Under the pressure of Xiao Jian's Sword Domain, Lu Changsheng's Domains collapsed immediately. Similarly, every Domain and Intent of the other eight disciples shattered instantly, leaving only Xiao Jian's Sword Domain standing.

In the next moment, all nine disciples felt as though they had been pulled into a world of blades. Countless swords took shape above their heads, packed so densely they blotted out the light, trembling as though they would fall at any moment.

Looking up, Lu Changsheng felt a jolt run through him.

Without wasting another second, Xiao Jian commanded his swords to descend. "Fall."

They came down at once. One sword carved through Lu Changsheng's arm in a single clean motion. His four layers of divine fortification and his hundred-thousand-cauldron strength offered no resistance, giving way like butter to a knife.

At that point, Lu Changsheng no longer cared about being eliminated. He was not bothered by the fact that he had just lost an arm or by the pain; he was not even concerned by just how powerful Xiao Jian's attack was. He simply stared wide-eyed at the swords still hanging in the air around him.

"These swords... they're real?" His voice barely above a whisper. "This guy... He materialized his Domain? How is it possible to turn a projection into something that affects physical matter?"

Xiao Jian looked at him with a hint of interest. "Your Perception is sharp. You have grasped the key to the Sword Domain. But I can only tell you this: it's real, and yet not real. The rest you'll understand once you open your Mind Space and enter the Divine Treasury Realm. This is a method unique to Divine Treasury martial artists."

With that, Xiao Jian withdrew his Domain. The outcome required no explanation. All nine challengers had been defeated.

The results were announced soon after: Xiao Jian ranked first, Lu Changsheng second, and Wu Yuanji third.

Boom!

The doors of the Combat Hall swung open, and the disciples began to file out. Lu Changsheng crouched, picked up his severed arm, and pressed it back into place. This kind of injury already became manageable at the Divine Strength Realm; at the Divine Fortification Realm, it was barely an inconvenience.

From this battle, Lu Changsheng had earned 20,000 contribution points. It was a substantial reward, but to him, the true reward was getting to see Xiao Jian in action. As a Divine Treasury martial artist, Xiao Jian's methods were deeply impressive, especially the way his Sword Domain turned illusion into reality.

Real, and yet not real... The thought settled heavily in his mind. So that's how powerful the Divine Treasury Realm is... Everything below that realm is nothing.

Lu Changsheng had always carried a certain pride in himself—not arrogance, but an unshakeable confidence in his own strength. With four layers of top-tier divine fortification, four Domains and the ability to fuse them, combined with the force of one hundred thousand cauldrons, he was formidable by any measure.

He had believed he could defeat anyone in the inner sect, but having just witnessed the power of a Divine Treasury martial artist, that belief wavered. Four layers of divine fortification meant nothing against a Sword Domain that turned illusion into reality. Faced with that endless storm of blades, even a hundred layers would fail to save him.

The realization settled into him slowly, bringing with it a new clarity. Stacking more layers of divine fortification would lead nowhere. That path had already reached its limit. To step into the Divine Treasury Realm, his focus ought to be on heart force, and that meant bringing his heart scale to one hundred.

At his current level, Lu Changsheng was already among the strongest in the Divine Fortification Realm. What mattered now was raising his heart force, opening the Mind Space, and entering the Divine Treasury Realm.

Lu Changsheng turned his attention to the practical. He currently had 27,000 contribution points, still 3,000 short of exchanging for three Dao Comprehension Pills. He chose not to redeem any yet as two would not be enough to bring the Starry Sky Domain to Perfection.

But then, a thought surfaced. Right. I can head to Heavenly Abyss Gorge to catch Earth Worms. And while I'm there, I can use the raging winds to contemplate the Storm Domain.

The last time he had gone, he had caught ten Earth Worms in a single trip. Each was worth 100 contribution points, which gave him 1000 in total, and as a scion disciple, his mission rewards were doubled.

***

After resting for a while, Lu Changsheng set out for Heavenly Abyss Gorge that same afternoon. The gorge was quiet when he arrived, populated mostly by outer sect disciples going about their own tasks.

He found a small hill, sat down, closed his eyes, and released the Sense Domain, letting it reach out into the howling winds to contemplate the Storm Domain.

Without the help of any Dao Comprehension Pills, the progress was slow—but slow was something he would have to make peace with. After all, Dao Comprehension Pills were not something he could rely on indefinitely.

For the next month, Lu Changsheng settled into a routine. Each day, he would come to Heavenly Abyss Gorge to contemplate the Storm Domain and capture Earth Worms. At night, he would study the Starry Sky Domain. Progress was slow but steady.

By the end of the month, he had accumulated 4,000 contribution points, bringing his total to 31,000. He had already crossed the 30,000 mark a few days earlier, but he chose to stay on a little longer to build up a small reserve.

That night, after securing the three Dao Comprehension Pills, Lu Changsheng stepped outside and turned his gaze upward to the stars. He then took a Dao Comprehension Pill and began to contemplate the Starry Sky Domain. The effect of the pill hit hard, the way it always did, and his understanding advanced at a rapid pace.

After three days, the progress of the Starry Sky Domain had already reached ninety-nine percent, even before he took the final pill. Yet at that point, progress stopped as though it had struck an invisible wall.

Lu Changsheng had heard about this. In all of the inner sect, not a single disciple in the Divine Fortification Realm had brought a Domain to Perfection. The common belief was that Perfection would naturally be achieved upon becoming a true inheritor, and that trying to force it earlier was a waste of effort. Some had tried to force a breakthrough with Dao Comprehension Pills, only to arrive at exactly where he was: stuck at ninety-nine percent, unable to move forward.

Lu Changsheng had always assumed his Perception would set him apart, that the limits which held others back would not apply to him. But now, standing before the same wall that had stopped so many others, that assumption was no longer as certain.

Even so, he did not want to give up. A Domain brought to Perfection would greatly strengthen the heart, and the heart was everything now. So, choosing to believe that he could still achieve Perfection with his powerful Perception, he took the final Dao Comprehension Pill.

He calmed his mind, focusing entirely on perfecting the Starry Sky Domain, and gradually, he sank into a state of epiphany. He lifted his gaze to the night sky and instinctively released the Starry Sky Domain. On the surface, it looked identical to the sky above, but there was a fundamental difference: one was real, while the other was merely an illusion.

Six hours passed unnoticed. The pill's effect would last perhaps five hours, and he had nothing to show for three of them. It was the first time a Dao Comprehension Pill had ever seemed to do nothing. But beneath that frustration, he knew that was not completely true. It only felt that way because his Domain had not undergone any obvious transformation. The truth was, after six hours of contemplation, he was beginning to understand the essential difference between the Starry Sky Domain and a real starry sky.

At that moment, a series of thoughts flooded Lu Changsheng's mind. The true purpose of a Domain... The difference between a materialized Domain and an illusory one... Xiao Jian's Sword Domain was beyond a mere illusion; it was something real and tangible... Materializing a Domain isn't just a display of power. It's the ultimate form a Domain could take!

Buzz...

At that thought, the Starry Sky Domain began to tremble faintly, straining toward something it could not quite reach. The idea was there, but he still could not fully grasp how something imagined could become real.

The heart defines the world. The heart's capacity determines the size of the world. And the heart can hold everything—even the entire universe fits inside it like nothing at all. To turn something that only exists in your mind into something real... The heart is the only way.

In that instant, realization struck and he entered into a deeper state of epiphany. When he opened his eyes again, the Starry Sky Domain before him appeared unchanged at a glance, yet something within it had fundamentally shifted. A subtle force had merged into it, altering its nature. It was no longer a Domain that existed on the mental layer, but one that also existed in the physical layer.

Boom!

Suddenly, the Starry Sky Domain flickered into reality. It was just for a split second, but Lu Changsheng felt it without question. In that fleeting moment, the Domain was no longer an illusion, but something that truly existed in the world.

As the Domain collapsed back into illusion, Lu Changsheng finally understood two things.

First, when a Domain materialized, it did not mean its elements were the same as the physical world. The stars in his Domain could never be true celestial bodies—they were still shaped by his imagination. It simply meant the Domain no longer only affected the mental layer; it had materialized and could now also affect the physical layer the way Xiao Jian's swords could.

Second, the heart force alone was not enough to sustain a real Domain. Even if his heart scale reached one hundred, it still would not be enough. The secret to sustaining a real Domain lay in the Mind Space.

Lu Changsheng pulled up his status panel to review his condition.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Perception: 4230 (Praised by All)

[Skills]

Blood Qi Sword Crafting Secret Technique: Sword Crafting, 12 years

Heart Sword True Mantra: Progress 39% (Heart Sword)

Wave Domain: Progress 1%

Storm Domain: Progress 12%

Sense Domain: Progress 42%

Starry Sky Domain: Perfection (Not Transformed)

Waterfall Domain: Progress 5%

Lu Changsheng's Starry Sky Domain had indeed reached Perfection. However, according to the status panel, it had yet to transform. That clearly pointed to the next step: the transformation from illusion into reality. It seemed there were still certain conditions he had to meet, and relying on heart force alone to carry that transformation was, for now, simply beyond him.

I should see how much my heart scale has progressed...

More than anything now, Lu Changsheng wanted to know that. Perfecting the Starry Sky Domain had shown him the path forward, and for the first time, he could directly sense his heart force. It was faint, but unmistakably there.

The moment he perfected the Starry Sky Domain, his heart force had surged. By how much, he could not say, but that was what the Heart Monument was for.

This time, he no longer needed physical contact. He could already sense his heart force well enough to direct it, and with a single thought, he let it spread outward and settle over the monument.

Boom!

The Heart Monument trembled slightly. Unlike the faint glow it used to give off, it now burst forth with a dazzling radiance. The light was so intense that it filled the entire main hall, drawing the attention of nearly everyone present.

"What's going on?"

"Why is the Heart Monument shining so brightly? It's even trembling!"

"Looks like Lu Changsheng, the inner sect scion disciples, is measuring his heart scale."

"Just how high is his heart scale that it causes such a reaction?"

The disciples were not the only ones watching. The elders of the Transmission Hall had turned toward the monument as well, their attention caught by something in its trembling that the disciples could not read.

"The monument is trembling... This is..."

Some of them seemed to realize what was happening, and their eyes widened with disbelief.