Streaks of pale red sword qi danced back and forth across the arena like a dream. The very real aura of an immortal spirit caused everyone to instinctively take deep breaths, as if doing so would allow them to advance another step in their cultivation.

The swordswoman desperately fended off the attacks, yet she was pierced time and again by the immortal sword’s sword qi. Her mystic robe, her protective Dao spells, and her defensive mystic treasures might as well not exist before its power. The one thing in her possession that offered a modicum of resistance was the greatsword but the unwieldy weapon could hardly contain the sword qi that moved as swiftly as lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the sword qi returned to Wei Yuan’s hand  and transformed into a cluster of pale red petals. Then, they slowly dissipated.

A cacophony of lamentations and sighs broke out from the grandstands. In fact, many of them were wearing expressions of palpable heartache. Several elderly ministers of the Qingliu faction whispered among themselves, unaware that Wei Yuan—endowed with a mystic ability rivaling that of the Diting—could hear every word.

“How could such an immortal artifact fall into the hands of a mere child? It is truly a pearl cast before swine!”

“His cultivation is so meager. How could he be worthy of wielding such an immortal artifact? It must be entrusted to a person of high virtue and prestige—that is the only proper course of action.”

“He obtained the object from the western regions, which were originally part of our Great Jin. I suspect that its origins...