Civilization Sky Lock! This technique possessed the ability to lock down any technique short of a Civilization-level one.

Moreover, the power of the Civilization Sky Lock was not limited to that alone.

Back in the day, the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization created the Civilization Sky Lock and embedded a specific feature within it: it could lock down one ultimate move of an opponent, rendering that move ineffective. However, there was a restriction—one needed stronger magical power than the opponent to activate it. Precisely because of this, the Son of Immortality passed this Civilization Sky Lock to the Vice Lord of the Sacred Strength Civilization; it was proving exceedingly difficult for the Son of Immortality to suppress the current Lu Yuan on his own.

He imparted the technique at an astonishing speed.

And the Vice Lord of the Sacred Strength Civilization learned it just as rapidly.

Three breaths, at most three breaths, was all it took for the Vice Lord of the Sacred Strength Civilization to deploy this move.

And the span of three breaths was incredibly, breathtakingly short.

At this moment, Lu Yuan arrived before the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization and declared his five-move challenge.

The Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization snorted coldly, “To think you could defeat me so easily is sheer fantasy. Today, I shall show you the might of a veteran Civilization Vice Lord.” His eight divine maces shot out: “Conceal Sun,” “Sever Water,” “Shift Soul,” “Suspend Shear,” “Startling Marten,” “Annihilate Spirit,” “Repel Evil,” and “True Steel.” All eight unleashed simultaneously, carving out profoundly esoteric and marvelous maneuvers in the void.

Lu Yuan took a step forward: “Gate of the Sword Dao, manifest before me!” Under Lu Yuan’s summons, the ten-thousand-zhang-high Gate of the Sword Dao appeared, pressing down upon the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization. In an instant, it swallowed up every mace technique the Vice Lord had unleashed. The Vice Lord paused in shock—what was happening? These were mace techniques, yet they were being countered by the Gate of the Sword Dao.

Lu Yuan looked towards the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization, “You must be deeply curious why your mace arts are being suppressed by mine. The reason is simple: the so-called Way of the Mace is merely a renegade of the Sword Dao, a flawed mutation of it. When confronted by the true Gate of the Sword Dao, you are naturally bound to be suppressed.” Lu Yuan had spoken the truth, intentionally provoking the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization. Once the Vice Lord felt insulted and enraged, a flaw would appear.

And once a flaw manifested, Lu Yuan would exploit it.

Lu Yuan stepped forward and executed his first strike.

This sword strike erupted from the Nurturing My Immortal Sword, hitting precisely, honorably, and with unmatched momentum. The Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization possessed at least eight hundred and eighty-eight methods to counter this single thrust. But every single one of those methods was constrained and drawn in by the Gate of the Sword Dao.

On this first exchange, the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization was instantly forced onto the defensive.

Lu Yuan spoke lightly, “You follow the Mace Dao, a variation of the Sword Dao. Today, I will show you what true swordsmanship is, and let you understand how magnificent it is.” Lu Yuan continued to needle the Vice Lord with his words, hoping to cause the slightest crack in his psyche.

Of course, Lu Yuan knew that striking the mind of a Civilization Realm expert was no simple feat; the minds of all Civilization Realm masters were as solid as bedrock, not prone to yielding weaknesses easily.

Thus, Lu Yuan needed to coordinate his words with the sword in his hand.

In a flash, he unleashed Sword Eight: Ten Thousand Swords Returning to One! This strike pierced through the distance of time and space, instantly exploding forth with infinite ultimate moves. In essence, this technique was a Civilization-level ultimate move, yet beneath the Civilization Realm, it could not be fully utilized. Now, however, it was being wielded perfectly. With Sword Eight: Ten Thousand Swords Returning to One deployed, the entire aura was transformed; one sword manifested ten thousand ultimate moves, imbued with the majesty of the Civilization Realm, terrifyingly potent.

While the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization could withstand the previous single sword strike, facing this subsequent technique from Lu Yuan—which he thought he had blocked—caused new ultimate moves to erupt continuously. Blow after blow rained down, forcing the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization into continuous retreat. He was completely at a disadvantage; truthfully, the Vice Lord was utterly distraught, as even his defensive maneuvers were being shattered by the Gate of the Sword Dao.

Lu Yuan instantly followed up with Sword Nine: Sword of Seven Emotions! Sword Nine: Sword of Seven Emotions! Below the Civilization Realm, this technique did not display its full power; it could only absorb the emotions within an opponent’s moves, thus ensuring those moves revealed vulnerabilities. But now, Sword Nine: Sword of Seven Emotions was far more terrifying.

As Lu Yuan struck with this sword, the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization found himself seemingly trapped within a pitch-black void.

A single sword thrust, like lightning, shot straight toward him.

The Vice Lord immediately thought to evade, but then paused: why evade? Indeed, why evade? If he didn't evade, he would be struck, but what did being struck matter? Pain? What was pain? Death? What was death? The Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization descended into a state of confusion.

Yes, this was the true Sword Nine: Sword of Seven Emotions!

Beneath the Civilization Realm, it stripped the emotion from the sword strike.

Above the Civilization Realm, it stripped the emotion from the opponent.

It sought to strip away a person’s seven emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire. The Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization had every single one of his emotions stripped away. Now, he even forgot the need to dodge because without the seven emotions, pain and death were meaningless, and fear was absent; thus, he momentarily forgot to evade. However, he was, after all, the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization. At this critical juncture, he fiercely gritted his teeth and managed to wrench himself free from the embrace of the emotion-stripping strike. But he broke free too late. By the time his senses returned, the sword light was already upon him. The Vice Lord attempted to block, only to recall that all his blocking moves were nullified by the Gate of the Sword Dao. At the last instant, he dodged sideways, but the sword gleam had already passed through his shoulder. A stream of chaotic-colored blood erupted violently. Upon reaching the Civilization Realm, blood was no longer red but the color of chaos. If this blood were to fall upon a lower plane, such as the former Sword Gate, it would be a peerless treasure, allowing the Sword Gate to study it for hundreds of thousands of years—this was the Blood of Civilization.

In the span of just three strikes, Lu Yuan had wounded the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization.

Lu Yuan immediately shifted his hand and unveiled the Sword Ten, a technique he had recently researched.

Indeed, it was Sword Ten.

Sword Ten: Heaven Round, Earth Square!

This technique had only recently been created, originating from two distinct sources.

The first came from the character Zheng (Righteous/Square) and Confucian Sword Arts. Confucian swordplay leaned toward principles of squareness and uprightness, as did the character Zheng. Therefore, the original sword arts of the Vice Lord of Confucian Civilization could be synthesized into the concept of Zheng. Lu Yuan had studied the character Zheng for a long time and steeped himself in Confucian Sword Dao techniques, thereby grasping the essence of ‘Rightness’ and the essence of ‘Squareness.’

The second source was the Vice Lord of the Sword Round Civilization. The Vice Lord of the Sword Round Civilization left behind the Way of the Sword Round, along with the Divine Sword of Round Extremity, and the character Yuan (Round). Not long ago, when breaking through to the Civilization Realm, Lu Yuan utilized this character Yuan and compressed the more than 310,000 sword moves of the Way of the Sword Round into a single technique—that technique was ‘Round’—thereby achieving the essence of ‘Roundness.’

Having obtained the essence of ‘Square’ and the essence of ‘Round,’ Lu Yuan experienced a sudden enlightenment while executing his previous sword attacks: why not merge the essences of Square and Round? Thus, this technique, Heaven Round, Earth Square, was born!

This technique compiled the ultimate essences from the sword arts of two Vice Lords from two Eight Epochs: the Vice Lord of Confucian Civilization and the Vice Lord of the Sword Round Civilization. This technique encompassed everything; it appeared to be the most square and sharp, yet simultaneously the most round and fluid. Within this technique lay the essence of the cosmos itself.

Sword Ten: Heaven Round, Earth Square!

The fact that this technique was designated Sword Ten naturally implied its terrifying nature—the pinnacle sword arts of two Eight Epoch Vice Lords fused into one move.

As Lu Yuan’s Sword Ten: Heaven Round, Earth Square rushed forth, the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization’s expression instantly darkened. He had never witnessed such a terrifying technique. Even the strongest ultimate moves of the Vice Lord of the Mace Civilization were not this potent. This was true; after all, the Vice Lord of the Mace Civilization was, fundamentally, a being from the Nine Epochs, and his ultimate skills could not surpass Lu Yuan’s fusion of the strongest techniques from two Eight Epoch Vice Lords.

Sword Eleven strikes: Exhausting All Things!

The Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization was already injured, and now he felt utterly incapable of blocking. He summoned his eight divine maces, ceaselessly fending off the surging swords, yet he realized that countless lacerations were appearing all over his body, slicing at every part of his flesh.

The intent of Sword Ten: Heaven Round, Earth Square was, precisely, that attack was omnipresent—there was nowhere to hide beneath heaven or upon the earth.

The wounds sustained by the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization grew progressively severe.

Up to this point, Lu Yuan had exchanged four moves with the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization, yet the Vice Lord was already riddled with wounds, grievously injured. However, taking the life of a Civilization Realm expert was never easy; every individual in the Civilization Realm was a powerhouse transcending the bounds of heaven and earth, invincible beings capable of surviving the collapse of an epoch. Such figures were incredibly difficult to kill, and the Vice Lord of the Eight-Prism Civilization desperately clung to life.

How could I die here? I am a Civilization Realm master, an existence that does not perish when heaven and earth vanish.

How could I die at the hands of a junior in the Dao of the Sword?

……

“Civilization Sky Lock, emerge!” The Vice Lord of the Sacred Strength Civilization roared, and instantly, a Civilization Sky Lock materialized in the void. It was an immensely colossal lock of chaotic color, seemingly capable of locking down civilization, locking down the Heavenly Dao, locking down fortune, and locking down all ultimate techniques.

This Civilization Sky Lock pulsed with an intensely dense aura of civilization. The time Lu Yuan took to execute his first four moves was extremely short, and the time the Vice Lord of the Sacred Strength Civilization took to deploy the Civilization Sky Lock was equally brief. After all, he was a true powerhouse of the Second Epoch, not a half-step Civilization Realm entity like the Jade Emperor, capable of summoning this move with ease. As soon as he learned it, he immediately unleashed it.

The Vice Lord of the Sacred Strength Civilization roared again, “Civilization Sky Lock, shatter my Fleeting Life Like a Dream!” The titanic lock suddenly doubled in size, and on its front surface materialized Lu Yuan’s flickering, illusory figure. The figure was supremely agile, but with a sudden twist and rotation of the great lock, the illusory figure instantly vanished as the lock descended.

(Another late update, my apologies, but there will still be two chapters released today, not fewer.) (To be continued)