The Decisive Battle Begins

World Area 44.

It was still that same primeval forest.

Lu Yan'an was walking quickly toward the location of the duel. The wetlands' marshes and the dense traps seemed unable to reveal their terror to him, as he stepped over every obstacle the natural environment set in his path one by one.

"Whoosh!"

A wind wheel mixed with a controller's spiritual force tore through the air's resistance, shooting toward him.

Lu Yan'an quickened his pace, moving as if he had teleported, and vanished from the attacker's line of sight in an instant. Quite familiar with this method of ambush, he immediately pinpointed the attacker's location.

The attacker prepared to leave the moment Lu Yan'an disappeared from view, but before he could even react, Lu Yan'an's figure appeared directly behind him!

"Are you looking for me?" Lu Yan'an looked at the short, purple dwarf in front of him with a playful expression! If he wasn't mistaken, this purple dwarf was a member of the human "Zi Meng Race" of the universe.

The "Zi Meng Race" were natural controllers! They were short in stature and possessed very weak physical strength, but every member was born with the spiritual force to control objects! They were considered a rather famous branch among the universe's controller races.

"You are 'Nightmare'?" The attacker looked at him in disbelief!

"Didn't you already leave World Area 44 to hunt in other world areas?" His tone was filled with deep confusion, as if he were completely baffled by Lu Yan'an's appearance here.

"Let's just say, is there a possibility that I finished hunting in other world areas and came back?" Lu Yan'an looked at the attacker with a look that suggested he was an idiot. "After all, there's no rule saying that someone who leaves a world area can't come back, right? Besides, I still have a duel scheduled in this world area!" Lu Yan'an shrugged and explained.

"But you don't need to ask too much. After all, the moment you ambushed me, your journey in the Genius Tournament ended! Still, being able to survive until the last day of these qualifiers means your luck has already surpassed the vast majority of people." As he spoke, under the terrified gaze of the Zi Meng Race controller, Lu Yan'an snapped his neck with a "crack."

"Next time you try to ambush someone, remember to keep your eyes peeled!"

In the central area of the primeval forest, Lu Yan'an, who had arrived early, was floating in mid-air, meditating. About two hours later, "Illusion Dream" finally arrived fashionably late!

"You finally came!" Lu Yan'an sighed with emotion, his body gradually descending from mid-air to stand before Illusion Dream.

"I dealt with a few small fry, which delayed me a little!" He was as dashing as ever, a mysterious smile playing on his face.

"Shall we start now? Do you need to adjust your state?" Lu Yan'an stared at Illusion Dream, his gaze shifting from its previous nonchalance to something incredibly sharp.

"No need. Just dealing with a couple of small fry won't affect my state!" Illusion Dream shook his head and refused. "Let's do it now!"

"I'm feeling a long-lost excitement for this duel! I hope that you, as a fellow illusionist, can bring me some different kinds of fun!" He said with a smile, his eyes seemingly glowing.

"Then let's begin!"

Almost at the same moment, the battle between the two erupted! Clad in gray-black armor and carrying a long spear on his back, Illusion Dream's smile vanished instantly, his cold eyes narrowing slightly.

"Hum!"

An invisible wave of void mental force reached Lu Yan'an in an instant; the speed of the mental force was simply too fast! It invaded his mind directly. While casting his mental illusion, Illusion Dream moved his feet lightly, rapidly closing in on Lu Yan'an. The spear on his back appeared in his right hand, and he intended to kill him outright!

This was the first time! Illusion Dream used the methods of both a warrior and an illusionist simultaneously, showing his respect for a "peer"!

The invisible mental force quietly slipped into Lu Yan'an's sea of consciousness, wrapping around his spiritual force in a very short time. Because spiritual force contains individual consciousness, and the soul is essentially a collection of countless mental forces, Lu Yan'an's consciousness fell into Illusion Dream's mental illusion in an instant!

A moment ago, he was still dueling with Illusion Dream, but the next, Lu Yan'an's consciousness was plunged into a different scene.

"Tsk, this illusion is quite realistic. I can tell it was carved with great care." Lu Yan'an felt no confusion from being trapped in the illusion; instead, he commented with a hint of interest.

As an "Orthodox Illusionist" with a state of mind at Grand Perfection, Lu Yan'an was basically immune to illusions below the undying level. Entering Illusion Dream's illusion world voluntarily was actually done with the attitude of testing him.

Outside.

With a "bang," Lu Yan'an raised his right arm to block Illusion Dream's attack. Seeing Illusion Dream looking quite surprised, he said:

"Your illusion is built quite well. At least from my perspective, it isn't crude and has its merits!" As he spoke, he exerted force with his right arm, and Illusion Dream, holding the spear, suddenly felt a massive force transmitted from the other end of the weapon.

Illusion Dream did not show any signs of anger or embarrassment; he was quite calm about this result, as if he had expected it. He used Lu Yan'an's force to retreat rapidly, widening the distance. "You broke my illusion so quickly? You really are something!" Illusion Dream remarked with emotion. He had attacked with the intent of a one-hit kill, but in the current situation, it was clear his illusion hadn't achieved the expected result.

"From this illusion of yours, I can tell you've been working very hard to polish it. Few people at the same level can break free. Even against universe-level powerhouses, you could rely on your warrior strength to close in and finish them off during the time gap while they struggle to break free!" Lu Yan'an evaluated. This Illusion Dream was like a weakened version of himself; even their attack styles were so similar!

"Now, is it my turn?" He said, waving his hand. The illusion Huo Shen was triggered instantly, and his spiritual force immediately enveloped the Illusion Dream in front of him.

However, to Lu Yan'an's surprise, after taking a hit from his illusion, the Illusion Dream opposite him showed no signs of distraction! He still wore a faint smile, completely flawless!

"Surprised, right? Why wasn't I affected by your illusion?" Illusion Dream said with a hint of pride. "I can tell you haven't been an illusionist for long—so short that you haven't even practiced soul-defense secret techniques!" He warned. "For battles outside of illusionists, attack secret techniques are basically the key to victory, and you've done very well in that regard!"

"But if the opponent is also an illusionist, soul-defense secret techniques are of the utmost importance! If you cultivate them to a certain level, you can completely defend against the secret technique attacks of illusionists at the same level or even higher! You can be completely invincible!"

Seeing Lu Yan's thoughtful expression, he continued to ask:

"Since we can both easily break each other's illusions, shall we start the second round?"

Without waiting for Lu Yan'an to answer, Illusion Dream's cyan domain force erupted from his body, and he charged toward Lu Yan'an.

"You really are impatient!" Lu Yan'an also smiled and began to expand his own light domain. The wind domain and the light domain collided; both were at the ninth level, and neither could gain the upper hand in a short time! Inside the domain, the two were also engaged in fierce combat.

A cold glint appeared first, followed by a spear strike like a dragon; Illusion Dream's spear technique was fully worthy of such praise! Coupled with the speed bonus of the wind-type domain, his spear speed reached a new level! Lu Yan'an's figure dodged rapidly; the light domain not only boosted his speed but also added a layer of confusion between reality and illusion, allowing him to occasionally seize the gaps in Illusion Dream's spear strikes to counterattack!

The situation reached a stalemate! As they traded blows, both seized an opening to retreat rapidly and widen the distance.

"Not bad! It's been a long time since anyone could push me to this point!" Illusion Dream smiled. "Illusion, domain—you and I have both reached the pinnacle of star-level life. Continuing to fight like this is just a waste of time! So, the third round begins now. I hope you can keep up with my pace."

After speaking, the aura around Illusion Dream became even more biting. He was like a god of the wind, generating a pressure like a hurricane! Step by step, he walked slowly toward Lu Yan'an!

"I never cared about the internal selections of the Ganwu Universe Country! Before you, I hadn't even exposed my strength as a warrior." Illusion Dream was constantly building up his momentum! "Today's battle with you is very satisfying. Hahaha, it's rare for me to feel this passionate!"

He laughed wantonly, and his temperament changed completely. If his previous fighting style was as elusive as a breeze, now it was as violent as a sweeping hurricane! Although his previous spear technique was strong, compared to the spear technique now containing a trace of the Origin Law of Wind, it was like child's play! When his momentum reached its peak, he arrived in front of Lu Yan'an!

"Good luck!" After saying this, his spear technique, infused with the Origin Law of Wind, was unleashed at the apex of that momentum.

"Laws, is it? Do you think I don't have them?" As he spoke, a fluctuation of the light law also appeared on Lu Yan'an's gauntlets! Under Illusion Dream's shocked gaze, the two law fluctuations collided!

With a "bang," the environment within twenty meters was left in shambles by the power of the collision!

Origin Law of Wind VS Origin Law of Light! Battle start!