Artistic Conception and Domain!

Governor's Office.

Lorenzo watched the light screen, which showed Li Qi sparring with the other students.

"In just over a month, he went from near-perfect to perfect. That level is merely passable.

"He's young, after all, and hasn't been through life-and-death battles. It'll probably take him more than a year to improve his techniques to the consummate level."

There were no surprises. The result was within his expectations and acceptable.

After breaking through to the perfect level in combat techniques, Li Qi did not relax and continued training.

However, over the next half year, he made no breakthrough toward consummate-level combat techniques. Instead, his force amplitude reached the level of an ordinary student.

Then, the second Ranking Trial arrived.

Unlike the first Ranking Trial, which had been divided into seven groups, the second trial was divided into three groups based on how long the students had trained at the academy.

Li Qi was assigned to the lowest group. The students in this group had trained at the academy for no more than three years, and their overall strength was weaker than that of the two groups above them.

In the second Ranking Trial, Li Qi achieved a middling ranking.

He had achieved such a result because throughout the entire competition, he relied solely on close-quarters combat and did not use psychic power to assist him.

The result was that he began to touch upon the threshold of consummate-level combat techniques...

Virtual Universe, sparring space.

Two figures fought within the space, one completely suppressing the other.

Li Qi, who was being utterly suppressed, sighed inwardly. Such overwhelming suppression. As expected of consummate-level combat techniques!

With combat techniques merely close to the consummate level, he was still far inferior when facing someone who had truly reached that level.

The moment they exchanged blows, his opponent seized control of the rhythm, followed by an unending barrage of suppression.

The ground cracked, dirt flew, and grass clippings whirled through the air.

The clash between two planetary-level warriors turned what had once been grassland into a pockmarked expanse, as though it had been struck by a meteor shower and left with countless craters.

Boom!

Li Qi was struck by a premeditated blow.

The ground he used to disperse the force exploded as though it had been hit by a missile, sending dirt and grass clippings flying.

A massive trench was plowed across the ground. When Li Qi finally stopped, a small hill of earth had piled up behind him.

"Troublesome!"

After sending Li Qi flying with one blow, the student fighting him felt irritated.

His opponent was too cunning, constantly doing his utmost to break away from the fight. With psychic power assisting him, the student could not defeat him even while suppressing him.

He could knock Li Qi back, but he could not defeat him. That was why he was frustrated.

Breathing in the fresh scent of soil, green genetic energy flickered around Li Qi's body. He looked at his opponent hovering more than ten meters above the ground, then forcefully pushed off with both legs.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, he became a streak of green light and charged at his opponent.

Faced with Li Qi's assault, a fierce glint filled the student's eyes. "Since you want to play, I'll play along. Let's see who can hold out until the end!"

Golden genetic energy surged. The student turned into a streak of golden light and tangled with the green one.

As the two continued their fierce exchange, Li Qi sensed that something was wrong. His opponent was no longer fighting with full strength as before. After taking control of the battle's rhythm, he was merely suppressing Li Qi.

Li Qi slashed out with his saber. Green light gleamed from its blade, becoming a streak of radiance that cut toward his opponent.

His opponent seemed to have anticipated this strike. He easily dodged aside, then lightly tapped Li Qi's saber with his own, neutralizing the fierce blow.

After his slash missed, Li Qi did not pause and continued launching attack after attack, while his opponent dodged and deflected them accordingly.

After they battled like this for a while, Li Qi understood his enemy's plan. Is he trying to wear me to death?

Even though he understood his enemy's intentions, he could do nothing against such attrition.

His opponent's combat techniques were superior to his, especially after gaining control of the battle's rhythm. His opponent's genetic energy consumption was far lower than Li Qi's.

If this continued, Li Qi's genetic energy would inevitably run out before his opponent's.

Control. I have to break free from his control of the battle's rhythm. I need to suppress him instead!

With that thought, Li Qi tried to break away while increasing the speed of his saber strikes.

This strike was driven by a massive amount of genetic energy, making it even faster.

Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, his opponent abandoned any attempt to dodge and could only raise his saber to block it head-on.

"He finally couldn't hold back!" Joy appeared in the student's eyes.

In his view, this strike was nothing more than Li Qi's final desperate struggle.

The faster Li Qi swung his saber, the greater his genetic energy consumption would be. Before long, his genetic energy would be exhausted.

The student laughed. "Haha! You relied on psychic power to keep me from defeating you while I suppressed you, but I can still wear you to death!"

Feeling elated, he continuously used his saber to block Li Qi's incoming slashes.

Li Qi's strikes remained swift, yet his opponent continued to block them.

Suppression. I need suppression—stronger suppression!

Li Qi's saber strikes grew faster and faster, each one quicker than the last, like endless waves crashing forward, each crest higher than the one before!

Faced with Li Qi's increasingly rapid attacks, the student was horrified. How is this possible?

He was being suppressed!

He, someone with consummate-level combat techniques, was being suppressed by an opponent whose combat techniques were only at the perfect level!

With no distractions in his mind, Li Qi saw only the opponent before him. As if by instinct, he swung his saber again and again.

In only two or three seconds, he unleashed more than ten slashes, and the genetic energy within his body was nearly depleted.

Gathering the remaining genetic energy in his body, he put all his strength into one final slash—the fastest strike he had ever made!

Block it! Block it!

The student shouted inwardly and tried to raise his saber to defend himself, but in the end, he failed to block it.

Li Qi's saber, trailing green light, flashed diagonally from the student's left shoulder toward his lower right side. His hand had not even completed its defensive motion.

How could this be?

Having been struck by a single slash, the student was utterly bewildered. He had clearly made a blocking motion, so why had he failed to stop it?

Still confused, he finally understood when he saw Li Qi more than ten meters away, surrounded by green radiance.

It was a domain!

The domain had restricted his body, preventing it from keeping up with his thoughts and leaving him unable to block that slash.

"So this is the control of a domain?"

The student looked at Li Qi, bathed in green radiance, and envy filled his eyes.

As a student with consummate-level combat techniques, he knew that the consummate level was the embryonic form of a domain.

Comprehending a domain would inevitably bring one's combat techniques to the consummate level, but comprehending a domain did not necessarily require consummate-level combat techniques.

"Skipping past the consummate level and directly comprehending a domain... His luck and talent are truly enviable! And how did he comprehend artistic conception?"

With that thought, the student helplessly closed his eyes. As the defeated party, he withdrew from the sparring space.

"So this is a domain?"

Feeling the green radiance surrounding him, Li Qi murmured softly.

He had the illusion that everything within the space covered by that green radiance was under his control. He was the god of this space!

With a flicker of his body, Li Qi left the Virtual Universe and returned to reality.

He removed the consciousness sensor. His body floated in the air as green radiance enveloped the entire room.

Li Qi felt that the entire room was under his control. Without using psychic power, he could make certain objects float.

After experimenting with the use of the domain for a while, he felt somewhat puzzled. When did I comprehend artistic conception?

Could it have been then?

Suddenly, he recalled the illusion he had experienced when his genetic energy broke through to the planetary level, when he had seemingly comprehended the true meaning of life.

Looking back, that had not been an illusion. It had been a manifestation of comprehending artistic conception.

"Since I've comprehended a domain, I should go to the Governor and claim my reward!"

Li Qi rose to his feet, opened the door, and headed toward the Governor's Office.