In a corner of the Solidified Star Domain, the God of Light rapidly calculated the combat strength of the Fa-Wu Alliance. He considered every single aspect, finally arriving at the definitive data: "Total combat strength of the Fa-Wu Alliance: Four billion, five hundred thirty-five million, six hundred thirty-five thousand, two hundred sixty-one."

Having computed the Fa-Wu Alliance's strength, the God of Light projected a beam of light toward the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance. Within his mind, an exceedingly complex calculation unfolded before he finalized the result: "Total combat strength of the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance: Six billion, one hundred fifty-seven million, three hundred fifty-four thousand, three hundred thirty-three." "Input data for the major civilizations."

"Input marching data for the Lord of the Fa Transformation Civilization..." "Input marching data for the Vice-Lord of the Destiny Civilization." "Input data for the possibility of error." "Derive conclusion." By this point, the light slaves accompanying the God of Light stood by, waiting.

The light slaves were not excited; accurately speaking, they, like the God of Light, did not possess the emotion of excitement. They simply wished to know which side held the greater probability of victory in this Epochal War.

Because this was an Epochal War!

The God of Light, utterly calm, emitted a mechanical sound: "Input all data, derive conclusion. The winning probability for the Fa-Wu Alliance rests between twenty-eight point three two five seven nine three six percent and twenty-nine point three one two seven eight nine percent, while the winning probability for the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance should be between seventy-one point six seven eight two one one and seventy-two point six seven four two zero [six] four percent." The God of Light’s calculation was precise to seven decimal places.

Furthermore, this calculation was virtually infallible because he had factored in all potential rates of error, such as Lu Yuan's characteristic of growing stronger the more powerful his opponent became, and so on.

According to the God of Light’s calculation, the Fa-Wu Alliance’s winning rate was barely over thirty percent.

That’s right!

But it was understandable.

Consider this.

In terms of ancient civilizations, the Fa-Wu Alliance possessed three plus Chang'e, totaling four. The Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance had Desolate Ancient, Immortal Ancient, Buddha Ancient, plus the Demon Civilization. Although the Demon Civilization was categorized as a civilization, its actual strength was not significantly inferior to that of an ancient civilization, practically qualifying it as one.

In terms of ordinary civilizations, the Fa-Wu Alliance had fourteen, while the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance had seventeen. On the surface, the difference was not vast, but consider that the Treasure Artifact Civilization and the Confucian Civilization were both remarkably weak—the combined strength of both might not even match the weakest Miao Civilization. Thus, the sheer magnitude of the difference could be imagined. Therefore, it was practically thirteen versus seventeen, naturally widening the gap.

Given the existing disparity in strength, arriving at a three-to-seven result was not unexpected.

......

Meanwhile, in the Solidified Star Domain, the battle was about to commence.

The Lord of the Fa Transformation Civilization and the opposing Vice-Lord of the Destiny Civilization maneuvered their forces toward each other. What the Lord of the Fa Transformation Civilization truly desired was to fight slowly, engaging force by force. The Lord of the Fa Transformation Civilization was acutely aware of their disadvantage, but his opponent, the Vice-Lord of the Destiny Civilization, had no such reservations. The Vice-Lord of the Destiny Civilization merely clapped his hands decisively.

"All forces advance."

Yes, all forces advanced!

Four main legions and seventeen smaller squads pressed forward simultaneously.

The Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance held the advantage in numbers. Under such circumstances, the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance only needed to commit its entire army to overwhelm and crush the opponent with sheer dominance.

Faced with this situation, the Lord of the Fa Transformation Civilization could only feel helpless. In such chaos, nearly all command structures would collapse; there was no choice but to order a full-force engagement. Instantly, the battlefield descended into extreme disorder. All the experts from every faction within the Central Heavenly Dynasty clashed within the vast expanse of the Solidified Star Domain. In that initial split second, thousands of World Realm cultivators perished.

Blood flew everywhere!

"Die! Hundred Sun Burst!" A searing eruption, as if a hundred suns had materialized, detonated with a massive boom that instantly claimed the lives of hundreds of World Realm cultivators from the Fa-Wu Alliance. This attack targeted the Ax Civilization's flank. Someone from the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance had already pierced into their territory. Who was this formidable figure capable of killing hundreds of World Realm cultivators with a single strike?

The power of this 'Hundred Sun Burst' far surpassed that of the 'Blaze Burst'. The Son of the Flame, who was nearby, couldn't help but gasp in shock. Which individual possessed such power? He then saw a young man standing there, clad in ink-jade qilin armor, wielding the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd.

This young man exuded an aura of holding destiny and shattering everything.

Indeed, it was Lu Yuan's nemesis, the Son of Desolation.

When the Son of the Flame encountered the Son of Desolation, he discovered that the opponent's imposing aura was almost unimaginable. He couldn't even muster the courage to resist. The Son of the Flame realized he, the Son of the Flame, was leagues behind the Son of Desolation. Wielding the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd, the Son of Desolation plunged into the fray, relentlessly harvesting the lives of the Ax Civilization's World Realm experts. No one could withstand a single move from the Son of Desolation. In the current theater of war, the Son of Desolation was undoubtedly the fastest reaper of lives.

"Son of Desolation, cease your arrogance! Let me face you!" The Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization, who had performed the poorest in the Twenty-First Plan, now displayed ferocious bravery. As a Vice-Lord of a Nine Epoch civilization, he manifested the Pangu Golden Body behind him. His Pangu Golden Body was cultivated to be far superior to Lu Yuan’s, and the Pangu shadow behind him was already a remarkably solid projection.

The Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization swung his axe violently.

And the shadow of Pangu swung its axe in unison.

The fusion of the two axes transformed into an unimaginably vast force, cleaving down heavily toward the Son of Desolation.

This strike held the power to cleave the heavens! It was only because they were in a place like the Solidified Star Domain that such a slash did not shatter the surroundings; in any other location, space would have fragmented!

The Son of Desolation merely sneered. His Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd met the attack head-on, without evasion, straight toward the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization. The Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization, known for his sheer strength, assumed the Son of Desolation would suffer a disadvantage for daring to meet him head-on. Just as he held this thought, the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization was violently blasted backward with a boom, while the Son of Desolation was also pushed back by the exact same distance. Although the retreat distance was equal, it was clear the Son of Desolation gained the upper hand, while the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization was at a disadvantage. After all, the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization relied solely on brute force, whereas the Son of Desolation was a universally acknowledged master of technique.

The Son of Desolation sneered, "Today, I am here to commence a great slaughter. Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization, you shall be the first." He was exceedingly bold, aiming to slay the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization to solidify his path. The Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd morphed into streaks of halberd shadows—shadows that were domineering, bizarre, and incredibly fast—forcing the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization into a continuous retreat. With a crash, the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization was struck, his right shoulder instantly stained crimson. The Son of Desolation pressed his advantage, clearly intending to finish him off. The Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization roared repeatedly, pushing his Pangu Golden Body to its peak, but he was relentlessly suppressed by the Son of Desolation.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang..." A series of zither notes followed—it was the 'Yang Guan San Die' zither composition. The Vice-Lord of the Zither Civilization, positioned nearby, had intervened.

A hidden assassination erupted from the darkness—the Vice-Lord of the Night Civilization, Ye An, instantly launched his most terrifying strike against the Son of Desolation.

Facing the combined assault of the Vice-Lord of the Zither Civilization and the Vice-Lord of Night Civilization, the Son of Desolation displayed not an ounce of fear. "All of you, fall!" he roared, and the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd in his hand conjured ten thousand halberd shadows, surging toward both Vice-Lords. His halberd technique was terrifyingly potent; within just a few dozen moves, he completely executed the Vice-Lord of Night Civilization.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the Vice-Lord of the Zither Civilization immediately dragged the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization and fled.

The Son of Desolation laughed loudly, "Run! Where can you run? Today, I shall slay the Vice-Lords of the Fa-Wu Alliance one by one." His voice echoed through the sun and moon, piercing the star domain. The current strength of the Son of Desolation had clearly reached the Nine Epoch level. His recent severe wounding of the Vice-Lord of the Ax Civilization, injuring the Vice-Lord of the Zither Civilization, and killing the Vice-Lord of Night Civilization demonstrated terrifying prowess.

The problem was that the Civilization Lords were currently engaged in their own duels, and among the Civilization Vice-Lords, very few could match the Son of Desolation. There were three at the Nine-and-a-Half Epoch level: Celestial Mother, Ice, and Martial Saint. However, these three each had opponents to contend with, and even if they were to engage him, they might not necessarily defeat the Son of Desolation. The Son of Desolation’s fortune was at its zenith, his techniques profoundly subtle; he was currently invincible.

Who could stop the Son of Desolation?

After carefully considering every figure, the conclusion was that no one was suitable.

Could they simply allow the current Son of Desolation to run rampant and slaughter their ranks?

Just then, the Son of Desolation abruptly halted, for he saw a figure dressed in green robes not far ahead.

Lu Yuan!

The Son of Desolation paid no attention to any of his other opponents—including Celestial Mother, Martial Saint, or the Vice-Lord of the Ice Civilization. But Lu Yuan was someone he had to take seriously, as Lu Yuan was the greatest nemesis of the Son of Desolation’s life. Once, when the Son of Desolation was ambushed, Lu Yuan had managed to defeat him—a monumental humiliation for the undefeated Son of Desolation.

The Son of Desolation and Lu Yuan faced each other.

Lu Yuan first heard of the Son of Desolation's brutality from the mouth of the Son of Immortal, who warned him not to approach the Civilization Holy Land lest he be slain by the Son of Desolation.

Their first meeting was when the Son of Desolation attacked the Sword Gate, heavily wounding Lu Yuan with one move and nearly taking his life with three.

Their second meeting occurred at the entrance of the Civilization Holy Land, where the Son of Desolation failed to subdue Lu Yuan using his divine soul.

The third encounter was during the decisive battle inside the Civilization Holy Land, where Lu Yuan first dealt with the Jade Emperor, the Son of Immortal, and others single-handedly (one against six), and then, allied with Hua Fa Sheng, managed to scare off the Son of Desolation.

The fourth time was in the Pang Peng World, where Lu Yuan first ambushed and then defeated the Son of Desolation.

And now, finally, came the fifth confrontation.

The destined duel between these two was about to begin.

The battle between the Epoch’s foremost fortune-bearer, the Son of Desolation, and the epoch's second fortune-bearer, Lu Yuan, was imminent. Whoever won this battle would gain greater fortune, and whoever lost would forfeit substantial fortune. Neither could afford to lose. If Lu Yuan lost, it would be difficult for him to catch up to the Son of Desolation; if the Son of Desolation lost, he would forfeit the title of the foremost fortune-bearer.

They could not lose!

(First update delivered. Seeking subscriptions for the battle of destiny.)