The battle raged with astonishing ferocity. It was a clash between Lu Yuan and the Sky Soul Mage, ranked twenty-seventh on the Heavenly Ranking. This fight was proving to be intensely fierce. Under normal circumstances, Lu Yuan would have executed a stealth attack on the Sky Soul Mage, using his ultimate sword strike—a guaranteed kill if he could close the distance and catch the opponent off guard. However, this time something went awry. The Sky Soul Mage had anticipated Lu Yuan’s arrival and deliberately inflicted an injury. Had Lu Yuan not reacted swiftly, he would have been gravely wounded. This outcome was dictated by the very nature of the Sky Soul Mage. No one could successfully sneak attack the Sky Soul Mage! The Sky Soul Mage possessed a Heavenly Soul Field. Within this domain, he commanded tens of thousands of souls, rendering all concealment techniques useless within a thousand li. Virtually no one could ambush him, unless they possessed formidable skills in soul magic. Lu Yuan, clearly lacking proficiency in soul techniques, had been exposed from the start. What followed was a grueling contest. The Sky Soul Mage and Lu Yuan engaged in a direct, face-to-face confrontation.

Clang!

The Nurturing My Immortal Sword sliced through the void, its light relentlessly pressing against the Sky Soul Mage. The Mage inwardly recoiled; Lu Yuan’s swordsmanship was profoundly esoteric. Even with his hundreds of thousands of guardian souls, the defense felt the chill of imminent danger, as if perpetually poised on the precipice of peril.

Lu Yuan, in turn, recognized the true caliber of the Sky Soul Mage, meriting his twenty-seventh position. The Heavenly Ranking possessed distinct tiers: the top ten occupied the highest stratum, ranks eleven through twenty formed the next, twenty-one through thirty another tier, and so on. Therefore, the strength of the Sky Soul Mage was a full tier above the previous opponents Lu Yuan had defeated, Fang Tu and Situ Guimi. Lu Yuan, already suffering a minor injury, fought the Sky Soul Mage with brutal intensity, resulting in an absolute war of attrition.

The Sky Soul Mage and Lu Yuan continued their ceaseless exchange. Both bore wounds; after hundreds of parries, blood stained Lu Yuan’s green robes—though the extent of his own injuries was obscured by the black miasma surrounding his opponent, it was certain he had been struck. Lu Yuan, unconcerned, pressed his attack!

One sword thrust followed the next! This was a pure test of willpower.

Of course, as an established giant on the Heavenly Ranking, the Sky Soul Mage’s fighting will was by no means inferior to Lu Yuan’s. They continued their contest, now nearing a thousand exchanges.

What a fierce battle this was! Lu Yuan had not experienced such a brutal fight in ages!

Lu Yuan deployed every ultimate technique he possessed: Sword Seven, Minor Sword Realm, Sword Eight: Ten Thousand Swords Return to One—all unleashed. Because this intense combat was rare, he found himself invigorated, drawing out every sword move he had ever learned. Innumerable techniques blossomed within the radiance of his blade, each move breathtakingly imaginative. Many maneuvers surpassed the original intent of their creators, operating on an entirely different level. “Sword and I forget each other; my sword reigns supreme.”

The clashing continued!

After several hundred more blows, another final sword strike landed. Following this impact, Lu Yuan sheathed his weapon. Still locked in the heat of battle, why would he sheathe his sword?

Crash!

The Sky Soul Mage suddenly collapsed in the void.

Lu Yuan finally let out a long, shuddering breath, his green attire splattered with an untold amount of blood.

Victory! He had finally won! The battle with the Sky Soul Mage had finally reached its conclusion.

This fight had been a meticulous process of chipping away at the Sky Soul Mage’s advantages, inch by inch gaining the upper hand, requiring over a thousand moves to push his foe to the absolute limit. The Sky Soul Mage had no grounds for complaint; he had been cornered by Lu Yuan’s methodical thousand-move siege, never finding an opening to counterattack.

In truth, the gap between the Sky Soul Mage and Lu Yuan was minuscule, which is precisely why it took over a thousand exchanges.

Admittedly, engaging in such a grueling battle was also partly due to the initial light injury he sustained. Lu Yuan had estimated that the difference in strength between himself and the Sky Soul Mage was slight; his current limit hovered around the high twenties on the Heavenly Ranking, unable to overcome the next ten or so positions.

However, he no longer needed to hunt Heavenly Ranking giants. He had already gathered all the Civilization Fragments. Moreover, the three he had slain—Fang Tu, the ‘Blood Hunter’; Situ Guimi, the mass murderer; and the Sky Soul Mage, who cultivated through devouring souls—were all utterly wicked figures, so dispatching them carried no psychological burden.

With a wave of his hand, the Civilization Fragment was secured, subsequently refined and integrated into his Plate of Civilization.

The Plate of Civilization within his spirit soul, having absorbed the final fragment, now pulsed with a state of absolute plenitude.

The Plate of Civilization was completely forged.

Upon its completion, Lu Yuan sensed a profound shift in his power, making him significantly stronger.

Right, there was one matter he had nearly forgotten. The Vice-Lord of the Dharma Ancient Civilization had once instructed him: once the Plate of Civilization was forged, he could open the bamboo slips he left behind. Now that his forging was complete, it was time to unseal the bamboo slips. With a gesture, a scroll of bamboo appeared in his hand. Unfurling it, he read the following inscription:

“Lu Yuan, you have opened this scroll, meaning you have successfully forged the Plate of Civilization and can now formally embark on the final stretch of the Path of Civilization. Truthfully, this path can be trod even before forging the Plate, but the cultivation effect is far inferior once the Plate is made whole.”

“Now, you have three methods to attempt breaking through to the Civilization Realm and achieving the rank of Vice-Lord of Civilization.”

“The first method is to forge your own Path of Civilization. What is the Path of Civilization? The Path of the Dharma Ancient Civilization Master was ‘Magic Boundless’; mine is ‘Confucianism Governs Righteousness’; the Path of the Three Books Vice-Lord is ‘Spreading the World Through Texts.’ The Path of Civilization is your ultimate conviction, transformed into civilization itself. Once true conviction morphs into civilization, you can forge your own Path and become a Vice-Lord.”

“The second method is to find the remains of a Civilization Master or a Vice-Lord of Civilization. This will allow you to achieve the rank of Vice-Lord, though the remains of a Vice-Lord are exceptionally rare and likely impossible to locate.”

“The third method is to obtain a Civilization Seed. The Civilization Seed is the hope of a civilization. Every civilization, regardless of the epochs it traverses, possesses only one seed; multiple seeds never arise. Furthermore, it requires a full epoch to nurture a seed from the moment a civilization is founded. If any civilization is willing to pass its Civilization Seed to you, you can become a Vice-Lord. However, Civilization Seeds are exceptionally scarce, mostly depleted already.”

“These are your current three options.” Lu Yuan’s heart stirred deeply. The second method required the remains of a Civilization entity, and the third required a Civilization Seed—both seemingly unattainable for now, as he couldn’t locate such remains nor possess a Seed. It seemed his only recourse was to cultivate his own Path of Civilization.

The Path of the Dharma Ancient Civilization Master was ‘Magic Boundless’; the Path of the Confucian Civilization Vice-Lord was ‘Confucianism Governs Righteousness.’

What then, would be his Path of Civilization?

Lu Yuan sank into profound contemplation. The Path of Civilization was not something to be chosen lightly, nor decided arbitrarily.

Wine, Sword, Sloth, Righteousness.

These four concepts were what he valued most. Life without wine? Unthinkable. The Sword was ingrained into his very bones. Admittedly, due to the ceaseless affairs and pressures within the Central Dynasty recently, he had acted remarkably diligently, yet this diligence was superficial. Deep down, the moment he gained respite, he yearned for rest—true, bone-deep laziness. Righteousness was equally simple. Shaped by Li Yuanbai’s teachings and inspired by the tragic integrity of the Confucian Civilization Vice-Lord, the character of ‘Righteousness’ clung to him. Immortal Hero, Xian and Xia—both aspects were inseparable.

These four words were what he could not relinquish. His Path of Civilization would be: Wine, Sword, Sloth, Righteousness.

The moment this realization dawned, four hazy, gray characters appeared in the depths of his mind: (Wine Sword Sloth Righteousness). Lu Yuan felt an intuitive understanding: if these four gray characters could radiate white light, his strength would advance vastly. If all four characters emitted Chaotic Light, he would attain the realm of Vice-Lord. It seemed he was already tantalizingly close to that threshold.

His current standing was roughly twenty-something among the fifty giants on the Heavenly Ranking, but his power would continue to improve soon. He had no desire to remain ranked among them; he aimed for the supreme Civilization Realm, to become a Vice-Lord. ................................

Not long after Lu Yuan departed, over ten other figures descended upon the site.

“He’s dead again.” “What? Another one dead?” “This time, it’s the Sky Soul Mage.”

“Heavens, the Sky Soul Mage! The Sky Soul Mage, ranked twenty-seventh on the Heavenly Ranking—even someone like him is dead?”

“There’s blood here. Besides the Sky Soul Mage’s blood, there’s the scent of another person,” said one individual skilled in blood analysis. “It should be Lu Yuan’s.” “It seems Lu Yuan was injured too. Lu Yuan’s strength must be comparable to the Sky Soul Mage’s.” This blood analyst surveyed the battlefield and confirmed his deduction.

“Rank thirty-nine Blood Hunter Fang Tu, rank thirty-three Situ Guimi, rank twenty-seven Sky Soul Mage—all killed by Lu Yuan’s hand. Adding the initial Thousand-Hand God Slaughterer Gao Jin, four Heavenly Ranking giants have fallen to Lu Yuan.”

“Good heavens, this Lu Yuan is a veritable slaughterer of Heavenly Ranking giants!” These newcomers marveled. In reality, they remained ignorant that Wang Xueze and Zhu Tianren had also perished by Lu Yuan’s hand. Six of the fifty giants had died by his blade. If they knew the full extent, their shock would be absolute terror.

And now, they truly understood that the words Lu Yuan had uttered earlier were by no means false.