Fighting the World Lord

Eighteen Cloud Layers.

The 3x gene avatar sat cross-legged in midair, watching as another fully armed avatar descended below.

The complete set of fifth-tier Origin Energy equipment and the Xi were all on that body.

For ease of distinction and control, Li Dui designated the 3x gene avatar as No. 1.

The fully equipped avatar became No. 2.

The remaining one was naturally No. 3.

Arriving at the First Cloud Layer, No. 2 halted its descent. It let No. 3 emerge from the World Ring.

No. 3 descended at a normal Universe Rank speed, flying toward the distant, colossal city.

Though it was night, a long queue still stretched at the city gate. Above the gate were inscribed massive characters—Vico World City.

No. 3 behaved like any ordinary powerhouse. He queued, paid the entry fee, and entered Vico World City.

The City Lord Mansion was not hard to find; its main building was inevitably the tallest in the entire city.

No. 3 drifted closer slowly. Today's protagonist was not him—he was here as backup. Should any unexpected situation arise, Li Dui could fully control both avatars to coordinate with each other.

And the protagonist was descending from the heavens.

"Boom."

A thunderous crash.

The hard ground of the City Lord Mansion's inner square shattered into fragments.

Instantly, a terrifying aura surged from within the mansion.

"You seek death!" An enraged shout followed.

"Vico World Lord, fight me in the sky." No. 2's figure rose, his calm voice spreading far.

"Swish~"

"Swish~"

Two figures, one after the other, flew to a halt beneath the clouds, facing each other.

Vico World Lord's expression flickered with uncertainty.

This reckless fool daring to provoke him was merely a Domain Level! Yet this Domain Level's speed was so fast that even he, a World Lord, could barely keep up.

Li Dui was exhilarated. This was his first time facing a Domain Lord-level powerhouse in reality. The real world was nothing like the Virtual Universe. The prickling sense of crisis that struck him like needles, the aura of death at the slightest misstep.

Thrilling!

Though it was only an avatar, he could not be careless. If the avatar died, sending another one here would not be so easy.

"Die."

Before Li Dui could make his move.

Vico World Lord's long sword, shimmering with flickering sword light, thrust forward.

He cared not what realm his opponent was. As long as it was an enemy, Vico never showed mercy.

Li Dui unhurriedly swung his blade to parry. He limited his power to around the ninth level of the Heavenly Bridge. A Domain Lord of the fifth or sixth tier without a Source Mark could not be that strong.

Indeed, Li Dui deflected the attack, flashed forward, and struck with his blade. Vico World Lord, blocking with his sword, was sent flying backward.

Li Dui pressed his advantage. His figure flickered, clinging to the retreating Vico World Lord. His long blade danced wildly, each strike sending the World Lord veering off course.

Vico World Lord struggled to defend. He had known from the start that this Domain Level was no ordinary foe, but he never expected to be at a disadvantage from the very first exchange.

"Roar!" Vico World Lord, broad-shouldered and long-armed like an ape, let out a great roar. He projected his World Lord's inner world outward.

Instantly, space within thousands of kilometers twisted and transformed.

The environment changed abruptly. The once-empty sky became a vast forest. The trees in the forest were tall and lush, radiating vibrant life.

The Forest World exuded a terrifying pressure, converging on Li Dui.

Li Dui felt as if shackles had been placed on his body. He could clearly sense his strength being restrained, dropping somewhat.

Catching his breath, Vico World Lord growled angrily, "Who are you? Why do you provoke me?"

A mere Domain Level, yet so powerful. If possible, it was better to avoid offending such a person.

Li Dui's voice, cold and indifferent, came through his mask. "Don't cling to false hope. I'm here to kill you. Today, either you die, or I do."

Hearing this, Vico World Lord was no pushover either. Then let it be a fight to the death. If he didn't kill this man now, would he wait until the man became a World Lord himself and come to crush him?

His long sword glowed with a faint cyan light, carrying the power of his world projection, and slashed at Li Dui.

Li Dui had previously used power above the ninth level, his actual combat strength roughly equivalent to a Domain Lord who had just reached the eighth level of the Heavenly Bridge. Even so, Vico World Lord had been suppressed. That meant his normal combat power was only at the seventh level of the Heavenly Bridge.

Now that Vico was using his world projection, Li Dui was under pressure—a shift in balance. Vico's combat power had increased by about half a level of the Heavenly Bridge.

Li Dui had no choice but to increase his intensity slightly. He had no fondness for being beaten down.

Within the Forest World projection, two figures clashed repeatedly. The distant powerhouses who had come to watch marveled in disbelief. Was this a dream? A mere early Domain Level was forcing a World Lord into such a sorry state.

No. 3 was naturally among the onlookers. Li Dui, fully controlling both avatars, could bring out ninety percent of their strength. If anything went wrong, he was ready to strike at any moment to assist No. 2.

In the battlefield, the Vico World Lord had already calmed down. This Domain Level could still increase his attack power, his strength no less than the World Lord's full capacity. But so what? You may be strong, but if I take one of your strikes, I'll only suffer some injury. Dare you let me hit you even once?

His mind settled, the Vico World Lord's long sword grew even more agile. Several sets of attack secret arts were linked together seamlessly.

Li Dui had come to find trouble with the World Lord; the Xueluo Crystal factor only accounted for a small part. The majority of the reason was simply to fight the World Lord.

If this Vico World Lord panicked and fought sloppily with mistakes everywhere, Li Dui wouldn't have been pleased.

To bolster Vico's confidence, he deliberately dodged by a hair's breadth several times.

"You can't defeat me. A Domain Level can never beat a World Lord. How about we stop? I'll recommend you to the Immortal Temple. With your talent, you'll surely be valued by the Temple. What do you say?" After a long exchange where neither could gain the upper hand, the Vico World Lord spoke, his words sincere.

Li Dui was slightly stunned. Domain Level? When did I become Domain Level? Oh~ that makes sense. Based on aura, with my 20x gene cosmic rank nine, I could indeed be mistaken for Domain Level.

Then he laughed heartily and casually made up a lie: "The Temple sent me to kill you."

Before the words faded, Vico used some unknown method to vanish from in front of Li Dui and suddenly appear behind him.

To the watching crowd, this move seemed utterly without warning, leaving no trace to follow.

But in Li Dui's eyes, a flash of incredible light burst forth.

He sidestepped at a speed incomprehensibly fast, casually blocking the attack. Taking advantage of the momentum, he retreated.

The battle paused for a moment.

Having his ultimate move broken frustrated the Vico World Lord immensely. He had defeated many strong enemies with this technique. He never expected it to be blocked by a Domain Level today.

As for what he himself and that Domain Level had just said, he estimated that neither of them had believed half a word.

Li Dui's expression turned somewhat strange. He glanced at the Vico World Lord and said, "I'm suddenly a bit pressed for time. You die."

Vico had just revealed a look of disdain when a streak of light struck him.

The streak entered Vico's body, gave a gentle tremor, and shattered his Life Core into pieces.

"Uh~" The cry of pain was only half a sound. Vico's face still held its disdainful expression, but his consciousness had already faded.

The surrounding Forest World collapsed with a roar. Vico's corpse also burst apart, and the items from his inner world exploded across the entire sky.

The spectators were still in shock. The two had just been fighting fiercely, evenly matched. Who could have imagined that suddenly, the mighty Vico World Lord would die like this?

Li Dui didn't care what they thought. He grabbed Vico's space treasure, then swept his Domain Force around, gathering the scattered mess in the air. Turning, he quickly rushed into the clouds and vanished.

Only then did the spectators snap out of it. Among them were several World Level experts and a whole bunch of Domain Levels. They were all busy sending messages.

Those Cloud Sky Rank cultivators had already rushed off frantically to search for the treasures that had exploded farther away, which Li Dui hadn't bothered with.

In this chaotic scene, no one noticed a figure slipping into the clouds from another direction.