The spectating Cultivators were all gloating, ready to watch the show.

Wuxun was forced to act. He had no choice but to meet the challenge.

If he didn’t fight, how could he possibly maintain his current status and influence in the eyes of the Silver Frost Empire and the various powers of the Central Plains World?

Within the Silver Frost Empire, who would still see him as the heir to the Royal Family? Who would still consider him a top-tier prodigy?

The soldiers and Cultivators of the Silver Frost Empire watched as their own Emperor’s Son summoned the Silver Frost Dragon. It was like the birth of a Divine Spirit from the heavens, blotting out the sun and sky. They all gasped, overcome with excitement.

"The New Emperor of Great Yan is too arrogant. His Highness the Emperor’s Son should teach him a harsh lesson."

"Kill this buffoon! This era is teeming with heroes. The Celestial Mandate of the Central Plains won’t belong to Great Yan for much longer!"

Even though Wuxun had previously analyzed Lu Mingyuan’s combat strength and estimated it to be around the Eleventh Realm, he still didn’t dare to underestimate his opponent.

One had to understand that within each Realm, the disparity in strength could still be immense.

It was just like with the Confucian Saints.

Although they all shared the title of Saint, a top-tier Saint whose learning had achieved resonance with the Celestial Dao, spread across nations, and whose school of thought was widely popular would certainly command more reverence and be significantly stronger than a Saint from a more obscure field of study.

Since Lu Mingyuan had just defeated two Arhats from the Buddhist Family so quickly, he was clearly a standout expert among those in the Eleventh Realm.

"A good move. I’ll give you this: you’ve got guts. Once I defeat you, the Celestial Destiny and Fortune of the Silver Frost Empire will be mine."

Lu Mingyuan shouted this without waiting to see if Wuxun would agree.

It was a way to bolster his own presence.

Lu Mingyuan reached out with his right hand, grasping at the void before pulling back.

The Martial Dao Primordial Qi in his Acupoints rapidly flowed toward his palm, while nature’s spiritual energy was swiftly absorbed by his ocean-like Dantian as if into a black hole.

"WHOOSH!"

Between him and Wuxun, a long river of Saber Qi formed from Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. It churned violently, growing ever sharper under the support of the Profound Techniques of his internal Sword Intent, surging like a stampede of ten thousand horses.

The torrential river of saber seemed to descend from the heavens.

It met the blue-flame breath of the Silver Frost Dragon.

Soon, a horrified Wuxun found himself dragged into a rapidly spinning river, enveloped by Saber Qi. At the other end of the river, he could see Lu Mingyuan standing there with his fist clenched.

"PFFT!"

An overwhelming torrent of saber light struck all over the Silver Frost Dragon’s body, instantly causing a spray of blood mist.

After a moment, the Silver Frost Dragon let out a mournful cry.

Its enormous body plummeted toward the ground.

Wuxun himself was sent flying through the air, a bowl-sized, bloody hole appearing in his chest.

As he fell toward the waist of a mountain, he finally managed to muster a sliver of strength to control his center of gravity, landing on a hundred-meter-tall pine tree in the valley.

Various parts of the Silver Frost Dragon’s body then exploded, splattering blood everywhere.

If the Giant Dragon hadn’t taken the brunt of the attack, he would already be dead.

Wuxun’s skin was deathly pale and covered in a dense network of cracks, like porcelain. It emitted a faint Golden Light, looking as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

Only someone like him could have withstood that saber strike.

He was the son of the Empire, a man of esteemed status. Before venturing out, his body had been inscribed with Buddhist Sanskrit by a Buddha from the Buddhist Sect, the Runes integrated into his skin, muscles, bones, and blood.

It was precisely because of the protection of the Buddhist Sanskrit that his body hadn’t exploded under the pressure of the Saber Qi, barely managing to hold its form!

The entire valley fell silent. The clamor vanished, leaving only the sound of the wind whistling through the gorge.

Even Luo Lingxiao and the Crown Prince of Great Sui stared with focused, disbelieving eyes. They no longer believed that Lu Mingyuan only possessed an Eleventh Realm Feathered Cultivation.

Because even for them, severely wounding the Giant Dragon raised by Wuxun with a single saber strike would be an incredibly difficult feat.

This Giant Dragon was a Dragon Blood True Seed that had guarded the Silver Frost Empire for over a thousand years. It possessed thirty percent of the pure bloodline of the Ancient True Dragon Clan and was rumored to be a prize an ancestor of Great Frost had won from the Wilderness.

Lu Mingyuan’s saber strike was simply stunning, like a star streaking across the sky or the blazing sun falling to earth.

It made many of the Cultivators begin to question the truth of his Cultivation.

Now, with the facts before them, was Lu Mingyuan really just a Martial Artist at the Feather Transformation Realm?

Because even Luo Lingxiao, who wielded the Ancient Flying Sword and was known as a titan of the Sword Dao, hadn’t been this powerful when she was in the Eleventh Realm.

After a brief silence, an uproar erupted.

"Lu Mingyuan is so powerful! Wuxun couldn’t even last a single exchange with him."

"Lu Mingyuan must have already reached the Heavenly Human Martial Artist Realm! If what he said is true, then based on his performance fighting a Demon Venerable in the Wilderness Cave Heaven three years ago, he really does have the ability to compete with the Six Nations’ Pride."

Two monks from the Buddhist Sect flew to Wuxun’s side, intending to help him up.

"Get away from me!"

Wuxun’s heart burned with rage. A burst of red Buddha Qi erupted from his body, sending the two Buddhist monks flying like scarecrows.

Lu Mingyuan laughed. "It seems you’re quite unhappy with your defeat, but you lost all the same. From now on, the Celestial Destiny and Fortune of the Silver Frost Empire belongs to me."

Before Wuxun could speak, the Crown Prince of Great Sui, Cao Zongxi, had already flown over. It seemed that with the help of his Celestial Destiny and Fortune, he had already broken into the Eleventh Realm. He stood above the sea of trees, looking down at Lu Mingyuan, and said:

"Lu Mingyuan, you have no right to make such a wager, and even less right to be the ruler of the world. Great Yan will not receive the approval of the next Celestial Mandate. We Six Kingdoms are the great nations qualified to inherit it. Who are you to speak so arrogantly to us? If any nation in the Central Plains should disappear, it’s Great Yan."

"Don’t think I don’t know. Didn’t you take in the Demoness who fled the Song Dynasty? And aren’t you colluding with the Holy Nether Demon Country?"

Lu Mingyuan understood the situation of the Six Kingdoms.

But Cao Zongxi, in turn, understood the situation within Great Yan.

Lu Mingyuan wasn’t surprised by this.

He had already tried to block any news about Witch Palace Language being in Great Yan, but it had still been leaked. This meant that the Great Sui Dynasty already had spies and informants inside Great Yan.

Cao Zongxi could see that Lu Mingyuan’s behavior today was too abnormal. He was intentionally trying to provoke a fight, aiming to take on all the heroes by himself.

Since that was the case, he naturally couldn’t let him have his way.

Lu Mingyuan glanced up at Cao Zongxi and sneered, "You must be Cao Zongxi. Back when you were surrounded by the Demon Race army, you pissed your pants in terror."

Cao Zongxi knew Lu Mingyuan was deliberately provoking him, but he didn’t get angry at all. Instead, he launched a verbal counterattack: "Great Yan is acting so arrogant and domineering to seize the initiative, trying to get the Pride of the nations to attack you so you can defeat us one by one, is that it?"

"A pity that Great Yan is not favored by the Celestial Mandate. There will be no place for you in the future, and no place for you in the Central Plains World."

"Your painstaking scheme won’t work."

Lu Mingyuan didn’t get angry either, just smiled faintly. "You’re the last person who has any right to say that to me. Among the Six Kingdoms, the Great Sui Dynasty is quite strong, yet your strength is among the weakest. You can only rely on that old eunuch dog by your side. How pathetic."

Hearing this, Cao Zongxi said nonchalantly, "Hah. Keep cursing. You’ll get what’s coming to you when the senior Immortals make their move."

Lu Mingyuan had to admit, Cao Zongxi had a brain.

He had already seen through his intentions.

’I wanted to provoke the Six Kingdoms into starting trouble so I could counterattack, seize the initiative on the battlefield, and gain control of public opinion.’

But Cao Zongxi had no intention of letting him get his way.

’Originally, by acting so high and mighty and verbally mocking the world’s heroes, I had already provoked the dissatisfaction of most of the Cultivators present and stirred up their emotions. Combined with the impact of severely wounding Wuxun with a single strike, those self-important Immortal experts would likely have attacked me to save their own reputations and face.’

’Once the fighting started, it wouldn’t matter whether the Six Kingdoms offered up their Celestial Destiny and Fortune.’

’As long as I could win, and keep winning, the Celestial Destiny and Fortune of the Six Kingdoms would be mine for the taking.’

’My own strength would continue to rise, and even if a Saint intervened, it would be futile.’

’But Cao Zongxi interrupted my plan. Instead, he wants to draw out the power of an even stronger Earth Immortal to deal with me.’

This was quite disadvantageous for Lu Mingyuan. He couldn’t help but ponder.

’How can I get them all to attack?’

...

So much happening today! I’ll catch up later!