Yuanshi Tianzun was brimming with confidence. The Pangu Banner was indeed an immensely powerful Innate Spirit Treasure, and he was quite satisfied with the strike he had just unleashed. It was only natural that his combat record would rank among the very best. Yuanshi Tianzun was a person deeply concerned with saving face; he recalled once fighting his third brother, Lingbao Tianzun, solely over a matter of pride—that event being the calamity of the Investiture of the Gods. Of course, that had been a minor trial, merely a small ripple in an entire epoch, and not a single Civilization Deputy Lord, known also as a Saint, had perished.

The grand decisive battle of the Central Heavenly Dynasty was, in terms of scale, the largest yet, with far-reaching consequences.

Yuanshi Tianzun had suffered a setback in such a colossal conflict; having lost the larger strategic picture, he naturally needed to reclaim his dignity and standing.

Yuanshi Tianzun inquired with supreme self-assurance.

The Deputy Lord of the Array Civilization stated, "The combat record of the Deputy Lord of the Arrow Civilization is similar to yours, though the Ice Soul Divine Blade wielded by the Deputy Lord of the Ice Civilization managed to cleave into the beginning of the Third Layer, the Eternal Layer."

"Oh?" Yuanshi Tianzun started, unable to hide his shock. He hadn't expected the Deputy Lord of the Ice Civilization's fighting power to surpass his own. Twenty years ago, during the final great decisive battle, the Deputy Lord of the Ice Civilization and Yuanshi Tianzun had fought to a stalemate.

"Following that, Yan Cangtian of the Sword Civilization, with his sword, also pierced into the beginning of the Third Layer, the Eternal Layer."

If the previous revelation was a minor surprise, this was a great shock.

Yan Cangtian—Yuanshi Tianzun had only heard that name for the first time twenty years prior. Indeed, Yan Cangtian had once been disciplined by the Immortal Ancient Civilization, but at that time, given Yan Cangtian’s strength, he could not possibly have offended anyone particularly powerful; it had merely been a World Realm expert from the Immortal Ancient Civilization imposing sanctions. Yuanshi Tianzun had heard the name twenty years ago and paid it no mind, yet now, Yan Cangtian's combat prowess actually surpassed his own.

What was wrong with this era? What was happening?

The Deputy Lord of the Array Civilization sighed, "Next came Lu Yuan’s move."

Yuanshi Tianzun’s thick eyebrows furrowed. In terms of physiognomy, those with thick brows were generally quite confident. "How was his move? Did he perhaps reach the very end of the Third Layer?" If that were the case, Lu Yuan’s combat strength was becoming terrifyingly immense, capable of overshadowing all other Civilization Deputy Lords.

The Deputy Lord of the Array Civilization shook his head. "No."

Not? Could it be that he reached the starting point of the Fourth Layer, the Constant Layer? If so, that was truly astonishing, Yuanshi Tianzun mused internally.

The Deputy Lord of the Array Civilization stated, "Lu Yuan shattered the Star Domain Gate of the Fourth Layer into starlight."

Upon hearing this, Yuanshi Tianzun froze in utter stupefaction. "Doesn't that mean Lu Yuan passed through the Star Domain Gate?"

"Correct," the Deputy Lord of the Arrow Civilization sighed deeply. "Now you can understand the depth of my despair."

Yuanshi Tianzun was completely helpless. Lu Yuan had actually passed the Star Domain Gate; this made him an Eternal Genius.

An Eternal Genius!

Furthermore, in the future, Lu Yuan would become a Civilization Lord.

The Martial Law Alliance had produced another Civilization Lord. This was hardly good news for the Desolate Immortal Buddha Alliance lurking in the Lost Lands; future counterattacks would be significantly more difficult.

By this point, everyone had tested themselves sufficiently, and they all departed separately, returning to their respective posts.

However, the news of Lu Yuan passing the Star Domain Gate spread like wildfire.

The Star Domain Gate! No one could have imagined Lu Yuan would pass it. Lu Yuan had performed spectacularly this time; his name was on everyone’s lips. Moreover, people were fervently discussing one matter: how long until the Sword Civilization could be reinstated as the Sword Ancient Civilization? Thirty years ago, if anyone had suggested the Sword Ancient Civilization could reappear in the cosmos, they would have been laughed out of existence, but now, many people truly believed it.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had already entered the Eternal Star Domain.

This was the highest tier of combat power! Lu Yuan surveyed the domain, noticing a sun deep within the distant expanse of time and space. That sun seemed to exude endless majesty. Apart from that sun, every other kind of terrain existed—all manner of bizarre landscapes and countless voids, threaded with turbulent spatial currents.

Lu Yuan also observed that everything in this star domain revolved around the distant sun. Yet, although the sun was clearly there, it seemed utterly inaccessible. Lu Yuan immediately released his divine sense to test the distance, but his probe snapped off halfway.

What was that? Lu Yuan faintly felt that the sun must be connected to the Constant Gate. Only by mobilizing his Dao Character Clone and the Iron Law of Destiny was he able to comprehend that the sun was, in fact, the Eternal Gate. However, the Eternal Gate lay so deep in the void that one could not even discern its shape, only a blinding expanse of light, leading one to mistake it for a sun.

Lu Yuan looked around again and realized there was no one else nearby.

The vastness of the Eternal Star Domain was not inferior to the Congealed Star Domain; it only ranked just above it. And hearing that only about a hundred people resided here, the sparse population was understandable. Lu Yuan also noted that the spatial volume of this domain was significantly larger than that of the Congealed Star Domain.

After observing his surroundings left and right for a while, Lu Yuan spotted a type of fruit. These fruits grew in the void, amidst the spatial turbulence, appearing everywhere—dozens of stalks visible in a single glance, far from rare. Lu Yuan reached out, and immediately detected within them the genuine aura of immortality and true civilization. Zhou Qingxuan had described the appearance of the Eternal Fruit to him: shaped like gourds connected—one large and one small. This one was also gourd-shaped, leading him to believe this was indeed the Eternal Fruit.

The Eternal Fruit was surprisingly common here.

Lu Yuan immediately brought the Eternal Fruit to his mouth. As soon as he swallowed it, he faintly sensed his internal mana undergoing a sweeping, earth-shattering transformation—such a profound shift! He perceived it as a colossal, world-altering change. The difference between one epoch and nine epochs was merely a change in quantity.

But this was a change in quality. Lu Yuan now vaguely felt that his previous mana was a false civilization aura, whereas his current mana was a true civilization aura—the mana of a Civilization Lord.

Lu Yuan knew this was a moment of critical importance, so he lingered for no second, beginning to slowly refine his power, tempering his mana, and surging toward higher realms.

At this very moment, within the Eternal Star Domain, countless individuals who had been in secluded cultivation awoke, all converging toward Lu Yuan’s location. The speed of these figures was noticeably faster than that of the Civilization Deputy Lords; a single casual step covered millions of miles, bridging the ends of the world in one stride.

These powerful beings were genuinely alerted. Simultaneously, they all sensed the shattering of the Star Domain Gate! If their divination was correct, if their insight was sharp, someone had broken through the Star Domain Gate. Which figure possessed such might, shattering the gate while still at the realm of a Civilization Deputy Lord? Consequently, these beings mobilized, eager to witness the Eternal Genius!

Even within the Eternal Star Domain, where all hundred-plus inhabitants had reached the Civilization Lord stage, an Eternal Genius was an astonishing event, having only appeared three times across countless epochs—this would be the fourth.

The figures rushing in came from all directions but involuntarily split into two groups.

In one of the groups, Lu Yuan had acquaintances: the Lord of the Transformation Civilization, and wait, there was another acquaintance, the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization. As previously mentioned, as long as nothing major occurred in the Central Heavenly Dynasty, these Civilization Lords cultivated here, pursuing the elusive, ethereal Dao of Eternity. Do not assume that longevity equates to fearlessness of death; longevity only increases the fear of death. Having painstakingly cultivated to the rank of Civilization Lord, placing them among the top hundred-plus beings in existence, none were willing to perish easily. The Lord of the Transformation Civilization and others could move in and out of this domain at will. In fact, the Eternal Star Domain was divided into two factions.

The first faction was led by the Lord of the Instant Civilization. This Lord had lived for a very long time and possessed nineteen epochs' worth of mana, his strength terrifyingly high. His cultivation technique was the Instant Eternity Art: The instant is eternity; eternity is the instant. This was his comprehension of the Eternal Gate. When his Instant Eternity Art was unleashed, even powerful figures like the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization would retreat tens of millions of miles. A confrontation with him was a terrifying prospect; one could not discern the distinction between the instant and eternity, as time and space became entirely chaotic. Many masters controlled the Iron Law of Time, but no one controlled it to the extent of the Lord of the Instant Civilization—one instant could hammer you into eternity.

The second faction was led by the Lord of the Undying Civilization, known as the Undying Legend. Battling him was also a nightmare; you could injure him, but it was useless—he simply would not die, no matter the damage inflicted. He possessed an Undying Divine Skill that made any opponent’s head ache just hearing about it. In the past, when this Lord’s power was less refined, he fought five individuals of equal standing. Those five held the advantage but could never manage to kill him. Ultimately, they were all slain by the Lord of the Undying Civilization. This was his defining characteristic: he seemed capable of facing death a thousand or ten thousand times and still surviving. Now, with his power steadily increasing, the Lord of the Undying Civilization dominated one side.

These were the two factions within the Eternal Star Domain, constantly vying for dominance.

Do not assume that Civilization Lords do not contend. For instance, the positions closest to the Eternal Gate—those were certainly worth fighting for.

Naturally, both groups were now stirred, eager to see precisely which figure had appeared.

An Eternal Genius!

They swiftly arrived, seeing the young man in green robes condensing in the void, breaking through to the realm of the Civilization Lord.

(Chapter One delivered... RQ)