No one cared that the eyeballs of a fire elemental disciple had burst. Even the nine divine sect leaders were completely unperturbed. All of them were fixated on the two combatants in the Inception Spiritrial Arena, greedily drinking in every move, gesture, and technique the two displayed.

This was a battle beyond the chaos.

Though both Lu Yun and Jin Gushen had yet to reach that realm, their battle was as if a fight between two young dragons. While they had yet to soar among the nine heavens, their combat arts were all of that level.

……

Pop!

Pop!

Pop!

Eyeballs continuously burst among the nine divine sects and cultivators who’d caught word of the event and come to watch. Their minds and consciousness were unable to contain the dao methods and orders of the chaos emanating from the fight, so they stored what they saw in their eyeballs instead.

But at some unknown point… their eyeballs reached capacity as well.

These weren’t intangible images, but dao and truth that truly existed and described the greatest truth beyond the chaos. Those with mediocre potential didn’t think much of what they saw, while those with exceptional talent cherished this experience as one of the most valuable in their lives.

Of course, not everyone was qualified to come in contact with this level of knowledge. The eyes or even brains of those lacking in cultivation or potential exploded when they took in too much.

Many on the scene had already sat down cross-legged in meditation to digest this newly grasped wisdom, enhancing their cultivation level and strength.

Chi Wuxia abruptly scowled and stared keenly at the two in the arena.

“What is it?” asked his sect leader when he noted his disciple’s expression.

“They’re getting stronger… and they’re starting to validate each other’s cultivation!” he forced out through grit teeth.

These two were weaker than him in both cultivation level and battle strength, but they were well-matched in this battle to the death, which made it a perfect occasion to test and confirm one’s cultivation achievements.

Though Chi Wuxia also studied a method beyond the chaos, there was no one with whom he could experiment his findings with. He wasn’t willing to share this method with anyone else—not even his parents.

Lu Yun and Jin Gushen were now sparring to substantiate each other’s methods and theories, confirming what was correct and revising what was off the mark. He was so jealous that fiery sparks almost spat forth from his eyes.

The fire elemental sect leader took a look at Chi Wuxia and said nothing more.

……

Boom!

An enormous mushroom cloud followed a huge explosion from the arena.

“Yeah! This was great!” Jin Gushen yelled as he tumbled backward, landing heavily off of the Inception Spiritrial Arena.

Defeated!

For this last blow, Lu Yun gathered every bit of strength in his body to send his opponent flying. However, Jin Gushen’s strength had also reached unfathomable heights. Lu Yun would’ve had to exert all of the strength from his dao fruit to actually kill his opponent.

But of course, he didn’t actually want to kill Jin Gushen.

The two acted like they wanted to fight to the death, but if any of their moves actually broke through the other’s defenses, they would’ve immediately come to a stop.

“I lost.” Jin Gushen looked up at Lu Yun with a slight smile. Though he’d lost, he’d reaped so much from their battle. Not only had he obtained a method beyond the chaos, but he’d also created his own combat arts and secret methods during this fight.

“The honor was mine.” Lu Yun raised a cupped fist salute. “Remember what I said, senior brother Jin.”

“Mm.” Jin Gushen blinked, then inclined his head before vanishing as a streak of golden light.

His sect leader opened his mouth to speak, wanting to keep the genius with him, but then recalled how Jin Gushen wasn’t particularly close to the divine sect. In the end, he didn’t say anything to have the genius stay.

After his all out battle with Jin Gushen, Lu Yun had fully released all of the immortal dao in his being. On the other side of the chaos, Qing Yu fashioned the immortal dao into a small path that was firmly rooted in this new realm and unobtrusively influencing everything within.

Lu Yun’s sword dao had also reached great perfection. He only needed to use his dao fruit to take it one final step further and erase all of the flaws and oversights within it.

“It’s done.” Lu Yun breathed out in relief and quietly unsealed his dao fruit, resettling everything about his past life back onto himself.

The Inception Spiritrial Arena returned to being six thousand meters across and Lu Yun sat down in the middle, closing his eyes for some rest.

All was quiet around the arena as most cultivators were in a peculiar mental state, trying to comprehend the dao and truth released by the fight earlier.

“Chi Wuxia of the fire elemental divine sect presents my challenge!” A pillar of blazing light suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yun. Chi Wuxia looked at Lu Yun with blinding battle intent. He ardently desired an opponent who could validate his current level of cultivation. The Inception Spiritrial Arena and Lu Yun were the perfect whetstone!

Having just observed Lu Yun’s battle with Jin Gushen, Chi Wuxia brimmed with self assurance. Though Lu Yun was strong, the boy wasn’t his match yet and there were far too many flaws and insufficiencies in his sword dao and combat arts.

Seizing any one of those openings would give him a full chance to kill Lu Yun.

Many refocused on the arena when Chi Wuxia stepped forward; they’d gained a great deal from Jin Gushen’s match with Lu Yun and the next challenge surely wouldn’t disappoint. Rumor had it that Chi Wuxia had obtained a method beyond the chaos from the Tomb of Heaven and Earth! Surely he was stronger than Jin Gushen now!

“The name of the sacred lands is about to return. After this, the nine of us shall work together to become the unrivaled rulers of the chaos!” The nine sect leaders read pure confidence in each other’s eyes. Once their title was restored, their only enemy was the six sacred palaces.

They’d be able to defy the sacred palaces if they possessed their own sovereigns.

“Chi Wuxia of the fire elemental divine sect!” Lu Yun nodded slightly. “It’s said that you tie for first with Jin Gushen on the Elemental Rankings. If Jin Gushen wasn’t a match for me, then you…”

“Jin Gushen?” Chi Wuxia curled his lip. “What the fuck is that guy? He ties with me simply because I can’t be bothered with him.”

“Oh, is that so?” Lu Yun tilted his head. “I barely won by a move just now, so if you’re stronger than him, then you’ll be able to defeat me?”

Chi Wuxia curved his lip arrogantly and placed his hands behind his back. “Don’t you worry, I’ll use only thirty percent of my power so you aren’t too humiliated in defeat.”

He raised a hand and waggled three fingers at Lu Yun.

“Alright, since senior brother Chi is so confident, I won’t hold back.” Lu Yun bobbed his head at Chi Wuxia, knowing that the man was no fool. He was acting this way to force out Lu Yun’s full strength.