"Anyone who crosses the line dies."
Those six faintly spoken words rang through the howling winds of Thunder World like thunder from the heavens, exploding beside the ears of tens of thousands of adventurers.
For a moment, Wind-Thunder Canyon fell deathly silent.
After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, only one thought rose in the hearts of all the adventurers: Arrogant!
Far too arrogant! He was so arrogant that he had no idea how high the heavens were!
The entrance to World within a World glowed with a hazy light. Before it stood a solitary figure, staff in hand.
Who would dare act so brazenly before tens of thousands of battle-hardened Star Level adventurers?
The leaders of the major factions quickly exchanged glances and conferred in low voices, but they all shook their heads. Whether it was the Hundred Tiger Tower, the Black Cloud Society, or North Dragon City, none of them recognized this young man who had appeared out of nowhere and blocked the entrance to World within a World.
As the crowd grew restless and killing intent began to seethe...
In the Three Axe Mountain camp, a veteran explorer stared fixedly at the dark golden staff floating beside the young man. His pupils abruptly contracted, and his voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Th-that's the Sun God Weapon?!"
He jerked his head up and pointed at the figure in the sky, crying out as if he'd seen a ghost. "It's him! 'Star'! The Thousand-Victory King from the Killing Field! Y-yes... it's definitely him!"
At his words, gasps swept through the crowd.
The Sun God Weapon, one of the Nine Divine Weapons of the Controller! It was unmistakable.
Across the entire Black Dragon Mountain Star Sector, there were only a handful of Star Level fighters with the qualifications, wealth, and talent to wield a Controller Divine Weapon!
And the codename "Star" had recently become an invincible legend in the Killing Field of the Virtual Universe.
Still, a person's reputation was only a reputation. The shock was undeniable, but...
Whether or not the man before them really was the so-called "Thousand-Victory King," Lin Yuan had undeniably blocked everyone's path! He was standing between them and the limitless wealth of World within a World!
To cut off someone's path to riches was like killing their parents.
Since he had blocked their way, they would swarm him and attack!
Meanwhile, at the back of the packed crowd...
"Holy crap! Is th-that Lin Yuan?!" Thunder God's eyes widened, and he was so stunned that he could barely get the words out.
Luo Feng had recognized the familiar figure long ago. Deeply shaken, he clenched his fists without realizing it.
Hong's face was stern, his gaze profound. His expression was so complicated that no one could tell what he was thinking.
"He's crazy! Lin Yuan has to be crazy!"
The demon Babata leapt up and shouted in Luo Feng's mind.
"Who does he think he is? A Universe Level fighter?! He's only Star Level! Even if he's invincible among his peers, he dares to stand alone at the entrance to World within a World? He's openly challenging the core factions of the entire Black Dragon Mountain Empire!"
"This makes no sense at all. He's practically asking to die!"
No one could make sense of Lin Yuan's almost suicidal move.
Luo Feng and the other two exchanged glances. Forcing down their shock, they could only suppress their urge to act and stay hidden in the crowd, watching to see what would happen.
The situation was on the verge of erupting.
Just then...
Surrounded by several hundred elite guards, the Ninth Prince of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, Brolin, who had kept a low profile until now, slowly stepped forward.
His gaze was sinister, and he wasted no words.
Behind him, nine burly subordinates with expressionless faces stepped forward in unison, each holding a cold, heavy metal barrel—C2-Grade Laser Cannons!
Brolin looked at Lin Yuan in midair, the corner of his mouth curling into a cruel sneer.
"Open fire."
Without another word, he issued a death sentence.
"Shhh—"
The next second, blinding white light erupted!
Nine terrifying laser beams intertwined in midair, forming a deadly arc. They crossed the distance at the speed of light and completely engulfed the spot where Lin Yuan stood.
"!!!"
The sight left many of the adventurers stunned.
The Ninth Prince Brolin had always been domineering and ruthless.
He would never allow anyone to compete with him for treasure, much less some unaffiliated nobody with no backing.
Under the concentrated fire of C2-Grade Laser Cannons, a Ninth-Level Star Level fighter could only be reduced to ashes!
Yet the next second, the sneer froze on Brolin's face.
As the blinding light capable of vaporizing steel faded, the entire canyon fell silent.
Lin Yuan still stood exactly where he had been, completely unharmed and utterly motionless.
At some point, a strange battle armor had covered him. It was deep as the night sky, speckled with starlight.
The blinding lasers struck the Star Armor and vanished like a stream sinking into the earth. Their violent energy was completely neutralized and swallowed, without leaving behind even a white mark.
Gasps erupted from the crowd!
In everyone's eyes, nothing remained but Lin Yuan's figure standing proudly in the air.
As expected of the uncrowned king of the Battle Arena, the most terrifying Star Level fighter! If he'd dared to say, "Anyone who crosses the line dies," then he truly had the strength to stand here!
Seeing that even C2-Grade Laser Cannons couldn't harm Lin Yuan, Brolin flew into a rage. His face turned livid as he cursed, "Damn it! What grade is that armor?! It actually withstood the concentrated fire of C2-Grade Laser Cannons head-on!"
But Brolin hadn't become the Ninth Prince by being an idiot who couldn't think on his feet.
Seeing that brute force wasn't working, he rolled his eyes and immediately changed tack. His voice, infused with Origin Force, rang across all of Wind-Thunder Canyon.
"Everyone!"
"Thunder World has been used as a mercenary examination ground for countless years, yet a World within a World has never appeared before! Now that one has emerged, it must contain astonishing treasures beyond imagination!"
Brolin suddenly pointed at Lin Yuan in midair and shouted, rousing the crowd. "Are you really willing to let some unaffiliated nobody take it all for himself?!"
Better to stir up the crowd than risk his own men in a fight.
With tens of thousands of Ninth-Level Star Level fighters, they could drown Lin Yuan in spit alone!
"His Highness is right!"
Thatchson of the Black Dragon Mountain camp immediately caught on and called out, "A World within a World is no easy thing to form. The wealth inside could buy several star systems! One man couldn't even stomach it all!"
His words were like a spark falling into a powder keg, striking the most avaricious nerve in every adventurer's heart.
People died for wealth, just as birds died for food!
In an instant, tens of thousands of people answered in unison, their voices shaking the sky.
Countless greedy, murderous gazes fixed on Lin Yuan. In their eyes, the Thousand-Victory King was no longer an invincible legend, but a plump piece of prey standing in front of a mountain of gold!
The law of the jungle applied just as much to the vastness of space!
"Charge! There are tens of thousands of us. What do we have to fear from one man?!" A commander from the Hundred Tiger Tower drew his War Blade and let out the first furious roar.
"Kill!!!"
Rumble—
A dense mass of shadows surged toward the entrance to World within a World like a black flood bursting through a dam!
Countless attacks of every color, bizarre Spiritual Force weapons, and even the nine recharged C2-Grade Laser Cannons all locked onto Lin Yuan in the sky!
They blotted out the sky, suffocating everyone who saw them!
At the back of the crowd, Thunder God stared at the earth-shattering scene, his face pale with alarm. "It's over! The tide's turned. Lin Yuan won't be able to hold them off!"
"No."
Luo Feng and Hong kept their eyes fixed on the sky and shook their heads at the same time.
A fervent light flashed in Luo Feng's eyes. "The battle... is only just beginning!"
Just as the countless attacks were about to swallow Lin Yuan, the indestructible Star Armor covering his body suddenly dissolved like rippling water!
It didn't disappear. Instead, it instantly transformed into 108 thick vines, each glimmering with dim starlight!
"Boom!"
The 108 Star Vines surged with the wind, stretching wildly in every direction at an incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they had extended for over a hundred kilometers, forming an enormous cage of stars!
They completely covered the sky above all of Wind-Thunder Canyon.
They blotted out the heavens and sun!
"It's a plant life-form?!"
Brolin stared at the Star Vines spreading across the sky, a flash of intense envy crossing his eyes.
Yet the next second, the envy on his face froze completely, turning into unbridled terror.
For Lin Yuan, standing amid the interwoven vines, had already grasped the Sun God Weapon beside him.
It glittered with golden light, as if a god had descended.
Lin Yuan's aura erupted without restraint, like a supernova exploding in the canyon!
He looked coldly down at the tens of thousands surging toward him like ants. His thin lips parted, and he uttered a soul-shaking cry:
"Sun God Weapon, Second Form—"
"Light Splitting!"
Vmmm—
In an instant, the Sun God Weapon transformed into countless dazzling golden arcs, ricocheting wildly through the enclosed space formed by the 108 Star Vines!
The arcs intertwined one after another, forming an absolute domain within Wind-Thunder Canyon!
Then golden light erupted like a volcano!
The gentle arcs instantly transformed into tens of thousands of razor-sharp golden blades, sweeping through the domain and cutting wildly in every direction!
This was a merciless slaughter, with no suspense whatsoever!
"Ah—!"
"Help! My body!"
"No!!!"
Bloodcurdling screams and desperate cries intertwined into a scarlet symphony of death, echoing across all of Thunder World!
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