The Assessment

Inside one of the ship's rooms, Gulanxiu connected his consciousness to the Light Brain Carl had given him and began studying the Axe Art.

A man covered in scales, with a dragon's tail, held a great axe and swung it at a towering mountain before him. "Split the Mountain!" he shouted.

As the man swung, the axe blade trembled slightly, and space seemed to twist. The mountain before him split cleanly in two, as if it were made of tofu.

The man lowered his axe and stood at ease, a faint smile on his lips. Then he began explaining the finer points of the strike.

A moment later, Gulanxiu slowly opened his eyes, excitement in his voice. "So that's how it works! It seems I've been far too crude in my use of the Law. With the same level of Law Comprehension, this man's attacks are two or three times stronger than mine! If I can master this move, I can become even stronger!"

He immediately immersed himself in practicing the Axe Art. The ship's cramped interior left no room to test it out, but the Light Brain Carl had given him could connect to the Virtual Universe, so he could practice there instead.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Carl roused Gulanxiu from his cultivation because they were about to reach the headquarters of the Axe Fighting Arena in the Gulun Cosmic Kingdom.

The ship gradually slowed, and soon they had returned to the Original Universe. Ahead lay a massive, technologically advanced planet. Having often fought on stars, Gulanxiu could tell at a glance that its diameter was at least a thousand times that of an ordinary star.

The space around the planet was bristling with all manner of technological weapons. Gulanxiu could clearly sense that any one of the weapons floating in space could easily destroy their ship.

Fortunately, Carl had evidently registered their arrival in advance. Guided by a beacon, she quickly piloted the ship to a docking port, then parked it and stored it in her World Ring.

The moment he landed, Gulanxiu sensed the powerful gravity coming from the planet. It did not affect him much, but he could tell that humans below Star Level could not survive under such gravity, while those below Cosmic Level could not fly there.

Carl said to Gulanxiu, "This is Ancient God Star, the headquarters of the Axe Fighting Arena in the Gulun Cosmic Kingdom. I've applied for your assessment authorization. Come with me for a check, and then you can take the assessment."

Gulanxiu nodded. Carl had arranged everything, so all he had to do was follow her instructions.

A moment later, Carl led Gulanxiu into a tall building. She clearly knew her way around. After speaking with the staff, she had a winged young woman escort Gulanxiu into a sealed room.

After a scan, a mechanical voice rang out. "Cosmic Level 8. Scan approved!"

Seeing that everything had gone smoothly, Carl brought Gulanxiu to an empty room and said, "Good! Now enter the Virtual Universe with your consciousness, and you can begin the assessment. No one will disturb you here. I hope you pass. Good luck!"

With that, she turned and left the room.

Gulanxiu sent his consciousness into the Virtual Universe and found a new teleportation coordinate there. Without a second thought, he teleported to it.

At the same time, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear. "Candidate Gulanxiu, there are seven towers before you, each with seven levels. You must pass through all seven towers. If you clear the Fourth Tower, you may join the Axe Fighting Arena's Core Layer, Fourth Secret Realm. If you clear all seven towers, you may enter the Axe Fighting Arena's Core Layer, First Secret Realm. The assessment begins now! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

As the voice spoke, Gulanxiu was teleported to a vast plain. A virtual watch appeared on his wrist, displaying: First Tower, First Level—ten thousand Bloody Woolly Mammoths!

Gulanxiu smiled faintly. This assessment was just like the Universe Peak Genius Battle. Of course, since he was at Cosmic Level, the ferocious beasts would probably be stronger.

It was a perfect chance to make up for the regret of missing the Peak Genius Tournament because he had become a slave.

As he thought this, the ten thousand Bloody Woolly Mammoths charged at him. Thousands upon thousands of beasts thundered forward, shaking the earth beneath them. A Cosmic Level expert with a weaker will might already have been trembling with fear.

But they did not faze Gulanxiu. Even Carl thought he had a good chance of passing the assessment, so there was no way he would fall at the first hurdle.

Gulanxiu swung the great axe in his hands. Each stroke cleaved a Bloody Woolly Mammoth in two.

The ferocious beasts charged with overwhelming momentum, but none could withstand a single blow from Gulanxiu. In moments, more than half of them had fallen.

Fortunately, the Bloody Woolly Mammoths were only simulations in the Virtual Universe. Even after most of them had died, the survivors felt no fear and did not scatter. They continued charging at Gulanxiu.

That saved him quite a bit of time. Before long, he had killed every last one. Unlike Luo Feng in the original story, Gulanxiu had no Demon-Slaying Race clone to give him an edge. His strength would not improve much in a short time, so he did not bother to stay for the full ten days. Instead, he swiftly killed the last Bloody Woolly Mammoth and proceeded to the second level.

Dozens of days passed in the blink of an eye, and Gulanxiu had reached the Seventh Layer of the Fourth Tower. Once he arrived at the Fourth Tower, his progress slowed noticeably. Nearly every opponent in this tower had grasped a hint of Law, making them much stronger than those in the first three towers. Even Gulanxiu found them somewhat challenging.

Fortunately, they were still within his limits. With sharper attacks and greater speed, he spent more effort than before but still managed to kill each of his previous opponents.

Only one opponent remained: the Zerg Queen. Although he had gained experience from the first three towers, she still left Gulanxiu in a sorry state. She produced troops far too quickly, and Gulanxiu had not taken the Teleportation path in his Space Law Comprehension, so his speed was nothing exceptional. That made the battle troublesome.

Fortunately, Gulanxiu had a strong will and a solid grasp of Law. Although he had never cultivated a Soul Defense Secret Technique, the Zerg Queen of the Fourth Tower still could not shake him.

The Zerg Queen remained inside her hive, where her movement was even slower. Her defeat was only a matter of time. Sure enough, Gulanxiu spent just two days carving a bloody path through the swarm and reaching her.

Gulanxiu raised his great axe high and shouted, "Split the Mountain!" The blade twisted slightly as he brought it down on the hive with the force of a mountain crashing from above.

The entire hive, along with the Zerg Queen inside, was cleaved in two by Gulanxiu's strike.