Xianzhou Luofu's current Arbiter-General was a man named Teng Xiao, and his lieutenant was none other than the white-haired young man Lucian knew—Jing Yuan.
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, the two were waiting for the leaders of other Xianzhou delegations to arrive.
Of course, because the other Xianzhou delegations were part of the Xianzhou Alliance, their treatment naturally differed from that of other civilizations.
However, among the Xianzhou delegations, Lucian was the only Arbiter-General who attended the Luminary Wardance Ceremony this time.
"Yuan, have the people from the Cangcheng not arrived yet?" Teng Xiao asked while pacing back and forth, the heavy armor on his body clanking loudly. "It's been so long, they should be here by now, right?"
He stood at least one meter ninety tall, extremely burly—though his build was intimidating, his face appeared kind, like an uncle next door.
"General, no need to rush. Haste makes waste." Jing Yuan, standing nearby, replied calmly.
Even though his long white hair covered one of his eyes, giving him a somewhat sickly appearance, he acted as the ringmaster for the Luminary Wardance Ceremony—the face of the Xianzhou Luofu.
"You know, back when I was still just a lieutenant, I already heard about the title of Sword Immortal. I thought it was impressive back then." Teng Xiao stopped, turned, and continued pacing, armor clattering. "I heard the Moonlight Sword Immortal will be participating this time. I'm worried you'll be defeated instantly. Yuan, if you lose instantly, it'll be the face of our Luofu that's lost."
He was truly anxious right now.
He had never been this anxious before, not even during battles.
Because the previous Sword Champion had fallen, the title of Sword Champion of the Xianzhou Luofu had remained vacant ever since.
If Jing Yuan, the ringmaster, could defend the stage successfully, he would become the new Sword Champion, which would be the best outcome.
However, if Jing Yuan somehow lost, he absolutely could not lose too quickly, or the Xianzhou Luofu's reputation would suffer.
"Hahh..." Jing Yuan let out a helpless sigh. "So, General, is that why you're so eager to meet the Cangcheng delegation—to discuss things in advance?"
"Of course. We can't just concede immediately—we have to try first."
Teng Xiao spoke seriously, a frown crossing his face.
"I'll test the waters for you. I'm an Arbiter-General, so I shouldn't be weaker than the Azure Sword Immortal. If I can hold my ground, then you shouldn't lose instantly to Jingliu. Even if you end up defeated after a hundred moves, it won't be disgraceful."
"Well, that's what I think. Unlike the Azure Sword Immortal, I have a Spiritus—the Lightning-Lord—so it shouldn't be a problem."
Even though he was indeed anxious, Teng Xiao remained confident.
Jing Yuan shook his head helplessly, feeling that his general truly worried himself sick for the Xianzhou Luofu.
A few minutes later, the Helm Master, leading the other Xianzhou delegations, finally arrived at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
As soon as Lucian entered, he saw the towering Teng Xiao clad in full heavy armor that made him look like a tank, and beside him stood a young man he had once admired as a player—Jing Yuan.
Since Jingliu had been taken away by Lucian, Jing Yuan's master ultimately had become Teng Xiao. He had followed Teng Xiao to study martial arts, being groomed as his heir to be the next Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu.
"You all are finally here! I've been waiting forever!"
Teng Xiao greeted Lucian and the others warmly before stepping forward to meet them.
*Clang!* *Clang!*
As Teng Xiao walked, the steely sound of his footsteps alone revealed his strength.
"By the way, General Lucian, why haven't you become an official Arbiter-General yet?" Teng Xiao asked in wonder. "If you go to the Yuque for assessment, you'll receive the Reignbow Arbiter's blessing and become stronger. Why won't you?"
In fact, this was a question everyone was curious about.
It was only natural.
Lucian had served as an Acting Arbiter-General for over a thousand years without becoming official, so word of it had naturally spread—it was no secret.
"Well, I just don't want to rely on an Aeon's blessing." Lucian said, waving his hand. "I only want to grow stronger through my own efforts and strength."
In the next moment, he suddenly took on an enlightened, detached look.
"Besides, the strength I have today comes from my own hard work—why should I depend on others if I can grow stronger on my own?"
"..."
At Lucian's words, Jing Yuan, Teng Xiao, Yingxing, and even Baiheng all looked at him with admiration.
In the next moment, however, Teng Xiao suddenly felt uneasy.
Although he had trained hard and achieved much, he realized he took pride in relying on the Aeon of the Hunt's blessing.
Compared to Lucian's mindset, he was truly far behind.
No wonder Lucian was a sword immortal.
"General Lucian, your mindset is beyond me! Truly impressive!" Teng Xiao cupped his hands in respect. "In that case, I'd like to spar with you. I won't use my Spiritus—I just want to see how big the gap between us really is."
Originally, the spar was meant for another purpose, but now he was genuinely moved by Lucian's mindset and truly wanted to test the difference in their strength.
It was about his own martial path now.
"Better not." Lucian calmly shook his head, refusing the request. "If I swing my sword... you will die."
Everyone gasped at the calmness in his words.
An Emanator of the Hunt would die just from him swinging his sword?
How strong was Lucian?
Even the ever-composed Jing Yuan couldn't help but tense.
Yingxing, on the other hand, felt his curiosity ignite.
Just how powerful was his idol?
Could he truly kill an Arbiter-General with a single sword swing?
"Alright, how about this—you strike me once, using fifty percent of your strength." Teng Xiao said confidently. "I'll take the hit and see how much I need to use to match it."
He refused to believe Lucian could kill him in one move.
It was too unrealistic.
Not only did he have high offense and high defense, with dual fire and lightning attributes, but after so many years of battle, his defenses had never been broken.
He had even suppressed the great heliobus Ignamar, and a century ago, he had also encountered an Emanator of Abundance, Shuhu, and cut him down a hundred times.
How could he possibly be killed in one strike?
Seeing Teng Xiao's insistence, Lucian could not refuse any longer.
"Very well, since you insist..." Lucian nodded helplessly, then his expression turned serious. "But if you die, don't blame me."
"Guhahaha, no blame, no blame!" Teng Xiao waved his hand, laughing heartily. "I trust you'll hold back."
Jing Yuan, however, suddenly had a bad feeling, sensing that his general might regret this.
Yingxing naturally supported Lucian, secretly cheering him on from the side.
Baiheng and Jingliu exchanged a silent glance, each catching the amusement in the other's eyes.
"Alright, let's head to the training grounds." Teng Xiao gave a thumbs-up, pointing east. "I'd hate to wreck anything here."
Indeed, whenever force was used, collateral damage was always a risk.
"No need." Lucian smiled calmly. "Nothing here will be damaged. If it is, I'll pay for it."
Right after saying this, he calmly extended his hand to the side without looking.
Seeing this, Jingliu, already accustomed to it, immediately formed an ice sword and handed it to Lucian.
"General Teng Xiao, prepare yourself."
As soon as Lucian finished speaking, he brought the sword down in a light, effortless swing.
'Huh? That's it?' Teng Xiao raised his eyebrows, then frowned, feeling insulted. 'Is this really fifty percent strength? Is he mocking me?'
In his eyes, Lucian's casual-looking move was nowhere near fifty percent strength—at most, it was half a percent.
Lucian clearly did not take him seriously and underestimated him.
"If that's the case, then I'll—"
*Smack!*
Before Teng Xiao could finish his words, a sharp sound rang out, drawing the attention of everyone watching the spar—even the staff moving about stopped and turned to look.
At this moment, Teng Xiao had somehow knelt on the ground, his palms pressed together as they clutched a gleaming bluish-white ice blade.
In that instant, his mind went blank.
'Why am I kneeling?'
'As I thought...' Jing Yuan sighed and covered his face with his palm. 'Once the Azure Sword Immortal swings his blade, all shall kneel... Even the General is no exception, huh... Is this the difference in their strength?'
'It's really true...' Yingxing stared at the calm Lucian, then at the kneeling Teng Xiao. 'When General Lucian swings his sword, you're either cut in half in one strike or forced to kneel before him.'
Among the onlookers, only Jingliu and Baiheng wore unsurprised expressions.
They had been with Lucian long enough to know that no one had ever remained standing after he swung his sword.
For the past thousand years, Jingliu had even taken 'receiving her master's sword without kneeling' as her lifelong goal.
Seeing the Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu kneel, Jingliu knew her master was still holding back.
"What the...? General Teng Xiao knelt?"
"No idea, it was so sudden... Why?"
"If General Teng Xiao did this, he must have his reasons."
A dozen officials and staff members whispered among themselves, making Teng Xiao feel like a monkey on display.
Just now, he didn't even know why, but his body, as if controlled by someone, had spontaneously knelt to catch Lucian's sword.
Regardless, his pride as an Arbiter-General mattered, so he couldn't just do nothing.
"Ahem, not bad, not bad."
Teng Xiao coughed awkwardly, then spoke with a forced smile.
"To make me use half a percent of my strength—quite good. Again, let me see how much strength you can force me to use next, General Lucian."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]