This was an absolutely seismic piece of news that struck countless hearts. Even with the Son of the Wasteland now deceased, legions still refused to believe it. The air seemed to freeze solid. The ongoing battles around them instantly halted.

Lu Yuan waved his hand and began collecting the relics of the Son of the Wasteland. As the foremost Child of Destiny, the Son of the Wasteland’s possessions were bound to be outrageously rich. Lu Yuan first seized the Heaven’s Mandate Divine Halberd. Upon grasping it, he felt a familiar resonance—the aura of Fate itself. Having already refined the Rule of Theorem and the Rule of Truth, integrating this halberd transformed it into yet another facet of Destiny.

Three tenths of the Iron Rule of Fate were now his. At this juncture, Lu Yuan’s mastery over the Iron Rules was devastatingly absolute.

Lu Yuan then swept up the Heaven-Ranked Spirit Veins. He discovered that the Son of the Wasteland possessed a ludicrous quantity of them. In the end, it was revealed that the Son of the Wasteland held a staggering fifteen hundred Heaven-Ranked Spirit Veins—far more than Lu Yuan possessed even at his peak. The Son of the Wasteland was truly a magnificent tycoon.

After securing these veins, Lu Yuan’s own count of Heaven-Ranked Spirit Veins immediately surged to seventeen hundred.

It went without saying that the Son of the Wasteland’s treasures extended beyond mere Spirit Veins and a fragment of the Iron Rule of Fate. Lu Yuan spotted Divine Artifacts. Both Mid-Rank and High-Rank Divine Artifacts were present. There were three Mid-Rank Divine Artifacts: a sphere about the size of a human head, a cauldron, and a zither. Then there was the High-Rank Divine Artifact: an ink-green fan. The divine aura emanating from this High-Rank piece was qualitatively superior to the Mid-Rank ones—not stronger by volume, but fundamentally, utterly stronger.

Damn it! Lu Yuan could only curse internally. This was preposterous. He, the second Child of Destiny, struggled immensely just to acquire Mid-Rank Divine Artifacts, finding it agonizingly difficult to secure even one. It was only through the spectacular flourishing of his Myriad Manifestation Sword Dao in the Twenty-First Stage Plan that he managed to gather five Mid-Rank Artifacts, finally ascending to the Ninth Epoch. Yet, here was the Son of the Wasteland: not only had he ascended to the Ninth Epoch long ago, but he had three surplus Mid-Rank Divine Artifacts. This filled Lu Yuan with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Most astonishingly, High-Rank Divine Artifacts were things one typically needed only at the Civilization Lord realm. Lu Yuan had never even seen one before, yet the Son of the Wasteland, still only a Vice Lord of Civilization, possessed one. Comparing oneself to others was indeed agonizing, but thankfully, all these treasures now fell into his hands. The Son of the Wasteland had truly died well, died perfectly. Otherwise, given his Destiny, Lu Yuan felt uncertain if he could suppress his rival the next time they met.

Lu Yuan continued inspecting the remaining items. The Son of the Wasteland had countless magical treasures. The Heaven’s Mandate Battle Wheel, which possessed speed faster than Shrinking the Earth into an Inch, was naturally accepted with pleasure. Lu Yuan also found three Innate Spirit Treasures, though they were of the lower tier. Still, Innate Spirit Treasures were priceless assets, leaving one speechless. Of course, the Heaven’s Mandate Battle Wheel was also a low-tier Innate Spirit Treasure, capable of granting superhuman velocity.

As for cultivation manuals and secret texts, there was a massive pile. He found dozens of texts equivalent in caliber to those of Yun Wu, and several hundred secondary-level manuals. These texts originated from the Desolate Ancient Era, the Immortal Ancient Era, the Buddha Ancient Era, other civilizations, and even ruins from many epochs prior. The Son of the Wasteland’s luck was simply too incredible; he had stumbled upon an endless string of fortuitous encounters.

This, this, this—he was completely defeated! Lu Yuan was truly humbled. He himself had virtually no original manuals, most of which he had copied using the Myriad Manifestation Sword Dao. Yet, the Son of the Wasteland possessed such a hoard. Good riddance; the Son of the Wasteland deserved his fate—a fitting end, a perfect demise.

Huh, what is this?

It was a map, clearly an incomplete fragment. A flash of memory crossed Lu Yuan’s mind, and he instantly recognized it: this was a map fragment leading to the Tomb of the Ancient Sword Master. He already possessed two such fragments; he hadn't expected the Son of the Wasteland to hold another. Oh well, he had still profited by acquiring this map. He had now collected three out of the eight necessary fragments. Once all eight were gathered, he could seek the Tomb of the Ancient Sword Master, where Lu Yuan clearly sensed his power could undergo a monumental leap.

The Son of the Wasteland’s possessions ended there, but even this initial haul completely eclipsed Lu Yuan’s entire fortune. Keep in mind that Lu Yuan’s own wealth was sufficient to crush an average Ninth Epoch expert; the sheer depth of the Son of the Wasteland’s riches could thus be imagined.

However, the most vital element was not the Son of the Wasteland’s physical artifacts, but his Destiny.

After slaying the Son of Immortals in the past, he had only felt a slight boost in Destiny. Killing a Child of Destiny always resulted in a noticeable surge, and upon slaying the Son of the Wasteland, he likewise felt a definite elevation in Destiny. But something felt wrong; the boost from killing the Son of the Wasteland seemed subtly less impactful than the one gained from killing the Son of Immortals. How could this be? Logically, the Son of the Wasteland’s Destiny should have utterly surpassed the Son of Immortals, no contest.

Where did that Destiny go?

When Destiny reaches this echelon, any transfer or plunder is visible to other Civilization Realms. Yet, observers noted that only a minuscule fraction of the Son of the Wasteland’s Destiny transferred to Lu Yuan. The vast majority did not shift toward him at all. Instead, this Destiny coalesced, taking on the shape of a dragon, like an ancient primordial dragon, streaking away toward a specific direction.

Everyone present couldn't help but feel a pang of curiosity. Lu Yuan was also startled. He stepped forward, attempting to seize the dragon-shaped current of Destiny, but it was intangible—only perceptible, impossible to intercept. Many others along the path of the draconic Destiny tried to block its course, but they all failed without exception; not a single one succeeded.

The Destiny finally arrived at its terminal point: a bald, burly man.

This bald man inhaled deeply, and the colossal, dragon-like Destiny flowed directly into his mouth. Immediately, the bald man's Destiny began to skyrocket, rising relentlessly. His current Destiny now far surpassed that of Chang’e, who had undergone a hundred rebirths, and even exceeded that of the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization.

This bald man was none other than the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization!

How did the Son of the Wasteland’s Destiny transfer to the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization? Countless people were stunned. Only the Vice Lord of the Destiny Logic Civilization remained composed, as he had been privy to this beforehand. After a brief pause, the others pieced together the most logical explanation: the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization must have pre-planted some mechanism within the Son of the Wasteland. Thus, upon the Son’s death, that Destiny automatically redirected to the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization. The Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization was utterly ruthless, plotting for his disciple's Destiny—a disciple rumored to be his most cherished. Such an act was utterly despicable.

The Vice Lord of the Fire Civilization felt a strange camaraderie. He, too, had committed the act of slaying a disciple for the sake of the Dao. That deed had brought him widespread scorn, but now, with the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization taking the forefront, no one scrutinized him anymore. Haha, having company in the act of killing a disciple to advance the Dao was truly comforting.

The Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization, however, felt a measure of annoyance. Yes, he had indeed laid the Heaven and Earth Reversal Dragon-Serpent Ascent True Art upon the Son of the Wasteland. This technique stipulated that the Desolate Ancient Era was Heaven, and the Son of the Wasteland was Earth; should Heaven and Earth invert, upon the Son’s demise, his Destiny would automatically flow to the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization. This secret art was extremely subtle; only the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization knew it. Originally, the Lord intended for the Son of the Wasteland to reach the Civilization Lord realm before this sacrifice, allowing for a complete assimilation. If the plan had succeeded, the Son would have died as a Civilization Lord, granting the Lord unparalleled power, perhaps rivaling figures like the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization, along with inexhaustible Destiny. Furthermore, as the sole possessor of the secret to the Eternal Lord, he would have an excellent chance of ascending to that very realm, commanding the reverence of even the Civilization Lords residing in the higher-tiered Eternal Star Domain, surpassing the Central Celestial Dynasty itself.

The Son of the Wasteland’s death at the Ninth Epoch was an undeniable shock, preventing the true execution of his plan. How could this not enrage the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization? Fortunately, the plan was halfway realized; at least the bulk of the Son of the Wasteland’s Destiny had transferred to him.

He even learned details only known to those possessing the Son of the Wasteland’s Destiny: “Hmm, the Unification of Seven Destinies. I never expected that brat, the Son of the Wasteland, was secretly hoarding something as precious as the Unification of Seven Destinies. Unexpected, but with the secret of this unification, I can boost my strength even further.” A thousand thoughts flashed through the mind of the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization.

The strength of the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization was currently inferior to that of the Lords of the Ancient Law and Buddha Ancient Civilizations. But in the future, he would surely rise above them all. Not only did he believe this, but the other Civilization Lords now believed it too. The combination of the Son of the Wasteland’s Destiny and his own was too startlingly immense; clearly, even Lu Yuan’s own Destiny was inferior to this new confluence.

Chang’e let out a cold sneer: “Desolate Ancient, I never imagined you to be so utterly shameless.” Chang’e felt she had witnessed something new; she had never encountered such brazen shamelessness before, and now she had to grudgingly admire it. The Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization offered a slight, disdainful smile: “What is it, Fairy Chang’e? Are you admiring my shamelessness? Only the shameless become great heroes capable of monumental achievements. Why don’t you come assist me, become my Empress, and I will show you realms higher than you can imagine?”

Chang’e scoffed, her attacks growing sharper. Even mentioning the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization now disgusted her.

The great decisive battle in the Frozen Star Domain continued. The confrontation between Lu Yuan and the Son of the Wasteland was merely one localized corner of this massive conflict. After slaying the Son of the Wasteland, Lu Yuan fell into deep contemplation. What should he do now?

(First update delivered.)