Attempt

September 30, 3035, 2:25 AM, Yuan Planet Calendar.

Lu Yan'an began his study of the introductory level of the Illusion Martial Artist Secret Manual 312 Forms.

A desperate desire to survive drove him to pour one hundred percent of his energy into the task. The assessment chamber provided a massive amount of cosmic energy at every moment, allowing the inheritor to forgo food and water. In this ideal cultivation environment, Lu Yan'an became completely immersed in the study of this secret manual.

However, once he began practicing the Illusion Martial Artist Secret Manual, he realized just how profound and vast this assessment manual truly was. Unlike the simple and crude method of traditional Source Qi cultivation—which involved repeatedly using energy to wash over the body—the practice of this manual was like performing high-precision surgery while walking a tightrope ten thousand meters in the air.

It emphasized a high degree of unity between the practitioner's spirit and body; that is, while ensuring physical attacks were executed, one's spiritual power had to simultaneously construct and launch illusionary attacks. In layman's terms, it meant attaching a spell attack to every physical strike, and this spell had to be constructed, launched, and fused with the physical strike at the exact moment of impact.

Multitasking like this was considered virtually impossible by outsiders, yet it was the fundamental entry requirement for every Illusion Martial Artist. Therefore, throughout the universe, every powerhouse who delved deep into the path of the Illusion Martial Artist was a prodigy with exceptional talent in both the path of the warrior and the path of the illusionist.

Before studying the secret manual, Lu Yan'an's progress had been limited. But as he practiced the Illusion Martial Artist Secret Manual 312 Forms, his offensive capabilities and his ability to construct and utilize illusionary powers were improving rapidly. The speed of this improvement shocked even Lu Yan'an; it was as absurd as someone mastering elementary mathematics and the foundations of higher mathematics in a single night.

"Boom!"

"The attack is still far from enough." Inside the chamber, a disheveled Lu Yan'an stared at the metal wall. There were no cracks, but fist marks had begun to appear. Although the marks were very shallow and the wall was slowly repairing itself, there was no denying that this was a massive improvement compared to yesterday's attacks.

After integrating his spiritual power with his physical strikes, Lu Yan'an's attack intensity was at least ten times greater than when he had first entered the assessment chamber. But even with such an increase, it was still far from sufficient.

"Again!"

Lu Yan'an once again immersed himself in the Illusion Martial Artist Secret Manual.

In the council hall of the Lu Mansion.

"It has already been half a month!"

Lu Yan'an's father, Lu Zhong, sighed and shook his head. "For a full half month, Yan'an hasn't come out. Could it be that he is also undergoing the special-grade inheritance assessment?"

"Announce to the public that Yan'an has left the Lu Family to go out and train on his own!" Lu Zhong began to instruct the members of the clan.

The many clansmen within the Lu Mansion nodded in agreement.

"You must come out alive, Yan'an..." In his youth, Lu Zhong had also entered the Heritage Tower. After passing the elite disciple inheritance assessment, he became the head of the Lu Family. Having held power over the entire Lu clan for many years, he understood much about the Heritage Tower.

The Lu Family had flourished for over three thousand years, and countless family members had entered the Heritage Tower. Their knowledge of it was limited to two types of assessments: "ordinary" and "elite." The former carried no risk of death and, upon completion, granted some knowledge about the universe and a Light Brain; the latter carried a certain degree of danger, but passing it yielded certain secret inheritance techniques in addition to the rewards of the ordinary assessment.

Lu Zhong had passed the elite assessment and obtained an ordinary secret technique called the Wind Derivation Force. By mastering this technique, he became invincible throughout the Feng Kingdom and was considered a hero of his generation. He had originally believed the elite assessment to be the most difficult, until his eldest son emerged from the tower two years ago and informed him of the special-grade assessment that existed above the elite level.

The special-grade assessment was essentially a death trial, with a mortality rate of about seventy percent. The assessment period was also short, generally not exceeding half a month. Once passed, however, one's achievements would no longer be confined to Yuan Planet; they would be a heaven-sent prodigy capable of competing across the universe! After Lu Kunwu barely passed the elite assessment, he had gained more than just a simple secret technique; he had obtained a peak secret technique that even ordinary Immortals would chase after!

Although Lu Kunwu was currently unable to master the peak secret technique, even a mere glimpse of its surface was enough to make him virtually unrivaled at the Planetary Level! And it wasn't just the secret technique; passing the special-grade assessment also provided all the resources needed to break through from the Planetary Level to the Star Level. Therefore, after Lu Kunwu returned to the Lu Family, his status was immediately equal to that of Lu Zhong, the clan head!

However, what no one could have expected was that Lu Yan'an was undergoing the "Named Disciple Inheritance Assessment," a trial that was above the special-grade and considered a ten-out-of-ten death sentence, with a duration spanning a full eleven years. This gap in information ultimately led Lu Zhong to misjudge the situation and begin a series of cleanup operations...

Deep within the Heritage Tower, inside the assessment chamber.

Lu Yan'an, his face covered in messy stubble, had eyes as bright as stars, and the faint spiritual power of illusions radiating from his gaze was unsettling.

"Three years. A full three years, and I have finally mastered this Illusion Martial Artist Secret Manual."

"I have been trapped in this death assessment for three whole years." With a thought from Lu Yan'an, an invisible yet powerful spiritual illusion instantly enveloped the entire chamber, whipping up waves of air. The boundary of the illusion met the metal wall, and then the spherical illusion was compressed into a single point on Lu Yan'an's fist, which he slammed into the metal wall with concentrated force!

"Boom..." The entire chamber shook.

This full-power strike, containing all of Lu Yan'an's essence, energy, and spirit, shattered the wall, creating a hole the size of a fist.

However, before Lu Yan'an could even celebrate, the metal wall began to repair itself automatically! In the blink of an eye, it returned to its original state.

"Without the power of a domain to suppress the repair of this special metal, even my power, which far exceeds that of an ordinary Planetary Level, cannot break through."

One must know that Lu Yan'an had already broken through to the Planetary Level. A casual punch could exert over a thousand tons of force, and with the force amplitude of over 20 from the Illusion Martial Artist Secret Manual, combined with the multiple-fold amplification of his illusionary spiritual power, the impact of a single punch could exceed one hundred thousand tons! This level of power was already far beyond that of any newly broken-through Planetary Level.

It could even threaten those at the high end of the Planetary Level.

But—

It was still far from enough!

"I didn't expect that I would naturally break through to the Planetary Level while practicing this Illusion Martial Artist Secret Manual. And once the manual is fully mastered, it will automatically condense the prototype of a domain. This damn inheritance finally left a glimmer of hope."

When he broke through to the Planetary Level, the smooth metal wall of the chamber suddenly projected an introduction regarding the special ability Lu Yan'an had gained during his breakthrough.

"The light-attribute Dark Radiance Body is the most excellent and suitable special ability for me; it is of great help in comprehending a domain."

At the Apprentice Level, Spirit Readers had a huge advantage, and warriors of the same period were no match for them. However, once one stepped into the Planetary Level, warriors also possessed their own means: special abilities. In the universe, various special abilities were mainly categorized into eight types: gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and light.

What Lu Yan'an had obtained was the rarest of the light-attribute abilities, the "Dark Radiance Body." This special ability was known as a ticket to the Origin Law of Light. Possessors of the Dark Radiance Body had a passive ability that significantly lowered the difficulty of comprehending the Law of Light. In the universe, people with this special ability were also known as "the darlings of the Origin Law of Light." But such a powerful special ability was not without its flaws—it had no offensive or defensive capabilities and could only assist the possessor in comprehending the Law of Light.

In the cosmic environment where Domain Lords comprehended domains and World Lords comprehended laws, anyone with a Dark Radiance Body who didn't die young would at least become a Domain Lord, and with a little effort, becoming a World Lord would no longer be a dream! In such a situation, the lack of offensive and defensive capabilities was a minor issue.

"I will definitely make it out alive!"

As the introduction to the Dark Radiance Body appeared on the chamber wall, Lu Yan'an secretly encouraged himself in his heart. "Now, let's see if the comprehension effect of this special ability is really as strong as it describes!"

"Damn this inheritance, you just wait for me!" Lu Yan'an closed his eyes, and two tears slid down his cheeks. But when he opened them again, the determination in his gaze was enough to make anyone look twice.