The four talismans of "Wind," "Cloud," "Rain," and "Sea" were coalescing above Lu Yuan’s head, signifying that he had mastered the laws of these four aspects of heaven and earth; only six more were needed to ascend to the third level of the Grand Dao Realm.

Lu Yuan felt countless laws of heaven and earth flashing through his mind.

He decided to test the element of Darkness. Instantly, the heavens darkened, and endless dark clouds gathered above him. Lu Yuan felt as if he could grasp the very essence of twilight; he reached out into the void, and immediately, a new talisman appeared above his head, inscribed with the ancient character for "Dusk" (“”).

That was the fifth one.

He tried testing Snow next. The weather changed instantly; it seemed as if, across an endless stretch of time, the snow was falling boundlessly—the fluttering, dancing flakes drifting down. Lu Yuan raised his hand and captured a snowflake. With that grasp, he held the very law of Snow within heaven and earth. Above his head, the swirling winds and clouds convened, transforming into a new talisman: "Snow" (“”).

That was the sixth.

Coalescing above Lu Yuan’s head alongside Snow were "Ice" (“”) and shortly after, "Lake" (“”).

Lu Yuan’s mind raced, his vital energy circulating ceaselessly. He felt as if his inner consciousness was a vast, hazy expanse, and above him, another new talisman rapidly materialized. This talisman was—"Mist" (“”).

The ninth one.

Lu Yuan then began to comprehend a new law of heaven and earth, one that seemed to encompass and integrate several of the previous laws, aiming to envelop all water-related phenomena. This one was endlessly profound, and as Lu Yuan absorbed its infinite depth, he finally roared out, "Water" (“”), and above his head, another new talisman appeared—“Water.”

The tenth one.

Ten talismans now existed.

Undoubtedly, Lu Yuan was now destined to break through to the third level of the Grand Dao Realm in one fell swoop.

Zu Qianqiu and Grandmaster Tian Yuan watched Lu Yuan intently. Achieving ten laws of heaven and earth so smoothly—he truly lived up to the title of peerless genius. However, the question now was: just how many laws of heaven and earth could a man called a peerless genius like Lu Yuan actually master?

The ascent to the third level of the Grand Dao Realm required mastering numerous laws.

The fourth level of the Grand Dao Realm was the Unification of Laws.

This meant that the more laws one had mastered before attempting the fourth level, the more powerful they would become upon achieving the Unification of Laws, and the greater their potential. Some cultivators, having mastered ten laws, would stop there and immediately attempt the Unification of Laws at the fourth level, only to sabotage their own future.

Those who only mastered ten laws were dreaming if they thought they could easily reach the next realm.

Conversely, the more laws mastered at this stage, the simpler the subsequent breakthrough to the next realm would be.

Of course, this "simplicity" was relative.

In reality, the task remained immensely difficult.

The True Human Realm () was a full stage above the Grand Dao Realm. In the Jin Kingdom, the only known figure to have reached it, apart from Yan Cangtian in the past, was currently nonexistent.

Now, it all depended on how many laws of heaven and earth Lu Yuan could gather in this moment.

Lu Yuan purged all distracting thoughts and began relentlessly gathering new laws. After integrating the ancient talisman for the tenth law, "Water," a large ancient talisman for "Wine" (“”) manifested, floating above his head. This was the law of Wine, Lu Yuan’s favorite element. One should not assume Wine lacks the laws of heaven and earth, for it is said: If heaven did not love wine, the Wine Star would not be in the sky. If earth did not love wine, the earth would have no Wine Spring. Since heaven and earth both love wine, to love wine is worthy of heaven.

The eleventh law of heaven and earth!

And then, a new cycle of changes occurred above Lu Yuan’s head.

He had essentially condensed all the laws related to water; the next step was to condense the laws related to fire.

Endless transformations unfolded above Lu Yuan’s head. At this moment, a slowly rising morning sun appeared in the illusory scene overhead. No, not just one sun—higher in the heavens, there was a massive and intensely glaring Great Sun. The Great Sun descended, bringing scorching heat that made the world feel blisteringly hot and molten. The ground ignited, and in some places, patches of lava began to emerge, roaring forth with a heat sufficient to incinerate everything. This was merely a phantom vision, yet it was real enough to make onlookers believe it was tangible reality.

And above Lu Yuan’s head, new talismans were rapidly condensing.

Ancient talismans manifested one by one: "Morning Sun" (“”), "Great Sun" (“”), "Scorching" (“”), "Lava" (“”), "Joy" (“”), and "Fire" (“”)—six in total, appearing above him. This meant Lu Yuan had now gathered six more laws, bringing his total to seventeen.

At this point, even more people began focusing on Lu Yuan. While the ongoing battles were spectacular, they paled in comparison to Lu Yuan’s current breakthrough.

To begin attempting the third level of the Grand Dao Realm—the mastery of numerous laws—directly from the second level, and to gather seventeen laws at once, was a feat rarely seen in the history of the cultivation world of the Seven Kingdoms. The cultivators observing, those already at the third or fourth level of the Grand Dao Realm, secretly acknowledged that Lu Yuan truly deserved the title of peerless genius. When they reached this stage, most had only five or six laws upon reaching the second level, and they had exhausted themselves trying to gather the remaining four or five—Lu Yuan made it look effortless.

Even Murong Huangfu’s expression shifted slightly. When he reached this realm, he had condensed twenty-one talismans in one burst, earning him the title of peerless genius. Undeniably, twenty-one talismans surpassed Lu Yuan’s current seventeen, but the crucial point was that Lu Yuan was far from finished.

He was still refining more talismans.

Above Lu Yuan’s head, a new illusory scene appeared.

It was a scene of golden October—a time of austere killing intent in the heavens and earth, where the golden light dominated the killing nature, and the autumn intended to gather and contain. Amidst this endless martial atmosphere, there was a touch of melancholy, and simultaneously, the world seemed bound by a strange rhythm—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, unnervingly erratic.

And above Lu Yuan’s head, a new round of talismans began to coalesce.

"Gold" (“”), "Autumn" (“”), "Austerity" (“”), "Sorrow" (“”), "Fast" (“”), and "Slow" (“”)—six ancient talismans appeared, arrayed alongside the existing ones. Lu Yuan’s talisman count now stood at twenty-three. Murong Huangfu’s heart sank; Lu Yuan’s count had surpassed his own. Murong Huangfu inwardly started in shock. Given his disposition, he initially paid little attention to anyone in Mount Yuelu. He believed that among all nearby nations, only Xiao Xiongfeng could match him—the saying went, Xiao Xiongfeng in the South, Murong Huangfu in the North.

Moreover, Murong Huangfu secretly vowed to surpass Xiao Xiongfeng.

As for others like Yue Qing, she was just a mere woman.

The Reincarnated Spirit Child, Tiemu’er, so what if he was a Grandmaster reincarnated? He would still be crushed underfoot.

He paid no mind to any leader under a thousand years old from other nations.

But now, Murong Huangfu had to admit that Lu Yuan was interesting—someone who might actually catch up to him. Unfortunately, Lu Yuan stood no chance of catching him in the next few years, as Murong Huangfu had already reached the sixth level of the Grand Dao Realm, having long surpassed the fifth level he held upon entering Mount Yuelu. He was certain he would pass the Hundred Nations Assessment, advance to the Central Celestial Dynasty, and rapidly improve there to contend with the peerless geniuses of the Central Celestial Dynasty, or even the legendary Seven Sons of Fortune.

The Seven Sons of Fortune!

Although these seven had not yet emerged from the Central Celestial Dynasty, their reputations had already spread across the continent.

Across the continent, among the nine hundred and ninety-nine nations and countless geniuses, even super-geniuses like Murong Huangfu, there were innumerable others. All these super-geniuses aimed to catch up to the Seven Sons of Fortune, all vowing to surpass them. Being extraordinary individuals, they all considered themselves the geniuses among geniuses; who had cause to fear whom?

Setting Murong Huangfu aside, consider the others: Zu Qianqiu and Grandmaster Tian Yuan were both utterly stunned. They truly hadn't expected twenty-three laws of heaven and earth, and judging by the momentum, it wasn't even over; Lu Yuan was still continuously gathering new laws, new ancient talismans.

Everyone else besides Zu Qianqiu and Grandmaster Tian Yuan also turned their gaze in unison. To suddenly gather twenty-three ancient talismans—what an astonishing event! They had heard tales, but most had never witnessed it firsthand. Now, they finally had their opportunity.

...

Above Lu Yuan’s head, a new round of illusory anomalies emerged. This time, countless trees appeared in the phantom landscape, along with the faint, distant greenery of grass. A gentle, weak breeze swept through, and amidst heaven and earth, rolling thunder sounded. The booming did not cease; massive claps of thunder exploded continuously overhead, striking terror into everyone.

Following this, several ancient talismans materialized instantly.

"Wrath" (“”), "Grass" (“”), "Gentle" (“”), "Wrath" (a repetition, perhaps meaning Fierce Wrath or simply listed again), and "Thunder" (“”)—five ancient talismans in total.

By now, Lu Yuan had amassed a staggering twenty-eight ancient talismans.

Twenty-eight!

He actually had twenty-eight!

Twenty-eight laws of heaven and earth—an astonishing number, significantly surpassing even Murong Huangfu’s count in his prime.

The twenty-eight talismans alone were enough to shake everyone, let alone the fact that Lu Yuan seemed to continue manifesting new ancient talismans indefinitely.

When would Lu Yuan’s gathering of talismans ever end?

Just how many laws of heaven and earth could he condense?

Involuntarily, everyone waited for a miracle to unfold.

(Uh, the first update is delivered. The recent updates have been quite diligent, dear! (Taobao style)) RA