The current situation was decidedly unfavorable for Lu Yuan. The Jade Emperor, Jian Yun-Chou, the Son of Immortals, and the Mighty Emperor's Son—none were mediocre hands.

His strongest defensive technique, Fu Sheng Ru Meng (Fleeting Life Like a Dream), was sealed by the colossal Lock of Civilization, rendering it temporarily unusable. Lu Yuan knew he had arrived at a moment of extreme peril.

The four opponents had already unleashed their ultimate techniques. Lu Yuan’s Yang Wu Immortal Sword moved in an instant.

Facing such formidable foes, Lu Yuan dared not hold back. His sword met the Jade Emperor’s fist, the Son of Immortals’ spell, Jian Yun-Chou’s (mace/halberd), and the Mighty Emperor’s Son’s axe all in a single flash, granting him immediate insight into the nature of their techniques.

The Jade Emperor’s fist was overwhelmingly potent; in terms of pure close-quarters combat skill, he was not far inferior to Lu Yuan. Jian Yun-Chou's combat skills lagged slightly behind the Jade Emperor's but weren't vastly different.

The Mighty Emperor’s Son possessed the weakest technique among the four, yet his axe strikes carried immense power; every collision sent a subtle ache down Lu Yuan's sword. The most caution-demanding opponent, however, was the Son of Immortals.

Like Lu Yuan, he was at the tenth layer of the World Realm, possessing combat strength nearing the Half-Step Civilization Realm—far surpassing ordinary cultivators at that stage. Lu Yuan discovered with a jolt that the Son of Immortals’ techniques were only slightly inferior to his own; defeating the Son of Immortals in a true contest would require a significant distance in attainment.

Lu Yuan instantly gauged the power levels of his opponents; the Jade Emperor remained the most terrifying. And just as Lu Yuan could measure their combat strength, the Jade Emperor and the others could certainly measure his.

These individuals were startled upon sensing Lu Yuan’s true combat power, surprised that he had reached such a level. Yet, their minds settled: the four of them, working in concert, could absolutely obliterate Lu Yuan.

These four supreme experts immediately initiated a rapid sequence of moves, intending to crush Lu Yuan here and now. Boom!

Lu Yuan’s shoulder took a hit—his first injury since the battle began. Although he had evaded most of the blow, the damage was extremely light.

This minor injury brought a flicker of elation to his opponents. Lu Yuan felt a slight twinge of pain.

Despite the minor nature of the wound, he realized this path of engagement was unsustainable. Lu Yuan paused momentarily, a memory surfacing.

Before entering the Sacred Land of Civilization, he had spent over two years within the Civilization of Ru (Confucianism). At that time, he practiced under the guise of Li Taishi, but while cultivating Righteous Qi and the Book of Civilization, he could never forget the Son of the Barrens.

The trauma of being grievously wounded by the Son of the Barrens had left an indelible impression. If he had lost to the Son of the Barrens last time, what would happen the next time they met?

That was the constant question churning in his mind. He had agonized over a solution with no success.

Then, one day, the Vice-Master of the Ru Civilization found Lu Yuan. "It is time to pass on the essence of the Ru Civilization to you.

Before this current civilization, the Ru Civilization possessed not only books but also swords. The proper way for a scholar is to hold a book and carry a sword with dignity.

However, in this current era, the suppression against swordsmanship is too severe, so no one practices the Ru Sword Dao. Since you are a master of the Sword Dao and possess the tenth layer of Righteous Qi, you may learn the Ru Sword Dao.

This Ru Sword Dao is now passed to you." Lu Yuan was inherently a lover of the sword. Receiving the Ru Sword Dao, he immediately plunged into its depths.

Within the billions of literary halls of the Ru Civilization, one pavilion contained tens of thousands of scrolls detailing the Ru Sword Dao. Lu Yuan absorbed it with the thirst and hunger of a famished man.

Yet, as he studied, he could not shake the memory of his nemesis, the Son of the Barrens. While mastering the Ru Sword Dao, a sudden, unconventional thought struck him one day.

The Ru Sword Dao was the most upright and majestic sword technique he had ever witnessed. What if he could invert the Ru Sword Dao, transforming it into the most solitary and absolute sword style?

Lu Yuan acted as soon as he conceived an idea. His mastery of the Sword Dao was already world-shakingly profound, and indeed, he successfully transformed the Ru Sword Dao into its exact antithesis—a deadly assassination art.

This counterpart also comprised seventy-two essential swords, mirroring the seventy-two foundational swords of the Ru Sword Dao. Confucius had seventy-two disciples; thus, the Ru Sword Dao had seventy-two swords, and consequently, the Killing Sword Dao also had seventy-two.

After creating the seventy-two swords of the Killing Sword Dao, Lu Yuan was quite pleased; it was truly a supreme technique. However, thinking again of the Son of the Barrens, and silently treating him as the benchmark opponent, Lu Yuan realized a stark fact: even with these seventy-two swords of the Killing Sword Dao, he could not kill the Son of the Barrens.

That was how powerful his nemesis was. Thus, Lu Yuan remained unsatisfied and continuously refined this technique.

The seventy-two swords of the Killing Sword Dao were condensed into thirty-six. These thirty-six were stronger than the original seventy-two, but Lu Yuan was still dissatisfied and continued modifying.

The thirty-six swords became eighteen. Each of these eighteen was enough to astound the world, yet Lu Yuan secretly thought that even this level of swordsmanship might not suffice against the Son of the Barrens, so he kept revising.

The eighteen swords were reduced to eight. By this stage, every sword strike was epoch-making, but Lu Yuan felt it still wouldn't handle his life-or-death enemy, so he continued the modifications.

Finally, the eight swords converged into two. At this point, Lu Yuan felt he had a reasonable chance of injuring the Son of the Barrens with this technique.

Ultimately, the two swords merged into a single strike. Upon reaching this one sword, Lu Yuan gained considerable confidence that he could wound the Son of the Barrens with it.

This single technique was the Jue Sha Yi Jian (Single Killing Strike). Lu Yuan himself was immensely satisfied, believing it could not be simplified further, having reached his absolute limit.

This strike was not upright or majestic; it aimed for the precise opposite extreme of dignity. Therefore, while its power was immense, it carried significant limitations.

For instance, it must be used when the opponent is caught off guard. Using an assassination sword when the enemy is fully alert would be absurd.

Furthermore, it required extremely close range; its effectiveness plummeted at a distance. In exchange, however, the power of this single strike was outrageously immense.

Lu Yuan suddenly remembered this sword! Now, facing the combined assault of the Jade Emperor, the Son of Immortals, Jian Yun-Chou, and the Mighty Emperor's Son, Lu Yuan fixated on this single move.

If he were to use it, it had to be against the Jade Emperor. Among these four, the Jade Emperor was the most troublesome, the most seasoned, and the hardest to deal with—the Lord of the Celestial Palace, truly living up to his name.

But to use this strike against the Jade Emperor, he had to ensure the Emperor let his guard down, allowing him to close the distance for the execution of this must-hit, must-injure strike, contingent on meeting its specific prerequisites. Right.

Wasn't the Jade Emperor setting a trap? Claiming ten moves when it would take a hundred, then using verbal provocation?

And Jian Yun-Chou deliberately mentioning the capture of the Huashan contingent—Lu Yuan absolutely did not believe it. He trusted Yan Cangtian and Zhou Qingxuan; as long as they were present, Huashan would not fall easily.

That was the trust a swordsman held for another swordsman. Though he didn't believe it internally, he could feign belief.

Then, he would lure the enemy into his intended sequence, inducing the Jade Emperor to draw close for an attack. After all, the Emperor used his fists, requiring proximity for maximum impact, even if fist-qi could reach him at range.

Since the plan was set, the next step was execution... ......

The combined offensive from the Jade Emperor and the four masters intensified. Lu Yuan was at an absolute disadvantage.

Bang! Lu Yuan’s back was struck—this time by the Son of Immortals.

The Son of Immortals appeared outwardly courteous, but his attacks were anything but. Lu Yuan felt a sharp pain in his back, yet even so, his sword light flared, transforming into a shimmering illusion to ward off the four assaults.

At this juncture, his sword light remained unwavering. The Jade Emperor and the others inwardly praised him, which only solidified their resolve to kill Lu Yuan.

The Jade Emperor spoke, "I heard something recently: before coming to the Sacred Land of Civilization, the Son of the Barrens was hunting a sorrowful middle-aged swordsman, and it seems the Son of the Barrens succeeded." The Jade Emperor did not know the middle-aged swordsman’s identity, but he instinctively felt the man was somehow connected to Lu Yuan, hence the execution of a psychological strike. Lu Yuan’s sword light wavered almost imperceptibly.

He was genuinely shocked. The Son of the Barrens was pursuing Zhou Qingxuan.

Though Zhou Qingxuan was the reincarnation of a Civilization Vice-Master, he might still not be a match for the Son of the Barrens. As the sword light faltered, Jian Yun-Chou’s mace thrust in with uncanny speed, striking Lu Yuan’s right forearm.

As pain shot through his arm, Lu Yuan instantly countered with a back-thrust against Jian Yun-Chou, but in that moment, he was struck again. The Mighty Emperor's Son’s axe followed instantly, bringing forth the styles Kai Tian (Heaven Splitting) and Bi Di (Earth Cleaving), launching a heavy assault against Lu Yuan.

Although Lu Yuan could easily block these blows, every time he was grazed, his vital energy surged uncomfortably. Success!

The Jade Emperor observed Lu Yuan’s reaction, knowing his injuries were significantly worse and a psychological crack had appeared. As the other three pressed their coordinated attack, the Jade Emperor suddenly shot forward.

His style had always been the most tyrannical, following a path of sheer dominance, but he suddenly appeared with uncanny speed behind Lu Yuan, simultaneously unleashing the Nine Dragon Emperor Fist. There was no way for Lu Yuan to evade or dodge; he was smashed heavily onto his back by the full force of the Nine Dragon Emperor Fist.

The Jade Emperor’s Nine Dragon Emperor Fist was famed for its sheer weight, and this blow landed perfectly. How immense must the impact have been!

He succeeded! The Jade Emperor poured his magical power into Lu Yuan’s body, thinking in that instant that although Lu Yuan was known as the Eighth Son of Fortune, his experience was ultimately too shallow.

Just like the Stone Monkey in his day, everyone inevitably succumbed beneath his Nine Dragon Emperor Fist. The Jade Emperor recalled the battle where he defeated the Stone Monkey, a memory that made his blood boil anew.

The Nine Dragon Emperor Fist roared across heaven and earth. The Extreme of the Emperor!

The Extreme of the Sovereign! The Extreme of the Dragon!