"Come on, fight!" Illusion Dream seemed to transform into an asura. The refined elegance he'd shown before was gone. He roared, a faint red gleam in his eyes, and in the blink of an eye, a series of thrusts came at Lu Yan'an like a raging storm.
Under his opponent's influence, the calm in Lu Yan'an's eyes finally shattered, replaced by fervor and madness—the instinctive reaction of a fighter who'd finally met his match. He seemed like a ferocious beast, constantly restraining and suppressing himself.
"Clang!"
Illusion Dream's spear curled around Lu Yan'an's gauntlet, locking the two together.
Seeing this, Lu Yan'an lightly tapped the soft marsh beneath him with his toes and leaped straight backward, opening the distance and slipping free of the spear. Through gritted teeth, he spat out one word: "Kill!"
Without waiting for Illusion Dream to press his advantage, Lu Yan'an instead closed the distance between them at incredible speed! A spear's nature made it clear that greater reach meant greater strength. At the right distance, its damage was terrifying! Lu Yan'an had evidently realized this, and by forcing close-quarters combat, he prevented the spear from using its advantage.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Illusion Dream held his spear crosswise to block Lu Yan'an's fists, each impact ringing out sharply.
At close range, the balance of offense and defense shifted at once. Lu Yan'an's fists drove Illusion Dream back step by step!
"Boom!"
A golden fist-shadow shot toward Illusion Dream.
"Perish!" Illusion Dream's expression turned grave. With a low growl, he thrust his spear viciously at the golden fist-shadow bearing down on him. As a veil of blue-green currents enveloped and pressed in around him, the two attacks collided head-on.
"Clang!"
They each staggered back more than ten paces, perfectly matched! Lu Yan'an clenched his fist again to ease its complete numbness, while Illusion Dream loosened his grip on the spear to lessen the recoil.
That guy's spear is really heavy. This punch was the culmination of my comprehension of the Law of Light, yet it didn't have the effect I wanted. Lu Yan'an glanced at his numb fist, his expression shifting.
Light can be this fierce? That impact feels no weaker than metal's—an element that's as yang and hard as it gets! Illusion Dream tightened his grip on the spear, looking almost disbelieving.
Both of them seemed startled by the other's level of Law Comprehension! When neither could make further progress in their comprehension, the battle once again fell into a stalemate...
Inside the luxurious, spacious hall of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's spaceship.
"Your Majesty, I've just received the latest intelligence—Lu Yan'an has actually comprehended a trace of an Origin Law!" the refined old man exclaimed to the emperor, his voice trembling slightly.
"He must be rewarded! He must! Lu Yan'an truly is the greatest contributor to our Black Dragon Mountain Empire!" the emperor exclaimed, overjoyed.
He'd comprehended an Origin Law, and he was also a genius Illusionist. He was every bit as talented as Illusion Dream! Another seed destined for the Virtual Universe Company's Core Layer!
Lu Yan'an had previously been merely a Star Level talent who met the Ganwu Universe Country's standard for a starfield-level genius. Now, in one leap, he'd risen to meet the Virtual Universe Company's standard for a Universe Country-level genius! The sheer magnitude of this leap made the Black Dragon Mountain Emperor's heart burn with excitement. After all, as long as a genius like this survived, he was destined to become a powerful figure in the Virtual Universe Company!
"Once he finishes the preliminary round, directly grant him the star system containing his home planet, along with ten neighboring star systems!" the emperor ordered those beside him.
The nobles present saw the emperor's beaming face, and the atmosphere gradually grew more boisterous.
The emperor had no mind to quiet their discussions. Instead, he began imagining the rewards he might receive once Lu Yan'an joined the Virtual Universe Company...
In the arena.
"Die!" Lu Yan'an's eyes turned icy. With a cold snort, he accelerated once more, turning into a streak of golden light as he charged at Illusion Dream.
When Lu Yan'an rushed at him, Illusion Dream didn't lose his composure this time. Instead, he shifted his footwork, deliberately drawing closer while keeping a little distance between them.
His figure dodged in a strange, unpredictable way, repeatedly opening the distance until he reached the spear's ideal striking range.
No matter what, I can't let him keep the spear at its most lethal range. Lu Yan'an shifted his footwork too, desperately trying to close the distance with his opponent.
His fists struck at Illusion Dream again and again.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The collisions between spear and gauntlets rang without end, like the earth itself was shaking. With every clash, both fighters fought to maintain their ideal attacking distance!
At their level, a single step could carry them hundreds or even thousands of meters. But both were clearly among the best Star Level fighters at controlling their movements, and their battle never spread beyond a hundred meters.
Of the two, Lu Yan'an excelled at short-range hand-to-hand combat, while Illusion Dream specialized in close combat with a spear at short to medium range. Each did everything possible to play to his strengths and avoid having his weaknesses exploited!
"What incredible footwork." Lu Yan'an kept trying to close in, but Illusion Dream could draw on his momentum to dodge within a tiny space, perfectly neutralizing his attacks.
"That Nightmare's burst speed is so fast." Illusion Dream was just as anxious. "He's on a completely different level from the others I've taken out! And... he's extremely good at exploiting openings. He's a formidable opponent!"
One of the two moved with elegant, uncanny footwork, spear in hand and seemingly unstoppable as he attacked Lu Yan'an again and again.
The other fought like a master strategist, repeatedly calculating and dodging to evade his opponent, then closing in again and again. He was exceptionally good at spotting the tiniest openings, then building on them and steadily expanding his advantage.
After their earlier series of clashes, both Lu Yan'an and Illusion Dream understood how difficult the other was to deal with.
They were completely different, each with an unmistakable style!
One was an elegant fighter!
The other was a master strategist!
They traded blows again and again at lightning speed.
After more than ten minutes, they finally paused. Lu Yan'an stood on the marsh, silently watching Illusion Dream in the distance. Illusion Dream had also stopped and didn't continue attacking.
The recoil from these gauntlets is so strong! I'm at a disadvantage without a weapon! Lu Yan'an's expression darkened. Even with the Cosmic Force reducing the impact, his hands were completely numb! He'd finally experienced the advantage weapons offered. Fighting with only his fists put him at a serious disadvantage in this situation!
They'd clashed head-on again and again!
Each impact was terrifying. An ordinary genius would have had his arm shattered by just one head-on clash! And with only his gauntlets, Lu Yan'an had no way to lessen the impact. He had to bear the full force of every attack. That made things even worse. He might have been fine after one or two blows, but after dozens or hundreds, even Lu Yan'an would be worn down and gravely injured!
Illusion Dream's physical foundation as a fighter was clearly inferior to Lu Yan'an's. Even with the spear between them, the recoil was enough to take its toll! Clearly, between the paths of the fighter and the Illusionist, Illusion Dream had devoted more effort to cultivating as an Illusionist.
The situation was now terribly awkward.
Lu Yan'an's right hand couldn't take any more recoil from their clashes, and he no longer dared to keep fighting head-on.
Illusion Dream, whose main path was that of an Illusionist, couldn't withstand a prolonged head-on fight either.
What were they supposed to do now? The situation had reached an impasse!
After more than ten seconds of silence, Illusion Dream offered a solution.
"I'm sure you're still holding on to your final trump card, 'Nightmare,' right?" Illusion Dream asked.
Seeing Lu Yan'an remain silent, he nodded and continued, "I've held on to mine too. I planned to use it later in the finals to compete for first place in the universe rankings!"
"With our abilities, we're both sure to qualify. The question is whether you have any interest in spending the next few years training in the Reincarnation Battle." Illusion Dream laid his cards on the table and raised the screen on his right wrist. The words "Ranked First" stood out clearly.
"The Reincarnation Battle? Not interested!" Lu Yan'an replied with some disdain. He wasn't short on experience; he was short on time—the time needed to comprehend the laws!
"Then this is easy to settle. I'll give you half my points, letting you take first place in your World Zone and qualify directly! Then we can settle things in the universe finals. How about it?"
As he finished speaking, the aura around Illusion Dream faded away, and he returned to being the carefree Son of Wind he'd been before.
When Lu Yan'an fell silent again, Illusion Dream immediately said, "We each get what we want. There's no need to feel burdened! I was planning to give half my points to some random person at the last moment anyway. Giving them to you is no embarrassment—at least I acknowledge your strength!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he thrust his spear into his own heart, giving Lu Yan'an no time to react!
The information on Lu Yan'an's wrist screen had now changed.
Contestant: Lu Yan'an (Black Dragon Mountain Empire) Points: Rank: 1
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