Unification of the Eastern Domain, Li Hu's Demise

"The way of a commander lies first in governing the heart. When Mount Tai collapses before you, your expression does not change; when elk spring up to your left, your eyes do not flicker. Only then can you control advantage and harm, only then can you face the enemy."

After four years in seclusion, Wu Sheng opened his eyes once more and sighed softly.

The ancients often spoke of cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and pacifying the world.

If one wishes to achieve something of their own, the first requirement is to cultivate the heart!

If the heart is unclear, how can one know which path to take?

And what then is will?

Will is originally an illusory thing—the comprehensive manifestation of a lifeform's cognition and emotions derived from its own experiences.

The richer a person's experiences, the clearer their understanding of the world, and the more outstanding their ability to analyze things.

In terms of emotion, will also has its unique effects.

Some have a firm will; their attitude toward certain matters is very clear, and no matter how others coerce them, it is difficult to change their original intent.

Conversely, some have a weak will; they are sensitive to certain things, and even a few words can sway their thoughts, leading to accomplishing nothing until they ultimately die miserably.

"In the dream, experiencing the many sufferings of others—what should my heart be like?"

"That's right. In my past life, I was an assassin, forced to obey the organization. In this life, I was fortunate to become a special lifeform, but the condition was to be bound by the Primordial Universe."

"Even if, in the eyes of the Primordial Universe, I am utterly useless to it now—just a casual piece it placed on the board. But to me, life and death still lie in another's single thought. That is the price I must pay."

"So then... survival is the first step in my heart cultivation. This is a problem I have had to face in both lives, and also the most fundamental desire of all life."

Wu Sheng's eyes grew brighter and brighter, his gaze increasingly resolute.

Cultivating the heart is to uncover the truest emotions within. Will is originally ethereal, but with the supplement of mental state, it becomes real.

"Phew, my will has finally reached the Cosmic Level. My strength should be no worse than those Special Elites like Kadi and Cang Ge."

"Pity, I still can't compare to Li Long and Leo!"

Wu Sheng shook his head with a bitter smile.

There are also gaps among Special Elites. Li Long himself is already at Star Grade, Tier 3, and his domain broke through to the third level during his great battle with Leo.

He's practically a god descending to earth!

Leo is also formidable, but his strength lies in his innate talent.

Possessing an Innate Life Core, a life gene multiplier of four, three innate secret techniques, and that terrifying height—it can be said that such powerful lifeforms have great advantages in both the early and late stages.

"Unless I can also gain a domain, for now I can at most spar with ordinary domain users like Cang Ge!"

Wu Sheng analyzed seriously. His will had broken through consecutively to the Cosmic Level. Every major breakthrough in will amplifies the soul by several times or even tenfold (in the original work, when Luo Feng was a Realm Lord, with the 32-fold soul amplification from the Demon Sound Divine General's inheritance, his strong will could easily drive the General Soul, which required a hundredfold Realm Lord power to activate).

As for domain users, even a single layer of domain can instantly increase their own strength tenfold.

Add to that Cang Ge and the others having already broken through to Star Grade, Tier 1, and using Tier 3, Grade 2 weapons—compared to Wu Sheng, who is at Planet Grade, Tier 9, their strength has increased significantly.

So overall, Wu Sheng's combat power is roughly on par with Special Elites like Cang Ge.

Of course, that's compared to Cang Ge and the others four years ago. Now four years have passed, and their strength may have improved as well.

"Hm, why is Li Long coming!" Wu Sheng frowned, then used the "Mind Control" imprint to contact Li Hu at another location.

Inside Li Hu's luxurious cave dwelling, Li Long stood quietly at the entrance, also frowning at the extravagant scene inside.

"B... big brother, why are you here!"

Wu Sheng, controlling Li Hu, asked in a flustered tone.

"In these four years, you haven't even stepped out the door, nor broken through in realm—just to indulge?" Li Long questioned sternly.

"No, it's not as serious as you think!" Li Hu's face showed an awkward smile.

At that, Wu Sheng on the other end also felt thoroughly embarrassed. But in truth, Li Hu wasn't entirely wronged.

Before entering the Blood Trial, he had brought a space ring hundreds of meters in size. Cosmic Crystals filled more than half of it, but bizarrely, in another space, besides cultivation treasures, there was actually a luxurious round bed and various erotic items.

Too damn good at enjoying life!

"Enough. Take care of yourself. I came to tell you that we've finished preparations over these four years. Anji and the others have smoothly broken through to Sky Grade, and I've stabilized my own realm. It's time to fully counterattack Thunder Star Mountain."

Li Long glanced at Lan Miao'er, who was hiding to the side, and said flatly: "Leo's side has three Special Elites. If we let them grow unchecked, I fear we'll lose control of the situation later!"

"Ah, that's great! Haha, I've been waiting for you to show your might again, big brother!" Li Hu shouted excitedly.

This was genuine excitement, but it was Wu Sheng's.

He had just elevated his strength to a new level, and now a new opportunity was coming—it was as if heaven itself was shoving food into his mouth.

But thinking about it, the timing was about right.

The Blood Trial lasts ten years total. The first year is for individual cultivation in peace; the remaining nine years are constant threats of slaughter.

Of those nine years, they had already spent six, leaving only two years until the final year's Central Domain opening.

"This time, we will unify the Eastern Domain and drive Leo and the others out, so they don't trip us up when the Central Domain opens."

"Whatever you say, big brother. Let me pack up a bit, and I'll set off shortly." Li Hu replied with a smile, but then thought of something and quickly asked:

"Big brother, do you have any Cosmic Crystals and Mystic Spirit Fruits on you? You know, almost all of the squads under my command are dead. It's a bit late now, but I still want to see if I can recruit some more people."

"The family let you take nearly a hundred billion Cosmic Crystals, and you've used them all up?" Li Long was stunned for a moment, his body clad in silver battle armor suddenly emitting a sharp, fierce aura that made even Li Hu feel a chill.

"Yeah, well, I've used up most of them. If you... can spare some, just give me a bit!"

Li Hu gave an awkward smile.

"Here, there are thirty billion Cosmic Crystals inside, thirty Mystic Spirit Fruits, and also three Ice Shadow Crystals. If you can break through to Sky Grade with these, it'll be worth the resources. Otherwise, you'll have to think about how to explain yourself to the clan elders."

Li Long stared at Li Hu for a long while before casually tossing over a spatial ring, then turned and walked away without another word.

"Yes, yes, I'll definitely make good use of these resources." Li Hu quickly replied with a smile, but after Li Long had gone far, his smile took on a slightly eerie quality.

"Li Long, you bastard, you still dare to come to our side? This is a provocation against Thunder Star Mountain, and you'll regret it!"

In a stretch of yellow desert, Leo had once again transformed into that cyan giant nearly two hundred meters tall, frantically driving his "Thunder Domain" as he exchanged blows with Li Long, who stood within his own ice and snow domain.

Unfortunately, with his realm now stable, Li Long's strength was so great that it once again shocked everyone present.

Every attack he made forced the cyan giant back two or three steps, roughly a hundred meters.

If not for Cang Ge and Kadi working together to support Leo from the side, Leo's situation would have been far worse.

"Haha, what a thrill!"

Li Long wielded a blue long spear, standing atop the head of a snow-white divine dragon condensed from his ice domain, his offensive growing fiercer by the moment.

"Kill! Drive these scum from Thunder Star Mountain back to the Northern Domain!"

Li Hu was also fighting wildly, but unfortunately, everyone's strength had increased significantly, and another batch of Elite Trial Takers had advanced to Sky Grade. As a result, his power didn't even rank among the strong fighters in this battle.

Yet Li Hu was stubbornly "courting death" by charging to the very front, where the main battlefield of Sky Grade Trial Takers raged!

"Hmph, the Nine Spirits Society is nothing special. Aside from Li Long, who else do you have to show off? Die, you Nine Spirits Society scum!"

A Thunder Star Mountain martial artist who had recently advanced to Sky Grade swung his iron fist, aiming straight for Li Hu's head.

In his mind, since he had already warned Li Hu with his shout and this punch wasn't at full power, Li Hu, as an Elite Trial Taker at Earth Grade ninth level, should at least be able to block it.

After all, everyone fighting here was a Sky Grade Trial Taker from various factions, so his attack was only meant to force Li Hu back and make him aware of his own limits.

"Don't think that just because you have Li Long as your big brother, you can ignore everything. Your own strength is what matters. Go back to the low-level battlefield and play the young master there!"

But the next scene left this Thunder Star Mountain martial artist completely dumbfounded.

His fist struck Li Hu's head without any resistance at all. In fact, Li Hu even deliberately leaned his forehead into the punch, as if afraid the man's fist might miss.

Smack!

Like a watermelon smashed into countless pieces, Li Hu's head was shattered by that iron fist. His body stiffened abruptly, then fell straight to the ground.

"Th-this..."

That Thunder Star Mountain Sky Grade martial artist was utterly stunned, but before he could make another move, the entire world suddenly turned bitterly cold, and countless blue snowflakes began to drift down slowly.

"Ahhh!"

"Leo, your man dared to kill my brother. Good, very good. Then don't blame me for going on a killing spree!"