The Assessment

After dealing with the entire adventurer squad, Lu Yan'an stood where he was and let out a long breath. At least things hadn't reached the point of no return. If even one of them had escaped, the situation would have become extremely complicated. Fortunately, after Lord Shen stepped in and brought Aifu's shipboard Intelligent Life over to their side, every potential problem had been nipped in the bud.

Given Lu Yan'an's current strength, he could easily defeat or even kill anyone below Domain Lord level. But if he actually faced a Domain Lord, he would be left with nothing to do but pray for the best! Domain Lords were called Domain Lords because of their terrifying domains! The power of a domain might seem weak when wielded by Lu Yan'an, but a Domain Lord's domain was entirely different. The gap was millions of times greater!

It was a difference in the fundamentals of life and in the level of life itself!

"Looks like those years of Life's Hardships courses weren't wasted!" Lord Shen praised him, rather impressed. It hadn't expected Lu Yan'an to handle the problem so cleanly. As far as it was concerned, the Universe Level 9 fellow had never been the real issue. The crucial thing was preventing the enemy from spilling the secrets of Yuan Planet in a desperate last act.

Judging by how Lu Yan'an had handled the situation, he had certainly used his head! First, he had feigned defeat to lower the enemy's guard. Then, he had seized his chance to clear the field and eliminate any loose ends before finishing off Aifu! The whole sequence had flowed seamlessly, leaving the enemy no opening to exploit!

Lord Shen's praise didn't move Lu Yan'an in the slightest. In fact, he had already taken part in trials about alien invasions as a Life's Hardships scenario during his earlier trials on the Stairs of Sinking. If someone had experience handling a problem and still managed to botch it, then he was either genuinely bad or genuinely stupid!

"Now that this is dealt with, focus on the Virtual Universe next! That's where the strong belong. Yuan Planet is simply too small, and you're still too weak!" Lord Shen looked at Lu Yan'an with a solemn expression.

It had never wanted Lu Yan'an to stay on Yuan Planet—in fact, it had opposed the idea. Yuan Planet was far too small to accommodate a genius who had grasped the Laws at Planetary Level. Staying here would only waste his talent!

"I understand what you mean," Lu Yan'an replied with a nod. After experiencing this invasion, he understood that there was truth in the old saying: the weak get bullied!

This time, the attackers had been a Universe Level fleet, which Lu Yan'an could still handle. But what if a Domain Lord came? Or a World Lord? Would he have no choice but to surrender? A person couldn't entrust his fate to the mercy of the strong. Dignity existed only at the edge of a sword, and truth only within the range of a cannon!

Inside the Duel Space of the Killing Field.

By the time Lu Yan'an used an illusion to knock down his final opponent, his record had reached 698 wins and 0 losses, with a system rating of nine stars.

"Lord Shen, are you sure this plan of yours is going to work? I've wasted seven days on this already," Lu Yan'an complained.

"Don't worry. As long as you keep winning, the Virtual Universe Company will definitely send you an invitation!" Lord Shen sounded utterly confident. Who knew how many times it had already brushed Lu Yan'an off like this?

After Lu Yan'an returned to the Virtual Universe, Lord Shen had suggested that he join the Virtual Universe Company. Lu Yan'an had readily agreed. Who would turn down the chance to have the backing of such a colossal force? However, Lord Shen could only offer advice. Although it was an Immortal God, it had no connections that could get Lu Yan'an directly into the Virtual Universe Company.

In the end, at Lord Shen's suggestion, Lu Yan'an had taken to racking up wins to "cast a line and fish for an offer." With talent and strength far beyond those of ordinary geniuses, he could hardly find anyone in the Duel Space who could withstand even one of his moves. He had kept winning for seven days, and his record was about to pass 700 victories.

At last, in his 700th duel, he was matched with someone special.

She was a female warrior in crimson robes, with a clean, crisp air about her. Her expression was impassive, her eyes cold, and she held a sharp War Blade in her left hand. The instant she saw Lu Yan'an, she began darting around at high speed, giving him no chance to lock onto her with his illusion technique.

Clearly, she had studied Lu Yan'an's duel recordings. Until she knew whether she could break through the illusions he created, the wisest move was to avoid being hit by one!

Seeing the female warrior use such a method to counter his illusions, Lu Yan'an immediately grew interested. Who knew what he'd been through these past few days? His battle recordings had made his fighting style perfectly clear, yet no one had bothered to watch them. Not. A. Single. Person. That's right—no one.

Nearly 700 opponents had all been overconfident in their own abilities. Each had thought they could withstand Lu Yan'an's illusions, and not one had lasted a single move! Though Lu Yan'an had only shown the first level of his secret technique, Huo Shen, in a one-on-one attack, not a single person had even considered how to counter it.

Now that the female warrior in crimson had appeared, her method of countering illusions made Lu Yan'an's eyes light up. This time, he didn't plan to end the fight with an illusion. After all, he was a warrior too! In fact, his skill as a warrior surpassed his skill as an Illusionist!

Faced with the charging female warrior, Lu Yan'an didn't retreat. Instead, he closed in and began fighting her at close quarters.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Her long blade swept through the air with a series of sharp whistles. Lu Yan'an dodged while blocking with his gauntlets.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Her blade scraped against Lu Yan'an's gauntlets, throwing off sparks and ringing out in a rapid series of clashes!

Lu Yan'an was driven back again and again. When it came to actual combat experience, the female warrior with the long blade was clearly more than a match for him.

But Lu Yan'an wasn't discouraged. He hadn't used any strength beyond hers; he only wanted to experience what it felt like to be suppressed. The fight was full of danger, but everything remained under his control. If he wanted to, he could end it in an instant!

The Crimson-robed Female Warrior seemed to sense that Lu Yan'an was holding back. Her expression darkened. As a Special Grade Elite trained by the Virtual Universe Company, this was the first time she had ever been looked down on in such a backwater place!

A fierce sense of pride surged within her, and for a moment, her swings grew even faster.

Lu Yan'an was the one who noticed the change most clearly. It was as if the woman across from him had used some sort of secret technique. The force and speed of her attacks kept rising, leaving him looking increasingly ragged.

Still, Lu Yan'an didn't mind. Anything could happen on a battlefield.

At worst, I'll reveal a little of my strength! As the thought crossed his mind, he slowly activated his domain.

With his domain bolstering him, Lu Yan'an found it increasingly easy to parry the female warrior's attacks. He even had the leisure to study her blade techniques. The moment she saw Lu Yan'an's domain, a flash of light passed through her eyes, and she activated her own domain-enhancement state.

Two forces, one black and one blue, clashed in the air. From the outside, the scene looked spectacular!

Gradually, the female warrior's water-element domain began to weaken. It was obvious that Lu Yan'an's domain had more layers than hers!

Realizing this, she had no choice but to withdraw her blade, turn around, and concede defeat!

Her sudden surrender left Lu Yan'an completely dumbfounded! Looking at his win count, which had now reached 700, he felt a little bored.

There was nothing he could do. The fight was already over. What else could he do?

All he could do was review his battle against the female warrior. Even a quick review left him with a lingering sense of satisfaction.

He couldn't help it. Ever since entering the universe, he had relied on the Laws and illusions to crush his opponents. He'd rarely faced anyone head-on, especially someone with greater combat experience who also knew how to think on their feet!

He had a feeling that the female warrior came from an important background. Perhaps she was an examiner sent by the Virtual Universe Company. Lu Yan'an was sure that before she appeared, the Duel Space had never seen an opponent of her caliber.

Something similar had happened in the original story, too. When the Earth Trio had been racking up kills in the Duel Space, the Virtual Universe Company had sent second-grade and Special Grade Elites to challenge them. City Lord Luo and Thor had both suffered crushing defeats, while only Hong had managed to beat the second-grade elite sent by the company.

At the thought, Lu Yan'an felt a surge of anticipation. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long!

Lu Yan'an had just left the Killing Field and was about to log off when a staff member stopped him:

"Sir, the owner of a Quiet Room upstairs would like to meet with you."

"The owner of a Quiet Room?" Lu Yan'an exchanged a smile with Lord Shen beside him.

The fish had taken the bait!