Lu Yuan, naturally, retained the identity of Grand Historian Li.

Perhaps sensing the brevity of his remaining years, the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization spoke with a touch of melancholy. "When I was young, I too was quite the gambler and womanizer. At your age, I was fully immersed in the pursuit of beauty and drowning in flower patches; in the casino, I had few rivals. Back then, relying on my 'Gambling Word' clone, I truly made a fortune. Later, as I aged, I grew weary of it all and settled down. It’s rare to see someone your age, like you, who avoids both gambling and women." Lu Yuan was speechless. The man who now seemed the epitome of a supreme gentleman was once such a character in his youth—though youthful romanticism was common enough.

"Right, speaking of the Son of the Barrens, do you know what weapon he uses?" the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization inquired.

"The weapon of the Son of the Barrens?" Lu Yuan started, suddenly recalling how the Son of the Barrens, wielding his Primordial Divine Halberd, had effortlessly cleaved his Immortal Sword of Nurturing Life, leaving it severely damaged with a massive chip, rendering it unusable for now.

"Yes, his weapon." The Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization continued, "My old eyes aren't completely failing me. His weapon is a Civilization-grade weapon; in technical terms, it's Divine-grade. The Divine-grade of a weapon. The weapon you used before was Immortal-grade, while the Son of the Barrens uses a Divine-grade weapon. That’s why he could so easily shatter yours. Of course, his cultivation is also incredibly powerful, far surpassing yours. His strength is already approaching the level of the Fiftieth Heaven Ranking." Lu Yuan paused, registering the term: Civilization-grade weapon, also known as Divine-grade weapon.

"Divine-grade weapons are immensely domineering. For an Immortal-grade weapon to be severed by one is extremely difficult to repair."

Lu Yuan pressed, "Then how can it be repaired?"

"Your sword is of the Righteous Qi attribute. To repair it, you must raise your Righteous Qi to the ninth layer. Once you achieve the ninth layer of Righteous Qi, it will naturally mend itself without leaving any trace of damage or flaw," the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization explained. "However, even repaired, it still wouldn't be able to withstand an attack from the Son of the Barrens' Civilization-grade Divine weapon; you'll need another strategy for that. But don't worry about that for now; focus first on cultivating your Righteous Qi to the ninth layer."

"The ninth layer of Righteous Qi? I believe I am currently at the seventh layer," Lu Yuan said.

The Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization seemed well-informed on the matter and showed little surprise. "The seventh layer of Righteous Qi is excellent, but moving from the seventh to the eighth, and then from the eighth to the ninth, is not easy. Each layer becomes significantly more difficult and exceptionally troublesome than the last."

The Vice-Lord led Lu Yuan swiftly along, his flying speed vastly superior to Lu Yuan's—Lu Yuan estimated it was at least dozens of times faster. This was the Civilization level, a tier far above the World level. Even the weakest Civilization-level being was ten, perhaps even dozens of times stronger than the strongest World-level being.

After flying for a considerable time, a massive Gate of Civilization appeared ahead, and a Minor Thousand World materialized before them.

The Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization did not enter through the main gate but instead took a side entrance, easily slipping into this Minor Thousand World. This world was his creation, making it trivially easy for him to use a seldom-known side door. Upon entering the Confucian World, Lu Yuan noticed it was significantly smaller than the Law-Ancient World, though still immense. In the sky, three characters, resembling miniature suns, were active.

But they were not suns.

They were: Righteous, Qi, Song!

These three characters radiated light and heat like three scorching suns.

None of the characters felt hot; instead, they emitted a gentle radiance, much like a refined gentleman—mild and temperate.

Similar to the Law-Ancient Civilization, countless stars drifted overhead, and a vast expanse of land stretched boundlessly below. Since they were flying low, skimming over the terrain, Lu Yuan could see numerous Confucian scholars, all wearing broad scarves and tall caps, exuding an ancient scholarly air. Intermittently, the clear sound of recited texts drifted up.

The Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization raised his hand and produced a scroll. "This is an Immortal Book. Like your Immortal Sword, books are the weapons of our Confucian Civilization. You can try it out. This current Immortal Book is unaligned; you can imbue it with attributes yourself, though they will mostly be of the Righteous Qi nature. I shall name this Immortal Book." "Let's call it the Immortal Book of Propagating Righteousness—Propagating Righteousness, spreading righteousness throughout the world," the Vice-Lord decreed.

"That sounds fitting."

"Oh, and remember to call me Master here. We must maintain the pretense," the Vice-Lord instructed, and Lu Yuan readily agreed.

The two flew straight to the center of the land, landing at a towering pagoda. Inside, they found no people, only an incomprehensible number of books—piled one stack upon another, so dense it was dizzying. Just looking at them was terrifying.

"This is my library. I've read nearly all of it," the Vice-Lord stated. Lu Yuan was genuinely impressed; he had not expected such an immense collection. He couldn't help but admire it.

"Right, you now have three senior martial brothers and sisters. Call them over to meet you." The Vice-Lord waved his hand, and moments later, three figures appeared, each emanating a profound scholarly aura.

"Greetings, Master."

"We pay our respects, Master."

The Vice-Lord waved them up. "No need for formalities. Rise. This is your junior martial brother, Grand Historian Li. He is currently at the seventh heaven of the World Realm, with the seventh layer of Righteous Qi." He pointed at Lu Yuan, introducing his current guise to his other three disciples.

The Vice-Lord then pointed to the foremost figure, a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair, the look of someone who read too much. "This is my eldest disciple, Kong Ni. He is at the threshold of the Civilization Realm, an exceptionally gifted student who inherits my main legacy, possessing the ninth layer of Righteous Qi. It is a pity he never broke through to the Civilization Realm; without Civilization, he remains an ant."

The Vice-Lord next pointed to the second person, also a middle-aged man, but appearing much more carefree. "This is my second disciple, Meng Wei. He is at the tenth heaven of the World Realm and has the potential to reach the threshold of the Civilization Realm, with the ninth layer of Righteous Qi." The Vice-Lord pointed to the last person, a beautiful woman. "This is my third disciple, Su Yuemian, at the ninth heaven of the World Realm, with the eighth layer of Righteous Qi."

"Naturally, Grand Historian Li, you are my sixth disciple." The Vice-Lord always subjected his disciples to rigorous trials. Lu Yuan, having already passed his initial test—culminating in the trial of the 'Gambling Word' clone—was considered accepted. The trials for the other five were far more complex. Disciples taken by the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization were rarely challenged, but his fourth and fifth disciples had died due to specific circumstances. Mentioning this brought a shade of sadness to the Vice-Lord’s face. Lu Yuan was now his sixth.

Lu Yuan realized he had a strange affinity for the number six, as his alias, Li Tai Shi, conveniently fit the designation of the sixth disciple.

The Vice-Lord gestured toward Lu Yuan. "Grand Historian Li has only recently joined our ranks. Regardless of whether I am present or absent in the future, Kong Ni, Meng Wei, Su Yuemian, all three of you must assist your junior martial brother. Understand?"

"Yes, Master." Kong Ni, Meng Wei, and Su Yuemian all nodded. They had already exchanged courtesies with Lu Yuan and were quite friendly toward their newest junior martial brother. Lu Yuan sensed only the dense aroma of scholarship and pure righteousness from them, a stark contrast to the sensation he felt from Ling Qingyun—he wondered where Ling Qingyun had learned such wickedness.

Lu Yuan returned their formal greetings.

At this time, there were two and a half years remaining until the opening of the Civilization Holy Land. He estimated he would need to cultivate here for a period.

All for the Civilization Holy Land.

The Civilization Holy Land was no simple affair.

Sworn enemies like the Son of the Barrens, and past defeats like the Son of the Sword, would all be entering. Moreover, there would be all sorts of figures: powers from ancient civilizations, formidable Imperial Sons of other Civilizations, and even the current Kong Ni, Meng Wei, and Su Yuemian, among countless others. Everyone would converge on the Civilization Holy Land.

The Civilization Holy Land promised to be a stage of unimaginable ferocity.

...

Oh, yes. The residence where the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization lived was named the Myriad Volumes Study.

Lu Yuan was now housed within the Myriad Volumes Study. As a fundamentally lazy person, living amidst such an overwhelming density of books created immense pressure. Although Lu Yuan occasionally flipped through volumes, he had genuinely read fewer than a thousand books in total, and fewer than ten with true concentration—the contrast with his current nominal Master, the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization, was staggering.

Forget it. No matter what, he would first enjoy his wine.

His time in the Evil Sword Civilization had been too tense, confronting the Sword Civilization of the previous epoch. And his time on Gambler’s Isle was also fraught with nervousness—after all, it was his first time gambling. Now, finally, he could truly relax, sipping his wine leisurely, feeling an incomparable sense of freedom.

As Lu Yuan drank, he realized he had forgotten something.

Wait!

He had definitely forgotten an item.

That item was the Fragmentary Desolate Sword Scroll of the Minor Thousand World!

He had obtained this item during his contest with the Son of the Sword.

It was rumored that this scroll could help one break through to the eighth heaven of the World Realm—the True Realm—more quickly. The sword scroll itself contained various resources, negating the need to gather them, which was the basis for this claim.

Now, he had already used his Gambling Word clone to gather sufficient resources, and the Sword Scroll remained unused.

Certainly, the Sword Scroll couldn't be useless; in fact, it must hold immense potential.

It was time to try using the Sword Scroll.