Illusion Sea

Holding back was only part of it.

Some things were beyond your control.

So he had to find a way to become a King-level Immortal. At that level, even if he died, he could be resurrected.

The condition was that he hadn't been subjected to Soul Control. He had to hold fast to his true self in the final moments, resist control, and force a self-detonation.

Then he just had to wait for his race to arrange for a Universe Master to resurrect him one day.

Li Dui was quite worried about this. It was true that he had been born on Earth. He should be able to benefit from the Earthlings' soul talent. If he could become a King-level Immortal in the future, his willpower and consciousness should be stronger than those of most others at the same level.

But he wasn't the Li Dui of before. He didn't know whether that talent had been erased when he crossed over.

"Alas, I'm no protagonist." Li Dui sighed to himself.

Look at Luo Feng. When his rank was low, he had the Clone Talent and didn't have to fear risking his life. When he reached a higher rank and faced enemies with the ability to control souls, he had the Star Tower. Even using only the Tower Pearl to guard his soul, it was beyond the reach of ordinary supreme treasures.

It wasn't that Li Dui hadn't considered finding a life-form with the Clone Talent and taking over its body. Even if he couldn't afford to exchange for one now, he could save up slowly. If he couldn't find anything better, he could get a Golden Horned Beast like Luo Feng and make four bodies. That would be pretty great, too.

But when he thought it through, he didn't dare. If he took over another body, who knew whether the Hula Hoop would still be there?

Unless one day someone discovered the Hula Hoop and the higher-ups wanted to take it away. Then he could ask for compensation—a suitable body to take over.

"Xiao Le, send me to the Illusion Sea."

Li Dui wanted to test the strength of his willpower and consciousness.

Illusion Sea Plane.

Black waves surged, crashing against the cliffs along the shore again and again.

Li Dui flew straight toward the First Island. He believed his experiences over the past thirty-odd years hadn't been for nothing. At the very least, his willpower should be on the level of an ordinary Universe Rank.

If he couldn't even manage that, he would have to keep his head down and hole up in the Battle Axe Secret Realm for hundreds or thousands of years, slowly working on his state of mind before worrying about anything else.

Li Dui understood that he wasn't Hong or Thor, much less Luo Feng. Each of them had gone through different experiences. Their paths of cultivating the mind might not suit him. He could only take things one step at a time.

He stepped onto the First Island.

"You're not Li Dui. Who are you? How dare you sneak into Chaos City?" A blurry figure hovered in midair, roaring with immense pressure.

"So the illusion is born from the mind?" Li Dui ignored the figure and looked around. "It looks pretty real." This was the rooftop where he'd lived for nearly thirty years.

The illusion was certainly realistic, but he could clearly sense the difference between himself and the illusion. He felt out of place.

"Good. That means my willpower has at least reached Universe Rank." Reassured, Li Dui drew his blade and slashed at the blurry figure.

In an instant, the illusion shattered, and the island returned to view.

The sea in the distance was black as ink. A patch of white slowly emerged from the void.

It was the Second Island.

It would appear only after he passed the First Island.

Li Dui rose into the air and charged toward the Second Island. His heart was singing. Reaching the willpower of an ordinary Universe Rank was affirmation—a sign that in just thirty years, he had gone from an ordinary person to a true Universe Rank powerhouse.

"Tap."

As soon as he landed, the illusion enveloped Li Dui.

"Congratulations, Li Dui."

"Congratulations. Now that you've become a King Rank, it's time you learned a few things." Hong's expression was solemn.

"In recognition of your outstanding performance, my teacher, Lord of Virtual Gold, wishes to summon you."

"Haha, illusions really love pulling this sort of thing. Is this what I fear deep down? Too bad. This island can't stop me." Li Dui laughed and drew his blade, slashing at the startled Hong.

The illusion shattered.

This time, he felt slightly less detached from the illusion than he had on the First Island.

Li Dui rose into the air and charged toward the Third Island, which was still taking shape.

"Fake. Get out of my way." He brought his long blade crashing down.

His opponent had short black hair and a cold gaze. He easily blocked Li Dui's full-strength attack.

"I underestimated you. That slash had the power of an Immortal God. It seems the treasure in your mind is extraordinary. Too bad you ran into me, Luo Feng. You're no match for me. Hand it over. You can't protect it. Give it to me, and I'll compensate you."

Li Dui's consciousness was hazy. He could no longer distinguish reality from the illusion on his own. Only his willpower kept him going, constantly reminding him that it was fake. But now, even that was no longer enough.

In reality, Li Dui sat cross-legged on the bed in his room, his facial muscles twitching.

Not long before, he had realized that he was sinking deeper and deeper into the illusion and was about to lose himself. Instinctively, he tried to summon the Ring.

Doing so had brought him plenty of benefits before.

It was usually easy to do. This time, however, it was incredibly difficult. Worse, diverting his attention to summon the Ring only intensified the illusion's hold on him.

Just as Li Dui's will was about to sink beneath the illusion,

the iridescent Ring in his mind suddenly appeared.

It worked!

In an instant, the illusion that had seemed utterly real to Li Dui changed. It looked like a shoddy holographic projection, every beam of light edged with jagged artifacts, flickering now and then.

With a mere wave of his hand, he could make the illusion disappear.

"Holy crap." Li Dui cursed inwardly. This was incredible. Did this mean that illusions were nothing to him now?

With a wave of his hand, the illusion shattered. He wanted to try the next island and see whether the Hula Hoop could withstand the Seventh Island, which many World Lords supposedly couldn't pass.

That was right. He had just passed the Sixth Island. He had made it this far on his own, but he'd fallen just short of passing it.

That result had far exceeded his expectations. He'd thought he'd be lucky to get past the Fourth Island.

At the edge of the Twenty-First Island, deep within the Illusion Sea, an old man in a golden-yellow robe suddenly opened his eyes. Black scales covered his exposed hands, neck, and face.

"Hm? That kid is from the Battle Axe Secret Realm? To withstand the Sixth Island is quite impressive."

After muttering a couple of words, the old man closed his eyes again.

This level was indeed impressive, but that was all. The old man hadn't even bothered to look closely at Li Dui's profile. He hadn't noticed that Li Dui shared a race with the three freaks who had astonished him three times over the past ten thousand years.

The Seventh Island.

Li Dui maintained his connection to the Hula Hoop as he descended onto the island.

As expected, he felt no connection to the illusion. Like watching a holographic projection, he "watched" himself lying in a hospital bed.

The cramped hospital room, the familiar layout, and all the equipment.

Was this Earth?

"Click."

The hospital-room door opened. A young man walked in.

"Brother! You're awake?" The young man was overjoyed to see Li Dui with his eyes open.

"Mom, Dad! Come quick, my brother's awake!" the young man shouted as he ran out of the room.

A short while later, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

Two streams of tears rolled down Li Dui's face. He murmured, "Mom, Dad."

Then he severed his connection to the Ring.