Who could it be?

After all, the Apex War Room was no place for just anyone to wander into; even a figure of the Seventh Epoch, like the Vice Lord of the Wind Scar Civilization, couldn't simply stroll in whenever they pleased. The person who had entered the Apex War Room was a figure with narrow, elongated eyes, extremely long white eyebrows, and an aura of cunning variability swirling around their entire being.

Moreover, this individual was fundamentally different from the others. The Vice Lords of other civilizations exuded an aura that transcended their respective Epochs.

But this person exuded an aura that suggested transcendence beyond the Tenth Epoch and above.

Only the Lords of Civilization typically possessed such an aura.

Indeed, this middle-aged man with the strikingly long white eyebrows and eerily narrow eyes was none other than the Lord of the Transformation Civilization, one of the three paramount Lords of the Fagu Civilization.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization—a being of infinite variation. Engaging him in combat meant facing spells of ten thousand wonders and a billion transformations, utterly bizarre and unpredictable.

He also possessed another capability: large-scale command and operational capacity. His skill in directing massive battles could arguably be called the best in the entire Central Celestial Dynasty—yes, not the best in the Faws Martial Alliance, nor the best in the Barren Immortal Buddha Alliance, but the absolute best across the entire Central Celestial Dynasty.

His large-scale combat command was strange, unfathomable, and beyond imagination.

This was precisely one of the primary reasons why the Faws Martial Alliance, despite being inferior in raw strength to the Barren Immortal Buddha Alliance, could consistently hold them to a stalemate.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization was ranked third on the Barren Immortal Buddha Alliance’s most-wanted list, whereas Lu Yuan, no matter how highly valued, was only tenth.

The difference in the level of attention commanded by the third-ranked target versus the tenth was monumental.

Furthermore, the Lord of the Transformation Civilization held another title: the head of the Apex War Room within the Faws Martial Alliance. Both the First Imperial Son of Faw and the Vice Lord of the Martial Saint Civilization were effectively his subordinates; the large-scale troop deployments and command directives truly flowed from him.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization strode into the Apex War Room, holding a bottle of wine. "Oh? Has Project Twenty-One begun?"

He let out a hearty burp of alcohol and cast his gaze upon the Mana Ranking board.

Among the seventeen participants in Project Twenty-One, there were three figures who held his utmost attention.

One, naturally, was the Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization. This scion, born in the previous Epoch, was the second Son of Destiny, now possessing the mana level of the Ninth Epoch, and his potential was far from exhausted. Just how far this individual could progress was truly worth anticipating. He couldn't help but study the Ice Civilization Vice Lord’s record, finding it quite respectable; he currently ranked third, surpassed only by the Vice Lord of the Martial Saint Civilization and the Vice Lord of the Heavenly Mother Civilization. Yet, it was uncertain how long those two could remain ahead of the Ice Vice Lord, as neither the Martial Saint nor the Heavenly Mother Vice Lord possessed as great an inherent potential.

The second, of course, was Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan was the Child of Destiny of this current Epoch, and by pure destiny metrics, he was the second strongest Son of Destiny of this age. His greatest recorded feat was slaying a figure from the Sixth Epoch. While this strength placed him lower among those present, his potential was boundless, perhaps even deeper than that of the Ice Civilization Vice Lord.

The third? Naturally, it was Li Taishi, known as the Son of Darkness. Li Taishi had not previously caught his eye, but his most recent battle was too brilliant: slaying the Vice Lord of the Heavenly Reason Civilization and thoroughly shattering the Book of Theorems and the Pen of Truth. This was another figure brimming with infinite potential.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization favored those with limitless potential; potential represented infinite possibility. As for the others, their potential was largely quantifiable, leaving no room for pleasant surprises.

The Lord of the Transformation Civilization let out a soft sound. Lu Yuan’s result was still zero, as his score hadn't registered yet. Li Taishi's name hadn't appeared. Oh, Li Taishi possessed such character—to skip coming to the Apex War Room entirely. Interesting character.

At that moment, Lu Yuan emerged from the door belonging to the Fox Civilization. On the battle-result list, now solidified by condensed mana, the entry following Lu Yuan's name was indeed the Fox Civilization: Breach Factor, Nine-Tenths! Nine-Tenths! The Lord of the Transformation Civilization couldn't help but be surprised. It had been stated earlier that five-tenths or six-tenths was normal, seven-tenths was good, eight-tenths was heaven-defying, and nine-tenths was simply unimaginable.

Previously, the greatest breach factor against the Fox Civilization's illusion arts had been the Heavenly Mother Civilization’s eight-and-a-half-tenths. Lu Yuan had achieved nine-tenths—truly remarkable! He certainly lived up to his reputation as a figure of boundless potential.

As for the temperament of the Lord of the Transformation Civilization—he was a man who cherished change, who relished an unknowable future. Seeing these talents reveal their initial achievements so starkly made things dull. Thus, the Lord of the Transformation Civilization made a subtle gesture, and instantly, twenty-one circles appeared beneath the names of the seventeen individuals on the scoreboard.

If a participant managed to breach a technique by over four-tenths, that circle would turn red; if it failed to exceed four-tenths, it would turn black.

Currently, the circles beneath the Heavenly Mother Vice Lord’s name showed three red dots and eighteen blanks.

The circles beneath the Martial Saint Vice Lord’s name showed three red dots and eighteen blanks.

The circles beneath the Ice Vice Lord’s name showed three red dots and eighteen blanks.

The circles beneath the Dragon Vice Lord’s name showed three red dots and eighteen blanks.

The circles beneath the Axe Vice Lord’s name showed one red dot and twenty blanks out of twenty-one total.

The circles beneath Lu Yuan’s name showed one red dot and twenty blanks out of twenty-one total.

With this alteration, the individual completion percentages were temporarily obscured.

Lu Yuan also observed the board. He and the Axe Civilization Vice Lord were currently tied for last place among the seventeen names. However, Lu Yuan felt no urgency; there was no rush, he could take his time. In fact, Lu Yuan had already solidified his plan: facing the unique techniques of twenty-one distinct civilizations here was a treasure trove for his Myriad Forms Forest Sword Dao. Lu Yuan intended to use this opportunity to significantly enhance his power.

Having cleared the Fox Civilization, twenty opponents remained. Which civilization should he choose next?

As Lu Yuan pondered, he noticed a middle-aged man with white eyebrows gazing at him. This man, with his eerily snowy white brows, smiled faintly. "You are Lu Yuan?"

"This junior is indeed Lu Yuan. May I ask who Senior is?" Lu Yuan inquired with a respectful bow.

"The Lord of the Transformation Civilization, and the master of the Apex War Room," the man with the snowy eyebrows smiled gently. "I have high expectations for you. Don't lose out to the Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization this time—the second Son of Destiny of two Epochs."

Only after this introduction did Lu Yuan realize that this man was the supervisor of the Apex War Room. No wonder his presence felt so overwhelmingly powerful, even stronger than someone like the Vice Lord of the Heavenly Mother Civilization.

Lu Yuan immediately thought of the Star Civilization.

The Star Civilization specialized in assassination, concealment, and speed.

Lu Yuan stepped behind the door marked for the Star Civilization.

Behind this door were numerous documents concerning the Star Civilization—data meticulously collected by the Faws Martial Alliance over many years. Lu Yuan reviewed the materials, realizing they were mostly fragmented, containing techniques but lacking the underlying principles of operation. While this deficiency might frustrate others, Lu Yuan possessed the Myriad Forms Forest Sword Dao, rendering him unconcerned with the internal methodologies of others' moves.

First, he would study assassination. Lu Yuan observed the assassination techniques displayed in the void, ceaselessly absorbing them. Lu Yuan's assassination sword arts were already superb; his Fatal Strike had repeatedly achieved incredible results. Now, he began modifying his Fatal Strike using select Star Civilization techniques to make it even stronger. Lu Yuan continuously studied the various moves of the Star Civilization. He was now largely certain that his assassination capabilities would not fall below those of the Star Civilization Vice Lord. Before learning these techniques, he might have been slightly weaker, but now, he should be superior.

Next, concealment. Lu Yuan knew little in this area, having only learned the Nine Heavens Wind Concealment Art from the Nine Heavens Profound Maiden. Now, he drank deeply from the Star Civilization's techniques, studying them with ravenous intensity. Concealment, too, had tiers of mastery. Based on this period of study, Lu Yuan's concealment arts had advanced to firmly rank within the top ten across the entire Central Celestial Dynasty.

The final area was speed, specifically attack speed, which the Star Civilization excelled at.

Attack speed itself was categorized into various levels, each with its own nuances. To put it simply, among the civilizations known for the fastest execution speeds in the Central Celestial Dynasty, the fastest generally belonged to the Star Civilization, Night Civilization, Wind Civilization, and Arrow Civilization. Lu Yuan was currently learning Star Speed; he had yet to study the techniques of the other three.

Lu Yuan relentlessly absorbed the Star Civilization's speed principles, causing his own execution speed to increase continually.

A significant duration passed before Lu Yuan mastered a substantial portion of the Star Civilization's techniques regarding speed.

Lu Yuan felt he had thoroughly absorbed the Star Civilization's assassination, concealment, and attack speed methods. He then proceeded to the deepest part of the chamber, where two buttons rested: one labeled "Immediate Extraction," the other "Test Breach Capability Against Star Civilization Techniques." Lu Yuan immediately selected the second option. Instantly, various assassination sword techniques assailed him, interspersed with hidden auras. With his assassination sword mastery now potentially the world's finest—regardless of the Night Emperor—Lu Yuan felt no concern. He counter-attacked with lightning-fast execution. After a considerable time, the detection concluded. His breach factor against the Star Civilization's techniques registered at Nine-and-One-Tenths.

Nine-and-One-Tenths!

Lu Yuan himself didn't feel particularly impressed by this number, as he had no frame of reference for what constituted a normal score and paid it little mind.

In reality, nine-and-one-tenths was terrifyingly high.

The maximum achievable was nine-and-five-tenths; reaching nine-and-one-tenths was already monstrous.

Lu Yuan found himself pondering a deeper question: what would be the ultimate result if he continued to learn and break the techniques of one civilization after another in this manner?

Invincible techniques across the world?

World! Invincible!

He never imagined he would witness a day of world invincibility for himself, even if it were limited solely to mastery over techniques!

Lu Yuan felt a surge of excitement and blood-boiling fervor at the thought.

After cultivating for so long, there would finally be a day of global supremacy, even if only in one domain. That in itself was utterly dominant.

Now, onwards to the rush for absolute supremacy!

(Second update delivered. The following plot is highly exciting. Seeking subscriptions and monthly tickets.)