The twenty-one doors bore inscriptions: Desolate Ancient Civilization, Immortal Ancient Civilization, Buddhist Ancient Civilization, Demon Civilization, Monster Civilization, Evil Sword Civilization, Fire Civilization, Star Civilization, Thunder Civilization, Mace Civilization, Tree Civilization, Fox Civilization, Poison Civilization, Miao Civilization, Strength Civilization, Flower Civilization, Arrow Civilization, Talisman Civilization, Formation Civilization, and Theft Civilization, totaling twenty-one distinct civilizations.

Outside the twenty-one doors, a roster materialized from condensed magical power, detailing the achievements of the seventeen participants.

Lu Yuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, surveying the twenty-one doors. The Desolate Ancient civilization held no interest; he had explored it too many times. The Immortal Ancient civilization was equally unengaging after repeated encounters. As for the Buddhist Ancient civilization, he found dealing with monks tedious and utterly dull. The Demon and Monster Civilizations held appeal if he were killing their adherents, but at the moment, he lacked the inclination. The Evil Sword and Mace Civilizations held no spark either.

He decided to visit the Fox Civilization. Rumor had it they specialized in Illusions, a type of opponent Lu Yuan rarely encountered.

Lu Yuan pushed open the door to the Fox Civilization and stepped inside.

Upon entering, he found two figures seated within: the Deputy Leader of the Heavenly Mother Civilization and Tian Yuji of the Bird Civilization. The room was laden with documents, a casual flip revealing materials specifically concerning the illusion techniques of the Fox Civilization. Simultaneously, potent illusions flickered intermittently in the void around him.

Lu Yuan felt as though he had instantaneously arrived in a paradise of illusions. Wealth, fine wine, and captivating beauties surrounded him, an array of every imaginable indulgence. Yet, this was not the most terrifying aspect.

Illusion, by its nature, is false.

The more intensely something illusory compels you to feel it is real, the more real it must appear.

The illusion mimics the real; the real dissolves into illusion.

The highest state of illusion is Truth.

At this moment, Lu Yuan was utterly ensnared by the terror of the illusions. Countless stories erupted around him, featuring heroes and beauties in equal measure. It was a colossal, ever-spinning world, and crucially, it did not revolve around him; the more independent it was, the more authentic it seemed.

This illusion was truly formidable.

Lu Yuan was momentarily captivated, instantly forgetting the elegant Deputy Leader of the Heavenly Mother Civilization and Tian Yuji, the girl with golden twin ponytails, seated nearby.

This illusion was truly magnificent!

After a long, long interval, Lu Yuan finally recognized that it was an illusion.

Simultaneously, Lu Yuan began to contemplate. His own technique, Floating Life, Dreamlike, relied heavily on illusory principles. Why not use this opportunity to strengthen his mastery of illusion here? While others might be incapable of learning such techniques, Lu Yuan could. His Myriad Manifestations of the Primordial Darkness Sword Dao allowed him to mimic the moves of others, and illusion, fundamentally, was just another form of technique. Although illusionary techniques were exceedingly difficult to imitate, with sufficient time, imitation was possible.

Furthermore, illusion techniques were categorized into various realms, according to the Fox Civilization’s classification system, they were divided into the following tiers:

The first level: Eye Deception, tricking the vision. The second level: Five Senses Deception, tricking the five senses. The third level: Heart Deception, tricking the mind. The fourth level: True Eye, moving beyond deception into actuality. Within the Fox Civilization’s illusion matrix, illusion was a process of transformation towards reality; the highest echelon of illusion was Truth. The fifth level: True Five Senses, the perception of genuine sensory input. The sixth level: True Heart, allowing one to authentically experience everything.

Of course, there was a seventh level, the True World, but no one had yet achieved mastery in the illusions of this realm—not even the Deputy Leader of the Fox Civilization herself.

Originally, the illusory elements incorporated into Lu Yuan’s Floating Life, Dreamlike were mostly at the second level, Five Senses Deception. This level was respectable enough. However, now that he was here, realizing that illusion was merely a form of maneuver, and having access to the Fox Civilization’s documentation, he began to study frantically.

Through rapid learning, Lu Yuan advanced his own illusory mastery to the third level, Heart Deception. Upon reaching this third level, the Deputy Leader of the Heavenly Mother Civilization rose and walked out of the door.

Lu Yuan continued his study within the chamber. The Ancient Primordial Darkness Sword Dao ceaselessly replicated surrounding materials on illusion, and after considerable time, he attained the fourth level, the True Eye. At this stage, Lu Yuan noticed his illusions transforming toward a higher dimension, beginning to shed the mere guise of illusion and leaning toward authenticity.

At the same time, Lu Yuan discovered that through this relentless cultivation, his Floating Life, Dreamlike Sword Dao was strengthening continuously. In its previous state, Floating Life, Dreamlike was primarily usable only at the World Realm because it was not a true Civilization-level technique. Now, however, it was finally beginning its metamorphosis into a Civilization-level move. If this transformation succeeded, he would gain an exceptionally formidable skill. Lu Yuan felt a surge of elation; the utility of Floating Life, Dreamlike was something only those who used it truly understood.

But converting Floating Life, Dreamlike into a Civilization-level technique would not be easy. After mastering the fourth level, True Eye, he felt it still fell slightly short. He resolved to continue practicing.

In truth, Lu Yuan expended a vast amount of time in this focused study; time flowed by like a rushing river.

The golden-haired, twin-tailed girl, Tian Yuji, observed Lu Yuan coldly for a while. What was this fellow doing, sitting here incessantly? Tian Yuji softly blew a whistle. The birds around her, previously lost in the illusions, were instantly summoned and led out of the door by her. She followed them out.

Lu Yuan remained engrossed in his practice. During this period of his cultivation, various individuals entered and exited the chamber.

While these comings and goings occurred, Lu Yuan had already pushed his illusion mastery to the fifth level, True Five Senses. As soon as he reached the fifth level, Lu Yuan immediately perceived a seismic shift in his Floating Life, Dreamlike technique. Ha! It was done! With Floating Life, Dreamlike elevated to the Civilization Realm, Lu Yuan no longer needed to fear being besieged by multiple Civilization Realm experts. What of that? As long as their magical power wasn't vastly superior to his own, being surrounded by numerous Civilization Realm combatants meant nothing to him. Floating Life, Dreamlike was inherently a technique that defied reason. Previously, this move struck fear in the World Realm; now, the era where this move inspired terror had returned. Ha, this was exhilarating!

However, upon mastering the fifth level, Lu Yuan still desired to reach the sixth. He vaguely sensed it was attainable, but achieving the sixth level would demand an even greater passage of time. Lu Yuan relentlessly employed the Myriad Manifestations of the Primordial Darkness Sword Dao to deduce and refine the myriad illusionary techniques, pushing them forward.

After a long time... After a long time... After a long time...

Finally, after such an extended period, he managed to advance his illusionary technique to the sixth level, True Heart. Lu Yuan’s current illusionary proficiency was astronomically high, virtually matching the level of the Fox Civilization’s Deputy Leader. Of course, he had not reached the seventh level, the True World. Lu Yuan dimly perceived a colossal barrier separating the sixth and seventh levels—a hurdle nearly impossible, perhaps fundamentally unattainable, to cross.

Having reached the sixth level of illusion, True Heart, Lu Yuan surveyed his surroundings. Ahead, he saw two red buttons. One read 'Automatic Exit,' the other, 'Test Illusion-Breaking Capability.' Lu Yuan pressed the second. Instantly, countless illusions manifested as myriad celestial flowers rained down—a world within a single flower, an ocean of illusions enveloping Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan showed no hesitation. Shua, shua, shua, shua—he began to dismantle these illusions. Now a master of illusion himself, one whose skill was not inferior to the Fox Civilization’s Deputy Leader, he relentlessly broke through the surrounding phantasms. After some time, he cleared them completely. Immediately, a statistic appeared in the void: Fox Illusion Breaking Completion: Ninety Percent!

Ninety percent was remarkably high! The maximum achievable was ninety-five percent! This was because every civilization possessed ultimate hidden trump cards, secrets they would never fully reveal under any circumstances.

Thus, Lu Yuan's success rate in this trial by the Fox Civilization was exceedingly high.

High, yes, but too slow...

The purple-robed middle-aged man, the Deputy Leader of the Dragon Civilization, emerged from one of the doors. On the magical power roster, there were seventeen names listed, corresponding to the seventeen participants. Behind each name were their respective achievements. Currently, the Deputy Leader of the Martial Saint Civilization had the longest record of accomplishments, followed by the Deputy Leader of the Heavenly Mother Civilization, and several others like the Deputy Leader of the Ice Civilization.

The Deputy Leader of the Dragon Civilization looked at the record beside his name: Strength Civilization, seventy percent; Miao Civilization, seventy percent; Talisman Civilization, seventy-three percent. This was considered normal. Typically, achievements hovered around fifty to seventy percent; anything higher was rare, and reaching eighty percent was extraordinarily difficult, while achieving ninety percent was nearly impossible.

After reviewing his own standing, the Deputy Leader of the Dragon Civilization glanced at Lu Yuan’s record, finding it utterly blank—nothing recorded beside his name.

"Huh? Has Lu Yuan not registered any achievements yet? Excellent!"

The Deputy Leader of the Dragon Civilization was determined to secure the legacy of the True Successor of the Ancestral Dragon, as the benefits associated with it were unimaginably vast. It could be said that once one became the True Successor of the Ancestral Dragon, the probability of ascending to the Civilization Lord would increase substantially—the Ancestral Dragon was, after all, the Ancestral Dragon!

The Deputy Leader of the Dragon Civilization viewed Lu Yuan as a direct competitor. Naturally, the worse Lu Yuan fared, the better for him. Observing the gap between them now, he nodded in satisfaction. He had already passed through three doors, while Lu Yuan hadn't cleared a single one. It seemed his victory was assured; Lu Yuan was simply too young and perhaps too inexperienced.

After a brief rest, the Deputy Leader of the Dragon Civilization entered the fourth door, which belonged to the Formation Civilization.

(First update delivered.)