As the Desolate Son was basking in glory after slaying the two Heavenly Ranking giants, Lu Yuan was accelerating the fusion of the Northern Darkness Feather. It had to be fast; otherwise, being trapped by the feather meant he couldn't unleash his power, even if his strength surpassed that of the Roc King. That Northern Darkness Feather was incredibly strange; its effect didn't diminish even after the Roc King's death.

It must be fast. Now, there were only one hundred chana left. Could he make it in time? Fifty chana passed. And at the fifty-chana mark, the Desolate Son began walking toward this spot.

How could the Desolate Son not be ecstatic? The ones he had just slain were no ordinary figures; they were the Roc King, ranked second on the Heavenly Ranking, and Ouyang Tuo, ranked fourth. He had killed the strongest among the Heavenly Ranking giants. With this victory, his name would reverberate across all heavens and myriad realms. And this renown was completely different from before. Previously, people knew of his existence and recognized his immense potential. But now, his fame was one of true majesty across the myriad worlds, reaching the zenith of supremacy. What made this victory especially sweet was that it was a desperate counterattack. First captured, then he wounded Ouyang Tuo with the Divine Spear of Heavenly Mandate, gained the upper hand against the Roc King, and finally, as the Roc King tried to flee, he struck again with a single feather from the Myriad Ages Desolation, leaving the Roc King with no escape before finally slaying him.

The Desolate Son felt a degree of pride. Moreover, the benefits gained this time were immense. Think of the spoils left behind by the deaths of two giants ranked in the top five of the Heavenly Ranking—it was an accumulation of countless fortunes. But first, Lu Yuan had to be killed.

In his triumphant state, he strode towards the Witch Ancestor Altar, step by deliberate step toward Lu Yuan: "Lu Yuan. Stop pretending to be in a coma. You are awake. Ouyang Tuo's Witch Cluster technique stopped long ago; how could you still be unconscious? You must be quite vexed right now, wondering why you are still restrained by the Northern Darkness Feather."

Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, truly helpless. The Desolate Son looked at Lu Yuan, and Lu Yuan indeed felt helpless. The Desolate Son glanced again at the Nourishing Immortal Sword and the Primordial Desolation Halberd resting together in the distance. They had been placed there after being captured by the Roc King, with the Divine-Grade Halberd suppressing the Nourishing Immortal Sword. The Desolate Son looked at Lu Yuan: "Your people, just like your weapons. They are only fit to be suppressed by me. Lu Yuan, you are a figure with great potential, sufficient to be my stepping stone—more worthy than the Sword Son."

Lu Yuan looked at the Desolate Son: "Desolate Son, I know a secret about Desolation and the Sword—a secret about why the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization only obtained the magic power of five epochs, not the ten epochs he rightfully deserved." Fifty chana wasn't actually that long. So, simply put, the Northern Darkness Feather finally loosened at this critical moment. However, Lu Yuan wasn't in a hurry and continued to feign unconsciousness. Of course, he didn't truly understand why the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization lacked the power of ten epochs. The reason for saying this was simple: to stall for time. No, to be precise, it was to make the Desolate Son believe he was stalling for time.

If the Desolate Son thought he was stalling, then the Desolate Son would assume he had no means of counterattack. Once the Desolate Son let his guard down, his opportunity would arrive. The corner of the Desolate Son’s lips curled into a cold sneer: "Lu Yuan, I truly have no need to know the secret of Desolation and the Sword. You wish to stall? Too late. I represent Heavenly Mandate, and I will strike you down. Your destiny will inevitably belong to me. I sentence you to death. Die, you contemptible worm." The Desolate Son’s Divine Spear of Heavenly Mandate stabbed directly toward Lu Yuan, piercing his body, and immense magic power instantly surged into Lu Yuan.

The Desolate Son looked coldly at Lu Yuan. He was out of options; the magic power within Lu Yuan's body was completely static. Lu Yuan was finished. Static power meant he was still constrained by the Northern Darkness Feather, meaning he could not retaliate. At that very instant, a streak of sword light—shocking! annihilating! solitary! cold! arrogant! crushing! lonely! dead!—suddenly erupted. It was an earth-shattering sword strike! It was an annihilation strike! It was a supremely solitary strike! It was a strike of unmatched singularity! It was a strike of extreme coldness! It was the ultimate expression of coldness! This was Lu Yuan's ultimate killing move, the Decisive Strike! In that instant, the Desolate Son felt only: Arrogance! Annihilation! Void! Silence! Death! The Desolate Son wanted to flee now, but facing this perfect Decisive Strike, he realized there was nowhere to escape. The Desolate Son had always been invincible and rarely tasted defeat, so he had never practiced any escape arts. He was struck squarely by this intensely solitary sword, and blood sprayed wildly. He had already been injured in the Roc King's desperate final counterattack, and being hit by Lu Yuan’s move compounded the injury. He was critically wounded.

Lu Yuan followed up with another strike, still the Decisive Strike. By now, the Desolate Son had finally reacted. The prerequisite for the Decisive Strike was that the opponent must be extremely close and caught completely off guard. The Desolate Son could not afford to be careless again; any further lapse in caution would cost him his life here. He raised his hand, blocking Lu Yuan's Meteor Immortal Sword with the Divine Spear of Heavenly Mandate.

Clang!

As the Meteor Immortal Sword and the Divine Spear of Heavenly Mandate met, Lu Yuan immediately realized his sword was at a disadvantage. His Nourishing Immortal Sword didn't suffer this problem because it was supported by the character 'Zheng' (Righteousness), which channeled inexhaustible righteous energy into it, allowing it to clash head-on with a higher-grade weapon without loss. However, the Meteor Immortal Sword did not align well with 'Zheng' and couldn't draw such support.

Thus, Lu Yuan had no choice but to temporarily halt his assault. He flicked his hand, and the Nourishing Immortal Sword returned to his grasp. Although the Desolate Son had bled and sustained compounded injuries, he used this moment to stabilize his position. The two faced off. Lu Yuan spoke calmly: "Actually, Desolate Son, you aren't the only one capable of a sneak attack. I am too. You used a sneak attack to wound Ouyang Tuo and kill him. I used a sneak attack to wound you. It seems I have more innate talent in this regard." Of course, Lu Yuan wouldn't have brought this up without purpose; it was to demoralize the Desolate Son. This man was the Son of an Epoch; he surpassed everyone else in every aspect. Now, Lu Yuan had to surpass him in at least one area, attacking him psychologically. Both of them stood at the pinnacle beneath the Civilization Realm; this was a battle between the two strongest figures below that threshold. In such a confrontation, any shift in atmosphere could influence the outcome. Lu Yuan needed to strike at his opponent from all angles to expose a crack in the Desolate Son’s psyche.

The Desolate Son gave a cold laugh: "Trying to attack me psychologically? Useless. I am the representative of Destiny; I am Heaven's favorite, the Son of the Epoch. No conspiracy can hide from me, and no figure facing me can do anything but lose. I am the God of War among War Gods, the Invincible among the Invincible, destined to become the Lord of Civilization." He instantly pushed his aura to its absolute peak—the aura of the apex of the Heavenly Ranking.

"You did wound me, it's true. I was injured by the Roc King, and your sword strike made it worse. But so what? I possess the strength of the first rank on the Heavenly Ranking now, while your strength is barely in the top twenty. What good is an occasional stunning sword strike?" The Desolate Son sneered, "With your strength, even facing a severely injured me, you will still be defeated and frustrated."

"Just like your previous defeat at my hands, you cannot win against me." The Desolate Son declared with supreme confidence, raising his aura for a second time at that moment.

"Your last sword strike was beautiful," the Desolate Son looked at Lu Yuan: "People praise your swordsmanship as the finest below the Civilization Realm; truly so. I estimate your swordsmanship is comparable to that of the Vice-Lords of the Sword Civilization and the Mace Civilization. Truly excellent swordsmanship."

"But wouldn't it be supremely satisfying to defeat the foremost swordsmanship of the Epoch? This is the destiny of me, the Son of the Epoch." At this point, the aura surged for a third time.

When his aura reached its peak, the Desolate Son suddenly thrust out the Divine Spear of Heavenly Mandate, a thrust that resembled a Dragon of Civilization, exhaling and swallowing heaven and earth! What a formidable strike that was! And Lu Yuan met it with a sword strike that was remarkably calm and ordinary. This plain and unremarkable sword firmly blocked the Desolate Son's Divine Spear of Heavenly Mandate, while simultaneously thrusting toward the vital points surrounding the Desolate Son. Lu Yuan gave a cold laugh: "Desolate Son, all your shouting is useless. Facing me, you are destined to be on the defensive."

.................. No more words followed; words were no longer necessary now. Because both the Desolate Son and Lu Yuan realized that the firmness of the other's will had already reached a level where verbal sparring could no longer sway them. The Divine Spear of Heavenly Mandate carved streak after streak of civilizational traces across the void. The Nourishing Immortal Sword also carved streak after streak of civilizational traces across the void. Countless traces of civilization appeared in the emptiness. The civilization traces of the Halberd and the civilization traces of the Sword clashed. One stance after another, one move after another! In a flash, the two had exchanged over fifty moves. And in this relentless exchange, the Desolate Son was at a distinct disadvantage. He realized with dismay that in his current injured state, he was absolutely no match for Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan was relentlessly gaining the upper hand. Damn it, if only his initial injury sustained from the Roc King, compounded by Lu Yuan's sneak attack, hadn't occurred; otherwise, it wouldn't have ended like this. However, the Desolate Son had no grounds for complaint, as Ouyang Tuo had died by his sneak attack. If Ouyang Tuo hadn't been severely wounded by the sneak attack at the beginning, the Desolate Son might not have won even in a combined assault with the Roc King. Those who attack by surprise are often subjected to surprise attacks in turn; this was just the natural order.

Lu Yuan swung his sword again and again. Lu Yuan's hands were steady, and his sword strikes were steady, carving moves marked with traces of civilization in the void. Lu Yuan's heart was calm and joyful. Yes, this time, facing the Desolate Son, he had finally gained the advantage. He remembered the first time he faced the Desolate Son: he was severely wounded by one move and nearly finished off by the second. Back then, the Desolate Son was far superior to him. The second time they faced off, it was thanks to the protection of the 'Zheng' character that his spirit and soul were not critically damaged by the Desolate Son.