Stellar Level

The Killing Field on Black Dragon Mountain Island drew countless elites from across the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

Lu Yan'an's rapid rise in the Duel Space had gradually attracted plenty of attention. It had taken him just half a day to go from challenging the strongest to being challenged by experts rated eight or even nine stars.

In his very first match in the Duel Space, Lu Yan'an had revealed his Law of Light domain. The Virtual Universe System had automatically added the fact that he possessed a domain to his Duel Space profile. To his surprise, less than two hours later, someone rated "seven stars" had taken the initiative to challenge him! By then, Lu Yan'an had already won over a hundred matches in a row, and his personal rating had reached "six stars."

About three hours later, in the Killing Field's main hall, Lord Shen forcibly logged out Lu Yan'an, who had been engrossed in beating up weaker opponents in the Duel Space.

"Your rating has probably reached 'nine stars' by now, hasn't it?" Lord Shen asked with complete certainty.

"Uh... that's right. Is that a problem?" Lu Yan'an asked, looking at Lord Shen in confusion.

"Don't waste your time! Because of the matching rules here, as a Planetary Level fighter, you can only be matched with other Planetary Level fighters. You may have just broken through to Planetary Level, kid, but you already have enough power to be invincible at that level! What's the point of bullying a bunch of little Planetary Level weaklings?"

At Lord Shen's words, Lu Yan'an slapped his thigh. He suddenly realized why even opponents with nine-star ratings had never used the power of a domain. The original story had featured all kinds of domain experts, yet he hadn't encountered a single worthy opponent. So it was because of his own strength and the system's matching rules!

Lord Shen waved a hand and continued, "I had you raise your rating to nine stars at Planetary Level so you'd save time climbing the rankings after breaking through to Stellar Level. Once you reach Stellar Level, you won't have to start from scratch!"

"Now log out and get yourself in good shape. We're preparing to break through to Stellar Level!" Without waiting for Lu Yan'an to respond, Lord Shen logged out.

Lu Yan'an was thrilled by the news. There was no helping it: Planetary Level fighters were the most ordinary people at the bottom of the universe, and they could die far too easily. Even a genius like Lu Yan'an couldn't withstand the shockwaves from a battle between Universe Level fighters yet. The gap between life levels was enormous!

Stellar Level was a crucial threshold for every life-form in the universe, the watershed that separated geniuses from the rest! Not only did Stellar Level fighters live for an entire era, they also gained the beginnings of the power to protect themselves. At the very least, once Lu Yan'an reached Stellar Level, he wouldn't instantly die from the shockwaves of a battle between two "powerful" Universe Level fighters!

After quickly steadying his emotions, Lu Yan'an logged out as well.

Reality.

Inside a hotel on Qiu Long Planet.

Lu Yan'an had just returned from the Virtual Universe. He slowly opened his eyes.

"Lord Shen, I only broke through to Planetary Level less than two years ago. If I break through again now, won't my foundation be unstable?" Lu Yan'an asked Lord Shen, who was perched on his shoulder, with some concern.

"Kid, I doubt you even know what an unstable foundation means."

Lord Shen flew down from Lu Yan'an's shoulder and sat on the sofa in front of him. With a lazy air, he picked up a piece of fruit nearby and took a bite.

"There's no such thing as an unstable foundation in the universe! From Stellar Level One through Nine, it's all an accumulation of quantity. From Stellar Level Nine to Universe Level One, it's a leap in life genes. Even from Universe Level One through Nine, Domain Lord One through Nine, and World Lord One through Nine, it's all an accumulation of quantity! Only a leap in life genes counts as a qualitative breakthrough!"

Lord Shen launched into his usual lecture on basic knowledge.

"For a genius like you, accumulating quantity is basically a waste of time!"

"Only qualitative breakthroughs matter!"

"And even then, the problem isn't the breakthrough itself. There's nothing wrong with breaking through! It's just that people have different levels of talent. Some force their way through while still laying their foundation. If they haven't even built a solid foundation, how can they make further progress?"

"You don't need to worry about any of that. Generally speaking, people only come into contact with laws at the World Lord stage. But you've already taken your first steps on the path of laws at Planetary Level. That means that as long as you want to, and have enough resources, you won't encounter any bottlenecks before you reach World Lord!" Lord Shen added with a faint smile.

Seeing that Lu Yan'an had fallen into thought, Lord Shen stopped talking about the subject and instead asked if he was ready to break through.

After Lu Yan'an confirmed that he was, Lord Shen took a fruit from his Space Ring and placed it in Lu Yan'an's hand, instructing him:

"This is an Azure Fruit. The energy inside is more than enough to take you from Planetary Level One to Stellar Level Nine in no time."

With that, he handed the fruit to Lu Yan'an. Lu Yan'an examined it closely. Its pale blue skin was covered in layers of patterns, densely arranged from top to bottom in a way that had a peculiar artistic quality. The fruit was about the size of an apple and looked quite appetizing! This was an Azure Fruit, worth more than a dozen life-bearing planets.

Clutching the fruit, Lu Yan'an entered the Quiet Room attached to the hotel. After a long while, a Stellar Level aura surged out from the room! But before it could escape the hotel, Lord Shen raised a hand and dispersed it. Inside the quiet room, Lu Yan'an had completed his breakthrough and was carefully experiencing the power of Stellar Level!

Although Stellar Level fighters were still among the lowest in the universe, they were far stronger than Planetary Level fighters and had gained the beginnings of the ability to protect themselves.

Planetary Level fighters possessed their own "miniature" planets and could fly freely within them. Stellar Level fighters, however, possessed devastating attack power and formidable survivability. They could easily destroy the surface of a planet, break free from its gravity and fly into space, and even survive and fly through space for a short time. If the former were still human, then the latter were practically gods!

As Lu Yan'an broke through, he gradually familiarized himself with the power surging through him. Bit by bit, the turbulent Stellar Level fluctuations in the Quiet Room settled down completely, and Lu Yan'an slowly walked out.

Even now, Lu Yan'an still couldn't believe he had become this powerful after breaking through! He felt that he could kill a hundred versions of himself from before the breakthrough with a simple turn of his hand! But he had already attained Clear Heart Seeing Nature and wasn't swept away by this power. Instead, he quickly brought it under control!

Lord Shen watched Lu Yan'an after the breakthrough. Seeing that he had controlled his surging power and steadied his state of mind in such a short time, Lord Shen nodded in approval.

"Congratulations on reaching Stellar Level Nine!" Lord Shen's voice sounded in Lu Yan'an's ear.

"I never expected the gap between Planetary Level and Stellar Level to be so enormous!" Lu Yan'an cupped his hands toward Lord Shen, his expression helpless.

He'd once thought of challenging Stellar Level fighters with his Planetary Level strength. But before he could act, Lord Shen had talked him out of it. Back then, he'd been full of confidence.

"Actually, when you were at Planetary Level, the gap between you and an ordinary Stellar Level fighter wasn't that big. It's just that challenging one would have been pointless," Lord Shen explained. "And even if you won, what would that prove? That you're a genius, so a bunch of people with ulterior motives could start watching you?"

Lord Shen's words jolted Lu Yan'an awake. This was a universe that followed the law of the jungle. The more talented you appeared, the more people with ulterior motives would set their sights on you! And those watching you might not even be human!

Seeing that Lu Yan'an understood, Lord Shen nodded and continued, "Now that you understand your situation, keep a low profile from now on. Got it? But you probably won't have the time to think about any of that over the next while. Heh."

A bad feeling suddenly welled up in Lu Yan'an. The last time he'd had this feeling was in the Killing Space.

"Spend another two days in seclusion getting used to your Stellar Level strength. Then we'll start training you as an Illusionist!" Lord Shen said without keeping him in suspense.

"Trust me, it'll be an unforgettable experience!" Lord Shen wore a mischievous grin. He was practically bursting with wicked schemes!