In the fifth match, Jingliu faced a red-haired man with a mechanical arm who made Lucian feel a faint sense of familiarity.
He searched his memory for a while and finally recalled—the man was from Jarilo-VI, a fighter who had once left his homeland to seek help for his people—Igor Haft.
In the original story, after failing to gain assistance from the Xianzhou Alliance, Igor had immediately returned home, joined the fight against the Antimatter Legion, and eventually died.
He honestly hadn't expected to meet someone from Jarilo-VI inside Jingliu's script.
As the match began, unsurprisingly, Igor was instantly defeated by Jingliu with a single strike.
Just like in the game, Igor shouted to everyone after his defeat, warning them to beware of the Antimatter Legion and pleading for aid for Jarilo-VI.
Seeing that no one was responding to his plea, Igor began to feel disheartened, but just then, a figure suddenly appeared before him.
It was none other than the famed Azure Sword Immortal—the master of the formidable woman who had just defeated him, Lucian.
"Igor, is there a Lord Ravager behind the Antimatter Legion that invaded Jarilo?"
Right on the stage, Lucian calmly asked the bewildered Igor.
Lucian was actually trying to find out whether Lord Ravager Celenova was present.
As for why... it was mostly out of curiosity.
Since Celenova's face was hidden in the game, he really wanted to see what she truly looked like.
At Lucian's sudden question, Igor froze for a moment—surprised that this legendary Azure Sword Immortal would speak to him first—then answered.
"I don't know, sir..." Igor shook his head, looking hesitant. "I only know their number is massive... Would you be willing to aid my homeland?"
Lucian obviously agreed without hesitation.
Considering the contents of the script could affect certain aspects of reality, if he saved Jarilo-VI this time, perhaps he could even change its true history, sparing it from disaster and allowing its civilization to recover.
Of course, this was not guaranteed, but nonetheless, he was willing to try.
Defeating the Antimatter Legion was, after all, merely like child's play to him, and if luck allowed him to meet Celenova, it was even better.
"Let's go—the sooner, the better."
Right after saying this, Lucian grabbed Igor and pushed him forward.
Lucian remembered Jarilo-VI's coordinates clearly, so he didn't even need Igor to guide him.
In the next moment, the two disappeared instantly, leaving the audience gasping in surprise.
"Azure Sword Immortal is personally taking action—Jarilo will be saved!"
"Is it that certain?"
"Kid, you're too young. You don't know about the Heavenly Ascendant whose reputation was built by cutting down countless enemies."
Several hours later, Lucian returned to the Xianzhou Luofu alone.
'A pity she wasn't there...'
Indeed, after scanning Jarilo-VI and its surroundings inside and out, he hadn't found Celenova.
Feeling a little disappointed, he decided to quickly wipe out the Antimatter Legion and then leave in style.
Thankfully, the timing was perfect—he returned just in time to witness the showdown between Jingliu and Jing Yuan.
As always, Jingliu's entrance was commanding and full of aura, and by now, most of the audience were already her diehard fans.
"Oh, the ringmaster looks so young. He probably won't last long."
"Judging by Jingliu's previous record, it'll be another one-strike win."
"Maybe the kid's strong too?"
Amid the audience's chatter, Jingliu and Jing Yuan finally made their moves.
However, to everyone's surprise, not only did Jing Yuan not fall after one strike, but he even traded blows evenly with Jingliu.
Jingliu's acting was truly impeccable—no one could see any flaws at all.
It was only natural.
Not only was she being paid, but this was also her master's request, so she couldn't afford to be careless.
"Holy crap, I didn't expect the ringmaster to be quite capable! No wonder he's the ringmaster!"
"Jing Yuan, huh? Not gonna lie, to last this long against the Moonlight Sword Immortal… He's definitely a genius!"
"Ohoho, the Luofu's future is bright."
"I think Jing Yuan has the bearing of a general!"
"Three hundred moves already! To endure three hundred moves, Jing Yuan must be unmatched among his peers!"
"Indeed, who else could last so long against Jingliu?"
One after another, the audience praised Jing Yuan enthusiastically, and no one suspected that the match was actually rigged.
It was understandable.
Given the undeniable prestige of the Heavenly Ascendant and Teng Xiao as an Arbiter-General, the audience would never have expected that they would actually stage a fake match.
Of course, the match was not truly rigged—just a little holding back, which was exactly what Teng Xiao had wanted.
At this moment, Teng Xiao was grinning from ear to ear.
Not only did this match protect the Xianzhou Luofu's reputation, but it also gave Jing Yuan the title of a genius warrior.
Finally, after four hundred moves, Jingliu stopped holding back and instantly defeated Jing Yuan with a single strike in the very next second.
Seeing the result, the audience sighed in regret.
"What a shame. A few more years of training, and he could have won."
"Even so, to last four hundred moves under Jingliu's sword, Jing Yuan truly deserves to be called a genius—that's more than enough."
With that, the Luminary Wardance Ceremony finally came to an end, with the final victor being Jingliu.
As a result, the audience chanted Jingliu's name, further elevating the prestige of the Heavenly Ascendant.
Elsewhere, in the VIP seats, a young man with dragon horns quietly pondered after watching Jingliu's matches.
"High Elder, shall we continue watching?"
An attendant behind the young man stepped forward to ask.
"No."
Hearing his attendant's question, the young man snapped out of his thoughts and slowly stood up.
"Let's go find General Teng Xiao."
He was Dan Feng, the current Vidyadhara High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu, known as 'Imbibitor Lunae'—a prodigy of the vidyadhara, entrusted with great hopes to restore their 'immortality.'
Watching Jingliu's aura and swordsmanship stirred his competitive spirit, making him want to see who was stronger between them.
Of course, it was mainly her aura.
He noticed that every time Jingliu appeared, her aura was so overwhelming that it finally made him realize where he still fell short—his own entrances were far too ordinary.
As for her strength, considering Jingliu had fought Jing Yuan for such a long time, her strength was evidently not beyond his reach.
Even if she had been holding back during the match, it was unlikely she restrained herself for four hundred moves, right?
'A group like the Heavenly Ascendant would never take money to throw a match.'
Dan Feng believed that an aloof group of sword immortals like the Heavenly Ascendant must have their own principles and ideals—they would never lower themselves before millions just for material gain.
Having this belief, Dan Feng assessed himself against Jingliu and felt that the strength gap between them was roughly seventy to thirty.
As a result, he decided to skip past Jingliu and planned to directly challenge her master, the Azure Sword Immortal.
"Please ask General Teng Xiao to arrange a meeting. I wish to see Miss Jingliu and her master."
Dan Feng calmly ordered his attendant.
Nodding obediently, the attendant immediately went to convey Dan Feng's request to Teng Xiao.
===
Xianzhou Luofu, Seat of Divine Foresight.
As Lucian entered the Seat of Divine Foresight, flanked by Baiheng on his left, Jingliu on his right, and Yingxing following behind, he saw a figure with flowing black hair and dragon horns standing beside Teng Xiao.
Seeing such a striking appearance, Lucian recognized the figure at once—Dan Feng, the Vidyadhara High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu and a member of the High-Cloud Quintet in the original story.
"Ah, here they are. Let me introduce you." Teng Xiao said with a smile, acting like a guide. "He is Dan Feng, our Luofu's Vidyadhara High Elder. He's the one who wishes to meet you."
"General Lucian, the world says your sword makes anyone kneel..." Dan Feng immediately stepped forward, not beating around the bush. "Today, I want to see if your sword can really make me kneel."
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, staring at him as if he had lost his mind.
Clearly, he was unaware of Teng Xiao's kneeling incident when he sparred with Lucian.
Even an Emanator of the Hunt had to kneel—how could this vidyadhara hope to remain standing?
Lucian, receiving another duel request, felt slightly helpless.
It was no wonder the High-Cloud Quintet could achieve great things—each member was equally bold.
"Hey, High Elder, don't do this. You can't win." Teng Xiao pulled Dan Feng aside and whispered quietly. "Maybe spar with Jingliu instead."
"To shrink back before a strong opponent—how could we ever progress like that?" Dan Feng said with a frown.
He truly looked impressive, truly handsome—but he had simply chosen the wrong target, which made him seem somewhat ridiculous.
Lucian did not bother explaining.
It did not matter who it was—even if an Aeon came in person, they would have to kneel before his sword, let alone a mere Vidyadhara High Elder.
"As you wish."
Lucian, just like before, received an ice sword from Jingliu, then casually gave it a light swing.
*Pa!*
Dan Feng suddenly dropped to his knees, pressing both palms together, his face filled with disbelief.
Why couldn't he even resist?
Was the gap truly this vast?
"Again."
*Pa!*
"Again!"
*Pa!*
In the end, after twenty such kneels, Dan Feng finally admitted defeat—he was utterly subdued.
Usually, this proud genius rarely met an equal, and only Teng Xiao could spar with him, but now, faced with an unreasonable sword immortal, his proud head was pressed down.
Now, Dan Feng understood what he had to do.
He could not remain stagnant and had to pursue greater breakthroughs to bring back 'immortality' for the vidyadhara—and Lucian was the next step.
Dan Feng lowered his head, deep in thought.
Seeing this, the others were unsurprised and did not mock him—not because of any special reason, but simply because they knew that Lucian was just too abnormal, as no matter one's status, they would kneel without exception when he swung his sword.
"Sir, I wish to join the Heavenly Ascendant!"
As the room fell silent and all eyes turned to Dan Feng, who was lost in thought, he suddenly straightened, then bowed deeply to Lucian as he voiced this unexpected request.
Everyone was taken aback—especially Teng Xiao, who stood there utterly dumbfounded.
How could he not be?
Didn't this mean the Vidyadhara High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu wanted to join the Xianzhou Cangcheng's side?
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]