Nine Flame Sacred Land

Lin Yuan planned to finish everything he needed to do before fully committing himself to cultivation.

The secret technique he had been practicing previously was a mediocre one provided by the slave trader; Lin Yuan intended to join the Nine Flame Sacred Land first to find a technique better suited to him.

Lin Yuan arrived outside the main gate of the Nine Flame Sacred Land, where crimson flames burned fiercely above the entrance. Within the flames, the words "Nine Flame Sacred Land" were written in the Universal Common Language. Lin Yuan looked at the gate, wondering who had designed it, and felt the taste was quite ordinary.

Lin Yuan walked through the gate and followed the signs into a building; this was the reception room of the Nine Flame Sacred Land.

A young woman in a uniform walked 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 to size Lin Yuan up.

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

The woman's gaze stopped at Lin Yuan's chest, where she noticed the Giant Axe Medal hanging there.

"Oh, so you are a Universe Level Giant Axe Warrior. My apologies. You are certainly qualified to join the Sacred Land and become a student."

"The Sacred Land has 100,000 Universe Level students, and there are quite a few Giant Axe Warriors like you."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Do I need to fill out any forms?"

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

The woman explained to Lin Yuan.

"If you are certain you want to become a student of the Sacred Land, we will arrange for you to enter an independent Assessment Space set up by the Sacred Land in the Virtual Universe shortly. The Sacred Land will automatically retrieve your personal information within the Virtual Universe."

"The assessment is divided into three levels. You only need to complete the simplest Grade A Assessment to obtain the status of a Universe Level student of the Sacred Land."

"Please arrange the assessment for me."

"Very well. Please provide me with your Virtual Universe account. Afterward, you can enter the Virtual Universe directly, and the assessment invitation will be sent automatically."

Virtual Universe.

Lin Yuan received the assessment invitation and headed to the individual Assessment Space.

"Please select the weapons and equipment that suit you."

An electronic voice reached Lin Yuan's ears.

Various battle armors and weapons suitable for Universe Level use appeared on the screen in front of Lin Yuan.

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

Lin Yuan had only recently regained his freedom and had no time to get in touch with or adapt to other weapons; it was best to stick with what he was familiar with and what felt most comfortable.

"Grade A Assessment, about to begin."

Swish!

The space Lin Yuan occupied suddenly turned black. The next second, Lin Yuan appeared in a desert environment, where gusts of wind whipped up sand particles, scattering them into the air.

"The gravity is about 10,000 times that of a normal life-bearing planet."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

This level of gravity had a negligible effect on him.

Not far in front of Lin Yuan, a figure in black suddenly appeared.

The man in black held a giant axe identical to the one in Lin Yuan's hand, and his face was featureless, which was quite eerie.

"Defeat me, and you will pass the Grade A Assessment."

The voice emanated from the featureless face.

"Let's begin."

Lin Yuan said expressionlessly.

"Watch out! Hah!"

The man in black raised his giant axe, and a fiery red domain instantly spread outward.

"Domain of Fire, eighth level."

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

The man in black leaped forward, wielding the axe with both hands, and slashed toward Lin Yuan. To Lin Yuan, the speed was not particularly fast.

An Earth-Yellow Domain appeared around Lin Yuan, covering an area twice as large as that of the man in black. Lin Yuan did not use the power of laws; instead, he wanted to get a feel for his opponent's axe techniques.

Lin Yuan gripped his axe with one hand and swung it out.

"Bang!"

The giant axe in Lin Yuan's hand was actually knocked aside slightly. Lin Yuan quickly adjusted his posture, stepped back, and reset his stance.

"This man in black has a Force Amplitude slightly higher than mine, and his axe technique is even more exquisite. He grips the axe with both hands, yet he can concentrate his power into a single point of eruption. Truly exquisite!"

Lin Yuan thought to himself, his expression turning excited.

"Come! Again!"

Lin Yuan maintained only the ninth level of his Domain of Earth, keeping his speed at the same level as the man in black, his attitude even more serious than before.

"Clang! Clang! Clang..."

The two clashed for hundreds of rounds, a smile playing on the corners of Lin Yuan's lips.

In all his previous battles, Lin Yuan had been risking his life, his spirit highly concentrated, and in every match, he had endured immense pressure within his heart.

This was the first battle since Lin Yuan had regained his freedom; there was no pressure, no threat of death, and Lin Yuan was thoroughly enjoying the feeling.

After another hundred rounds of combat, Lin Yuan's eyes sharpened. He unleashed the strongest axe strike he had mastered from the Army-Breaking Seven Axes, shattering the man in black's defense and cleaving him in two.

"You have passed the Grade A Assessment."

The electronic voice sounded once again.

"You may choose to exit the Assessment Space, or you may choose to participate in the Grade B Assessment."

"Hm? I can proceed directly to the Grade B Assessment? Well, it didn't say it wasn't allowed, so I might as well give it a try."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

"I choose to continue and participate in the Grade B Assessment."

In the real world, the woman in uniform had just finished watching Lin Yuan's Grade A Assessment and was preparing to go greet him to formally process his status as a Holy Land student.

"Huh? Why is he continuing on to the Grade B Assessment?"

"He didn't exactly have an easy time passing that Grade A Assessment just now."

The woman in uniform muttered to herself.

"Whatever, it'll be over in a moment anyway."

The woman in uniform didn't take it to heart and went off to prepare the materials for his student registration.

In a desert where gale-force winds howled, the black-clad figure appeared once more.

He still held the same Giant Axe as Lin Yuan, seemingly unchanged from before.

The black-clad figure arrived not far across from Lin Yuan.

"Being able to pass the Grade A Assessment shows that you are already a standout among the Universe Level. Defeat me, and you will pass the Grade B Assessment."

"My current strength is not at all comparable to what it was just a moment ago. You had better be careful."

The voice emanated from the man in black's eerie face.

"Let's start already."

Lin Yuan was eager to try.

The man in black's domain spread out, the fiery red domain several times larger than before, and the Giant Axe in his hand ignited with red flames.

"It's the Law of Fire Origin! And his level of comprehension is quite deep."

Lin Yuan dared not slack off. An earthy-yellow light covered the Giant Axe in his hand as he simultaneously activated his Domain of Earth and Domain of Metal. Previously, in life-or-death battles, the help provided by the Domain of Metal had been quite limited; the two domains were merely released in a mechanical overlay, with the Domain of Earth playing the primary role. Later, as Lin Yuan cultivated and his number of victories increased, the Domain of Metal showed a faint tendency to merge with the Domain of Earth.

Domain fusion was something Lin Yuan had been attempting throughout the final thirty years of his life-or-death battles. During his flight to Red Flame Planet, while cultivating on the spaceship, Lin Yuan had caught a glimpse of the method, barely managing to allow the Domain of Metal to partially integrate into the Domain of Earth.

Lin Yuan was actually quite puzzled; ever since he had awakened his Golden Finger, the "Lucky Wheel," his cultivation had become much smoother. Could it be that this Lucky Wheel was actually increasing his comprehension?