Nine Flame Sacred Land

Lin Yuan planned to finish everything he needed to take care of before devoting himself fully to cultivation.

The Secret Technique he had practiced before was a low-grade one provided by the slave trader. Lin Yuan planned to join the Nine Flame Sacred Land first and find a Secret Technique suited to him.

Lin Yuan arrived outside the main entrance of the Nine Flame Sacred Land. Red flames blazed fiercely above the gate, where the words "Nine Flame Sacred Land" were written in the Universal Language. He looked at the gate, wondering who had designed it. The place had rather poor taste.

Lin Yuan walked through the gate and followed the directions into a building, the reception hall of the Nine Flame Sacred Land.

A young woman in uniform came over and asked with a smile, "Welcome to the Nine Flame Sacred Land. How may I help you?"

"I want to join the Nine Flame Sacred Land and become a student."

Lin Yuan replied casually.

"Join the Nine Flame Sacred Land?"

The woman in uniform began looking him over.

"May I ask if you have a recommendation from any lord, or..."

Her gaze fell on Lin Yuan's chest, where she spotted the Giant Axe Medal hanging.

"Oh, so you're a Universe Level Giant Axe Warrior. My apologies for not recognizing you. Of course you're qualified to join the Holy Land and become a student."

"The Holy Land has a hundred thousand Universe Level students. There are still quite a few Giant Axe Warriors like you."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Do I need to fill out any forms?"

"Oh, no. You just need to pass an assessment, which shouldn't be too difficult for you."

The woman in uniform explained.

"If you're sure you want to become a student of the Holy Land, we'll arrange for you to enter an independent Assessment Space set up by the Holy Land in the Virtual Universe. The Holy Land will automatically retrieve your personal information from the Virtual Universe."

"The assessment has three levels. You only need to complete the simplest Grade A test to become a Universe Level student of the Holy Land."

"Please arrange the assessment for me."

"Certainly. Please give me your Virtual Universe account. After that, you can enter the Virtual Universe, and the assessment invitation will be sent to you automatically."

Virtual Universe.

Lin Yuan received the assessment invitation and went to the single-person Assessment Space.

"Please select suitable weapons and equipment."

An electronic voice sounded in Lin Yuan's ears.

Various sets of Battle Armor and weapons suitable for Universe Level fighters appeared on the screen before him.

Lin Yuan chose the same equipment he had used in the Great Axe Life-Death Battle: a set of black Tier 3 Battle Armor and a Tier 3 Force Axe.

He had only recently regained his freedom and had no time to get used to other weapons. It was best to stick with what he knew.

"Grade A Assessment commencing."

Whoosh!

The space around Lin Yuan suddenly went dark. The next moment, he appeared in a desert. Gale-force winds whipped up sand and scattered it through the air.

"The gravity is about ten thousand times that of an ordinary life-bearing planet."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

The gravity barely affected him.

A black-clad figure suddenly appeared not far ahead.

The Black-Clad Man held a Giant Axe identical to Lin Yuan's. His face had no features at all, making him look extremely bizarre.

"Defeat me to pass the Grade A Assessment."

The voice came from the featureless face.

"Let's begin."

Lin Yuan said expressionlessly.

"Careful! Hah!"

The Black-Clad Man raised his Giant Axe, and a scarlet Domain instantly spread out.

"Eightfold Domain of Fire."

Lin Yuan judged. It seemed this was the level of an opponent in the Grade A Assessment.

The Black-Clad Man leaped forward and brought his axe down at Lin Yuan with both hands. To Lin Yuan, his speed didn't seem particularly fast.

An Earth-Yellow Domain appeared around Lin Yuan, covering twice the area of the Black-Clad Man's. Lin Yuan didn't use any Law Power; he wanted to get a feel for his opponent's axe technique.

Holding his axe in one hand, Lin Yuan swung.

"Bang!"

The Giant Axe in Lin Yuan's hands was knocked slightly off course. He quickly adjusted his stance, stepped back, and readied himself again.

"The Black-Clad Man's Force Amplitude is slightly higher than mine, and his axe technique is more refined. He holds the axe with both hands, yet can focus the force into a single point and unleash it all at once. Impressive!"

Lin Yuan thought, his expression growing excited.

"Come on! Again!"

Lin Yuan maintained only his ninth-level Domain of Earth and kept his speed on par with the Black-Clad Man's. He was now more focused than before.

Clang! Clang! Clang...

The two fought for hundreds of exchanges, a smile playing at the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth.

Until now, every battle Lin Yuan had fought had put his life at risk. He had been intensely focused, and every match had placed him under tremendous pressure.

This was Lin Yuan's first fight since regaining his freedom. There was no pressure and no threat of death. He was thoroughly enjoying the feeling.

After another hundred or so exchanges, Lin Yuan's gaze sharpened. He unleashed the strongest of the Army-Breaking Seven Axes that he had mastered, broke through the Black-Clad Man's defense, and cut him in two.

"You have passed the Grade A Assessment."

The electronic voice sounded again.

"You may choose to leave the Assessment Space or take the Grade B Assessment."

"Hm? I can go straight on to the Grade B Assessment? They didn't say I couldn't, so I might as well give it a try."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

"I choose to continue with the Grade B Assessment."

In the real world, the woman in uniform had just finished watching Lin Yuan's Grade A Assessment and was about to greet him and complete the formalities for his student status.

"Huh? Why is he continuing with the Grade B Assessment?"

"He didn't pass the Grade A Assessment easily at all."

The woman in uniform wondered.

"Oh, well. It'll be over soon anyway."

She didn't think much of it and went to prepare the paperwork for his student status.

The black-clad figure appeared again in the howling desert.

He was still holding a Giant Axe just like Lin Yuan's. He seemed unchanged from before.

The black-clad figure appeared some distance in front of Lin Yuan.

"Passing the Grade A Assessment shows that you're already among the best at the Universe Level. Defeat me, and you'll pass the Grade B Assessment."

"My current strength is nothing like it was before. You'd better be careful."

The voice came from the Black-Clad Man's bizarre face.

"Let's get started."

Lin Yuan was eager to begin.

The Black-Clad Man's Domain spread out. The scarlet Domain was several times larger than before, and red flames ignited on the Giant Axe in his hands.

"The Law of Fire Origin! And his comprehension is quite deep."

Lin Yuan didn't dare let his guard down. An Earth-Yellow glow covered his Giant Axe as he activated his Domain of Earth and Domain of Metal. In the Great Axe Life-Death Battle, the Domain of Metal had actually helped him relatively little. The two Domains had only been layered together mechanically, while the Domain of Earth had done most of the work. But as Lin Yuan continued to cultivate and rack up victories, the Domain of Metal had begun to show signs of merging with the Domain of Earth.

Lin Yuan had been trying to merge his Domains throughout the final thirty years of the life-death battles. On the journey to Red Flame Planet, while cultivating aboard the spaceship, he had caught a glimpse of how to do it and had just managed to partially integrate the Domain of Metal into the Domain of Earth.

Lin Yuan was puzzled. Ever since he awakened his Golden Finger, the Lucky Wheel, his cultivation had gone more smoothly. Could the Lucky Wheel really be increasing his comprehension?