The Kunpeng World. The Eighth-ranked Immortal of the Heavenly Rankings, Murong Honglei, unleashed her most potent techniques from the very first move. The second move, the Seven Killings World-Ending Zither, was formidable, but the third strike, A Handful of Red Tears, was incomparably more devastating, almost beyond description.

Facing such an assault, Lu Yuan did not hold back. With a wave of his hand, he manifested a book—a book of infinite size, titled Heaven and Earth are Great, but the Dao is Greatest. The Seven Killings World-Ending Zither struck this book, and however powerful it was, it could not surpass the Dao itself. Instantly, the attack vanished within the pages, nearly sucking the zither away as well.

Lu Yuan’s ability to so elegantly neutralize the second move startled Murong Honglei. This descendant from the Confucian Civilization was truly exceptional, mastering the highest esoteric art of that tradition: Heaven and Earth are Great, but the Dao is Greatest.

However, she held considerable confidence in her next attack, A Handful of Red Tears.

Gazing into each other's tear-filled eyes, they were speechless, choked with emotion. The tear-filled eyes questioned the blossoms, but the flowers remained silent; crimson petals scattered in the wind as the swing went by. Meeting each other’s gaze, not a word passed between them, only a thousand lines of tears. Looking closely now, it was not willow catkins drifting by, but the tears of parting lovers. Spring is as it was, but the person is thin; tear stains have soaked through the crimson silk. The one from last spring is unseen, tears drenching the sleeves of the spring robe.

In that instant, more than ten exquisitely beautiful crimson teardrops surged across the battlefield like a tidal wave.

Even Lu Yuan felt a profound terror facing this technique. Within it resided boundless sorrow and heartbreak, as if the very heavens wept. A Handful of Red Tears possessed almost a full unit of power reserved for Civilization-level techniques! One must never underestimate this fraction of power; one fraction equates to world-shattering force.

Lu Yuan felt his Heaven and Earth are Great, but the Dao is Greatest begin to erode. Indeed, erosion was the expected result. Heaven and Earth are Great, but the Dao is Greatest was the technique of the Confucian Civilization’s Vice-Lord, and the Zither Civilization’s Vice-Lord had cultivated a supreme art specifically to counter it. This supreme art was named Tears.

Its meaning was simple: I will use my weeping to cry for you, the faithless lover.

No matter how strong the Confucian Vice-Lord’s ultimate move, it typically found itself at a disadvantage against Tears.

Lu Yuan’s mastery of this technique was far inferior to the Confucian Vice-Lord’s. Meeting A Handful of Red Tears, which specialized in countering it, he was naturally subjected to erosion.

But in the next moment, Lu Yuan flipped his hand and unleashed another strike from within the Transcendence Immortal Tome.

This move was originally the name of a sword.

Sword Nine, Sword of the Seven Emotions!

Using the book as a sword, this single strike absorbed every trace of sorrow and resentment contained within A Handful of Red Tears.

Three moves had passed.

Lu Yuan stood before Murong Honglei with effortless grace. “Senior Sister Murong, I salute you.” Since the Confucian Vice-Lord owed the Zither Vice-Lord a debt from ages past, and her attacks held no killing intent, Lu Yuan was happy to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor. “Senior Sister Murong’s three moves are indeed extraordinary.”

Murong Honglei was severely shaken. She was the eighth-ranked figure among the Heavenly Titans. She had always been certain that, within the Confucian Civilization, no one apart from the three Vice-Lords could withstand a single move from her. She had presumed the new Titan, Li Taishi, was also incapable of surviving three of her attacks, especially since the original ranking placed Li Taishi at forty-sixth while she stood at eighth.

But the reality was different. Her Seven Killings World-Ending Zither had been easily neutralized by Li Taishi, and even the ultimate technique, A Handful of Red Tears, had been brushed aside effortlessly. That beautiful cascade of crimson tears, concealing so much longing and disappointment, was shattered in an instant.

Seeing Li Taishi’s relaxed manner, it was clear he hadn't even revealed his full depth.

Certainly, Murong Honglei, ranked eighth, also hadn't revealed her bottom line.

But Murong Honglei instinctively felt that her opponent was stronger. At this moment, seeing the handsome and gentle young man in white standing before her, Murong Honglei felt a slight displeasure rise within her.

Murong Honglei let out a cold snort. “You are stronger than me, I admit it. No need to put on an act. This round goes slightly to the people of the Confucian Civilization.” With that huff, she retreated into the distance, signaling she would no longer engage Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan rubbed his nose. In truth, this exchange also served to test his own strength. He had been constantly escalating his power, rising from the twenties to his current position. Because his advancement had been so rapid, he hadn't been entirely certain of his true level. This bout with Murong Honglei basically confirmed it: his current strength was equivalent to someone ranked fifth on the Heavenly Rankings. Once he mastered the final character, Lazy, he would certainly be able to contend with the Kunpeng King.

The other Heavenly Titans watching were utterly speechless.

The Wine Immortal and Fei Wei had clashed with Li Taishi not long ago. The Wine Immortal had felt that although he had lost then, the gap between them was only razor-thin. Yet, what was happening now? Li Taishi was performing so monstrously well, not only holding his own against Murong Honglei’s three moves but clearly maintaining the upper hand, forcing her to concede inferiority. The Wine Immortal himself would only lose to Murong Honglei. Could it be that Li Taishi had held back during their previous fight? He had misinterpreted Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan was slightly superior to the Wine Immortal back then, but when the Wine character and the Righteousness character shone forth, his strength leaped forward by two whole tiers, leading to this current display.

The other two Heavenly Titans stared, their eyes nearly popping out. This was the new Titan, Li Taishi, formerly ranked forty-sixth, whose current strength seemed to eclipse Murong Honglei, ranked eighth. Advancement on the Heavenly Rankings becomes exponentially harder the higher one climbs; the difference between those ranked is vast. This Li Taishi was too exaggerated, already possessing the strength of the top few Titans. He truly lived up to the title of the Child of Darkness. Undoubtedly, these spectators took Li Taishi to be the Child of Darkness, and Yan Cangtian’s identity served as the perfect cover for Lu Yuan’s alias, reasonably explaining everything. Yan Cangtian would have no reason to jump out and expose himself.

These two Titans now shared a single thought: they had never believed Li Taishi could defeat the Wine Immortal initially. But now? They felt the Wine Immortal had been boasting all along. When the Wine Immortal claimed he was only slightly inferior to Li Taishi, it now seemed not slightly inferior, but vastly, enormously inferior.

Lu Yuan inquired, “By the way, I came to ask, how is the Child of Desolation? I heard he was captured.”

So he was here for this matter. It seemed Li Taishi harbored ambitions for the Child of Desolation’s Civilization Body. Fei Wei smiled internally, thinking that one must cultivate good relations with someone of Li Taishi’s limitless potential, backed by the Confucian Civilization. “The Child of Desolation was indeed captured, by the Kunpeng King. However, the Child of Desolation did not kill the Civilization Body named Wanwan.”

“What is that Civilization Body called?” Lu Yuan paused slightly.

“Wanwan,” Fei Wei confirmed again.

“What a strange name,” Lu Yuan remarked externally, though inwardly his emotions churned. In his memory, Wanwan was a demoness—yes, the barefoot girl with the aura of a secluded orchid mixed with a subtle ghostliness from the Central Civilization Assessment, the mortal enemy of Shi Feixian. He never expected the other Civilization Body to be Wanwan. Since Shi Feixian needed to know this, Lu Yuan spread his spiritual sense into his new Sword World and transmitted a voice: “The other Civilization Body is Wanwan.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Feixian, who had been sitting in meditation cultivating her power, started. The fairy-like young woman took a long moment before exhaling a wisp of fragrance. “I had a premonition that the other Civilization Body would be Wanwan.” For this mortal enemy from the Great Yi Kingdom, Shi Feixian’s feelings were complex. The grievances of the past seemed insignificant set against the immense backdrop of the Central Heavenly Dynasty.

“Is she alive or dead?” Shi Feixian asked.

“I heard she’s likely not dead,” Lu Yuan replied.

Shi Feixian let out a breath, her thoughts unreadable.

Lu Yuan then withdrew his spiritual sense. “The Child of Desolation did not kill the other Civilization Body named Wanwan.”

“Correct, he didn't kill her. He is quite cunning; he used a Life-Linking Lock to tether himself to Wanwan. If he dies, she dies; if he lives, she lives. Therefore, even though he was captured, they cannot kill him. If they kill him, the Civilization Body is lost, and the Civilization Divine Essence is gone. Moreover, killing the Child of Desolation without gaining the Divine Essence would mean offending the Ancient Desolation Civilization—no one would dare do such a thing. So, the Kunpeng King captured him and is now planning to force the Civilization Body out of him.”

Fei Wei, eager to curry favor with Li Taishi and the Confucian Civilization, shared this information generously.

So that was the situation. Lu Yuan finally understood, though he was also curious about a technique like the Life-Linking Lock.

Where could he find a technique like the Life-Linking Lock? Lu Yuan began searching his own esoteric art database but found nothing. However, while sifting through the remnants of the Heavenly Soul Mage, he discovered the Life-Linking Lock technique, as well as the Fate-Controlling Lock. The Heavenly Soul Mages loved to tamper with all manner of lives, so possessing such techniques was not surprising.

The difficulty of the Life-Linking Lock was not excessive. After learning the spell, Lu Yuan quickly applied it to himself and Shi Feixian.

“Shi Feixian, I will immediately use the Life-Linking Lock on you as well. For a certain period, our lives will be connected. This way, if I fail against an opponent, I can borrow your life to preserve my own.” Since the Child of Desolation acted this way, Lu Yuan would follow suit; caution never hurt.

Shi Feixian did not object. She already owed Lu Yuan an enormous favor; without his help, she would have been refined long ago, her Civilization Divine Essence extracted, and she would already be dead. “Can this Life-Linking Lock spell be broken?”

“Of course, but the control rests with me,” Lu Yuan stated. He then performed the spell, instantly connecting his life force with Shi Feixian’s. As their lives intertwined, a faintly strange sensation washed over them.