Sword shadows cascaded onto Lu Yun like torrential rain, every slash biting with killing intent. They wouldn’t be stopped until he was torn into pieces.

He looked at the sword shadows and sighed, not shifting a single step. “You only need one slash to kill a man, what’s all this bandying about for? What a waste of energy.”

He pointed in the air, a faint silver gleam around his fingertip.

Clink!

The clear sound of a collision knocked Feng Yin down from the sky and flung him backward. He only managed to steady himself after his sword flew from his hand and out of the arena. He stared at the Dusk governor with shock.

One hit. He couldn’t even take one hit from Lu Yun!

Surprise rippled through the spectators from Nephrite Capital. Feng Yin was a nascent spirit cultivator, and at the top of his level at that. Among his peers, only cultivators like Lu Yuanhou and Qing Hongchen could’ve rivaled him. Even with his cultivation suppressed to the golden core realm, he was still an absolute expert. How could Lu Yun have possibly knocked him back with a single hit, and even disarm him??

“Impossible!” growled Feng Yin as he disappeared again.

“Nothing is impossible.” Lu Yun stepped forward and punched at the empty air.

Bam!

Feng Yin flew out of the arena with a pained cry.

”There’s no need for trash like this to come up and int,” Lu Yun sighed and blew on his fist. “I want an actual challenge.” [1]

Feng Yin’s eyes rolled to the back of his skull before blacking out. The crowd fell silent, and the members of the Feng Clan wanted to spit blood from pure fury. They didn’t understand what ‘int’ meant, but Lu Yun’s derision was clear in his tone.

“Who’s next?” The defending governor yawned delicately. “Better not bite off more than you can chew. I’ve already defeated one person now. The heritage is mine after another ninety-nine wins.”

“I am!” a voice said as soon as Lu Yun completed his declaration. A well-built, middle-aged man landed on the stage. “We meet again, Governor of Dusk.” The man narrowed his slanted eyes.

“Patriarch of House Ge?” Lu Yun cocked his head at the middle-aged man. “No, you’re the person from the Exalted Immortal Sect back in the ancient tomb.”

The man shook his head. “I’m nothing more than the patriarch of House Ge, now.” No sooner had he manifested a broadsword than his body radiated the aura of immortals. He wielded a first-rank immortal sword!

“Ge Cheng, Patriarch of House Ge of Nephrite Major, answers the challenge!”

Buzz!

Blinding luminescence flared from the sword and spanned three hundred meters, the sword qi almost cutting the arena in half. The crowd erupted into chatter. “An immortal sword! He’s able to wield a first-rank sword even with his cultivation suppressed to golden core!”

Bam!

Its tremendous power shook the very arena beneath their feet.

Expression darkening, Lu Yun attempted to dodge to the side, but the aura projected from the sword was too powerful. It flooded the entire boundary of the arena, leaving him nowhere to go.

“Dammit,” he bit out. “I thought I’d be able to keep this secret for a while, but I guess I have to use it now.”

Hum!

A flash of violet flickered across his body, followed by the swift expansion of a sword shadow that slammed into Ge Cheng’s sword light.

Crack!

The patriarch’s sword shattered and the house head himself cracked like a porcelain doll. His sword had been personally refined by a sect elder with a special method, guaranteeing that he could tap into its full power even with his cultivation suppressed. Who would’ve thought that the Dusk governor would destroy his weapon with an even greater sword energy?

Pfft!

Ge Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood. His core had broken under the tremendous impact, and he collapsed onto the arena in a pool of lifeless flesh!

Dead!

The disciple who’d just escaped an ancient tomb half a year ago, after seven centuries of confinement, had finally met his demise on the Coretrial Arena.

The sword’s violet energy pulsed as Lu Yun panted, slightly winded. The fight with Ge Cheng had taken a bit of a toll on him. Fortunately, his physical constitution had improved by leaps and bounds these days, pure elemental power honing his body’s strength to an incredulous height. Otherwise, the impact would’ve severely injured him.

“Ninth-rank sword Violetgrave!!” An immortal with purple hair and purple robes shot to his feet. “Seventeen years ago, Violetgrave was excavated from an ancient tomb in my Thundergale Major, but was robbed by a man in white. Why is it in your hand?!”

“If I recall correctly, its current owner should be the Nephrite celestial emperor’s envoy, Qing Han of the Qing Clan,” rose a peculiar, eerie voice. “Why is it in your hands now? How strange.”

No one could pinpoint the voice’s origin. It seemed to be asking a question, but simply muttering to itself at the same time.

“I demand an explanation, Qing Clan of Nephrite Major!” The purple-haired immortal turned in the direction of the Qing Clan’s seating area.

“Hahaha!” A long peal of laughter rang from the arena stage. “Treasures have their own souls. Those who deserve them may wield them. You have no one to blame but yourself for failing to seize a ninth-rank sword excavated in your major. You were plainly not destined to keep it, but now you blame the one wielding it?”

Clink!

Seemingly in response to his words, Violetgrave resonated with a faint clink and its violet splendor grew in intensity.

“It belongs to the Thundergale Major at the end of the day!” The immortal insisted, flushed with anger.

“Then this ancient heritage belongs to Nephrite Major,” retorted Lu Yun. “So what are you doing here?”

The red-faced immortal fell silent and sat back down, fuming.

“You cheated, Governor of Dusk Province!” Another man rose and leveled a finger at Lu Yun. “How can a mere golden core cultivator deploy the full strength of a ninth-rank sword? You must have eluded the arena’s properties in some way!”

“You’re from the Exalted Immortal Sect, aren’t you?” asked Lu Yun.

The man blinked, then nodded. “That’s right. This seat is Zhao Tiefeng, an elder of the Exalted Immortal Sect.”

“Oh, I have a lot to say about your sect before you go around pointing fingers…” Lu Yun snarled. “That Ge Cheng, Patriarch of House Ge, was possessed by one of your own. What are you planning by replacing the patriarch of Dusk Province’s foremost aristocracy?”

1. 'Int'entional feeding, commonly used term in League of Legends which is massively popular in China. Basically means the opponents are just throwing their lives away.

1. 'Int'entional feeding, commonly used term in League of Legends which is massively popular in China. Basically means the opponents are just throwing their lives away.