In the Hall of Techniques, the Lord of the First Civilization saw Lu Yuan enter and immediately cautioned him: “With these four hundred and eighty Ultimate Techniques, you must select the ones that align with your own nature to learn. If an Ultimate Technique doesn't suit you, no amount of study will unleash its true power. Moreover, you must find the Ultimate Technique power that is most suitable for you, the one that allows it to achieve maximum efficacy. Generally, Lords of Civilization can only master twenty or thirty Ultimate Techniques, perhaps forty at most; exceeding that limit by even one is exceptionally difficult. If you manage to learn a good number, only to discover the one Ultimate Technique that could drastically boost your combat strength is one you can't learn, that would be tragic.”

Lu Yuan listened to the introduction from the Lord of the First Civilization but paid it little mind.

The Lord of the First Civilization meant well, but his own innate talent transcended such careful selection.

On the first floor, Lu Yuan began searching for the first Ultimate Technique. He saw thirty doors, each marked with a single character. Lu Yuan spotted the first one, marked with the character 'Zheng' (Proper/Straight), and entered. It was a sealed, black chamber, utterly silent and devoid of light, yet vast streams of overwhelming consciousness washed over him.

This first Ultimate Technique was the Ultimate of Zheng.

It was about annihilating the enemy with an imposing, upright presence, maximizing the manifestation of that very 'proper' momentum.

Seeing this Ultimate Technique, Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned. What kind of joke was this?

He, who always wielded 'Zheng' inherently, whose swordsmanship was upright and honorable, had never grasped the Ultimate of Zheng. He felt he had lived in vain, and tears welled up as he began to study this Ultimate of Zheng. His Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao activated, and in a mere moment, he had mastered the Ultimate of Zheng. After learning it, as he wielded his sword, he felt the form was utterly righteous, imbued with a majestic, upright aura capable of sweeping away all mere clowns.

The first Ultimate Technique was learned.

Lu Yuan exited the first room, the first door, having learned the Ultimate Technique so quickly.

Seeing Lu Yuan emerge so fast, the Lord of the First Civilization inwardly mused, Could it be that Lu Yuan isn't suited for the first Ultimate Technique? Based on his countless years of experience, the Lord of the First Civilization could never have imagined that a person could learn an Ultimate Technique in such a short time. Even the ancient Ancestral Dragon couldn't achieve this, so the thought never even crossed his mind.

After exiting the first door, Lu Yuan turned his attention to the second door, marked with 'Qi' (Strange/Odd).

Zheng and Qi generate each other; the first door was the Ultimate of Zheng, and the second must be the Ultimate of Qi. This made perfect sense.

Lu Yuan was extremely curious and entered the second door. Upon opening it and stepping inside, he was assaulted by consciousnesses of extreme strangeness and endless variation. These streams of thought manifested as one bizarre move after another, one strange stance after another. Lu Yuan watched these profoundly eerie techniques and began to circulate the sword in his hand. Lu Yuan’s sword style rarely incorporated 'Qi'; he usually favored sweeping enemies away with the upright momentum of Zheng. Therefore, learning the Ultimate of Qi proved somewhat troublesome.

However, before the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao, such minor obstacles were meaningless.

In just a moment, he had learned the second Ultimate Technique of Qi.

After mastering it, as he once again executed a move with his longsword, he noticed a new fluidity in his weapon.

Amidst the bizarre maneuvers, there was a distinct air of effortless grace.

After Lu Yuan exited the second door, the Lord of the First Civilization was puzzled once more. Was Lu Yuan perhaps also unsuited for the second Ultimate Technique?

Lu Yuan proceeded to the third door, marked with the character 'Xiong' (Majestic/Mighty).

Xiong?

Pushing the door open, he stepped into the pitch-black room where he encountered strikes of immense power and heavy force. Lu Yuan studied this third Ultimate Technique and instantly mastered it. This Ultimate of Xiong didn't add much to Lu Yuan, but learning one more was always beneficial.

When Lu Yuan exited the third room, the Lord of the First Civilization grew increasingly bewildered. Was Lu Yuan unsuited for the third Ultimate Technique as well? The Lord of the First Civilization began to observe Lu Yuan closely, even forgetting his own need to practice Ultimate Techniques. To him, an Eternal Genius was certainly worth focused attention.

The fourth door was marked 'Xian' (Perilous/Risky). Upon entering the dark room, instantly executed techniques of extreme peril and danger manifested. Lu Yuan activated the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao, absorbing the essence of these moves. After a short while, he mastered the Ultimate of Xian. Having learned it, Lu Yuan only felt that his ultimate killing blow had been strengthened somewhat.

Lu Yuan then entered the fifth door, which held the Ultimate of Gui (Weird/Eerie).

Following that was the sixth door, containing the Ultimate of Gui (Ghostly/Infernal).

The seventh door: the Ultimate of Bao (Violent/Rampant).

The eighth door...

The ninth door...

The fifteenth door...

The twenty-third door...

At the twenty-ninth door, Lu Yuan mastered yet another Ultimate Technique.

The thirtieth door was marked with the Ultimate of Tian (Sweet). Such an Ultimate Technique exists? Lu Yuan secretly thought it was absurd, never having imagined such a thing. But then again, he had previously learned the Ultimate of Ku (Bitter). If an Ultimate of Ku existed, then it was perfectly reasonable and normal for a corresponding Ultimate of Tian to exist as well. As Lu Yuan pushed the door open, he immediately sensed a sweet aroma accompanied by soft, yielding movements. However, his guard instantly rose, and the light of his sword flashed—clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—several impacts signaling ambushes landing. Lu Yuan finally understood what the Ultimate of Tian truly meant: this technique deliberately used sweetness to dull one's senses, lulling them into carelessness before striking. Lu Yuan had never employed such a fighting style before. He immediately activated the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Dao, learning this Ultimate of Tian. In a short time, he had mastered it.

Having learned it, Lu Yuan finally grasped the meaning of "hiding a dagger behind a smile."

He resolved to try out this smiling-while-hiding-a-dagger style of swordsmanship sometime in the future.

After leaving the thirtieth door, Lu Yuan hurried to the second floor. Having learned thirty Ultimate Techniques felt good, but now he wanted to learn more. At this point, the Lord of the First Civilization frowned deeply. He noticed that Lu Yuan spent only a moment in each room before emerging. If it had been just one unsuitable technique, it could have been dismissed as coincidence. But thirty instances were no longer coincidence. Lu Yuan was indeed an Eternal Genius, but it seemed his talent did not lie in the field of Ultimate Techniques. If this were true, it would severely limit his combat potential. For a Lord of Civilization, the more Ultimate Techniques mastered, the stronger the combat prowess; could it be that this Eternal Genius, Lu Yuan, would not become very powerful in the future? The Lord of the First Civilization sank into deep worry.

Lu Yuan, naturally unaware of the Lord of the First Civilization's concerns, had already entered the second floor, which also contained thirty Ultimate Techniques.

The thirty-first Ultimate Technique was the Ultimate of Zha (Deceit/Trickery). What is Zha? Simply put, it is deception. Lu Yuan rarely used deceptive moves before, but this Ultimate of Zha was all about tricking others. Lu Yuan circulated the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao and learned it.

The thirty-second Ultimate Technique...

The thirty-fifth Ultimate Technique... Lu Yuan continued to learn relentlessly as the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Dao kept cycling.

The fortieth Ultimate Technique. At this point, he had surpassed the average Lord of Civilization considerably; most only mastered twenty or thirty, with forty being considered numerous. Lu Yuan already possessed twelve Ultimate Techniques, and now with the forty he had learned, his total reached fifty-two.

The forty-fifth Ultimate Technique...

The sixtieth Ultimate Technique...

The eightieth Ultimate Technique...

The ninetieth Ultimate Technique...

The one hundredth Ultimate Technique. Reaching the hundredth, combined with his original twelve, Lu Yuan had now surpassed the level of the ancient Ancestral Dragon.

The one hundred and tenth Ultimate Technique...

The one hundred and thirtieth Ultimate Technique...

...

The one hundred and fiftieth Ultimate Technique...

The one hundred and seventieth Ultimate Technique...

The one hundred and ninetieth Ultimate Technique...

The two hundred and tenth Ultimate Technique. Having reached this level, Lu Yuan was already standing on the seventh floor, having swept through all of it. Lu Yuan entered the eighth floor and began studying the two hundred and eleventh Ultimate Technique. He circulated the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao. Huh? What's going on? This time, even circulating the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao, he could not master the two hundred and eleventh Ultimate Technique: the Ultimate of Cang (Concealment/Hiding). The Ultimate of Cang involved fighting while keeping one's techniques hidden. Lu Yuan circulated the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao for a while longer, but still could not learn it. This was truly the first time the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao had failed him, and Lu Yuan found the situation strange.

But since he couldn't learn it, he could only skip it. Lu Yuan moved on to the two hundred and twelfth Ultimate Technique, the Ultimate of Tao (Surging Wave). The Ultimate of Tao was somewhat similar to the Ultimate of Hong (Flood/Vastness), but when Lu Yuan circulated the Myriad Forms All-Encompassing Sword Dao to study it, he found he still couldn't master it. Could it be...? Lu Yuan suddenly recalled what Chang'e had said—that everyone has a limit to what they can learn. Could his limit have been reached?

Lu Yuan tried the two hundred and thirteenth Ultimate Technique and found it was indeed the case.

It was confirmed: this was his limit.

This meant that here, he had learned two hundred and ten Ultimate Techniques, which, added to his original twelve, meant he now knew a total of two hundred and twenty-two Ultimate Techniques. Two-two-two. The number sounded rather odd to Lu Yuan’s ears. He shrugged helplessly.

The sheer number of Ultimate Techniques he currently possessed could utterly crush the legendary Son of the Wilderness by eight hundred streets.

(My daughter had a high fever this afternoon, so I had to take her to the doctor, hence the late update. Apologies, but the two chapters scheduled for today will still be delivered.)