Lu Yuan emerged from one trial, displaying four red dots on the record. He glanced at the achievements of the others but remained unconcerned, continuing steadfastly on the path to mastering his peerless techniques.
Which door should he choose next?
Lu Yuan noticed the large characters for the Civilization of Thievery and found himself intrigued. He immediately entered the hall of the Thievery Civilization. Among the thirty civilizations, Lu Yuan knew practically nothing about the Civilization of Thievery; he hadn't encountered anyone from there before. Upon arriving inside this gate and viewing the data on the Thievery Civilization, he froze.
The Civilization of Thievery, remarkably, bore a striking resemblance to his own Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Sword Dao.
Indeed, both involved the theft of techniques.
However, the technique-stealing moves of the Civilization of Thievery could only capture about five or six parts of an original move.
Whereas the technique-stealing component of his Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Sword Dao could perfectly replicate ten parts, and even improve upon them, reaching eleven, twelve, or thirteen parts.
Precisely because of this, the might of his Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Sword Dao far surpassed the ultimate stealing techniques of the Civilization of Thievery.
Huh? This is strange.
His very own Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Sword Dao—how could it be so much more powerful than the ultimate technique of an entire civilization? Why was this? What exactly had happened back then? Lu Yuan vaguely sensed something odd, as normally, someone at the World Realm shouldn't be able to create techniques vastly superior to an entire civilization's mastery.
His Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Sword Dao must have some peculiar origin. He recalled creating it while challenging various figures at the World Volcano, though he had refined it many times since.
Lu Yuan silently activated the Great Karma Iron Rule, attempting to trace the causal nexus, but found nothing. No karma? Or was the causality too deep, too distant for him to probe? The truth might still be hidden behind veils of shadow, but no matter. What was meant to arrive would arrive. Lu Yuan had always been a man of broad perspective and didn't dwell on these thoughts.
Lu Yuan also absorbed some of the technique-stealing moves from the Civilization of Thievery into his own Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Sword Dao, incorporating their merits to further enhance his own stealing capabilities.
Having finished this, Lu Yuan proceeded to the final button and initiated the test. As soon as the trial began, all manner of illusory figures manifested and attacked him. Lu Yuan began counter-striking, employing his technique-stealing moves. Unfortunately, their attempts to steal were far weaker than his own, and since Lu Yuan vastly outmatched them in thievery, he simultaneously discovered better ways to defend against such attempts.
Break, break, break, break, break.
Pass rate: ninety-four percent.
Er, only ninety-four percent? He had expected his achievement in technique thievery to approach one hundred percent, yet it was only ninety-four. Lu Yuan whistled softly and shrugged, entirely unaware that the highest possible pass rate was ninety-five percent; anything higher was impossible. Lu Yuan’s ninety-four percent was only marginally lower than the absolute peak, hinting at a terrifying inherent strength he couldn't yet grasp.
The fifth red circle appeared.
When Lu Yuan entered the sixth chamber, he encountered a complete failure. This was the Civilization of Talismans. Those from the Civilization of Talismans relied not on moves, but on pre-prepared talismans—entirely outside the scope of technique mastery. This was Lu Yuan’s first encounter with the Civilization of Talismans, and he simply couldn't learn anything.
Helplessness washed over him.
Reaching the final stage of this room for testing, countless talismans manifested, each carrying diverse powers: Talismans of Thunder, Talismans of Rain, Talismans of Spatial Explosion, Talismans of Temporal Explosion. Lu Yuan summoned his sword to deal with them; while he blocked them, this was certainly not the way to break techniques.
Pass rate: zero point one percent.
Uh, zero point one percent. This was truly one of his lowest points.
Lu Yuan shrugged. Since the Civilization of Talismans relied on no techniques, his primary focus, the Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Dao of Theft, was useless.
Emerging this time, his record showed five red circles and one black circle—the black circle signifying failure. This time, he had indeed failed, as only a pass rate exceeding forty percent would register a red circle.
Lu Yuan looked at the records and decided to choose the door leading to the Civilization of Formations next. He entered the hall of the Civilization of Formations and immediately felt lost, as if blindfolded. What was displayed were arrays of every kind: formations that amplified a single person's attack power, formations for one-on-one combat, formations for trapping opponents, formations for small teams working together, and massive arrays involving thousands or tens of thousands of people. Various formations, endless data on formations. Then, Lu Yuan realized his Myriad Manifestations of the Endless Forest Sword Dao was useless here too; it could do nothing. Because this fundamentally did not involve techniques.
Lu Yuan studied for a while but didn't learn anything, which didn't matter to him; his goal was invincibility in the Era of Techniques, and matters outside that scope were beyond his concern.
Immediately, Lu Yuan arrived at the back of the room for the final test. Innumerable formations besieged him. Lu Yuan was completely flummoxed; he managed to break through some using sheer brute force chopping, while others trapped him entirely. Alas, there was no other way; this exposed his weakness.
Pass rate: zero point one percent.
Ha, zero point one percent again. Lu Yuan pulled out his wine gourd, took a swig, and strolled out of the room quite at ease. Zero point one percent it was; it wasn't a big deal, really.
On the ranking board, the entry beside Lu Yuan’s name now showed five red circles and two black circles.
As Lu Yuan emerged, perhaps coincidentally, more than a dozen other people stepped out at the same time. They all looked at their own results while simultaneously assessing everyone else’s achievements.
Among the current scores, the worst belonged to the Vice-Master of the Axe Civilization—a Barbarian who disdained tactical technique-breaking. He currently stood at two red and nineteen black marks; his journey was over. He had only managed to bypass the techniques of the Civilization of Strength, whose moves were too crude, and the Civilization of Thunder, where he had managed to scrape past the forty percent mark occasionally through sheer luck.
Lu Yuan currently displayed five red dots and two black dots. This placement was second to last.
Because by now, most people had accumulated around ten red dots, or even more.
The Vice-Master of the Dragon Civilization currently had twelve red dots and two black dots. He naturally noticed Lu Yuan’s record: five red, two black. His own result was significantly better than Lu Yuan’s. It seemed that defeating Lu Yuan this time would not be an issue.
Currently topping the leaderboard were the Vice-Masters of the Heavenly Mother Civilization, the Martial Saint Civilization, and the Ice Civilization—all three holding fifteen red circles and two black circles, a far superior showing than the others. Just then, another door opened, and the silver-haired Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization gracefully stepped out.
At that moment, a sixteenth red circle automatically popped up next to his name! Sixteen—out of twenty-one civilizations, he had broken the techniques of sixteen? Truly astonishing!
The Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization’s record now firmly placed him first, a stark contrast to Lu Yuan’s near-last position.
“Look at the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization’s aura.”
“He actually achieved a breakthrough right now, reaching Nine and a Half Epochs.”
“How formidable, the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization breaking through to Nine and a Half Epochs on the spot!”
“Nine and a Half Epochs—only one step away from the Civilization Lord!”
The Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization looked at his results, then glanced at Lu Yuan’s record. He couldn't help but rest his hand on his saber hilt, sending a surge of intensely cold, powerful saber energy straight toward Lu Yuan: “Lu Yuan, show me something. I want to defeat you at your strongest state, not the current version. We must have a serious contest to see who is stronger this time.”
Previously, these were just private exchanges, but now, the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization spoke with genuine seriousness, and everyone heard it.
A challenge from the second-born of Destiny in the previous Epoch to the second-born of Destiny in this Epoch.
Lu Yuan’s expression hardened: “Very well. I will prepare seriously for this.” Yes, the initial encounters with the Civilization of Talismans and the Civilization of Formations were unavoidable handicaps. Thankfully, the remaining civilizations primarily relied on techniques, and if techniques were involved, he could break them. He had touched rock bottom; now was the time for a rebound—to begin his ascent toward invincibility in the Era of Techniques.
“Excellent. Show me your utmost ability so I may defeat you,” the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization declared with cold arrogance.
The Lord of the Transformation Civilization sat nearby, playing a game of Hundred Directions War Chess, watching the spectacle. He divided his consciousness into over a hundred streams. Interesting. A fierce battle between the two second-borns of Destiny. I hope neither disappoints me.
The Vice-Master of the Diagram Civilization, an old veteran, snorted dismissively. Tian Yuji, sporting twin golden ponytails, idly played with the small birds beside her, not bothering to speak. The Vice-Master of the Holy Light Civilization proclaimed, "I am the Master." Night Emperor watched everyone from the shadows. The Vice-Master of the Umbrella Civilization remained inscrutable amidst the rain.
These powerful figures were uninterested in the others, but the Middle-Tier Divine Artifact offered as a reward was something they were determined to seize. They all desired the Middle-Tier Divine Artifact to enhance their strength and would not passively allow the younger generation—the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization and Lu Yuan—to dominate the scene.
The Vice-Masters of the Wind Civilization, the Zither Civilization, and the Medicine Civilization chose instead to observe the proceedings.
The competition among the seventeen had begun!
For the Middle-Tier Divine Artifact, or for other reasons.
The current competition instantly resumed. The Vice-Master of the Wind Civilization watched with anticipation. When he next opened his door, he saw the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization ranked first, and Lu Yuan still second to last. When the Vice-Master of the Wind Civilization opened his door for the second time, the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization remained in first place, and Lu Yuan was still second to last.
“Judging by this trend, Lu Yuan is going to lose,” the Vice-Master of the Medicine Civilization mused, resting his chin on his hand.
In truth, Destiny, especially the Destiny of Epochal Geniuses, could be gained or lost. For instance, if Lu Yuan defeated the Son of the Sword once, his Destiny would increase slightly. If he defeated the Son of the Wilderness, his Destiny would increase significantly more. Conversely, being defeated by the Son of the Wilderness would cause his Destiny to plummet severely.
However, for seasoned veterans like the Vice-Master of the Medicine Civilization, their Destiny was generally stable and difficult to shift. And as far as the Vice-Master of the Medicine Civilization knew, the Vice-Master of the Ice Civilization’s Destiny was not yet fully settled, while Lu Yuan’s Destiny was extremely volatile. The outcome of the competition between these two held considerable weight.
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