The High-Grade Divine Artifacts were finally released. Two of them appeared first. The first was round, shaped like a disc, and the second was square. Lu Yuan was about to move, but others were faster. Just as Lu Yuan began to act, he noticed a swarm of people rush out even quicker. Lu Yuan unnaturally paused for half a beat, realizing too late that his timing was off; these individuals had flown out the instant the Gate of Eternity opened, whereas he waited until he saw the two artifacts emerge, putting him inherently behind. By the time Lu Yuan was halfway there, several Lords of Civilizations were already clashing in the void. Among them were the familiar Lord of the Fa-Transformation Civilization, the Lord of the Martial God Civilization, the Lord of the Buddha Origin Civilization, and others he didn't recognize. These several Lords of Civilizations fighting in the void were engaged in a ferocious battle.

Boom!

Boom!

Innumerable explosions churned in the minuscule space in an instant.

In a flash, one of the Divine Artifacts of the Heavens fell into the hands of the Lord of the Martial God Civilization, while the other was seized by a Lord of Civilization belonging to the Undying Faction.

His first attempt had been too slow; he secured neither of the Divine Artifacts of the Heavens.

There was no choice; it seemed he would have to contend for the ones that followed.

Lu Yuan felt no annoyance. If he missed the first batch, so be it. Lu Yuan had always possessed an extremely broad-minded nature; he would wait for the second wave.

Lu Yuan settled back onto the Third-Grade Enlightenment Ground to wait, and the others returned to their respective spots as well.

Immediately, the Gate of Eternity opened again. Heeding the lesson from the previous attempt, Lu Yuan wouldn't foolishly wait until everyone else had scrambled away. He darted out with lightning speed, rushing toward the artifacts. Midway through his flight, he observed that the two Mid-Grade Divine Artifacts appearing this time were shaped like a marking line—an ink-marker—and a small sword, respectively.

Given Lu Yuan's nature, he naturally headed straight for the small sword.

Lu Yuan flew incredibly fast, reaching the vicinity of the small sword.

A figure from the Thirteenth Epoch, the Lord of the Heaven Civilization, arrived at the exact same moment as Lu Yuan. This Lord of the Heaven Civilization was himself a legendary genius, the foremost favored child of fortune in the preceding two epochs, once hailed as the Son of Heaven. In terms of historical prestige, the title Son of Heaven carried far more weight than the Son of the Desolation. Since he had been the foremost favored child of fortune for the prior two epochs, he naturally would not concede to Lu Yuan.

Thus, as Lu Yuan approached, the Lord of the Heaven Civilization let out a cold shout. In these times, no one feared the other. The Lord of the Heaven Civilization spun around and roared, "Lu Yuan? I have heard of your reputation, but this High-Grade Divine Artifact belongs to me." He displayed his technique, unleashing the forty-five limit of his maximum strikes, simultaneously activating his primordial character, 'Heaven.' The primordial character 'Heaven' possessed astonishing power; once invoked, it made any opponent feel instantly disadvantaged—their techniques, their arcane power—all feeling inferior. This sensation was not illusory but tangibly real. The character 'Heaven' could weaken the opponent’s arcane power, disrupt their moves, and so forth.

Relying on this primordial character 'Heaven,' the Lord of the Heaven Civilization had defeated countless masters.

Furthermore, the Lord of the Heaven Civilization activated a full two-tenths of his Eternal Force, blasting it towards Lu Yuan for a direct confrontation.

Simultaneously, he launched his Nine Great Iron Laws. He had not mastered the ethereal Law of Destiny, but the other nine Iron Laws were already perfected to the point of mastery. Thus, in the sky above, the Wheel of Samsara, the Plate of Karma, the River of Time, the Disk of Force, and other Iron Laws manifested in their grandest form.

This was the capability of the Lord of the Heaven Civilization.

He did not believe Lu Yuan could defeat him.

Of course, to prevent other Lords of Civilizations from taking advantage and seizing the High-Grade Divine Artifact, the Lord of the Heaven Civilization was not to be trifled with either. He unleashed his Heaven's Trace Slowdown. This technique could cause the speed of those nearby to momentarily decrease, though even a slight pause was enough for him to establish dominance over Lu Yuan.

The offensive from the Lord of the Heaven Civilization struck like lightning.

Lu Yuan knew there was no time to waste; he had to settle the score with this individual as quickly as possible.

Lu Yuan, of course, did not know the name of the Lord of the Heaven Civilization, but what did it matter? Ignorance did not prevent him from fighting him to the utmost.

Lu Yuan instantly unleashed one hundred and forty-one limit of his maximum strikes, completely suppressing the Lord of the Heaven Civilization’s forty-five limit.

At the same time, he invoked the Formless Devouring Dragon, instantly absorbing the character 'Heaven.' This character 'Heaven' was incredibly nourishing; it was equivalent to at least ten other primordial characters, its aura dense beyond imagination.

Concurrently, Lu Yuan unleashed a full two-tenths of his Eternal Force to meet the blast from the Lord of the Heaven Civilization head-on.

Lu Yuan’s nine-and-a-half Iron Laws were instantly manifested, and the Lord of the Heaven Civilization's nine Iron Laws were instantly blasted away.

Having gained the advantage in every aspect, Lu Yuan reached out and scooped the High-Grade Divine Artifact into his embrace. Finally, he had obtained one! Excellent, excellent; a good result.

In truth, of the two High-Grade Divine Artifacts, the other one shaped like an ink-marker possessed a denser divine aura. Therefore, more people were fighting for that one. For instance, several figures from the Fourteenth Epoch were locked in combat over the ink-marker, allowing Lu Yuan to gain an advantage by seizing the small sword, which radiated a weaker divine aura.

After Lu Yuan secured his artifact, the ink-marker also fell into the hands of a Lord of Civilization from the Fourteenth Epoch belonging to the Undying Faction.

The gathered Lords of Civilizations retreated to their respective Third-Grade Enlightenment Grounds.

At this moment, the faces of numerous figures were etched with shock.

Indeed, the clash between Lu Yuan and the Lord of the Heaven Civilization had been astonishingly brief. Yet, those paying close attention could discern that what Lu Yuan displayed at that moment was undeniably potent. He surpassed the Lord of the Heaven Civilization in maximum strikes by one hundred and forty-one. The legends were true after all; although such rumors existed, witnessing it firsthand still inspired immense awe. This number exceeded that of Ancestral Dragon, marking the first time in the Eternal Star Domain that one individual had mastered so many maximum strikes.

The second point was that the character 'Heaven' was devoured and digested just like that! Those well-informed about the details of the Central Heavenly Dynasty's Great War would understand, but for others, it seemed bizarre.

The third point: Lu Yuan only possessed 1.9-tenths of his Eternal Force previously; had he reached 2-tenths in just a few days?

The fourth point: Lu Yuan’s Iron Laws overpowered the Lord of the Heaven Civilization. If the latter had perfected nine types, then Lu Yuan had mastered the tenth: the Great Law of Destiny! Even if incomplete, it was still the Great Law of Destiny. To see it manifested in Lu Yuan, an entity for whom it remained elusive across all epochs, confirmed his status as an Eternal Genius.

The fifth point: Lu Yuan’s casual display of strength showed he could effortlessly defeat the Lord of the Heaven Civilization, who belonged to the Thirteenth Epoch. Despite being from the Twelfth Epoch, Lu Yuan achieved this with ease, though this wasn't his first time accomplishing such a feat, it remained surprising.

These five points stunned many observers. Innumerable thoughts echoed in their minds: the Eternal Genius is indeed the Eternal Genius; truly formidable.

Meanwhile, the Lord of the Heaven Civilization’s expression was exceedingly grim, bordering on ashen. He was the foremost favored child of fortune from the prior two epochs, yet he had been so decisively defeated by the favored child of fortune of this epoch, Lu Yuan. How could he face anyone? Since Lu Yuan had defeated the Son of the Desolation, Lu Yuan was now the favored child of fortune of this epoch, entitled to grasp infinite fortune.

Returning to the Third-Grade Enlightenment Ground, Lu Yuan gently turned the small sword-shaped High-Grade Divine Artifact in his hand. He decided to consume it immediately to test its effects. However, upon ingestion, there was no reaction whatsoever. Lu Yuan quickly retrieved the sword-shaped artifact, his face etched with confusion.

The Lord of the Martial God Civilization burst into laughter. "You, you really don't understand! Divine Artifacts emerging from the Gate of Eternity cannot be consumed immediately. You must wait at least half a month until some of the immortal energies dissipate. The reason is quite simple: the Gate of Eternity is everlasting, and anything originating from it is initially inert. The Divine Artifacts from its depths are the same. You must wait for half a month until the artifact completes its communication with this world and absorbs the world’s aura before consumption is possible."

Only after hearing this explanation did Lu Yuan understand. No wonder no one had consumed the artifacts previously; there was this underlying principle. His experience was indeed limited.

Lu Yuan carefully stored the High-Grade Divine Artifact into his new Sword World, awaiting the next batch.

It appeared the second stage of Divine Artifacts would number over twenty pieces, meaning nearly twenty more High-Grade Divine Artifacts remained. This was an unparalleled opportunity that, if missed, would require waiting hundreds of billions or even trillions of years to recur.

Lu Yuan sat quietly, awaiting his chance.

Moments later, whoosh—the Gate of Eternity opened for the third time in the second phase, with no significant increase in magnitude.

This time, two High-Grade Divine Artifacts emerged: one fan-shaped, emanating a clear divine aura, and another shaped like a bead, which radiated a noticeably weaker aura compared to the first, not particularly strong.

Lu Yuan launched himself forward the instant the gate opened, as did the other Lords of Civilizations. They treaded through the Eternal Turbulence, all surging toward the two High-Grade Divine Artifacts.

Every Lord of Civilization was now intensely agitated; they had no choice but to fight, given how rare such an opportunity was.

(Ugh, the second update is delivered. Due to a network outage yesterday causing a missed update, I must deliver three updates today, so there will be another one shortly. I always keep my word.)