Faster! Faster still!

Unrivaled velocity! Lu Yuan reveled in the sensation of hurtling forward like a gale.

This is truly fast now. Lu Yuan had achieved the speed of the Invincible Four Universes.

Lu Yuan continued his practice; the Speed God Step truly possessed infinite potential, terrifyingly fast. Lu Yuan persisted in his training, expending countless Celestial-grade Spirit Veins using the power to slow the flow of time.

After practicing for an age, he finally attained the Invincible Speed. This method of training consumed Celestial-grade Spirit Veins relentlessly, burning through them so fiercely that even someone as wealthy as Lu Yuan felt a pang of pain.

Beyond the Invincible Speed, Lu Yuan found that the Speed God Step could no longer elevate his pace. This was only natural, as the Speed God Step was best suited for the Lord of the Speed Civilization—a matter of compatibility between the technique and the practitioner.

Coupled with the innate genius of the Lord of the Speed Civilization, Lu Yuan could not fully emulate it. Of course, while Lu Yuan’s speed did not quite match that of the Lord of the Speed Civilization, it was still considerable.

However, Lu Yuan was far from satisfied; he intended to continue honing his speed. At that moment, the thirteenth and fourteenth High-tier Divine Artifacts were tossed into the air.

The Lords of Civilizations spanning the Tenth to the Fourteenth Epochs once again engaged, scrambling to seize the multitude of Cosmic Artifacts. Lu Yuan remained unhurried, settling to the side, seeking out the Lords of Civilizations known for their rapid movements to begin learning their footwork.

Set after set of earth-shattering movement techniques fell into Lu Yuan’s possession. This time, Lu Yuan mastered three exceptionally swift movement techniques.

Combined with his original Martial God Step and Speed God Step, he now held a total of five remarkably fast footwork techniques. The thirteenth and fourteenth High-tier Divine Artifacts both ended up in the hands of the Immortal Faction.

With the Lord of the Speed Civilization present, his peerless velocity ensured that the Instantaneous Faction could not snatch a single Cosmic Artifact; they were utterly helpless, forced to watch the Immortal Faction swagger with impunity. This feeling was utterly vexing.

Undoubtedly, the Immortal Faction held the absolute advantage now, while the Instantaneous Faction was completely suppressed. After the contention for the thirteenth and fourteenth High-tier Divine Artifacts settled, Lu Yuan sat in silent meditation upon the Eternal Land, beginning the process of integrating the five movement techniques he had learned—no, he must also include the Supreme Movement Technique, making a total of six styles to fuse and study for their inherent merits.

The Myriad Manifestations of All Things began to operate furiously. Learn, and learn enough all at once.

In truth, Lu Yuan was gradually coming to understand why the Myriad Manifestations of All Things allowed for the replication of any move. The reason was quite simple.

Initially, in the Primordial Chaos Realm, the Myriad Manifestations of All Things was heavily restricted, primarily limited to learning sword techniques. But later, upon acquiring the Dao Character, the scope of what he could learn expanded dramatically.

The Dao Character is the source of all techniques under heaven, the root of every move. As Lu Yuan continuously upgraded the level of his Dao Character, his prowess in techniques grew stronger, and the Myriad Manifestations of All Things could absorb more moves.

When his Dao Character avatar reached seventy percent realization, no technique in existence could stump Lu Yuan. After all, this was a seventy-percent Dao Character avatar.

Simply put, it was akin to him learning from himself. All techniques and magical arts originate from the Dao Character.

Since Lu Yuan possessed a seventy-percent Dao Character avatar, he could naturally learn any technique, even improve upon them. This was the true secret behind the ever-increasing power of the Myriad Manifestations of All Things.

Only Lu Yuan could utilize the Dao Character this way, as no one else possessed a seventy-percent Dao Character avatar. Perhaps the Ancestral Dragon might, though the probability was slim.

Lu Yuan’s seventy-percent avatar owed its existence partly to the Swallowing Heaven and Devouring Earth Technique, but significantly to the act of consuming over a hundred Initial Characters during the Grand Battle of the Central Dynasty. While the Ancestral Dragon was immensely powerful, consuming this many Initial Characters would likely be impossible, given that only a few hundred existed in the world; absorbing over a hundred was an endeavor of extreme difficulty.

There is no unearned power; strength must have a foundation, and sometimes that truth is starkly simple. Lu Yuan utilized the increasingly potent Myriad Manifestations of All Things Sword Dao, empowered by his seventy-percent Dao Character avatar, to integrate these six top-tier movement techniques, particularly the Speed God Step.

The Dao Character avatar poured essence after essence to fuel the Myriad Manifestations of All Things. Finally, after a substantial period, he successfully deduced a supreme movement technique perfectly suited to him: the Sword Step.

The form of the sword was supremely suited for flight. This Sword Step, derived from six top-tier movement techniques and aided by the full exertion of the seventy-percent Dao Character avatar, was extraordinary.

Lu Yuan vaguely sensed that if his seventy-percent Dao Character avatar lacked sufficient inherent mystery, this feat would have been impossible. The Sword Step, forged from the fusion of the six premier techniques, especially the Speed God Step, was naturally beyond comparison.

Lu Yuan activated the Sword Step. So fast!

Lu Yuan felt a whoosh as he traversed an immense distance instantly. Too fast!

This speed had surely surpassed the Invincible Speed, reaching the sixth tier of a Civilization Lord's velocity—the Speed Realm! The fastest level of the Speed Realm!

Excellent, he had done it. Lu Yuan immediately recognized a problem: his initial speed was the second stage—Invincible Speed of the Eight Directions, Six Harmonies, and Four Universes—and he had abruptly jumped to the sixth stage, the Speed Realm, shedding the limitations of Eight Directions, Six Harmonies, Four Universes, and Invincible.

The leap was too vast, and his reflexes couldn't keep up initially. He had to slowly acclimate to reacting at such a blinding pace.

Unhesitatingly, he ignited Spirit Stones again, forcing time to slow down, and continued this process. With the flow of time reduced, Lu Yuan began to adapt to his new high velocity.

At first, he constantly crashed into the walls of his own world—a miserable experience. Fortunately, the New Sword World contained very little, especially since the Sword Gate had been moved out, leaving it vast and empty.

Moving so quickly in this world generated tremendous super-gales, and impacts against the world barrier causing earthquakes and landslides caused virtually no disturbance to others. Gradually, Lu Yuan grew accustomed to the speed of the Speed Realm.

What exhilaration! Right, Lu Yuan then remembered he possessed two more Divine Artifacts: one obtained from killing the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization, and another, a recently seized Cosmic Artifact.

Both artifacts were certainly enough to advance him a full tier to the Thirteenth Epoch. But!

Pay attention to this but! The second one, the small sword-shaped Cosmic Artifact, could not be consumed.

Rumor had it that an aura of Eternity adhered to it, impossible to disperse, rendering it inedible. What if he used time deceleration to skip half a month?

Would that work? Inspiration struck, and Lu Yuan immediately set to work.

Time Iron Law, Celestial-grade Spirit Veins, Super Time Deceleration. Lu Yuan increasingly realized the shackles of time.

Back in the World Realm, using time deceleration and super deceleration didn't cost much in Spirit Stones, but now it demanded vast amounts of Celestial-grade Spirit Veins. The theory was simple: time binds every living being except the Eternal Gate.

The greater your power, the stronger time’s tether, and the more Spirit Stones required to counteract it. Lu Yuan toiled for half a day only to discover that even though time was slowed generally, the time around this specific artifact remained utterly fixed.

Correct—time held no sway over the Eternal Gate, nor did it affect divine artifacts newly emerged from it. It seemed he would just have to wait patiently for half a month before consumption.

Wait, there was another way! The Time Iron Law was too weak to deal with the Eternal Gate, but there was the Fate Iron Law!

Although the Fate Iron Law ranked one level below the Eternal Gate and couldn't affect the Gate itself, it ought to be sufficient to handle the divine artifact residing upon it, Lu Yuan reasoned instantly. Lu Yuan raised a hand.

In reality, the Axiom, the Truth, and the Mandate of Heaven were integrated into his body, but he could manifest them instantly if needed. One hand held the brush, the other, the book.

The Book of Axiom, the Brush of Truth. Lu Yuan roared, "My book is Axiom, my brush is Truth..." "Axiom transforms into Truth." Lu Yuan thundered, "Cosmic Artifact, half a month, pass!" He then seized the brush and rapidly inscribed upon the artifact: "Cosmic Artifact, half a month, pass." Instantly, the two characters merged, transforming into a golden light that shifted to the color of Chaos.

The Axiom-to-Truth transformation succeeded. Lu Yuan felt his Fate Iron Law release two distinct streams of supreme power in that instant.

Immediately, the immortal and indestructible aura clinging to the small sword vanished, as if half a month had indeed elapsed. Good, finally, it could be consumed.

Lu Yuan wasted no time, beginning to devour the Cosmic Artifact, simultaneously consuming the one taken from the Lord of the Primordial Chaos Civilization. The energies of the two divine artifacts churned within Lu Yuan, gradually coalescing into a single, immense power.

This vast force contained numerous secrets of Eternity, aiding Lu Yuan in ceaselessly comprehending the profound mysteries of 'Eternal.' Lu Yuan felt that he had forged a third thread of connection with the Eternal Gate not far away; each additional link deepened his comprehension of the Eternal Gate and elevated his own strength by a tier. The Thirteenth Epoch—he had actually reached the Thirteenth Epoch!

Exhilarating! Lu Yuan felt the magic power of the Thirteenth Epoch surging through him, a qualitative and quantitative improvement over the Twelfth Epoch.

Now, he possessed the world-surpassing Sword Step for speed, and the power of the Thirteenth Epoch. Below the Fifteenth Epoch, no one stood as his match.

The time had come for him to seize Cosmic Artifacts and display his might. Within his own New Sword World, Lu Yuan let out a triumphant roar, feeling immensely satisfied.

Indeed, the pressure exerted by that large assembly of Civilization Lords had weighed heavily upon him. Now, he cast that pressure aside to indulge in sheer ecstasy.

(This chapter is truly late; this update required a lot of thought to clean up the loose ends from yesterday.)