Ming Yu

Killing Field lobby.

Yin Congyang rested alone in a corner. "Half a month now. I've fought all the way from Planetary Level Stage Two to Planetary Level Stage Nine—is that still not enough to catch his attention? That would be a bit troublesome..."

Over these fifteen days, he spent half his time challenging various opponents in Battle Space. Whenever he had a flash of insight, he'd set up opponents in Killing Space to test it. The remaining time went to cultivation. With the help of Green Wave Marrow, his progress was swift—he was nearly at the peak of Planetary Level Stage Two in just half a month.

His Domain of Gold and Water grew increasingly seamless, almost perfectly integrated.

Beep. A challenge request appeared on the screen before him. A Planetary Level Stage Nine warrior, rated only five stars, with a note saying he possessed a domain.

Yin Congyang was about to refuse when a thought struck him. Could this be a test arranged by Ming Yu? He reached out and accepted.

Whoosh.

Yin Congyang was instantly teleported into Battle Space. A white-robed young swordsman stood with his hands behind his back. Seeing Yin Congyang appear, he studied him seriously for a few moments, then thrust his longsword forward and shot toward him like lightning.

Yin Congyang immediately sensed that this opponent was different from the others—more oppressive. Though the man hadn't unfolded his domain, Yin Congyang was certain the white-robed swordsman possessed one.

He unleashed his axe technique and clashed with the opponent. Yin Congyang's axe arts were profound, but the other's swordsmanship was equally exquisite. Relying on his Planetary Level Stage Nine strength, the swordsman alternated between sweeping, powerful strikes and bizarre, tricky moves. The two were evenly matched in terms of axe and sword realm, but as a Stage Nine, the opponent's base power far exceeded Yin Congyang's. After dozens of rounds of fierce combat, Yin Congyang had no choice but to unfold his Domain of Gold first, turning the tide and suppressing the opponent.

The white-robed young swordsman immediately unfolded his own domain—the Domain of Thunder. The Domain of Thunder granted a significant speed boost to his footwork and swordsmanship, gradually suppressing Yin Congyang once more.

The more Yin Congyang fought, the fiercer he became. He unleashed both his Domain of Gold and Domain of Water, laughing heartily. "That's the spirit! I've fought over a thousand matches in Battle Space, and not one was as formidable as you. Truly exhilarating. Again!"

The young swordsman shouted back, "I never expected to meet an opponent like you in the Killing Field. If you were Planetary Level Stage Nine, I'd have lost long ago. Pity you're not. To comprehend dual law domains at Planetary Level Stage Two—you're truly astonishing..."

The two rolled and tumbled in battle for so long that they seemed evenly matched. Their realms were comparable; Yin Congyang's domain was profound, while the opponent's foundation was solid.

"Lumberjack, it seems we can't decide a victor today. How about we call this a draw?"

Yin Congyang's battle intent blazed instead. "I've recently comprehended a new move. If you can block it, I'll concede defeat!"

The gold-blue domain around him suddenly contracted to his side. The Heaven-Opening Axe in his hand glowed with a faint gold-blue light. A swift, unparalleled strike—Wu Gang Cuts the Laurel—arced along a mysterious trajectory toward the young swordsman.

The young swordsman strained with all his might to block the Heaven-Opening Axe with his longsword, but the axe blade gave a slight tremor. The sword was instantly deflected as if struck by lightning. Startled, he tried to retreat but couldn't escape the axe's range.

Gritting his teeth, he abandoned his sword entirely and struck out with both palms toward Yin Congyang's chest, attempting to trade wounds. However, when his palms hit Yin Congyang's chest, it felt like striking an unfathomably deep lake. Ninety percent of the force was dissipated, and the remaining ten percent hit something as hard as a steel plate, leaving his hands numb from the recoil.

Relying on his domain to endure those two palm strikes, Yin Congyang's Heaven-Opening Axe slashed diagonally from the opponent's left shoulder to his right abdomen, cleaving him in two like felling a tree...

Lumberjack, 1678 wins, 0 losses.

After exiting Battle Space, Yin Congyang felt he had gained a great deal. Not only did he understand domain application more deeply, but he also had a vague, hazy feeling about the Law of Gold and the Law of Water.

Then he received calls from Luo Feng and Thunder God.

Killing Field lobby.

In a corner beneath the blood-red ceiling backdrop, Luo Feng and Thunder God sat facing each other, expressions bitter.

Yin Congyang and Hong, clad in black, walked over in high spirits. Seeing the two, they couldn't help but find it strange. "What's wrong with you two? Not in a good mood?"

"Lost," Luo Feng said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, me too." Thunder God perked up a bit. "But looking at you two, you seem pretty happy?"

"Haha, I met a very strong opponent," Hong said cheerfully. "Out of the hundreds of battles I've fought, this one was the strongest. What a satisfying fight!"

Yin Congyang nodded. "Same here. It seems that with the strength we've shown, it might be a test sent by some faction..."

The group suddenly realized it. That was entirely possible.

Suddenly, a Killing Field staff member walked over and said to them, "Gentlemen, a Meditation Room owner upstairs invites you to come up for a chat."

They exchanged glances, roughly understanding that their earlier guess was correct. Now that the test was over, the recruitment was beginning.

"Lead the way, please."

The four followed the staff member up the stairs to the second floor. The second floor was like a quiet, beautiful maze, with Meditation Rooms scattered throughout.

Soon they reached the door of a certain Meditation Room. The staff member raised a hand and knocked.

"Enter." A deep, resonant voice sounded.

The staff member gently pushed the door open and bowed respectfully to the person inside. "Sir, they've arrived." Then he withdrew.

The four stepped into the Meditation Room. Inside stood a man of immensely burly build. On the left chest of his battle robe was a badge—a pattern of two planets suspended above a sea of blood.

Universe Two-Star Mercenary. The four were all shocked. What did that mean? It meant this person was at least a Domain Lord, possibly even a World Lord!

They bowed solemnly. "Greetings, sir!"

The burly man waved slightly, indicating they needn't stand on ceremony. "You four have been in the Killing Field for half a month now. Since you entered, each of you has fought at least a hundred battles a day. Am I right?"

They all nodded obediently.

"But I don't understand. Your talent is very high. Why waste time in the Killing Field? Coming occasionally for training and verification, with a teacher's guidance, has its uses. But it can never replicate the effect of life-and-death combat. In Killing Space and Battle Space, even if you die, you revive instantly. This is the Virtual Universe—it can't make your life sense the crisis of death, so naturally it can't spur evolution."

"Life-and-death situations hold great terror and infinite motivation. That's why countless experts seek adventure and life-or-death battles. Facing true death, life struggles from its deepest core!"

"The Giant Axe Dojo—an incomparably brutal arena. Every life-or-death battle ends with one side dead. Yet it thrives precisely because risking life and death is the fastest path to evolution. How many experts haven't undergone life-or-death battles? Some even seek out such battles specifically to temper themselves!"

He looked at them. "So, I'm puzzled. Why are you wasting time in the Killing Field?"

Hong, Thunder God, and Luo Feng all understood. Hong murmured to himself, "No wonder I've fought so many battles and still can't break through..."

Thunder God and Luo Feng's eyes lit up as well. Luo Feng even questioned Babata in his mind...

Yin Congyang rolled his eyes inwardly. He had known this all along, but he hadn't directly told his three brothers. It was the same principle: without experiencing it firsthand, no amount of talk from others would truly sink in. For trivial matters like this, there was no need to rush to speak up.

Moreover, the reason he had instigated those few to enter the Killing Field was precisely to attract attention, allowing him to draw out Ming Yu ahead of schedule and gain an opportunity to join the Virtual Universe Company.

He had calculated it himself. The Genius Tournament was only a few years away. With his current cultivation speed, it would be extremely difficult to break through to Star Level before the tournament began. Even if he managed a breakthrough by luck, without time to consolidate, he would struggle to make it far in the competition.

It was just like the results Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God achieved in the Genius Tournament a few years later. Hong and Thunder God were undeniably talented, yet having broken through to Star Level not long ago, they lacked the sedimentation of time and couldn't even break into the top 1,000 of the Ganwu Universe Kingdom.

As for Luo Feng making it into the top 1,000, one reason was that he had bought the Yan God Weapon at the auction and practiced with it for a few years before the Genius Tournament began. Most importantly, his consciousness was at Universe Level. The Golden Horned Behemoth only started to show its true power upon reaching Universe Level, naturally gaining a domain, comprehending the Law of Gold, and even grasping the rudiments of the Law of Space, crossing the threshold of the laws.

Even so, during the selection for the Ganwu Universe Kingdom, he was far from invincible. It wasn't until after three years of fighting in the defeated group and successfully gestating his second clone from the Mo Sha Race, deepening his understanding of the Law of Space, that he reached a level around the top 100 among the universe's geniuses. Only after breaking through to the Nine-Line Flow in the final selection match did he reach the level of the top 10 universe geniuses, qualifying him to enter the Primordial Secret Realm.

Thus, Yin Congyang's plan was this: after entering the universe, he would display his talent in the Killing Field, catch Man Luo's attention, and have Man Luo arrange for Ming Yu to test him. He would then seize the opportunity to join the Virtual Universe Company as an internal member. Once his strength was sufficient, he would advance through the internal member promotion channels. As long as he was strong enough, he could enter the Virtual Universe Company's core layer, rising step by step.

As for the Earth crisis a few months later, he wanted to try using his status as an internal member of the Virtual Universe Company to ask Ming Yu to step in and scare off Nuolanshan.

This was Yin Congyang's plan, and now he had finally reached the last step.

At this moment, the burly man standing before them smiled and said, "Life-and-death adventure is a journey every strong must undergo—breaking through life-and-death barriers time and again, surpassing oneself again and again. This is the path of a strong."

"But before that, I must remind you of one thing: the importance of a solid physical foundation!"

"Different bloodlines have different evolutionary efficiencies. Some evolve easily in life-and-death situations, while others find it much harder. Some races can even reach Star Level, Universe Level, or Domain Lord level upon reaching adulthood. That's the difference bloodlines make!"

With that, he laid out a bloodline chart for them to see and asked what grade their bloodlines were.

The group exchanged glances. Hong answered, "Ninth grade."

The burly man's expression shifted to shock, as if he couldn't believe it. "A race with a ninth-grade bloodline can actually produce geniuses like you? That's truly rare. I admire you, and I congratulate you."

"Congratulate?" They were all puzzled.

The burly man laughed heartily. "Haha, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am an external executive of the Virtual Universe Company stationed at the 'Black Dragon Mountain Branch' in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. My name is Ming Yu. You may address me as Mr. Ming Yu or Lord Ming Yu."

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