Before long, Di Fan returned with two Consciousness Induction Helmets in hand.
Chen Yuan took a helmet and, under Wei Wen's guidance, put it on and learned how to enter the Virtual Space.
On the other side, Luo Hai had also put on his helmet. He said to Chen Yuan, "Ready?"
Chen Yuan nodded, and then both of their consciousnesses entered the Virtual Space.
Inside the Virtual Space was a boundless silver expanse. The entire place seemed to be made of some alloy and looked like a silvery-white mirror.
Chen Yuan and Luo Hai appeared on the ground one after the other.
"So this is the Virtual Space?" Chen Yuan looked around. The sky consisted of the cosmic starry void, with countless stars glittering and reflecting off the silver ground in a dreamlike radiance.
"This belongs to the Earth Regional Network. It isn't connected to the true Virtual Universe and only has two functions." Luo Hai appeared beside him and explained, "One is the Trial Tower, which you don't need to worry about for now. The other is called the Battle Platform. As the name suggests, it's for fighting in the Virtual Space."
"Uncle Wei should have told you that in the Virtual Space, everyone's physical attributes are standardized: strength of 10,000 kilograms, speed of 150 meters per second, and excellent Elementary War General-level neural reaction speed!"
Chen Yuan nodded. "So it's fair."
"Yeah, very fair." Luo Hai turned to Chen Yuan. "So, are you ready to fight me?"
"Of course." Chen Yuan smiled. "I can start anytime."
"Good." Luo Hai nodded, then sent Chen Yuan a battle invitation.
Chen Yuan clicked accept. The next second, the entire space shifted, and an arena rose from where they stood.
Chen Yuan roughly estimated that the arena was quite large, around ten kilometers in both length and width.
"Please select your weapon and combat uniform."
A vast array of weapons and equipment appeared before Chen Yuan. With a light tap of his finger in the void, he selected the Streamer Battle Sword and combat uniform he was most familiar with.
Once he had equipped himself, Luo Hai was nearly ready as well. He had chosen a Blood Shadow Battle Blade, Hexagonal Shield, and combat uniform, clearly influenced by his father, Luo Feng.
"You're not using a shield?" Seeing Chen Yuan holding a sword in one hand while his other hand was empty, Luo Hai could not help but ask.
"I follow a high-speed style. A shield adds weight, so I don't carry one." Chen Yuan shook his head.
"Fine, you choose the setting." Luo Hai waved at Chen Yuan, handing him the right to select the battlefield.
"The arena is fine." Chen Yuan directly chose the default setting—the arena itself.
The next second, the two appeared in the middle of the arena, one hundred meters apart.
At the same time, countdown projections appeared before them. Three, two, one, begin.
The instant the countdown ended, Luo Hai charged at him. With his movement technique fully unleashed, his speed instantly surpassed 600 meters per second.
The distance between them was only one hundred meters. In almost the blink of an eye, Luo Hai arrived before Chen Yuan, swinging the Blood Shadow Battle Blade down at him.
Chen Yuan shifted his feet lightly, narrowly evading the strike by brushing past the blade with a minute movement. At the same time, he flicked his wrist, and his long sword shot out like a streak of lightning, a straight line aimed directly at Luo Hai's brow.
Luo Hai raised his left arm, blocking the dangerous thrust with his Hexagonal Shield. At the same time, he instantly leaped backward, leaving Chen Yuan's attack range.
"You really do have some skill. I underestimated you." Luo Hai's gaze turned serious as he called to Chen Yuan, "If you don't come at me, I'm going to use my full strength."
Chen Yuan made a slight gesture with his hand, signaling Luo Hai to attack.
"Good, you're confident enough." Luo Hai laughed heartily. "Win or lose, I acknowledge you."
"Next, I'll let you see a blade technique beyond Earth's level: the Hundred Fierce Blades..."
"Hundred Fierce: Mountain Destroyer!"
Before his words had even faded, Luo Hai's figure instantly closed in. The long saber in his hand descended with the force to collapse mountains and split the earth, accelerated by gravity. As the blade drew nearer, it gave Chen Yuan the sensation of facing the overwhelming might of a mountain crumbling down upon him.
Even Chen Yuan's expression changed slightly in the face of this attack. He did not recklessly try to evade with Micro Level techniques. Instead, he instantly retreated, narrowly avoiding that Mountain Destroyer slash.
Boom!
After the thunderous blast, Chen Yuan saw that the metal arena floor where he had just stood had cracked inch by inch. The entire arena within a ten-meter radius had collapsed.
Chen Yuan was secretly alarmed. He could imagine that if he had not retreated in time, he would already have died beneath that blade.
That strike was actually an area attack!
"How did that strike feel?" Luo Hai did not pursue the advantage. Instead, he laughed loudly. "No Martial Artist of the same level would dare face that strike head-on. Yet you managed to escape the blade force's pulling range. Your movement technique really is impressive."
"Blade force pull?" Chen Yuan understood somewhat why his instincts had urged him to get away as quickly as possible. Once caught in the blade force's pull, his body would involuntarily move toward the blade.
"But I also have a secret technique for explosive speed. Be careful."
"Hundred Fierce: Instant Shadow!"
Luo Hai's figure seemed to turn into a beam of light, arriving before Chen Yuan in an instant as though he had teleported. His long saber silently crossed the distance between them and sliced across Chen Yuan's neck. Delight flashed in Luo Hai's eyes as he believed victory was already in his grasp.
"No, it's an afterimage!" Luo Hai reacted quickly. Something felt wrong—his blade had not touched anything.
The next moment, Chen Yuan appeared behind him. His long sword flashed like lightning, not even stirring the wind as it silently pierced Luo Hai's heart.
"Battle over. Chen Yuan wins."
On the empty arena, the two stood facing each other.
"I actually lost." There was still a trace of disbelief in Luo Hai's eyes. "How did you pull off that final strike?"
"Just a little Hypnosis Technique trick." Chen Yuan snapped his fingers.
"Hypnosis?" Luo Hai was confused. When he looked at Chen Yuan again, he discovered that Chen Yuan had already vanished.
"By influencing your consciousness, I made you briefly fall into an illusion and misjudge my position." Chen Yuan's voice came from elsewhere. Luo Hai turned and discovered that Chen Yuan had somehow moved to the other side of him.
"I call this combat style the Illusion Martial Artist Style. It uses intense consciousness influence to throw off the opponent's attacks, creating an opportunity for one's own killing blow." Chen Yuan explained, "Of course, I only just created this attack method. It can only be considered a prototype and still needs a great deal of time to perfect."
Chen Yuan had indeed created this combat style only recently.
The reason was that his Deep Sleep had entered its third stage.
At this stage, someone from Star River Emperor could learn the Hypnosis Technique and influence others through consciousness.
After studying this Hypnosis Technique, Chen Yuan discovered that it was the Illusion Technique from Swallowed Star.
This discovery made Chen Yuan think of the Illusion Martial Artist Style that had appeared in the original story. It was an extremely rare type among Martial Artists, requiring powerful consciousness and exceptionally high resistance to Illusion Techniques.
The stronger one's resistance to Illusion Techniques, the more powerful the Illusion Techniques one could cast.
Only then did Chen Yuan discover that, as his Meditation Method entered the Great Accomplishment Level, his consciousness strength had already become comparable to the Planetary Level.
After several rounds of research, Chen Yuan created a set of Illusion Techniques based on his own ideas. This could not even be considered a skill; it merely incorporated a few hypnosis tricks into his attacks.
His fight with Luo Hai was the first test of this technique, as well as the trump card he had prepared for this battle.
And the result was obvious. He had successfully defeated Luo Hai, which also meant the Wood Bud Crystal was his.
Once he became Apprentice Level Eight—an Intermediate War God—he could consume the Wood Bud Crystal and advance to the Planetary Level!
Before you continue