Shock

"Impossible! Check the detector. See if Li Dui's ship is carrying a Domain Lord native." Someone reacted quickly.

Everyone understood instantly. Right, Li Dui was only Universe Rank—how could he have gained recognition from the laws?

And he hadn't reported being hijacked. That meant he must have actively brought a Domain Lord native out. That native just happened to gain recognition from the Earth Origin Law at this moment.

Double-Horned Domain Lord immediately checked the detection device.

This wasn't his own detector. It was high-end equipment provided by Heavenly Eclipse Palace, specifically for monitoring missions.

Double-Horned Domain Lord glanced at the feedback data, swallowed hard, and turned to the others. "There's only one person in the cabin. Universe Rank."

The hall fell quiet.

Everyone here was a Domain Lord. They all knew what this meant.

"Is he... from Battle Axe Secret Realm?" It was the same quick-thinking person from before.

"Uh, yes. Li Dui, ranked 3000th in the recently concluded qualification battle." Someone with fast hands had already pulled up the records.

"Damn." "X!" "**!" "Bleep!"

A chorus of curses rose and fell.

"At the Battle Axe Secret Realm level... has there ever been a freak like this?" someone asked.

"Impossible!"

"I've never heard of such a thing."

"Battle Axe Secret Realm definitely hasn't! If it had, it'd be God Origin Secret Realm level." Someone answered from experience.

"He's not even 500 years old." The fast-handed guy kept dropping bombs.

The curses repeated.

Everyone seated here was a peak Domain Lord who had gained law recognition.

But without exception, they had all achieved it after becoming Domain Lords.

There were stories of Domain Lord Rank doing it, sure. Usually, they were at least two or three hundred thousand years old. The most recent was His Highness Luo Feng. A disciple of the great Universe Master—naturally extraordinary.

"This... needs to be reported, right?" Double-Horned Domain Lord asked.

The hall's supervisor nodded. "Right. I'll report it. Raise Li Dui's monitoring priority. As long as he's outside the cloud layer, his safety must be guaranteed."

The earthy-yellow droplet merged into Li Dui's body. In a short time, he experienced the law ocean again, but this time it was the Earth Origin Law ocean.

A earthy-yellow law imprint appeared on his brow. Li Dui had no intention of hiding this. Gaining law recognition outside the Xueluo World was a public announcement to the monitors.

He left his clone hovering in the clouds, pretending to cultivate. Li Dui's main body logged into the Virtual Universe.

He sent emails to Hong and Thor.

He sent emails to a few close friends.

In the three-person group chat, he sent a voice message: "Luli, Shuiniu. Come to the Heavenly Bridge Plane."

"?" Luliduo replied in text.

"What? Can you clear the fifth floor? Impossible, it's only been a while since you cleared the fourth. Luli, let's go. If he can't do it, that'll be fun to watch."

"...Wait for me." Luliduo continued in text.

Li Dui rolled his eyes, unwilling to engage with them. He'd show them soon enough.

He just wanted his friends to witness his moment of takeoff.

Heavenly Bridge Plane.

Gatekeeper Bafen saw Li Dui approaching and nodded. "Li Dui, Giant Axe Heavenly Bridge is empty. Go right ahead."

Li Dui smiled back. "Yes, Gatekeeper. Please broadcast my battle scene. My friends will come to watch later. Thank you."

Gatekeeper Bafen chuckled. "That confident? Alright, go on. I'll play it." A flicker of interest rose in his heart.

Soon, those Li Dui had emailed, if free, arrived one by one. They didn't see Li Dui himself, only the big screen showing him flying on the fifth floor of the Heavenly Bridge.

Luliduo and Qianshui arrived. Gaido, who had come earlier, saw Qianshui and hurried over to greet her.

Qianshui was curious. "Little Gaido, why are you here? Made progress too?"

Gaido shook his head repeatedly, pointed at the big screen, then at the dozen or so people gathered together. "Brother Dui called us here."

"This kid! He went up without waiting for us." Qianshui gritted her teeth. But her interest only grew. Li Dui making such a big fuss—this was unusual.

On the screen, Li Dui reached the end of the fifth floor. He chose a warrior as his opponent.

The fifth-floor Gatekeeper had just materialized, not yet spoken, when Li Dui swung his blade. The Gatekeeper's eyes widened in shock. He raised his axe in a hasty block, but it was useless. The strike split him apart entirely.

Fifth floor, cleared.

"Whoa~~" The friends erupted.

Hong and Thor stared at each other wide-eyed, as if competing to see whose eyes were bigger.

Luliduo froze.

Qianshui's mouth hung open, stunned speechless.

Meanwhile, in an independent space within the Virtual Universe.

A petite woman radiating a chilling aura of slaughter stopped before a grand hall and called out, "Huansha requests an audience with the Venerable."

"Enter." A cold voice echoed from within the hall.

King Huansha strode swiftly into the hall and bowed to Venerable Meng Yu, who sat upon the throne. "Venerable, news has come from the Heavenly Eclipse Palace. Li Dui, a Universe Rank member of the Battle Axe Secret Realm, is suspected of having gained recognition from the Earth Origin Law."

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and an image materialized of Li Dui's spacecraft enveloped by the Origin Law.

"Oh?" Even the perpetually expressionless Venerable Meng Yu showed a hint of surprise.

"Go and verify it." Venerable Meng Yu instructed.

"Yes, Venerable. I've just received an email from Bafen, the Gatekeeper of the Heavenly Bridge. Li Dui passed the fifth level of the Heavenly Bridge with a single strike." King Huansha reported.

"Go take a look, verify it, and report back." Venerable Meng Yu closed her eyes, saying no more.

When King Huansha teleported to the Heavenly Bridge Plane, the large screen already showed Li Dui nearing the end of the sixth level.

The group of peers from Li Dui's generation all recognized King Huansha. One after another, they hurried over to pay their respects.

After nodding in acknowledgment, King Huansha saw no need to conceal herself. She rose directly into the air and fixed her gaze on the screen.

But in that short span of time, five more powerful beings radiating terrifying auras arrived one after another. They all went to stand beside King Huansha, conversing among themselves, though those below could not hear a word.

By then, Li Dui's friends knew something was off. Those who could interact as equals with King Rank Immortals were generally of the same level themselves.

What was this group of King Rank powerhouses doing here? Watching a Universe Rank pass through the Heavenly Bridge? Ridiculous.

Qianshui asked Luliduo in confusion, "What did this kid do? Is something wrong?"

Luliduo shook her head. "Something's definitely happened, but it shouldn't be bad."

Hearing this, Qianshui relaxed and caught on. "Right, right, right. If it were bad, they'd have gone to arrest him already. Why come to the Virtual Universe?"

On the screen, at the end of the sixth level, Li Dui once again chose the warrior path.

The Gatekeeper materialized, seemingly displeased that Li Dui had used underhanded tactics on the previous level—tricking and ambushing him, the old Gatekeeper. This time, he didn't speak and struck first at Li Dui.

Li Dui's expression remained calm as he swung the Giant Axe Second Blade horizontally.

This strike could pass the seventh level; how could the sixth level's Gatekeeper withstand it? It shattered and dissipated instantly.

"Oh..."

"Whoa~"

The commotion below grew louder, and the crowd swelled. Many of his peers had received emails from the Gatekeeper saying Li Dui had passed the fifth level of the Heavenly Bridge with one strike and was now fighting on the sixth. Many immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed over to watch.