Ambush

Li Yilin shook his head, took out his spaceship, and boarded it.

He instructed the Smart Optical Computer to set the destination to Mulan Planet, and only then did Li Yilin have the peace of mind to connect his consciousness to the Virtual Universe network to check his emails.

After setting up an automatic reply to thank those who had sent messages congratulating him on obtaining the "Giant Axe Warrior" title, Li Yilin turned his attention to the emails from the Galaxy Universe Bank. There were five in total, and he clicked on the first one--

Respected customer, hello.

Your account linked to our bank has just received a remittance of 131,026,300,000 trillion Universe Coins. Your account balance has reached the 13.1026 million Hunyuan threshold (Hunyuan is a high-level unit; each Hunyuan unit is equivalent to 1 trillion Universe Coins), and it has been automatically upgraded to a "Five-Star Account." You have also automatically become a distinguished five-star customer of our Galaxy Universe Bank. As a star-rated customer, you possess many special privileges.

Li Yilin's gaze couldn't help but linger on that long string of numbers.

Thirty thousand years, one thousand life-and-death battles, and in every single one, he had bet all his assets on his own victory. Over these thirty thousand years, his wealth had long since far exceeded what a Domain Lord could possess, even rivaling that of powerful Immortals.

Over thirteen million Hunyuan units.

Confirming the amount was correct, Li Yilin nodded with satisfaction.

Truly excellent. Over thirteen million Hunyuan units in liquid assets should be enough to last him until he reaches the Immortal level.

The following four emails were all from the bank regarding investments, wealth management, and the like; he merely glanced at them before tossing them aside, paying them no further mind.

He opened the final email, which came from the Virtual Universe Company.

"Hello!

From the moment you became a five-star customer, you gained the qualifications to participate in the 'High-Level Auction.' In the universe, many precious items are restricted, and there are many others that are difficult to purchase even with money. Our 'Auction' held by the Virtual Universe Company provides an opportunity for people to acquire these precious items.

The High-Level Auction is held at irregular intervals.

The minimum threshold to participate in the High-Level Auction is being a five-star customer of the First Universe Bank or the Galaxy Universe Bank.

The date for the next High-Level Auction has not yet been determined... For detailed information regarding the auction, please see the attachment to this email.

Virtual Universe Company."

Ten thousand Hunyuan units make a four-star account, while ten million Hunyuan units make a five-star account.

Those who possess five-star accounts are almost all powerhouses at the Immortal level or above. Yet he, a Domain Lord level warrior, had obtained a five-star account through his own ability, and the money within it far exceeded the ten-million Hunyuan threshold for a five-star account, reaching over thirteen million Hunyuan units.

Such immense wealth—if it were known by others, he would likely attract jealousy or even be targeted!

"The High-Level Auction is unscheduled, but there are plenty of medium and low-level auctions." After reading for a moment, Li Yilin chuckled, shook his head, and closed the email.

His strength was still relatively low, so even if he were qualified to attend the High-Level Auction, he wouldn't have a use for the items auctioned there; he could ignore it for now.

Setting aside the matter of the auction, he opened the mall and purchased a large pile of cultivation resources, including a nutrient pod suitable for a Domain Lord to improve his strength. His current strength was only at the fifth stage of the Domain Lord level, and he needed to push to the ninth stage as quickly as possible; using a nutrient pod was the best way.

Possessing wealth comparable to an Immortal, he naturally wouldn't skimp on his cultivation. He directly bought an E-Grade Nutrient Pod along with one hundred tons of matching nutrient solution, plus a large amount of other cultivation resources, spending nearly two quadrillion Universe Coins just like that.

Two quadrillion Universe Coins sounded like a lot, but if converted into Hunyuan units, it was only two thousand Hunyuan units—a mere fraction of the string of numbers in his account.

After paying promptly and selecting a desolate planet nearest to Mulan Planet for delivery, Li Yilin logged out of the virtual universe, cleared his mind of distractions, settled his heart, and continued his cultivation.

In the silent Dark Universe, a spaceship traveled through the void like a shooting star...

Inside the ship, Li Yilin sat with his eyes closed, his consciousness immersed in the gray black sphere deep within his mind.

When a Universe Level warrior breaks through to the Domain Lord level, their galaxy is completely swallowed by a black hole, and the super-massive black hole collapses to form a "Singularity." At this moment, one is considered to have stepped into the Domain Lord level.

The Singularity, though extremely tiny, is incredibly heavy!

As a "Singularity" that is both an infinitesimal point and the result of swallowing countless galaxies, it will gradually gestate a world within itself. This gestation process spans the entire journey from Domain Lord level one to Domain Lord level nine! When the gestation is fully successful, a fundamental transformation occurs, and the gestated world forms a true world!

At that point, one becomes a World Lord!

What Li Yilin needed to do now was to nurture the "Singularity," making it more solid. The more solid it was, the more stable the world he would eventually open up and gestate would be, and the larger the area of the world he could nurture would be...

Although the cost of this was that breaking through the "shackles" when advancing to the Immortal level would be more difficult, once the breakthrough was successful, his Divine Kingdom would be larger and more stable.

Compared to the countless benefits, this small trouble of a difficult breakthrough was completely insignificant.

"The laws have reached the threshold, and the first layer of the Thunder Dragon Art is already considered an entry..."

The Thunder Dragon Art was actually a body-amplification secret technique, consisting of nine layers.

The first layer, once mastered, could unleash three times the combat power.

It was precisely by relying on the sudden burst of three times his combat power, combined with the five-fold amplification of his genetic level, that he was able to unleash fifteen times his combat power and kill Vida in a single strike.

"The second layer requires attaching lightning to the arms, manifesting them into dragon claws. A single strike from the dragon claws can unleash nine times the combat power..."

"My comprehension of the laws is still insufficient. Even trying to manifest the lightning into a single dragon scale is extremely difficult, let alone an entire dragon claw..."

Time spent immersed in cultivation always passes quickly.

Half a month later.

Mulan Planet.

Mulan Planet was just an ordinary life planet within the Xize Empire, a medium-civilization empire. Because this life planet had been born relatively recently, it hadn't even had time to gestate intelligent life before it was discovered by the human race of the universe. Through a twist of fate, Li Yilin had purchased it to become his own territory.

Less than one hundred light-years away from Mulan Planet was Canaan Star, one of the most prosperous planets in the Xize Empire. It was on Canaan Star that Li Yilin had signed the contract with the Giant Axe Arena years ago, all to protect his home planet—Wunuo Star.

The price was that until he obtained the title of "Giant Axe Warrior," unless he died, he had to complete one life-and-death battle after another under the supervision of the Giant Axe Arena.

However, the moment Li Yilin earned the title of Giant Axe Warrior, the Colosseum withdrew all surveillance and protection over Mulan Planet.

"Master, in one minute the ship will decelerate to below light speed and exit the Dark Universe," the Smart Optical Computer announced.

"Exit the Dark Universe," Li Yilin said, opening his eyes.

The spaceship shuttled silently through the tranquil Dark Universe. After passing through a nebula-like star belt, it began to decelerate slowly. Soon, it dropped below light speed, vanished from the Dark Universe, and reappeared in the Original Universe.

The Original Universe.

A spaceship appeared like a ghost. It did not linger, instead flying toward a verdant planet in the distance...

Inside the ship's control room, Li Yilin remained immersed in his cultivation.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

At that moment, a piercing alarm suddenly blared, pulling Li Yilin's consciousness back to reality.

"Warning! High-intensity energy lock detected!"

"Warning! Five unknown warships are rapidly approaching!"

"Activate external simulation, 100%," Li Yilin said, his eyes snapping open with a cold glint.

The cabin walls turned transparent, simulating the situation outside:

Five black warships painted with pale skull insignias were closing in rapidly. They were positioned in front, behind, to the sides, and even above, with the cannons on the ships glowing as they prepared to strike.

"Space pirates?" Li Yilin narrowed his eyes, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.

Why would ordinary space pirates dare to attack him?

"Boom!"

Several Planet-Destroying Cannon rounds erupted from the muzzles, a searing heat tearing through space as they lunged straight for the ship's propulsion system.

"Activate auto-pilot mode." Li Yilin had little experience in piloting warships for combat, so he immediately handed full control over to the ship's intelligent system.

Under the intelligent control, the ship performed evasive maneuvers, but the barrage was too dense. A violent tremor rocked the vessel, accompanied by the screeching sound of tearing metal as the ship took a direct hit.

"Propulsion system severely damaged; flight capability lost," the urgent voice reported.

Li Yilin frowned slightly: "Open the hatch."

The engines were destroyed; staying inside would only make him a sitting duck. It was better to go out and see exactly who these people were.

Space pirates appearing at this location—ahead lies Mulan Planet. Choosing this spot to attack the moment I exit the Dark Universe suggests they are very clear on my flight path. But what reason would they have to target me? Li Yilin's thoughts raced.

For wealth?

While his wealth was substantial, he had never told anyone about it. Even if others had their suspicions, they shouldn't know the specifics.

That meant there was some interest at play that he was unaware of!

What kind of interest?

The biggest change in his assets recently was the planet newly registered under his name...

Wunuo Star!

The hatch opened.

Li Yilin transformed into a streak of light and flew straight out.

The hatches of two of the warships opened as well, and six fierce-looking men with murderous auras flew out; they were all Domain Lord level warriors.

Leading them was an old man with a bald head, wrinkled cyan skin, and a red Flame Mark between his brows. The aura radiating from his body was unmistakably that of...

A World Lord!