The Sovereign of Law the First brought Lu Yuan to the outer reaches of the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Law Realm. Those at the World Realm still resided in palaces, whereas those at the Civilization Realm lived not in palaces, but in the heavens themselves.

The dwelling place of the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization was called the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Law Realm. And at the very apex of these Thirty-Three Heavens lay the Heaven of Law-Origin.

Law, spells, Origin, the primordial source, the genesis point. The Heaven of Law-Origin—the genesis point, the source of all spells.

The Sovereign of Law the First brought Lu Yuan past the thirty-two layers of the Law Realm, seeking an audience beyond the thirty-third. Immediately, a fair-faced, sharp-featured pageboy was dispatched to convey the message.

The boy soon emerged: “The Lord of Civilization bids you enter.” This boy, with his delicate features, led the Sovereign of Law the First and Lu Yuan into the Heaven of Law-Origin. The Heaven of Law-Origin was a minor world, slightly smaller than the main expanse, and within this lesser minor world, the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization sat cross-legged.

“What brings you here?” the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization inquired. The Sovereign of the First Law explained the matter of the Hundred Defeats True Scripture.

Upon hearing the tale, the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization found it quite intriguing. Though he was the Lord of Civilization, he intimately understood the difficulty of breaking through to the Civilization Realm.

The fact that Lu Yuan possessed a method for achieving this breakthrough piqued his scholarly interest. Accepting the Hundred Defeats True Scripture, the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization began his study.

He glanced over it briefly: “This scripture is indeed quite fascinating. My civilization shall delve into it at leisure.

You two may look around anywhere within the Heaven of Law-Origin for now.” With that, he settled into a cross-legged posture in the void, already engrossed in examining the Hundred Defeats True Scripture. This was Lu Yuan’s first visit to the Heaven of Law-Origin, so he settled in there for the time being.

The Heaven of Law-Origin was the layer where the might of spells reached its zenith. This heaven, too, possessed mountains, rivers, cities, and grasslands, but upon Lu Yuan’s careful inspection, he discovered something startling: every single element—be it the mountains, the rivers, the cities, or the fields—was a tangible object, yet utterly unreal, nothing more than agglomerations of spells.

This entire realm, this heaven, was composed solely of spells. Beyond spells, there was nothing else.

Lu Yuan suddenly recalled the common saying used to describe himself: “Beyond the sword, there is nothing else.” Now, wasn't the same phrase apt for the pinnacle of the Ancient Law Civilization: “Beyond the spell, there is nothing else”? In this world, those who succeeded required not only immense destiny but also a true spirit of dedicated specialization.

Which Civilization-level expert wasn't someone overflowing with innate talent, overflowing with destiny, and overflowing with effort—a person triple-overflowing? Becoming a Civilization Realm expert was too, too difficult.

Moreover, Lu Yuan saw the Gate of the Dao of Law. It was similar to his own Gate of the Dao of Sword, but his sword gate was minuscule in comparison.

This Gate of the Dao of Law within the Heaven of Law-Origin was immeasurably vast, beyond description in its antiquity and majesty. It represented the limit of Law, the source of Law, the supreme existence of Law, the absolute supreme among all supremes of Law.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Lu Yuan faintly sensed that although this Gate of the Dao of Law was infinitely large and so magnificent, it still possessed flaws; it seemed incomplete. “Indeed, it is inherently incomplete.” The Sovereign of Law the First appeared at some unknown moment, walking over with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Between heaven and earth, there was originally only one Gate of the Dao of Law, situated in the deepest recesses of spacetime. Many epochs ago, two peerless talents of the Dao of Law, surpassing their era, emerged simultaneously.

These two did not initially treat each other as rivals, but after defeating countless others, they became each other's primary opponents. One achieved the position of Vice-Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization, and the other became the Vice-Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization.

Later, both advanced further: one became the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization, and the other became the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization. They remained evenly matched for a long time.

When they simultaneously summoned the Gate of the Dao of Law from the deepest reaches of spacetime, they clashed in the void, and the gate explosively split in two. The Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization and the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization each took control of half.” “The two Lords of Civilization each perfected the Gate of the Dao of Law in their possession.

After several epochs, the halves each held seemed to become a complete whole again, but in reality, each remained just one half, incomplete. That is why you sense the flaw.

It is also one of the reasons my father and the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization are constantly opposed.” So that was it! Lu Yuan and the Sovereign of Law the First remained in the Heaven of Law-Origin for a full forty-nine days.

Lu Yuan merely wandered about. This place was a paradise for spell practitioners; any who cultivated the Way of Spells would benefit immensely.

However, since Lu Yuan was fundamentally a master of the Dao of Sword, he gained no tangible benefit here. Forty-nine days passed, and the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization emerged from his seclusion.

“This Hundred Defeats True Scripture does indeed hold some interest. I have researched it for forty-nine days, tracing its derivations to the deepest reaches of spacetime causality, and have managed to revise the Hundred Defeats down to Thirty-Three Defeats, corresponding precisely to the Thirty-Three Heavens.

If you can manage to be defeated by a Civilization Realm expert exactly thirty-three times, it will increase your chance of breaking through to the Civilization Realm by a full one-tenth.” One-tenth! One-tenth!

This was an astonishing boon. Any factor that could increase the chance of assaulting the Civilization Realm by even one percent would cause a frenzied scramble.

The Book of Civilization only offered a chance increase of one in fifty. Even gathering all the Chaos Civilization Fragments and assembling the Void Plate only granted a ten percent possibility.

Assaulting the Civilization Realm was a matter of such terrifying difficulty. The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization spoke again: “These Thirty-Three Defeats require transforming a portion of the destiny and mysterious artifacts of the Sword Ancient into thirty-three iterations.

This is the absolute limit achievable through reduction. Even the strongest living being in the current world would likely be incapable of reducing the Hundred Defeats True Scripture to fewer than thirty instances.” The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization possessed this confidence; he was ranked among the top ten entities in existence.

If he could only achieve this, the strongest being in the world could, at best, compress the scripture to thirty defeats, but not below that threshold. Lu Yuan was overjoyed; this result far exceeded his expectations.

Originally, he needed to be defeated one hundred times by those at the Civilization Realm. Now, he only needed thirty-three defeats under that level.

The difficulty of thirty-three was substantially lower than that of one hundred. One must know contentment; excessive greed rarely leads to true satisfaction.

Contentment brings perpetual joy. Lu Yuan accepted the revised Hundred Defeats True Scripture handed to him by the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization.

A cursory flip revealed that it was indeed profoundly logical, far superior to the original version. “Heaven and Earth possess Yin and Yang, giving rise to the Great Void; the Dao divides into true fruits; living beings engage in war, leading to victory and defeat.” This was the opening line of the Hundred Defeats True Scripture.

Lu Yuan continued reading: “The victor steals the profound secrets of Heaven and Earth, and the vanquished also holds a sliver of these secrets. If one can master these secrets, extracting the essence from defeat, absorbing the Great Void of the Sword Ancient, one may then attain the essence of a hundred defeats and charge toward the Great Dao of Civilization…” Lu Yuan sat cross-legged to cultivate.

He committed the outline and the details of this chapter to memory. The foundation for the Hundred Defeats True Scripture was thus laid immediately; this technique required foundational cultivation first.

With the base established, Lu Yuan let out a long shout: “Lu Yuan seeks to challenge the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization! I humbly request instruction!” The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization looked at Lu Yuan: “Very well.” He lightly flicked a single finger, an action that was nothing short of world-shattering.

Lu Yuan felt the heavens collapse; it wasn't just the sky that fractured, but several epochs surpassing the ordinary instantly disintegrated. Lu Yuan attempted to flee, but found all surrounding space utterly locked down.

He tried to defend, but realized that against this force spanning several epochs, even the power of his sword draw was negated. He tried to think, but his very capacity for thought was nearly extinguished in that instant.

Facing this power on the level of a Civilization Lord, facing the casual flick of a Civilization Lord’s finger, he could neither resist, nor draw his sword, nor even contemplate. Boom!

The finger struck Lu Yuan heavily. He instantly realized he had sustained a grievous injury—though this was after the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization had temporarily withdrawn the vast majority of his power.

Only then did Lu Yuan’s mind recover enough to think. Too strong, too strong!

This was the power of a Civilization Lord. He had witnessed the battle between the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization and the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization from the side and was shocked, but facing the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization directly now revealed a reality far more staggering—it was excessive!

Fortunately, this was merely a test, not a true fight; in a real confrontation, he would have been instantly obliterated without even absorbing the first blow. Lu Yuan hastily swallowed a large handful of elixirs and immediately sat cross-legged to tend to his wounds.

After a considerable time, he recovered slightly and simultaneously felt that the Hundred Defeats True Scripture had indeed subtly altered something within him—something ineffable. Once his injuries healed, he exited the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Law Realm, beginning another period dedicated to healing.

Lu Yuan now possessed a rather grand palace within the Ancient Law Civilization world; perhaps he was now semi-resident of the Ancient Law Civilization. Lu Yuan named this palace the Palace of the Sword Dao.

The Palace of the Sword Dao was desolate and silent; besides Lu Yuan, there were no others. Servants had been offered to attend him, but Lu Yuan refused them all, finding the prospect of attendants utterly tedious.

After his injuries fully mended, Lu Yuan immediately initiated his second challenge: the Sovereign of Law the First. The Sovereign of Law the First was aware of Lu Yuan’s Hundred Defeats True Scripture and acted decisively.

Facing Lu Yuan’s challenge, the Sovereign of Law the First also pointed a single finger—a finger that promised the collapse of the heavens. With that gesture, the sky itself fractured, and Lu Yuan felt a tremor deep within his soul.

However, Lu Yuan realized, to his relief, that no matter how his soul trembled, he could now draw his sword and think. The difference between a Civilization Vice-Lord and a Civilization Lord was clear; the oppressive might exerted upon him was vastly distinct.

Lu Yuan instantly drew his sword, unleashing his blade. Facing the Sovereign of Law the First, Lu Yuan almost instantaneously executed the swordsmanship of the Six Iron Laws Sword One, thrusting directly forward.

Within this single strike manifested the Wheel of Samsara, the Wheel of Yin-Yang, the River of Order, the River of Time, the River of Space, and the Wheel of Great Karma—an exquisitely intricate sword strike aimed to meet the attack of a Civilization Vice-Lord head-on.