Ever since Lu Yuan first heard of the Ten Great Iron Laws from Yan Cangtian, he had only known of the Law of Karma. He was never clear on what the other nine were, and while he later managed to uncover some of them, he had never grasped the complete picture. Now, finally, he knew exactly what the Ten Great Iron Laws entailed.

Setting aside the supreme Law of Destiny, the last two Iron Laws, which he had never practiced, were the Law of Strength and the Law of Heart.

Never mind; I’ll go find the Sword Intent Monster.

Lu Yuan soared through his own world. His personal domain was now vast, more than ten times the size of the Jin Kingdom. Over this immense area, Lu Yuan unleashed his divine sense, which shot out like lightning. A sweep of his consciousness revealed no sign of the Sword Intent Monster. Had it hidden itself?

Lu Yuan mused inwardly but didn't worry too much. This is my world; where could it possibly hide?

The Sword Intent Monster was indeed hiding. It had been cultivating within the Sword Scroll when it suddenly felt a colossal tremor—an earthquake on a scale it had never experienced. Completely unprepared, faced with what seemed like an apocalyptic event threatening to destroy its existence, it burrowed deep into the earth.

This hiding spot was a recent discovery; Lu Yuan had frightened it so badly that it sought refuge there.

It burrowed and burrowed until the massive earthquake shaking the Sword Scroll world finally subsided. As it prepared to poke its head out, it saw a familiar silhouette standing right in front of it.

No way!

The Sword Intent Monster nearly spat blood from sheer frustration. It had encountered Lu Yuan twice before, and both times Lu Yuan had stripped away vast amounts of its sword intent. Now, running into him again—search Baidu for Huashan Xianmen bar for updates—was too much for it to bear. Lu Yuan sighed deeply, "You possess some spiritual awareness, yet bound as you are by the laws of heaven and earth, you are destined to have those laws drawn out upon encountering anyone, without exception."

"Very well. Since I have taken your sword intent, I am somewhat indebted to you. I shall return another body to you." Lu Yuan had long since gained the power of creation. He immediately fashioned a body from rare treasures of the world, then carefully extracted the Sword Intent Monster's soul from its original form and transferred it into this new vessel.

The Sword Intent Monster had expected annihilation, only to experience such a transformation. Moreover, the body Lu Yuan had crafted for it was exceptional; upon rebirth, it already possessed the strength of the Primordial Chaos Realm. The monster was filled with a mix of shock and joy, as this level of power far surpassed its former strength.

Of course, Lu Yuan could do this because the Sword Intent Monster's original soul had essentially reached this level. Directly boosting a weaker soul would not have yielded such a pleasant result; the monster itself was fundamentally close to the peak of the Great Dao Realm.

What the Sword Intent Monster sought was life; what Lu Yuan sought was sword intent and the laws of heaven and earth. Their pursuits were fundamentally non-conflicting.

This process became incredibly simple once Lu Yuan acquired the ability to create matter.

With a wave of his hand, Lu Yuan extracted the sixty-four types of sword intent. He planned to refine them later. Then, he looked at the Sword Intent Monster. "Sword Intent Monster, I shall call you Little Sword for now. I have remade a body for you. If you are willing to follow me and reside within this world, I will grant you space here. However, should you reside here, you must swear fealty to me. If you refuse, I will send you out of this world."

The Sword Intent Monster, now Little Sword, immediately shook its head. It had been born and raised within the Sword Scroll and had never experienced the outside world. Naturally, it did not wish to leave the Sword Scroll world. Furthermore, the monster was genuinely afraid of the outside; having never been there, it lacked the courage to venture out instantly.

Lu Yuan nodded and allocated a vast region of his world to Little Sword, marking the first living inhabitant of his domain.

Having settled this matter, Lu Yuan calmly began refining the sword intent.

The sword intent left behind by the Sword Intent Monster was indeed substantial.

There were exactly sixty-four strands.

This is!

As Lu Yuan refined the first of the remaining sixty-four strands, he noticed something amiss. This first strand pertained to the intent of the heart: the heart of an eagle, the Eaglet’s Heart, desiring lofty flight, soaring in the heavens—a heart that yearned perpetually to fly, never to perish. He never expected such a form of sword intent.

Immediately, Lu Yuan refined the others. The second was the Stone Heart. The Stone Heart yearned for motion; like the unmoving river stone, though the stone was fixed, the Stone Heart desired movement. Lu Yuan then understood why, several epochs ago, that monkey had caused havoc in the Celestial Palace: the monkey wished to move, to be free. The stone had been bound for too long, and upon finally gaining the ability to move, it naturally refused to remain stagnant. Thus, it sought to raise hell in the Celestial Palace, ensuring no one could constrain it—this was the Stone Monkey, the Stone Heart.

The third sword intent was the Heart of the River.

One by one, the sword intents represented different hearts.

Lu Yuan suddenly grasped something.

The Sword Scroll world had been destroyed at the end of the previous epoch, sinking into silence, seemingly dead. This was the destruction of a world. But had the Sword Scroll world truly been annihilated? Yes, on the surface, the Sword Scroll world was undeniably destroyed, yet the heart of the Sword remained, and the heart of the Sword Scroll world had not been extinguished.

And the Sword Intent Monster was a creature that had grown under the stimulation of the heart of a world that had not yet died.

Its final sixty-four kinds of sword intent were, in fact, all related to the heart of the Sword Scroll world—precisely the heart of a world.

The heart of a world is nearly all-encompassing, and thus, it perfectly matched the sword intent required for the Law of Heart, aligning exactly with the criteria of that Iron Law.

Having forged these sixty-four strands of sword intent, Lu Yuan had gathered nearly everything required for the Law of Heart, lacking only the final piece: his own heart! Indeed, the Sword Scroll world contained every kind of heart imaginable, except his own; Lu Yuan had yet to recognize his true self.

If he could not recognize his own heart, how could he master the Law of Heart?

Essentially, Lu Yuan now stood at the threshold of mastering the Law of Heart, lacking only the self-recognition of his own core. This meant he had instantly gained more than half of an Iron Law—an incredibly fortunate development! Nearly an entire Iron Law! Any Iron Law is infinitely precious, especially the Law of Heart, which is notoriously difficult to cultivate, with few ever succeeding. Lu Yuan had managed to achieve this only by utilizing the heart of the Sword Scroll world.

Lu Yuan realized his swordsmanship had become astonishing. He now commanded six Iron Laws, with the Law of Adaptation and the Law of Heart nearly perfected. He hadn't touched the Law of Strength at all. Of course, the Law of Destiny was set aside entirely. His swordsmanship had advanced by another significant step.

What luck!

His personal fortune was beyond ordinary.

Lu Yuan paused to count seriously and discovered his current store of sword intents had reached over three hundred—an abundance indeed.

Two and a half years remained until the opening of the Holy Land of Civilization.

His magical power and swordsmanship were ready; he couldn't advance further in those areas right now. However, there was one crucial task he must undertake: repairing his Nourishing Self Immortal Sword. It had been severed by the Primordial Divine Halberd of the Son of Desolation. If he could not repair it by the time the Holy Land opened, his combat power would be drastically reduced.

To repair the sword, he needed to elevate his Righteous Qi to the ninth layer himself. Even if someone else with the ninth layer of Righteous Qi repaired it for him, the Immortal Sword would never resonate perfectly with him afterward. Therefore, he alone had to reach the ninth layer of Righteous Qi; currently, he was at the seventh.

Lu Yuan went to pay a visit to the Vice-Master of Confucian Civilization.

"Increase your Righteous Qi?" the Vice-Master of Confucian Civilization mused. "There are several ways to enhance Righteous Qi. First, perform acts of righteousness; this is the most direct way—nurturing the right energy of heaven and earth within oneself—search Baidu for Huashan Xianmen bar for updates. The second method is through reading; the works of past sages contain countless words of wisdom. If you can truly internalize these sayings, you can raise your level of Righteous Qi. The third involves using a foundational scripture of our Confucian Civilization to absorb the world's Righteous Qi. This method is very slow, requiring a long time. Choose one of these three methods."

Lu Yuan deliberated, finding that none of the options were perfectly suitable at the moment.

The first method—performing righteous deeds—was fine normally, but he lacked the time now. The Holy Land of Civilization opened in two and a half years.

The third method—using the Confucian scripture's technique to absorb ambient Righteous Qi—was slow and time-consuming, precisely what he lacked.

After careful consideration, only the second option seemed viable.

Perhaps he needed to consult the ancient texts of the sages. He realized he hadn't read much before. He hoped that by studying the records of past predecessors, he could glean insights into righteousness, internalize the sentiments of the ancients, and finally reach the ninth layer of Righteous Qi.

"I choose the second method. That should work," the Vice-Master of Confucian Civilization agreed. "Let's try that first and see if the second method can elevate your level of Righteous Qi." It was a matter of extreme urgency; he needed to restore his Nourishing Self Immortal Sword.

"Very well. If you have any questions, return to me," the Vice-Master nodded. As Lu Yuan departed, the Vice-Master fell into deep thought. The situation within Confucian Civilization was becoming precarious. He hadn't noticed before how subtly their sect had drifted into this dangerous state.

In truth, everything stemmed from the character 'Zheng' (Righteousness) he currently possessed.

'Zheng' was an original character, and every single original character held immense power.

Therefore, whenever an original character surfaced, regardless of which one, it invariably triggered a frenzy of clamoring.

Now, how should the 'Zheng' character in his possession be passed on? To whom? The single character 'Zheng' stirred the hearts of men.

(The second chapter is delivered; the third depends on circumstances, as it is currently thundering and raining heavily.)

(To be continued).