Beneath the Golden Fruit Tree, Lu Changsheng stood alone against a hundred Domains all stacked against him.

There may have been even more, but he did not bother counting. It made no difference whether there were a hundred or two hundred. Against his half-manifested Domain, numbers lost all meaning. All those Domains, many of which were near Perfection, melted instantly, like ice under a scorching sun.

Lu Changsheng stood at the center of the Domain, like a god presiding over the heavens, his presence vast and immeasurable. The sight left his numerous enemies utterly stunned.

"How is this possible? There are over a hundred Domains, none of which are weak. They were all cultivated to such a high level... How did they just collapse like that?"

"Can a Divine Fortification martial artist really do this?"

"So this is how far the Divine Fortification Realm can go..."

"What kind of Domain is that? The Starry Sky Domain and Waterfall Domain can fuse into something entirely new?"

"That Domain seems to have transformed, yet not fully. It's not exactly like the Domains of Divine Treasury martial artists, who turn from illusion into reality. This one is... half materialized?"

"Even if it only materialized halfway, that's already one step toward becoming real."

"This is insane! I've never heard of anything like this."

"Is this what happens when Perfect Domains fuse? Something between illusion and reality? I've never seen this before... Not even the sect records mention anything about this."

"Don't tell me... Lu Changsheng has found a completely new path to make Domains real?"

The top-tier Divine Fortification martial artists stared at the half-materialized Starry Sky Waterfall Domain, their eyes wide with shock. Turning a Domain from illusion into reality was something only Divine Treasury martial artists were capable of. In theory, a Divine Fortification martial artist might manage that with sufficient heart force—but only in theory. In truth, everyone knew that was impossible.

And yet, the impossible had just unfolded before everyone's eyes. Someone beneath the Divine Treasury Realm had actually pushed a Domain into a half-materialized state. Everyone at the scene understood what this meant: if a Domain could reach this state, then fully materializing it with the aid of heart force was actually feasible.

It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to call this a new path of the Dao of Martial Arts. At the very least, it was a valuable revelation, proof that perfecting a Domain was not the limit. Of course, understanding that phenomenon was one thing, and replicating it was another thing entirely.

Reaching this step meant fusing two Domains, which was already extraordinarily difficult. On top of that, those Domains had to be cultivated to Perfection, and even some of the most gifted martial artists were unable to master two Perfect Domains at once.

Naturally, Lu Changsheng's Starry Sky Waterfall Domain suppressed everything in its path. In the face of overwhelming power, the hundred Domains shattered instantly, and the martial artists who had unleashed them were utterly shaken. Those who had been unwilling to yield moments ago now fell silent. After all, what could they even say, after one man had withstood an assault of a hundred Domains all by himself?

"You are strong indeed," Dong Tianhua remarked calmly. He had known all along that Lu Changsheng was strong, but perhaps not this strong.

"Still, I have to act, for the Golden Fruits are at stake. No matter how strong you are, if I don't even have the courage to draw my sword, it would weigh on my heart for the rest of my life. My heart force would rise again."

Dong Tianhua was speaking more to himself than to Lu Changsheng. This strike... He had to land this strike.

Shing!

In the next instant, sword light flashed. There was no violent force, only pure sharpness—a sword in its most refined form. Dong Tianhua was a true swordsman, having even fused his Sword Domain with his sword technique. This strike did not rely on the Domain, but rather on the edge of the sword itself.

Skrrr!

The sword light pierced through Lu Changsheng's half-materialized Domain as though nothing stood in its way. Domains could only suppress the mind, and a half-materialized Domain was still not truly real. Thus, it was no surprise that Lu Changsheng's Domain failed to stop the sword light in its tracks.

"Hmm?"

Lu Changsheng sensed the strike the moment it breached the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain, and he had a feeling his Divine Fortification might not be able to stop it either. The power of this strike definitely exceeded one hundred thousand cauldrons.

Who's the one capable of this?

Lu Changsheng raised his head and immediately spotted Dong Tianhua of the Lingshu Squad, the one once regarded as the strongest Divine Fortification martial artist in the first layer of the Ancient Region.

Earlier, he had chosen not to act when the Lingshu Squad withdrew, and now, he was about to land a killing blow. Everyone saw that sword light and felt its sharpness. It seemed like it could cut through anything.

"That's Dong Tianhua's sword strike! You withstand that!"

"Then I won't!"

Shing!

Lu Changsheng drew his saber at once, his gaze cold. A crimson light shot into the sky. Its power exceeded one hundred thousand cauldrons as well, and the Starry Sky Waterfall domain further amplified that power. Did it reach one hundred ten thousand cauldrons? Maybe one hundred twenty thousand? Or perhaps even one hundred fifty thousand?

Lu Changsheng had no clear sense of how great the enhancement of a half-materialized Domain truly was. The only thing he was certain of was that drawing his saber within the Domain would elevate his saber technique greatly.

Woosh! Boom!

At last, the saber light and sword light clashed, unleashing over one hundred thousand cauldrons of force and distorting the air itself. Then, a muffled boom followed as both lights shattered and dissipated.

A draw.

"What?"

"Did he... Did he just block Dong Tianhua's strike?"

"Not blocked, but intercepted. Dong Tianhua has comprehended the Sword Domain and is a pure swordsman. His greatest strength lies in his sword technique."

"I heard he's got an insane secret art that can push his power past a hundred thousand cauldrons in an instant. That strike just now should have been him going all out with that technique, yet Lu Changsheng still managed to intercept it."

Lu Changsheng's saber technique further amplified everyone's dismay. It had already become clear that his Domain was powerful, and now it looked like his saber technique was on that same level.

"What a pity..." Dong Tianhua murmured as he gazed at Lu Changsheng.

His sword technique should have outmatched Lu Changsheng's saber technique. What had balanced the scale was the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain. Lu Changsheng's saber technique had been greatly enhanced by that Domain, thus reaching the same level as Dong Tianhua's sword.

"Now that's more like it! That's what a true top-tier Divine Fortification expert of the Ancient Region looks like. Dong Tianhua, take this!"

Lu Changsheng was not one to stand still and take a blow.

Woosh!

Another crimson light tore through the air with astonishing power. At the same time, the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain rapidly expanded along with the trail of light, aiming to envelop Dong Tianhua. Lu Changsheng was well aware that the enhancement of the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain was the one thing allowing him to rival Dong Tianhua's sword.

Although half materialized, the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain could not suppress the body, only shake the mind. Still, that was enough to weaken Dong Tianhua. Besides, the Domain directly enhanced Lu Changsheng's saber. With one side rising and one faltering, it quickly became clear who held the advantage.

"Damn it! Tianhua's in trouble!"

Zhao Lingshu's expression twisted with panic. If enveloped by Lu Changsheng's Domain, Dong Tianhua would be at a fatal disadvantage. But it was already too late, as the Domain expanded faster than anyone could react.

In the blink of an eye, the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain closed around Dong Tianhua, and the saber light was also upon him. Dong Tianhua raised his sword at once.

Clang!

This time, Lu Changsheng struck while simultaneously suppressing Dong Tianhua with his Domain.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out, and Dong Tianhua froze. There was no mistake about it.

"My sword... shattered?"

As a true swordsman, Dong Tianhua had never imagined that one day his sword would break. When that happened, it often meant death. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Lu Changsheng's saber light swept through and shattered the divine fortification around Dong Tianhua. Even with his five layers, he was defenseless against Lu Changsheng's deadly strike.

Clang!

At the critical moment, Zhao Lingshu slashed out—fast, precise, ruthless. His strike collided head-on with Lu Changsheng's saber light, and although not as powerful, it still carried seventy to eighty thousand cauldrons of force.

Lu Changsheng's saber light had lost significant momentum by breaking through the five layers of divine fortification, and Zhao Lingshu's blow had further weakened it. Even so, a trace of it still struck Dong Tianhua's arm.

Splurt!

Blood sprayed out as his right arm fell to the ground.

"Retreat!"

Zhao Lingshu immediately grabbed Dong Tianhua and pulled him back, fleeing from the Starry Sky Waterfall Domain.

"Tch!"

Lu Changsheng was not going to let someone like Dong Tianhua escape. However, the other top-tier martial artists had not forgotten about the Golden Fruits. The moment he gave chase, they unleashed a barrage of sword and saber light. Although they could not contend with Lu Changsheng's Domain, those attacks were completely unaffected by it.

In fact, they were not even targeting Lu Changsheng but the other members of the Heavenly Lin Squad. Even though Lu Changsheng was incredibly strong, he could not seize all the Golden Fruits without a squad to back him up.

These martial artists were clearly experienced in combat. Having realized their Domains could not match Lu Changsheng's, they simply gave up on them and found another way to turn the tide in their favor.