The war began.
You planned to start by killing Star Rank Ninth Order pirates. This band of Star Pirates was enormous, with tens of thousands of Star Rank Ninth Order members. But your strength had long since surpassed your peers by far, and it didn't take long for you to kill a thousand of them.
But—
Your formidable strength caught the attention of a Universe Rank pirate, a Second Order fighter.
Fortunately, you had comprehended the sixth layer of the Rotten Wood Blade, allowing you to unleash thirty-six times your normal power. Combined with your Domain, you could kill a Universe Rank Second Order fighter.
You won by a narrow margin.
Though the tempering mission was complete, escaping safely was another test. After all, you had revealed your Domain, and many Universe Rank fighters wanted you dead.
You were surrounded and attacked.
Among the Star Pirates surrounding you were three Universe Level Seventh Rank fighters. You couldn't fight back and could only flee using your Domain. The army wanted to save you, but they had underestimated the Star Pirates and couldn't spare anyone.
In desperation, you decided to risk going to the Domain Lord battlefield. After all, you had Gold Wood Grass to protect you, while the pirates didn't. You wagered they wouldn't dare follow.
You succeeded, but in doing so, you exposed Gold Wood Grass.
After the battle, you returned to the administrative planet. Sen Ran had been waiting there for you. In fact, he had watched the entire battle. When you revealed Gold Wood Grass, a Universe Rank Ninth Order lifeform, he clearly showed a peculiar expression.
He knew you must have a treasure. Fortunately, you were a Dojo Core Member, and you weren't important enough to make him break the rules. He warned you not to use Gold Wood Grass carelessly.
You agreed on the surface. If your life was in danger, you'd use it anyway.
At forty, you were still at Star Rank Ninth Order. Aside from Gold Wood Grass, all the members of your Plant Lifeform army had advanced to Domain Lord level, and Spirit Silk Grass had even reached the high Domain Lord level.
Your Domain had reached the peak of the fifth layer, bringing it extremely close to the sixth. But you knew that breaking through would be difficult.
Fortunately, you had comprehended the eighth layer of the Rotten Wood Blade. You had exceptional talent for this secret technique, and your close-combat blade skills were superb.
You were assigned a life-or-death trial.
This time was different. You were ordered to enter a secret realm and hunt Universe Rank exotic beasts, and you were forbidden from bringing Gold Wood Grass.
You suddenly remembered that you had a mysterious set of coordinates, marking a location in the Thousand Wave Secret Realm. Unfortunately, you had no choice in the matter now and no chance to explore it.
Before you entered, an instrument scanned your body.
The Silver Token was discovered. You immediately grew flustered, but fortunately, it looked so ordinary that it aroused no suspicion.
However, your trump card for saving your life was confiscated. The risk of dying on this trip to the secret realm had increased significantly.
"Ah..."
"What genius gets to live by his own choice? They just get enough benefits to make up for it." Han Han sighed.
Based on your strength, the Dojo required you to hunt one hundred Universe Level First Order Azure Wood Beasts, ten Universe Level Second Order ones, three Universe Level Third Order ones, and one Fourth Order one.
Exotic beasts were different from Star Pirates. Their weapons were their own claws, and their defenses came from their scales. Compared to Star Pirates of the same rank, they were easier to kill.
You easily completed the first two targets.
You found the Universe Level Third Order Azure Wood Beast somewhat difficult to deal with. You had to plan carefully and find one that was isolated to hunt it safely.
You didn't care about the time limit. As far as you were concerned, the results of the trial were nowhere near as important as your life.
At forty-five, it took you five years to complete the third Azure Wood Beast target.
The Ganwu Dojo's estimate of your abilities was very accurate. Against a Universe Level Fourth Order Azure Wood Beast, you would have to fight with your life on the line to have even the slightest chance of killing it. That was what they called a life-or-death trial.
You began to make plans.
You absolutely couldn't afford any interference this time—not even an exotic beast at Planetary Rank could be allowed to intrude.
At forty-eight, after spending three full years, you found a natural valley in the secret realm. Mountains surrounded it on three sides, leaving only one way in or out. You would have to lure the Azure Wood Beast inside and seal off the exit. It was the perfect battleground.
You began to act.
You lured a Universe Level Fourth Order Azure Wood Beast into the valley to kill it. When you first engaged it, you were hidden. Taking advantage of a sneak attack, you blinded one of its eyes.
The Azure Wood Beast had three pairs of eyes, but even so, losing one created a blind spot.
You fought with everything you had.
Even with your Domain bolstering you, the difference in rank remained. The Azure Wood Beast was stronger than you in speed and every other respect.
You decided to launch a sneak attack.
Now that the Azure Wood Beast had lost an eye, you could attack from its blind spot.
Your sneak attack succeeded, and you saw a chance to win. Seizing the opportunity, you quickly worsened the Azure Wood Beast's injuries. The longer the fight went on, the weaker it would become—that would be your chance.
Unfortunately, the more badly injured an exotic beast was, the more fiercely it fought back. No matter how careful you were, its claws struck you, leaving three bloody gashes across your chest. You couldn't swallow Locke Divine Water to recover quickly this time, and the Azure Wood Beast wouldn't give you a chance to stall. You could only keep fighting through your injuries.
At the brink of life and death, your blade technique broke through.
The ninth layer of the Rotten Wood Blade turned the tide. The extra sixfold force gave you narrow victories time and again, and in the end, you killed the Azure Wood Beast.
Unfortunately—
Your strongest strike carved a deep ravine into the mountain at the far end of the valley. Who could have known that a lifeform called Shanhe was gestating inside?
More importantly, Shanhe wasn't a lifeform that had arisen naturally. It belonged to a special race in the secret realm.
You weren't the only one who thought the valley was ideal. Shanhe had chosen it as a place to nurture its child. Now you had interrupted the child's gestation. Though it hadn't died, its potential had been greatly diminished.
You heard a thunderous roar.
Realizing things had taken a turn for the worse, you immediately fled the valley. But you had just fought the Azure Wood Beast. There was no way you could leave the secret realm before Shanhe caught up.
Fortunately, you weren't foolish. As soon as you realized the danger, you sent Sen Ran a plea for help through the Virtual Universe. It would greatly lower your trial score, but so what?
You needed to hold out for half a day.
Badly wounded, you could only hide wherever you could. Luckily, you spotted an exotic beast—Demon Eye—hunting nearby. He was also a Domain Lord.
You raced toward Demon Eye with all your strength. Shanhe was charging recklessly, and if you went that way, you would surely provoke Demon Eye and make the two fight. You probably wouldn't survive either way, but you had a better chance than if you faced Shanhe alone.
Half of your plan worked.
After all, as Domain Lords, they already possessed considerable intelligence. After a brief exchange, the two seemed to reach some kind of deal, and Demon Eye joined the hunt for you.
Half a day passed.
They caught up with you. You saw a humanoid figure appear faintly in the distance and recognized Sen Ran, but you truly couldn't hold on any longer. In the end, Shanhe smashed you into a pulp.
You died.
Before you continue