Giant Axe Warrior

"Was this... enlightenment?" Everyone watching held their breath, tense with anticipation.

Vida's gaze grew colder. Under his control, the spear probed toward Li Yilin's vital points like a venomous snake striking from the shadows.

Li Yilin's eyes were unfocused. He relied solely on his battle instincts to fend off the attacks, while his thoughts had already drifted back thirty thousand years.

Back then, he had just transmigrated into Swallowed Star, and the system had only just appeared. Knowing how vast and wondrous this world was, he had been full of ambition. Even after signing a contract with the Giant Axe Arena, he had believed he wouldn't fall here. He would rise to greatness, no matter what.

Later, after one battle after another, countless people died by his blade. Some had been forced into it; some had been full of ambition; some had been brimming with resolve... but without exception, they all died at his hands.

Again and again, he had escaped death. Again and again, he had faced the threat of dying. That feeling of being consumed by fear and despair, yet having no choice but to press on, had transformed him time and again, making him stronger!

Thunder had given him a new life, granted him power, and helped him...

Grow stronger!

And then...

Survive!

Li Yilin raised his head. At some point, the Black Blade had stopped swinging. Thunder crackled, and in the blink of an eye, the six black threads turned around and shot toward the vital points all over his body!

Vida's eyes narrowed, and alarm bells rang in his mind. His spear darted out, aimed straight at Li Yilin's heart.

Li Yilin ignored it. He tilted his head back, his blood-covered lips parting in a grin, his eyes blazing with light.

Thunder—

"So that's how it is!"

"Hahaha..."

Amid his wild laughter, even more purple lightning appeared around him almost instantly. An invisible wave spread outward. Before the six black threads could even touch his clothes, they were devoured by lightning. His War Blade slashed down and clashed with the spearhead.

"Boom!" The tremendous force sent Vida stumbling back several meters. His expression changed drastically, but he charged in again without hesitation. His spear thrust out like a venomous snake, wrapped in the Light Law like a serpent coiling around its prey. With the law empowering it, his attack grew even fiercer.

He was fast, but Li Yilin was faster.

Though he seemed to move slowly, he rose swiftly into the air. Countless lightning serpents wound around him, and a purple Thunder and Lightning Domain spread across hundreds of miles. He looked like the Thunder God descending upon the world.

Virtual Universe.

The scene fell silent. Everyone wore a different expression, frozen as if some great being had cast a spell to stop time.

They watched what was unfolding in the arena, holding their breath!

"Thunder Dragon—" A low, forceful shout rang out.

Rumble!

The enormous purple domain instantly turned upside down, spreading across the sky. Countless purple bolts of lightning darted through the thunderclouds. The deep rumble of thunder, accompanied by blinding flashes, made everyone tremble.

Staring up at the vast Thunder and Lightning Domain and its blinding bolts, Vida's heart sank. Had he comprehended the Light Domain, or had he comprehended the Light Domain?

Even with the laws empowering it, his domain was almost completely suppressed!

Impossible!

Unless he had crossed the threshold as soon as he comprehended the law, and had developed an understanding of his own, reaching an even deeper level!

But the odds of that...

It made no sense!

Unwilling to believe it, Vida gripped his spear and leaned back, his lean waist bent as he raised the weapon. Countless black beams of light, embodying all his understanding of light, coiled around the spear shaft.

"Ha!"

With a roar, he hurled the spear forward with all his strength. It shot through the clouds like a beam of light, hurtling toward the distant figure wreathed in thunder.

Within the heavy, layered thunderclouds, a vast vortex appeared. A gigantic Thunder Dragon emerged from the clouds.

Its long, flowing whiskers, its imposing eyes that dared anyone to offend it, and its lifelike body, which seemed far too real to be made of thunder... The virtual space fell silent. Everyone watched with bated breath, not daring to make a sound.

The Thunder Dragon raised its head and roared. Its deep yet penetrating cry swept across the entire planet almost in an instant.

In the void dozens of miles from the battlefield, a burly man with a human torso and a serpent's tail stood watching. He was a World Lord, the "supervisor" in charge of this life-or-death battle. When the Thunder Dragon appeared, he showed no reaction. But the instant he heard its roar, he nearly lost his balance and fell from the sky.

He hurriedly steadied himself and stared at the enormous Thunder Dragon, his heart filled with shock.

What kind of creature was this Thunder Dragon? How could it be so terrifying?

His bloodline trembled as if it had encountered its natural enemy... No, not its natural enemy.

The burly man closed his eyes and carefully sensed the response from his bloodline.

It was...

Yearning!

The very origin of his bloodline told him that the direction of evolution he yearned for was...

"That dragon!" He stared in shock at the dragon—or rather, at the tiny figure before its head.

Could Li Yilin secretly have the bloodline of the Dragon-Man Race?

Otherwise, why would even a beastly illusion conjured from a domain make his bloodline tremble...

What a pity!

Both of them had comprehended laws, yet one of them would perish here!

The supervisor felt a pang of regret.

Beneath the Thunder and Lightning Domain,

Li Yilin flashed into the air, appearing before the enormous dragon's head. He raised the Black Blade in his hand and activated the Origin Force in his body.

"Rumble..." The Thunder Dragon roared. Countless writhing bolts of purple lightning converged in its open jaws.

Li Yilin gathered his strength in his dantian and shouted,

"Perish!"

A gigantic ball of thunder and a blade arc like the scythe of the Death God tore through the vast distance in the blink of an eye. After knocking aside the oncoming spear, they appeared before Vida in an instant.

The blade arc looked as if it could split the entire world in two. Even when it reached him, Vida still hadn't reacted.

It was too fast. There was no way to resist an attack like that.

He barely had time to raise a hand before the blade arc swept through the middle of his body and continued on, landing on the enormous mountain range behind him.

"Bang!"

Vida's knees slammed into the ground. His body split diagonally in two, and his upper half slowly toppled over.

Eyes wide open, Vida stared blankly at the Thunder and Lightning Domain and the Thunder Dragon still lingering in the sky. His lips trembled.

"Im...possible!" His eyes closed.

His external injuries seemed minor, but the sea of consciousness inside his head had been pierced, and his soul had been shattered.

The wind howled!

Li Yilin descended from the sky and looked at the corpse. His face had returned to its usual expression, neither pleased nor saddened.

He slowly crouched and picked up a ring that had fallen to the ground, placing it in Vida's slightly open palm.

"You were formidable!

"But I had no choice. I had to win!"

He stood and turned away. Purple lightning poured from his body, and in almost an instant, it burned the corpse behind him along with the ring, reducing them to cosmic dust. The raging cosmic winds then swept the dust away into the starry expanse.

Virtual Universe.

Everyone watched in silence as Vida's body crumbled to dust, Li Yilin stood motionless, and the supervisor flew toward him.

"Damn it!"

Aodeyu shoved the two rabbit-eared women away and stood up. He strode to the virtual screen and punched Li Yilin's image twice, his expression frighteningly grim.

"He comprehended the Origin Law—he even crossed the threshold in one go!"

A Domain Lord under forty thousand years old had comprehended the Origin Law and crossed the threshold, even earning the title of "Giant Axe Warrior." With talent like that and such rapid advancement, Aodeyu could already imagine how much trouble Li Yilin would cause him from now on.

"I have to tell the master!"

Desolate Planet.

"Congratulations. You've earned the title of 'Giant Axe Warrior.' This is your medal!" The supervisor patted Li Yilin on the shoulder, took a brand-new medal from his Space Ring, and pinned it to Li Yilin's chest himself.

The instant the medal, engraved with a strange giant axe, was pinned to Li Yilin's chest!

"Woohoo..." The spectators in the Virtual Universe stands immediately erupted in a deafening roar.

"Giant Axe Warrior..." Amid the earth-shaking cheers, everyone jumped to their feet, letting their excitement spill out.

"He won, Li Yilin!"

"I actually witnessed the birth of a Giant Axe Warrior with my own eyes!"

"Li Yilin's Origin of Laws crossed the threshold too. Both sides crossed it in a life-or-death battle—what a spectacular fight!"

"That ticket was worth it!"

"Hahaha, I lost the money I bet, but I'm going to save this battle. It gave me the chance I needed to break through!"

"This was a Giant Axe Warrior!"

Desolate Planet.

Li Yilin stood before the burly man with the serpent's tail. After he pinned the medal to his chest, he bowed slightly.

"Thank you, sir!"

"My name is Sawatdee." The serpent-tailed man laughed heartily. "With your talent, it probably won't take long for you to reach my level."

Li Yilin smiled without answering. Sawatdee didn't mind and continued.

"Now that you're a Giant Axe Warrior, your life-or-death battles are officially over. The contract you signed has been terminated. Your home planet will also be registered under your name within half an hour..."

He was already convinced that Li Yilin had a hidden bloodline from the Dragon-Man Race. Otherwise, Li Yilin wouldn't be able to cultivate a manual that was clearly connected to dragons.

So he had decided to befriend him.

He was naturally patient with someone he had decided to befriend, and carefully explained what would happen next.

After explaining everything about the contract and the Giant Axe Warrior title, Sawatdee finally asked, "Do you have any plans for what comes next?"

"Plans?" Li Yilin paused, then slowly shook his head. "After going through so many years of life-and-death battles, I want to take it easy.

"Unless something unexpected happens, I'll go back to my home planet and see how things are. I'll help my people grow, let my strength settle after the breakthrough, and as for what comes after that... I'll decide when the time comes."

Sawatdee wasn't surprised by Li Yilin's answer. Instead, he asked, "Have you considered joining the Giant Axe Arena?"

To be honest, Li Yilin was tempted, but...

He still shook his head. "No. For now, I just want to enjoy this rare freedom!"

One contract had bound him for thirty thousand years. He didn't want to go through that again.

"Fair enough. If you decide to join, come find me. With your talent, getting into the Core Layer won't be a problem." Sawatdee laughed and sent him a message through his email. "This is my Virtual Universe ID. Get in touch if you need anything. I still have a mission to take care of, so I'll be going!"

A black ship appeared in the air like a phantom. Its hatch slid open without a sound. Sawatdee nodded slightly to Li Yilin, turned, and flew into the ship.

Li Yilin watched the ship climb into the sky, accelerate into the Dark Universe, and vanish from sight. He looked around at the desolate, silent landscape.

"I... am free now?"