The two factions in the Eternal Star Domain were that of the Lord of the Momentary Civilization and that of the Lord of the Undying Civilization.

And in the camp of the Lord of the Undying Civilization, there was a bald-headed, burly man wearing a smile; this was none other than the Lord of the Primordial Civilization. The Lord of the Primordial Civilization often cultivated in the Eternal Star Domain as well, and he was quite well-regarded there, possessing numerous friends and wide connections.

The members of both factions simultaneously noticed the young man in green robes.

"An Eternal Genius!"

As for the Momentary faction, the others were all astonished, wondering who this Eternal Genius was.

The Lord of the Transmuting Civilization smiled faintly, "It turns out to be him."

Beside him was the Lord of the First Civilization, a master who had implicitly grasped the Great Dao of the Single Character, and also the master of the First Imperial Son of Law. He had already imparted the Single Character technique to the First Imperial Son of Law because he had comprehended the Great Dao of Zero, a Dao earlier and stronger than the Great Dao of One. Of course, although the Lord of the First Civilization was the master of the First Imperial Son of Law, he was not from the Ancient Law Civilization; it was purely by coincidence that their natures aligned, leading him to take the First Imperial Son of Law as his apprentice. This Lord of the First Civilization said, "Oh, Lord of the Transmuting Civilization, you recognize him."

The Lord of the Transmuting Civilization smiled slightly, "That would be for the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization to answer. This is the son-in-law of the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization."

The members of the Momentary faction all turned to the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization. He stroked his beard, a hint of self-satisfaction on his face: "Indeed, he is the husband of my fourth daughter, Xiuxue. His surname is Lu, given name Yuan."

"So it's Lu Yuan. I’ve heard of him." Lu Yuan's reputation had now reached even those in the Eternal Star Domain.

"It is rumored that this person originated from a small place in the Outer Domain before entering the Sword Gate."

"Using a sword, that doesn't seem to have a future in this era," remarked another elderly venerable nearby.

"Using a sword may seem without prospect, but this Lu Yuan defied the heavens. After the Great Decisive Battle of the Central Celestial Dynasty twenty years ago, Lu Yuan created the Civilization of the Sword himself," said the Lord of the Divine Dragon Civilization, who was known for his elusiveness, often wandering about without leaving his true name, playing at the world. "However, I never expected that this Lu Yuan could shatter the Star Domain Gate and be an Eternal Genius."

"Then it seems this Eternal Genius will be joining our Momentary faction." Indeed, this seemed almost self-evident.

And simultaneously, in the Undying faction.

"Which one is this Eternal Genius? Can he be brought into our Undying faction?" inquired one of the Lords of Civilization. An Eternal Genius was no small thing; such a talent was exceedingly rare even within the Eternal Star Domain.

"That is impossible," the Lord of the Primordial Civilization said, rubbing his bald head with a chuckle. "This person is Lu Yuan, and also the son-in-law of the Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization. How could he possibly join our Undying faction?"

After hearing the words of the Lord of the Primordial Civilization, the Lords of Civilization in the Undying faction all understood. Given such connections, Lu Yuan would naturally align with the Momentary faction. What a pity, what a pity, for he was an Eternal Genius, whose talent impressed even those within the Eternal Star Domain.

The people of both factions paused, for Lu Yuan’s ascent toward the rank of Lord of Civilization had reached its critical juncture.

Heavenly Tribulation.

Every major threshold had a Heavenly Tribulation.

And breaking through from the realm of the Nine Epochs to that of the Ten Epochs Lord of Civilization was a major boundary breakthrough, naturally accompanied by a Heavenly Tribulation. Common tribulations involved lightning, fire, ice, water, earth, and the like—such as the Monarch Tribulation of Myriad Lightning, the Myriad Destruction Tribulation of the Heavens, the Tribulation of a Billion Weak Waters from Super Water, and so forth.

However, this was the final Heavenly Tribulation, and the last one was not easily overcome.

In the sky, countless clouds of mystery appeared. Within these clouds of mystery, any celestial phenomenon could emerge; one could never know what the next tribulation would be—it was the most unpredictable of tribulations. From the void, streaks of chains emerged. Each of these void chains possessed the aura of a Master, the glory of a Master, the honor of a Master. When Lu Yuan was striving for the realm of Vice-Lord of Civilization, the ultimate tribulation he faced was the Chain of the Master. But this was not the Chain of the Master; it was the Ultimate Chain of the Master, far more terrifying than the former. Such chains would be extremely difficult even for a Ten Epochs Lord of Civilization to handle, yet here they appeared.

One of the Lords of Civilization shouted, "The Ultimate Chain of the Master! I encountered this during my own tribulation. I invited many helpers and borrowed numerous divine artifacts before finally shattering it. Since Lu Yuan is an Eternal Genius, breaking this will not be easy either. Let me watch closely and see how Lu Yuan, this Eternal Genius, will overcome the Ultimate Chain of the Master."

These majestic Ultimate Chains of the Master coiled toward Lu Yuan.

And this Heavenly Tribulation was clearly not over. In the sky, a massive tree appeared. This tree blotted out the sun and sky, forcing a group of Lords of Civilization to retreat a distance, as the tree radiated a terrifying might the moment it materialized. One Lord of Civilization exclaimed, "This is the Ultimate Tree of Life and Death Tribulation!"

The Ultimate Tree of Life and Death Tribulation was the supreme tribulation for a tree manifestation.

"When I faced the Ultimate Tree of Life and Death Tribulation, I was caught between life and death, easily pulled toward the extreme of life or the extreme of death. Dealing with that tribulation was incredibly difficult back then. I never thought it would appear now," said the Lord of the Divine Dragon Civilization, the one who treated the world as a game. His expression held an extreme air of wisdom. "I shall watch how Lu Yuan, this Eternal Genius, manages to break this Heavenly Tribulation."

From the clouds of mystery, another layer of Heavenly Tribulation emerged.

This layer was a diagram—the Ultimate Calamity Heavenly Diagram. Legend held that countless epochs ago, an entity from the Nineteenth Epoch, having gathered the profound mysteries of heaven and earth, created the Ultimate Calamity Heavenly Diagram, intending to assault the Eternal Lord who survives all calamities, but failed. Afterward, this diagram vanished. However, when a Nine Epochs entity strives to reach the Ten Epochs, a manifestation of the Ultimate Calamity Heavenly Diagram appears to suppress the Nine Epochs practitioner, preventing their success.

The Lord of the Divine Dragon Civilization, this worldly master, had been severely afflicted by this Ultimate Calamity Heavenly Diagram in the past, barely surviving through nine deaths and countless fortuitous encounters before passing the tribulation. Thus, the appearance of the Ultimate Calamity Heavenly Diagram now filled him with a certain anticipation.

And in the void, the phantom image of the Eternal Gate appeared. This phantom image looked significantly more terrifying than the one from the Eternal Layer. Those who were just showing expectation froze momentarily. Such a tribulation—the phantom image of the Eternal Gate—even the two supreme figures of the Eternal Star Domain, the Lord of the Momentary Civilization and the Lord of the Undying Civilization, had encountered it. They never imagined it would appear now. The Heavenly Tribulation associated with the Eternal Gate was exceedingly terrifying.

Not only that, but traces of the Dao Character also manifested in the void—this was the Dao Character Heavenly Tribulation. The Dao Character Heavenly Tribulation governed countless techniques and carried the infinite Great Dao, suddenly sweeping down. While the Dao Character Heavenly Tribulation was certainly not as terrifying as the Eternal Gate Tribulation, it was far beyond the likes of the Ultimate Chain of the Master.

At once, all manner of various, utterly terrifying Heavenly Tribulations converged in one place.

The Lord of the First Civilization, who grasped the Great Daos of One and Zero, could not help but change his expression: "The Ultimate Chain of the Master Heavenly Tribulation, the Ultimate Tree of Life and Death Heavenly Tribulation, the Ultimate Calamity Heavenly Diagram, the Dao Character Heavenly Tribulation, and the even more frightening Eternal Gate Heavenly Tribulation. Any single one of the preceding tribulations would have been enough for us in the Nine Epochs to handle, and the last one could crush us outright. Lu Yuan single-handedly drawing so many tribulations—this is too exaggerated!"

The Lord of the Transmuting Civilization also had a change of countenance. The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization was ranked extremely high even within the Eternal Star Domain; his composure was such that even if the heavens collapsed before him, his expression would not alter. Yet now, even his face shifted dramatically. The Lord of the Ancient Law Civilization calculated that if he were Lu Yuan, facing such a tribulation at the level of Nine and a Half Epochs, he simply would not be able to endure it.

The Lord of the Primordial Civilization rubbed his bald head. At this moment, he wished he could repeat three words internally: Good, good, good. It would be best if Lu Yuan died here; that would save a lot of trouble.

The Momentary faction secretly feared the tribulation was too fierce, wondering how Lu Yuan would cope.

The Undying faction secretly rejoiced. Since such an Eternal Genius would not join the Undying faction, it was best if he died. Death would be wonderful. An Eternal Genius, though currently possessing only the strength of Nine and a Half Epochs, whose future potential no one dared to underestimate—he was certain to become an astonishing figure later.

How would Lu Yuan handle it? Could he handle it?

Lu Yuan looked up at the sky. The five terrifying Heavenly Tribulations descended simultaneously.

These five great tribulations were indeed horrifying, but Lu Yuan was surprisingly calm. In truth, it was nothing much. Although the difficulty was higher than the Star Domain Gate, Lu Yuan had faintly grasped something when breaking through the fourth layer of the Star Domain Gate. At that time, it was unclear, but now, under the influence of the immortal aura of the Eternal Star Domain and the combined assault of the five major tribulations, he experienced a sudden enlightenment.

Finally, Lu Yuan could feel that he was about to forge a new sword technique.

This new sword technique would be stronger than Sword Ten, and much stronger at that.

Because the so-called new sword technique incorporated three-tenths of the Iron Law of Fate, seven-tenths of the Dao Character Avatar, and the Eternal Force, which he had vaguely sensed when breaking through the Star Domain layers. When he shattered the Star Domain Gate, he had actually managed to subtly incorporate a portion of the phantom image of the Eternal Gate into it as well.

If this sword technique were created, it would be the Ultimate Sword, the Supreme Sword.

Therefore, this technique should not be called Sword Eleven.

It should be called Sword Fifteen.

Leaving space for four sword techniques in between, to allow for future creations.

Because this sword technique, in its current form, was itself the ultimate strike.

Lu Yuan had his moment of realization.

Countless thoughts and ideas converged in his mind, and boundless magical power gathered within his body.

Sword Fifteen, unleashed!

(Second update delivered... RQ)