Illusion Sea

Gulanxiu had just arrived in the lobby of the Virtual Universe Company Headquarters when a middle-aged Realm Lord with a hooked nose came over, smiling. "Haha! Gulanxiu! I'm Kasidela. The last time you came to Chaos City, I was at a critical point in my cultivation and couldn't come out to welcome you personally. I hope you'll forgive me! Come on, I've prepared good food and wine aboard the ship. We can eat and talk along the way!"

A hint of surprise flashed through Gulanxiu's eyes. He hadn't expected Kasidela to be the one escorting him to the Fourth Secret Realm after all. The last time he'd been sent here, Kasidela hadn't even shown his face, yet now he was being so warm. Gulanxiu couldn't help sighing inwardly.

He knew this change was all because he'd passed the Fifth Layer of the Sky Bridge and shown decent potential.

That was how realistic the world was: when you were strong, everyone around you was a good person.

Thinking this, Gulanxiu still hurried forward to meet him. "I understand! Your cultivation is important, sir. There's no need to put it aside over such a small matter."

Kasidela familiarly draped an arm around Gulanxiu's shoulders and said with a laugh, "We're both members of the Fourth Secret Realm, so there's no need to be so formal with me! I'm a few years older than you. If you don't mind, just call me big brother!"

Although he knew what Kasidela was after, Gulanxiu still went along with it and called him big brother. After all, it was better to avoid trouble, and since Kasidela had taken the initiative to make peace, he might as well give him a graceful way out.

Besides, there was no real grudge between them. Kasidela simply hadn't thought much of him before. It was nothing worth holding against him. Gulanxiu wasn't some third-rate protagonist who would declare that the other man had earned his death over something like this.

Kasidela warmly ushered Gulanxiu into the cabin. A large table stood in the center of the ship's interior.

Kasidela smiled at Gulanxiu. "Little brother Gulanxiu, try this Light Spirit Brew. It can improve your comprehension. Of course, it won't do much for either of us, but it tastes wonderful! I usually can't bring myself to drink it!"

As he spoke, he handed over a bottle of crystal-clear liquor.

You didn't slap away a smiling face. What's more, although Kasidela was being very deferential, he was still a Realm Lord from the Core Layer of the Axe Fighting Arena, far stronger than Gulanxiu was at the moment. As a result, the two of them enjoyed a very friendly drinking session, and only three days later did they return to their respective rooms to begin cultivating.

By then, Gulanxiu had also noticed that his permissions had changed. Two more locations had become available to teleport to in the Virtual Universe.

"I'll try testing my force output at the Immortal Altar first!" Gulanxiu murmured.

With that, he connected to the Virtual Universe and teleported to the Immortal Altar Plane.

As soon as he arrived at the plane where the Immortal Altar was located, Gulanxiu felt the Original Force in his body disappear.

But Gulanxiu was a Warrior, so he adapted far better than a Mental Master Controller. In just a moment, he had adjusted completely.

He walked up to a human-shaped wooden target. Written on it in the universal language of the universe were the words: "Within one second, attack the target simultaneously with your head, elbow, hand, knee, and foot. Your strength will be calculated based on the weakest of the five strikes."

Gulanxiu took a deep breath, then suddenly struck.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" Five impacts rang out!

Five numbers appeared on the target's screen!

"63 units, 61 units, 60 units, 62 units, 59 units. Score: 59 units. Awarded 1,000 points!"

At the same time, Gulanxiu received a notification that the points had been credited!

Gulanxiu smiled at the screen before him. My force output is pretty good. I got 59 on my first test—that's much better than Luo Feng's level in the original story!

Of course, Gulanxiu knew Luo Feng's force output was low because he mainly trained as a Mental Master Controller. Early on, he wasn't good at close combat, so there was no comparison between the two of them!

Even so, Gulanxiu's score was quite impressive. Since a force output of 100 was one of the requirements for becoming an Immortal, plenty of Realm Lords must not have reached 100 yet. Gulanxiu had come close to 60 on his very first test, which was far from ordinary among the Cosmic Level Core Members of the Axe Fighting Arena.

"Again!" Gulanxiu muttered under his breath.

Then he roared and struck the target again.

In an instant, all five of Gulanxiu's attacks landed precisely on the target before him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" Five more impacts rang out.

The screen displayed: "58 units, 61 units, 63 units, 62 units, 60 units. Score: 58 units. Points: 0!"

"My foot strike improved, but I didn't expect the strike with my head to drop!" Gulanxiu said with a rueful smile.

But Gulanxiu wasn't discouraged. His attacks were already extremely close to 60 units, so surely he could manage it after a few more tries!

Just as Gulanxiu had expected, he finally succeeded on his fourth attempt.

The screen displayed: "60 units, 60 units, 61 units, 62 units, 61 units! Score: 60 units. Awarded 2,000 points."

Gulanxiu smiled. "I got 3,000 points from the Immortal Altar. Not bad. Next, I'll try the Illusion Sea!"

As he spoke, Gulanxiu initiated a teleport and arrived at the Illusion Sea Plane.

On the Illusion Sea Plane, black waters churned into waves dozens of meters high.

Without the slightest hesitation, Gulanxiu stepped onto the first island.

Gulanxiu felt as though he had returned to Chaos City. His teacher, Barbarian Hammer King, was earnestly explaining the Second Axe of the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet to him!

Gulanxiu smiled faintly and murmured, "It's quite convincing! Too bad a fake is still a fake!"

As soon as Gulanxiu finished speaking, the illusion before him disappeared, revealing the island's true appearance.

With a single stride, Gulanxiu reached the second island.

The illusion on the second island still had no effect on Gulanxiu. In the blink of an eye, he had swept through the first six islands and arrived on the seventh.

In Gulanxiu's perception, he had instantly returned to the star where the Giant Axe Battle had taken place. Standing before him was his thousandth opponent, Yanyan!

But unlike last time, Yanyan casually blocked every one of Gulanxiu's attacks.

Yanyan laughed from across the battlefield. "Gulanxiu! You really are strong! But you'll never be my match. I'm afraid your record will end at 999 wins and one loss! Today, I'll use your blood to forge my path to invincibility!"

As he spoke, Yanyan even produced a great axe and swung it at Gulanxiu. Facing this strike, Gulanxiu felt that there was no way he could withstand it, because it was the Second Axe of the Giant Axe Chaos Tablet, which he hadn't fully comprehended yet.

Faced with this deadly strike, Gulanxiu actually closed his eyes and murmured, "This really is incredible! It can even bring back memories from the depths of my soul. The only time I've felt this way about the Second Axe of the Great Axe was while viewing the Chaos Tablet. Even when my teacher demonstrated it for me, it was never this clear. I never expected it to appear in my mind like this. Too bad it only lasts for a short time!"

As soon as Gulanxiu finished speaking, the great axe above his head came to an abrupt stop. Yanyan shattered along with the axe in his hands, vanishing from the world.