Star Level

The Killing Field of the Black Dragon Mountain island gathered countless elites from the entire Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

Lu Yan'an's rapid rise in the Duel Space gradually attracted the attention of many. From his initial challenges against the strong to later being challenged by eight-star and even nine-star powerhouses, it took him only half a day.

In his very first match after entering the Duel Space, Lu Yan'an revealed his Law of Light domain. The Virtual Universe system automatically updated his profile in the Duel Space to reflect that he possessed a domain. Unexpectedly, less than two hours later, someone with a "seven-star" rating proactively sent him a duel invitation! By this time, Lu Yan'an had already won over a hundred consecutive matches, and his personal rating system had reached "six stars."

About three hours later, in the lobby of the Killing Field, Lu Yan'an, who had been engrossed in crushing opponents in the Duel Space, was forcibly logged off by Lord Shen.

"You've probably reached a 'nine-star' rating on the evaluation system by now, haven't you?" Lord Shen asked with a look of certainty.

"Uh... indeed, but is there a problem with that?" Lu Yan'an looked at Lord Shen, somewhat puzzled.

"Stop wasting your time! Because of the matching mechanism here, you, as a Planetary Level, can only be matched against other Planetary Level opponents. Even though you just broke through to the Planetary Level, your combat power is already enough to be invincible at this stage! What is the point of bullying these little Planetary Level kids?"

Hearing Lord Shen say this, Lu Yan'an slapped his thigh. He suddenly realized why even his nine-star rated opponents had never used the power of a domain. After all, the original records mentioned various domain experts, but now, not a single decent opponent had appeared. It turned out to be an issue with his own strength and the system's matching mechanism!

Following that, Lord Shen waved a hand and continued: "I let you grind your rating to nine stars at the Planetary Level to save you time on climbing the ranks after you break through to the Star Level. Once you reach the Star Level, you won't have to start from scratch!"

"Now, log off and adjust your state properly. We are preparing to break through to the Star Level!" Without waiting for Lu Yan'an to react, Lord Shen logged off immediately.

Lu Yan'an was very happy upon hearing this news. There was no helping it; at the Planetary Level, one was just the most ordinary bottom-tier citizen in the universe, far too prone to dying young. Even a genius like Lu Yan'an could not currently withstand the shockwaves of a battle between Universe Level powerhouses. The gap between life levels was immense!

The Star Level, serving as a watershed for geniuses, was crucial for every cosmic life form! Not only did it grant a lifespan of one epoch, but it also provided the initial power for self-preservation. At the very least, a Lu Yan'an who had reached the Star Level would not be killed instantly by the shockwaves of a battle between two Universe Level "powerhouses"!

Quickly adjusting his mood, Lu Yan'an logged off as well.

Reality.

Inside a hotel on Qiu Long Planet.

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

"Lord Shen, I only broke through to the Planetary Level less than two years ago. If I break through now, won't it lead to an unstable foundation?" Lu Yan'an asked Lord Shen, who was on his shoulder, with considerable worry.

"Kid Lu, I doubt you even know what 'unstable foundation' means, do you?"

Lord Shen flew off Lu Yan'an's shoulder, sat on the sofa in front, and lazily grabbed a piece of fruit from the side to take a bite.

"There is no such thing as an unstable foundation in the universe! From Star Level 1 to 9, it belongs to the accumulation of quantity. The transition from Star Level 9 to Universe Level 1 is a leap in life genes. Even from Universe Level 1 to 9, Domain Lord 1 to 9, and World Lord 1 to 9, all belong to the accumulation of quantity! Only a leap in life genes counts as a qualitative breakthrough!"

Lord Shen began its daily routine of popularizing common knowledge.

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

"Only a qualitative breakthrough is the key!"

"And this key isn't about the breakthrough itself; the breakthrough is fine! It's just that people's talents vary. Some force a breakthrough while still building their foundation. If you haven't even laid a good foundation, how can you go any further?"

"As for you, you don't need to worry about these problems at all! Generally speaking, one only comes into contact with laws at the World Lord stage. But you have already entered the path of laws at the Planetary Level, which means as long as you want to and have sufficient resources, you won't encounter any bottlenecks until you reach the World Lord stage!" Lord Shen added with a faint smile.

Seeing that Lu Yan'an had fallen into deep thought, Lord Shen stopped talking about this aspect and instead began to ask if he was ready to proceed with the breakthrough.

After receiving an affirmative answer from Lu Yan'an, Lord Shen took a fruit from its Space Ring, handed it to Lu Yan'an, and instructed:

"This is an Azure Fruit. The energy contained within is enough to allow you to rapidly break through from Planetary Level 1 to Star Level 9."

With that, it handed the fruit to Lu Yan'an. Lu Yan'an examined the fruit carefully—the pale blue skin was covered in layers of patterns, arranged extremely densely from top to bottom, possessing an inexplicable sense of artistry. The fruit was about the size of an apple and looked quite appetizing! This was the Azure Fruit, and its value was worth more than a dozen life-bearing planets.

Clutching the fruit, Lu Yan'an walked into the hotel's private Quiet Room. After a long while, an aura of the Star Level emanated from the secret chamber! However, before this aura could spread outside the hotel, it was waved away by Lord Shen, who was inside the room! At this moment, Lu Yan'an, having completed his breakthrough in the quiet room, was carefully experiencing the power of the Star Level!

Although the Star Level was still considered one of the lowest tiers in the universe, compared to the Planetary Level, it was far stronger and already possessed the initial ability for self-preservation in the cosmos.

Planetary Level warriors possessed their own "miniature" planets and could fly within them without restriction, but Star Level warriors possessed earth-shattering attack power and formidable vitality. They could easily destroy the surface of a planet, break free from a planet's gravity to fly into space, and even briefly fly and survive in the vacuum. If the former still belonged to the state of a human, the latter belonged to the realm of a god!

While breaking through, Lu Yan'an was also slowly familiarizing himself with the power that was surging due to the breakthrough. Gradually, the chaotic Star Level fluctuations within the quiet room were completely reined in, and Lu Yan'an slowly walked out.

Even now, Lu Yan'an could not believe that he would be this powerful after the breakthrough! He even felt that with a flip of his palm, he could kill a hundred versions of his pre-breakthrough self! However, having stepped into the state of Clear Heart Seeing Nature, he was not controlled by this power and quickly mastered the strength gained from the breakthrough.

Lord Shen was also observing the post-breakthrough Lu Yan'an and nodded with satisfaction upon discovering that he had controlled his surging power and balanced his mindset within a very short time.

"Congratulations on reaching Star Level 9!" The voice of Lord Shen reached Lu Yan'an's ears.

"I didn't expect the gap between the Planetary Level and the Star Level to be this huge!" Lu Yan'an cupped his hands toward Lord Shen, looking helpless.

Back then, he had wanted to challenge the Star Level with his Planetary Level strength. But before he could even act, he was directly dissuaded by Lord Shen. One had to know that he had been full of confidence at the time.

"Actually, the gap between you at the Planetary Level and an average Star Level wasn't that big, but the challenge was completely meaningless." Lord Shen explained to Lu Yan'an why it had stopped him. "And even if you could win, what would it prove? Prove how much of a genius you are, only to be targeted by a bunch of people with ulterior motives?"

Hearing Lord Shen's words, Lu Yan'an was suddenly jolted awake! This was a universe that believed in the natural law of the jungle; the more genius you appeared, the more people with ulterior motives would target you! Some of those targeting you might not even be human!

Seeing that Lu Yan'an understood its point, Lord Shen nodded and continued: "Since you understand your situation, be more low-key in the future. Understand? However, for the next period of time, you probably won't have the energy to think about these things, hehe."

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Lu Yan'an's heart. The last time he had felt this way was back in the Killing Space.

"Go into seclusion for two more days to familiarize yourself with the power of the Star Level; we are going to start training as an Illusionist immediately after!" Without keeping him in suspense, Lord Shen said directly to Lu Yan'an.

"Believe me, it will be a quite unforgettable experience for you!" Lord Shen wore a wicked smile. At this moment, its belly full of mischief could no longer be hidden!