In the Dark Universe, the Dragon Abyss flew at twice the speed of light.
An E-grade Nutrient Pod, 21.6 meters long and 8.3 meters wide, stood in the ship's main control room.
Chu Yuan lay completely naked in the Nutrient Pod, enveloped in dark gray nutrient solution, his eyes closed as though he were asleep.
The nutrient solution contained abundant life energy, which entered Chu Yuan's body through his pores. After his cells absorbed it, his life genes evolved rapidly.
Absorbing Wood Bud Crystals to raise his cultivation was too slow. With the Nutrient Pod, he could reach Star Level 9 as quickly as possible.
Even breaking straight through to Universe Level and then advancing to Universe Level 9 would be no problem.
But Chu Yuan was still very young and was in no hurry to advance his cultivation.
To become a true powerhouse, law comprehension was the key.
Without comprehending a domain, even an E-grade Nutrient Pod could not help him break through to Domain Lord.
Chu Yuan lay in the Nutrient Pod for ten days before emerging, and the Dark Flame Armor automatically clad him.
Although he had a better fifth-tier Origin Energy combat suit, the aura it emitted was too powerful for Chu Yuan to withstand. Even though he owned it, he could not use it.
"As expected of an E-grade Nutrient Pod. In just ten days, it let me break through to Stellar Level Seven."
Chu Yuan clenched his fists. He was now a Stellar Level Seven warrior.
One more session in the Nutrient Pod would let him break through to Star Level 9.
However, after soaking in the Nutrient Pod for ten days straight, he needed to let his body rest.
He would have to wait at least half a month before his next soak.
Xiong Ba suddenly popped out, sat on Chu Yuan's shoulder, and said, "Improving your body is certainly important, but cultivating secret techniques is even more important."
"Kid, it's time you learned the secret techniques Master left behind."
"Before that, let me see how strong you are now."
Entering the Virtual Universe again, Chu Yuan arrived at the Killing Field. The setting was a desolate planet, with barren gravel plains all around.
"Set up ten warriors and ten spirit readers, all at Stellar Level Seven."
After Xiong Ba set the targets, the space ahead twisted, and twenty figures appeared out of thin air.
The ten Stellar Level Seven warriors all wore black Origin Energy combat suits and held battle sabers.
The ten Stellar Level Seven spirit readers hovered in midair atop telekinetic weapons.
They stood in orderly formation, their savage auras merging and sweeping across the entire plain.
"Slaughter them with everything you have. Show as much of your combat skills, force application, and the secret techniques you've learned as possible."
After speaking, Xiong Ba gave a teasing smile, then clapped his hands. All twenty attacked Chu Yuan at once.
The warriors charged toward Chu Yuan like a black torrent, while the spirit readers attacked from the sky.
Chu Yuan narrowed his eyes, and visible flames erupted from his body.
Flames exploded beneath his feet, and Chu Yuan shot forward, trailing a long streak of fire.
"Kill!"
Chu Yuan rushed up to a warrior and swept the Fire Prison Blade from left to right, cutting off his head.
But at the same time, his nineteen remaining opponents had surrounded him.
In a flash, hundreds of telekinetic throwing knives shot toward him from every direction, front and back, left and right.
Chu Yuan swung the Fire Prison Blade furiously, forming an airtight defensive net of flaming blade light around his body to protect himself.
Clang, clang, clang.
He knocked away most of the incoming throwing knives.
A few throwing knives pierced the defensive net of blade light and shot toward Chu Yuan. He twisted his body and leaped left and right, dodging them one by one.
One throwing knife whistled past the rim of his ear, coming within a hair of piercing his skull.
Being surrounded by spirit readers really was nasty!
Chu Yuan had barely steadied himself when the remaining nine warriors closed in.
Nine battle sabers slashed toward him from different directions, targeting the vital points all over his body.
With no time to think, Chu Yuan gathered his strength and lunged, turning into a streak of flaming light as he darted through the encirclement.
"Falling Flame Blade: Illusion Destruction!"
Chu Yuan soared into the air and swept the Fire Prison Blade across, unleashing a dazzling swath of flaming blade light.
Wherever the flaming blade light passed, fierce flames blazed, and three warriors' heads flew into the air.
After that slash, his momentum had yet to run out. Chu Yuan twisted his body with it and delivered another slash behind him, killing three more warriors.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Throwing knives tore through the air. Four spirit readers had already closed in behind Chu Yuan.
Without looking back, Chu Yuan kicked a warrior in the chest and used the force to flip backward through the air. With a downward slash, he cut a spirit reader in half.
The remaining three spirit readers fired their throwing knives simultaneously. The knives flashed past, riddling Chu Yuan with holes like a hornet's nest.
As the throwing knives pierced his body, Chu Yuan hurled the Fire Prison Blade, driving it through a spirit reader's skull.
The next second, Chu Yuan's body and those of all his opponents dissolved into specks of light.
But soon, Chu Yuan was back on the desolate planet.
The battle had ended quickly. The entire fight had lasted less than ten seconds.
Surrounded by twenty attackers, Chu Yuan had killed seven warriors and two spirit readers.
At the Star Level stage, being surrounded by spirit readers was far more terrifying than being surrounded by warriors.
If his opponents had been twenty warriors, Chu Yuan was confident he could have killed them all.
"Not bad, not bad."
Xiong Ba floated over to Chu Yuan and looked at him with some surprise. "I always thought you were an idiot. I didn't expect your foundation to be decent."
"Although the secret technique you used was an eyesore, it at least reached the artistic conception level."
"To have come this far without guidance from a powerhouse, your comprehension is a little better than I thought."
"But you have plenty of shortcomings, too."
Xiong Ba's expression suddenly grew serious.
"Do you know why you died so quickly?"
Chu Yuan looked at Xiong Ba, waiting for him to continue.
"First, you're too reckless!"
Xiong Ba raised a furry finger. "Fighting isn't about who's more ruthless, but who survives longer. You charged straight into the crowd without considering tactics at all. You paid no attention whatsoever to the coordination between the warriors and spirit readers. That's courting death!"
"Second, your force application technique is too crude!"
Xiong Ba raised a second finger. "If I'm not mistaken, your force multiplier is only around eighteen. Geniuses can generally achieve thirty or even forty times force application at Star Level. The stronger ones can even reach fifty times. You're far behind."
"Of course, that's because the secret technique you cultivate is garbage. Once you switch to Master's secret techniques, you'll improve quickly."
"Third, and most importantly..."
Xiong Ba narrowed his eyes. "You lack far too much combat experience!"
"Although your moves are fierce and you're decisive when killing enemies, I can still tell that you haven't fought many real battles."
"When facing spirit readers, you must stay on guard at all times against attacks from any angle and any direction."
"But what did you do just now? You got so caught up in killing warriors that you completely forgot there were ten spirit readers watching you from overhead!
"With every leap, every attack, and every dodge, you never considered how to respond afterward. You relied entirely on instinct, allowing your movements to be predicted precisely."
"So what if you killed nine enemies? Didn't you still die in the end?"
"And those were just twenty enemies at your own level. What if there were a hundred? Or even a hundred Star Level 9 enemies? What would you do then?"
"I guarantee you'd be killed instantly!"