Every Lord of Civilization possessed vast experience, a necessary trait for someone who had lived for so long. Reaching such profound cultivation levels would be impossible without extensive worldly knowledge. Yet, never before had any of them witnessed a sword as sharp as this. No, someone had seen a sword this sharp, perhaps even sharper, the Lord of the Buddhist Origin Civilization murmured, "Break—this is true Break."

"No, it still falls short of the Break unleashed by the Lord of the Sword Ancient Civilization, but it's close—at least five-tenths of the power of the Sword Ancient Civilization Lord's Break." Indeed, achieving even five-tenths the power of that attack was a remarkable feat.

This sword, unseen by these four Lords of Civilization, and certainly unseen by the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization, caused terror to flash across his face.

Break!

With unstoppable, unrivaled sharpness, the strike plunged directly into the Book of Primordial Chaos, piercing into the Body of the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization.

The Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization stared in disbelief at the sword embedded in his chest: "How—how is this possible!" He simply could not fathom it.

How could Lu Yuan unleash such a piercing sword, one that even pierced through his ultimate defense meant to save his life?

The Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization reacted instantly—he flashed, he evaded, he fled, he leaped.

But no matter how he flashed, how he evaded, how he fled, or how he leaped, Lu Yuan's sword light relentlessly pursued him. Lu Yuan was now like the Tathagata Buddha; the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization could not escape, even with wings. The sword light struck the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization's body again, this time aimed precisely at his heart.

The Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization coughed up a drop of vital blood; he could already feel his life force rapidly draining away.

How could this be?

Was he truly going to die like this? How could the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization accept death? How many years had he cultivated? How many fortuitous encounters had he seized? How much care had he received to finally ascend to the level of a Lord of Civilization? He was the third most powerful figure in the Immortal Ancient Civilization, holding supreme authority over the myriad heavens, yet now he was to die so ignominiously—he could not reconcile himself to it.

But his life was scattering like smoke, bit by bit.

The Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization felt the meaning of Eternity more acutely now.

Only Eternity promised eternal existence.

But where exactly was Eternity?

"I am not resigned!" With the last defiant roar of his life, the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization crashed to the ground, dead.

Finally dead! Lu Yuan gasped, drawing a breath. This was the first Lord of Civilization he had slain, and one from the Thirteenth Era at that. In this battle, he had exhausted every technique he possessed—his successfully cultivated power equivalent to the Twelfth Era, his Eternal Force, the limits of his moves, and everything else—just to finally eliminate such a figure.

It had not been easy!

Of course, killing such a figure brought considerable rewards. After all, every Lord of Civilization was exceptionally wealthy. With a wave of his great palm, Lu Yuan absorbed the benefits left by the deceased. The Heavenly-grade Spirit Veins in the hands of the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization numbered a massive one thousand. Truly, at the level of a Lord of Civilization, wealth was calculated in thousands of Heavenly-grade Spirit Veins.

Hmm, this is a High-Grade Divine Artifact. For Lu Yuan, the best acquisition would naturally be a High-Grade Divine Artifact, but regrettably, this particular artifact was still slightly insufficient to elevate his cultivation to the Thirteenth Era.

Beyond that, there were the Ten Great Divine Arts of the Immortal Ancient Civilization.

It had been said before that the Immortal Ancient Civilization possessed ten great divine arts, and Yun Wuzong’s skill ranked only eleventh. Each of these ten arts possessed unique and highly useful functions.

Sub-Lords of Civilization typically did not possess them, but since the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization was the third-ranking figure in the Immortal Ancient lineage, he indeed held these ten great arts. Lu Yuan casually flipped through them; there weren't many that were truly useful to him, as the Ten Great Divine Arts of the Immortal Ancient Civilization corresponded to the caliber of a Sub-Lord of Civilization.

That’s it!

Lu Yuan had expected far greater spoils, realizing with surprise how quickly it was over.

Lu Yuan turned to the remaining three Lords of Civilization aligned with the Undying faction: "The one who wins three out of five battles claims the First-Grade Enlightenment Ground. Since Lou has already defeated the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization, it means the preceding four battles resulted in two wins and two losses for our side. We proceed to the fifth match. Who will be my opponent?" Who would face Lu Yuan? That was indeed the question.

If Lu Yuan's power had remained at the Tenth Era level, the Lord of the Limitless Civilization would have gladly stepped forward.

If Lu Yuan had not used that Break sword technique, the Lord of the Buddhist Origin Civilization would also have been willing to fight. The Buddhist Origin Lord was famed for defense; even if Lu Yuan managed to defeat the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization, the Buddhist Origin Lord was confident in his ability to protect himself. But after Lu Yuan unleashed that Break move, the Buddhist Origin Lord dared not risk it.

Furthermore, Lu Yuan possessed one hundred and forty-one limits of skill. Merely contemplating that was terrifying.

Thus, both the Limitless and Buddhist Origin Lords remained silent.

Lu Yuan rested his sword casually across his shoulder: "Which one of you wishes to spar?"

The Lord of the Buddhist Origin Civilization pressed his palms together: "Amitabha, this old monk is naturally averse to conflict. Lord of the Needle Civilization, what do you think?" What the Buddhist Origin Lord said was inherently ludicrous—that he disliked conflict—but if he insisted on stating it this way, he had no choice.

The Lord of the Needle Civilization, who had been embroidering, looked up: "I don't want to die yet." A very direct statement. She then lowered her head and resumed her needlework.

Lu Yuan shrugged: "Then it seems the fifth battle goes to our side. Three wins out of five; this First-Grade Enlightenment Ground belongs to the four of us." The Lord of the Buddhist Origin Civilization and the Lord of the Limitless Civilization exchanged a look and departed the Enlightenment Ground. The Lord of the Needle Civilization, while still sewing, shifted her position, and instantly, only the Lord of Transformation Civilization, the Lord of Unity Civilization, the Lord of Web Civilization, and Lu Yuan remained in the area.

The Lord of the Web Civilization was now intensely awkward. He had started by constantly labeling Lu Yuan as a burden dragging the team down, only to watch as he himself lost one of the five matches while Lu Yuan won two. This reversal meant the Lord of the Web Civilization was the actual liability. The awkwardness he felt was beyond description. He coughed dryly, intending to offer an explanation, but ultimately felt too embarrassed and simply left.

Suddenly, only three remained in the Enlightenment Ground. The Lord of Transformation Civilization wanted to stop him but, remembering the fiery temper of the Lord of the Web Civilization, could only shrug helplessly: "Forget it; that's just his nature."

Now, it was time to begin cultivation!

The Lord of Transformation Civilization, knowing this was Lu Yuan’s first visit, explained: "This is a First-Grade Enlightenment Ground. From here, the Gate of Eternity is clearly visible, allowing one to refine Eternal Force. Generally, the best place to advance Eternal Force is in an Enlightenment Ground; while other methods exist, they are far too difficult.

That is why we were so surprised that you arrived in the Eternal Star Territory with 1.9 parts Eternal Force."

"We have explained the three grades of Enlightenment Ground; typically, even the First-Grade doesn't significantly boost Eternal Force, but we must train here regardless. Every tiny increment gained is a tangible increase in strength."

"The method is this: gaze upon the Gate of Eternity and comprehend the ultimate Great Dao." Hearing this, Lu Yuan also settled into a cross-legged position, fixing his gaze on the Gate of Eternity.

The Gate of Eternity radiated the essence of the Great Dao across the distant expanse of time and space. Lu Yuan focused on it, beginning to condense the Eternal Force within his own body. He now felt the importance of Eternal Force more keenly than ever: ten full parts could achieve true Eternity; he currently possessed only 1.9 parts.

Lu Yuan stared at the Gate of Eternity before him, attempting to sense the nature of Eternity. At this moment, it remained vague—he could only vaguely perceive an unimaginably colossal door. He couldn't see the door’s true form clearly, only two massive door rings, and perhaps some patterns upon the surface, though upon closer inspection, it seemed there were no patterns at all.

Lu Yuan’s consciousness sank entirely into the vision.

The Eternal Force within his Body seemed to stir restlessly.

Beside him, both the Lord of Transformation Civilization and the Lord of Unity Civilization simultaneously sensed the change occurring in Lu Yuan. So fast! He had only just begun, and already there was a shift. And this was only a First-Grade Enlightenment Ground! To see results this quickly—just how monstrously gifted was Lu Yuan? They themselves were geniuses who had required an entire Era to reach the level of Lord of Civilization, but compared to the Eternal Geniuses, such a realization would drive them to madness.

...

The Eternal Star Territory was now in an absolute uproar.

The news relayed by the Lord of Web Civilization, the Lord of Buddhist Origin Civilization, and others was utterly staggering: Lu Yuan had actually slain the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization from the Thirteenth Era in his very first engagement within the Eternal Star Territory.

Everyone knew Lu Yuan was an Eternal Genius.

But Lu Yuan was also a novice—a novice of the Eternal Star Territory. Out of the more than one hundred figures in the territory, every single one believed they could easily defeat Lu Yuan; after all, a novice was just a novice, even an Eternal Genius’s novice was still a novice. Yet, Lu Yuan had just delivered them a stunning counterblow.

Yes, Lu Yuan was indeed a novice.

But this novice possessed 1.9 parts of Eternal Force.

But this novice had mastered one hundred and forty-one limits of skill.

And yet, this novice had rapidly raised his cultivation to the Twelfth Era.

And this novice had unleashed the Break sword technique to annihilate the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization.

Which opponent would dare treat such a novice lightly now?

The record of this first battle was truly terrifying.

In the vast expanse of the Eternal Star Territory, how many could afford to ignore Lu Yuan now?

Within a stronghold known as Undying City in the Eternal Star Territory, a faint voice echoed: "The Eternal Genius Lu Yuan? To have my name reach my ears so quickly—not bad." The voice resonated through the empty halls.

The speaker possessed blood-red long hair, blood-red eyebrows, a face devastatingly handsome yet wickedly alluring, a blood-red robe, and skin so pale it seemed ethereal.

This figure was none other than the Lord of the Undying Civilization, one of the two great overlords of the Eternal Star Territory. Lu Yuan had already drawn his attention, and so swiftly.