The Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization pressed down upon Lu Yuan with a supreme, unparalleled might, booming and overwhelming. Peak!

The peak of the Sword! And also the peak of the world!

It is cold at the summit! Loneliness!

Lu Yuan waved his hand suddenly, drawing his sword. Yes, while showing deference to this Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization as an elder in speech and other matters, in the way of the sword, there was no need for such courtesy.

To be polite here would be a grave insult to the Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization, a man who had devoted his entire life to the sword. "Elder, take this sword." Lu Yuan unleashed two hundred and twenty-two extreme moves, blasting them forth with thunderous force.

The phantom of the Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization was first startled, then delighted: "Good! I have never seen such powerful ultimate moves; even Jian Gu back then could not manage this.

To think I would witness such mastery of limit moves in a junior. Come, let us fight!" The Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization roared back with his own moves.

The sword of the Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization and the sword of Lu Yuan collided, impact after impact. The swords of both men battled fiercely, neither holding back in the slightest.

Sword against sword. The strong in the way of the sword against the strong in the way of the sword.

Move for move, clash for clash. Three moves, five moves, ten moves.

Fifteen moves, twenty moves. How exhilarating.

Lu Yuan had never encountered such a formidable opponent in the Way of the Sword. The Sword Peak Civilization Lord’s swordsmanship had truly reached a certain profound level, possessing countless merits worthy of Lu Yuan's study.

Moreover, although the phantom of the Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization was inferior to Lu Yuan in the sheer number of extreme moves, he possessed certain bizarre yet devastating killing strokes that caused Lu Yuan to face danger several times. Thrilling!

Truly thrilling! "Hahahaha, this is truly satisfying.

If only I could have some leisure time to drink wine while fighting, that would be even better!" Lu Yuan fought with unrestrained joy, and at this moment, he suddenly grasped his true self. His original self was interested only in the sword and swordsmanship.

In truth, any battle involving arcane arts or duels between blades felt utterly dull to Lu Yuan. Only the Way of the Sword was what truly captivated him.

That is why Lu Yuan had now reverted to his true nature, experiencing the ultimate pleasure. "Clang!" This sword strike by Lu Yuan pierced through the interception of the Sword Peak Civilization Lord's blade, sinking into the phantom's heart.

"Not bad," the Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization laughed heartily, "I never expected a junior could produce such a figure. Truly worth a few cups of celebration." Lu Yuan tossed over an unopened bottle of wine.

The Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization smashed the clay seal and drank heartily. "Wine is indeed a wonderful thing.

I used to be quite the drinker in my day," the Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization laughed: "It seems my struggle against the Heavens back then was not a total failure. Entrusting the Way of the Sword to you, I can rest assured." His phantom gradually dissolved into streams of light, vanishing into the cosmos.

This figure who once stood at the pinnacle of the sword finally dissipated completely, yet he carried no regrets. For him, as long as life contained joy, exhilaration, and freedom, what did eternity matter?

And for Lu Yuan, it was much the same. Many in the Eternal Star Domain pursued eternity, but Lu Yuan was not truly chasing it.

He only desired a life of ease, freedom, and joy, coupled with the ability to protect those he cherished—that was enough. However, with the existence of the (Huang Gu), if he did not become stronger, he would absolutely fail to protect those he held dear.

A person capable of harming even his own disciple, the Son of the Desolation—such a character was ruthlessly wicked beyond description. As the light and shadows dispersed, several items floated in the void.

One object radiated the intense aura of a High-Tier Divine Item, far stronger than the one obtained from the Son of the Desolation. This was indeed a High-Tier Divine Item.

With this treasure, combined with the one the Son of the Desolation had acquired, Lu Yuan could basically ascend to the Twelfth Epoch. Reaching the Twelfth Epoch was paramount right now, so Lu Yuan temporarily ignored other rewards, focusing first on breaking through.

Lu Yuan instantly merged the High-Tier Divine Item obtained from the Son of the Desolation and the High-Tier Divine Item left by the Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization, swallowing both entirely. To be honest, while High-Tier, Mid-Tier, and Low-Tier Divine Items held immense power for enhancing strength and were very useful, in terms of taste, they weren't even as good as shredded radishes, let alone comparing to delicacies like boiled fish or twice-cooked pork.

Why did the Heavens not bestow some delicious flavors upon these utterly precious divine items when creating them? What a waste.

Of course, it could be said that throughout the entire Central Heavenly Dynasty—no, across countless epochs—perhaps only Lu Yuan was so utterly bored as to ponder this question. Other ordinary living beings would never consider such a thing.

Lu Yuan pulled his thoughts back; he had to, as countless fiercely chaotic streams of energy exploded within him after ingesting the two High-Tier Divine Items. These were true civilization-essence mana, which Lu Yuan began to circulate.

The stages from the Tenth Epoch to the Nineteenth Epoch are collectively known as the Civilization Lords, encompassing nine checkpoints, which progress from easier to harder, though 'easy' is relative, as the difficulty remains immense. These nine stages are: Eternal First Layer, Eternal Second Layer, Eternal Third Layer, Eternal Fourth Layer, Constant Fifth Layer, Constant Sixth Layer, Constant Seventh Layer, Constant Eighth Layer, and the Ninth Layer of Pseudo-Eternity.

This is how the Eleventh to Nineteenth Epochs are differentiated. Each layer is more formidable than the last.

Especially the Ninth Layer of Pseudo-Eternity in the Nineteenth Epoch, which carried a touch of genuine pseudo-eternity, making it the most powerful. The advancement of a Civilization Lord is, in essence, the mastery of Eternity.

The deeper the grasp of Eternity, the higher one's inherent strength. And the Divine Items of the Heavens had already begun to emanate the aura of Eternity.

For example, after consuming the Divine Items, Lu Yuan immediately began to assault the First Layer of Eternity. He felt his internal mana surging mightily, as if, in the obscurity, the first thread of connection had been established with the Gate of Eternity.

The Eleventh Epoch had arrived; he now possessed the mana of the Eleventh Epoch's Eternal First Layer. So satisfying!

Moreover, the Eternal aura emanating from the Divine Items had not been fully absorbed; it continued to radiate profusely. Lu Yuan immediately swallowed four hundred Heavenly-Rank Spirit Veins.

These Heavenly-Rank Spirit Veins felt cool upon taking a bite. Lu Yuan was treating them like chilled jelly, but sadly, unlike jelly, the Heavenly-Rank Spirit Veins lacked spicy seasoning—a lack that rendered them utterly tasteless, like a rudderless ship.

Only with chili oil did jelly attain the supreme Dao. As Lu Yuan consumed the four hundred Heavenly-Rank Spirit Veins, absorbing the continuous flow of spiritual energy, he mused inwardly that he had rapidly reached the peak of the Eleventh Epoch, and the aura of the High-Tier Divine Items surged forth once more.

Lu Yuan felt a second thread of connection being forged, deep within the obscurity, with the Gate of Eternity. This thread was slightly greater and stronger than the first.

Through this link, Lu Yuan could sense more of Eternity's secrets—the principles of the Eternal—reaching the Twelfth Epoch, the Eternal Second Layer. Ascending to the Twelfth Epoch so quickly!

This advancement was truly rapid. There were other rewards remaining atop the Soaring Sword Tower, but Lu Yuan feared wasting time and went out to inspect.

He found that fierce battles were still raging below. The Lord of the Limitless Civilization was locked in combat with the Lord of the One Civilization.

The palm techniques of the Lord of the One Civilization shifted, sometimes embodying the marvelousness of 'One,' sometimes the profound mystery of 'Zero.' Zero begets One, One begets Two, Two begets all things. Meanwhile, the core of the Limitless Civilization was Limitless begetting Taiji.

The two individuals' techniques were fundamentally similar and practiced similarly, yet one belonged to the instantaneous school, and the other to the immortal school. Even if they weren't from different factions, a conflict was inevitable—this was a contest of doctrines, and doctrinal disputes were of utmost importance.

The two fought fiercely, their movements booming through the air. The sky flickered incessantly between the void and reality.

Zero represented the void, One represented reality; Limitless represented the void, Taiji represented reality. Their figures shimmered between existence and non-existence—this was the ultimate skill of the Limitless and One Civilization Lords.

Many opponents found their attacks passing harmlessly through empty space, but now both masters employed the same method. What a spectacular fight!

Lu Yuan praised them silently in his heart. In truth, this was Lu Yuan's first time witnessing Civilization Lords clash; he truly hadn't seen it before.

Yes, Civilization Lords had participated in the Great Decisive Battle of the Central Heavenly Dynasty, but they generally avoided the main battlefield to minimize casualties on both sides. Up until now, Lu Yuan had only witnessed the duel between the Civilization Lords Fa Bian and Fo Yuan, and this one.

Impressive! After watching for a while, Lu Yuan gradually acclimated to the combat style between Civilization Lords.

It wasn't his turn yet. After observing for a bit, the Earth Ancestor's clone swapped out with the true body, allowing the true body to re-enter the Soaring Sword Tower, where more spoils awaited.

For instance, Lu Yuan discovered a fragment of a map—this fragment was precisely a section of the map leading to the Ancient Swordsman's Tomb. This meant he had found another piece of the map to the Ancient Swordsman's Tomb.

There were eight such fragments in total. He previously held five, having obtained one from Yan Cangtian before entering the Eternal Star Domain, and now he had acquired another one.

He now possessed seven fragments, missing only the last one to reach the Ancient Swordsman's Tomb. Besides this, there were other rewards here.

He found a full thousand Heavenly-Rank Spirit Veins, neatly stacked in ten piles of one hundred each. The Lord of the Sword Peak Civilization from back then was truly generous, casually possessing a thousand such veins.

To ascend to higher Epochs in the future would require even more Heavenly-Rank Spirit Veins, which Lu Yuan collected into his New Sword World. Huh, here was a book bound in a faded, yellowish cover.

This certainly couldn't be an ordinary book, given its placement at the very pinnacle of the Soaring Sword Tower. Lu Yuan picked it up and flipped it open.

(Ah, the first update is delivered.)