...Chapter Eleven Hundred and Seventy-Nine: A Straight Chase and the Truth of Dou Tian! Lu Yuan obtained ten red dots and two black dots, then proceeded to the next door. What would he learn next?

Lu Yuan decided on the Mace (Jian). The Mace, how to put it—he had always fought against it, yet he had never studied its characteristics. Lu Yuan was now curious enough to learn about the Mace's strengths.

After entering this door, Lu Yuan began studying the advantages of the Mace. The Mace’s strength lay in one thing: interception! Or rather, timing!

Disrupting the opponent's rhythm, forcing the opponent to follow his own beat. To be honest, the Vice-Lord of the Mace Civilization was a true genius; he created this method of combat centered on rhythm control. Their techniques were not novel, and their core cultivation methods were not overwhelmingly powerful, but this style of controlling the tempo was truly astonishing.

Lu Yuan learned the rhythm control of the Mace Civilization. Because he had sparred with the Mace Civilization so many times, and given that the Sword inherently contains elements of the Mace, he mastered it easily and quickly. This sense of rhythm was excellent.

Pass rate: ninety-five percent! This was the highest pass rate Lu Yuan had achieved, an outrageously high score. With a maximum score of ninety-five percent, Lu Yuan achieved exactly that—a score so high it left no room for complaint.

One could only say Lu Yuan was the natural bane of the Mace Civilization. When Lu Yuan emerged, the others couldn't help but pause. Lu Yuan now held the record of eleven red dots and two black dots...

Lu Yuan then entered the Ancient Desolate Civilization (Huang Gu Wen Ming). The techniques of the Ancient Desolate Civilization were crude, vast, and carried a primal air. But crudeness didn't mean inferiority; this roughness exuded an extraordinary grandeur that washed over one, coarse like ninety-proof liquor, rough as the desert wind.

Indeed, these were interesting techniques, and Lu Yuan began dissecting the Ancient Desolate Civilization's moves, dismantling one after another. Pass rate: eighty-eight percent. This was unexpectedly his lowest, suggesting the Ancient Desolate Civilization's moves were far from simple.

When Lu Yuan exited, the others were startled again. Lu Yuan now held the record of twelve red dots and two black dots. The Vice-Lord of the Dragon Civilization’s complexion shifted slightly.

He held thirteen red dots, and now Lu Yuan was only one red dot behind him. Could Lu Yuan’s record truly surpass his own? At this moment, the Vice-Lord of the Dragon Civilization recalled the recent appearance of the Ancestral Dragon (Zu Long).

That appearance was merely an avatar, yet even that single avatar’s aura far exceeded that of the Dragon Civilization Vice-Lord of the Ninth Era. “Vice-Lord of the Dragon Civilization, the one being tested this time is Lu Yuan. You are merely serving as a whetstone.

Do not be displeased. If you can overcome Lu Yuan, I would not mind treating you as the true successor and granting you my real inheritance.” The Ancestral Dragon’s voice pierced the endless void and tore through countless stretches of earth. The Vice-Lord of the Dragon Civilization was naturally unconvinced; he was only meant to be a touchstone.

But the current reality suggested he might truly be inferior to Lu Yuan. Why? The other Civilization Vice-Lords also began to murmur among themselves.

Lu Yuan had started far behind, but while everyone else had completed these targeted tests, Lu Yuan was single-handedly surging forward. He now stood at an astonishing twelve red dots and two black dots. Would he continue chasing like this?

Silence! Profound silence! Silence so deep one could hear a needle drop!

Would Lu Yuan’s performance continue to chase all the way? Lu Yuan entered the next door. This time it was the Tree Civilization.

The Tree Civilization attacked using all manner of diverse trees, their methods of offense quite peculiar. Lu Yuan had encountered opponents from the Tree Civilization when he was in the Chaos Hole Realm (Hun Dong Jing), but the methods then were fewer. Now, seeing the Tree Civilization’s true repertoire, he was awe-struck by the spectacle!

Because this was essentially his first true encounter with this type of attack, Lu Yuan spent a considerable amount of time dealing with these assaults, even learning to counter and dismantle them—though all his solutions were based on refined technique. The Tree Civilization's methods were fundamentally rooted in botany, diverse in form and varied in their countermeasures. Pass rate: eighty-nine percent.

At this point, Lu Yuan’s record stood at thirteen red dots and two black dots. This record had surpassed both the Vice-Lord of the Wind Civilization and the Vice-Lord of the Qin Civilization, tying him with the Vice-Lord of the Dragon Civilization. This Era’s Second Child of Destiny truly lived up to expectations and now held the potential to catch up to the Vice-Lord of the Ice Civilization.

The Vice-Lord of the Dragon Civilization’s face turned pale; he knew he had lost, yes, lost completely... Lu Yuan entered the next door. This time it was the Miao Civilization.

The Miao Civilization’s attacks were not considered overly terrifying; for most people, the most frightening elements were the Miao Gu (poisonous insect) attacks and the Miao Dao (knife) attacks. Lu Yuan already possessed the means to counter the Gu poison, so this challenge was also overcome with ease. Pass rate: ninety-one percent.

Lu Yuan’s record was now fourteen red dots and two black dots. A tally of fourteen red dots was already quite respectable; many figures from the Ninth Era only reached this level. Finally defeated, the Vice-Lord of the Dragon Civilization let out a long sigh.

So be it; he was ultimately inferior to Lu Yuan. The Ancestral Dragon’s words would not be wrong. Tian Yu Ji, with her incomparably proud golden ponytail, couldn't help but— And now, everyone’s attention focused on one thing: what would Lu Yuan’s final record be...

Lu Yuan entered the next door. This time it was the Flower Civilization. The Flower Civilization’s attacks shared some similarities with the Tree Civilization, but the Flower Civilization incorporated elements of illusion within their blossoms, alongside explosive factors, making their defense even more challenging than the Tree Civilization.

Lu Yuan swiftly broke through the Flower Civilization’s moves. In truth, learning the Flower Civilization’s techniques would not inherently strengthen Lu Yuan’s own power, but it would smooth his path toward perfecting invincibility in his own moves. After studying the opponent’s techniques, particularly those involving the Flower Civilization, Lu Yuan spent a significant period of time researching before testing his proficiency at the pass rate station.

Pass rate: ninety percent. When Lu Yuan emerged, his record shockingly stood at fifteen red dots and two black dots. This stunned a large crowd.

This achievement was utterly heaven-defying! Fifteen red dots was the exact record held by both the Vice-Lord of the Heavenly Mother Civilization and the Vice-Lord of the Martial Saint Civilization. Now, Lu Yuan had placed it right here.

Lu Yuan’s current magical power was supposedly at the Seventh Era level, and skills like combat technique often required years of accumulation. Logically, this should be Lu Yuan’s weakest area, yet he had transformed his weakest link into his strongest. The Myriad Phenomena Forest Sword Dao (Wan Xiang Sen Luo Jian Dao) played the largest role in this, followed closely by the Iron Laws (Tie Ze).

The more Iron Laws one possessed, the higher the level of technique; Lu Yuan possessed a twenty percent advantage in the Great Destiny Iron Law compared to others, meaning his quantity of Iron Laws was nearly unparalleled in the Central Celestial Dynasty. The Vice-Lord of the Ice Civilization showed no alarm even as Lu Yuan rapidly closed the gap. He only desired a fierce battle with a genius like Lu Yuan; whether he won or lost, he would be content.

This was the Ice Path (Bing Zhi Qiang Dao) of the Vice-Lord of the Ice Civilization. The stronger Lu Yuan became, the more interesting it got... Lu Yuan entered the next door.

This time it was the Fire Civilization. The Fire Civilization’s moves were ever-changing, elusive, and unpredictable, like actual fire. Lu Yuan also spent time developing a way to counter the Fire Path.

Once he got into the flow of research, continuing along this track was quite satisfying. After a while, Lu Yuan emerged successfully. Simultaneously, Lu Yuan profoundly remembered the promise he made while cultivating the Fire Swallowing Dragon: he absolutely had to slay the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization.

This was an old grievance, not to be dwelled upon now, but Lu Yuan kept it firmly in his heart. Pass rate: ninety-one percent. Upon exiting this time, Lu Yuan’s record reached sixteen red dots and two black dots.

He had caught up to the Vice-Lord of the Ice Civilization. A faint smile touched the extremely cold face of the Vice-Lord of the Ice Civilization. “Very good, Lu Yuan, you are indeed impressive, but our battle is not yet over.” He had not conceded simply because Lu Yuan had equalized; firstly, Lu Yuan had only matched, not surpassed him, and secondly, there was the matter of the pass rate, which was extremely important.

Sixteen red dots, two black dots. What was Lu Yuan’s limit? He had achieved what so many seasoned veterans had failed to do.

A normal Second Child of Destiny would not be this powerful. Could it be... Dou Tian (Challenging Heaven)?

All the senior figures present were the top beings in the universe, and they naturally understood what Dou Tian from the previous era entailed. Dou Tian, Dou Tian—challenging the Heavens, not the Heavens of a single era, but the Eternal Heavens. And the so-called Eternal Heavens were, quite plainly, the Eternal Gate.

The world's resources, energy, fortune, treasures, and cultivation methods are all finite. If I use some, you don't have it—this is normal. But the Eternal Gate is different.

Long, long ago, people studied the Eternal Gate and discovered that the resources, energy, fortune, treasures, and cultivation methods within it were infinite. Yes, infinite. Such a discovery even attracted several Civilization Lords who simply stayed put near the Eternal Gate, trying to devise ways to access the endless energy, fortune, and treasures within.

Many people achieved some results, but the achievements were miniscule. Those who truly obtained limitless energy, fortune, and treasures did not exist. The Lord of the Sword Ancient Civilization (Jian Gu Wen Ming) of the previous era was a man of great ambition.

He desired a world where everyone was like a dragon and where peace reigned. To make everyone like a dragon required terrifying amounts of resources. Furthermore, the Lord of the Sword Ancient Civilization harbored a dream that the Way of the Sword would endure forever.

Under these circumstances, the Lord of the Sword Ancient Civilization and the other ancient swordsmen of Jian Gu resolutely challenged the Heavens—that is, the Eternal Gate. The strength of Jian Gu in those days was incredibly formidable! And the Lord of the Sword Ancient Civilization seemed to possess some mysterious artifacts.

Thus, that challenge of Dou Tian was the closest to success in all of history; the Eternal Gate itself suffered a crack. It caused an enormous sensation back then, hailed as the strongest Dou Tian ever recorded. This was the truth of that past challenge.

However, there were still many other details concerning that Dou Tian that needed to be explained, as that challenge brought about immense repercussions. (Second update delivered, July concludes.) *JRM