Crushing Victory

Lin Yuan's willpower had already reached the World Lord level.

Every so often, Lin Yuan would consume diluted Black Jade Venom to temper his mind and willpower, causing his strength to steadily increase.

Lin Yuan's willpower was already formidable to begin with, and after mastering the first level of Ten Thousand Hearts Undying, his soul was enveloped in a resilient halo. Soul attacks and illusions from those at his same level could not affect him in the slightest.

Barry's illusion attack dissipated automatically the moment it struck the halo surrounding Lin Yuan's soul.

"Impossible!"

Barry found it hard to believe. Among the Universe Level students, aside from Brian who could dodge them, he had never encountered anyone capable of resisting his illusions.

Refusing to accept this, Barry moved his lips and repeatedly unleashed illusion attacks, sending several formless ripples into Lin Yuan's mind one after another.

But the result remained the same; every illusion attack vanished upon touching the halo, which merely trembled slightly.

"Is this the illusion attack you're so proud of?"

Lin Yuan's tone was calm, yet carried a hint of mockery.

"Why... why is your soul willpower so strong?"

Barry's tone was clearly panicked.

"Do you have any other tricks? Use them all," Lin Yuan said.

"You won't have another chance soon."

Barry's face turned livid. Gritting his teeth, he poured his full power into the Purple Shuttle beneath his feet. The shuttle transformed into a purple spike, and the full might of his Law of Lightning Origin condensed instantly, focusing entirely on the tip of the spike.

Barry knew Lin Yuan's defense was astonishing, so he had to use the strongest attack form of his telepathic weapon to try and break through.

"Go!"

Barry manipulated the purple spike to rotate at high speed, and with a piercing hum, it shot toward Lin Yuan with full force.

"Mountain Collapse!"

Lin Yuan swung the Thousand Mountain Axe to meet the attack. Bolstered by his domain and the secret technique Earth Tremor, a heavy, earthy-yellow current condensed on the axe blade as he slashed at the spike.

"Bang—!"

The tip of the purple spike collided with the edge of the Thousand Mountain Axe, producing a thunderous roar.

After the violent impact, the purple spike continued to spin frantically, but Lin Yuan's defense was as solid as a fortress; the spike could not advance even a fraction of an inch.

"Damn it! How is he so tough?"

Barry finally experienced the same sense of helplessness that Resk had felt.

"I gave you a chance."

Lin Yuan stopped wasting words. With a sudden burst of strength in his arm, he swung his axe and deflected the purple spike.

At the same time, Lin Yuan activated Ten Shadow Steps. His figure flickered, and he vanished from his original spot in an instant.

Seeing this, Barry retreated rapidly, but Lin Yuan's speed was immense. Leaving ten afterimages in his wake, he arrived right in front of Barry in the blink of an eye.

When an illusionist's illusions fail, they are usually left with no choice but to be trampled.

"Rift Wave!"

A condensed, earthy-yellow shockwave was released at point-blank range, striking Barry instantly.

"Puff!"

Barry's body was severed in two, falling from the sky.

"Battle over, winner—Lin Yuan!"

The mechanical voice rang out once more.

"Student Lin Yuan, your current record is 170 wins, 0 losses."

In the Virtual Universe, inside the Spectator Hall.

"Eh? Lin Yuan was hit by the illusion attack of Marquis Illusion Moon's disciple, yet he's completely unaffected? Could his willpower have increased again?"

Marquis Yuankun felt a flicker of doubt. From the final battle of the Great Axe Life-Death Battle, he knew his youngest disciple possessed strong character and willpower, so he certainly had confidence in him.

Marquis Yuankun had initially thought Lin Yuan would struggle for a moment before shaking off the illusion on his own. He never expected that Lin Yuan would seem completely immune to the effects of the illusion.

"Marquis Yuankun! You never told me your disciple was also proficient in soul-willpower secret techniques, or I never would have made this bet with you."

Marquis Illusion Moon was quite indignant, feeling as though he had been played by Marquis Yuankun.

"Soul-willpower secret techniques?" Marquis Yuankun was puzzled. He had assumed his disciple's willpower had simply increased; he hadn't realized he had mastered some kind of soul-willpower maneuver.

When did this kid, Lin Yuan, learn that? Marquis Yuankun muttered to himself, though he couldn't exactly tell Marquis Illusion Moon that he didn't even know what techniques his own student possessed.

"A bet is a bet. I will have someone deliver that piece of Nether Black Jade to you later. You've really made a profit this time."

Marquis Illusion Moon shook his head, resigning himself to his bad luck.

The battles for the 17th day had all concluded.

Lin Yuan and Barry were simultaneously teleported out of the Battle Space, returning to the towering palace.

Barry's expression was grim; his figure flickered and vanished instantly as he logged out of the Virtual Universe.

Just as Lin Yuan was about to leave, he noticed the chubby Cohen also teleporting out of the Battle Space nearby, so he walked over.

As soon as Cohen saw Lin Yuan approaching, he hurried to meet him.

"I say, brother, that wasn't very kind of you. You're so strong, yet you kept it hidden from me all this time," the chubby Cohen complained.

"I watched the recording of your duel with Resk. Once you made your move, that big guy didn't even have the power to fight back. It was truly satisfying to watch!" the chubby boy said excitedly.

"But that Barry is not someone to be trifled with. I was matched against him on the first day, and as soon as the fight started, I fell for his illusion technique. By the time I came to my senses, I had already been teleported back to the palace. You haven't run into him yet, have you? You'd better think of a countermeasure in advance," the chubby boy advised.

"My opponent in the last match was Barry," Lin Yuan said calmly.

"Your opponent in the last match was him? Then where is Barry?" the chubby boy looked around.

"Given his personality, if he had won, he definitely would have come over to mock me."

"Wait a minute..." the chubby boy realized.

"Does that mean, brother, that you won?"

Lin Yuan nodded slightly.

"Holy cow! That's impressive, brother! Before this, among all the Universe Level fighters in the Holy Land, no one except Brian could defeat Barry. Now, you're the second one," the chubby boy said excitedly.

"I just happened to counter him. What about you? How is your record looking now?" Lin Yuan steered the conversation away from himself.

"I'm currently at 167 wins and 3 losses. I lost to Brian, Burter, and Resk..." Cohen sighed, then perked up again.

"It's a good thing you beat those two, otherwise they would surely have come to cause us trouble again in the future."

"But brother, since you won the wager, you've earned a massive sum of 20 Hunyuan Units. I'm definitely going to make you treat me to a feast," the chubby boy's eyes lit up.

"Sure, let's wait until the Ranking Tournament is completely over," Lin Yuan laughed.

"You've been bragging about how good that bottle of Ye Hua Wine tastes, but I've never seen you bring it out."

"Uh... next time for sure, next time for sure." The chubby boy rubbed his head and laughed awkwardly.

"I say, brother, when we meet in the Battle Space next time, please go easy on me. My ancestor is watching, so give me a little face, haha."

Lin Yuan was speechless; he felt he had always given the chubby boy plenty of face every single time.