Black Heart Soul Seal

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Inside the castle, Bai Yuan looked at the several Hundred Tiger Tower disciples before him, who seemed eager to try their luck, and immediately understood why they had come.

"So you're here to challenge me too?" he asked curiously.

"That's right. The World Lord said anyone below the Planet Realm could issue a challenge, but he didn't specify a rank. I'm at Planet Sixth Rank, and you're at Planet Fourth Rank, so it wouldn't be against the rules for me to fight you." Pusis smiled.

Bai Yuan nearly choked when he heard that.

Although he had mastered a domain, the Black Dragon Mountain Star Sector covered more than six thousand star systems, and there was no shortage of talented people among them.

Quite a few geniuses had comprehended domains while still in the Planet Realm. After all, the pool of candidates was enormous.

Some had even advanced their domains to the second or even third level.

More importantly, he was only at Planet Fourth Rank. The gap in rank would put him at a clear disadvantage against an expert at Planet Ninth Rank.

No, I need to think of something... I've got it!

Bai Yuan's eyes lit up. He looked at the people in front of him and smiled calmly.

"If you want to fight, I'll gladly oblige. But the geniuses from other factions can't be expected to make a special trip here in their spaceships just to have a spar, can they?"

"Sorry to trouble you, but please pass on a message for me. If anyone really wants to test their skills, we can meet in the Virtual Universe. Let's find an empty place and have a proper spar."

The group exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement.

They understood what Bai Yuan had in mind.

In the Virtual Universe, everyone's physical attributes would be suppressed to around Apprentice Fourth Rank, putting them on completely equal footing in terms of strength.

What truly mattered would be their domains, secret techniques, and combat skills.

That would solve the problem of his disadvantage in rank.

"Good. Then I'll be the first to fight you!"

Pusis stood up. Force Armor flowed over her body like water, and she held a slender sword in each hand.

Bam!

Just as she was about to strike, Bai Yuan had already turned into a golden streak of light and charged at her!

The War Blade in his hand shone with a dazzling brilliance as he slashed toward Pusis's armor with the force of a thunderbolt.

Boom!

A terrifying force erupted. Even after being weakened layer by layer by the Force Armor, the remaining power still sent her blood surging and her legs trembling, nearly knocking her off her feet.

"Sorry. Since you're wearing Force Armor, I had to hit you a little harder."

Bai Yuan spoke softly.

The others around them were stunned.

Compared to before, Bai Yuan was clearly more than a little stronger.

His swordsmanship in particular had become sharper, yet also gained an elusive resilience. His improvement was far more than a single level.

They had no idea that Bai Yuan had first spent two days in intense combat in the Battle Space. Then, during two subsequent moments of enlightenment, he had not only cultivated Sharp Metal Thirty-Three Slash up to the twentieth form, but had also grasped the martial principle of combining hardness with softness.

All that accumulated progress had caused his overall strength to improve by leaps and bounds.

Naturally, dealing with Pusis was no problem, even though she was two ranks higher than him.

It took Pusis quite a while to recover from the lingering force of that slash.

She steadied her trembling body and looked up at Bai Yuan, her gaze filled with both lingering fear and deep admiration.

Pusis took a deep breath and said with utmost seriousness, "Your swordsmanship is terrifying. I once saw a Universe Realm expert use a blade, and even his skill with it probably wasn't as good as yours."

Bai Yuan merely smiled and said nothing more.

Some Universe Realm experts hadn't even mastered a domain, while he had already comprehended two, one of which—the Gold Domain—was at the second level.

There were four great realms of cultivation: foundation, artistic conception, domain, and world.

In terms of "realm," he had already surpassed quite a few Universe Realm experts.

So it wasn't particularly surprising that his swordsmanship surpassed that of some ordinary Universe Realm experts.

Bai Yuan turned to the others and asked with a smile, "Would any of you like to give it a try?"

They all shook their heads repeatedly.

Their strength was about the same as Pusis's, and some were even slightly weaker.

If Bai Yuan could defeat Pusis with a single slash, he could certainly do the same to them.

Pusis studied Bai Yuan with great curiosity, carefully weighing his strength in her mind.

She had seen the First Grade Elites in the tower fight. A few of them were no weaker than Bai Yuan, while the others were only slightly inferior. The only way to know for sure who was stronger would be to fight for real.

However, those disciples were far above Bai Yuan in both rank and years of cultivation.

From that perspective, Bai Yuan's talent was undoubtedly even more astonishing.

"Bai Yuan, you weren't using your full strength just now, were you?" Pusis suddenly asked.

Bai Yuan didn't deny it and answered honestly, "That's right. What, want to try again?"

"No need." Pusis waved a hand. "I was just curious. Since the World Lord thinks so highly of you, your strength must go well beyond what you've shown."

She paused, then added, "You don't need to worry about the Hundred Tiger Tower. The tower's Special Grade Elites have already advanced to the Star Realm or even the Universe Realm, so the rules don't allow them to fight you. The remaining First Grade Elites probably won't be a threat to you either."

Bai Yuan nodded slightly, though he didn't let his guard down.

In keeping with the courtesy that "guests were always welcome," Bai Yuan invited them out for a lavish meal.

His considerate and gracious manner won their favor.

Geniuses like Bai Yuan—exceptionally talented and from powerful backgrounds, yet entirely free of arrogance—were truly rare.

Along the way, the others kept finding excuses to steer the conversation toward Pusis and Bai Yuan.

Pusis's cheeks turned faintly red. She glanced at Bai Yuan now and then, then quickly looked away.

Bai Yuan, however, seemed completely oblivious. He focused on the delicious food in front of him, eating one mouthful after another with complete concentration.

The others exchanged glances, at a loss for words.

The atmosphere... It seemed like they weren't getting anywhere.

After seeing them off, Bai Yuan returned to his castle.

He had barely stepped through the door when he saw someone waiting for him.

"Greetings, Senior Kuangren!"

"Hahahahaha! There's no need for formalities between us."

Bai Kuangren laughed heartily, clearly in an excellent mood.

"You've made me a fortune this time, kid."

He casually tossed a battered ancient book to Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan caught it and examined it carefully, but couldn't see anything.

Then he used his Spiritual Force to investigate it, and only then discovered the information hidden within.

At first glance, the name of the secret technique immediately caught his attention.

Black Heart Soul Seal could enslave others through a Spiritual Imprint. The complete technique could enslave up to nine people.

Unfortunately, this book contained only a fragment, which could control just one person. Even so, it was frightening enough.

Anyone enslaved by the Soul Seal would be absolutely loyal to the caster from the depths of their soul and obey them completely. Even if ordered to kill themselves, they wouldn't hesitate for a moment.

That meant that if Bai Yuan had enough money, he could even buy a powerful slave far stronger than himself, then use Black Heart Soul Seal to take complete control of them.

Once that happened, no matter how strong the other person was, they would never even consider rebelling. It was an absolutely foolproof method.

Even someone like Luo Feng had never given up studying and cultivating the Enslavement Soul Seal, always treating it as an important means of support.

Considering how much importance this future powerhouse, who would one day roam the universe, placed on this kind of secret technique, it was easy to imagine how useful it was.