The two Heavenly Ranking masters, slaying gods, extinguishing demons, eradicating fiends, and slaying immortals, found it all too simple. Though they themselves were entities within the scope of gods, demons, fiends, and immortals, they stood at the very pinnacle of that hierarchy; even ten Jade Emperors combined could not best these two.

Meanwhile, Zhu Tianren and Wang Xueze were relentlessly assaulting the forty-nine defensive formations. Given their immense power, supplemented by aid from the others of the Heavenly Reason Civilization, they breached five defensive formations in short order, and this pace showed no sign of slowing.

They were driven by a fierce resolve to slaughter every last soul of the Confucian Civilization. And within the forty-ninth defensive formation, Lu Yuan was deep in contemplation.

He absolutely had to raise his power swiftly, otherwise, Zhu Tianren and Wang Xueze would go on a mad killing spree. Once they reached the thirty-first defensive formation, many people would perish at their hands.

He must save these people. Whether as an immortal or a hero, he had to rescue them.

But how to enhance his strength? For a moment, Lu Yuan could not conceive of a method.

For someone like Lu Yuan, approaching the level of the Heavenly Ranking, improving one's power was never simple. Lu Yuan pondered aloud, "I need to boost my strength.

Is there any way to advance my power right here?" Kong Ni and Kong Mingde remained quite composed. Kong Ni shook his head.

"Truly, there is no way, unless you can ascend to the Half-Step Civilization Realm." Right! If he could reach the Half-Step Civilization Realm, his combat strength would soar dramatically.

After all, he was currently stuck at the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm. Lu Yuan slapped his forehead, but after a brief moment of thought, he realized he had absolutely no means of reaching the Half-Step Civilization Realm.

"Then, Senior Brother Kong, do you know of any shortcut to the Half-Step Civilization Realm?" Kong Ni shook his head. "I have advanced step by steady step, taking a long time for each stage; where would I find any shortcut?" This was not merely Kong Ni's issue; it was a general problem within the Confucian Civilization.

Other civilizations might possess shortcuts, but the Confucian Civilization had always emphasized integrity and uprightness, eschewing any trickery. This gave Lu Yuan a crucial insight: while a civilization being upright was not wrong, relying solely on uprightness while lacking other techniques was problematic.

He noted this as something to remember when he eventually reopened the Sword Civilization. A civilization should possess diverse means; whatever methods the enemy employs, one must be able to counter with equivalent measures.

Setting aside these thoughts, since Kong Ni had no solution, and Kong Mingde offered no shortcut either, they had reached an impasse. "I must figure something out," Lu Yuan murmured to himself.

"If you think you can simply boost your power just because you want to, that's truly laughable." A voice, tinged with sarcasm, cut through the air. Lu Yuan looked up to see a somewhat handsome scholar speaking.

Lu Yuan blinked in surprise. He recognized this scholar; his name was Meng Zhao, a disciple of the Vice Lord of the Integrity Civilization, reputed to be quite young, having reached the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm within a mere thousand years.

One shouldn't compare everyone to those beasts known as the Seven Sons of Destiny. To reach the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm in a millennium already marked one as a prodigious, monstrous talent.

As for Meng Zhao, he usually paid Lu Yuan little mind, so they rarely interacted. Why was he speaking up now?

Lu Yuan felt a flicker of confusion. Meng Zhao’s history explained it.

Meng Zhao had always been hailed as a genius, a super-genius, and a figure on the Hundred Potential List. Within the domain of the Confucian Civilization, he was a focal point of attention.

His master, the Vice Lord of the Integrity Civilization, had successfully ascended to the Civilization Realm, leading to Meng Zhao sometimes being called "Little Integrity." Simply put, Meng Zhao had lived his entire life under an immense spotlight. Then, Lu Yuan appeared under the guise of Li Taishi.

The persona of Li Taishi, created by Lu Yuan, was far superior to Meng Zhao. Especially Li Taishi's two defining victories: the first against Zhu Renyu, and the second against the Demon Son.

After defeating the Demon Son, Li Taishi became instantly famous across the world, a far cry from Meng Zhao, who was only widely known within the Confucian Civilization. Meng Zhao felt a mixture of jealousy and hatred, but being a cultured individual, he usually suppressed his dissatisfaction internally, preventing it from erupting.

However, facing the two Heavenly Ranking behemoths, Zhu Tianren and Wang Xueze—especially when Zhu Tianren had recently passed close by him while executing an enemy, effortlessly turning a fellow senior disciple of equal strength into a mere wave of blood—the pressure on Meng Zhao became immense. Now, under the relentless assault of Zhu Tianren and Wang Xueze, the insidious thoughts buried deep within his heart magnified, causing his outburst at this very moment.

Kong Ni immediately adopted a stern demeanor. "Junior Brother Meng, Junior Brother Li is acting for our collective benefit.

Your words are quite inappropriate." Kong Mingde’s expression also grew serious. "A gentleman does not act as a mere tool; a gentleman possesses magnanimity.

Junior Brother Meng, this behavior does not suit a gentleman." Meng Zhao let out a cold sneer. He knew he would face criticism from many for speaking now, but he waited eagerly for the ensuing drama.

He simply refused to believe that Li Taishi could boost his power whenever he wished; there was no such utopian convenience in the world. Lu Yuan, for his part, paid no attention to Meng Zhao.

He had no time to address this figure right now; his immediate priority was enhancing his power to save others and save himself. Just then, Lu Yuan suddenly recalled something: his Myriad Swords Return to the Origin Great Method allowed him to absorb sword qi to enhance his own strength.

And within the Confucian Civilization’s vast libraries, there existed a Confucian Sword Chamber. The Vice Lord of the Confucian Civilization had once taken him there.

Inside the Confucian Sword Chamber were numerous Confucian sword classics. It turned out that before this epoch, the Confucian school used scrolls as weapons, but they also utilized swords, divided into two main sects: the Confucian Sword Sect and the Confucian Scroll Sect.

However, because this epoch severely suppressed the use of swords, the Confucian Sword Sect withered away, while the Confucian Scroll Sect endured. It was by using Confucian swordsmanship that he had forged his most fierce and brutal ultimate killing strike.

The description of this strike stated that if the distance was close and the opponent showed even the slightest lapse in caution, they absolutely could not evade it. It was an unavoidable strike.

Indeed, it was this very sword that had slain the Jade Emperor; otherwise, with his strength at the time, killing the Jade Emperor would have been extremely difficult. Inside the Confucian Sword Chamber, there were also items holding considerably dense sword qi—he could utilize the Myriad Swords Return to the Origin Great Method to absorb this Confucian sword qi and boost his strength.

Lu Yuan announced, "I have thought of a way to increase my power. I shall be right back." With that, he vanished.

Every second counted now. Lu Yuan flew with extreme speed to the entrance of the Confucian Sword Chamber.

The Chamber required a key, but the Vice Lord of the Confucian Civilization had entrusted the key to Lu Yuan long ago, completely trusting him. Lu Yuan activated the key, channeling his mana into it, and in moments, the Confucian Sword Chamber swung open.

Inside the Chamber were many volumes of Confucian sword path classics. Lu Yuan ignored the books now, focusing instead on the objects radiating sword qi.

Among these objects imbued with sword qi were two immortal swords. One was clearly the former personal sword of the Vice Lord of the Confucian Civilization; this sword was named the Confucian Divine Sword, a weapon of the Civilization grade, one rank higher than Lu Yuan’s current Immortal Armaments.

The other was the former sword of the Vice Lord of the Three Scrolls Civilization. This sword was named the Mencius Divine Sword.

Originally, the exact title of the Vice Lord of the Three Scrolls Civilization was the Vice Lord of the Three Scrolls and One Sword Civilization, but since he rarely used a sword, the lengthy title gradually shortened to Vice Lord of the Three Scrolls Civilization. The "Three Scrolls and One Sword" referred naturally to the Mencius Sacred Scripture, the Great Learning Sacred Scripture, the Doctrine of the Mean Sacred Scripture, and the Mencius Divine Sword.

This location was not like the Sword Realm, where special environmental conditions allowed Immortal-grade swords to retain dense mana. In other places, the mana contained in Immortal-grade swords would be depleted during epoch shifts; only Heavenly Swords of the Civilization grade could preserve their mana across eras.

Lu Yuan knew time was critical, so he immediately sat down cross-legged, taking hold of both Heavenly Swords with his hands. Simultaneously, he activated the Myriad Swords Return to the Origin Great Method.

A Sword Dao Black Hole instantly manifested within his body. In that hazy instant, he seemed to witness the stories of the Vice Lord of the Confucian Civilization and the Vice Lord of the Three Scrolls Civilization from years past—two dashing figures who sang with wine, living out their destinies with sword and scroll, striving for the righteous path of the epoch, slaying all manner of ferocious beasts and wicked fiends.

In that moment of illusion, Lu Yuan seemed to hear someone singing the Song of Righteousness. Heaven and Earth possess righteous qi, existing in myriad forms; Below, they become mountains and peaks; Above, they become the sun and the stars.

... Among all the figures at the Civilization Realm, the one Lu Yuan admired most was certainly not the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization, whose boundless mana had guaranteed him a top-ten or even top-five ranking for over ten epochs, but figures like the Vice Lord of the Confucian Civilization.

Upholding the righteous path—that was the duty of our generation. Seeing the brave and righteous scenes of the past displayed through the divine swords, Lu Yuan's blood surged with excitement.

Thus, Lu Yuan's conviction became even firmer. My sword upholds righteousness and eradicates evil.

This is my Dao! Though difficult, though arduous, it is the path that must be walked.

The ancients said: Though a thousand men stand against me, I shall go forward. Rolling tides of sword qi poured into Lu Yuan's body from the two divine swords.

This sword qi was entirely different from the other qi he had absorbed previously; its quality was clearly far superior. The Sword Realm also possessed divine swords, but that small area was currently inaccessible to Lu Yuan; if he could not enter, he could not borrow its power to grow stronger.

Now, these two streams of Confucian Dao sword qi flowed into his body like ancient divine dragons, scalding hot. Lu Yuan felt his mana continuously surging upward, and as it rose, he suddenly encountered a barrier.

This barrier was not overly difficult; it was significantly easier than the first major hurdle he anticipated—the Civilization Realm. It must be the bottleneck for the Half-Step Civilization Realm.

Now, it was time to charge toward the Half-Step Civilization Realm and elevate his combat strength.

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