"Buzz-"
A streak of blood-red light radiating a terrifying aura shot toward Lei Ming as though teleporting, moving far beyond the limits of his reactions.
"Pfft!"
Lei Ming barely managed to turn sideways before the blood-red light pierced his left shoulder.
A cold, savage force that seemed capable of corroding the soul instantly invaded his body, bringing searing pain and weakness at once.
"Ah!" Lei Ming grunted in pain, clutching his bleeding shoulder, his face deathly pale.
"I bought this poisoned Blood Light Sword over two thousand years ago, just waiting for someone to come courting death. No one can save you today!"
Under Lei Ming's astonished gaze, Modi's muscles suddenly swelled, and his blood-red saber slashed down.
"Boom!"
As though struck by a star, the Thunderclap Blade nearly flew from Lei Ming's hands. His entire body was sent flying like a torn sack, smashing into the rocks a thousand meters away!
Shattered stones scattered, and dust billowed!
"Pfft!" Mouthful after mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs spewed from Lei Ming's mouth.
Blood gushed from the hole in his left shoulder. Bones throughout his body had shattered in multiple places, and the agony nearly swallowed his consciousness.
If not for the remaining life force within him stubbornly repairing his body, he would already have been reduced to a puddle of mangled flesh.
"Cough, cough..." Lei Ming struggled to climb out of the rubble, every movement bringing heart-rending pain.
Like a demon god crawling out of hell, Modi slowly approached with a dripping saber in hand, leaving a bloody footprint with every step, his killing intent surging to the heavens.
"I want your head as an offering to my brother." Modi's voice was cold and cruel as he raised his saber high, aiming at Lei Ming's head.
The breath of death was bone-chillingly cold.
Under the pressure of agony and death, Lei Ming's consciousness instead entered a strange state of clarity.
Everything from his past flashed before his eyes.
The horrors of the slave market, Beta's despair, Meng Na's weeping, and his teacher's words that weakness itself was the original sin.
Death... destruction... rebirth... control...
A glimmer of understanding suddenly split open the heavy gates like thunder in the darkness.
"So this is a domain! I understand!"
Just as Modi's saber was about to fall.
Buzz-
Centered on Lei Ming, a profound purple halo containing endless destruction and rebirth suddenly spread outward, instantly covering a hundred meters around him.
This was no longer an embryonic form, but the true, complete lightning domain first level!
The raging domain filled every inch of space, creating powerful suppression and restraint.
The instant Modi's full-force slash entered the purple halo, it seemed to sink into an incredibly viscous swamp.
"What? Impossible! A domain! How could you have a domain?!" The vicious grin on Modi's face instantly turned into utter horror and disbelief.
"Nothing is impossible."
Lei Ming slowly stood up amid the rubble.
"It's time to end this."
Lei Ming's voice was calm and even, yet carried the weight of an unquestionable judgment.
With nothing more than a thought from him!
Endless purple lightning instantly condensed within the domain.
Modi's massive body suddenly stiffened, and his saber fell to the ground with a clang.
He lowered his head, staring in disbelief at his body, which was covered in bloody lines.
"Hh... hh!"
He wanted to say something, but only sounds like escaping air came out.
The next moment.
"Thud!"
Modi's immensely powerful star level eighth stage body crashed to the ground.
"Teacher, I did it! I comprehended a domain!" Lei Ming raised his head and shouted excitedly into the void.
A thousand kilometers away.
Lu Qingshan stood in the void with his hands behind his back, a satisfied smile curving his lips.
[Ding! Your disciple Lei Ming comprehended lightning domain first level between life and death, triggering a hundredfold return. Your lightning law comprehension has increased substantially!]
Buzz!
Profound, unfathomable law fluctuations appeared out of thin air. Countless subtle insights into the origin of lightning surged forth from nowhere, flowing like a hundred rivers returning to the sea and imprinting themselves directly into the depths of his consciousness.
"Not bad."
Feeling the change in his law comprehension, Lu Qingshan felt as comfortable as though he had drunk honey water.
Four years ago, after breaking through to domain lord, he had comprehended a trace of the lightning origin law.
Over those four years, he had never slackened in his comprehension of the law, advancing his understanding of the lightning origin law another step.
Even so, he had not reached the threshold of the lightning origin law.
In law comprehension alone, he still fell short of those geniuses who could rank among the top thousand in the entire universe at the star level.
But now.
The system's feedback was so astonishing that his lightning origin law comprehension had directly crossed the law's threshold and entered a deeper level.
If his comprehension had previously been 0.3 percent, it had now reached at least 3 percent.
Though it was merely two percentage points, it was already a tenfold improvement.
With three percent law comprehension, barring any surprises, he would face no real threshold in breaking through to world lord.
Keeping this return until now wasn't in vain. That boy Lei Ming didn't disappoint me.
Lu Qingshan's figure appeared lightly beside Lei Ming.
With a lift of his hand, rich life force entered Lei Ming's body, and his injuries began healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Cough, cough. Teacher, I did it. I really did it! You were right. Only between life and death can one achieve a breakthrough."
Lei Ming looked excited, like a child who had done a good deed and was waiting for praise.
"Mm, not bad. You did very well this time."
Lu Qingshan smiled faintly.
Then he continued.
"I once said that if you broke through to the first level of a domain within ten years, I would give you another gift. What do you think of Illusory Color Star?"
"Illusory Color Star?"
Lei Ming looked up at the planet's sky. The multicolored clouds looked particularly beautiful.
"Teacher, Illusory Color Star is beautiful."
Lei Ming answered honestly.
"In that case, I'll buy Illusory Color Star and give it to you."
Lu Qingshan smiled faintly.
"Teacher, wouldn't that be inappropriate? I just killed Illusory Color Star's original owner."
Lei Ming's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Who said you killed Illusory Color Star's original owner?" Lu Qingshan shook his head gently and smiled. "Its three original owners clearly encountered the Star Pirates and were left without even their bones. You and I happened to pass through, wiped out the Star Pirates, and saved everyone on the planet."
"Ah..."
Lei Ming's simple world suffered a blow.
You could do that?
Lu Qingshan continued, "Actually, putting ownership of Illusory Color Star in your hands is a good thing. This planet is too weak. Their strongest are only planetary level. Even if you give them freedom, unless they offer their planet to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's authorities, they'll still end up in the same predicament."
"Teacher, I accept. I'll just be a planet lord in name."
Lei Ming was not inflexible. For his friends' sake, he still accepted the planet.
Things proceeded smoothly.
Personnel from Black Dragon Mountain's office in the Caro Empire soon arrived on Illusory Color Star. Seeing Lu Qingshan's status as a Two-Leaf Ganwu Practitioner, they were briefly dazed and dared not show the slightest disrespect.
In just half a day, they delivered their investigation results: Illusory Color Star had suffered an attack by the Star Pirates, and all three lords had died in battle. The great Two-Leaf Ganwu Practitioner Lu Qingshan had passed through and saved all the humans on Illusory Color Star.
Buying the planet went even more smoothly. There was not even any need to collect data, and because Lu Qingshan was the planet's savior, he also received a thirty-percent discount.
Of course, the planet's price was also in the lowest bracket, at 300 billion Black Dragon Coins. With the thirty-percent discount, it came to 210 billion Black Dragon Coins.
After the paperwork was completed, Lei Ming became Illusory Color Star's new lord.
(End of chapter)