Between Life and Death

Virtual Universe, Island No. 10720, spectator stands.

"This... I haven't seen this with my own eyes in decades—gaining an insight into a trace of the Law of Origin during a life-death battle."

"There's no suspense left. Under normal circumstances, in a Universe Level life-death battle, if someone gains an insight into a trace of the Law of Origin, they win immediately. The fact that Lin Yuan didn't die just now is entirely due to the support of his dual domains; his domain mastery is very high, and one of them is the Domain of Earth. Otherwise, he would have been dead long ago."

"Whoever the jinx was earlier, give me back my money! But it was truly worth coming today. To see such a scene at the Great Axe Life-Death Battle—thrilling! Satisfying!"

"Hehe! I told you all Kailan would win. Everyone bet on Kailan next time!"

"Wait..."

"Something seems wrong. Hiss—"

"Holy crap!"

On that Flame Planet in the Nine Flames Universe Kingdom.

Lin Yuan was heavily injured, collapsed on the ground.

Kailan had already pressed his advantage, manipulating the Fire Bird to fly over; he didn't want to give Lin Yuan another chance to catch his breath.

The crisis of death loomed over Lin Yuan.

At this moment, every cell in Lin Yuan's body was struggling. Under the pressure of this extreme shadow of death, Lin Yuan's soul felt as if it had exploded, and time seemed to stretch infinitely at this moment. His thoughts accelerated.

"I can't die yet... What kind of nonsense transmigration is this? The world is so big, and I haven't even seen any of the scenery yet..." Lin Yuan felt hatred in his heart.

Between life and death, there is great terror! And also great opportunity.

"Break!"

Lin Yuan took that step between life and death.

Enduring the intense pain throughout his body, Lin Yuan swung the Great Axe in his hand. The axe was coated in a faint earthy-yellow glow, becoming much heavier; he had clearly tapped into a trace of the Law of Earth Origin, and at the same time, the defensive power of his surrounding Domain of Earth soared.

"Is this the Law of Earth Origin..."

Lin Yuan savored the wonderful feeling of gaining his first insight into a Law of Origin of the universe.

With just one swing, the Fire Bird was blasted away.

Kailan was instantly stunned, recalling everything that had happened in that split second, his heart still lingering in fear.

The Domain Lord Level supervisor outside the planet also widened his eyes. This was the first time he had seen such a situation.

Lin Yuan thought rapidly in his mind: he had gained a trace of the Law of Earth Origin, combined with his dual domains. Even if Kailan had gained a trace of the Law of Fire Origin, he couldn't break through his defense at all.

However, he was heavily injured and couldn't instantly burst with speed to close in on Kailan. What to do? Compete on energy reserves? Coming from a slave background, his energy reserves were definitely inferior to the opponent's...

Suddenly, Lin Yuan discovered a roulette wheel appearing in his mind, marked with numbers from 0 to 37.

A golden finger?

Information automatically poured into Lin Yuan's mind. The general information was:

[Lucky Roulette (Universe Level), triggered by gaining insight into any Law of Origin of the universe. Breakthroughs in Law of Origin insights, realm breakthroughs, and willpower strength breakthroughs can all earn a chance to draw. The wheel rewards range from number 0 to number 37. 0 is a special reward, 1 to 10 are rare rewards, and 11 to 37 are common rewards.]

[You have one draw chance. Do you...]

"Draw, draw quickly! Don't ask."

The roulette in Lin Yuan's mind began to spin, and a small ball rolled into the track on the edge of the wheel... The ball stopped and landed on the number 28.

[You have obtained the number 28 common reward, 5% insight into a lower-tier Law of Origin. Do you wish to claim it? If...]

"Claim!"

[Detected that you have only gained a trace of the Law of Earth Origin, automatically converted to 5% insight into the Law of Earth Origin.]

Whoosh!

A wave of law fluctuations surged into Lin Yuan's consciousness and soul core, deeply imprinting itself within. All the law insights recorded by the wave became second nature, as if he had been born with the mastery.

Lin Yuan had already crossed the threshold of the Law of Earth Origin.

Everything that happened in Lin Yuan's mind took only an instant in reality.

Kailan had just regained control of the Fire Bird formed by the Fire Cloud Shuttle and was manipulating it to attack Lin Yuan again.

Boom!

The heavy Domain of Earth spread out, ten times stronger than it had been at the start of this life-death battle.

Standing within this domain, Kailan suddenly felt himself to be very small.

Lin Yuan gripped the Great Axe and used his last bit of strength to charge toward Kailan in the sky.

"No—"

The Great Axe slashed horizontally, and the body and head were separated.

Kailan, dead.

Virtual Universe, Great Axe Arena Life-Death Battle Plane, Island No. 10720.

The spectator stands were deathly silent.

In the eyes of the audience, Lin Yuan's realization of a trace of the origin law between life and death should have made the situation unpredictable once again. However, Lin Yuan instantly erupted with the strength of someone who had crossed the threshold of the origin law, killing Kailan in a single strike.

The audience exploded into an uproar once they realized what had happened.

"Against the heavens!"

"This... this isn't right, did Lin Yuan already cross the threshold of the Law of Earth Origin before this? I clearly saw him comprehend a trace of the power of the Law of Earth Origin during the battle."

"You didn't see wrong; he truly hadn't comprehended the origin law before."

"So he ascended in one step, crossing the threshold of the origin law the very moment he comprehended a trace of it."

"Wow! Big news! How many epochs has it been since we've seen a Great Axe Life-Death Battle like this! My eyes have truly been opened today."

"Brilliant! Simply brilliant! I'll just consider the 2 million Universe Coins I spent as the price of a roller coaster ride."

In the second-floor private box.

Hass was grinning from ear to ear.

"Impressive. Could he be another 'Giant Axe Warrior'? I've hit the jackpot, hit the jackpot."

Outside the Flame Planet, the Domain Lord level supervisor responsible for this life-death battle quickly diverted a portion of his consciousness into the Virtual Universe.

Virtual Universe, on the island belonging to the Nine Flames Universe Kingdom Branch of the Great Axe Arena.

"Lord Burter, I have a report to make."

"Oh? What is it?"

A tall man with two rows of scales on his face looked down at his subordinate.

Flashes of lightning danced in the man's eyes, and there was a lightning mark on his forehead. This person was Burter, the World Lord who had been acknowledged by the origin law and was responsible for dozens of islands, including Island No. 10720.

As a supervisor, he occasionally oversaw some Domain Lord level Great Axe Life-Death Battles.

Even within the Virtual Universe, this World Lord's gaze made his subordinate's soul tremble with fear.

"My Lord, I just supervised a Great Axe Life-Death Battle and discovered a promising talent. I will play the battle recording for you now."

The life-death battle recording began to play.

Burter stroked his chin.

"Hmm... hmm?"

"This little guy has deep foundations; once he erupted, he proved to be a genius at comprehending the Law of Earth. With his current strength, becoming a Universe Level 'Giant Axe Warrior' will be effortless."

"Not bad. When he reaches his 1000th match, I will personally select an opponent for him. If he can win, bring him to see me."

"Yes, my Lord."

The Domain Lord level supervisor then exited the Virtual Universe network.

On the Flame Planet.

The Domain Lord supervisor commanded the staff.

"Give him simple treatment and throw him into a Nutrient Pod to recover from his injuries."

"Use the most efficient model."

"Yes."

This type of Nutrient Pod, specifically prepared for the powerhouses participating in life-death battles, would only provide enough energy for the body to recover.

"This young man might become an outer member of the Great Axe Arena in the future; he might even be my colleague by then," the Domain Lord thought as he watched Lin Yuan being carried away. However, he did not fully grasp what it meant to step directly into the threshold of the origin law.

Inside the Nutrient Pod, Lin Yuan opened his eyes, his consciousness gradually returning.

After instantly killing Kailan in the previous battle, Lin Yuan's body had relaxed, and he had passed out due to the severity of his injuries.

As soon as his consciousness recovered, a message appeared in his mind.

[Your comprehension of the Law of Earth Origin has crossed the threshold of the origin law. You have received one lucky draw opportunity. Would you like to draw?]

Draw, Lin Yuan thought to himself.

...The small ball stopped and landed on the number 17.

[Congratulations! You have obtained the No. 17 common reward: one Golden Leaf of the Kras Ancient Tree.]

Lin Yuan was stunned, then a wry smile appeared on his lips.

After the bitterness comes the sweetness; it seems the good days are truly about to begin.