Lü Yang had always been curious about Progenitor Tingyou’s true strength.

He was undeniably strong. You could even say freakishly so. His incredible Enlightenment gave him a massive advantage in Combat, and his skill at imitating Abilities was simply absurd.

He was, without a doubt, the perfect sparring partner.

Not only was Progenitor Tingyou powerful and worldly, but his astonishing Enlightenment meant he could help Lü Yang accurately gauge his own current level of strength.

"You want to fight me?"

Progenitor Tingyou was taken aback for a moment after hearing Lü Yang’s request, but he quickly recovered and nodded. "Hmm... I suppose now is as good a time as any."

In truth, he was also quite curious.

After all, a Second-Grade Cultivation Skill was a relatively unfamiliar domain even for Progenitor Tingyou, so he couldn’t accurately gauge Lü Yang’s current strength just by looking.

Besides, there was something even more important.

’If Lü Yang is strong enough, and with the addition of the Incense System, perhaps... I can try passing the true Dharma Gate of Yama Hall on to him.’

The Fake Golden Position Method!

It was Progenitor Tingyou’s life’s work, a creation that had met a premature end before it could ever truly shine. But now, he saw a glimmer of hope in Lü Yang.

Meanwhile, Lü Yang was rubbing his hands together, a grin spreading across his face.

"In that case, Ancestor, I won’t hold back!"

As the words fell, his sharp blade was unsheathed!

Though it was only a spar, Lü Yang wasn’t the least bit careless. He opened with Tribulation Wave, and a brilliant point of starlight suddenly ignited on the edge of his blade.

This single point of starlight appeared deceptively simple.

Even the intent it carried was simple and pure: to never yield, to never break. No matter the hardships or obstacles that lay ahead, it would cut them all down with a single slash!

BOOM!

Progenitor Tingyou’s figure made no attempt to block, and was instantly slain by Lü Yang’s sword. Yet at the very moment of death, his body dissolved into an illusory afterimage.

A moment later, the afterimage shattered.

Behind it, Progenitor Tingyou’s true form materialized, a look of amazement on his face. "How powerful," he marveled. "Truly, far too powerful..."

Lü Yang was struck speechless.

’Sinking Intent!?’

It was one of the Sword Dao Avatar’s Innate Abilities. Within its domain, it could nullify anything disadvantageous to the user, accepting only what was favorable.

Of course, Progenitor Tingyou couldn’t have perfectly reproduced its essence, but he had managed to imitate a superficial version of it. He had created a false body to accept the fate of being slain by Lü Yang’s sword, while his true self escaped with ease, completely unscathed. He had even broken free from the lock of Lü Yang’s Sword Intent!

"Watch out, I’m striking back."

Before his voice had even faded, Progenitor Tingyou vanished on the spot.

"This is..."

The familiar sight made Lü Yang’s pupils constrict. Though he had lost this particular Ability after his ’rebirth,’ he could still recognize it.

’...Separation!?’

It was the Innate Ability Lü Yang had once relied on the most. Now, Progenitor Tingyou had managed to cast a drastically weakened version of it in the form of a Daoist Skill!

A moment later, Progenitor Tingyou was already behind Lü Yang.

The true Separation allowed for movement over vast distances, but the weakened Daoist Skill version created by Progenitor Tingyou had a limited range.

’Little Celestial Escape Technique!’

Progenitor Tingyou formed a ball of Dharma Light in his hand and pushed it forward. Lü Yang’s figure vanished, reappearing out of thin air several hundred meters away.

’He moved me a few hundred meters? What’s the point...’

Lü Yang was still pondering this when dark clouds suddenly roiled in the sky above. Streaks of lightning coiled within them, and in an instant, they had formed a roiling sea of thunder!

A Celestial Punishment Thundercloud!?

The next moment, the vast sea of thunder crashed down, completely engulfing Lü Yang.

But before Progenitor Tingyou could even breathe a sigh of relief, a brilliant Sword Light slashed out from within the thunder, tearing the dark clouds asunder. Lü Yang emerged unscathed.

Though Progenitor Tingyou had seized the initiative, Lü Yang wasn’t discouraged.

In fact, he was a little excited.

’I can actually fight him!’

The Progenitor Tingyou before him was only maintaining the Position of Foundation Establishment Perfection through Incense; he was likely still a far cry from his peak strength.

Even so, he was by no means weak.

The fact that Lü Yang could trade blows with him meant that even in that ’Broken Place,’ he probably wouldn’t be completely crushed by others in the same realm. At the very least, he had a fighting chance.

"Again!"

With a thought, Lü Yang retracted his Sword Intent. Instead, a ring of white jade light ignited behind him, giving him a solemn, divine aura, like a god. His hands blurred, forming a series of hand seals. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

’Heavenly Order!’

This time, he wasn’t casual as he had been against Yan Taizu and the Capital City God. The true light of the Ability erupted outward. As it spread, scenes of the sun, moon, and stars, and vistas of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas manifested within it. Like two great hands closing in from either side, it enveloped Progenitor Tingyou completely within the Divine Power Radiance.

"What is this?"

Even the widely experienced Progenitor Tingyou looked on with curiosity. He had clearly never witnessed an Ability manifest in such a way.

"This... is my world."

Lü Yang grinned, then pointed a finger at Progenitor Tingyou. "Ancestor, do you see any difference between my version of this Ability and yours?"

As he spoke, a brilliant light flared.

"Separation!"

The next moment, Progenitor Tingyou’s figure vanished. He too was sent several hundred meters away by Lü Yang, and he too was plunged into a roiling sea of thunder!

In a flash, Progenitor Tingyou’s hearty laughter rang out. He clapped his hands together, then thrust them upward, conjuring the shadow of a towering mountain. The shadow descended upon the sea of thunder, instantly nullifying the Ten Thousand Laws, snuffing out the Ability, and sweeping away every last bolt of lightning.

’Embracing Mountain?’

Lü Yang understood immediately. This was another Daoist Skill that Progenitor Tingyou had derived from an Ability. No matter how many times he witnessed it, the Progenitor’s world-shaking intellect seemed absurd.

Little did he know, Progenitor Tingyou was just as stunned.

"How did he do that?"

There was no doubt about it—Lü Yang had just done the exact same thing he had. He had managed to cast an Innate Ability that he should have lost long ago!

He himself could do it because of his high Enlightenment.

But Lü Yang... The Progenitor knew his level of Enlightenment all too well. It was average, at best. He had some, but not much. So how had he managed this?

"Just a little trick,"

Lü Yang waved a hand humbly. "It’s merely a minor Divine Effect of my Heavenly Order. Like I said, this is my world now."

In my world, I make the rules!

Within the pocket dimension created by Heavenly Order, Lü Yang could, to a certain extent, make his thoughts reality. Imitating Abilities was naturally well within his power!

It was only a superficial imitation, of course. The underlying principles were completely different, and just like the Daoist Skills Progenitor Tingyou mimicked, the effects couldn’t compare to the original Abilities. The power was significantly weaker, but its strength lay in its variety. As a tool for combat, it was more than sufficient.

"Like this, for instance..."

Lü Yang’s Daoist Hand Seal shifted, and he too conjured the shadow of a towering mountain that came crashing down on Progenitor Tingyou. It was also Embracing Mountain!

BOOM!

Progenitor Tingyou changed his own Daoist Hand Seal, meeting the mountain shadow with one of his own. The two attacks annihilated each other. Immediately, both fighters changed tactics, switching to a new Divine Communication Technique!

"Die!"

Lü Yang’s voice carried the authority of the heavens; he was using the Words Become Law Skill from the Profound Spirit Realm.

"Live!"

Not to be outdone, Progenitor Tingyou instantly perceived the flaw in Lü Yang’s technique. He too spoke with a voice like thunder, cleansing himself of the Ability’s influence.

"Life-taking! Sinking Intent!"

Progenitor Tingyou launched a two-pronged attack. First, he used a skill to create a false body, then had that body execute the Life-taking sword, slashing viciously toward Lü Yang!

In the process, he even imitated Veil of the Trees, briefly blocking Lü Yang’s perception of the sword strike. By the time Lü Yang broke free of its influence, the Sword Light was already before his eyes. It instantly pierced his flesh and destroyed his bones, blasting his entire body into a bloody mist.

The next moment, however, the scene shifted.

The blood mist dissipated into an illusion, and Lü Yang’s true form reappeared several hundred meters back, his brow furrowed. ’If this keeps up, it’ll just be a battle of attrition,’ he thought. ’There’s no way to win like this.’

At this thought, Lü Yang immediately retracted Heavenly Order.

’Time to try this move...’

Five stars representing his Abilities materialized behind him. They linked together into a ring that hovered behind his head, casting down a splendid light as pure as white jade.

With the World!