What he taught Lu Yuan were, in essence, two secret keys.

One was a minor technique for dealing with the Evil Sword Civilization, which would not be elaborated upon here for the moment.

After imparting this, Zhou Qingxuan spoke: "What follows is the Iron Law—the very foundation of swordsmanship. Your current swordsmanship is quite similar to that of the Sons of the Sword or the Sons of Immortals. If you wish to grow stronger, you must cultivate stronger swordsmanship and learn more Iron Laws." This was, undeniably, the honest truth.

But while it was the honest truth, cultivating the Iron Laws was far from simple.

Zhou Qingxuan looked at Lu Yuan. "What we call Iron Laws are the universal manifestations—the rules of Heaven and Earth that both living and non-living things must abide by. For instance, all things, animate or inanimate, are bound by the cycle of reincarnation. Every single thing, without exception, possesses a flaw. Everything has Yin and Yang. All life exists within time and space." "These are the Iron Laws." "You cultivated the Iron Laws of Yin-Yang and Reincarnation when you trained at Mount Hua, and after entering the Central Celestial Dynasty, you should have also cultivated the Iron Laws of Time and Space," Zhou Qingxuan stated.

"I also practiced the Iron Law of Order and the Iron Law of Causality," Lu Yuan replied.

"The Iron Law of Order is what Senior Brother Yan cultivates; he must have given you some pointers. Senior Brother Yan has always been dominating; he demands everything proceed according to his order, making it easy for him to master the Law of Order. As for the Iron Law of Causality, you likely found that through another fortune," Zhou Qingxuan mused. "Today, I will offer a small hint regarding the Iron Law of Adaptation that I practice. Whether you can grasp it depends on your own fate." "The Iron Law of Adaptation?"

"Precisely, the Iron Law of Adaptation," Zhou Qingxuan confirmed. "All things in the universe, living or non-living, are constantly adapting to something. For example, if a stone is suspended in mid-air, it must fall; only by resting on the ground can it suit the environment. The evolution of living beings is essentially continuous adaptation—strengthening useful organs while weakening and eventually discarding useless ones. Or consider insects on windy islands; they cannot fly high, or the wind will carry them into the sea. These are all adaptations to the environment, and all parts of the Iron Law of Adaptation." "The Iron Law of Adaptation actually divides into two parts: one is adaptation to Heaven and Earth, and the second is adaptation to combat."

"The first part is a person adapting to the surrounding environment; the second is adapting to various combat scenarios."

"This is all the guidance I can offer. Whether you comprehend it is up to you now." Zhou Qingxuan smiled subtly. He didn't elaborate too much. Back when Lu Yuan was quite weak at Mount Hua, he could afford to be detailed, explaining everything step by step. Now, that was unnecessary.

Lu Yuan had already forged his own path; he no longer required explanations delivered in agonizing detail.

To break through to the Civilization Realm, Lu Yuan needed to carve out his own path, his own style.

Lu Yuan sank into deep contemplation.

Adapting to the environment, the Iron Law of Adaptation!

One, adapting to Heaven and Earth! Two, adapting to battle!

As he meditated, time ticked by. After an unknown duration, Lu Yuan awoke to find Zhou Qingxuan gone. He must have left. The sound of an erhu still seemed to linger in the air—though Zhou Qingxuan’s appearance had changed drastically, now resembling a middle-aged scholar, his essential temperament remained, as did the mournful, sorrowful strains of his instrument.

Lu Yuan sprang up. He still had two and a half years remaining before he needed to depart for the Civilization Holy Land, having spent half a year recovering from injuries.

Now that Mount Hua was in peril, he naturally had to head there immediately.

After bidding farewell to Ancestor Jianmie, Lu Yuan shot toward the Outer Domain.

He rode a white sword-light, piercing through the vast heavens.

In the blink of an eye, he was back at Mount Hua.

"Elders Ye, the two of you have wreaked havoc on our back mountain. That area was meant for raising Azure Birds, yet every so often, you knock one down and eat it. How are we supposed to explain this to Venerable Yuzhen?" a young disciple lamented, face drawn with misery. It was truly unfortunate to encounter these two gluttonous Elders.

The tall, thin one said, "What’s there to fear? We are heroes; we stand by our actions. We will explain it to Martial Aunt Yuzhen." "Right! We, the two Elders Ye, might be foodies, but we are definitely honorable; we won't implicate you. At worst, Martial Aunt Yuzhen will scold us, and then we’ll spend some time training her disciples," the shorter, plumper Elder Ye added.

Hearing this from the two Elders, the young disciple could only nod helplessly. Forget it, as long as he wasn't the one to suffer. These two Elders Ye were no ordinary figures. It was rumored they were once prominent figures among the core disciples and were on good terms with Sect Master Lu Yuan, the last of the Three Myths of Mount Hua. With Sect Master Lu’s help, they had ultimately reached the Great Dao Realm. Of course, these two Elders Ye never abused their power; they were simply too fond of eating. Whatever arrived, they had to savor a taste.

Elder Ye Fang and Elder Ye Yuan, who used to be of the disciple generation, were directly promoted to Elder status due to their immense power—one could hardly remain a disciple when reaching the Great Dao Realm.

The Azure Bird in the pot was about to be cooked, releasing an intensely rich aroma.

Ye Fang and Ye Yuan were impatient to open the pot. The taste of Azure Bird was truly excellent. Even if it meant enduring Venerable Yuzhen's scolding, offering compensation, and training her disciples, they had to eat it. Ye Fang and Ye Yuan possessed childlike sincerity, and their swordsmanship was now quite formidable; they ranked among the top talents at Mount Hua. Their power, boosted by Lu Yuan's assistance, was also considerable.

It could be said that after eating an Azure Bird meal, helping Venerable Yuzhen train her disciples was something she would actually be quite happy about. And Venerable Yuzhen—she was originally the Peak Mistress of Jade Maiden Peak on Middle Peak, but now all five peaks had vanished, so her role as Mistress naturally ceased. Venerable Yuzhen was even happier; her original strength was insufficient, now only at the fifth layer of the Great Dao Realm; previously, her power was weaker, making the role of a Peak Mistress difficult. She had always been the weakest of the five peaks, so the pressure lifted now that she didn't have to be the Mistress, allowing her to enjoy a carefree life.

Just as Ye Fang and Ye Yuan were about to dig in, a swoosh sounded, and the entire pot of Azure Bird soup was snatched away. Ye Fang and Ye Yuan instantly unleashed two swift sword strikes, aiming at the thief. How dare someone steal their Azure Bird soup! They were naturally enraged—you could steal anything else, but never the food of these two gourmands. Of course, their attacks held back, intending merely to reclaim the soup without causing injury; these two food lovers were never tyrannical people.

But the soup thief’s swordplay was exquisite, effortlessly neutralizing their assault.

Wicked!

Ye Fang and Ye Yuan paused in surprise. Their current sword skills were formidable; their combined power was far greater than the sum of their parts. Few on Mount Hua could easily withstand their joint strike. Who could this be? They looked closer and saw the thief clad in flowing green robes, long hair trailing, and realized it was none other than Lu Yuan, who had quarreled with them over food countless times!

"Lu Yuan!" Ye Fang exclaimed in shock.

"Lu Yuan!" Ye Yuan cried out joyfully.

"You two foodies! My skills—my mastery—are now so profound that if you try to snatch anything from me in the future, you absolutely won't succeed!" Lu Yuan laughed heartily.

Ye Fang and Ye Yuan also burst into laughter, clapping Lu Yuan on the shoulder. What defined true friendship? These three were the epitome of it. Even if time changed, true friends remained true friends. The disciple, however, was stunned; he found he couldn't even twitch a finger. It was Lu Yuan, Sect Master Lu, the last of the Three Myths of Mount Hua!

His idol!

He almost collapsed onto the ground—such an idol!

Yan Cangtian was high above, Zhou Qingxuan hidden in the shadows, but Lu Yuan was the most approachable, garnering the most fervent admiration.

Lu Yuan had returned!

His return immediately sent tremors throughout Mount Hua.

Lu Yuan promptly conferred with Venerable Zixia and Venerable Yuanyang regarding the current crisis facing Mount Hua. The sect's affairs were currently managed by these two Vice Sect Masters. Venerable Zixia spoke: "We did indeed receive a challenge scroll not long ago from someone named Xie Fanluan. Moreover, it is said that throughout the Southern Domain, all sects focused on the sword received this challenge from Xie Fanluan—for instance, the Wudang Immortal Sect and Qingcheng Immortal Sect of the Jin Kingdom, the No-Sword Immortal Sect of the Great Qin, and so on. All these immortal sects, and even more distant ones like the Yue Maiden Sword Sect of the Yue Kingdom, received Xie Fanluan’s challenge. This person is quite strange, daring to challenge so many sects alone. We don't know his origins." "Xie Fanluan? That name is new to me, but I do know his background. He must originate from the Evil Sword Civilization," Lu Yuan stated.

"Civilization?" Venerable Zixia and Venerable Yuanyang both trembled. They had indeed heard rumors of the Civilization Realms, as they had opportunities to enter them during their trips to the Central Celestial Dynasty. They knew the word 'Civilization' existed but remained unclear about what it truly meant. However, they understood that dropping even a single Supreme Great Sect from the Civilization Realms into the Outer Domain would make it an unparalleled power. And the Civilization Realms were said to be far superior to Supreme Great Sects. Thus, hearing the word 'Civilization' alone caused a jolt in these two veterans of worldly affairs.

"I will handle this matter," Lu Yuan said. "This issue involves matters too vast, far exceeding the scope you can manage..."

"Right, if Xie Fanluan is causing such chaos in the Outer Domain, hasn't he attracted the attention of the Enforcers?" Lu Yuan inquired.

"No," Venerable Zixia replied.

No Enforcers? That left only two possibilities. First, Xie Fanluan’s strength wasn't up to the fifth layer of the Chaos Realm—a low probability. Second, the matter concerning the Evil Sword Civilization might have received tacit approval from one of the Five Great Ancient Civilizations, thus explaining the Enforcers' inaction.

The situation involving the Evil Sword Civilization this time was far more complex than it appeared.

But for the sake of Mount Hua Immortal Sect, he had to fight.

Not to mention, Zhou Qingxuan had mentioned that resisting the Evil Sword Civilization might offer him an opportunity to cultivate the Iron Law of Adaptation.

Simultaneously, the chance to clash with the Evil Sword Civilization born from the previous epoch, and to witness the demeanor of the swordsmen from the previous Sword Era, held considerable allure.