The process of material change is time itself. And the surging long river of time has flowed down from antiquity. Without space, there is nothing.

Without time, there is equally nothing. In this instant, Lu Yuan understood so much, such as the meaning of the existence of time and space; it is because one needs time and space in order to exist. Furthermore, time itself, under normal circumstances, exists in a cycle: the cycle of days, the cycle of hours, the cycle of years, the relentless return of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Lu Yuan further grasped that even when an Epoch collapses, time and space still exist. During the collapse of an Epoch, beings at the Civilization Realm must survive in the final moment of the collapse and the moment a New Epoch is born, waiting for the arrival of that New Era. The Iron Rule of Time, achieved!

This was Lu Yuan’s fourth Iron Rule accomplishment! He had previously achieved the Iron Rule of Space, the Iron Rule of Reincarnation, and the Iron Rule of Yin and Yang. Now, he had achieved the Iron Rule of Time, along with the Minor Iron Rule of Karma.

In effect, he now possessed four and a half Iron Rules. Four and a half Iron Rules was already an astonishing number; the strongest Sword Master in history only possessed six Iron Rules in his predecessor. Right, he was still trapped within the Endless Sea of Trees.

In truth, the essence of the Endless Sea of Trees Diagram had been almost completely absorbed. After all, this was merely a diagram meant for a clone. Moreover, Lu Yuan could distinctly feel that the growth of the Jian Dao Tree—the first sword path tree—was becoming progressively harder the further it went, demanding significantly more wood energy for further growth.

Thus, relying on the Minor Jian Dao Tree to manifest the three Iron Rules was proving to be no easy feat. With a slight twitch of his hand, his entire body reformed into its true physical state, and with another motion, he summoned the Yang-Nourishing Immortal Sword back to his side. Lu Yuan unleashed a wave of sword energy, instantly shattering the surrounding Endless Sea of Trees Diagram into dust with his sword light.

Within the Endless Sea of Trees, nearly every diagram contained a world, but with their essence depleted, they were crushed one by one under Lu Yuan’s sword light. Those nearby couldn't help but feel a wave of astonishment. The most potent kind of Heavenly Tribulation, the Diagram-Type Tribulation, had been overcome in this manner.

To clarify, while Diagram-Type Tribulations are the most difficult when ascending to the World Realm, they become the simplest when attacking the Civilization Realm. The most terrifying tribulation in the Civilization Realm is the Gate-Type Tribulation, where numerous gates descend—far more terrifying than the Diagram-Type Tribulations. Yet, even this immensely difficult Diagram-Level Tribulation had been broken by Lu Yuan.

Meanwhile, Light Slave No. 3000 and Light Slave No. 2900 communicated via brainwaves, utterly unable to comprehend how Lu Yuan, who had only a one-in-a-hundred-thousand chance of survival, had managed to overcome this Heavenly Tribulation.

What was even more infuriating, as their optical computers analyzed, was that Lu Yuan had already passed the most challenging part of the tribulation without showing a single vulnerability. “Probability of successfully killing Lu Yuan drops to one in a hundred thousand. Suggest immediate withdrawal.

Suggest immediate withdrawal.” The display on the optical computer screen showed this reading. Seeing this, the two Light Slaves hesitated no longer and immediately led their subordinate hundreds of thousands of mechanical lifeforms in a swift departure. For Light Slaves, excessive independent thought was unnecessary; they simply needed to obey the optical computer.

The tribulation clouds in the Extradimensional Space had also mostly dissipated by now. A few lingering tribulations descended later, which Lu Yuan easily blocked with his sword. And thus, the tribulation clouds formally dispersed.

Finally, this Heavenly Tribulation was passed. Between heaven and earth, three portals faintly boomed open. The first was the Gate of Heaven and Earth.

Primordial Qi, like the Milky Way, flowed down—this time, it was entirely World Primordial Qi. This exquisitely pure World Primordial Qi began to reshape Lu Yuan’s body. This transformation was extraordinary; every capability latent within his genes was now fully expressed, nothing hidden.

Furthermore, all of Lu Yuan’s magical power was converted into World Primordial Qi, the specialized power used by experts of the World Realm. The second portal, the Gate of Rules, opened with a resounding crash. This gate, ancient and full of profound cosmic secrets, poured out countless heavenly and earthly rules like mighty rivers, falling upon Lu Yuan.

This influx made his one hundred and forty World Laws even more complete and robust. Of course, the key was the third gate: the Gate of Script. It had been mentioned before that beneath the Gate of Eternity lie three doors: the Gate of Heaven and Earth, the Gate of Rules, and the Gate of Script.

The Gate of Heaven and Earth governs the primal energy of the cosmos, the Gate of Rules governs the laws of the cosmos, and the Gate of Script governs the myriad scripts within heaven and earth. Within the Gate of Script resides a Book of Script. This book has only one function: recording—recording every expert who reaches the World Realm.

Every expert who achieves the World Realm can have their name inscribed upon it, signifying that they have been acknowledged by Heaven and Earth. In other words, this is being enrolled in the Immortal Ranks. The three gates opened with a crash, and Lu Yuan’s very life form continuously changed.

He was no longer in the form of a human; he shifted into the life form of a god, the life form of an immortal. Lu Yuan’s vitality reached its absolute peak in this moment. If Lu Yuan’s original life light was a small candle, now his life form was a massive torch, burning fiercely.

And, simultaneously, he was now enrolled in the Immortal Ranks. The World Realm, finally attained. Lu Yuan let out a long breath.

Reaching the World Realm was not easy; it was the final major echelon on the path of cultivation, and he felt countless emotions traversing the journey. Naturally, because of the immense power of his Heavenly Tribulation and his deep foundation, Lu Yuan’s initial power at the first stage of the World Realm far surpassed that of other practitioners at the same stage. The World Realm is divided into ten stages.

The first stage is the Chaos Realm. This stage demands ceaseless accumulation, accumulation upon accumulation. When sufficient accumulation is reached, one will naturally begin striving for the second stage.

The second stage is the Heaven and Earth Creation Realm. At this stage, one must completely forge heaven and earth from the original chaotic space, much like Pangu creating the heavens in ancient times. Chaos shatters here: the pure rises to become Heaven, and the turbid sinks to become Earth.

This is the Heaven and Earth Creation Realm, where one’s personal space becomes fundamentally different from before. The third stage is the Time Realm. In this stage, if training is successful, one can implant the flow rate of time within their personal space.

Previously, time inside the personal space was identical to the outside world, with no inherent temporal dimension. Now, this stage introduces the concept of time within one’s space. The fourth stage is the Object Transmutation Realm.

This stage allows for the alteration of a living being's life form—for instance, turning stone into gold or a person into a dog. This is the capability associated with this realm. The miraculous feats attributed to immortals in folklore, like turning stone to gold or a person to a dog, if not mere illusions, indicate that an immortal of this stage possesses such power.

The fifth stage is the Creation Realm. This stage is even more terrifying than the Object Transmutation Realm. Object Transmutation merely alters the form of life—stone to gold, man to dog, dog to man.

But reaching the Creation Realm allows one to conjure life out of thin air—this is the ability of a true transcendent, the power to create living beings. The sixth stage is the Primordial Energy Realm. In the previous stages, one needed to constantly inject energy into their personal space, as the space itself did not generate energy.

In the Primordial Energy Realm, the space itself develops an energy source, capable of generating Primordial Energy to sustain its own consumption. This establishes an endless cycle of energy within the space, eliminating the need for the space's master to inject power. In fact, excess energy may even be supplied back to the master.

The seventh stage is the Accumulation Realm. The accumulation required here is far greater, bordering on infinite. The accumulation needed in the previous five layers—Qi Cultivation, Body Tempering, Longevity, Great Dao, and Chaos—is minuscule compared to the Primordial Qi and power needed for the Accumulation Realm.

This is the greatest accumulation within the World Realm. Many practitioners spend tens of thousands of years in this stage and still feel their accumulation is insufficient. However, it must be noted that once one reaches the seventh stage, they can be called a Heavenly Venerable, and their status becomes radically different from before.

The eighth stage is the True World Realm. The personal spaces cultivated earlier were merely personal domains; they could not yet be called worlds. In this stage, one must expand that space into a true world.

This naturally demands the frantic accumulation achieved in the seventh stage, alongside considerable power, to transform a space into a world. The ninth stage is the Unity Realm. This stage allows the combat power of the created world to merge into the being itself, causing the being’s combat strength to explode instantaneously.

Every strike unleashed carries the power of a Minor World. The combat prowess achieved at this stage is supremely formidable. The tenth stage is the Life Perfection Realm.

This is the final stage, requiring the perfection of life—the highest form of existence. This represents the pinnacle of life forms among all sentient beings, and simultaneously serves as the accumulation necessary for attempting the breakthrough to the Civilization Lord. A Civilization Lord must transcend life, no longer being confined by it.

These are the ten stages of the World Realm! Mastering these ten stages makes one among the supreme figures of the entire Central Celestial Dynasty. And the strongest individual in the Sword Sect only reached the level of the fourth stage, the Object Transmutation Realm, and could not advance further.

Lu Yuan knew he was currently at the first stage of the World Realm, the Chaos Realm. His current goal was to charge toward the second stage, the Heaven and Earth Creation Realm. Opening his eyes, he saw Yan Cangtian standing before him.

Yan Cangtian looked at Lu Yuan and said, “Lu Yuan, are you interested in a sword duel? Rest assured, I will not use my full strength, only the power of the first stage of the World Realm, to duel you and allow you to slightly acclimate to combat in the World Realm.” Yan Cangtian said this with apparent interest. Lu Yuan was greatly moved.

Yan Cangtian was the one who truly guided him onto the path of the Sword Dao. Now, for Yan Cangtian, the foremost of the Three Myths of Mount Hua, to face off against himself, the last of the Three Myths of Mount Hua, would certainly be interesting. Involuntarily, Lu Yuan also felt a surge of great interest.