Seeing the newcomer's attire and weapon, Bai Yue identified him.
He was Aiton, the top expert of the western district mentioned by the illusionist Ronald Mora, known as the "Lightning Sword"!
"Interesting. I hadn't even gone looking for you, yet you delivered yourself to my door first! Even better—this saves me a lot of trouble!" A faint smile appeared on Bai Yue's lips.
After searching everywhere to no avail, he had found what he wanted without any effort. With a light tap of his left finger against the floor-to-ceiling window, the massive glass curtain wall seemed to suffer a tremendous impact, shattering instantly and leaving behind a huge opening.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of Aiton, the burly man on the rooftop. Watching Bai Yue fly out through the shattered glass, a bloodthirsty gleam flashed in Aiton's eyes.
"So you're Heavenly Emperor. Your aura is impressive enough, but I wonder whether your strength is really as great as the rumors say."
Indeed, if one ignored the chilling killing intent and pressure radiating from Bai Yue, then purely in terms of size, he looked rather small compared to the three-meter-tall Aiton.
If this had been reality, he could have used the Amplitude Secret Technique, True Body Heaven and Earth, inherited from the Kinkaku Giant Beast so that he would not be at a disadvantage in size. Unfortunately, this was the Virtual Universe, and many things could not be simulated.
"Enough nonsense. Show me what you can do, or become my points!" Since Aiton had already come to his doorstep, battle was unavoidable. Bai Yue no longer wasted words and directly told Aiton to make his move.
"Arrogant."
Aiton was furious. He drew the enormous heavy sword from his back. As his genetic energy circulated, threads of lightning slithered across the blade, piercing the air with crackling sounds!
"Thunder Rush!" Aiton let out a tremendous roar and burst forth with speed entirely disproportionate to his size. The great sword in his hand, carrying dense lightning Law Power, cleaved toward Bai Yue in the air.
Bai Yue did not evade. He swung his dark-golden long staff and collided head-on with Aiton.
"Rumble! Rumble!"
The clash produced thunderous booms that echoed endlessly through the skies above the city, drawing the gazes of survivors who were either hiding or fighting elsewhere!
The two figures in the air captured everyone's attention. Blue and dark-yellow domain power collided continuously, making the watching participants wonder whether the two were truly at the same level.
After another collision, the blue figure was viciously smashed down into the city's ruins by a single staff strike.
Meanwhile, Bai Yue, surrounded by the aura of the Earth elemental Dao, showed no sign of injury, as if he had not been the one fighting Aiton just moments ago.
Anyone could see from the scene that he held an absolute advantage in the battle. His opponent's attacks had not affected him in the slightest.
Aiton, whom Bai Yue had smashed into the ground with one strike, lay as still as a corpse. There was no movement at all in those ruins.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning burst from a nearby skyscraper. Like a fierce tiger, it pounced swiftly toward him.
Bai Yue calmly turned around and thrust his staff forward. The attack, condensed with the Earth elemental Dao and domain power, shattered the incoming lightning tiger. The dark-golden staff pierced through Aiton's chest and emerged from his back.
The lightning around Aiton's body gradually faded. His mouth hung slightly open, as though he wanted to say something, but he no longer had the chance. The place pierced by the dark-golden staff was precisely where his heart was.
"Lightning Tiger."
Only then did the sound of his attack reach Bai Yue's ears.
Bai Yue withdrew the dark-golden staff. Aiton's corpse fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The western district's strongest expert, Aiton the "Lightning Sword," who had gained entry into the lightning Origin Law, had fallen.
Bai Yue looked at the projected screen on his wrist. The personal information displayed there had changed dramatically once again.
Participant: Bai Yue (Black Dragon Mountain Empire) Points: 9,765,426 Rank: 1 World Zone: World Zone 6
On the ninth day of the preliminaries, he had finally climbed to first place.
Unlike in the beginning, every participant he killed now gave him more than ten or twenty points, a considerable increase from before.
After killing Aiton, he had gained nearly two million points at once, allowing him to rise straight to first place in the World Zone.
"Only by killing these experts can I earn points quickly!" Bai Yue instantly lost interest in killing those small fry.
Setting his sights on the north of the city, he flew in that direction. After gathering information over the past two days, he had already figured out where the city's experts were located. There was a powerful Mental Master controller over there who had once fought Aiton.
And so, having tasted the benefits, Bai Yue embarked on the path of hunting the strong. He learned the locations of each city's experts from weaker participants, pursued them, and killed them.
As time passed, he traveled through more and more cities, and more and more geniuses died by his hand. The mighty name of Heavenly Emperor spread completely throughout World Zone 6.
On a ruined street, Bai Yue walked forward at an unhurried pace. Today was already the twenty-eighth day of the preliminaries. Less than two days remained until the deadline. Nearly everyone who had survived until now was a genius at least at the seventh level of domain. Even if they were not, they surely possessed some other specialty, such as illusionists or poison masters.
Correspondingly, the points gained from killing others had risen steadily as well. As time grew shorter, everyone seemed to have stopped concealing themselves. Thus, even though the number of participants had been reduced by more than half, the intensity and frequency of battles remained high.
This was the last city in World Zone 6 that Bai Yue had not yet visited. The moment he entered, he sensed that something was off about its atmosphere. In other cities, everyone was making their final push, hoping to achieve a higher ranking. Even if they could not join the Virtual Universe Company, a higher rank would still allow them to easily join a major force one tier below it.
Yet after entering this city, he immediately felt something strange. It was too quiet! It was as though all the killing that had come before had merely been an illusion.
Moreover, as he walked along, he could sense people watching him from the shadows. This happened in other cities as well, but never this frequently or this openly.
Watching another figure fly in the direction he was heading, Bai Yue grew suspicious. He secretly heightened his vigilance, but his steps did not slow in the slightest as he continued toward his destination.
The Golden Small Sword of the Yan Shen Armament occasionally flew out and killed participants foolish enough to provoke him. Although the average level had risen greatly compared to the beginning, small fry were still small fry. To him, they merely required a little more effort.
As he walked, the view ahead suddenly opened up. There were far fewer buildings than elsewhere. Up ahead seemed to be a city park, with most of it still remarkably intact. The rare beauty of the place had not been destroyed by battle.
Lake water rippled in a small bay. Lush aquatic grass grew along the shore, and vast lawns were carpeted in green. Unnamed wildflowers were scattered among them, giving the place a vibrant springtime air.
But Bai Yue paid no attention to the rare beauty before him. Instead, he stopped, as though waiting for something.
Gradually, even without trying to listen, he could hear footsteps approaching from all directions. Sweeping his narrowed eyes around, he saw countless shadowy figures closing in.
"Finally couldn't hold back anymore, huh? Let's see what kind of surprise you've prepared for me."
Before you continue