With a long cry, Lu Yuan's sword light shot out like lightning, piercing straight toward the Son of Desolation. Giving the Son of Desolation absolutely no chance to survive. The Son of Desolation was now at his absolute limit, completely cornered. Unwilling—how could he, the noble Son of Desolation, the Son of the Era, possibly perish by the hands of such a lowly figure as Lu Yuan? The Son of Desolation roared, filled with boundless indignation. But the sword did not heed his defiance. The blade plunged straight toward the Son of Desolation’s heart. The sword light struck the heart dead center! Was the Son of Desolation about to meet his end?

In that precise instant, a light flared over the Son of Desolation’s body—a faint, translucent radiance, the very color of Desolation. This light of Desolation enveloped him, violently repelling Lu Yuan’s sword beam. Startled, Lu Yuan immediately drew his sword back only to thrust again. But even with the swift counter-thrust, the light remained utterly unmoved. “Primordial Armor Art!” Wanqi Jimò gasped out, a moan escaping him. This was no ordinary spell; it was the Primordial Armor Art, the most formidable defensive magic of the Desolate Ancient Civilization, designed purely for self-preservation. Back in the day, when several Vice-Lords of various civilizations besieged the Desolate Ancient One while he was still a Vice-Lord, he repelled them using the Primordial Armor Art; those Vice-Lords could barely scratch his defense, which is how the spell earned its renown across an entire epoch. Yet, the Primordial Armor Art was a secret only known by the Desolate Ancient Civilization’s Lord; no one else had ever mastered it. To think the Son of Desolation could actually deploy it now! Wait, it wasn't the Son of Desolation using it—it was clearly cast upon him beforehand, activated only at the critical juncture of his life-or-death crisis. It seemed the Desolate Ancient Civilization’s Lord had made arrangements long ago. The Son of Desolation, momentarily stunned, then burst into booming laughter. “Primordial Armor Art! Lu Yuan, you cannot wound me, you cannot kill me! Hahaha! I truly am the Son of the Era. Lu Yuan, I was injured by your sneak attack this time, but I swear I will retaliate! I must strike you down to validate my own path of civilization.”

Lu Yuan instantly summoned the Desolation-Countering Sword again, but even its six-tenths ‘Counter’ affinity failed to penetrate the Primordial Armor Art. The Desolate Ancient Civilization’s Lord truly lived up to his title; his methods were overwhelmingly masterful. Lu Yuan could only feel helpless. After several triumphant laughs, the Son of Desolation quickly retreated, though his retreat was still within the confines of the Kunpeng World.

Meanwhile, the Kunpeng World continued its collapse. The walls of the world kept descending. For the native inhabitants of the Kunpeng World, this was an unmitigated catastrophe, but for the Hegemons of the Heaven List, it was merely the spectacle of a minor world meeting its demise. Lou! The Kunpeng World finally and utterly annihilated.

Lu Yuan immediately found himself standing in a void. This space had been utterly empty moments before. In the distance, a gigantic monument carved from jade stood tall, seemingly bearing the names of over thirty individuals. What was this jade stele? Could it be the legendary Heaven List Jade Tablet? It seemed logical; the Kunpeng King had used some secret art here to transport everyone, so when the Kunpeng World shattered, they naturally returned to this place.

Just then, figures began dropping into the void one after another—numerous Heaven List Hegemons, along with figures from Bird City and Fish City. Every single Hegemon was present, accompanied by countless bird demons and fish demons, instantly creating immense chaos. Lu Yuan seized the confusion to create a clone with power roughly equivalent to the sixth or seventh rank on the Heaven List—it was Li Taishi. Lu Yuan’s current strength was firmly that of the Heaven List Number One, so manufacturing a convincing false clone was not difficult. With all the Heaven List Hegemons gathered, Li Taishi’s presence was mandatory, yet in the current disarray, few would pay attention to him.

As the Heaven List Hegemons materialized, everyone sensed two overwhelmingly powerful auras. One was Lu Yuan’s, the other, the Son of Desolation’s. Though both were wounded, their presence clearly surpassed that of the Kunpeng King. Everyone else turned their gaze toward the Son of Desolation and Lu Yuan, clearly bewildered by the turn of events. Many of the Heaven List Hegemons had no idea what had transpired, but once Fang Zhuishou disseminated the news, it spread like wildfire—from one to ten, then ten to thirty—and all the Heaven List Hegemons were instantly shocked.

The first piece of news was a bombshell: the Kunpeng King, a Hegemon ranked second, had been killed by the Son of Desolation. The second piece of news was even more earth-shattering: the Son of Desolation had been defeated by Lu Yuan. These two were truly terrifying! Two years prior, most Heaven List Hegemons scarcely paid heed to the Son of Desolation or Lu Yuan. Yet, in such a short span, both had reached the apex of the Heaven List power structure. Even Gu Shi, ranked number one, might not win against both Lu Yuan and the Son of Desolation now. If the Heaven List ranking were determined today, it would likely be structured as: Gu Shi, Lu Yuan, Son of Desolation.

The Son of Desolation roared, “Lu Yuan, the next time we meet, I will certainly cut you down.” He shook the Divine Halberd of Heavenly Mandate in his hand and rapidly departed.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, extended his divine consciousness into his new Sword World, which now housed two maidens. One was Shi Feixian, ethereal and beautiful, like an immortal fairy. The other was Wanwan, clad in white and barefoot, the demonic enchantress. The two stood in confrontation, clearly having exchanged blows for some time before Lu Yuan’s arrival. They were natural adversaries. Wanwan offered a soft, alluring smile, curtsying timidly. “Wanwan thanks Brother Lu for the rescue.” She avoided using any overtly seductive arts, knowing such tricks would bore Lu Yuan; this shy, delicate demeanor was inherent to her spirit, designed to evoke tenderness and pity. Wanwan understood her precarious situation perfectly; seeing Shi Feixian alive, she certainly did not wish for Lu Yuan to extract her Civilization Divine Essence.

Lu Yuan shrugged. “Enough with the act, Wanwan. We’ve met before, long ago. And you don’t need to fear my killing you. I adhere to several principles for taking a life: first, only those who commit evil; second, those who offend me; third, those who commit depravity. You have been cultivating diligently and haven’t violated my tenets. I won’t kill capriciously for my own gain.” This was Lu Yuan’s unwavering creed! The deserving were killed; the undeserving were absolutely spared. The total number of people he had slain in his life would never exceed one hundred and fifty, perhaps closer to a hundred, and he had never wrongly taken a single life—his conscience was clear.

“However, my saving you is not without cost. You possess four parts of Civilization Divine Essence. Hand over half honestly, and I will ensure your safety within my new Sword World. You likely won’t dare to leave anyway; outside, plenty of people seek to capture or kill you,” Lu Yuan stated calmly. There were two methods for dealing with Civilization Divine Essence. A Body of Civilization naturally possessed this Essence. If extracted via special means, the Body of Civilization would perish, and the extractor would gain a twenty percent chance of ascending to the Civilization Realm. But if the Body of Civilization consented, death could be avoided. Half the Essence could be drawn out, leaving the individual with a twenty percent chance of reaching the Civilization Realm herself, while the recipient gained a ten percent chance. Lu Yuan wouldn't work for free, hence his demand.

Hearing this, Wanwan seemed to consider it briefly. “That is acceptable. You saved Wanwan, and Wanwan must repay this great kindness. However, Wanwan is a solitary woman alone; please allow Wanwan to join your retinue. I have long heard you intend to forge a Dao of the Sword, and Wanwan wishes to become a part of that future Dao of the Sword civilization.” Seeing Lu Yuan pause, Wanwan gave a delicate smile. “Wanwan is also a master of the sword path. After sparring with Senior Sister Feixian for so long, I have mastered the White Diamond Immortal Sword, its movements elusive even to spirits and demons.” Wanwan wasn’t considering this lightly. She possessed a significant chance of reaching the Civilization Realm, but she lacked backing in the Central Celestial Dynasty and had failed to secure any reliable patron. Many men coveted her body, but not a single one could be trusted. Navigating their company had only yielded minor infringements, nothing major. She was a woman of immense shrewdness and sought a pillar of support. Lu Yuan, known for his lack of lust and discerning judgment, was virtually guaranteed to become a master of the Civilization Realm in the future—such an opportunity was rare. Therefore, Wanwan decided to seek Lu Yuan as her patron. Being calculating, she immediately grasped Lu Yuan's ambition to revive the Dao of the Sword, willingly submitting to the new Sword Dao he was establishing, intending to completely abandon her former techniques to practice pure swordsmanship. Once under Lu Yuan’s banner, she would also need to curry favor with Yun Xiuxue, and reportedly, with Qing Nü among the Seven Maidens under the Phoenix Queen Civilization Lord, as well as the Jade Rabbit under Chang’e. This woman demonstrated remarkable decisiveness, forming so many plans in an instant.

Lu Yuan considered the proposal briefly. “Agreed.” Lu Yuan’s consent had its reasons: once Wanwan voluntarily offered two parts of her Civilization Divine Essence, she would still retain two parts, which was a huge advantage—a twenty percent chance at the Civilization Realm. She might yet become a master of that realm herself. Any such master would be immensely valuable to him as he sought to restore the Dao of the Sword, thus Lu Yuan agreed.

Wanwan stood poised. “Then please approach Wanwan, honored one, and place your hand upon my Tianzhu Acupoint. Wanwan will allow you to draw the Civilization Divine Essence.” She gathered her dark tresses, exposing a stretch of snow-white nape, presenting herself in a manner inviting capture. Wanwan, highly manipulative, usually delighted in feigning innocence. Now that she had pledged allegiance to Lu Yuan, she dropped the casual address of ‘Brother Lu’ and adopted the formal ‘Honored One.’

Lu Yuan made no ceremony, placing his hand upon Wanwan’s nape at the Tianzhu Acupoint. The touch was warm and smooth, causing a brief tremor in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it, focusing entirely on drawing the Civilization Divine Essence. Moments later, an immense light, brilliant and dazzling, emerged from the Tianzhu Acupoint. Lu Yuan drew back, extracting a crystalline substance that shone with transparent, powerful radiance. The crystal was hexagonal, exquisitely beautiful, with every facet imbued with boundless Heavenly Dao.

Was this the Civilization Divine Essence?