Virtual Universe, the Killing Field on Ganwu Continent.
An ordinary Domain Lord Level duel had attracted nearly a thousand paying spectators. From ticket sales alone, the Killing Field easily pocketed a billion Universe Coins, a figure enough to make Planet Lords green with envy.
Yet the spectators who had just bought their tickets felt utterly aggrieved.
The fight had ended too quickly!
Absurdly quickly!
Many spectators had not even settled into their virtual seats before a light flashed before their eyes and the system forcibly kicked them out of the viewing space.
"What the hell?!"
"I paid ten million Universe Coins, and all I saw was the beginning and the end?"
"This is a goddamn scam!"
In the Killing Field's main hall, complaints and curses rose one after another.
Feeling they had been toyed with, the spectators flooded toward the battle replay area.
Then their blood pressure shot up again.
Watching the replay cost another hundred thousand Universe Coins?
"Fuck! That blackhearted Virtual Universe Company!"
"Have they gone mad with poverty?"
"Charging this much-do they really think our money blows in on the wind?"
Countless people inwardly cursed the Killing Field's management up and down.
But cursing was one thing; they still had to watch. At least they had to figure out what had happened, so the money they had just spent would not go to waste.
Fortunately, once purchased, the replay could be watched as often as they liked; it simply could not be shared. Some World Lord powerhouses watched the video too and finally unraveled the duel.
"Crocodile King's defeat was well deserved. That Domain Lord named Li Feiyu has an extremely profound lightning law comprehension. He ranks among the top powerhouses at the Domain Lord stage."
"So it was a duel involving a top powerhouse. No wonder the Killing Field set the price so high."
"That fellow Crocodile King strutted around for so long, and he's finally kicked an iron plate."
"Haha, I'd love to see the look on Crocodile King's face right now."
"He must be full of regret-regretting that he provoked that Two-Leaf Ganwu Practitioner!"
Inside a quiet room in the Killing Field.
Just as everyone imagined, Crocodile King sat on the sofa with a vacant expression, his face filled with regret.
"Why did I have to go and provoke that fellow? Ten billion, ten billion... enough to buy several thousand life-bearing planets."
He had never imagined that, instead of slaughtering a fat sheep as planned, he would lose his own nest egg.
"When did a monster like this appear in Ganwu City?!"
Crocodile King looked at his account, its balance reduced by ten billion, and his heart bled... next time... next time, he would make sure he understood his opponent's strength before acting.
In the Decisive Battle Space, the fighting continued.
The battle against Crocodile King had been only a minor interlude. Lu Qingshan did not stop, continuing to challenge his next opponent.
"You've only fought one match, and you dare challenge me?" A Domain Lord covered in savage-looking black heavy armor spoke, his tone filled with condescending scrutiny. "You've got some nerve!"
Lu Qingshan twirled the war blade in his hand in a fierce flourish, and nine phantom bodies flickering with lightning instantly appeared around him. "Whether it's nerve or strength, why not try me and find out?"
Before his words faded, Thunderlight exploded!
The shriek of the blade tearing through the air and the dull crack of shattering armor rang out almost simultaneously!
The battle ended in less than a second. The heavily armored Domain Lord's figure dissolved into motes of light, his face still stunned.
"Big talk, but you're not even as strong as Crocodile King." Lu Qingshan shook nonexistent blood from his blade. "This is the standard of a seven-star Domain Lord?"
He continued sending challenges to several experts rated seven stars or higher, but none responded.
"Looks like my two-star rating is too low."
Lu Qingshan figured out the reason.
The Decisive Battle Space's matchmaking pool covered all of Ganwu Continent. Those true powerhouses were unwilling to waste their time on a low-rated newcomer.
"In that case, I'll start with opponents at my own rating." Lu Qingshan adjusted his strategy, setting his sights on fellow two-star opponents.
This time, his challenge was accepted almost instantly.
"Not bad, winning two matches as soon as you arrived. But now that you've met me, this is where it ends."
Lu Qingshan glanced at his opponent's ID: Ganwu Continent's First Domain Lord.
Then he glanced at the opponent's record: 12 wins, 198 losses.
"..." The corner of his mouth twitched. That record... was he here to put on performance art?
Facing a rookie like this, Lu Qingshan was in no hurry to use the Law of Lightning. Instead, he fought him purely with physical strength and basic saber techniques.
The exchange surprised Lu Qingshan slightly. His opponent's control over his physical strength was exquisitely refined, and his force application technique was quite impressive too, reaching at least an eightyfold multiplier.
His miserable record was probably the result of frequently fighting above his rank and challenging opponents with more stars.
After exchanging blows for about three minutes, Lu Qingshan swept his long saber, and an arc of light imbued with the lightning origin law tore through space, cleaving diagonally downward with unstoppable force!
Boom-
His opponent's protective origin force was sliced apart like thin paper, and his body was cut in two.
"What a pity. Compared to law comprehension, nothing else amounts to anything."
Lu Qingshan stood with his saber put away, his record updating to three wins and zero losses.
He continued issuing challenges.
Soon, Lu Qingshan's rating soared like a rocket: two stars, three stars, four stars... his consecutive victories accumulated like a snowball, reaching a hundred and seventy-five in the blink of an eye!
So many duels had considerably increased Lu Qingshan's actual combat experience. Previously, he had fought himself in the Killing Field; how could that compare to the exhilaration of fighting fellow Domain Lords now?
"That felt good!"
After experiencing the thrill of stomping noobs, Lu Qingshan felt indescribably refreshed. The pent-up hostility from being thrashed over ten thousand times in the Killing Field was gradually being released as well.
"Hm? Someone's challenging me?"
Lu Qingshan took a look. It was a nine-star powerhouse. Without hesitation, he accepted the invitation.
The scenery in the Decisive Battle Space shifted.
A man in a plain white robe stood with his hands behind his back, gazing calmly at Lu Qingshan. His indifferent tone carried not a trace of worldly warmth. "A hundred and seventy-five consecutive wins? Somewhat interesting. Dying to my new move won't disgrace that record of yours."
Lu Qingshan tightened his grip on his war blade, lightning dancing along its length as nine phantom bodies silently appeared. "The last person who talked like that was on the ground within seconds."
Looking at the phantom bodies beside Lu Qingshan, the white-robed man, Golden Sword, finally showed a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer in his eyes.
He did not move, yet his entire being seemed to melt instantly into the surrounding space, becoming elusive and indistinct.
All nine of Lu Qingshan's phantom bodies lost their target at once!
Golden Sword did not seize the opportunity to attack. Instead, he commented with interest, "Your lightning law comprehension isn't far from earning Origin Law Recognition. If you attempted the Heavenly Lightning Heavenly Bridge, clearing the seventh floor should be no problem..."
Lu Qingshan's pupils contracted as he looked at that proud figure in the void, seemingly within arm's reach yet also countless light-years away.
"The space origin law..." Lu Qingshan drew a breath, instantly understanding the unbridgeable gulf between them!
He had been stomping noobs earlier, but this man before him... was simply bullying people!
"Very well. Let me show you what a true phantom body is." Golden Sword's voice was calm and even, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
The instant his words fell-
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!!
Without warning, thousands upon thousands of figures filled every inch of the entire Decisive Battle Space!
Some were clear, others blurred; some were right before his eyes, others far on the horizon. They overlapped and interwove, as though he stood within countless folded, shattered worlds of mirrors. Every figure radiated Golden Sword's genuine aura, yet also carried the illusory, elusive quality unique to the Law of Space.
"Kill."
A single, simple syllable, followed by icy killing intent!
Lu Qingshan felt as though the surrounding space itself had suddenly transformed into hundreds of millions of invisible blades, slicing toward him simultaneously from every inconceivable angle!
He did not even have time to mount any effective resistance.
Pure white light swallowed his vision.
Before his consciousness faded, the last thing Lu Qingshan saw was himself sliced into hundreds of thousands of tiny, perfectly even chunks of flesh, silently floating in the void, disintegrating, and dissolving into nothingness!
(End of chapter)