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Under the clarity of the Sword Heart, the power of the Profound Artifact "Frost of Heaven" had been unleashed to its limit.

Had Yin Mianmian still been at the Eight Apertures of Observation, she might have been able to resist somewhat by fully manifesting the Heavenly Demon Illusion.

But alas, there were no "ifs."

After a single sword strike, countless celestial maidens dissipated like fleeting dreams, all returning to Yin Mianmian herself.

Yin Mianmian let out a muffled groan, her aura reverting to the Eight Apertures of Observation, though it was clear she had been wounded.

The Sword Scar Monolith reappeared.

Elder Zeng, who had been guarding the monolith vigilantly in case of further disturbances, finally moved. Five swords abruptly materialized from the void—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—aligning perfectly with the Five Elements.

The moment the five swords descended, countless sword energies surged in midair, endlessly regenerating without pause.

Not just the Sword Tower, but everything in the surroundings seemed severed by this sword domain, disconnected from the real world.

Infinite sword energies wove into an intricate, dense net.

Yin Mianmian twisted and turned, her eerie movement technique pushed to its limits, yet the space for evasion was rapidly shrinking.

In mere moments, she would lose all room to maneuver.

Meanwhile, Elder Zeng stood poised in the void, casually directing the sword energies with effortless grace, as if threading a needle or painting a masterpiece.

"Pretty cool," Little Li remarked.

This was the first time he had witnessed a fifth-realm expert in action up close.

Outer Realm experts manifested their inner visions into reality, giving it an almost tangible quality.

Of course, it was still far inferior to a World Seed.

"In his youth, our master was known as the 'Five Elements Sword,'" Wu Chushu explained, relieved. Noticing Li Mo's lingering vigilance, he added,

"At the Observation Realm, he studied five mid-tier forms, refined them into upper-tier forms, and finally unified the Five Elements to achieve Inner Realm, and later, Outer Realm."

"Unfortunately, Five Elements Sword Physiques are exceedingly rare..."

Li Mo asked, "Is it because progress is slow in the early stages due to difficulty absorbing the world's spiritual energy?"

Wu Chushu paused. "How did you know?"

"..."

What a five-element mixed spiritual root.

A Five Elements Sword Physique, cultivating into the Five Elements Sword Domain.

What would his own Outer Realm manifest when he reached the fifth realm?

Little Li was curious.

Since the Outer Realm somewhat resembled a World Seed, what if he merged his inner and outer worlds to bring the World Seed into reality?

But for now, he could only barely mobilize a fraction of the World Seed's power. Testing this idea was still a distant dream.

The young genius fell into deep thought.

"So... what Teacher showed us... was his Outer Realm?" Jiang Chulong peeked out from behind Li Mo.

"...Huh?" Bai Jinghong's ears perked up.

Wu Chushu, too, was intrigued. Who was the teacher of this sword prodigy?

Could it be a master from the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor?

"Might I ask the honorable name of your teacher, young lady?"

"Teacher... said I can't tell." Princess Little Jiang clutched Li Mo's sleeve and shook her head firmly.

"Can't say, huh..."

Wu Chushu pondered, then rephrased his question:

"What does your teacher's Outer Realm look like?"

The Outer Realms—or Law Bodies—of Earth Ranking and Heaven Ranking experts were often highly distinctive.

"Well... it's... the Celestial Court," she began.

"There are the Thirty-Three Heavens... the Southern Heavenly Gate... the Hall of Divine Might... the Tushita Palace... the Eight-Trigrams Furnace... and the Nine Nether Hells... the Great Sage Equal to Heaven..."

"Oh, and there's also a beach... I even... made sand sculptures there..."

The little princess vividly recounted the animated slideshow she had seen.

The three prodigies of Hengyun were stunned, leaning back in shock.

You call that an Outer Realm?

Hengyun Sword City had once produced a seventh-realm expert, the Palm Profound Realm, whose body contained a self-contained pocket dimension.

Yet even that pocket dimension couldn't compare to the grandeur the girl described—not even by a fraction.

Had anyone else said this, they wouldn't have believed it.

But this girl was naive and guileless—more likely to be tricked than to deceive others.

Li Mo: "..."

He silently facepalmed.

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Perhaps one day, when Princess Little Jiang reached higher realms, she would learn the truth...

"The Thirty-Three Heavens..." Ying Bing's breath hitched slightly, her clear eyes flickering.

Among the Nine Heavens, she knew the most ancient, and she herself was the strongest.

Yet even an eighth-realm expert, whose body manifested an entire world, couldn't possibly possess such divine wonders.

It was beyond her comprehension.

Even an immortal might not achieve this.

But this was merely Jiang Chulong's account. Whether it truly existed remained questionable.

In her past life, she had never heard of such a thing.

Suddenly—

Riiip—

A thread of pure darkness tore through the Five Elements Sword Domain, splitting it open.

The Outer Realm shattered instantly.

Darkness swallowed the heavens and earth as a black hurricane, like an apocalyptic dragon, ravaged the world.

Seizing the opportunity, Yin Mianmian fled.

But Elder Zeng had no time to pursue her. The five swords encircled the Sword Scar Monolith and the group, compressing the sword domain to resist the encroaching darkness.

In the distance, a ferocious and sinister King of Wrath manifestation loomed, bound by countless chains to a black stone pillar. The chains rattled and hummed like a black sun descending.

"A Law Body."

"Ninth Heaven's Slaughter—the Wrathful King of Wrath."

Ying Bing snapped back to focus and identified the intruder.

Yet after its arrival, the entity did not attack.

After a deep glance toward the heart of Sword City, the black tide receded, carrying the surviving assassins of the Fine Rain Tower into the distance.

Hengyun Sword City also had Law Bodies—more than one.

But none gave chase.

A battle between Law Bodies would leave Hengyun Sword City and Yunzhou City in ruins, regardless of the outcome.

The Fine Rain Tower's plot to seize the Hengyun Sword Scar had come and gone in haste.

After eliminating the remaining assassins left behind by the retreating darkness, the crisis was finally over.

Thanks to forewarning, casualties were minimal. Even the visiting factions attending the summit only suffered minor chaos.

......

"Finally, it's over."

Li Mo exhaled in relief.

Then—

A relentless stream of notifications chimed in his ears, one after another.

Rewards—common and rare alike—flooded in all at once.

A massive haul.

Quality aside, the quantity was unprecedented.

Speaking of quality, there was still that ice block's reward waiting to be claimed.

"Too many to click through—way too many."

Little Li suppressed the urge to claim everything immediately.

The elders gathered atop the Sword Tower.

After exchanging glances, they bowed in unison to Li Mo:

"Young Hero Li, we owe you our deepest gratitude for sharing the intelligence—and to Lady Ying for intercepting that demoness at the critical moment, safeguarding our city's treasure!"

"From this day forth, you shall forever be honored guests of Sword City!"

Without them, the Sword Scar might have been lost. Worse, an unprepared Hengyun Sword City could have suffered devastating losses under the Fine Rain Tower's ambush.

The elders were forthright.

"Sword City's selflessness in sharing its treasure with the world speaks of its righteousness."

"We merely acted as circumstances allowed—no thanks are necessary."

Li Mo smiled from the bottom of his heart, utterly unfazed by the other party's promise of generous rewards.

The crowd couldn't help but marvel.

No matter what else could be said about this young man, his character was truly beyond reproach.

He genuinely carried the chivalrous spirit of a noble warrior!

"Young Hero Li is flawless!"

"Recalling my own days wandering the martial world, I truly feel the urge to swear brotherhood with Young Hero Li!" Elder Zeng remarked, half in admiration and half in nostalgia, as the atmosphere reached its peak.

Wu Chushu: "Huh?"

If Elder Zeng ever learned that Little Li's source of information was the "Hammer King of the Northwest," one wonders if he'd still feel the same way.

Speaking of the sword marks—

Only then did the crowd remember that the main event of the Martial Arts Summit hadn't even been concluded yet.

Some still hadn’t had the chance to observe the mystical sword-marked stone.

And this year’s "Sword Elite" had yet to be chosen.

Their gazes turned toward Li Mo and Ying Bing.