This?

A hint of terror flashed through Xiang Wei's eyes. The world before him seemed to split apart.

Nine Swords of Spacetime, Sixth Step – Heaven-Splitting Sword.

The first five steps of the Nine Swords of Spacetime mostly balanced offense and defense, but the sixth step was pure attack, pursuing the ultimate offensive power.

Those who could master the sixth step of the Nine Swords of Spacetime mostly possessed such terrifying escape techniques that no ordinary opponent could chase them down, so their weapons and artifacts naturally focused on offense.

"Nine Shields, guard!" Xiang Wei gritted his teeth as layers of Earth Dao patterns appeared on the nine shields in his arms, actively meeting this sword strike.

Boom!

In the heaven-shattering collision, Xiang Wei was forced backward, yet still managed to block this strike. After all, he possessed third-stage Astral Monarch strength and excelled at defense, so he wouldn't be completely overwhelmed by a single strike.

He moved. This Xiang Wei's defense is far stronger than Nan Yin's, but my qi refiner self's attacks are inferior to even Mu Long's.

Wu Yuan instantly gauged the limits of Xiang Wei's defense.

His qi refiner self excelled in unpredictability, fearless even when surrounded by hundreds or thousands of peers. But ultimately, it had no Great Dao imprint or perfectly compatible supreme secret art, so its attacks were inferior to his body refiner self.

Meanwhile, his body refiner self excelled in direct confrontation. The two true selves each had their specialties.

You may block one strike, but can you block ten? A hundred?

Wu Yuan remained calm.

Other High Immortals might only manage to unleash such an attack a few times. After all, the Thousand Swords Array consumed too much mana.

Wu Yuan’s mana power matched other first-degree immortal root holders after they employed supreme secret arts. But with an Apotheosis root, his endurance in prolonged battles was ten times greater than theirs.

Go!

With a thought, Wu Yuan sent the divine sword of Spacetime forth, striking again and again.

"Such fierce attacks."

"Each strike forces Xiang Wei to retreat."

"Even focusing fully on defense, Xiang Wei can't hold on? Ming Jian's attacks are too terrifying."

"He’s able to control a thousand Swords Array so effortlessly?" These observing geniuses grew more shocked as they watched.

Too frightening. Wu Yuan's attack methods seemed simple, but the simpler the technique, the more terrifying it was when mastered to high levels.

In the blink of an eye, Wu Yuan had struck Xiang Wei more than ten times in succession.

Break!

The overwhelmingly fierce momentum of the divine sword of Spacetime finally shattered Xiang Wei's defense completely, sending him flying backward. The shields in his hands nearly slipped free, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

His eyes filled with disappointment before quickly returning to normal. “I admit defeat." As a core genius of the Taiyuan Island, he wouldn't stoop to being a sore loser. A loss was a loss.

“Brother Xiang Wei, good match." Wu Yuan smiled, inwardly admiring his opponent’s defensive techniques.

Wu Yuan doubted he could have lasted so long against such fierce attacks before having to flee.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wu Yuan and Xiang Wei swiftly collected their artifacts, their vital auras returning to normal as they flew out of the grotto-heaven world.

They arrived beside Overlord Xin Ya and the other eleven geniuses.

"Xiang Wei has lost."

"Among you eleven, does anyone else wish to test their skills against Ming Jian?" Overlord Xin Ya's gaze swept over the other geniuses.

Complete silence.

The purple-robed maiden and tiger-headed youth at the front exchanged glances but remained quiet.

Though all were extremely confident in their strength, they felt their chances of losing were high after witnessing Wu Yuan's display.

The key was, they couldn't win!

"Very well, then I hereby declare that from today forward, Ming Jian shall be ranked first on Taiyuan Island," Overlord Xin Ya slowly announced. "Bai Yi, you will move to second place.

“Hu Biao, you will move to third, and everyone else's rankings will shift down accordingly."

"Yes," all twelve geniuses respectfully acknowledged.

Wu Yuan understood that competition was everywhere, and these top-tier geniuses would compete even on the island.

Not to mention, all geniuses were proud - who would willingly fall behind others? Who wanted to be ranked last?

"Ming Jian. Though you are the youngest among them, you are now ranked first on Taiyuan Island. All one hundred thousand members of Taiyuan Island must address you as Great Senior Brother." Overlord Xin Ya continued.

"Barring unexpected circumstances, when the Megaverse Crossroads opens in the future, you will also be the team leader for our Taiyuan Divine Court's members."

"Great Senior Brother? Team leader?" Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

Greater power meant greater responsibility. Since his qi refiner self had joined the Taiyuan Divine Court, he naturally had to shoulder his share of duties.

"Bai Yi has comprehended the Law of Karma to the ninth-level Dao Field stage and was previously our divine court headquarters' number one genius," Overlord Xin Ya introduced, gesturing to the purple-robed maiden. "She hasn't cultivated for long, only about three hundred thousand years."

"Senior Brother Ming Jian." The purple-robed maiden smiled sweetly.

"Junior Sister Bai Yi." Wu Yuan cupped his hands in greeting, inwardly amazed.

She comprehended the Law of Karma? No wonder he had sensed something special about her aura when they first met. Such a genius had the potential to become a Supreme Genius in the future.

"Hu Biao comprehends the Law of Life," Overlord Xin Ya pointed to the tiger-headed youth. "And has also reached the ninth-level Dao Field stage."

Wu Yuan and Hu Biao exchanged greetings as well.

One could say they were now acquainted.

"As for the others, you’ll get to know them over time," Overlord Xin Ya said.

Wu Yuan nodded, roughly understanding that while all twelve geniuses had late-stage Astral Monarch comprehension, there were subtle differences between them. Only Bai Yi and Hu Biao had reached the upper limit of Astral Monarch comprehension.

"Ming Jian, settle into Taiyuan Island for now. When the True Saint summons you, I will come to escort you - it shouldn't be too long a wait," Overlord Xin Ya transmitted.

"Yes," Wu Yuan replied.

"You may compete and challenge each other freely, but always remember you are members of our divine court headquarters - against outsiders, you must stand united," Overlord Xin Ya's gaze swept across everyone. "The Megaverse Crossroads will soon open. Make use of this final period to cultivate. It is your fortune to have been born in this era.

“Seize this opportunity and your chances of becoming a Sovereign will greatly increase. Becoming an Overlord is a possibility as well.

“If you fail to grasp this chance, don't regret it later.” Overlord Xin Ya said.

"Yes," Wu Yuan, Bai Yi, Hu Biao and the others respectfully acknowledged.

Whoosh!

Overlord Xin Ya took a step and vanished into thin air.

"Senior Brother Ming Jian."

"Haha, though Senior Brother is the youngest, his strength is so formidable. I admire you! I'm Teng Chengpeng…”

"Senior Brother Ming Jian, I'm..." The geniuses gathered around Wu Yuan, introducing themselves one after another quite enthusiastically.

As for the strongest two, Hu Biao was aloof but not cold, while Bai Yi was quite warm.

Quickly, Wu Yuan familiarized himself with these top-tier geniuses of the Taiyuan Divine Court.

They seem rather friendly, and it appears that they don’t reject me.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

However, you can't judge a book by its cover - we'll see how things develop over time.

At the very least, they could maintain peaceful interactions on the surface.

"This Senior Brother Ming Jian is quite courteous, not as arrogant as I had imagined."

"He seems decent."

"I heard that he had conflicts with other Daoists from the divine court headquarters in the Spacetime Dao Realm, but now it seems those rumors were false." These geniuses exchanged greetings with Wu Yuan while secretly communicating among themselves.

"We still need to maintain good relations with Great Senior Brother."

"Though Great Senior Brother's direct combat ability might not match those Supreme Geniuses like Yu Xiang, his self-preservation ability is truly terrifying."

"Yes, on the Megaverse Crossroads, we might need Senior Brother Ming Jian to save our lives."

"With Senior Brother Ming Jian's talent, he's likely to become an Overlord in the future. Even if we can't curry favor, we shouldn't earn his displeasure at least." These geniuses were all incredibly shrewd, instantly grasping the reality of the situation. Naturally, they were willing to befriend Wu Yuan.

Soon after, Wu Yuan, Bai Yi, and Hu Biao separated and returned to their respective halls.

Wu Yuan entered the only unclaimed hall and left his aura imprint. From this day forward, this hall would belong to him.

The hall grounds were vast, equipped with every kind of cultivation amenity imaginable, along with numerous High Immortal and High Deity servants. Such a cultivation environment was far superior to the Spacetime Island.

It makes sense. This is the core of Taiyuan Island after all, where the Taiyuan Divine Court nurtures geniuses with Sovereign potential.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

It's only natural that cultivation conditions would be superior in the heart of a Saintdom.

Even among other Saintdoms across the universe, it would be difficult to find better conditions.

What a pity though. Most of it is of little use to me.

Wu Yuan smiled faintly.

Why hadn’t his body refiner self been summoned by the Eldritch Court? Because at his level, with his Dao comprehension approaching the Sovereign level, most external aids were ineffective. The path of cultivation relied more on the personal accumulation of insights over time.

However, cultivating within Taiyuan Island ensured his safety at least.

Wu Yuan entered the meditation chamber and began cultivating silently, waiting for the True Saint's summons.

…

"Haha, this Ming Jian is quite good."

"Impressive!"

Within the core temple of the Taiyuan True Realm, several towering figures stood. Their auras were vast and majestic, each carrying a hint of eternity. Overlord Xin Ya stood among them.

They were all Overlords, the true wielders of power in the Taiyuan Divine Court.

At this moment, the three Overlords were watching the recording of the battle between Wu Yuan and Xiang Wei.

"In terms of direct combat power, Ming Jian is still weaker than Mu Long and Wu Yuan," a red-robed Overlord spoke. "But his Yuan Soul must be incredibly powerful to control the Thousand Swords Array."

"Weaker in direct combat? But his self-preservation ability is unparalleled!" a black-armored Overlord laughed. "When Mu Long and Wu Yuan encounter Supreme Geniuses on the Crossroads, they might have to flee in panic, but Ming Jian can handle it with ease."

"Indeed, except for the two monstrous prodigies who have been confirmed to fully master the Law of Space, other Supreme Geniuses probably can't do anything against Ming Jian.

“Though Ming Jian's direct combat power is somewhat lacking, he still has a chance to claim a Saintcrest," Overlord Xin Ya smiled.

Naturally, the stronger one was, the better their chances of claiming a Saintcrest, but it was never absolute. In their view, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self also had some hope.

"Should we open the Primordial Hall?" Overlord Xin Ya smiled.

"Agreed!"

"Agreed." Having witnessed Wu Yuan's power, the two Overlords immediately consented.

…

Among the millions of geniuses on Taiyuan Island, those of lesser strength would naturally undergo various dangerous trial missions.

But Wu Yuan, as the Great Senior Brother of Taiyuan Island, was not assigned to any trial missions. He rarely collected cultivation resources, preferring to cultivate quietly.

At his level, time passed extremely quickly as he cultivated, with a single session of closed-door cultivation potentially lasting over a thousand years.

Time flowed like water.

In the blink of an eye, more than two thousand years had passed since Wu Yuan's qi refiner self entered Taiyuan Island.

On this day, the voice of Overlord Xin Ya resonated in the depths of Wu Yuan's spirit while he was cultivating in the hall's meditation chamber, "Ming Jian, come with me to see the True Saint."

Finally, the wait is over.

Wu Yuan opened his eyes.

He had waited a full two thousand years.

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan flew out of the meditation chamber.