Whoosh!
Chu Yuan lunged forward like lightning, instantly closing in on the four-eyed man. His blade swept horizontally through the air, slashing straight at his neck.
At the same time, a cold voice rang out. "If you're going to fight, fight. Why all the bullshit?"
The four-eyed man raised his sword horizontally to block. They broke apart on contact, then swiftly clashed again.
Clang, clang, clang!
Blade met sword as they fought like lightning, exchanging dozens upon dozens of blows in the blink of an eye.
"You really are troublesome, but this ends here!"
After another clash, they pulled apart. The four-eyed man bent his knees, gathering all the lightning around him onto his sword's edge.
"Long Yuan, this is my strongest sword strike right now. There's absolutely no way you can block it. Be a good boy and die!"
"One Sword Shocks Wind and Thunder!"
Whoosh!
The four-eyed man turned into a streak of lightning and shot toward Chu Yuan, thrusting his sword straight ahead and concentrating all the power of his Lightning Domain into a single point.
Not only was it fast, but its power was immense.
"Bring it on!"
Flames ignited in Chu Yuan's eyes. He flew into the air and twisted his body, gripping the Fire Prison Blade tightly in his right hand as the flames surrounding him suddenly came alive.
The flames first compressed into a small ball hovering over the blade, then abruptly expanded like a miniature sun.
"Ashen Annihilation Blade: Starfall!"
Chu Yuan plunged downward, flames enveloping his entire body. Like a falling meteor, he slammed heavily down on the four-eyed man's head.
Rumble!
The instant they collided, the ground beneath the four-eyed man's feet shattered and caved in. The tremendous force knocked his sword out of his hand, and his sword arm turned to ash.
"Impossible!!!"
Horror appeared in all four of the man's eyes at once. Just then, a flash of blade light streaked through the depths of his pupils.
Rip!
The blade flashed, and the four-eyed man's head flew into the air. His headless corpse and severed head both dissolved into motes of light.
"Yes!!!"
In the hall, the Star Level spectators who had watched this clash of dragon and tiger all roared.
"Long Yuan is so strong! He actually broke through to the Third-Stage Domain. He only comprehended a domain a year ago!"
"Long Yuan must be very young in reality. Otherwise, there's no way he could improve this quickly."
"Exactly. I'm certain Long Yuan is no older than five hundred."
"Long Yuan must be a genius disciple nurtured by some Domain Lord expert. It might even be a World Lord."
The hall buzzed with excitement. This time, Long Yuan had caused an even greater sensation than before.
There were many highly private meditation rooms around the hall. Inside one of them, a powerfully built man with an ape's head and a face covered in black fur was watching the screen before him.
The screen was divided into two sections. One showed footage of Chu Yuan's battle with Twin Blade Demon a year ago, while the other showed his battle with the four-eyed man just now.
"A year ago, his blade techniques were still immature, and he had only just comprehended the Fire Domain. Yet a year later, his domain has already broken through to the third stage."
"Interesting. To think I really would run into a promising genius."
Knock, knock, knock.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," the ape-man said mildly.
Someone pushed the door open and entered. It was none other than the four-eyed man who had just fought Chu Yuan.
"My lord."
The four-eyed man bowed respectfully.
"What did you think?" the ape-man asked.
"He's very strong!"
The four-eyed man clenched his fists, his tone grave. "I could feel that he still had strength to spare. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."
A win was a win, and a loss was a loss. There was nothing he could not admit.
"Understood. You may leave. Your contribution points have already been issued." The ape-man waved a hand.
"Yes, my lord."
The four-eyed man bowed respectfully and left the meditation room.
"Breaking through two domain stages in a year makes him worth recruiting into the Virtual Universe Company."
"Someone, go invite Long Yuan to meet me."
After defeating the four-eyed man, Chu Yuan encountered no more troublesome challengers and swiftly defeated every last one as though he were stomping noobs.
His record reached 1,698 wins and zero losses, with a nine-star rating.
To date, Chu Yuan still maintained a perfect record in the Decisive Battle Space.
Chu Yuan knew it was not that no one could defeat him. There were plenty of Star Level fighters stronger than him in the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield.
But ninety-nine percent of them were geniuses painstakingly nurtured by major factions. They already disdained seeking opponents in the Decisive Battle Space.
If they wanted to spar, they would only spar with geniuses of the same caliber.
Someone should be coming soon, right?
Chu Yuan sat drinking at the hall's bar, outwardly calm but actually waiting.
That four-eyed man from earlier had possessed extraordinary strength. He was definitely not an unaffiliated genius.
He must have challenged Chu Yuan on some important figure's orders to test him.
And after testing him, they would inevitably try to recruit him.
Before long, a staff member approached Chu Yuan from behind and said respectfully, "Mr. Long Yuan, an honored guest upstairs would like to invite you up for a chat."
Chu Yuan set down his glass and nodded. "Lead the way."
Following the staff member, Chu Yuan arrived at a meditation room.
The meditation room was spacious, with a burly ape-man seated in the middle.
The instant he saw him, Chu Yuan's pupils abruptly contracted.
He recognized this ape-man. Mongnar Kelei was a member of the Purple Radiance Empire's imperial family.
The current emperor of the Purple Radiance Empire was named Saer Kelei, a Domain Lord Seventh Stage expert.
But the strongest member of the imperial family was not Saer Kelei. It was Saer Kelei's younger brother, Mongnar Kelei, a Domain Lord Ninth Stage expert.
The Leinuo Family lived in the Purple Radiance Empire, so naturally, they needed to know something about its imperial family.
When Chu Yuan had visited the Purple Radiance Empire's Imperial Capital Star, he had seen a statue of Mongnar Kelei and some information about him, so he recognized him at a glance.
Mongnar Kelei was still very young and had a high chance of breaking through to World Lord.
It was precisely because of Mongnar Kelei's existence that the Purple Radiance Empire ranked among the top five in strength out of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's more than five hundred vassal states.
Chu Yuan had never imagined that the person coming to recruit him would actually be Mongnar Kelei.
"Greetings, my lord."
Chu Yuan bowed respectfully.
"Have a seat."
Mongnar extended a hand, gesturing for Chu Yuan to sit opposite him.
Chu Yuan sat down composedly. Mongnar smiled and got straight to the point. "Long Yuan, correct? I watched your earlier battles. In just one year, you broke through from a First-Stage Domain to a Triple Domain."
"Your talent and comprehension both satisfy me. I, Mongnar Kelei, am an external deacon of the Virtual Universe Company's Black Dragon Mountain Branch. I now formally invite you to join the Virtual Universe Company."
"At the Virtual Universe Company, you can receive the most systematic training, the best cultivation conditions, and the most cultivation resources."
"As long as you're enough of a genius, you may even have the opportunity to join headquarters and compete against geniuses from the entire human race on the same stage."
Chu Yuan nodded. "Lord Mongnar, I'm willing to join the Virtual Universe Company, but for now, I'm only willing to become an external member."
Chu Yuan knew the difference between external and internal members.
Internal members enjoyed more privileges and received more resources, but while they were still weak and being trained, they had to submit to strict management.
They had to follow orders on when to train and when to participate in life-and-death trials.
Chu Yuan was still far too weak, and the mortality rate for participating in life-and-death trials was too high.
He had the Fortuitous Encounter Exploration System and currently had no shortage of resources at all.
The safest course was to wait until he was stronger and had more trump cards, then become an internal member and use the Virtual Universe Company's channels to strengthen himself.