The first to step out from the Manifestation Faction was the Lord of the Transformation Civilization.
From the Undying Faction, a venerable monk emerged, hands clasped in prayer. "Amitabha. I rank first among us, so let this old monk face the myriad tricky killing moves of the Lord of the Transformation Civilization." This monk was known as the Lord of the Origin Buddha Civilization, a senior to the Daoists Jieyin and Zhunti.
The Lord of the Transformation Civilization’s expression was extremely grave; this opponent would not be easy to deal with.
The two moved onto the field.
The Lord of the Transformation Civilization instantly unleashed a spell—the first, Myriad Laws Sprouting. This spell contained a collection of countless techniques, coalescing into a dragon-like attack aimed at his opponent. This was considered one of the most troublesome spells of the Ancient Law Civilization. However, to counter this Myriad Laws Sprouting using standard methods intended for the Ancient Law Civilization would be a grave mistake. The Lord of the Transformation Civilization delighted in altering his spells; his magic frequently changed course mid-flight, shifting to directions utterly unexpected, catching opponents flat-footed. Moreover, the transformations wielded by the Lord of the Transformation Civilization were no ordinary variations.
He could mimic ten thousand figures attacking one person simultaneously—how could one possibly defend against such a technique?
Furthermore, the Lord of the Transformation Civilization possessed a profound skill called Dust in the Heart. This cultivation method specialized in targeting the spiritual weaknesses of the mind, then coordinating spell variations to strike directly at the soul.
His opponent, the Lord of the Origin Buddha Civilization, merely kept his hands clasped. His cultivation methods were few; accurately speaking, he currently practiced only two: one for cultivating magical power, The Heart Like a Bright Mirror, and one offensive technique, The Boundless Sea of Suffering. His Boundless Sea of Suffering enveloped his entire being, while simultaneously, The Heart Like a Bright Mirror was deployed against the Lord of the Transformation Civilization’s Dust in the Heart.
In truth, the Lord of the Origin Buddha Civilization had once practiced countless methods, but upon achieving the rank of Civilization Lord, he had purged them all from memory.
Forgetting a technique was far more difficult than mastering three.
The sheer power of the Lord of the Origin Buddha Civilization, having intentionally reduced his repertoire to just two techniques, was staggering.
He was waiting for the opportune moment to counter-attack. His defense was impeccable; as soon as the Lord of the Transformation Civilization revealed a single flaw, the counter with Boundless Sea of Suffering would ensure the latter would pay dearly.
The exchange between the two was blindingly fast.
Dust in the Heart versus Heart Without Dust; their battle was unpredictable—a clash between two titans of the Thirteen Epochs!
As the fight raged, it became clear that the Lord of the Transformation Civilization was in peril.
Indeed, genuine danger was upon him.
A vulnerability appeared in his offense, a flaw in his spiritual defenses. The Lord of the Origin Buddha Civilization instantly pressed his attack, having confirmed this was not a feint, but a true opening. The Sea of Suffering surged and struck the Lord of the Transformation Civilization, who felt his entire body on the verge of being submerged. Seeing the look of panic flash across the face of the Lord of the Transformation Civilization, the Lord of the Origin Buddha Civilization internally mused that victory was his. Just as he believed the tide had turned, he felt a sharp impact on his leg. Countless spells exploded there, instantly wounding him.
Seizing the opportunity, the Lord of the Transformation Civilization attacked while speaking nonchalantly, "Lord of the Origin Buddha Civilization, you finally fell for my ploy! You started defending like a tortoise, but you finally crawled out of your shell and got hit by me." It turned out his initial injury had been entirely within his plan; the look of panic was manufactured. Such a gamble was incredibly risky; a single misstep could have resulted in far more severe harm. But the Lord of the Transformation Civilization always dared to take such chances.
The first battle was finally over.
These two Civilization Lords were evenly matched in strength: one with Dust in the Heart, the other with Heart Like a Bright Mirror. In the end, the Lord of the Transformation Civilization, wielding Dust in the Heart, was victorious.
"Second match: Lord of the Net Civilization versus Lord of the Needle Civilization."
The Lord of the Net Civilization was already on the field, having cast his invisible, threadless net before even arriving, his gaze fixed on his opponent as if studying prey. His opponent was a woman, currently embroidering flowers. This woman could stitch the most beautiful flowers in the world, and she could kill the most elusive figures. She held another title: the master of the Vice-Lord of the Arrow Civilization.
This was the Vice-Lord of the Needle Civilization!
The Vice-Lord of the Arrow Civilization possessed a legendary skill, the Thousand Mile Cloud-Piercing Arrow.
Yet, she possessed a technique called A Beauty’s Smile Drops a Needle.
Her Beauty’s Smile Drops a Needle was vastly superior to the Thousand Mile Cloud-Piercing Arrow; they weren't even in the same league.
One used a net, the other a needle—they were indeed natural adversaries.
However, the Lord of the Net Civilization was utterly arrogant, completely convinced of his impending victory.
As these two began their contest, Lu Yuan felt a flicker of anxiety.
As established before the battle commenced, both sides had to arrange their lineup beforehand to prevent targeted counters that would favor one side. Thus, Lu Yuan was slotted into the fourth position, and unfortunately, his opponent’s fourth position was none other than the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization—a figure from the Thirteen Epochs.
Blast it, the Thirteen Epochs.
He was currently only at the Tenth Epoch.
Even utilizing the ultimate limit of two hundred and twenty-two techniques, he could only hope to defeat someone from the Eleventh Epoch. The gap to a Thirteen Epoch master was simply too vast; victory was impossible. This presented Lu Yuan with a scenario of inevitable defeat. It wasn't shameful for a standard Tenth Epoch cultivator to lose to a Thirteenth Epoch one; surrendering or fleeing would have been acceptable—Lu Yuan wasn't unfamiliar with retreat.
Yet, the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization kept glancing at him, his look akin to observing a lamb awaiting slaughter, which thoroughly irritated Lu Yuan.
Moreover, if he conceded or fled now, he would truly be dragging his teammates down. Since his debut at Mount Hua, across hundreds of battles, large and small, Lu Yuan had never once been the weak link holding his allies back. And the very notion of being a burden felt repugnant.
Because of this, Lu Yuan desperately wanted to win!
It had been a long, long time since such a fierce desire to win surged within him!
Twenty years had passed since the Great Decisive Battle, a period where he had barely fought. Now, finally, his blood began to boil. Since his heart demanded victory, he needed to devise a method to achieve it. But what method could he use? Lu Yuan pondered internally, already racing through possibilities.
First, relying on the limit of his techniques was out of the question. Pushing two hundred and twenty-two techniques to their limit only granted an advantage equivalent to crossing one minor realm boundary, and that calculation already factored in the Iron Law of Destiny, Dao character avatars, and other elements. It wouldn't suffice. For a Tenth Epoch cultivator to defeat a Thirteenth Epoch master, no one could achieve it, including Lu Yuan.
So, realistically, the only path was to increase his magical power. But escalating from the Tenth to the Twelfth Epoch was incredibly difficult, and the high-grade divine artifacts required were currently unattainable.
Lu Yuan felt a sense of boredom and confusion set in.
Time ticked by relentlessly. On the field, the Lord of the Net Civilization and the Lord of the Needle Civilization were locked in an intense exchange. The Lord of the Net Civilization encompassed everything—the Heavens’ Net was vast and inescapable—while the Lord of the Needle Civilization specialized in finding flaws, or creating them where none existed. Their paths were diametrically opposed.
Lu Yuan continued to think, time flowing onward. He couldn't find an answer. His divine sense swept through the void almost unconsciously. Wait, what is that!
A pagoda!
A sword-shaped high pagoda!
Lu Yuan froze.
Wasn't this pagoda the very Soaring Sword Tower he encountered when he first entered the Central Celestial Dynasty, when he first joined the Sword Gate?
He remembered challenging the Soaring Sword Tower back then.
He recalled that Xuanyuan Twelve, who brought him into the Sword Gate, had mentioned the tower had one hundred and eight floors. Lu Yuan had only managed to clear about ten back then; the higher floors became progressively harder. It was said that reaching the 108th floor required the cultivation level of a Civilization Realm master. He hadn't paid much attention to the Soaring Sword Tower previously, or perhaps he had simply forgotten.
But now, here it was again.
He wondered if the "Civilization Realm" mentioned regarding the tower referred to the Vice-Lord or the Lord level. If it targeted the Civilization Lord, it might offer help in the current battle.
But if it was aimed at the Civilization Vice-Lord, he would merely be wasting precious time. And right now, time was the one thing he could least afford to waste. If he didn't improve before facing the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization, he would be utterly crushed in a one-sided massacre—and that would be an issue of life and death, not just embarrassment.
However, upon reflection, there truly was no other viable path.
Therefore, after weighing everything, this was the only option left.
Though usually lethargic, Lu Yuan was actually a man of decisive action.
He immediately solidified an avatar, leaving the avatar outside while his true self entered the Minor Thousand World, proceeding into the Soaring Sword Tower to begin the trials. The initial few levels of the Soaring Sword Tower were naturally conquered with ease, one after the other. After all, the opening stages were designed for those at the Sixth Heaven of the Great Dao Realm, followed by the Seventh and Eighth Heavens. Lu Yuan had struggled intensely through these stages in the past, but frankly, they were nothing to him now.
He breezed through the first dozen levels while recalling memories from his past attempts.
Level after level fell swiftly. In a flash, Lu Yuan reached past the fiftieth floor. Along the way, he encountered only Yellow Turban Warriors, which were laughably simple; Lu Yuan dispatched them effortlessly.
Another quick shift, and he was past the seventieth floor.
At this point, he had surpassed the height reached by any member of the Sword Gate.
Approaching the ninetieth floor, Lu Yuan noticed the difficulty roughly corresponded to the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm, perhaps even the Half-Step Civilization realm. By the ninety-eighth and ninety-ninth floors, the challenge matched the strength of those listed on the Heavenly Ranking. Lu Yuan shattered these barriers as easily as playing a game, gaining some minor benefits along the way, though they were largely irrelevant to his current power level.
(Recommend my new book, Invincible Martial God, book ID: Q1XIONG, Eastern Fantasy genre. You can find the link on the Huashan homepage or by clicking the author info. In the Eastern World, where nations rise and fall, thousands of sects flourish, and geniuses abound like rain, only he who stands unrivaled across the Eastern World can achieve Martial Dao apotheosis—the Invincible Martial God! Gu Chao, an outer disciple of an ordinary sect, gains a mysterious blade tip, causing his Martial Dao talent to soar wildly! Even with average aptitude, his heaven-defying Martial Dao comprehension allows him to contend with any peerless genius! His monstrous talent destined him to never be ordinary again, destined to become the sole Invincible Martial God of the Eastern World!)
(As for the Huashan Immortal Sect, everyone can see it is nearing its conclusion and should end around September 10th. The old book will maintain its two updates per day; the release of the new book will not affect the schedule.)
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