This was a vast, enormous expanse of stars.

This region was barren, utterly devoid of life, containing only a thousand or so planets.

The singular defining characteristic of this Star Field was one thing: the starry void was incredibly stable. The space here was infinitely more steadfast than anywhere else; even confrontations between Civilization-level entities could not easily shatter its fabric. Of course, repeated engagements would eventually cause spatial tears, and a Civilization Lord's direct intervention would certainly lead to localized spatial fragmentation, but even achieving that was remarkable.

Naturally, due to the unyielding stability of the space, the gravity within was immense—this was precisely why the Congealed Star Field remained lifeless, as normal beings could not withstand such crushing gravitational forces.

Both the Dharma-Martial Alliance and the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance had, in fact, chosen this Star Field as their battleground. An epochal war of this magnitude would deploy nearly the entire strength of the Central Celestial Dynasty, supplemented by various civilizations drawn from the Lost Lands. The resulting energy release would be terrifying; put simply, if not managed properly, the clash could annihilate half of the Central Celestial Dynasty while rendering the remainder into a wasteland akin to the Lost Lands.

Their objective was to contest the Central Celestial Dynasty, not to utterly destroy it.

Thus, the final confrontation had to occur within the Congealed Star Field.

The seventeen great armies of the Dharma-Martial Alliance were advancing toward the Congealed Star Field. Lu Yuan sat atop a mass of white clouds, sipping wine and watching the massive force march onward, draining the contents of his cup.

Life!

What melancholy!

This was the largest battle he had ever fought in his life!

Just then, Lu Yuan spotted two young maidens standing directly in the path of the advancing army.

How audacious! To dare obstruct the march of his own forces—this was nearly half the might of the Central Celestial Dynasty; they should be crushed beneath them.

Lu Yuan focused his gaze and saw one was a silver-haired girl. This exquisitely beautiful, silver-haired youth, appearing to be only twelve or thirteen, sat upon a moon nearby. Beside her stood a vibrant, striking maiden dressed in a red quju gown, perhaps seventeen or eighteen years old.

Chang’e and Jade Rabbit Zhong Ling.

These two had appeared!

This presence was of the highest caliber, though their arrival was understandable. Chang’e had long been an arch-rival to Hong, the Lord of the Immortal Ancient Civilization. The great final battle was aimed at destroying Hong’s faction, so Chang’e intervening was perfectly normal; it would have been abnormal had she not shown up. Seeing Chang’e present, the opposing side dared not act carelessly. The Lord of the Dharma Ancient Civilization smiled and stepped forward: “It is truly Miss Chang’e; you have finally arrived.” “Yes, I have come to annihilate that old fellow, Hong,” Chang’e replied coolly, joining their ranks.

Chang’e had clearly reached the cultivation level of a Civilization Lord. After being annihilated a hundred lifetimes by Hong, she had cultivated a profound, wondrous art for a hundred lifetimes, and her current achievement was significant—to reattain the rank of Civilization Lord in such a short time. With Chang’e’s addition, their side's strength increased considerably. On the other side, Jade Rabbit Zhong Ling had evidently also recovered to the rank of Deputy Civilization Lord, seemingly having done so over an entire epoch.

Chang’e retained the innocent, ethereal beauty of a silver-haired girl, whereas Zhong Ling now exuded the aura of one who wields supreme authority. In truth, Chang’e rarely involved herself in administrative matters; all the latent power accumulated by the Lunar Civilization was managed by Zhong Ling. Having long held a superior position, Zhong Ling naturally developed the imposing presence of a powerful executive woman.

Behind Zhong Ling were several other young women, all newly gathered resources from the Lunar Civilization. None had reached the Civilization Realm—the Civilization Realm could not be conjured easily, as the Lunar Civilization had only recently been established. However, they possessed quite a few Heavenly Venerate-level cultivators.

Zhong Ling’s imposing aura completely dissolved the moment she saw Lu Yuan. She appeared flustered and awkward standing beside him. Seeing Zhong Ling in this state, the other maidens of the Lunar Civilization were utterly astonished. They were accustomed to Zhong Ling’s cold, commanding demeanor and were momentarily unable to process the change.

Zhong Ling stood beside Lu Yuan and stammered, “You—are you doing alright lately?”

“Uh, I’m fine,” Lu Yuan replied.

“Are things going well with Sister Xiuxue?” Zhong Ling pressed further.

“They are,” Lu Yuan admitted, realizing his own tension. Fine, Lu Yuan thought, he’d rather face ten Civilization Realm foes than this current situation. He was never destined to be a master of romance. He’d heard the Immortal Son, one of the Seven Sons of Destiny, was exceptionally skilled in this area, hailed as the foremost romantic, but alas, Lu Yuan had slain him. The Desolate Son, upon encountering women, supposedly always asked, “Woman, will you join my harem?” And frustratingly, his bluntness actually convinced quite a few women to comply. The Martial Son was even more extreme; when meeting a gentle maiden, he would ask, “Will you drink a hundred jars of wine with me?” Yet, he had actually found a beautiful female drinking companion who became his wife—truly astonishing.

Each person had a vastly different style, and Lu Yuan possessed absolutely no corresponding experience.

Zhong Ling then asked, “When do you and Sister Xiuxue plan to have children?” The moment the question left her lips, she slapped her own mouth. Was she losing her senses? How could she ask such a thing? It was utterly aberrant, completely off-kilter.

Lu Yuan could only look heavenward in speechless despair.

Meanwhile, Chang’e and the Lord of the Dharma Transformation Civilization were exchanging information; having opposed Hong for so many years, she possessed deeper knowledge of him.

The armies continued their advance. Another day or so passed, and they finally reached the Congealed Star Field.

Upon entering the Congealed Star Field, many immediately felt the increase in gravity and mounting pressure.

They also saw the opposing army entering the Congealed Star Field simultaneously.

The two massive super-armies faced each other across the void. The Dharma-Martial Alliance comprised three Ancient Civilizations, fourteen standard civilizations, plus Chang’e.

The enemy force was led by the three Ancient Civilizations of Desolate Ancient, Immortal Ancient, and Buddha Ancient, alongside the Demon Civilization—a faction nearly equivalent to an Ancient Civilization. Furthermore, seventeen other civilizations made their appearance: the Star Civilization, Thunder Civilization, Bronze Civilization, Magic Artifact Civilization, Tree Civilization, Fox Civilization, Poison Civilization, Miao Civilization, Strength Civilization, Flower Civilization, Arrow Civilization, Talisman Civilization, Formation Civilization, Theft Civilization, Evil Sword Civilization, Demon Civilization, and Fire Civilization.

The two great armies faced each other across the distance!

This titanic battle was about to begin.

At that moment, the Night Emperor roared, “Petty tricks! Do you dare to show yourselves? Emerge!” The Night Emperor shouted, and instantly, several figures lurking in the nearby void and within the crowds were flung out, enveloped in a shroud of black flame. The Night Emperor sneered, “To attempt stealth and reconnaissance right under my nose is laughable. The opponents of the Star Civilization.” It turned out the Star Civilization had already concealed agents here to scout the area. The Night Emperor, a master of these arts, instantly detected and captured them. However, though the capture was swift, the general intelligence regarding their side had already been exposed to the enemy.

......

Near the perimeter of the Congealed Star Field stood several observers. Some of these entities hailed from the Lost Lands, while others originated from the Eternal Star Field. The Eternal Star Field was the largest stellar expanse, holding the greatest concentration of experts—it was the domain of those pursuing the Gate of Eternity. The Eternal Star Field was notoriously difficult to penetrate, and its average expert power level surpassed even that of the Central Celestial Dynasty.

For instance, among those present was a figure from the Netherworld Civilization. The Lord of the Netherworld, who possessed the characters Nether, Underworld, Earth, and Abyss, was one of the powerful forces of heaven and earth. The Netherworld Civilization had no intention of joining the battle; they were delighted by the Central Celestial Dynasty splitting into warring factions, allowing the Lord of the Netherworld to collect souls. Souls were a resource the Lord of the Netherworld could use to vastly increase his power—he was the only known entity at the Civilization Realm capable of exploiting such material; no other Civilization Realm expert could achieve this.

In another location stood a collection of mechanical beings. Every one of these machines possessed perfect, streamlined metallic contours. Their power was vastly different from the Light Slaves Lu Yuan had encountered previously. The Light Slaves he had faced numbered around three thousand; the Light Slaves present here were among the top ten ranked units.

The disparity in power between the three-thousandth Light Slave and those in the top ten was unimaginable.

At the very center of these top ten Light Slaves was a congregation of pure light.

Formless and bodiless, composed only of light!

This was Guang Ji (Light Calculator).

The Lord of the Mechanical Realm, the Civilization Realm entity known as the Light God, born from the Scientific Realm. The beings of the Scientific Realm had long since been annihilated, yet the Light God endured. Every inch of his being was forged through the most advanced science and countless calculations, surviving the most powerful explosions of scientific energy unscathed.

This ultimate epochal war had attracted numerous spectators, the Light God of the Mechanical Realm being no exception.

The Light God possessed no emotion, but the impact of the Central Celestial Dynasty’s great conflict was simply too massive, drawing him here.

Two beams of light shot out from what would be the Light God's head. When these beams first left his optical sensors, they were pure white, gradually transforming into a spectrum of seven colors before vanishing into nothingness. The Light God’s gaze swept over everyone on both sides, and his supreme, epoch-spanning brain began a colossal computation.

“Dharma-Martial Alliance: three Ancient Civilizations, fourteen standard civilizations, plus one woman possessing the strength of a Civilization Lord.” Data streamed across the Light God’s mind as he analyzed the combat strength of the Dharma-Martial Alliance. He calculated virtually all World Realm combat power, converting it into quantifiable data points. While many powerful figures existed in the cosmos, only the Light God possessed such vast computational capability; others fell far short. Moreover, he didn't just calculate raw power; he factored in individual attributes—the righteousness of the Confucian Civilization, the ice element of the Ice Civilization, the pharmacological expertise of the Medicine Civilization—all were considered. Even the renowned ultimate techniques of many individuals were incorporated into his power evaluation.

The Light God was now calculating the win probabilities for both sides before the fighting commenced.

This was an immense calculation, achievable only by the Light God.

And the Light God’s calculations were unfailingly precise.

The greatest calculation in history!

The victory probability he derived was accurate to the extreme, with virtually no margin for error.

(Second update delivered. The Great Battle is commencing. Subscriptions and monthly passes sought.)