To the listener who still didn't grasp the reason, the speaker elaborated: "The Artifact Civilization has always maintained neutrality, the primary reason for which has been the presence of their Vice Lord. Now that the Artifact Civilization's Vice Lord has fallen, the Desolate Ancient Civilization is showing some favor; perhaps they can absorb the Artifact Civilization into their fold."

The listener finally understood: "This, this is such a ruthless maneuver. For the Desolate Ancient Civilization to act this way is utterly shameless. To conquer the forces of a civilization whose leader they murdered—it’s like killing a husband only to steal his wife. The Desolate Ancient Civilization has acted disgustingly this time."

"So how was this incident resolved? I know the Vice Lord of the Desolate Warmth Civilization; given his nature, if his plot were exposed, he would likely annihilate everything. How is the Artifact Civilization still standing?"

"Well, word has it that Lu Yuan intervened in this conspiracy."

"Lu Yuan's strongest recorded feat was only dealing with the combined might of the Third Epoch's Miao Dao and the Second Epoch's Miao Gu, both Civilization Vice Lords. Could he really have a hand in such a major event concerning the Artifact Civilization?" someone asked doubtfully.

"Believe it or not, I was genuinely stunned myself. I heard that in this battle, the Vice Lords of the Heavenly Attack Civilization, the Heavenly Treachery Civilization, and the Heavenly Defense Civilization were all severely wounded by the Desolate Warmth Civilization's Vice Lord. Just as the Artifact Civilization was about to perish under his hand, Lu Yuan appeared! Lu Yuan engaged the Desolate Warmth Civilization's Vice Lord to a standstill," the narrator enthused. "In the end, the Desolate Warmth Civilization's Vice Lord unleashed his ultimate move—the Evil Path of Plague, a world-destroying, pitch-black water column that reached the heavens—but Lu Yuan shattered it with the eyeball of the Eye Civilization! Lu Yuan actually managed to slay the Sixth Epoch's Desolate Warmth Civilization's Vice Lord."

"What!"

"Lu Yuan is getting increasingly formidable. Now he can even defeat those of the Sixth Epoch." Among the crowd, a girl with the appearance of a youth murmured quietly. This girl carried a crimson ancient zither on her back; she was Murong Honglei of the Zither Civilization. Murong Honglei had once been ranked on the Heavenly List alongside Lu Yuan, yet she hadn't even reached the Civilization Realm, while Lu Yuan had already surpassed the Sixth Epoch's Desolate Warmth Civilization Vice Lord. Compared this way, the gap was immense.

"By disrupting the Desolate Ancient Civilization's scheme this time, the Artifact Civilization has completely sided with the Martial Law Alliance."

"Speaking of which, Lu Yuan has truly slain quite a few Civilization Realm figures recently. Those we personally witnessed die by Lu Yuan's hand include the Miao Dao Civilization Vice Lord, the Miao Gu Civilization Vice Lord, and the Desolate Warmth Civilization Vice Lord—three in total. Rumor suggests that the total number of Civilization Vice Lords potentially killed by Lu Yuan might include the Force Saint Civilization Vice Lord, the Desolate Eagle Civilization Vice Lord, and the Eight-Prism Civilization Vice Lord, the Son of Immortals. In short, there might be as many as seven Civilization Vice Lords who have perished by Lu Yuan's hand."

"Seven! Heavens! There are only a few hundred Civilization Vice Lords in total, and perhaps seven of them have fallen by Lu Yuan's hands? That’s too exaggerated." One by one, they counted them up, awestruck by Lu Yuan's record.

"Actually, if we are to compare, the Desolate Son's record is not bad either. Lu Yuan has three confirmed kills and four possible kills, whereas the Desolate Son has five confirmed kills of Civilization Realm figures. Many experts from the Martial Law Alliance have fallen by the Desolate Son's hand alone. It is said that the Desolate Son's current strength is also immense, definitely no weaker than Lu Yuan's."

"Lu Yuan and the Desolate Son—they truly are destined rivals. I wonder which of them will ultimately prevail." Currently, the most acknowledged paramount rivals in all of existence are the Desolate Son and Lu Yuan. The fact that these two have fought for so long without a decisive victor is remarkable in itself.

"Oh, and another piece of news came from the Artifact Civilization this time, reportedly a prophecy derived from the Future Artifact Instrument."

"Oh? What prophecy?"

"The Future Artifact Instrument displayed the four characters: Huang Jian Yu Lu ()." This person’s intelligence was truly sharp.

"Huang Jian Yu Lu?"

"'Huang Jian Yu Lu Yuan?'" Amidst countless exclamations of surprise, one person finally spoke: "The prophecy from the Artifact Civilization's Future Artifact Instrument—does it mean the Desolate Ancient Civilization is destined to be destroyed by Lu Yuan?"

"That's what the literal meaning suggests, but the Desolate Ancient Civilization is one of the five great Ancient Civilizations; it shouldn't logically be destroyed by Lu Yuan."

"But looking at Lu Yuan's current ascendant momentum, there is indeed a sliver of possibility."

"Perhaps this is the revival of the Sword Dao."

"Haha, no one can truly say. Regardless, once this prophecy of Huang Jian Yu Lu is revealed, it will surely stir up a massive storm across the heavens and earth. The Desolate Ancient Civilization will likely be even more eager to eliminate Lu Yuan immediately."

"Heh, I heard that the Desolate Immortal-Buddha Alliance has dispatched many people to hunt down Lu Yuan."

Meanwhile, within the Artifact Civilization, Lu Yuan had finished refining the Nourishing My Self Divine Sword. With the Nourishing My Self Divine Sword in hand, his confidence surged. Lu Yuan then casually forged the Meteor Divine Sword to complement his ultimate strike. The crafting of the Meteor Divine Sword proceeded without any anomalies, merely absorbing the normal light of ten Civilization Divine Artifacts.

Having completed these two items, Lu Yuan felt he had done enough. It was time to deliver the Great Seal of Desolation to Yan Cangtian.

He wondered how Yan Cangtian was faring.

After bidding farewell to the figures of the Artifact Civilization, Lu Yuan resolved to set off.

The Heavenly Attack Civilization Vice Lord warned, "I hear the Desolate Immortal-Buddha Alliance has sent many assassins after you, Lu Yuan. You must be careful."

"I am aware," Lu Yuan nodded. If people came to hunt him, let them come; was he supposed to fear them? Lu Yuan stepped out of the Artifact Civilization and headed directly into the void, intending to take the Great Seal of Desolation to Yan Cangtian now.

......

Meanwhile, in the void, there was a star.

On an island upon this star stood an extremely long stone stele, which pulsed with dark and ominous light. Engraved on the stele were six large characters in blood-red script: "The Strongest Assassination Squad." The Strongest Assassination Squad—what was this? There were many assassination squads throughout the world, but those who dared to claim the title of 'strongest' in the current era were actually just two.

One, the Strongest Assassination Squad of the Desolate Immortal-Buddha Alliance.

The other, the Strongest Assassination Squad of the Martial Law Alliance.

Assassination, in itself, is not a glorious undertaking. Under normal circumstances, people generally avoided mutual assassination. After all, it is far easier to destroy a person than it is to nurture them to growth. If you destroy my talent today, I will assassinate your talent tomorrow, and no one will make progress. Therefore, strictly speaking, assassination is a fearsome weapon, not to be used normally, at least not on a large scale.

However, there are always exceptions.

Assassination is used on a grand scale during wartime.

This so-called war means employing any means necessary. Large-scale assassination might not be a good thing, but when war breaks out, what does that matter?

The war here is the Epoch War!

The Epoch War is no simple matter; it is the largest-scale conflict within an epoch. This epoch has only experienced half of one such war—the one that occurred when the Desolate Ancient rose at the beginning of the epoch. This counts as only half because its intensity was insufficient. Now, the Epoch War is about to unfold; everyone can sense the imminence of its arrival.

The Desolate Immortal-Buddha Alliance, the Martial Law Alliance, the Central Heavenly Dynasty, split in two, along with the civilizations from the Lost Lands joining in—this war is set to be the largest conflict before the destruction of this epoch. The outcome of this war will undoubtedly influence the future trajectory of this epoch, and even the direction of the various factions in the next epoch.

Of course, this battle has merely been gathering momentum and has not truly ignited yet.

But the recent situation has grown increasingly tense: the contention over the Phoenix Ancient Civilization, the battle for the Artifact Civilization—all these circumstances point toward one conclusion that almost everyone understands.

And now, this stele is flashing, indicating the appearance of at least one of the Strongest Assassination Squads. Once squads like the Strongest Assassination Squad begin to assemble, it signals only one thing: the Epoch War across the heavens and earth has officially begun. Finally, is the Epoch War about to commence in full?

And which side’s Strongest Assassination Squad is this one? And who will be their target?

A strong gust of wind swept through the void, and within that wind, a young man with an ethereal, immortal bearing slowly appeared. While the temperament of this young man resembled that of the Son of Immortals, he was clearly much stronger. This ethereal young man was actually an immensely powerful figure: the Vice Lord of the Immortal Wind Civilization, possessing the cultivation of the Seventh Epoch. He was also the sixth-ranked member of the Strongest Assassination Squad.

Both the Desolate Immortal-Buddha Alliance's Strongest Assassination Squad and the Martial Law Alliance's Strongest Assassination Squad consist of ten members each.

Every single member is a terrifyingly skilled assassination specialist.

The Immortal Wind Civilization Vice Lord also appears to be a member of the Strongest Assassination Squad.

The Immortal Wind Civilization Vice Lord landed on the stele and, with a slight movement of his divine sense, grasped the situation: "Oh, the target this time is Lu Yuan? How rare. For the first mission of the Desolate Immortal-Buddha Alliance's Strongest Assassination Squad in this Epoch War, the target is Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan should feel honored."

"The opening of this Epoch War will be marked by Lu Yuan's death," the Immortal Wind Civilization Vice Lord remarked playfully. In truth, he had long been displeased with Lu Yuan, this mere junior who enjoyed such great renown. Since that was the case, he decided to settle the matter of Lu Yuan himself this time.

The Immortal Wind Civilization Vice Lord spoke calmly. He understood perfectly why Lu Yuan must die: because of that damned prophecy, Huang Jian Yu Lu, which caused great unease.

(Uh, the Epoch War has begun.)