Another Epiphany

While the little sprite silently sorted through the data, Bai Yuan was also quickly recalling the original story.

His true body belonged to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, and the place he was in now should be the corresponding "Black Dragon Mountain Continent" in the Virtual Universe.

Once the little sprite had organized all the basic information, Bai Yuan began browsing through it.

He skimmed past more than ninety percent of the content at a glance. Entertainment games and places of leisure held no interest for him.

After searching for a while, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Found it—the Slaughter Arena!"

The little sprite looked at Bai Yuan and said with a smile, "Master, I've mapped out the route for you."

Bai Yuan nodded. Intelligent Life really was convenient. It saved him from having to ask for directions himself.

"From now on, your name will be Xingwu." After a brief moment of thought, Bai Yuan gave it a name.

Xingwu was clearly delighted, twirling lightly on Bai Yuan's shoulder.

"Thank you for giving me a name, Master!"

When he arrived at the entrance to the Slaughter Arena, Bai Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

The fees here were truly exorbitant.

Planet Realm practitioners had to pay one million Black Dragon Coins or seven hundred Ganwu Coins per day.

With his current funds, he could afford to use it for only a little over three hundred years at most.

But he had an essential reason for coming.

The Slaughter Arena's hall was bustling with people.

After all, the Slaughter Arena created by the Virtual Universe was ideal for practicing secret techniques and honing combat skills.

However, true breakthroughs in life-or-death situations often required life-and-death trials in reality.

The Slaughter Arena mainly offered two services. The first let users select any opponent for a real battle; the second let them "customize" an opponent.

The opponent could be given physical attributes, Spiritual Force, and mental strength identical to one's own, along with the same secret techniques and weapons.

The only difference was that this opponent was endowed with exceptionally rich combat experience.

"Simulate a Planet Third Rank Martial Artist with extensive combat experience, who has mastered Sharp Metal Thirty-Three Slash and possesses the Gold Domain."

At his command, a figure wielding a War Blade quickly took shape.

Bai Yuan braced himself for battle, not daring to let his guard down for a moment.

However, as soon as the opponent appeared, he transformed into a blinding golden streak, and a golden domain burst open.

Bai Yuan didn't even have time to respond effectively before he "died" in a flash of blade light.

He wasn't surprised. A Planet Realm practitioner who had mastered a domain was practically invincible among those of the same rank, let alone one whose mastery of secret techniques and combat experience far surpassed his own.

"Again!"

He'd already spent the money, so he certainly wasn't going to give up.

Bai Yuan focused all his attention and threw himself back into the fight.

Unfortunately, the result didn't change at all. Every time, he was taken out with a single slash.

Once, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times...

By their ten-thousandth clash, his combat reflexes had improved considerably, and he could just barely withstand two moves from his opponent.

After engraving the instant before each "death" deeply into his consciousness, Bai Yuan finally stopped.

His consciousness returned to reality, and he immediately went into seclusion.

It's time. System, use an Epiphany Point!

This had been Bai Yuan's real purpose all along. By facing that perfect opponent countless times, he had tried to memorize and analyze as much as possible of the opponent's advantages, rhythm, and use of the domain.

Then he would use an epiphany to make them his own.

Boom!

That familiar sensation descended once again.

His mind entered a state of absolute clarity. All his former doubts and impediments crumbled away, and his comprehension seemed to soar a millionfold.

Bai Yuan casually swung his blade, and the thirteenth form of Sharp Metal Thirty-Three Slash flowed out smoothly, letting him leap across two levels of mastery at once!

At the same time, the Sharp Metal Concept, which had already reached its peak, stirred faintly, showing signs of transforming into a domain.

His blade flashed again, and the fourteenth form followed. The Sharp Metal Concept grew ever more condensed and keen.

But the moment the fifteenth form came down, the epiphany suddenly faded.

And in that final instant, the accumulated power of the Sharp Metal Concept finally broke through its threshold.

Hum!

The Sharp Metal Concept finally completed its ascension. An intangible ripple spread out from Bai Yuan, and a faint golden glow enveloped his body.

Gold Domain, First Level!

This was a little harder than I'd expected. Bai Yuan was somewhat surprised.

If he hadn't been "killed" more than ten thousand times in the Slaughter Arena and accumulated an enormous amount of practical combat insight, even with an epiphany, he might not have been able to cross that chasm so smoothly.

The peak of a concept and a true domain might seem separated by only a hair's breadth, but in reality, they were worlds apart.

No wonder so many Universe Realm powerhouses couldn't even reach the threshold of a domain.

Bai Yuan took a deep breath. Whatever the case, the result was good.

And the inspiration brought by the epiphany had yet to fade completely, so he immediately continued his secluded cultivation.

This retreat lasted a full three months.

Only after his strength had fully reached its current bottleneck did he open the door and emerge.

By then, his cultivation had stabilized at Planet Third Rank.

With abundant resources to support him, his cultivation speed was naturally far faster than before.

He was no longer like he had been in the Apprentice Realm, forced to rely on painstakingly accumulating strength bit by bit.

"Let's go out for a stroll."

Bai Yuan left the castle and wandered aimlessly through the streets.

Before long, a lavishly decorated restaurant came into view.

Since he was already here, Bai Yuan immediately went inside.

"Brother Kulu truly lives up to his reputation as a disciple of the Hundred Tiger Tower. With your outstanding talent, you've already reached Planet Fourth Rank at such a young age. Advancing to the Star Realm and then the Universe Realm will surely be a natural progression."

As soon as Bai Yuan stepped inside, a rather obsequious voice caught his attention.

He followed the sound. The dark-skinned young man with a pair of horns, accompanied by three Star First Rank guards, wasn't that the young master who had acted so arrogantly outside the Black Dragon Mountain Affairs Building before?

But now, this young master, usually so accustomed to throwing his weight around, was respectfully raising a glass to the person beside him.

That person wore an arrogant expression, a faint glow surrounding his body, and a vertical eye on his forehead. He looked full of confidence.

"That goes without saying! Once I reach the Star Realm, the Hundred Tiger Tower will arrange for me to serve as a squad leader in the army. Then I'll command elite troops, all of them Star Ninth Rank!"

Kulu's voice brimmed with confidence.

It might be just a squad leader's position, but it was a real post of authority, with a status far from ordinary.

Take Luwa beside him, for instance. His father was only Star Ninth Rank, yet on this planet, which wasn't a core world of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, he was already a local strongman.

But by the time Kulu became a squad leader, Star Ninth Rank practitioners would be nothing more than soldiers under his command.

Bai Yuan merely chuckled at that.

If he really joined his second uncle Bai Tianning's army, with his status and talent, getting a squad leader's position probably wouldn't be difficult.

But that wasn't what he wanted. His goal had long been set on immortality.

His first priority, naturally, was to become immortal and gain an endless lifespan, so he wouldn't have to worry about running out of time.

After that, he would settle the old score with those five great races.

As for the "World Beast" calamity in the distant future, Bai Yuan wasn't overly worried about it.

With Luo Feng, the man destined to rise, leading the way, all Bai Yuan needed to do was make sure he didn't perish along the way and steadily follow his own path, one step at a time.

In the end, if the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up.