On the Edge of Life and Death

Virtual Universe Arena exclusive plane.

After hearing Xia's words clearly, the entire audience couldn't help but erupt in an uproar, with gasps and discussions filling the stands.

"She was actually holding back," Zi Wu whispered to Jian Bi, unable to hide his shock. "Could it be that she has already crossed the threshold of the Law?"

"It must be!" Jian Bi's face was grave. "We've watched many of Xia's Duel Live Broadcasts before. In the last hundred matches, no matter who she faced, she never seemed to get injured even once. Clearly, the flow of battle was always under her control..."

He looked at Zi Wu, his eyes filled with the realization of someone who saw through everything: "This means she had already crossed the threshold of the Law back when she had over seven hundred consecutive wins. That is how she could remain so composed and effortless even when facing increasingly stronger opponents..."

Zi Wu nodded: "What you say makes sense; that must be it..."

He looked at Luoluobai Muye in the arena and sighed softly: "A Universe Rank who has crossed the threshold of the Law will have no difficulty obtaining the title of Giant Axe Warrior. And when such a genius goes all out, they are invincible among their peers... Luoluobai Muye's life-and-death battle journey likely ends here..."

"Calling her invincible among peers is a bit of an exaggeration," Jian Bi shook his head slightly, "but... Luoluobai Muye is definitely no match for her!"

"Do you remember the Genius Tournament from a few thousand years ago?" A look of nostalgia appeared in his eyes. "You and I were both Star Rank level 9 at the time, just in time for the Genius Tournament held by the Giant Axe Arena. Those monstrous geniuses, even though they were only Star Rank, already possessed seven or eight layers of Domain and had crossed the threshold of the Law. Some had even grasped a trace of an Upper Law... That is what truly deserves the title 'invincible among peers'!"

"How could I forget that?" Zi Wu gave a bitter smile. "You and I were both eliminated in the first stage..."

"Look, Xia is about to make her move..." Jian Bi watched the projection in the arena, muttering to himself, "The outcome will likely be decided in an instant..."

On the desolate planet.

Luoluobai Muye felt a lingering fear. He had just had the opportunity to condense his Wind-Thunder Domain into a Domain Whip. If he had suddenly used it during the pursuit, he might have been able to break through Xia's defense.

Just as he was about to put it into action, a sense of extreme danger washed over him. His heart chilled, and he ultimately abandoned the move.

Thinking back on it now, Xia's eyes had shown no panic at the time, as if she were simply waiting for Luoluobai Muye to use his trump card.

The speed of a Telepathic Weapon is incredibly fast. Those Nine Golden Swords were not far from Luoluobai Muye at the time. With Xia's strength as someone who had crossed the threshold of the Law, if he had truly retracted his Domain, the Nine Golden Swords would no longer have been suppressed by the Wind-Thunder Domain. It was hard to say whether his Domain Whip would have struck Xia, but he would certainly have ended up with nine sword holes in his body.

Xia's expression turned solemn, revealing an incredibly firm will. Even Luoluobai Muye's slightly provocative "Come" did not anger her.

With a thought, wisps of Lightning Secret Pattern appeared on the Nine Golden Swords in the air. Every three swords drew close to each other and combined, turning the nine swords into three more solid ones.

After connecting with the Law, these three golden swords were ten times stronger in both speed and power than when they were separate. Although their number had decreased, Luoluobai Muye found them even harder to defend against.

Each golden sword felt like an opponent stronger than Luoluobai Muye, and with three such opponents acting in perfect unison to surround him, Luoluobai Muye was suddenly in constant danger.

The sword energy sliced through his Domain, and the shockwaves swept across the ground, leaving deep gouges across the entire surface.

Facing such a desperate situation, Luoluobai Muye finally unleashed his strongest Domain without reservation.

After merging with the Light Domain, the pale green color of the Domain's secret patterns became even fainter, but its power increased by several notches. It barely managed to suppress the speed of the three golden swords to a level he could react to, yet he remained exhausted and scrambling for his life.

Xia's eyes remained calm. Now that she had unleashed her full strength, everything before her was within her expectations. In her view, barring any accidents, Luoluobai Muye would inevitably fail to keep up with his defense and reveal an opening within a hundred moves.

Under the attack of golden swords linked with Law secret patterns, revealing an opening was equivalent to giving up defense, and losing defense was equivalent to facing death!

The sound of clashing metal was incessant. Luoluobai Muye expanded his strongest Domain and used all his might to execute his staff technique, which had merged with the Nan Qi Spear Technique, blocking the three golden swords outside.

But the encirclement of the three golden swords tightened—from five meters to three, from three meters to two and a half, from two and a half to two, until it was only one meter!

The situation had reached its most dangerous point. The Thunder Staff had length, after all. Once the golden swords broke within one meter, given their speed, Luoluobai Muye's only outcome would be to be pierced through!

Luoluobai Muye could already foresee his end.

But he did not give up. Faced with the torture of illness in his past life, he had not given up; instead, he had faced it positively and optimistically every day. Merging with the memories of Luoluobai Muye had added a sense of calm and resilience. When these were combined—

At this very moment, Luoluobai Muye cast aside all distracting thoughts. He did not consider the consequences of failure, nor did he even dwell on the desire for freedom that constantly haunted his mind!

His entire focus was concentrated, and he poured his heart and soul into wielding his Domain and staff technique.

"Faster!"

"Even faster!"

"Domain suppression!"

"Block it..."

After swinging the Thunder Staff countless times to deflect the golden swords, it was as if everything had fallen into place. His consciousness "boomed," and he seemed to touch the essence of lightning—

Xia's eyes behind her mask suddenly widened!

The power in Luoluobai Muye's staff suddenly experienced an incredible leap, violently knocking one golden sword away, and the subsequent two golden swords were also knocked aside the moment they made contact with the Thunder Staff!

In the Virtual Universe, a World Lord Rank supervisor of the Giant Axe Arena, Samao, who was also watching this life-and-death battle, likewise widened his eyes!

"What the hell..."

The two contestants he had picked at random were meant only to increase engagement, yet he hadn't expected that one had already crossed the threshold of the Law, and the other had crossed it right on the edge of life and death!

He himself had long since crossed the threshold of the Law and had even gained the recognition of the Origin Law, possessing great strength; otherwise, he could not have served as a supervisor for the Giant Axe Arena.

However, when he crossed the threshold of the Law, his cultivation was already at Domain Lord Rank level 9.

"These two..." A trace of regret welled up in his heart. "If they hadn't met each other, both might have been able to earn the title of 'Giant Axe Warrior'..."

Every time a contestant earned the title of "Giant Axe Warrior," his performance metrics naturally increased. But there was one situation that could earn him even more precious contribution points—the appearance of a contestant who could cross the threshold of the Law during a thousand-match life-and-death series.

Every time one appeared, his performance metrics would naturally rise further.

But at this point, no amount of regret could change the outcome.

Having crossed the threshold of the Lightning Law and forced back all three golden swords, the Light Domain—which he had been trying to fully integrate but failed—was instantly merged successfully under the guidance of the Law. The pale green secret patterns of the Wind-Thunder Domain became nearly transparent.

The power of Luoluobai Muye's Domain instantly experienced an exaggerated surge, suppressing the speed of the three golden swords to a level even slower than when he had faced the nine swords before.

Bai Muye raised his eyes, his gaze clashing with Xia's, and it was as if lightning intertwined in the void between them!

Xia stepped onto the Dark Thunder Shuttle and retreated, while her three golden swords abandoned their attack, flying back to her side with incredible speed.

With a thunderous crack, Bai Muye's figure seemed to teleport; he possessed the explosive power of lightning, the speed of light, and the agility of the wind, closing the distance to Xia in an instant—

He brought the Thunder Staff down in a strike!

The three golden swords in front of Xia rose simultaneously to block, and the blade in her hand began to glow.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

The three golden swords were sent flying in different directions, and the blade in Xia's hand was knocked from her grip!

The tip of the Thunder Staff thrust forward, transforming into a spearhead-less lance that shattered the protection of her combat suit and pierced directly into Xia's chest!

As the force erupted, starting from her chest, Xia's exquisite, curvaceous body was torn apart by the violent power, exploding piece by piece!

A rain of blood began to fall in the air!

Her mask flew off, revealing Xia's face to the billions of viewers in the Virtual Universe, and then—

Her delicate features, like fine porcelain being ruthlessly shattered—

Disintegrated.