moment, just long enough for my boy to take a few things!” Xuanyuan Jue chuckled lightly, his smile filled with nonchalance, yet who could fathom the sliver of desolation lurking in his eyes?

Back then, although Dugu Bachen was the only one who had wounded him, his combat power still fell short of Xuanyuan Jue’s. In a life-or-death struggle, he definitely wouldn't have been a match. But so many years had passed. Dugu Bachen’s strength had ascended to a level that commanded awe. And himself? Now, he didn't even possess the qualification to be Dugu Bachen’s opponent.

Such a staggering blow could only be borne by someone with Xuanyuan Jue's resolute will.

“Xuanyuan Jue, you…” Upon hearing this, Dugu Bachen’s face flushed with anger. He instantly grasped the intent behind the move. With only Jiu Feng and Xiyang by his side, the only things that could stir the interest of those from the Tian Alliance would be the Profound Origin Water Control Banner held by Jiu Feng. His maneuvering here was precisely for that artifact, wasn't it?

Even the deployment of the Tian Alliance's massive army, which Xiyang mentioned, must have been partly motivated by this. But how did they locate this place? Was it merely through sensing Xiyang’s aura?

The cultivation of those five truly could not be underestimated. Before the enraged Dugu Bachen could finish his statement, Xuanyuan Jue attacked. Knowing his cultivation was inferior, he had to seize the initiative.

The moment he struck, it was his strongest sword technique: Heaven’s Desolation Sword…

A sword light, surging straight toward the Ninth Heaven, erupted from his body, instantly piercing the massive canopy overhead. The razor-sharp sword energy shredded the dense foliage, sending countless green leaves fluttering down.

Time seemed to halt, and the void appeared frozen. In Dugu Bachen’s vision, the entire world seemed reduced to just this single sword—a sword capable of shattering everything.

This was the Power of the World, the Power of Rules. Though he hadn't fully taken that final step, he had grasped the World Power, placing him at the peak of the Zhou-level, merely half a step shy of the Yu-level.

An ordinary Zhou-level master, even one at the peak, or one who had just entered the Yu-level, could easily be gravely wounded by a sword strike of this caliber. Xuanyuan Jue truly lived up to his name; to threaten a Yu-level existence solely through his comprehension of the sword—this was an event that would shock the Celestial Realm.

However, that was only a threat to an average Yu-level expert. For Dugu Bachen, who had sparred with Xuanyuan Jue for millennia and whose power was now solidly established at the Yu-level, this sword strike held far too little weight.

Facing the massive sword gleam slicing downward, Dugu Bachen showed no intention of evasion. Instead, he gently raised his right hand—that hand gaunt as dry wood—and casually pointed a single finger, lightly touching the crest of the sword light now directly above his head.

With a sharp crack, the sword light capable of tearing the void shattered instantly. Following this, the world—the sword domain Xuanyuan Jue had constructed—began to show fissures. Before he could even mend them, the entire world exploded into ruin. The boundless sword energy had transformed into sharp Blade Qi, countless strands of which relentlessly annihilated everything nearby. Trees tens of zhang thick and thousands of zhang tall were ground into powder. The savage beasts running through the forest, the immortal birds darting between the branches—all were slain by the sharp Blade Qi. The sky was filled with debris; the sky was filled with Blade Qi. This was the World of the Blade; this was Dugu Bachen’s world.

Wave after wave of Blade Qi spewed forth from his body, flash after flash of blade light shimmered from his form, and surge after surge of powerful blade intent welled up from the depths of his soul. All converged, striking viciously toward Xuanyuan Jue.

Even though his strength was far inferior, even though his cultivation realm was a full tier lower, Dugu Bachen still regarded him as an opponent, one worthy of his full exertion. Not for any other reason, but because his name was Xuanyuan Jue.

Precisely because of this, Dugu Bachen unleashed his full power the moment he moved. This was his respect for an opponent, even though his arrival today was merely to stall him…

This strike embodied nearly all of Dugu Bachen’s accumulated insight. To speak nothing of Xuanyuan Jue, who had not yet reached the Yu-level, even if those five old fellows or the three Demon Lords attacked without powerful magical treasures, they would absolutely find it difficult to meet this strike head-on: the Shattering Blade…

The blade that shatters all!

Faced with such an overwhelmingly powerful blow, a faint smile touched Xuanyuan Jue’s lips. He was still the man he always was; even treated this way by him, Dugu Bachen still considered him a worthy and respected foe. A flicker of emotion even shone in Xuanyuan Jue’s eyes. If I could, I truly would fight you fairly, even if it meant my death in the end, and I would have no regrets in this life. But for the sake of the Xuanyuan bloodline, I must apologize…

A smile curled at Xuanyuan Jue’s mouth—a smile of self-mockery, a tragic smile, a helpless smile. With a sweep of his hand, a fiery red banner appeared. He gave it a gentle shake, and streaks of fire shot toward the sky, igniting everything around them, igniting the world Dugu Bachen had manifested, and even setting fire to that blade strike meant to shatter everything…

(Brothers, the Dragon Ranking is about to be overtaken—that’s a matter of a few dozen gold bricks, a few dozen recommendation tickets, a few dozen collections. Brothers reading Star’s novel are more numerous than others, and Star works harder than others; must I still be overtaken? Waaah~~ Throw those gold bricks, recommendation tickets, and collections my way! If you don’t know how to throw gold bricks or recommendation tickets, check out Star’s QQ space, QQ18669196, where there are detailed instructions!)F