The Civilization of the Sword has been established. This is the sixteenth civilization of the Central Heavenly Dynasty.

Founding a civilization is no easy feat, as securing territory is a struggle. However, Lu Yuan had rendered such monumental service—his singular impact decisively shaped the outcome of the Final Great War—that territory for the Civilization of the Sword naturally materialized later, and it was by no means a small plot, comparable in size to any standard territory.

The inauguration of a new civilization necessitates feasting and celebration for all corners.

The Civilization of the Sword held considerable prestige, drawing delegations from everywhere. The leaders of the Civilizations of the Ancient Law, Ancient Martial Arts, Ancient Combat, Ancient Phoenix, Moon, Confucianism, Wind, Umbrella, Axe, Medicine, Heavenly Mother, Holy Light, Dragon, Diagram, Ice, Night, Bird, and Zither all arrived.

In addition to these major powers, representatives from various myriad teachings across the heavens, factions from the Lost Lands, and several reclusive figures came to offer congratulations. While Lu Yuan had few direct connections with the forces of the Lost Lands, Yan Cangtian had resided there for a long time, and Zhou Qingxuan, having once been the Vice Master of the Civilization of Sword Suffering, naturally knew many hermits.

Countless people gathered in the newly founded World of the Sword, immediately sensing that this realm was strikingly different from others.

Other worlds, no matter how potent, never possessed such an edge; yet this world was astonishingly sharp, seemingly radiating a moving sword aura from every pore. Sword auras raged between heaven and earth, leading those familiar with the Ancient Civilization of the Sword to remark quietly, "This is the true Way of the Sword, this is the Civilization of the Sword."

"Another civilization has joined the tapestry of heaven and earth."

"I thought the Way of the Sword only had Lu Yuan as such an eminent figure. Can one man truly sustain an entire civilization? I concede he is formidable." one person questioned, noting that Yan Cangtian and Zhou Qingxuan had been exceedingly low-key, having accomplished nothing significant prior to this.

"That's because you don't understand. Two formidable figures have suddenly emerged in the Way of the Sword: one named Yan Cangtian, and the other, Zhou Qingxuan. These two, well... they are genuinely extraordinary. In the Great War, Yan Cangtian single-handedly slew the Vice Master of the Evil Sword Civilization—a figure of the Ninth Epoch—and even hunted down the Vice Master of the Arrow Civilization, who was at the level of Nine-and-a-Half Epochs."

"Heavens, is that true?" The listener gasped repeatedly, utterly unprepared for the revelation of how powerful these suddenly appearing figures were.

"And Zhou Qingxuan is no simple soul either. I hear he possesses the strength of the Eighth Epoch. In this conflict, he extinguished the Vice Master of the God-Severing Civilization from the Civilization of the Mace."

"What is the origin of these two who have suddenly surfaced in the Way of the Sword?" someone inquired, perplexed.

"Zhou Qingxuan is rumored to be the reincarnation of the former Vice Master of the Civilization of Sword Suffering. As for Yan Cangtian's background, it remains obscure, but Lu Yuan and Zhou Qingxuan both address him as 'Senior Brother.'"

"That is truly significant."

"If you ask me, among the fifteen civilizations of the Central Heavenly Dynasty, the Civilization of the Sword immediately ranks second, only beneath the Civilization of the Moon. It is far stronger than many of the established, long-standing civilizations." The founding of the Civilization of the Sword was a grand celebratory occasion. Lu Yuan delegated the hosting duties to Old Ancestor Jian Mie of the Sword Sect; among his current subordinates, those originally from the Sword Sect possessed the most experience in such matters, as the Huashan contingent knew nothing of the protocol required in the Central Heavenly Dynasty. Old Ancestor Jian Mie wholeheartedly accepted this task. He had never dared to dream of such a day; his lifelong ambition was simply to make the Sword Sect flourish.

Of course, under his stewardship, the Sword Sect had not flourished; rather, it had been relentlessly pressured and cornered by the Ancient Wilderness Civilization and the Civilization of the Mace.

At that time, Old Ancestor Jian Mie had begun to doubt whether the Sword Sect would fade into oblivion, vanishing from existence by the time of his death, leaving him with no face to present to the ancestral spirits of the sect.

And his concept of "flourishing" barely extended to breaking into the top one hundred of the Supreme Great Sects—that would have been a remarkable achievement in itself.

He had never, not even in his wildest fantasies, imagined the Sword Sect evolving into the monumental Civilization of the Sword. It was utterly inconceivable.

And now, he witnessed this transformation firsthand.

He even heard that the Vice Master of the Civilization of the Mace—a name that brought him nightmares merely to consider—had been effortlessly defeated by Lu Yuan. That name had haunted Old Ancestor Jian Mie through countless agonizing nights; he had deemed it impossible for the Unrivaled Sword to counter the Mace, believing the difficulty insurmountable. Yet, the Vice Master of the Civilization of the Mace was simply dead, dispatched with ease. It was unimaginable.

It was not only Old Ancestor Jian Mie struggling to comprehend this reality. No one in the Sword Sect could grasp it; everyone felt as if they had gone mad. Jian Xiong and Jian Qian felt particularly speechless—had they ever truly been considered Lu Yuan's peers? Lu Yuan had long since soared to the heavens, reigning supreme, looking down upon all creation.

Taishikong was utterly inebriated. Although he could typically drink thousands of cups without staggering, he found himself uncontrollably drunk now. His two disciples—one a Nine-and-a-Half Epoch, the other a Ninth Epoch—were terrifyingly powerful. Taishikong sat back broadly, mumbling to himself, "In this life, I was destined to be a Vice Master of a civilization. Two civilization Vice Masters."

Baili Bing and the other Supremes, now titled Grand Elders within the World Realm, were also muttering their praises.

This was an ecstasy of the Sword Path!

Every member of the Sword community, high and low, was overflowing with jubilation.

Many reclusive sword cultivators emerged from their seclusion.

For the first time in this epoch, the Civilization of the Sword appeared.

Lu Yuan stood atop the Divine Sword and roared out: "Esteemed colleagues, I have an announcement today. During the Final Great War, I came into possession of one of the True Seals of the Wilderness." There were two True Seals of the Wilderness: one represented the Flood (Hong), and the other, the Wilderness (Huang). The True Seal of the Wilderness could periodically generate a Great Seal of the Wilderness, and each Great Seal of the Wilderness enabled five sword cultivators to pass the Heavenly Tribulation for a Second-Level World Realm sword master. The Heavenly Tribulation for sword masters was destructive; even astonishing figures like Lu Yuan and Yan Cangtian were thoroughly battered by it—Lu Yuan nearly turned completely white, and Yan Cangtian nearly perished. Now, Lu Yuan had secured the True Seal of the Wilderness, capable of negating this tribulation. This represented immeasurable merit for the Way of the Sword. Countless sword cultivators breathed a collective sigh of relief in that instant. Sword cultivators could finally truly stand tall, no longer needing to defer to anyone else's authority.

This acquisition occurred after the Great War, during the subsequent Great Pursuit. Lu Yuan abandoned all other targets, focusing solely on the Ancient Wilderness Civilization. Yan Cangtian and Zhou Qingxuan accompanied him, aided by the Master of the Civilization of Ancient Transformation. It was a hard-won battle before they finally seized this True Seal of the Wilderness, the one bearing the character for Flood (Hong), from the Ancient Wilderness Civilization.

Sitting upon the gigantic Divine Sword spanning a million zhang, Lu Yuan declared: "Sword cultivators, this is merely the first step. One day, I will ensure that heaven and earth acknowledge the sword masters, rendering reliance on this True Seal of the Wilderness unnecessary." This was Lu Yuan's true desire. Why should they, the sword masters, have to depend on the True Seal of the Wilderness? It was ridiculous. That day would surely come.

...... Twenty years passed in quiet flow.

Everyone had grown accustomed to the current structure of the Central Heavenly Dynasty, used to the absence of the three great ancient civilizations—the Ancient Wilderness, Immortal, and Buddhist—and the revised landscape where half of the original thirty civilizations had been destroyed. Tranquility had returned to the world, and the scars of the Final Great War were rapidly vanishing from the Central Heavenly Dynasty. The thousand Supreme Great Sects of the Central Heavenly Dynasty had also resumed their normal lives. In reality, the Final Great War had impacted the Supreme Great Sects and general factions the most, as they constituted the lower tiers of military strength; their absence in the main conflict meant they swiftly returned to normalcy once the fighting ceased.

Some sects found their domains situated within the territory of the Civilization of the Sword. Initially fearful that the Civilization of the Sword would be difficult to deal with, they later discovered that coexistence was not overly challenging. Among the Supreme Great Sects now within the Civilization of the Sword's domain was the Nanhua Gate, one of the original Ten Supreme Great Sects. In the past, the Sword Sect had struggled against the Nanhua Gate, being vastly inferior in strength. Relying on Lu Yuan alone, he had propelled the Sword Sect into the ranks of the Ten Supreme Great Sects. Now, witnessing Lu Yuan single-handedly establishing the Civilization of the Sword, everyone in the Nanhua Gate could only offer profound sighs of admiration.

Yes, everything was peaceful now.

The age of turmoil had passed.

Lu Yuan, meanwhile, was cultivating diligently within his quiet chamber. He dared not let down his guard in the slightest. Although peace had returned to the Central Heavenly Dynasty and his side had won, the opposing ancient civilizations—the Ancient Wilderness, Immortal, and Buddhist—still existed. Moreover, those opposing forces still commanded more than a dozen Civilization Masters, whose authority surpassed his own. He had to continue guarding the Way of the Sword until he grew even stronger.

In his two decades of cultivation, Lu Yuan had pursued only one goal: breaking through to the realm of Civilization Master. Lu Yuan was currently utterly invincible as a Civilization Vice Master, but he was still significantly short of the Civilization Master level. Yet, after twenty years, he had made no progress whatsoever.

How to achieve the breakthrough to Civilization Master? Lu Yuan sank into deep contemplation.

Forget it. Lu Yuan picked up his wine gourd and exited his seclusion.

Indeed, he had been in seclusion, and now he emerged.

But he was not the only one exiting seclusion this time. Yan Cangtian followed, a sky-piercing sword aura erupting, though it still registered at the level of the Ninth Epoch. Yan Cangtian was also frustrated by his inability to advance to the Civilization Master realm. Just then, both Yan Cangtian and Lu Yuan simultaneously heard the mournful, drawn-out sound of an erhu.

As the erhu music drifted, Zhou Qingxuan materialized. Zhou Qingxuan had now reached the Ninth Epoch. Lu Yuan had given him the Mid-Tier Divine Artifact obtained from the Son of the Wilderness, primarily because he owed Zhou Qingxuan countless favors in the past, not to mention the sheer pleasure of fighting united as a trio. However, judging by Zhou Qingxuan's demeanor, he too was stuck at the Ninth Epoch, unable to advance further.

Upon appearing, Zhou Qingxuan stated calmly, "Actually, I possess a method for breaking through to the Civilization Master realm."

"Then speak quickly," Lu Yuan urged, utterly stumped by this barrier.

"Tell us," Yan Cangtian said succinctly. His accumulated insight was naturally less than Zhou Qingxuan's; both he and Lu Yuan had only experienced a single lifetime, whereas Zhou Qingxuan was a reincarnated Civilization Vice Master.