Lin Yuan held nothing back and went all out from the start. His abilities had already been exposed.
After the previous battle, Lin Yuan wanted to finish his opponents as quickly as possible. What if he ran into another freak who suddenly achieved enlightenment and something went wrong? It wouldn't be worth the risk.
He unleashed both Domains, which were already showing signs of merging. He combined the Law of Earth Origin with his axe technique, Army-Breaking Seven Axes. It was a new axe technique he had worked out on his own over the past few months. He still wasn't very familiar with it, but his execution was far better than when he had first gained insight into the Law during his last life-and-death battle.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Their Force Weapons clashed, and in just three exchanges, Lin Yuan knocked the Battle Blade from his opponent's hand.
Then he followed up with an axe strike that killed his opponent.
Lin Yuan claimed his 883rd victory.
Lin Yuan was a little stunned. This was the easiest match he'd had in the past few hundred battles.
In truth, life-and-death battles were meant to push cultivators to break through in moments of crisis, improve their strength, and temper their will. The goal was to identify promising candidates.
Though these candidates had some potential, very few would become truly powerful experts.
The Universe Level Great Axe Life-Death Battle served another purpose: to supply the Peak Warrior Tournament with so-called "experts."
The most talented among them might reach the level of the top 1,000 contestants from a High-level Universe Country in the Warrior Battle. If they didn't fall, they might ultimately become Peak World Lords. In other words, they had about the same potential as the Genius Battle contestants who could enter the Virtual Universe Company's End-of-the-World Secret Realm.
Judging solely by Lin Yuan's current strength, he had crossed the threshold of the Law of Earth Origin. If he didn't fall, becoming a World Lord would be no challenge.
As for his talent, outsiders saw Lin Yuan as someone who had gone from knowing nothing about the Law of Earth to crossing its threshold in a single leap. He clearly had great talent for comprehending it. If he didn't fall, he was very likely to become a Peak World Lord recognized by the Law.
If he didn't pursue the two higher-level Origin Laws and focused wholeheartedly on the Law of Earth Origin, he might even have a sliver of a chance of becoming an Immortal.
The Great Axe Arena wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for a combatant with that kind of potential. It couldn't possibly find dozens or hundreds of opponents at the same level to challenge him again.
Under normal circumstances, gaining even a trace of insight into an Origin Law made one a strong candidate to become a "Giant Axe Warrior." Some lucky people could become Giant Axe Warriors with just a ninth-level Domain.
In the days that followed, Lin Yuan kept repeating the cycle of fighting and cultivation.
He studied the Law of Earth Origin and practiced his axe technique and footwork. He also sent his consciousness deep into his storage space to study the Secret Patterns of the Law of Space Origin on the Golden Leaf.
After claiming his 922nd victory, Lin Yuan advanced to Universe Level 9.
[You have advanced to Universe Level 9 and received one lottery draw. Would you like to draw?]
"Draw!"
...The ball on the wheel gradually slowed and stopped at number 4.
Lin Yuan was delighted.
[Congratulations! You have obtained rare reward No. 4: the Secret Technique Ten Thousand Hearts Undying. Would you like to claim it? If you do not claim it, the prize will be stored in the System Space.]
"Don't claim it."
Lin Yuan could inspect the items in the system's storage space with his mind. Unless a reward had to be taken out for use, there was no need to retrieve it. Besides, Lin Yuan didn't dare take it out just yet.
Lin Yuan focused his consciousness on the Secret Technique Ten Thousand Hearts Undying, and information about it flooded his mind:
Ten Thousand Hearts Undying was a soul-based Secret Technique with five layers.
The first layer, "One Thought One Heart," initially refined the soul, condensing it into an "indestructible" True Heart. This heart was the source of the Ten Thousand Hearts and the foundation of the soul. Once mastered, a faint halo would appear around the soul, easily blocking soul and illusion attacks from Spirit Readers of the same level. The soul would also be stronger than that of other cultivators at the same level. It was extremely difficult to master at the Universe Level.
The second layer, "Ten Directions Heart Guard," split off ten "Guarding Hearts" that revolved around the True Heart, greatly strengthening the soul's defenses. Once mastered, a halo would form around the soul, allowing it to withstand soul and illusion attacks from opponents above the cultivator's level. The soul would be far stronger than those of other experts at the same level. It was extremely difficult to master at the Domain Lord Level.
The third layer, "Hundred Hearts Vortex," split the soul into a hundred hearts. Once mastered, a galaxy-like vortex would appear around the soul, bringing a qualitative change to its defenses. The vortex could break down and annihilate soul attacks, absorb part of their energy, and turn it into nourishment for the soul. It was nearly impossible for a World Lord to master.
The fourth layer, "Thousand Hearts Traverse"...
The fifth layer, "Ten Thousand Hearts Undying," formed ten thousand hearts from a single thought, then reunited them as one. The soul would undergo a complete transformation, granting immunity to the vast majority of soul attacks and enslavement techniques. Unless all ten thousand hearts could be annihilated in an instant, the cultivator's soul could not truly be destroyed. It could be called "undying." This was a legendary state, and no one had ever been recorded as mastering it.
Lin Yuan nearly dropped his jaw.
The fourth reward was actually such an incredible Secret Technique. If he could master it, who knew how powerful his soul would become?
As a transmigrator, Lin Yuan had discovered after his arrival that his soul and will were naturally stronger than those of others at the same level. Combined with the slave trader's "elite" training and the tempering he had undergone in more than 900 Great Axe Life-Death Battles, his soul and will were far stronger than those of ordinary Universe Level cultivators. They were already close to the Domain Lord level.
Still, combatants with several hundred victories in the life-and-death battles generally had stronger wills than ordinary cultivators at the same level. Though Spirit Reader Illusionists were relatively rare, they showed up from time to time. Combatants who couldn't withstand illusion attacks didn't survive.
This Secret Technique was perfect for Lin Yuan.
In high spirits, Lin Yuan immersed himself in it and eagerly began to grasp the mysteries of the first layer.
Time flew by. Thirty years passed.
Lin Yuan had already claimed 999 victories. He needed just one more to gain his freedom.
The life-and-death battles had gone fairly smoothly for him over those thirty years.
At 996 victories, he had faced a Spirit Reader Controller who gained a trace of insight into an Origin Law during the battle. Lin Yuan had suffered a minor injury.
As for his cultivation, Lin Yuan had made some progress in the Law of Earth Origin, but it hadn't triggered a system lottery. His improvement must have been very slight.
Lin Yuan hadn't found the first layer of Ten Thousand Hearts Undying particularly difficult to cultivate. He had now grasped more than half of it, and his will was only a little short of reaching the Domain Lord level.
Lin Yuan set aside time every day to study the Secret Patterns of the Law on the Golden Leaf, but he still hadn't gained even a trace of insight into the Law of Space Origin.
To Lin Yuan's surprise, though, in the twenty-fifth year, while studying the Golden Leaf as usual, inspiration suddenly struck. He gained a trace of insight into the Law of Gold Origin, and it all seemed to happen naturally.
Lin Yuan didn't reveal this during the life-and-death battles. There was no need.
That time, he drew reward No. 21: a bottle of Godly Drunkenness.
The description read, "Fine wine beloved by the powerful."
Lin Yuan was speechless. The lottery wheel really did have everything.
The wine was anything but cheap, though. A bottle cost 8 Hunyuan in the Virtual Universe, and 8,000 Hunyuan in the real world. Godly Drunkenness tasted excellent and was much loved by experts at the Immortal level and above.
Lin Yuan had no desire to indulge himself with this bottle of fine wine. Once he gained his freedom, he'd sell it.
Lin Yuan couldn't understand why Immortals and even more powerful beings would spend so much just to satisfy their taste buds.
It was good to be rich.
Before you continue