Freedom!

Luoluobai Muye centered his mind, casting aside the restless thoughts of impending freedom. He focused his intent, his staff sweeping horizontally, then cleaving vertically, before shifting into the form of a spear. The more he fought, the more exhilarated he became.

In the dozens of life-and-death battles prior to this, most had ended in a clean sweep, and in the Virtual Universe, his subconscious knew the enemies weren't real, making it impossible to truly let loose.

At the start, the two were far apart. While their domain clash had suppressed Ye Yunqing, a domain alone could not crush an opponent. Now that they were locked in close-quarters combat, Luoluobai Muye's hybrid domain began to gradually erode Ye Yunqing's singular domain.

Under Luoluobai Muye's increasingly fierce onslaught, Ye Yunqing was forced onto the defensive, pushed back step by step.

After channeling the Laws of Thunder and Lightning, the power behind Luoluobai Muye's staff surged. Even though Ye Yunqing's force amplitude was higher than his, every strike caused Ye Yunqing's arms to tremble violently.

The area covered by the staff shadows grew wider. For a moment, Ye Yunqing felt as if he were being battered by countless staves. The trident in his hands shook uncontrollably, nearly slipping from his grip, forcing him to retreat until he reached the spot where the fight had begun.

In the corner of the arena, Ye Yunqing curled into a ball, shrinking his defensive profile, yet he still could not block the heavy, powerful staff.

"Do or die!"

A look of madness flickered in Ye Yunqing's eyes.

He crouched down and slammed his left hand against the end of his trident.

The central tip of the trident detached under the impact, shooting out with unparalleled speed toward the center of Luoluobai Muye's brow!

A slight stinging sensation pricked his forehead, and a faint sense of danger washed over him. Luoluobai Muye transformed his staff into a spear, spinning the shaft continuously to deflect the projectile.

Immediately, the domain around him contracted, pouring entirely into the staff as he brought it down in a crushing blow!

With nowhere left to retreat, Ye Yunqing could only raise his trident to parry.

Clang! Splat!

The trident flew from his hands and landed in the distance. The staff, carrying the weight of ten thousand tons, smashed into his head. Instantly, Ye Yunqing's entire body began to disintegrate from the head down, turning into a pulp of flesh.

Resting one end of his staff on the ground, Luoluobai Muye closed his eyes and stood silently in place.

A roar like a crashing tide filled the sky—the tribute of tens of millions of spectators to the victor!

"This life-and-death battle has concluded. The winner is—Luoluobai Muye!"

The host waited for the cheering to subside slightly before raising his voice to announce the result.

"Congratulations to Luoluobai Muye for achieving a thousand consecutive victories in life-and-death battles, earning the Universe Rank 'Giant Axe Warrior' medal!"

The energy shield surrounding the arena vanished.

"Please, Luoluobai Muye, come to the podium." The host stood to the side of the stage, looking at Luoluobai Muye and gesturing for him to hurry over.

Luoluobai Muye suppressed the surging waves in his heart. When he opened his eyes, they had already returned to a state of calm and clarity.

He turned and flew toward the podium.

The host, wearing a smile, walked over and gestured toward the important figure in the main seat.

"This is Lord Samao, the supervisor of the Giant Axe Arena. He will present you with the 'Giant Axe Warrior' medal. This is your honor..."

"Greetings, Lord Samao." Luoluobai Muye bowed his head slightly, speaking respectfully.

Samao had a strange, snowflake-like mark on his forehead, clearly a sign of having been acknowledged by the Laws of Water.

"You are quite impressive." Samao, who was about the same height as Luoluobai Muye, looked him in the eye with a hint of satisfaction.

He reached out, and a medal appeared in his palm out of thin air. The medal was shaped like an axe, roughly the size of a palm, and cast entirely from a strange metal.

After personally and solemnly pinning the medal to the left chest of Luoluobai Muye's combat suit, Samao patted his shoulder.

"To achieve a thousand consecutive victories as a slave and earn the Giant Axe Warrior medal—before this, few in the Wild Peak Universe Kingdom have ever managed such a feat..."

Luoluobai Muye's heart stirred, and he immediately showed a look of gratitude. "Thank you for your praise, Lord Samao..."

His eyes then revealed a sense of urgency. "My Lord, before I participated in these life-and-death battles, I signed an agreement. If I survived a thousand consecutive victories, I would be granted my freedom..."

"Hahaha, that is correct!" Samao laughed. "I imagine that is what you desire most right now—to regain your freedom..."

He looked around and soon spotted Bastian, beckoning him over.

Bastian hurried over, fawning as he greeted, "Lord Samao!"

"Bastian," Samao stopped smiling and looked down at him. "Luoluobai Muye has survived a thousand consecutive victories. You must honor the agreement, deactivate his bio-chip, and restore his freedom..."

"...Yes, my Lord."

A few cold beads of sweat trickled down Bastian's forehead. Under the gaze of a World Lord acknowledged by the Laws, he felt immense pressure.

With slight hesitation, he took the controller for the bio-chip from his storage space. After verifying his life signature and entering a three-dimensional password, he finally pressed a red button.

"Beep—"

The bio-chip controller emitted a long sound. At the same time, Luoluobai Muye's mind felt a wave of uncontrollable dizziness.

Under the command issued by the controller, the bio-chip in his brain activated its self-destruct sequence and began to melt rapidly.

About a minute later, Luoluobai Muye felt a sense of relief wash over him. Still cautious, he confirmed it with Xiao Si in his sea of consciousness. Upon receiving a positive reply, he finally let out a long breath.

"Rest assured, there is no problem." Samao noticed his concern and chuckled. "Under my watch, Bastian would not dare to pull any tricks..."

"Of course, of course." Bastian laughed sheepishly.

Luoluobai Muye reached up to remove the medal from his left chest, then quickly stripped off his combat suit, leaving only his ordinary clothes.

He tossed the Thunder Staff and the combat suit aside, dropping them right at Bastian's feet.

Although he didn't speak, his meaning was clear: he didn't want to have any further association with Bastian.

Bastian's expression turned gloomy, but with Samao standing nearby, he had no choice but to store his battle suit and long staff into his storage space.

"Luoluobai Muye, how does it feel to regain your freedom?" Samao asked with a smile.

"Reporting to you, my lord, it feels wonderful!"

"Hahaha, of course it does..." Samao laughed, "The first thing you need to do now is register for citizenship and officially become a citizen of the universe..."

"Once you become a citizen of the universe," Samao said, his smile fading as he turned serious, "I will recommend you to the training camp of the Giant Axe Arena. Talent like yours should not be buried."

He didn't ask if Muye agreed; given his status and the public nature of the invitation, he didn't think he would be refused.

Before Muye could answer, cold sweat suddenly broke out on Bastian's forehead. He wiped his brow and stammered, "Lord Samao, there is something I might need to tell you first..."

"What is it?" Samao frowned, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

"...Just a few hours ago, I registered him for the Outer Battlefield... The departure date for this batch of cosmic warriors is in three days..." Bastian pointed at Muye, his voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.

This was the solution Bastian had come up with. Since he couldn't change their opposing stances, he would change the distance between them—

If you want revenge, wait until you can come back alive from the Outer Battlefield.

The departure was set for three days later. Once this competition ended, he would leave Purple Crown Planet immediately. He knew Muye's cautious nature; he wouldn't be reckless enough to hunt him down in just three days. Besides, without a spaceship, Muye certainly wouldn't be able to catch up to him in such a short time.

"Once registered for the Outer Battlefield, if you fail to report by the deadline, you will be treated as a deserter and wanted throughout the entire universe..."