Battle Between Domains

The warrior wielding a Giant Axe didn't even last a single round against Ling Xuan, being instantly killed in short order.

To achieve the one-thousand-win streak milestone as early as possible, Ling Xuan wasted no time and immediately chose to continue his challenges.

At first, he relied on the system's intelligent matchmaking to find opponents, but as his win rate climbed and his streak grew, the opponents he was matched with became increasingly formidable.

He seemed tireless, engaging in over a hundred battles a day.

After three consecutive days of fierce fighting, Ling Xuan successfully secured a 325-win streak, and his rank jumped from zero stars to six stars.

Six stars already represented a powerhouse among the Planetary Level, and in the Battle Space, such experts usually stopped relying on the matchmaking function, instead choosing to challenge opponents they deemed evenly matched.

"Beep, you have received a challenge invitation." At this moment, Ling Xuan's Auxiliary Optical Computer sent a notification.

He gave it a cursory glance and found that the opponent was only a three-star powerhouse with a record of 108 wins and 65 losses, so he accepted without hesitation.

Currently, his primary goal was to secure a thousand-win streak rather than obsessing over fighting strong opponents, so he welcomed such easy targets—the more, the better.

As expected, because the opponent lacked sufficient strength, the battle proceeded exceptionally smoothly; Ling Xuan ended the fight with a single strike, and his win streak increased once more.

Later, Ling Xuan noticed that the matchmaking speed had slowed down, so he simply took the initiative to challenge others, mostly selecting five-star and six-star opponents.

Those powerhouses who came to the Battle Space to hone their skills were delighted to accept when a warrior with such a win streak challenged them; after all, they rarely had the chance to fight such experts, and since one had delivered himself to their doorstep, how could they possibly refuse?

Conversely, if he received a challenge from an opponent whose record indicated they possessed special abilities like a domain, Ling Xuan would decisively refuse to avoid encountering someone too strong and disrupting his win streak.

Just like that, in only nine days, Ling Xuan relied on his second-level domain to complete the one-thousand-win trial without a single hitch.

After sending the battle footage to the Temple Envoy, he immediately headed to the temple, intending to contemplate the Divine Bird Secret Pattern once again.

The Temple Envoy quickly browsed through the battle records Ling Xuan had sent, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly as he muttered to himself, "A slippery little brat, but that's fine. The more slippery and opportunistic he is, the more he'll do whatever it takes to reach his goals, which means his survival instincts are stronger. Still, I should give this kid a reminder..."

Ling Xuan stepped into the temple, where the Temple Envoy was already waiting. Seeing Ling Xuan enter, he spoke, "Kid, that one-thousand-win streak—you certainly used a clever way to cut corners."

Ling Xuan bowed slightly, saying somewhat awkwardly, "Senior, I know my strength is still lacking. For now, I just wanted to complete the task and improve myself. I hope you won't take offense."

The Temple Envoy stared at Ling Xuan with burning eyes, "Taking shortcuts isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you slack off on cultivating your own strength because of it, that is putting the cart before the horse. You may have completed this challenge through strategy, but a true powerhouse must ultimately speak with raw, tangible power."

Ling Xuan straightened his back and bowed respectfully, "I will take your teachings to heart, Senior. Once this contemplation is over, I will settle down and properly polish my own strength."

The Temple Envoy's lips curled into a half-smile, "It's good that you know. Now, go in and contemplate. You cunning little brat, I wonder who you take after?"

Ling Xuan took a deep breath and stepped into the Flame Law Chamber.

The familiar heat wave rushed toward him, and those few powerhouses remained in the same positions as they had ten days ago, as if time had frozen there.

He sat cross-legged once more before the stone wall engraved with the Divine Bird Diagram, his fingertips brushing over the uneven textures as his consciousness sank like a stone into a deep pool, falling once again into that world of flames.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

When the Temple Envoy's call rang out, Ling Xuan slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the power within his body, he could not hide the disappointment in his gaze.

This contemplation had only deepened his understanding of the second-level domain, but it had not broken through to the third level as he had expected.

"See that?" The Temple Envoy saw through his thoughts and said softly, "This is the price of being overly eager for success. You haven't fully digested the results of your last contemplation; repeating the practice is just running in place."

Ling Xuan suddenly realized.

He remembered that when Luo Feng and the others received opportunities to contemplate after passing the Heavenly Bridge, they didn't immediately return to contemplate the Chaos Stele; they would settle down for a long time before returning.

Because the opportunity for contemplation was so easy to obtain, he had neglected the foundation of his cultivation.

"This junior understands! I will return to cultivate in seclusion and digest these insights!"

The Temple Envoy nodded, "It is good to correct your mistakes. I will reserve this contemplation opportunity for you; whenever you feel you have fully digested your gains, you may return at any time."

"Thank you, Senior." Ling Xuan was overjoyed; he hadn't expected such a stroke of luck, as he had originally thought it would be incredibly difficult to obtain another opportunity.

"Go on. You've just finished contemplating, so now is the best time for cultivation." The Temple Envoy waved his hand, signaling that Ling Xuan could leave.

Ling Xuan bowed and retreated from the temple, returning to his own courtyard.

For the next three months, Ling Xuan shut himself away in his courtyard.

Every morning, he would circulate his origin power facing the rising sun to comprehend the Flame Domain; late at night, he would review his battles against the starry sky and begin practicing the secret technique the Temple Envoy had left him—"Flame Prison."

This was a secret technique highly suitable for someone at the Planetary Level to begin contemplating, and it allowed for a smooth transition into the Flame Law later on.

Its value was exceptionally high, almost as if it had been tailor-made for Ling Xuan; it was clear that the Zhulong clan had spent significant resources and effort to cultivate their outstanding descendants.

As time passed, his understanding of the Flame Domain grew increasingly profound, and the origin power within his body became more and more refined.

Finally, on an ordinary day of cultivation, the flames around his body suddenly surged, and his dark-gold domain expanded as if it were physical—

—Third-level Flame Domain, achieved!

Ling Xuan returned to the Battle Space once more, locking his target on powerhouses who possessed domains.

Far away in another star system, Feng Ying was currently wiping the curved war scythe inlaid with Wind Crystal in his hand.

As a seven-star powerhouse, he had just finished a satisfying battle.

"Beep, you have received a challenge invitation. Do you wish to accept?"

Feng Ying clicked on the challenge invitation casually; the recent battle had left him feeling invigorated, and he didn't want to rest just yet.

"Six stars?" Feng Ying scanned Ling Xuan's information and scoffed, "He can't even enter my domain, yet he dares to challenge me?"

He was about to click decline, but when he saw the "Flame Domain possessor" tag in Ling Xuan's profile, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. After a moment of thought, he pressed the accept button.

System matching successful, Ling Xuan instantly appeared on the battlefield of a canyon where gale-force winds howled.

Opposite him, Feng Ying stood suspended in mid-air, while behind him, a Wind Domain a hundred meters in diameter contained countless cyan wind blades spinning at high speeds, emitting piercing shrieks.

He was clad in blue-gray battle armor, and the Curved War Scythe in his hand shimmered with a ghostly blue light as wind elements continuously coalesced along the edge of the blade.

"Planetary Level 1? To possess a domain just after breaking through, your talent is quite good." Feng Ying raised a hand, and the ten thousand wind blades within his domain swarmed toward Ling Xuan like a hive of bees. "However, I am at the peak of the Planetary Level; the gap between you and me is a full 256 times!"

Ling Xuan held his Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear horizontally across his chest.

The moment the wind blades touched the blade, the third-tier Flame Domain within his body erupted, and a sea of dark golden flames swept forward instantly.

High temperatures collided with the gale, producing a violent energy explosion that illuminated the entire canyon as if it were broad daylight.

Feng Ying's wind blades hissed within the sea of fire, rapidly evaporating.

Before Feng Ying could react, Ling Xuan had already transformed into a streak of light and closed the distance.

The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, wreathed in Heaven-Burning Flame, slashed toward Feng Ying with the force of a thunderbolt.

Feng Ying's pupils constricted sharply. What? His domain is actually this much stronger than mine; it's a third-tier domain.

Feng Ying hurriedly swung his Curved War Scythe, condensing a giant wind shield.

However, the moment the blade light descended, the wind shield shuddered violently, and cracks rapidly appeared on its surface.

"Break!" Ling Xuan roared, pouring his full force into the blade.