There were a total of twenty-one doors, each representing the techniques of one of the twenty-one civilizations.

Most people began by challenging the techniques they were most proficient in, which meant that the farther they progressed, the fewer red dots and the more black dots they accumulated.

The Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization entered and exited various doors several times.

Yet, his record remained fixed: sixteen red dots and five black dots, showing no further improvement.

Of course, even without an improvement, his score firmly held the top spot on the leaderboard. Mastering the breaking techniques of sixteen out of twenty-one civilizations was, in itself, an astonishing achievement. Most others had also gone through the twenty-one doors, arriving at their final tallies.

The Vice Lords of the Heavenly Mother Civilization and the Martial Saint Civilization both stood at fifteen red dots and six black dots, currently locked in a stalemate. Naturally, the completion rate of their red dots could still differentiate them, though these specifics were not yet revealed.

The Vice Lord of the Heavenly Mother Civilization offered a slight smile. "The Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization is truly formidable, a rising talent to respect."

"Indeed, a rising talent to respect," the Vice Lord of the Martial Saint Civilization concurred, nodding.

Trailing in fourth place was Tian Yuji, with her golden twin-tails, boasting fourteen red dots and seven black dots. Night Emperor and others shared this exact standing.

The Vice Lord of the Dragon Civilization’s record was thirteen red dots and eight black dots. Figures from the Ninth Epoch generally hovered around the thirteen or fourteen red dot mark.

As for those from the Eighth Epoch, such as the Vice Lords of the Zither and Wind Civilizations, both stood at twelve red dots and nine black dots.

This ranking fundamentally reflected their relative strengths.

Generally, the higher one’s power, the more red dots and fewer black dots one accrued.

Predictably, the two occupying the very bottom spots were the Vice Lord of the Axe Civilization and Lu Yuan.

The Vice Lord of the Axe Civilization, representing the school of brute force, sat firmly in last place with only two red dots, a result that was entirely expected.

Lu Yuan, ranked second to last, currently displayed seven red dots and two black dots. He was always known for his technical mastery; perhaps he was simply too green?

Lu Yuan had just cleared the gates of the Poison Civilization and the Evil Sword Civilization. The Poison Civilization was too straightforward; his Azure Civilization swordsmanship was a natural counter, granting him a success rate of about ninety-two percent. As for the Evil Sword Civilization, Lu Yuan possessed the Gate of Swordsmanship, coupled with his profound understanding of the blade, allowing him to overcome it with ease.

Which civilization’s door should he approach next? The trials of Poison and Evil Sword had offered virtually no challenge. Having secured seven red and two black dots, Lu Yuan surveyed his options.

Lu Yuan observed for a moment before finally deciding on the Strength Civilization. He had encountered members of that civilization before and was curious about the distinctive characteristics of their techniques. Upon entering the Strength Civilization’s domain, Lu Yuan discovered their methods were remarkably simple, easily overcome—almost as if they were gifts designed to boost everyone’s scores.

However, Lu Yuan also noticed that embedded within these techniques were deep insights specific to the Strength Civilization itself.

The core of the Strength Civilization revolved around pushing the limits of the physical body, practicing the Pangu Golden Body.

The might of the Pangu Golden Body had been described previously.

Although Lu Yuan had defeated both the Vice Lord of the Holy Strength Civilization and the Vice Lord of the Violent Strength Civilization he encountered earlier, he had taken note of the Pangu Golden Body. Now, Lu Yuan intended to learn it himself. However, extracting the Pangu Golden Body directly from combat techniques proved difficult; he studied the method painstakingly, piece by piece.

"Pangu Golden Body, condense for me!" Lu Yuan roared, but, predictably, he failed.

He continued to gather data, seeking the true essence of the Pangu Golden Body within the techniques.

"Pangu Golden Body, condense for me!" Lu Yuan bellowed again, only to fail once more.

It was not easy to distill the secrets of the Pangu Golden Body from this instructional material. After continuous cycles of failure and assimilation of data, a long time passed before Lu Yuan let out a deep shout: "Pangu Golden Body, condense for me!" This time, faint outlines began to coalesce—this was unmistakably the Pangu Golden Body, albeit only its second layer. Even this mere two-tenths mastery brought an immediate, albeit slight, perceptible increase to his physical form.

The Pangu Golden Body, the pinnacle of physical cultivation—it lived up to its reputation.

Moreover, after learning the Pangu Golden Body, Lu Yuan distinctly felt his raw power increase.

This boost in inherent strength could also be channeled into his attacks, augmenting their destructive force.

The attacks of the Strength Civilization were fundamentally integrated with the Pangu Golden Body; their techniques themselves held no unique specialty, allowing Lu Yuan to pass their trial with a ninety percent success rate easily.

The Pangu Golden Body was incredibly useful!

Stepping out of the Strength Civilization’s door, Lu Yuan glanced at the leaderboard. The red dots next to his name now showed eight, with two black dots.

"That’s too slow!" the Vice Lord of the Dragon Civilization exclaimed sharply.

"What’s the rush? Taking more time is hardly the issue," Lu Yuan utterly ignored the Dragon Vice Lord. This was his personal path toward Epochal Invincibility; what did the passage of time matter?

Lu Yuan selected his next door, finally choosing the Ancient Immortal Civilization. Upon entering that gate, a barrage of all manner of immortal spells immediately assailed him. While parrying these attacks, Lu Yuan simultaneously absorbed the data pertaining to the Ancient Immortal Civilization.

Lu Yuan held no inherent interest in the spells of the Ancient Immortal Civilization—it would be strange if he did. Yet, he soon discovered something: the members of the Ancient Immortal Civilization appeared ethereal and fragile, yet their physical defense was terrifyingly robust, proving in no way inferior to that of the Strength Civilization. How was this possible? Lu Yuan vaguely sensed a connection between the Ancient Immortal Civilization’s defense and the Pangu Golden Body. This stemmed from the relationship between Hong, the Master of the Ancient Immortal Civilization, and Pangu. Hong predated Pangu. When Pangu was less powerful, he had once taken instruction from Hong, so the Ancient Immortal Civilization received some remnants of the Pangu Golden Body knowledge, allowing the Master of the Ancient Immortal Civilization to significantly bolster his civilization’s defensive capabilities using fragmented Pangu lore.

Lu Yuan immediately employed the same strategy he used against the Strength Civilization: learning the Pangu Golden Body through its combat application. The Pangu Golden Body was not a mere mental cultivation method but existed somewhere between a cultivation method and a technique. Lu Yuan practiced, failed repeatedly, but finally succeeded in advancing the Pangu Golden Body to four-tenths mastery.

Reaching this level, Lu Yuan instantly felt his strength and defense surge dramatically, and his offensive power also rose noticeably. The Pangu Golden Body was truly magnificent.

When he emerged, his score read nine red dots and two black dots.

Lu Yuan made a brief selection and chose the door of the Ancient Buddha Civilization. Lu Yuan found some interest in the offensive methods of the Ancient Buddha Civilization, such as the Sand-Buddha Kingdom, and managed to master essential skills like "One Sand, One World," which proved quite useful. However, the most outstanding aspect of the Ancient Buddha Civilization was their body-tempering technique, the Glazed Golden Body—a physical cultivation method nearly comparable to the Pangu Golden Body.

Lu Yuan began studying the Glazed Golden Body, dedicating considerable time until he managed to reach about three-tenths mastery. Since these body-refining methods lay between pure techniques and core mental arts, achieving only partial mastery was expected. As he brought the Glazed Golden Body to thirty percent, his entire form began to constantly refine itself, increasing his power.

Three-tenths Glazed Golden Body, four-tenths Pangu Golden Body—this was Lu Yuan’s current foundation in body refinement. One should never assume that Golden Bodies are useless for defense. Lu Yuan was indeed struck by others far less frequently, but there were moments when evasion was impossible, such as when the Son of the Desolation struck him during their first encounter. Having extra defense was always beneficial.

By the time Lu Yuan exited, his tally stood at ten red dots and two black dots.

Those who had initially dismissed Lu Yuan’s poor starting record now quietly nodded upon seeing his score reach ten red dots and two black dots. The Vice Lords of the Eighth Epoch’s Wind and Zither Civilizations had only twelve red dots next to their names, and Lu Yuan, having reached ten, now arguably matched his cultivation base, which wasn't considered poor.

The Vice Lord of the Medicine Civilization stroked his snow-white beard. "Now only Lu Yuan remains. He has nine doors left unopened. I wonder how many he will ultimately conquer."

The First Imperial Scion of Dharma smiled slightly. "Lu Yuan has always been one to create miracles. Perhaps he can create another now, one that might even rival the Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization." This was the highest hope of the First Imperial Scion of Dharma—to match the Ice Vice Lord.

The Vice Lord of the Diagram Civilization disagreed, shaking his head. "Impossible. Lu Yuan and the Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization are both second sons of destiny, both astonishing geniuses. However, the Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization has lived longer, so it is only natural he surpasses Lu Yuan." Not every epoch produces figures of this caliber; it was simply that the previous epoch and the current one were both anomalous, leading to two such sons of destiny appearing in quick succession; an ordinary epoch might not see even one.

Night Emperor seemed seated within the chamber, yet perhaps also in the depths of the dark cosmos. "We shall wait and see. I estimate Lu Yuan's final score will settle between twelve and thirteen red dots."

The Vice Lord of the Dragon Civilization deeply sensed the threat. His final record was thirteen red dots, and Lu Yuan was now at ten, only three short. Lu Yuan’s initial performance was abysmal, but his score was steadily climbing. Now at ten red dots, increasing the count further would become exceedingly difficult. The true legacy of the Ancestral Dragon belonged to him.

The Vice Lord of the Axe Civilization was weeping openly. He raised a hand and tossed a bottle of wine to Lu Yuan. "Lu Yuan, take it easy. Don't go too far. I thought I was in last place, but having the second-to-last spot occupied by you, you’re certainly leaping ahead."

The expression of the Vice Lord of the Ice Civilization was frigid. He felt no concern; he wanted Lu Yuan to become stronger. The stronger his opponent, the more satisfying the eventual defeat would be.

Challenge the Strong with Strength!

My Ice Way!

(First Update!) *JRM