The halberd measured thirty-three feet and three inches! The shaft was four point nine inches thick! The body of the halberd was entwined with a dragon—its snout ferocious, its claws sharp, its eyes wide with fury. At the grip, the characters "Heaven's Mandate" were etched, their script ancient and profound. At the tip, the straight edge was as keen as a sword, possessing a spike of energy aimed heavenward. The curved portions flowed with impossibly smooth arcs, imbued with the secrets of heaven and earth. This was the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd!

All eyes turned to the Son of the Wilderness. He gently stroked the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd in his hand: "This is the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd. It is time you learned its mysteries, Lu Yuan. To perish beneath the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd is your fortune." Suddenly, a cluster of seven-colored light leaped from the halberd and shot toward the center of the Son of the Wilderness's brow, instantly manifesting an eye.

A third eye.

The Son of the Wilderness looked at Lu Yuan, and the newly formed third eye also shot out a seven-colored beam that pinned Lu Yuan in place: "The Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd, the Eye of Heaven's Mandate. Heaven's Mandate is with me. Lu Yuan, if Heaven's Mandate decrees your death, then you shall die. Lu Yuan, today you are fated to die by my hand."

As Lu Yuan prepared his retort, he suddenly felt profoundly unwell. Looking at the Son of the Wilderness again, he perceived him as a high and mighty deity, while he himself seemed nothing more than a humble mortal. My fate is mine to command, not Heaven's! Lu Yuan roared, unleashing torrents of sword energy, but that oppressive feeling did not dissipate; instead, it intensified. What was this?

The Son of the Wilderness laughed heartily, and the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd stabbed forth. This time, he employed the Emperor's Limit.

Lu Yuan paid it no mind. He had broken the Emperor’s Limit techniques before; what was there to fear? Lu Yuan met the Emperor's Limit with his own Emperor's Limit. At this juncture, both Lu Yuan and the Son of the Wilderness commanded the might of the Ninth Epoch. Who feared whom? In that clash, with a resounding crash, Lu Yuan found himself on the defensive, even taking a hit to his shoulder. A colossal surge of Wilderness-aligned power flooded his body, leaving him in agony, having sustained minor injuries.

What was happening? His current skill was not inferior to the Son of the Wilderness’s; how could he be losing ground and taking damage in a single exchange? Did the Son of the Wilderness truly possess such ability?

The Son of the Wilderness laughed again and thrust the halberd out once more—this was the Sovereign's Limit, striking directly at Lu Yuan with sovereign authority. Lu Yuan countered with his own Sovereign's Limit. Surely, he wouldn't be disadvantaged this time? Lu Yuan believed he had seen through all of the Son of the Wilderness's subtleties and anticipated gaining the upper hand, yet he was struck again, this time on the right shoulder by the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd.

There was something strange! Something definitely peculiar!

The onlookers also murmured about the strangeness. Though some were still engaged in their own duels, everyone’s attention, regardless of allegiance, was riveted on this fight. This was, after all, the battle between the most favored sons of fortune in this Epoch, and the array of Limit techniques displayed earlier had dazzled everyone.

They had expected Lu Yuan to gain the upper hand, but the Son of the Wilderness had once again taken the lead through methods no one could comprehend.

The Son of the Wilderness sneered and shouted, "Lu Yuan, I will kill you within fifty moves." Without offering explanation, he unleashed wave after wave of relentless offense. Lu Yuan found himself in extreme peril. Attacks that he felt he should have blocked were inexplicably shattered, an intensely bizarre and uncomfortable sensation.

There must be a trick, and it must lie within his third eye—the so-called Eye of Heaven's Mandate. When that eye focused its gaze upon him, Lu Yuan felt a severe sense of discomfort. The Son of the Wilderness kept proclaiming it was "Heaven's Mandate"—ridiculous. Where was any such Mandate? No, wait a moment.

Lu Yuan suddenly recalled something.

Legend held that the foremost of the Ten Iron Laws was the Iron Law of Destiny. The Son of the Wilderness incessantly spoke of "Heaven's Mandate," and Lu Yuan knew the Iron Law of Destiny had fractured into ten pieces. Could it be that the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd wielded by the Son of the Wilderness was actually one of those ten fragments of the Iron Law of Destiny, representing the 'Heaven's Mandate' within destiny itself?

This explanation made perfect sense. It accounted for why the Son of the Wilderness could strike him repeatedly. It was the power of that inexplicable Iron Law of Destiny, a force utterly bizarre and elusive.

However, if that was the case, Lu Yuan now had a way to counter it.

Lu Yuan looked at the Son of the Wilderness: "Oh, I understand your game now. The Iron Law of Destiny splintered into ten pieces in ages past. You obtained one piece, which represents Heaven's Mandate. What you hold is one-tenth of that." This declaration stunned the crowd. The Iron Law of Destiny, the paramount of the Ten Iron Laws, had always been vague and ephemeral; to think the Son of the Wilderness possessed one-tenth of it—truly worthy of being the epoch's foremost son.

The Son of the Wilderness regarded Lu Yuan: "As expected of Lu Yuan, to recognize one of the ten fragments of the Iron Law of Destiny. But so what? Heaven's Mandate is mine. Heaven's Mandate wills your death; this is the decree of Heaven, this is Destiny. Today, you die by my hand."

Lu Yuan smiled faintly: "What can Heaven's Mandate do to me? Son of the Wilderness, you will lose to me, you will die by my hand, and that will be the undeniable Truth." The Son of the Wilderness roared with laughter: "You say it's the Truth, so it's the Truth? How utterly laughable."

Lu Yuan sharply retorted, "When I proclaim the Truth, it becomes the Truth; I forge Truth through established principles!" His Yangwu Divine Sword suddenly swept through the void. This time, he utilized the Flood Limit. The sword moves poured out like a deluge, wave upon wave, covering the heavens and seas, infinite and boundless. The Son of the Wilderness confidently countered with the Frenzy Limit. The two great Limits clashed in the void.

The Son of the Wilderness was absolutely confident he could wound Lu Yuan, thanks to the presence of Heaven's Mandate. His halberd struck Lu Yuan again, slicing a bright red gash into Lu Yuan's left hand. He smirked, thinking Lu Yuan hopelessly arrogant. Even recognizing that Heaven's Mandate belonged to Destiny, he would still be defeated. But his smile froze instantly. In an unbelievable instant, Lu Yuan’s sword, wielded by his uninjured hand, cleaved the Son of the Wilderness’s left arm clean off at the shoulder. Although the Son of the Wilderness immediately summoned power to generate a new left arm, a body at the Civilization Realm possessed perfect equilibrium; every cell contained world-shattering energy. Regenerating an identical left arm consumed an astronomical amount of power.

What happened? An accident?

The Son of the Wilderness next summoned the Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd and thrust it heavily toward Lu Yuan, while Lu Yuan's Yangwu Divine Sword countered toward the Son of the Wilderness. Sword met halberd in the void, erupting in countless dazzling lights. The halberd and sword exchanged blows countless times in the air. The Son of the Wilderness struck Lu Yuan once more, severing Lu Yuan’s left palm, but Lu Yuan promptly severed the Son of the Wilderness’s left hand again.

Lu Yuan rapidly regenerated a new left palm using his power, and the Son of the Wilderness rapidly regenerated a new left hand using his power.

Relatively speaking, Lu Yuan's injury was far lighter; regenerating a perfect left palm required very little magical energy. The Son of the Wilderness had expended colossal amounts of power to regenerate his perfect left hand twice. His expression shifted drastically. If one time could be an accident, two times could not. This meant that the Son of the Wilderness had used Heaven's Mandate, yet he was still overpowered by Lu Yuan. How was this possible?

The Son of the Wilderness stared at Lu Yuan: "What are you using?" "Heaven's Mandate is one of the ten fragments of the Iron Law of Destiny; that is certainly true," Lu Yuan stated calmly. "But do not forget, the Iron Law of Destiny has ten fragments in total. Yours is Heaven's Mandate, which dictates principles and confirms Truth—it is one of the ten fragments. You possess only one piece. I possess two."

"You claim Heaven's Mandate appoints you, but I establish the principles and confirm the Truth. Above and below, Truth is Truth; it does not alter with the heavens or the earth, nor with space, nor with time. That is why I win."

The Son of the Wilderness's face paled: "What!" How could he not be shocked? The Heaven's Mandate Divine Halberd, a fragment of the Iron Law of Destiny, was his ultimate trump card. He had always wielded this ultimate card with the belief that he could slay gods and crush Buddhas. Precisely speaking, few beings from the other nine Epochs or nine and a half Epochs could withstand the Son of the Wilderness’s Six Limit Techniques, let alone the Iron Law of Destiny. Yet, facing Lu Yuan, he met failure time after time. He had six Limit Techniques, but Lu Yuan had ten. He possessed one fragment of the Iron Law of Destiny, but Lu Yuan possessed two. Lu Yuan seemed to excel in every aspect.

For the first time, the Son of the Wilderness conceded the possibility of defeat. His composure, the air of an invincible war god, wavered slightly. He did possess other hidden assets, such as the Primordial Chaos Artifacts of the Desolate line. However, the last time, the Desolate War Chariot had been utterly devoured by Lu Yuan’s Heaven-Countering Sword, a memory he held vividly. Thus, revealing these trump cards now would likely yield little benefit.

Reacting swiftly amidst the battle, the Son of the Wilderness grasped one terrible truth: he had to flee.

Fleeing was rare for him, a profound humiliation, especially in front of so many spectators—he was the foremost son of fortune. But with his trump cards exhausted, he wished only to survive.

Yet, escaping Lu Yuan would not be easy.

The Son of the Wilderness’s mind raced, formulating a plan.

With a thunderous boom, the Son of the Wilderness activated a Primordial Chaos Artifact.

This artifact was no ordinary thing; it was the Central Cauldron! His Central Cauldron was a magical implement predating the creation of this Epoch. It had been set at the very center of the Primordial Chaos at the time of cosmic establishment, anchoring all directions and suppressing the Primordial Chaos World. This Central Cauldron possessed limitless divine abilities and limitless suppressive power, hurtling down toward Lu Yuan with earth-shaking force.

The gravitational force in this localized area instantly became a million times greater.

And it was not merely gravity. Boundless, endless Primordial Qi surged toward Lu Yuan.

This amounted to one billion, eight hundred million portions of Primordial Qi, each one gathered from the initial genesis.

It could be said that once the Central Cauldron pinned Zhou Qingxuan down, he wouldn't be able to counter the Desolate power but would instead be suppressed by the Desolate power, crushed by this Primordial Qi. Even Yan Changtian would likely be utterly suppressed by the might of the Central Cauldron. Forget a swordsman; even the Deputy Lord of the Ice Civilization, though resistant to this specific counter, would feel its tremendous power and be heavily restrained facing the Central Cauldron.

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