Lu Yuan gave a faint smile. Others might find such a situation vexing, but not Lu Yuan.

There was genuinely no need for vexation; appraising a sword was simple. He would approach it exactly as he approached his sword practice every day.

A sword is a sword.

There were no extraneous factors involved; it was simply the blade itself.

This, then, was the appraisal of the sword.

It was unexpectedly simple.

Lu Yuan's fingers brushed lightly across the edge.

The sword hummed softly.

This was the resonance between a true swordsman and his weapon.

While this concept sounded incredibly simple, fewer than two people in existence could actually achieve it. In the current world, only Lu Yuan and Yan Cangtian possessed this clarity; everyone else failed, including Zhou Qingxuan. For Zhou Qingxuan’s sword lacked the necessary purity—and if the sword itself was impure, how could one grasp the essence of 'the sword is merely the sword'?

Boom! The massive gate of the Ancient Sword Masters’ Tomb burst open.

Lu Yuan stepped inside the Ancient Sword Masters’ Tomb.

Within this tomb lay numerous burial sites.

The gravestones stood like swords.

Blade after keen blade pierced the sky!

Lu Yuan examined them one by one. The first was the tomb of the Vice-Lord of the Jianqing Civilization. The Jianqing Vice-Lord: Profound Compassion, Utmost Benevolence in Swordsmanship. The number of people he had healed in his lifetime: thirteen million six hundred and fifty thousand! Lu Yuan, reading the summary, was startled. Others accrued kills; this Jianqing Vice-Lord had saved nearly fourteen million lives. According to the inscription, this master seemed to have been a physician.

The second was the tomb of the Vice-Lord of the Jianxia Civilization. The Jianxia Vice-Lord: Noble Sorrow, Passionate Righteousness. This man was a champion of justice. Further on lay the tombs of several other Civilization Vice-Lords, most of whose names Lu Yuan recognized from the Soaring Heaven Sword Tower: the Vice-Lord of the Jianyu Civilization, the Vice-Lord of the Jianlie Civilization, the Vice-Lord of the Jiandian Civilization, and so on.

Lu Yuan soon located the tombs of the Civilization Lords.

The ancient Jian Gu Civilization had once boasted three Civilization Lords.

Each of these three figures was a world-shaking entity.

The first: the Lord of the Jianjing Civilization. Rumor had it that this Lord repeatedly shattered established records, much like Lu Yuan now, inciting widespread astonishment—hence the name Jianjing (Astonishing Sword). The Jianjing Lord possessed one peerless ultimate technique: Jianjing Sifang Yun Qiluo (Astonishing Sword: Four Directions Cloud Rises and Falls!). This technique was inscribed beside his resting place as his proudest achievement. Lu Yuan studied this Jianjing Sifang Yun Qiluo and found its power almost unimaginable, subtly exceeding his own Sword Ten. If quantified, it rivaled the yet-uncreated Sword Twelve or Sword Thirteen.

The second: the Lord of the Jianding Civilization. This was a formidable, ambitious overlord, but his supreme martial art had already been learned at the Soaring Heaven Sword Tower.

The third, and final one: the Lord of the Jian Gu Civilization.

“I, Jian Gu, was unrivaled in my lifetime, a solitary master. Thus, my pursuit was the Gate of Eternity. I sought to break that Gate, to achieve the Eternal, to let the Dao of the Sword persist forever, making every person a dragon. However, I failed. Heaven leaves a sliver open, a thread of opportunity. In the next epoch, a colossal shift is inevitable; perhaps the Eternal shall be born.” A series of characters was carved before the tomb of the Jian Gu Civilization Lord.

“What I leave here today is my ‘Break,’ along with the accumulated power of five epochs, for the benefit of those who follow.”

“This failure of mine leaves a lifeline for the Dao of the Sword, a sliver where life persists, where life is extinguished…” The inscription ended abruptly there, carved until death.

Lu Yuan quietly absorbed the histories of these predecessors. After a moment of contemplation, he prepared to begin his training; after all, the most powerful figure, the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization, still awaited his challenge. He decided to start by studying that ultimate technique, Po (Break). Lu Yuan sincerely recommenced his study of Po. By all normal measures, Lu Yuan should not have been able to learn Po.

Because Po demanded utter apathy.

Lu Yuan possessed emotion: the bond of brotherhood, the affection of friendship, the ties of sect, the love for his daughter.

Emotion binds, precluding the Break!

However, this time, an overwhelmingly powerful surge of energy erupted from the Jian Gu Civilization Lord’s tomb, forcefully aiding Lu Yuan in mastering Po. An aura of boundless sharpness, capable of shattering anything, enveloped Lu Yuan. He quietly absorbed the essence of the Jian Gu Lord’s Po, sensing a faint, spectral phantom guiding his understanding of the technique.

Po!

The Break that severs all emotional attachments, the Break that shatters every path.

Lu Yuan absorbed the concept silently, then thrust out a sword strike.

This strike was Po.

In truth, this was not Po cultivated by Lu Yuan himself, but merely inherited. It was the first time in his life that Lu Yuan had struggled so intensely to master a technique—a testament to how difficult this particular move was, considering his natural aptitude lay in acquiring martial arts. But whether inherited or cultivated, it was Po nonetheless.

Next were the Five Epochs! He currently possessed the power of fifteen epochs. Lu Yuan was curious about the upheaval that would occur when he absorbed these five additional epochs. He looked around and spotted a deep chasm at the very center of the Ancient Sword Masters’ Tomb, emanating immense magical energy.

Lu Yuan approached and noticed several paths leading from other graves toward this central chasm. Each tomb possessed a sword path pointing directly to this nexus. Countless sword auras crisscrossed the void, primarily those left by the Jian Gu, Jianding, and Jianjing Lords after their deaths, supplemented by the auras of the other Vice-Lords. These energies acted to suppress the magical power within the chasm—a power that thundered like a river of stars, likely representing the might of those five epochs. No, Lu Yuan faintly sensed that this power was growing even stronger within the boundless void of this current epoch. The Jian Gu Lord had truly possessed foresight; he used countless sword energies to bind the power of those five epochs. Over the long river of history, the sword auras had permeated the force, strengthening the five epochs' power significantly, now mixed with the residual sword energies of the various Civilization Lords and Vice-Lords.

Of course, this did not mean that obtaining these five epochs of power would directly elevate Lu Yuan to twenty epochs.

Each epoch represented something different and contained a different volume of energy.

The power currently residing in the chasm was, in reality, far more than a normal five epochs.

Yet, exactly how many epochs of power this would propel Lu Yuan to remained unknown.

Lu Yuan descended from the void and settled into the chasm. Immediately, a surging torrent of magical power clashed against his own reserves. Having battled the sword qi from the residual essences of the Civilization Vice-Lords and Lords for so long, this five-epoch power would not yield easily. But why should Lu Yuan fear its defiance?

Lu Yuan pressed down with his hand: “Magical Power, submit to me.” He unleashed his full strength, engaging the torrent, intending to crush it into submission before he could safely integrate it into his body. The Desolate Ancient Civilization Lord had stolen the fruits of the Jian Gu Civilization’s struggle toward the heavens, potentially achieving eternity and gaining an immense advantage. This deeply displeased Lu Yuan. Now, these five epochs of power rightfully belonged to the Desolate Ancient Civilization Lord, as he was the current epoch’s sovereign. The Desolate Ancient had seized something belonging to the Dao of the Sword; for Lu Yuan to now reclaim some of that power was perfectly logical and immensely satisfying.

It would feel wrong not to take it.

Lu Yuan silently circulated his internal cultivation technique, his own power flowing like a stellar river.

Within the chasm, Lu Yuan continuously enhanced his strength as time slowly slipped away. Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. He had originally intended to immediately begin deep seclusion, but he realized that absorbing this enormous quantity of power would likely take more than a year or two. Yes, the struggle required to subdue this force would demand a considerable duration.

Therefore, Lu Yuan casually manifested an hourglass beside him using his spiritual power.

Transforming the void into substance, manifesting objects through sheer will—this was now ridiculously simple for the current Lu Yuan.

One trickle of the hourglass equaled one year.

He made a tally mark beside the hourglass after each cycle completed.

Having done this, Lu Yuan remembered to send a message out to his own Sword Civilization, informing them he would be entering long-term seclusion in an unknown location and that they should not worry, as this was the longest period he had ever sequestered himself.

Finally prepared, he closed his eyes to focus on his deep seclusion.

……

Time passed. Lu Yuan had managed to absorb a portion of the power. At this point, his magical reserves had swelled to the equivalent of sixteen epochs. Reaching this level, Lu Yuan felt his connection to the Gate of Eternity had subtly deepened once more. His power was now more formidable, more profound, and his entire being radiated a stronger aura of permanence and immortality.

Sixteen epochs—this placed him securely within the top thirty strongest entities in the cosmos.

Unconsciously, he had become this powerful.

Lu Yuan emerged from his initial seclusion with a measure of awe, but now, of course, he resumed his deeper retreat.

……

Time continued its relentless march. Lu Yuan absorbed more power, though he still had to fight and subdue it first; this power was not easily yielded. After an indeterminate amount of time spent absorbing, Lu Yuan again felt his link to the Gate of Eternity stretch taut. His power surged ahead once more, reaching the level of the Seventh Layer of Constancy—the power equivalent of seventeen epochs.

Seventeen epochs! With this strength, his ranking among the powerful entities in the world should now be within the top twenty, perhaps even closing in on the top ten.

Since a significant amount of power still remained here, he naturally moved to absorb it.

……

Time kept flowing, and Lu Yuan’s advancement continued uninterrupted. Each time he opened his eyes, he could sense the rapid ascent of his capability. Faintly, Lu Yuan felt his connection to the Gate of Eternity strengthen yet again. His magical power advanced once more, now reaching the Eighth Layer of Constancy—the power equivalent of eighteen epochs.

At this level, Lu Yuan’s strength was definitively ranked within the top ten globally, with a strong potential to approach the top five.

Lu Yuan paused for a brief reflection, then returned to his sustained seclusion.

This was an unprecedented period of grand seclusion for Lu Yuan.

Everything was for the sake of increasing his strength, all dedicated to overthrowing the Lord of the Desolate Ancient Civilization.

His power swirled around him like a vast star sea.

(First chapter delivered.)