Chapter 161: Astonishment of the Immortal Being (Third Shift)

Strike after strike, each one lethal.

"Fatty, the next match is a ten-billion-credit duel!"

"Understood, Master!"

One gave the command, while the other submitted the application and registered it.

By this time, the entire Dragon-Black Mountain Island was in an uproar.

A ten-billion-credit bet might not be extraordinary in itself, but the warrior Qin Ming had just slain was a Domain Level 7 spiritualist.

A Star-level entity with a Level 7 domain—within the territory of the Dragon-Black Mountain Empire, such a person was a peerless genius, holding their head high above the masses. Even among supreme powers like the Dragon-Black Mountain Sacred Land, the Three Axes Mountain, or the Hundred Tiger Tower, there were at most one or two such prodigies. It was simply impossible not to pay attention.

Moments later, a new challenge application was submitted!

"Shi Yingyu, formidable domain, spiritualist, Star-level 9, record: unranked!"

Upon seeing the opponent's information, Qin Ming accepted without a moment's hesitation.

At that very instant, the number of spectators surged wildly, breaking the twenty-million mark in the blink of an eye.

"Just where in the world does this Qin Emperor come from? Still haven't found out? A bunch of useless pigs, search for him! Since he appeared on our Dragon-Black Mountain Island, he must be somewhere in this region. A genius this young cannot possibly be a nobody. With our intelligence network, if you truly can't find him, you'll all wish you were dead!"

"Our Dragon-Black Mountain Sacred Land is affiliated with the empire, and our intelligence network spans every corner of the territory. Yet we can't even locate a single person? Useless, a pack of fools! Keep searching!"

Order after order was dispatched in an attempt to uncover Qin Ming's background, but alas, it was destined to yield nothing.

In the Qin Emperor duel arena, a female opponent materialized opposite him.

She was tall, standing upon a disc suspended in mid-air, with a long sword revolving gracefully before her.

As he gazed at her, Qin Ming's expression turned solemn for the very first time.

A spiritualist manipulating two weapons simultaneously—she was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

Five seconds passed, and Shi Yingyu did not retreat. The long sword before her flashed like a ray of light, hurtling straight toward Qin Ming. Before it even closed the distance, it split into thirty-six smaller swords that converged upon him from all directions.

Spiritualists moved swiftly, attacked rapidly, and deployed weapons with uncanny unpredictability. When combined, their might was overwhelming and extremely difficult to withstand.

Swish...

Anticipating this, Qin Ming shifted his body, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake. This was the result of executing the Phantom Space Step, yet the miniature swords tore through the illusions one by one.

His true body, however, was already closing in.

"Splendid footwork!" Shi Yingyu praised softly. Standing atop her disc, she blasted backward, but at that moment, the air around her warped violently, churning into fierce currents. The thirty-six small swords in the distance suddenly shifted direction, assaulting her from behind with multiplied velocity.

The disc beneath her feet also fired off two crescent scimitars.

*Wind Domain, level nine!* Feeling the binding pressure weighing upon him, Qin Ming instantly gauged the extent of his opponent's domain.

In a fraction of a microsecond, Qin Ming processed his next move. A level-nine spatial domain erupted, suppressing his opponent's domain, as he shouted, "Splitting the Firmament!"

This was the second form of the Sky-Slicing Blade Technique.

With a single slash, the firmament was cleaved asunder.

A flurry of blade shadows materialized around him, followed immediately by a continuous series of crisp, metallic explosions as the thirty-six small swords and two crescent scimitars were sent flying in all directions.

"Slicing the Stars!"

Qin Ming stepped forward, sweeping his blade horizontally through the void.

Space warped, bizarre and unfathomable, impossible to guard against.

Shi Yingyu's pupils constricted. The disc beneath her feet abruptly shot upward, transforming into a shield that blocked her front, only to be sheared cleanly in two by the blade strike.

Her body stiffened. In her fading eyes, a flash of brilliance lingered. "Exquisite blade technique!"

Having uttered those three words, she collapsed to the ground and perished.

"Not satisfying enough!" Qin Ming shook his head and asked, "Fatty, how much do we have now?"

"Master, two trillion and eighteen billion credits!"

"That's enough, quite enough for now. Close the arena space!"

"Yes, Master!"

The next moment, the universe shifted around him, and Qin Ming reappeared in the corridor of the Slaughter Hall. Before he could even return to the main hall, a tall, imposing figure materialized before him, smiling warmly.

"I am Ming Yu, a supervisor here. Lord Man Luo, the head of the Dragon-Black Mountain Island branch, is waiting for you in the quiet chamber. Young friend, please come with me."

"Very well!" Qin Ming hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding in agreement. He was well aware that the person before him was a Domain Lord-level powerhouse.

An instant later, their figures vanished, reappearing inside a spacious and tranquil room.

"Milord, I have brought him here!"

Ming Yu bowed respectfully.

Seated on the sofa was Man Luo, a green-skinned man with a face full of wrinkles—an immortal powerhouse of the Virtual Universe Company.

He set down his teacup, raised his head, and a god-like pressure descended upon the room, causing Qin Ming's body to tremble. In particular, those eyes, containing an immortal will, made him instinctively want to kneel and worship, an impulse he forcefully suppressed.

The next moment, the oppressive aura vanished without a trace.

"Very impressive willpower!" Man Luo smiled and waved a hand. "You may leave first."

"Yes, Milord!" Ming Yu did not hesitate in the slightest, turning and departing.

"Ming Yu is an external supervisor of the Slaughter Arena, and also a member of the Dragon-Black Mountain Empire's Three Axes Mountain," Man Luo said in a gentle tone. "Our Virtual Universe Company does not forbid our people from joining other factions—core disciples being the exception, of course. Putting that aside, do you know why I had you brought here?"

"A duel wager?"

"Mm. You probably guessed that those final opponents were specifically arranged for you, didn't you?"

"Yes. Their records were unranked, yet they possessed domains. Moreover, if it weren't for deliberate arrangement, a powerhouse like Shi Yingyu would never have appeared there."

"That's an easy deduction to make. Do you need money that badly?"

"I come from an indigenous planet and have yet to join the empire. I want to earn enough money to register it with the Dragon-Black Mountain Empire, then purchase it to become the planetary lord. Only then can I gain legal protection to prevent wandering space pirates from discovering my homeworld and selling it off."

"An indigenous planet? The fortuitous encounter you obtained must be quite substantial." Man Luo did not probe further, instead smiling as he asked, "In that final battle just now, what percentage of your true strength did you use?"

"Less than ten percent!"

"Less than ten percent?" Man Luo's voice rose slightly, and the inadvertently leaked aura caused Qin Ming's body to sink, giving him a sensation of impending collapse.

Man Luo quickly reined it in, his expression turning solemn. "There is no benefit in lying to me! You should know that bringing you here is an opportunity for you, but if you speak falsehoods...!"

He left the sentence unfinished, but the implication was crystal clear.

"Lord Man Luo, would you care to accompany me to the Slaughter Space?" Qin Ming smiled.

"You are very confident." Man Luo stood up, a gleam in his eyes. "If things are truly as you say, then you are a genius standing at the very peak of the entire universe."

The next moment, they entered a slaughter battlefield.

It was an endless, boundless grassland.

Man Luo stood off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back.

Qin Ming exhaled a breath and said, "I want ten thousand standard Star-level 9 warriors!"

Swish...

In a flash, ten thousand figures appeared before him, each holding a shield in their left hand, a tier-2 battle saber in their right, and clad in combat armor.

"Ten thousand opponents?" Interest sparked in Man Luo's eyes.

Immediately afterward, his pupils constricted into pinpricks.

He watched as Qin Ming charged forward, his domain expanding while a cyan airflow emanated from his body. Centered around him, a full hundred illusory clones materialized simultaneously.

Every single clone struck with a blade angle entirely different from the rest.

In that single instant, a hundred opponents were slain.

"The Hundred-Thread Stream!" Man Luo squeezed the three words through his teeth, then grew intensely excited. "A genius—a peerless genius, a true peerless genius standing at the absolute pinnacle of the universe!"