There was no pressure at all.
Rowan moved through the Duel Space, cutting down opponent after opponent. Seven consecutive battles, seven decisive victories, and just like that the system awarded him a flawless five-star rating. It was not the number of battles that impressed the system, but the fact that Rowan had already mastered the Fire Domain to the fifth tier while still at the Stellar Rank. That alone marked him as a prodigy among prodigies, someone far beyond the ordinary.
Naturally the system acknowledged that.
Hong and Raytheon refused to fall behind. The two supported each other through dozens of high-intensity fights. They had not yet reached the Stellar Rank, but within the Planetary Rank they were absolutely unmatched, and the system recognized their overwhelming performance with matching five-star evaluations.
Only Luo Feng was left staring at a lonely single-star rating. Without a domain, his potential was limited, and he felt the sting of the comparison sharply.
After a long string of fights, Rowan, Hong, Raytheon, and Luo Feng gathered again at the resting platform outside the virtual arena.
"That was unbelievable. Fighting like that is exhilarating." Raytheon stretched his arms as sparks danced around his fingertips. He grinned wildly. "I even found a few weaknesses in my technique."
Hong nodded. "Same here. Having equal-ranked opponents to clash against is invaluable. I fixed gaps in my footwork I didn't even know I had."
Both of them carried the satisfied glow of warriors who had pushed themselves past their limits.
But Luo Feng sat off to the side, staring gloomily at his bleak star rating.
"Why the long face?" Raytheon threw an arm around him.
"It's embarrassing," Luo Feng muttered. "All of you are five stars and I got one. One. How is a man supposed to feel good about that?"
Hong sighed softly, Rowan patted Luo Feng's shoulder, and said, "Don't overthink it. You don't have a domain yet, that's all. The Inheritance from Inkstar contains methods for comprehending Domains. Use this Duel Space to feel out the Laws, especially the Laws of Gold. Once you grasp that, the rating won't matter."
Luo Feng inhaled deeply, Rowan's confidence rubbing off on him. "Then I'll earn it the hard way. If I don't have a domain, I'll use sheer numbers to climb up."
Rowan smiled. "Then do your best."
Luo Feng rose immediately and marched back to the arena, unwilling to waste even a second. Hong and Raytheon burst out laughing and quickly followed.
Rowan went back in as well.
The Duel Space exhilarated him. It offered perfect opponents, perfect combat pressure, and no consequences. It was the ideal place to sharpen every instinct he possessed. He began fighting without relying on any of his powerful external aids, forcing himself to focus purely on technique, timing, and reaction.
The truth was simple: Rowan's rise had been powered by an overwhelming number of advantages, cheats, and shortcuts. His raw combat experience lagged behind his power.
So he fought evenly with opponents of the same rank, allowing them to pressure him, to force him to think, to adapt. Blow by blow, duel after duel, his instincts sharpened. His weaknesses dissolved.
Two hundred fights later, Rowan had accumulated an almost perfect record. Even without any of his external techniques he could defeat opponents instantly. As challengers grew stronger, reaching seven, eight, even nine stars, Rowan finally began using his true strength.
With the Sky-Piercing Shuttle in hand, he could already unleash four layers of power. And when he deployed his Swordfish Formation, ordinary opponents fell without him even activating his domain. A single move decided everything.
Even nine-star combatants collapsed the moment he unleashed his triple-layered Fire Domain. Rowan had become something terrifying.
The four of them fought for more than a month.
Rowan alone fought seven hundred and sixty-eight battles with almost no losses, earning a near-legendary ten-star rating.
Hong fought six hundred and eighty-five battles. During this month he broke through and became a Stellar Rank warrior, earning his own ten-star rating.
Raytheon fought six hundred and eighty-one battles. He too broke into the Stellar Rank, standing proudly with ten stars.
Luo Feng fought the most of all: eight hundred and ninety-nine battles. With the help of the Golden Horned Beast's inheritance, he broke into the Stellar Rank as well. Although he still lacked a domain, his relentless efforts earned him an impressive nine-star rating.
The Duel Space erupted.
Outside the arena, countless warriors gathered in groups, whispering excitedly.
"They're insane. All four of them. Hundreds of battles in a single month? And they're all winning?"
"That's not even the crazy part. They broke through one after another. And that young man called the Traveler? Five-tier domain at Stellar Rank. Are they monsters?"
In a luxurious observation room overlooking the arena, a broad-shouldered man watched four holograms showing Rowan, Hong, Raytheon, and Luo Feng.
"So lively. This space hasn't been this noisy in a long time," the man murmured with amusement. This was Darkrealm, a domain-lord level officer of the Virtual Universe Company.
He summoned two youths before him, one wearing azure robes, the other a white dress.
"Go test them. Each of you will receive one hundred thousand points for completing the task."
"Yes, Lord Darkrealm."
Meanwhile, Rowan and the others returned again to the arena.
This time, Rowan's opponent was a white-robed girl.
"I won't go easy on you just because you're pretty." Rowan rolled his neck, joints crackling.
"Good. I want to see whether the rumors exaggerate your strength." The girl raised her slender silver sword and blurred into motion.
She moved like a ghost.
Rowan's heart skipped. Her speed was faster than his, even though she was only a seventh-tier Stellar Rank opponent.
"Swordfish Formation."
The formation shot forward like a streak of lethal light, aiming to pierce her forehead.
She tilted her head the slightest fraction and the strike shaved past her cheek, cutting loose only a single strand of hair.
Rowan laughed softly. "Ah. Someone from the Virtual Universe Company."
Her movements, her technique, her pressure, everything was different from the ordinary challengers. He instantly guessed her identity. She was one of the two prodigies Darkrealm had sent to test them.
Rowan had been waiting for this.
Virtual Universe Company was the only place he could obtain a Genetic Evolution Serum. Earth-born souls were unusually gifted in comprehension but weak in bloodline quality, and Rowan needed that serum to elevate his potential. Luo Feng, Hong, and Raytheon did as well.
And now that opportunity had arrived.
The girl lunged, sword slicing toward Rowan's neck. In her eyes he saw a flash of disdain. Too weak. One strike would finish him.
She never expected Rowan's smile.
"Five-tier Fire Domain."
Purple fire erupted around him like a detonating star. The explosive force hurled the girl thousands of meters into the air, tumbling helplessly through the sky.
"What… five tiers?" Her voice trembled.
Even Darkrealm, watching from the lounge, shot to his feet in shock.
"A seventh-tier Stellar Rank with a five-layer domain. Special-grade genius."
Before the shock settled, Rowan raised a hand.
The Swordfish Formation hovered above his finger, flames spiraling around it. The Fire Law responded instantly, distorting the virtual world as it gathered.
Deep violet fire engulfed the arena.
The girl shrieked, terror breaking through her composure as Rowan unleashed the strike. The burning whirlwind tore through her defenses and shredded her avatar into motes of light.
Rowan had won.
He walked out of the Duel Space calmly, while the girl reappeared in the central hall, trembling as she recalled the sensation of being obliterated.
"What kind of monster did I just fight?"
Meanwhile, in another arena, Raytheon clashed with the azure-robed boy. Wind howled around the boy in a triple-layer domain, but Raytheon met it with roaring lightning. His battle experience, sharpened through countless life-and-death fights, let him counter the gap in domain mastery.
Every clash shook the arena.
Raytheon laughed with exhilaration. "This technique really is incredible. Even at the second stage it's like it was made for me."
Electricity surged around him, blending perfectly with his Lightning Domain.
He had never been stronger.
And the battle was far from over.