# Chapter 2138: The First Lord
After that person spoke, everyone merely laughed it off. Everyone present understood very well that when it came to martial arts, there was no such thing as importance or unimportance. If you wanted to reach the highest level of cultivation, none of it could be lacking—essence, energy, spirit, bloodline power, physical body power, and the power of the Dao were all indispensable. It was just a matter of different emphases, different areas of expertise for each person. Many people liked to claim that whatever they were best at was the most important.
Perhaps, deep down, they all knew they were just convincing themselves.
"The physical body is not important? Then you probably can't even condense a Sacred Body, let alone talk about transcending the mundane to become a saint." Someone said with a faint smile, full of disdain.
The person who had spoken earlier did not respond. He simply fixed his gaze on the person sitting diagonally across from him, clearly waiting for the other to speak.
"Martial artists cultivate the Great Dao. The Three Thousand Great Daos encompass the principles of heaven and earth. Only by transcending the Great Dao can one transcend the mundane and become a saint. Naturally, the Dao comes first; martial arts are the ultimate."
This person spoke calmly, as if his words were the Dao itself, the very principle. His tone was so indifferent, as if once he opened his mouth, he had already rendered a final verdict on the matter. His manner of speaking was completely different from the previous speaker. The other's words seemed casual, but his were cold and detached, matching his face—a handsome face, yet paired with an incongruous expression, too cold, or rather, too ruthless. That face alone seemed to reveal his merciless nature.
"From what you're saying, it seems your Dao is very strong?" The person across from him looked at that ruthless face and said indifferently.
"At least stronger than yours." That person's tone remained the same; his words were a conclusion. He was indeed stronger than the other, as if it were a certainty.
"We'll have to test that to know." The other sneered. Earlier, that indifferent tone had already caused a verbal conflict between them. Seeing those contemptuous eyes, he very much wanted to test the other.
"Once you enter the Ning family, you cannot kill. Since I am a guest, I give the Ning family face. If I make a move, there will be no mercy." That person's voice was still the same, as if telling the other, "I'm giving the Ning family face, so I don't want to act. But if I do, you will surely die." Such contemptuous words undoubtedly made the other extremely embarrassed. That person looked at Ning and said, "Ning, this fight between him and me, regardless of life or death, what do you say?"
"Well..." Ning showed a hint of hesitation, then looked at the indifferent person, smiled bitterly, and nodded. "Since you two insist, then do as you please. But it's best not to take lives."
The crowd understood that although Ning said this, it was merely a polite remark. The Ning family was responsible for the selection. Ning wouldn't really care about the life or death of these people. The loser would be eliminated, whether by defeat or death—to him, it made no difference. But as the host, the Ning family had to publicly prevent fighting to the death within the family, otherwise chaos would ensue. However, if both parties had no objections, Ning had no reason to stop them.
Hearing Ning's agreement, that person immediately stood up. In an instant, his essence, energy, and spirit exploded violently. In that moment, a terrifying force like a primordial beast surged forward, rolling directly toward the indifferent young man.
"Boom!" He took a step forward, his imposing momentum crashing toward his opponent, as if trying to strike the other's heart and extinguish his soul. His spiritual will erupted completely, and the pressure was extremely powerful.
"This person's strength is quite formidable. He should be at the same level as that Heavenly Demon Thunder family expert—a genius figure." Rufeng said calmly. But beside him, Yaoyao smiled and said, "If Senior Brother Rufeng made a move, you would definitely be stronger than him."
Rufeng smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying. At this moment, the indifferent, ruthless person finally stood up. His aura remained calm, with no momentum released. But then, he took a slight step forward. In that instant, heaven and earth turned murderous and cold, ruthless and merciless. Heaven was ruthless, earth was ruthless, and the human world was ruthless.
"So cold." That ruthless intent made everyone feel a chill colder than ice itself. Their hearts seemed to freeze, their emotions on the verge of being extinguished.
"A cultivator of the Ruthless Dao." Rufeng and the others' expressions tightened. This person was very strong, definitely stronger than his opponent. The other was in trouble. This person's ruthlessness seemed to merge with heaven and earth, causing the entire void to resonate.
"On the path of martial arts, the Dao comes first. On the path of the Great Dao, ruthlessness is supreme." This person spoke calmly, and heaven and earth resonated. As he took a step forward, everyone felt a ruthless intent rampaging through heaven and earth, as if countless threads of ruthlessness were drilling into their bodies, trying to make them ruthless as well.
The martial artist facing this ruthless cultivator felt his essence, energy, and spirit suppressed. His face turned pale. The pressure he bore was undoubtedly the strongest—all the ruthless intent was focused on him.
"On the path of martial arts, the Dao comes first. On the path of the Great Dao, ruthlessness is supreme." How arrogant these words were, lingering in the void, echoing repeatedly. Between heaven and earth, his words seemed to be the ultimate truth.
"Kill!" The other roared, his essence, energy, and spirit surging again, trying to suppress the ruthlessness. But the ruthless cultivator took another step forward. Three thousand threads of ruthlessness drilled into the other's body, extinguishing everything.
"The Ruthless Dao—even heaven and earth cannot stop it." The ruthless cultivator's voice remained cold and merciless. Heaven and earth resonated in unison. He took another step forward, and three thousand ruthless killing forces rampaged inside the other's body. In the next moment, the other's erupting essence, energy, spirit, and Dao might were all crushed and dissipated. Finally, his body stood upright, completely devoid of any life force.
"So strong." The crowd's pupils contracted, their hearts shaken. This person was terrifying. They were all geniuses from various continents of the Nine Heavens Continent, with formidable strength. Yet facing this person, they still felt his overwhelming power. A genius had been killed alive by his ruthless Dao might, as if responding to his earlier arrogant words: among the Three Thousand Great Daos, ruthlessness is supreme.
In that moment, the ruthless intent vanished without a trace. Lin Feng seemed to understand why the Xi Emperor had asked Qiu Yuexin to cultivate ruthlessness. Qiu Yuexin clearly hadn't reached this person's level. When the Ruthless Dao was cultivated to a high level, it was indeed terrifying. And this was only the strength this person had just displayed.
"Three thousand ruthless forces, transformed into three thousand killing techniques. Ruthless Lord, you are the Ruthless Lord." At this moment, someone in the crowd's pupils contracted, exclaiming in shock. Immediately, several people among those present changed expressions, their faces tightening as they stared at the ruthless young man in the center. They were all from the Qingxiao Continent, so they knew of the Ruthless Lord.
The others from different continents showed puzzled expressions. Was the Ruthless Lord very famous?
The Nine Heavens Continent had nine different continents, with little interaction between them. Therefore, even if the Ruthless Lord was the most dazzling figure of the Qingxiao Continent, few people from other continents knew of him.
The ruthless cultivator glanced indifferently at the crowd, then retreated to his seat and sat down calmly. Although he didn't admit it, everyone already understood who this person was.
The Ruthless Lord, the First Lord of Qingxiao. No wonder his strength was so overwhelming. He was the peak genius of the Martial Emperor Realm in the Qingxiao Continent. Even on the stage of the Nine Heavens Gathering, he would surely have a place.
"Ruthless Lord? He seems very famous?" Yaoyao's beautiful eyes flickered, and then Lin Feng said to them, "The Ruthless Lord is the First Lord of Qingxiao. Naturally, he's very famous in the Qingxiao Continent."
"The First Lord of Qingxiao. No wonder his strength is so formidable. He crushed a genius to death with just his Dao might." Rufeng and the others showed expressions of realization. The strength that person had just displayed was indeed terrifying.
"Brother Lin Feng, you're also from the Qingxiao Continent. Who is stronger, you or the Ruthless Lord?" Yaoyao asked with a smile.
"Yaoyao." Ziling gave Yaoyao a disapproving look. This girl really didn't know how to speak properly. Since the Ruthless Lord was the First Lord of Qingxiao, asking such a question was inappropriate.
"We've never fought, so how would I know?" Lin Feng responded with a faint smile, causing Yaoyao to laugh and make a mischievous face at Ziling.
Because of the Ruthless Lord's appearance, the crowd fell silent. Ning had already had the corpse removed, but those present still didn't speak. They hadn't expected that within the Ning family's residence, one of the Nine Heavens' First Lords was hidden—the First Lord of Qingxiao.
"Everyone, don't be so restrained. Continue discussing martial arts and the Dao. If you don't want to talk, you can tell us about the First Lord of your respective continents, so I can broaden my knowledge." Finally, Ning broke the silence, speaking with a smile.
"Brother Ning, why don't you first tell us who the First Lord of Shenxiao is?" Someone responded.
"That's right. The Shenxiao Continent is the center of all continents, a place of outstanding talents. It should have the most geniuses. I also want to know what kind of person the First Lord of Shenxiao is." After that person spoke, others began to chime in, wanting to hear about the most talented figure at the Martial Emperor Realm in the Shenxiao Continent. After all, this was a gathering of Martial Emperors. People from other cultivation realms had other arrangements. It wouldn't be appropriate for people of different realms to be together; only those of the same realm could truly exchange ideas.
What this person said was naturally correct. The Shenxiao Continent was the center of the Nine Heavens, with a wider range of geniuses. They wondered if the top figures there were stronger than those from other continents. For example, among the nine continents' First Lords, who was stronger and who was weaker?
"The First Lord of Shenxiao?" Ning smiled slightly, his gaze looking into the distance, his expression showing a hint of solemnity. Clearly, he also admired the First Lord of Shenxiao.
"The First Lord of Shenxiao comes from the Sacred Mountain of the Shenxiao Continent, the place that has produced the most geniuses in the Shenxiao Continent over countless years." Ning smiled lightly, and the crowd seemed to unconsciously enter a solemn state as well. The Sacred Mountain of the Shenxiao Continent—they had heard of it too.