Freedom!

Bai Muye gathered his thoughts and cast aside the restlessness stirring within him at the prospect of soon gaining his freedom. Focusing completely, he swung the staff in his hands, sweeping it sideways, chopping it down, then transforming it into a long spear. The more he fought, the more exhilarating it became.

In the dozens of life-or-death battles before this, he had mostly relied on sweeping strikes. In the Virtual Universe, his subconscious knew his opponents weren't real, so he simply couldn't fight to his heart's content.

At first, the two had kept their distance. Although their domains clashed and Bai Muye's had suppressed Ye Yunqing, a domain alone couldn't defeat him. Now that they were fighting at close quarters, Bai Muye's Mixed Domain began to gradually encroach upon Ye Yunqing's single domain.

Under Bai Muye's increasingly fierce attacks, Ye Yunqing had no choice but to go on the defensive. He was forced back step by step.

After he began channeling the Lightning Law, the power behind Bai Muye's staff increased dramatically. Although Ye Yunqing's Force Amplitude was greater, each blow still left both his hands trembling violently.

The staff's shadow spread over an ever-widening area. For a moment, Ye Yunqing seemed to be struck by countless staffs. The Trident in his hands shook uncontrollably, nearly slipping from his grasp and forcing him to retreat step by step until he was back where the fight had begun.

At the corner of the arena, Ye Yunqing curled almost into a ball, minimizing the area he had to defend. But even that couldn't stop the staff's overwhelming blows.

"I'll risk it!"

A frenzied look flashed in Ye Yunqing's eyes.

He nearly crouched down and slapped the butt of the Trident with his left hand.

The middle prong at the front of the Trident broke free from the weapon with that slap and shot toward Bai Muye's brow at incredible speed!

A faint pain prickled between Bai Muye's brows as a vague sense of danger washed over him. He transformed the staff into a spear and spun it rapidly, knocking the prong away.

Then his domain instantly contracted, pouring into the staff. He brought it crashing down!

Ye Yunqing had nowhere left to retreat, so he could only raise the Trident to block.

Clang! Pfft!

The Trident flew from his grasp and landed in the distance. The staff crashed into his head with immense force, and Ye Yunqing's body began to disintegrate from the head down, turning into a mass of flesh.

With one end of the staff resting on the ground, Bai Muye stood motionless with his eyes closed.

A deafening roar of cheers filled the sky. It was the tribute of millions upon millions of spectators to the victor!

"This life-or-death battle is over. The winner is—Luoluobai Muye!"

After the cheers had subsided slightly, the host raised his voice and announced the result.

"Congratulations to Luoluobai Muye on winning a thousand consecutive life-or-death battles and earning the Universe Rank Giant Axe Warrior medal!"

The energy barrier around the arena disappeared.

"Luoluobai Muye, please come to the platform." The host stood to one side of the platform, looking at Bai Muye and gesturing for him to come over.

Bai Muye suppressed the surging emotions in his heart. When he opened his eyes, his gaze had already returned to its usual calm and clarity.

He turned and flew toward the platform.

The smiling host walked over and gestured toward the important figure seated in the main seat.

"This is Lord Samao, the director of the Giant Axe Arena. He'll present you with the Giant Axe Warrior medal. It's an honor you've earned..."

"Lord Samao, it's an honor to meet you." Bai Muye bowed his head respectfully.

A strange snowflake-shaped mark adorned Samao's forehead. Clearly, he had been acknowledged by the Water Law.

"You're impressive." Samao was about the same height as Bai Muye. He met Bai Muye's gaze, a hint of approval in his eyes.

He extended his hand, and a medal appeared out of nowhere in his palm. Shaped like an axe and about the size of his palm, it was forged entirely from an unusual metal.

Samao solemnly pinned the medal to the left side of Bai Muye's battle suit himself, then patted him on the shoulder.

"Not many people in the Wild Peak Universe Kingdom have managed to win a thousand battles in a row as a slave and earn the Giant Axe Warrior medal..."

Bai Muye's heart stirred, and he put on a grateful expression. "Thank you for your praise, Lord Samao..."

Then an eager look appeared in his eyes. "My lord, before I entered the life-or-death battles, I signed an agreement. If I survived a thousand consecutive victories, I would regain my freedom..."

"Hahaha, that's right!" Samao laughed. "I imagine the thing you want most right now is your freedom..."

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

Bastian hurried over, bowing and greeting him respectfully. "Lord Samao!"

"Bastian." Samao's smile vanished as he looked down at him. "Luoluobai Muye has survived a thousand consecutive victories. You should honor your agreement, remove his bio-chip, and restore his freedom..."

"...Yes, my lord."

A few beads of cold sweat appeared on Bastian's forehead. Under the gaze of a World Lord acknowledged by a Law, he felt tremendous pressure.

He hesitated before taking the bio-chip's controller from his storage space. After verifying the Life Imprint and entering a three-dimensional password, he finally pressed the red button.

"Beep—"

The controller emitted a long tone. At the same time, Bai Muye's head spun despite himself.

At the controller's command, the bio-chip in his head activated its self-destruct sequence and quickly began to melt.

About a minute later, Bai Muye felt an enormous sense of relief. Still uneasy, he checked with Xiao Si in his Consciousness Sea. Only after Xiao Si confirmed it did he finally breathe a long sigh of relief.

"Don't worry. It's fine." Samao saw his concern and smiled. "Bastian wouldn't dare tamper with anything right under my nose..."

"Of course, of course." Bastian gave an awkward smile.

Bai Muye removed the medal from his chest, quickly took off his battle suit, and stood wearing only his ordinary clothes.

He tossed the Thunder Staff and battle suit from his hands, sending them straight to Bastian's feet.

He said nothing, but his meaning was clear: he wanted nothing more to do with Bastian.

Bastian's expression darkened, but with Samao standing beside him, he could only put the battle suit and staff into his storage space.

"Luoluobai Muye, how does it feel to be free?" Samao asked with a smile.

"My lord, it feels wonderful!"

"Hahaha, of course it does..." Samao laughed. "The first thing you should do now is register your nationality and officially become a Universe Citizen..."

"Once you become a Universe Citizen," Samao continued, his smile fading as he grew serious, "I'll recommend you to the Giant Axe Arena's training camp. Someone with your talent shouldn't be left to waste."

He didn't ask whether Bai Muye agreed. Given his status, he didn't think an invitation made in public like this would be refused.

Before Bai Muye could answer, cold sweat suddenly broke out across Bastian's forehead. He wiped it away and stammered, "Lord Samao, there's something I may need to tell you first..."

"What is it?" Samao frowned, a bad feeling stirring in his heart.

"...Just a few hours ago, I signed him up for the Outer Battlefield... This batch of cosmic warriors is due to depart in three days..." Bastian pointed at Bai Muye and spoke in a barely audible voice.

This was the solution Bastian had come up with. If he couldn't change where they stood, he would change the distance between them—

Want revenge on me? Just wait until you make it back alive from the Outer Battlefield.

They were due to depart in three days. Once the competition ended, Bastian would leave Purple Crown Planet immediately. He knew Bai Muye was the type to plan carefully before acting; he wouldn't rashly come after him in just three days. Besides, without a spaceship, Bai Muye certainly wouldn't be able to catch up with him anytime soon.

"If you've signed up for the Outer Battlefield and fail to report by the deadline, you'll be considered a deserter and hunted across the entire universe..."