Li Taishi has appeared! With his very first strike, he killed the Vice-Lord of the Violent Force Civilization!

The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization looked at Li Taishi: “It seems my Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth are truly the ultimate authority. You could have fled; perhaps you might have escaped with your life. But because I already inscribed that Li Taishi shall die, you will not actively flee. You will die by my hand.”

Lu Yuan gave a cold smile: “I find you dream quite often. We’ll see if you can actually pull it off. It’s high time your tricks with that Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth were broken.”

“Too laughable, utterly laughable! You actually intend to break my Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth? You must be dreaming.” The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization scoffed at Li Taishi. It truly was ridiculous. These two artifacts, the Book of Theorems and the Pen of Truth, had been in his possession for quite some time.

Once these items fell into the hands of the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization, his combat power surged exponentially.

Someone once ranked the abilities of the Vice-Lords of the Civilizations, naming the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth of the Heavenly Principle Vice-Lord as one of the ten most heaven-defying powers among them.

There were several hundred Vice-Lords of Civilizations across the cosmos, and not a single one was simple; each possessed formidable ultimate techniques.

To rank among the top ten among several hundred speaks volumes about how monstrous this ability was.

To be precise, the ranking of the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth wasn't just in the top ten; it might even be top five.

The Ten Melodies Combination, Great Sorrow, Small Regret, of the Zither Civilization Vice-Lord was already powerful enough, but it was still somewhat weaker than the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth, which is why she sustained such serious injuries. Yet here was Li Taishi, claiming he could break them—it was beyond funny; it was profoundly absurd. Many had tried to devise ways to counter the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth, and all had failed.

The Vice-Lord of the Thunder Storm Civilization sneered, the Vice-Lord of the Three Books Civilization sighed, the Vice-Lord of the Integrity Civilization shook his head, and even the Zither Civilization Vice-Lord, who had just experienced their might, fell silent. Having just grasped the power of these two artifacts, she knew intimately how intractable and unbreakable the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth were.

However, some people did believe Li Taishi.

Su Yuemian and the others placed their faith in him. They were absolutely convinced that Li Taishi would create a miracle!

Because he was Li Taishi!

The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization brought forth the Book of Theorems. Golden light flared upon its surface: “Li Taishi’s right hand shall sever.” Then, clutching the pen in his left hand, he rapidly inscribed the six characters: Li Taishi’s Right Hand Severs. Instantly, these six words transformed into the color of chaos. Once these words turned chaotic, it signified that Li Taishi’s right hand was destined to be severed.

This was an inescapable causality woven into the very fabric of existence!

Li Taishi had missed his window; he couldn't allow the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization to finish inscribing those words.

Damn it!

Was he about to lose?

The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization instantly launched his attack, directing everything toward Lu Yuan’s right hand. He was certain that with the implicit causality of the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth, severing Li Taishi’s right hand would be effortless. Lu Yuan immediately counter-attacked, deploying the True Divine Scripture to engage the Vice-Lord in a book-versus-book confrontation. Between parries and strikes, they exchanged more than ten blows.

Huh?

The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization was forced to recoil slightly. He was startled and confused. Logically, by this point in the exchange, Li Taishi’s right hand should have been severed according to the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth. Why was it still intact? He glanced at his Book of Theorems and saw that the six characters inscribed upon it had turned back to gold.

This!

What was this?

The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization shuddered. Standing near him was the Vice-Lord of the Poison Self Civilization, who also witnessed the six characters, which had been chaotic, revert to gold. What was happening? The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization felt a shock in his heart, his gaze sharpening as he fixed on Lu Yuan: “How did you break my Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth? How could you cause the words, once turned chaotic by my Pen of Truth, to revert to gold, changing Truth back into Truth?”

What!

At these words, the entire assembly gasped in astonishment!

The terrifying ultimate technique, the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth, had actually been broken by Li Taishi!

When Li Taishi first spoke, everyone assumed he was boasting. But seeing this now, could it be that Li Taishi wasn't lying? How had he achieved this? Especially the Zither Civilization Vice-Lord, who scrutinized Lu Yuan with her exquisite eyes. Her own disciple had accomplished what she could not!

Lu Yuan smiled faintly, speaking calmly and with composure: “Your so-called Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth can transform Principle into Truth, but there is one thing you cannot change: the Historical Record. The Historical Record is difficult to alter. History unfolds, and future generations judge merits and faults. You are a man of the present; you cannot alter the Historical Record. It awaits final judgment after your passing. You fundamentally cannot change the Historical Record. The Historical Record is precisely the bane of your Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth.” With that, Lu Yuan summoned the Historical Record—the historical record shared by the Confucian Civilization and the Heavenly Principle Civilization. Within it were documented the myriad histories of both civilizations. Everyone could sense that this Historical Record was the natural counter to the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth. So, this was the weakness.

Li Taishi truly had done it. He had genuinely succeeded in shattering the Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth.

…………

The face of the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization flickered through a series of expressions. He never imagined that his Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth could be countered in such a way. Damn it! How did Li Taishi conceive of this method? His heart trembled violently. However, the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization maintained a cold sneer on his face: “Li Taishi, very impressive, that you managed to think of using the Historical Record to break my Book of Theorems and Pen of Truth. Long-flowing history, immutable by the brush—indeed, this is a potent move. But sadly, your solution came too late. The Zither Civilization Vice-Lord is already gravely wounded, and your own strength is no match for mine. The Three Books are already captured, and Integrity is even more useless. Your entire contingent is still destined for annihilation. There is only one path left for you: death.”

The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization wasted no more words and immediately pressed the assault, starting with the technique Inscribe Sins Beyond Counting—a move imbued with infinite wickedness that countless books could never fully enumerate. Then, switching hands, he unleashed Abandon Books, Take Up the Sword, immediately followed by a fierce strike of Reading by the Snowlight, and then another blow, Composing Treatises.

Coincidence Makes the Book, Scholarly Misconception, Ten Years of Reading Understood in One, Expose Books to See Bamboo, Book Hung on an Ox Horn, Wandering Book and Sword, Dispatching Wild Geese to Deliver Letters...

Innumerable book-related techniques were hurled forth. These were all specialized moves drawn from the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization’s ultimate technique, the Bookshelf. Countless intricate literary moves were unleashed: Within Books Lies Beauty, Within Books Lies a House of Gold, Read a Book a Hundred Times, Its Meaning Will Emerge, Practice Calligraphy by the Pond, Cannot Recognize a Book. Every stance and every strike was brought into play.

If the opponent could not handle these projections of written works, the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization could easily claim victory. If the opponent managed to withstand the preceding attacks, the Vice-Lord would then merge all the previous techniques, ignite them, and transform them into his ultimate killing blow: Burning Books and Burying Scholars! The single technique of Burning Books and Burying Scholars possessed devastating power, a major move specifically designed to counter the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization.

As Li Taishi deftly parried the initial onslaught, the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization roared, “Burning Books and Burying Scholars!” Instantly, billions of books swirled around Lu Yuan. Flames engulfed the texts, consuming countless techniques. In that moment, an infinite resonance of book-restricting aura manifested.

Billions of books ignited and burned in an instant.

This was Burning Books and Burying Scholars.

As Burning Books and Burying Scholars first manifested, countless books burst into flame, containing the essence of precious texts—the crystallization of countless predecessors. Innumerable techniques exploded, and brilliant lights flared. At the very inception of this move, the surrounding crowd was almost blinded. The Vice-Lords of the Three Books and Integrity Civilizations, in particular, felt intense discomfort; if even the residual waves were this agonizing, how devastating must the direct impact be for Li Taishi? Could Li Taishi possibly withstand such an attack?

“Burn the myriad books! Bury Li Taishi, you Confucian!” the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization roared, fighting fiercely in all directions across the universe.

The Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization had reached a point of manic desperation. He knew this was the decisive battle, so he unleashed not only his strongest move, Burning Books and Burying Scholars, but also struck forth with his two initial characters: Heaven and Principle. The character Heaven was an immensely powerful primordial character, capable of subjugating all things—The Heavens Above. The character Principle held infinite logic; anyone who contended with the logic of Principle was destined to lose. Even the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization back then would never dare debate the meaning of Principle.

“I am Heavenly Principle; Heavenly Principle is me. If I say you die, you shall die,” the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization roared, as the initial characters Heaven and Principle echoed each other, emitting an aura of boundless mystery.

Simultaneously, the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization amplified his inherent feudalistic aura to its absolute zenith: Enfeeble and Restrain! This feudalistic energy held infinite binding power; it was the antithesis to the righteous energy that the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization used to combat the Confucian School. Feudalism was in no way inferior to righteousness. Finally, the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Principle Civilization unleashed the Three Bonds and Five Constants, directing their power offensively to completely bind Li Taishi.

The Three Bonds and Five Constants, Feudalism, Heavenly Principle, Burning Books and Burying Scholars—everything he could muster was brought into play.

Li Taishi, perish!

At this moment, Lu Yuan drew a deep breath. This was the first time he had ever truly faced the leader of an entire Civilization in combat like this; it was a first for him. Let the fight be exhilarating!

(First update delivered.)