Battle Against a Lord

One question left Li Dui stumped.

If the question was limited to using the Giant Axe Third Blade, it was easy to answer.

At the eleventh level of the Universe Rank, he was slightly weaker than a tenth-level Domain Lord, and a little weaker still than a ninth-level World Lord. So he could be considered roughly equivalent to an eighth-level Heavenly Bridge World Lord.

An eighth-level Heavenly Bridge World Lord was nothing special among the Core Layer of the Five Great Powers of the Human Race. Outside that circle, though, he would already count as a very powerful World Lord.

Li Dui's current dilemma was that he had no idea how strong he would be if he used his full comprehension of the Origin Law of Space.

He was also confident he'd made some headway in combining the laws of earth and space. If he used that, how strong would he be?

He had no idea who to test it on. He couldn't just go find a World Lord and take a swing at him, could he? As the saying went, know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

He knew neither himself nor his enemy. What was he even doing?

Unable to think of a good solution for the moment, he could only put the matter aside.

Really, it was just a question of confidence.

Even without knowing exactly where he stood, it wouldn't affect his next step: taking on a Domain Lord and getting his hands on Xueluo Crystals.

Domain Lords weren't World Lords. The World Lord stage was when people comprehended the Universe Origin Law. It was entirely possible that an extraordinarily powerful World Lord might appear out of nowhere.

But Domain Lords...

It wasn't that Li Dui looked down on the Xueluo World. The chances of finding a Domain Lord here who could stand against him were vanishingly small. Even if there was one, he would be a treasured asset, not someone who'd come out to serve as a city lord.

Li Dui remembered that Luo Feng had once visited the hometown of that fellow—the creator of the Yan Shen Armament. What was his name again? Xiluo Duo. That place seemed to be about one light-year across, roughly the same size as the Xueluo World.

But they were a cosmic race and a vassal of the Human Race. They had once produced a being like Xiluo Duo, and even now had more than one Venerable.

Their knowledge, inheritances, powerful fighters, and equipment were all countless times better than those of the Xueluo World. Yet the strongest Core Layer Domain Lord who had emerged to contend with Luo Feng from that place had only reached the tenth level of the Heavenly Bridge.

The Xueluo World was nothing but a bird in a cage.

"The lord of this main city should have some spare Xueluo Crystals." Li Dui glanced toward the City Lord Mansion. He planned to make his move at nightfall.

The Xueluo World had no sun or moon. Day and night alternated because of the movement of the Eighteen Cloud Layers. One light and one dark made a day, which lasted a little over seven Earth days.

He got up and went out. Juyi Garden was the best place to stay in the city, and its food was famous too. Li Dui had tried it when he first arrived, and found it had a flavor all its own.

The sky was dark.

"Thud." "Thud."

His combat boots struck the stone road with muffled thumps.

Li Dui had changed into a full set of fifth-tier Origin Force equipment.

With a thought, his faceplate slid down.

"Whoosh."

The guards at the entrance to the City Lord Mansion didn't even have time to react before Li Dui had rushed inside. He hovered in midair, excitement flickering in his eyes. A terrifying Domain Force spread out from him, covering the entire City Lord Mansion.

This was the most direct solution he'd come up with: suppress them with his Domain and save himself the trouble of finding someone.

"Ugh!" Everyone in the City Lord Mansion was instantly immobilized by the Domain Force.

Linxi Lord Kuang Yu sat cross-legged on a luxurious, comfortable couch, eyes closed in cultivation. Suddenly, a Domain Force swept over him.

Kuang Yu flew into a rage and shouted, "How dare you! Who dares challenge this city lord?" At the same time, the Domain Force of his Fire Domain surged around him, trying to suppress the intruder's Earth Domain.

Though he was only at the sixth level of the Domain Level, his Fire Domain was unusual and far surpassed that of ordinary Domain Level fighters. It had always been his pride and source of confidence.

Li Dui's figure abruptly appeared in front of the palace where Kuang Yu lived.

He waved a hand, and the palace collapsed. Kuang Yu charged out of the dust, his face full of suspicion.

"Who are you? Do you know this is the city—Cloud Sky Rank?" Kuang Yu realized that his prized Domain not only couldn't suppress his opponent, but was also difficult to wield. He had been about to invoke the rules, hoping to make his opponent hesitate.

But then he saw the intruder in iron armor, his face concealed. The aura he gave off was actually at the peak of the Cloud Sky Rank.

Kuang Yu's eyes widened. A Cloud Sky Rank fighter? With a stronger Domain than mine?

Li Dui said nothing and charged with his blade raised.

Kuang Yu pulled a Long Halberd from his Space Ring and swung it with all his strength. He refused to believe that, even if his Domain was slightly weaker, a dignified Domain Level fighter like him would lose to a mere peak Cloud Sky Rank fighter.

Sure enough, his strike gained the upper hand, knocking the Iron-Armored Man backward. Kuang Yu pressed his advantage, his Long Halberd wreathed in astonishing flames as he tried to kill his opponent in one blow.

Li Dui flipped his blade and swept it up to block the pursuing Long Halberd. This time, he used greater power, roughly equivalent to the fourth level of the Heavenly Bridge.

The two attacks were evenly matched. Li Dui used the force to shift sideways, then steadied himself.

A Domain Lord capable of fusing with a Xueluo Crystal really was impressive. After all, Xueluo Crystals could not only increase a person's Gene Multiplier but also speed up their Law Comprehension.

So it was only natural that Kuang Yu could reach the third level of the Heavenly Bridge.

Li Dui plunged forward to continue testing his strength.

Kuang Yu, however, was starting to panic. The attack just now had been one of his strongest moves, yet this Cloud Sky Rank fighter had blocked it with ease.

Now every one of this bastard's strikes felt incredibly heavy. Kuang Yu had to use his few ultimate techniques just to hold his own.

Secret techniques flowed one after another from Li Dui's hands. They were all blade moves he'd worked out while creating his first and second blades, and none of them satisfied him.

In truth, Li Dui wasn't focused on attacking. What he was really paying attention to was dodging and blocking.

Li Dui had never learned any specific movement techniques. Fortunately, his comprehension of the Origin Law of Space was far beyond that of anyone at the same level. Even without using a technique, simply applying his own comprehension made his movements highly efficient and unpredictable.

After more than a hundred exchanges, Kuang Yu hadn't landed a single hit on him. He hadn't even triggered the defense of Li Dui's Force Battle Suit. As a result, it hadn't even occurred to Kuang Yu that Li Dui might be an outsider. He assumed he was merely some super-genius who had appeared from nowhere.

The longer Li Dui fought, the happier he became.

Real combat felt completely different from fighting in the Virtual Universe. And this opponent was perfect: strong enough to be useful, but not enough to truly threaten his safety.

The longer Kuang Yu fought, the more alarmed he became. At first, he'd hoped the Iron-Armored Man was using some special method to achieve such strength. Special methods usually couldn't be sustained for long.

But the fight had gone on this long, and there was no sign of his opponent weakening.

The battle continued. Fear had already begun to take hold in Kuang Yu's heart. This Iron-Armored Man was incredibly powerful. And someone like him... who knew what kind of backing he had?

Kuang Yu fought to knock Li Dui's blade aside, then asked in a low voice, "You've come to my door and attacked me. What exactly do you want?"

Li Dui didn't care whether he wanted to fight. He kept attacking and casually replied, "I haven't fought in a long time. I'm itching for a fight, so I came to have one with you."

Kuang Yu was furious. He was a lord, after all. Ordinary Domain Level fighters wouldn't dare act up in front of him. This bastard of a Cloud Sky Rank fighter didn't take him seriously at all, and yet Kuang Yu really couldn't do a thing about him.

"What will it take for you to leave?" Kuang Yu asked through gritted teeth.