"Your mastery of martial arts techniques has reached its peak; there is nothing more I need to teach you," the Deputy Master of the Confucian Civilization stated. His words startled Kong Ni, Meng Wei, and Su Yueming. The Deputy Master of the Confucian Civilization never spoke lightly; if he claimed Junior Brother Li Taishi's combat skill had reached its apex, it undoubtedly had. The question remained: where had Sixth Junior Brother acquired such formidable fighting prowess? Meng Wei, however, felt a competitive surge, resolving to spar with Li Taishi when time allowed.

"Your magical power is currently in the evolutionary phase and cannot be enhanced right now," the Deputy Master of the Confucian Civilization continued. "In that case, try cultivating the Book of Civilization."

"The Book of Civilization is a crucial method for impacting the Civilization Realm. Since our Confucian Civilization stands upon books, we can also transform the Book of Civilization into fighting strength," the Deputy Master explained. "Every civilization possesses books to spread the nourishment of the spirit, and the Book of Civilization is the quintessential book of that civilization. Once truly condensed into a complete Book of Civilization, the possibility of breaking through to the Civilization Realm can increase by a full one-fiftieth."

"After all, books transmit civilization."

"One-fiftieth doesn't sound particularly high," Lu Yuan shrugged.

"One-fiftieth isn't high?" The Deputy Master of the Confucian Civilization chuckled. "Ask your Eldest Senior Brother, Kong Ni."

Kong Ni managed a wry smile. "The Book of Civilization is not easily condensed. I have strived for nearly one hundred thousand years to condense mine, yet I have failed. As for one-fiftieth, that is immensely significant. Breaking through to the Civilization Realm is a heavenly barrier—a hurdle notoriously difficult to cross. Anyone who can increase the probability by one-thousandth would fight tooth and nail for it."

"Anything that increases the possibility by one percent would cause the greatest commotion in the cosmos. Countless ancient behemoths would emerge to contend with you for it."

"A Book of Civilization that offers a one-fiftieth chance is ridiculously exaggerated."

"If someone stuck at the pinnacle of the World Realm managed to condense their own Book of Civilization, they would likely be ecstatic to the point of madness. Even in the Central Heavenly Dynasty and the Lost Lands, the mere rumor of someone achieving a Book of Civilization would incite fierce competition. A single Book of Civilization could stir up a tempest of bloodshed and conflict, though generally, those who succeed in creating one are exceedingly powerful, rarely falling prey to plunder." Only after hearing Kong Ni's explanation did Lu Yuan grasp the immense power of the Book of Civilization.

The Deputy Master of the Confucian Civilization chose this moment to teach Lu Yuan the method for cultivating the Book of Civilization, not because he expected Lu Yuan to master it immediately.

However, the Deputy Master also knew that his senior disciple, Kong Ni, currently at the Half-Step Civilization Realm, had a far smaller chance of breaking through to the Civilization Realm than Lu Yuan did.

This was the core essence the Deputy Master intended to impart.

"Kong Ni, Meng Wei, Su Yueming, you three should listen in as well. None of you have cultivated your Books of Civilization very well anyway," the Deputy Master said.

Kong Ni nodded. "Yes." He had spent nearly a hundred millennia on his cultivation without success.

Meng Wei also settled down to meditate. He had practiced for considerably less time than Kong Ni, but he too had failed.

Su Yueming had the shortest practice time, having merely laid a foundational sketch.

Lu Yuan also sat down. Everything he was currently doing was aimed at impacting the Civilization Realm. True, he was only at the seventh level of the World Realm, but preparation for the Civilization Realm was essential. After all, this was reputed to be the hardest stage to reach, and the Son of Desolation could potentially reach the Civilization Realm at any moment. If Lu Yuan allowed the Son of Desolation to advance first, his own end would surely follow.

He was engaged in a contest against the Son of Desolation.

The Deputy Master of the Confucian Civilization sat down and began lecturing: "The Book of Civilization records the rise and fall of an entire civilization. Success in cultivating it brings tremendous benefit to impacting the Civilization Realm. How to record the ebb and flow of a civilization—that is a vastly complex issue. Our Confucian Civilization begins cultivation with the Three Character Classic, then the Thousand Character Classic, moving on to various essays and collected works, finally culminating in a historical record of the civilization—this is the Book of Civilization."

"The true division of the Book of Civilization should be into three parts: the Beginning of Civilization, the Zenith of Civilization, and the Decline of Civilization."

The Deputy Master spoke with deep sincerity, aware that the time he had left to lecture his disciples was dwindling. His life force was about to resemble withered, yellowed pages, eventually turning to ash. Yet, he felt no fear, for his spiritual inheritance would continue; what mattered was the propagation of spirit, not the cessation of his physical form.

Between heaven and earth, there exists the character Ru (Confucian/Scholar).

Between heaven and earth, there exists the character Zheng (Righteousness).

......

Lu Yuan had returned to his own quarters.

He replayed the method for cultivating the Book of Civilization taught by the Deputy Master of the Confucian Civilization within his mind.

However, Lu Yuan had an innate feeling that when cultivating his own Book of Civilization, he wouldn't need the method taught by the Deputy Master. He should possess an alternate path, a different technique.

But what exactly was that method?

Wait!

He suddenly understood!

Lu Yuan realized that the world he had created—wasn't that the Beginning of Civilization?

And wasn't the original Sword Scroll World the Decline of Civilization?

And the Sword Realm—wasn't that the Zenith of Civilization?

He possessed corresponding worlds for each stage! Of course, the 'Beginning of Civilization' wasn't perfectly formed yet, as his created world was too simplistic, but the 'Decline' and the 'Zenith' were undeniable, solid, genuine gold. This meant he could skip all intermediate steps and cultivate the Book of Civilization directly.

Lu Yuan picked up his brush and began to draw.

Yes, he needed to paint an expanse of landscape, a complete civilization—a painting of a civilization based on the Sword.

Lu Yuan started sketching. First, the genesis of the Sword Civilization. He used his mind to imprint his own nascent world, so the initial depiction was quite rudimentary due to the simplicity of his 'Beginning.' Then, he began painting the Zenith of Civilization, aligning his mind with the likeness of the Sword Realm. This Zenith of the Civilization was painted with absolute fidelity; immensely powerful immortal swords manifested in his brushstrokes.

Lu Yuan spent a long time depicting the flourishing of the Sword Dao, mirroring the Sword Realm perfectly, painting the very essence of the sword.

Next, Lu Yuan began to paint the decline of the Sword. This merged with the state of the original Sword Scroll World. Lu Yuan's focus immersed itself entirely in the scene. Beneath his brush, swords began to falter and fall, sword wielders perished one by one—this was utter decay, absolute death, a world beginning to wane, a civilization starting its descent.

Mind merging with the world, he painted the history of the sword.

And under Lu Yuan's brush, an image materialized: the beginning of the sword, followed by its flourishing, concluding with its decay—the entire developmental trajectory of a civilization. A Book of Civilization slowly appeared in Lu Yuan's hands. After an unknown length of time, Lu Yuan suddenly snapped back to awareness. The Book of Civilization was cultivated successfully.

This was the Book of the Sword Civilization.

Of course, the Book of the Sword Civilization was mostly complete; a small fraction remained unfinished. Since Lu Yuan lacked a suitable antecedent world to model the 'Beginning' after, relying instead purely on his own creation, this section was imperfect and required further refinement, but the majority was done.

There are various Books of Civilization in the cosmos. It is easily understood that they aid in breaking into the Civilization Realm because civilization can be disseminated through writing. However, every Book of Civilization is notoriously difficult to cultivate. Someone like Lu Yuan, who managed to complete the majority of the Book of the Sword Civilization in mere moments, was unprecedented in history. Even Kong Ni, who struggled for nearly a hundred thousand years, was leagues behind Lu Yuan. Naturally, this disparity in results was largely attributed to the contribution of the Sword Scroll World and the Sword Realm; these worlds had existed for an incredibly long time. Without them, Lu Yuan might have spent tens of thousands of years cultivating the Book of Civilization without achieving his current result.

Lu Yuan knew he still needed to finalize the Book of the Sword Civilization; it was a supreme tool for impacting the Civilization Realm, capable of raising his chances by one-fiftieth—a probability he had been told was astronomically high.

When Lu Yuan finished crafting the Book of the Sword Civilization, the Sword Dao Gourd vibrated with excitement, and the Gate of Dao Tracing leaped; both sensed the emergence of another artifact of the Sword Dao.

His cultivation speed was truly staggering.

Progressing from the seventh to the ninth level of Righteous Qi cultivation had taken a full three hundred years, even with the aid of the Sage Kong's Heart Sutra. In terms of Righteous Qi, his speed was not fast at all, lagging slightly behind Eldest Senior Brother Kong Ni and Second Senior Brother Meng Wei.

Yet, cultivating the Book of Civilization—completing the majority of it—took only a few months. This speed vastly surpassed that of Kong Ni and Meng Wei, differing by countless orders of magnitude.

Lu Yuan mused to himself that if anyone, even a figure in the Civilization Realm, learned of his pace, they would likely be shocked to death.

This speed could not merely be described as outrageous. It was impossibly, super-superlatively, beyond-exaggeration, beyond-super, beyond-ridiculous, beyond-perverted, beyond-unbelievable.

Comprehending the Book of the Sword Civilization, even if incomplete, had further refined Lu Yuan's swordsmanship. Previously, his sword perspective was somewhat narrow; now, viewing it from the perspective of an entire civilization, his swordsmanship had naturally grown grander.

The journey to the Civilization Holy Land should only be a few months away now.

The Civilization Holy Land was about to commence.

The wind was about to rise.

Lu Yuan gently stroked his Nourishing Self Immortal Sword. Everything was ready; he was essentially at his peak state.

However, at this moment, Lu Yuan sensed an unfamiliar yet potent aura penetrating the Myriad Billion Bookhouse. The sheer strength of this aura suggested the presence of another individual at the Civilization Realm—a visitor from that level.