The shouts echoing around were, in truth, only portending one thing: a great wind was blowing across this world. Lu Yuan rode with this wind, while the Vice Lord of the Arid Chaos Civilization moved against it. One went with the flow, the other fought against the current. This wind was no ordinary breeze; it was the wind of the human heart. Lu Yuan sailed along with it, feeling the heart-wind swirl around him, caressing every inch of his body with indescribable comfort. At this moment, Lu Yuan vaguely grasped a truth about the meaning of eternity. For so long, it had been said that Civilization was supreme, yet above Civilization, there was only one thing: Eternity. And now, Lu Yuan realized that the voice of Civilization was not the highest authority; at least, the unified voice emanating from so many people together resonated even higher than the voice of Civilization. So, could this so-called Eternity be the human heart? Was the secret of eternity hidden here? Lu Yuan felt a flicker of doubt, though, naturally, this confusion was only temporarily held in check.

Lu Yuan shouldered his sword. "Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization, I already had a mountain of scores to settle with you, and now, with all these people calling my name, shouting my name into the vastness—this time, I must win, and I must win beautifully for everyone to see." Although Lu Yuan spoke with such apparent ease, his heart was boiling with rage. Lu Yuan was fundamentally a neutral-leaning-toward-righteous figure. The Arid Ancient Civilization's string of actions—first killing the Vice Lord of the Artifact Civilization, then tricking the Artifact Civilization into joining the Arid Ancient Civilization—were too vicious. Lu Yuan’s core life principle demanded that he execute the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization. Now, not only must he win, but he must win with style.

The Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. "Lu Yuan, you actually think you can win beautifully against me? Try blocking one of my strikes first." His liquid long saber whistled through the air, cleaving directly toward Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan raised the Suspended Shear Divine Sword and met the Vice Lord's attack.

The so-called Suspended Shear was one of the Eight Divine Swords. Back then, the Vice Lord of the Octagonal Civilization had challenged Lu Yuan with the Eight-God Bronze, resulting in his defeat and death, leaving the artifact behind. Lu Yuan refined it into the Eight Divine Swords. His own temperament didn't suit the nature of the Circular Extreme Divine Sword, so he searched among these eight, and this Suspended Shear Divine Sword was quite fitting. Suspended Shear: like a bird passing by and having its flight clipped by the blade; it was a sword specializing in speed.

At this level of combat, his Immortal Sword was completely useless now; his Nourishing Immortal Sword would shatter from the sheer force of the ambient energy before any physical contact was made. Though he deeply wished to elevate the Nourishing Sword to divine status, he had never found the chance amid constant activity, so for now, he had to rely on other divine swords. Of course, using these others wasn't nearly as comfortable.

The liquid long saber wielded by the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization was named the Great Flood Divine Saber.

The Great Flood Divine Saber and the Suspended Shear Divine Sword clashed in the void. This time, Lu Yuan employed the power of 'Restriction' as an enhancer; his seven-tenths Restriction Clone was formidable. With a loud clang, both combatants were forced backward. Lu Yuan retreated over a thousand li, while the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization fell back over eight hundred li. Lu Yuan had anticipated this, but the Vice Lord started in surprise. It wasn't just Lu Yuan's magic power; it was a specific suppression directed at the Arid nature.

Unbeknownst to himself, Lu Yuan had cultivated a strength that could faintly contest his own. The Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization grew intensely wary, but as the Vice Lord of a Six-Epoch Civilization, he possessed absolute confidence in his power. He looked at Lu Yuan. "Not bad. You have gained the strength to fight me. Today, we shall see how many moves you can endure under my hand."

The Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization let out a long cry, unfolding his saber techniques in the void. As soon as his style manifested, it became exceptionally profound, instantly generating a deluge akin to colossal waters capable of swallowing heaven and earth—raging, surging, mighty, yet ceaselessly generating new essence.

Lu Yuan initially summoned a few glints of sword light, but these were instantly engulfed and annihilated by the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization’s attack.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but utter a soft "Hmph," clearly sensing something peculiar about the Vice Lord's move. With this feeling in mind, he instantly pierced out tens of thousands of sword lights. This attack was launched with the speed of a Swallows' Return Flash, meaning the tens of thousands of strikes manifested in the blink of an eye. Yet, as soon as these strikes were unleashed, they were swallowed by the Vice Lord's saber light.

His saber light seemed capable of consuming everything.

It was like the primordial floods of antiquity—those ancient deluges were far more savage and potent than modern floods. When the ancient flood arrived, continents vanished, the heavens and earth transformed, and the inundation threatened to drown the sky. The Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization had inherited the Dao tradition of the 'Flood' within the Primordial Chaos, and his saber technique simulated the arrival of those ancient waters. Whatever attack the opponent brought would be erased by his saber art—this was the essence of his technique.

As mentioned during the previous fight with Vice Lord Miao Dao and Vice Lord Miao Zhong, every figure at the Civilization Realm pushed one single concept to its absolute limit within their techniques. For instance, Sword Bitter pushed 'Bitterness' to its limit; Sword Round pushed 'Roundness'; Vice Lord Miao Dao pushed 'Variation' to its limit. Now, the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization had pushed 'Flood' to its extreme limit. The Civilization Realm: each walking their own extreme.

When this limit of technique was unleashed, it was notoriously difficult to counter. Vice Lord Tian Gong, Vice Lord Tian Gui, and Vice Lord Tian Fang instinctively recalled their own experience facing the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization. No matter the form or function of their techniques or attacks, they were all swallowed by his saber light. This saber move, having pushed Flood to its zenith, was truly terrifying; the three Vice Lords vowed never to face such a technique again.

The Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization continued his relentless offensive, his saber art crashing down upon Lu Yuan like a tidal wave. Lu Yuan suddenly found himself in a precarious situation. The Vice Lord laughed loudly. "Didn't you say you would win beautifully? Now it seems you won't win beautifully, and you'll die beneath my divine saber." "I said I would win beautifully, and I will win beautifully," Lu Yuan roared.

"Keep up your bravado, stubborn duck," the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization retorted, continuing his assault. He held the clear advantage, nearly striking Lu Yuan several times, only to be evaded by Lu Yuan's 'Life Is Like a Dream.' However, the Vice Lord was already contemplating ways to break 'Life Is Like a Dream'; he refused to believe he couldn't counter that move.

While he was lost in thought on how to breach 'Life Is Like a Dream,' Lu Yuan let out a long shout and simultaneously unleashed sword light. This was light like an all-consuming, surging ocean—roiling, massive, destructive, yet endlessly generative, boundless, and empty of flaws.

Why was this sword light so similar to the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization’s saber light? The Vice Lord also detected something amiss. He instantly realized Lu Yuan was imitating his technique. However, Lu Yuan mimicking his style didn't concern him much; imitation had never been known to surpass the genuine article in an instant.

The saber light of the primordial flood collided with the sword light of the primordial flood.

And in the next moment, after several million simultaneous impacts, the saber light of the primordial flood was utterly consumed by the sword light of the primordial flood.

The imitation surpassed the original? What in the world was happening?

The Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization was stunned. Lu Yuan seized the advantage and pressed his assault, attacking ceaselessly. Having defeated the Vice Lord's strongest move, his other techniques were clearly inferior. Lu Yuan relentlessly struck, and in a mere flash, the Vice Lord sustained serious injuries.

To the side, Vice Lords Tian Gong, Tian Fang, and Tian Gui stood utterly dumbfounded. What was going on? How did Lu Yuan learn the Arid Ancient's ultimate move, and how was his version even stronger than the original? At this moment, Vice Lord Tian Fang recalled Lu Yuan's battle against Vice Lord Miao Dao in the Phoenix Ancient Civilization—it was the same pattern. Lu Yuan could replicate the ultimate techniques of the Civilization Realm, and not only replicate them but push them further toward an extreme, making them stronger than the opponent's. This was terrifying.

...... All of this was, of course, thanks to the Myriad Manifestations and All-Encompassing Forest. Lu Yuan had long since discovered the function of the Myriad Manifestations Sword Dao.

Lu Yuan also realized that using this capability at the Civilization Realm yielded entirely different results than using it below that realm.

When used at the Civilization Realm, a vague Hall would appear, situated at the pinnacle within his New Sword World. However, after mastering the Limit of Flood from the Arid Ancient Civilization, this Hall instantly clarified itself.

The Hall of the Heavenly Dao of Eternity! What an overwhelmingly ambitious name—The Hall of the Heavenly Dao of Eternity!

The heavens were divided into two: the Lesser Heaven of the current epoch, and the Great Heaven that was eternally undying. Ascending to the Civilization Realm meant escaping the constraints of the Lesser Heaven of this epoch; reaching the Realm of Eternity meant breaking free from the shackles of the Great Heaven of Eternity.

Lu Yuan observed that within the Hall of the Heavenly Dao, each concept was marked by a character.

For instance, there was a faint character for 'Bitter.' It seemed learned from Senior Brother Zhou Qingxuan, as Lu Yuan had studied his swordsmanship but hadn't applied the Myriad Manifestations Sword Dao to it, hence the blurriness. It seemed Lu Yuan was inferior to Senior Brother Zhou Qingxuan in the aspect of 'Bitter.'

Another character was 'Variation,' and this character was incredibly distinct, suggesting it was learned from Vice Lord Miao Dao.

There was also the character for 'Round,' rendered with absolute clarity, implying it came from Vice Lord Sword Round.

In theory, every Civilization Realm technique had its limit. However, when Lu Yuan ascended to the Civilization Realm, figures like Arid Eagle and Octagonal hadn't yet pushed their techniques to their absolute peak, so their specific characteristics were absent—they were only of the First or Second Epochs. The Child of Immortals was the same. Vice Lord Miao Zhong's techniques utilizing the 'Gourd' lacked a defined limit.

And now, the character for 'Flood' had appeared, signifying that he had fully grasped the ultimate limit of the Vice Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization—this character was also crystal clear.

This meant that within his own Hall of the Heavenly Dao, there were a total of four limits. His Heavenly Dao Hall could learn the ultimate limit of every Civilization Realm technique. What transformation would occur if he mastered the limits of all the others?

Regardless, the stronger he became in every aspect, the better, because the one he had to face was the Lord of the Arid Ancient Civilization—one of the Five Great Ancient Civilization Lords, undoubtedly ranking in the absolute top ten figures in existence.

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