The battle between Thor and the young fighter in green intensified with every passing moment. As he clashed again and again, Thor felt his understanding of the secret arts he studied deepen, layer by layer, until he finally reached a breakthrough.
Thor raised his blade, lightning coiling around him like a furious sea. The sky dimmed as if dragged into an endless twilight.
"Phantom Sky Thunder Slash."
The storm exploded outward, drowning the battlefield in crackling brilliance. Even the young fighter's wind domain, flexible and agile as it was, struggled to withstand the immense pressure radiating from Thor in this moment of perfect battle focus.
Thor's warblade, a mid-grade third-level origin weapon, rose above his head. For a single heartbeat, thousands of blade phantoms appeared around him like rippling mirrors of lightning.
"Intent... He grasped blade intent?"
The young fighter's expression twisted with disbelief. He swung both sabers wildly, trying to disrupt Thor's rhythm. If he could disturb that flow even slightly, Thor would fall out of the state required for true blade intent.
Blade intent was a realm few ever reached. When a warrior fused completely with their chosen weapon, person and blade became one, and every strike carried a power far beyond ordinary technique. It was a qualitative transformation, a fusion of spirit, will, and steel.
Thor's countless blade shadows descended.
In a single blinding instant, the young fighter's storm of saber light shattered. His body split cleanly into two pieces.
Thor had won.
From the stands, the high-ranking domain lord known as Netherfield raised an eyebrow. "Second-layer domain at peak level, and he managed to grasp blade intent. Another prodigy."
The battles did not stop there. The white-cloaked girl and the green-clad boy each chose new opponents. Their choices were deliberate: the girl challenged Rowan's friend Luo Feng, while the green-clad boy went for Hong.
The white-cloaked girl toyed with Luo Feng from the beginning. He could barely block a single exchange. Two moves later he was defeated, cut down without suspense.
On the other side, the green-clad fighter faced Hong.
"Another monster? Seriously?" the boy cursed as his twin sabers carved huge arcs through the air. His blade energy sliced boulders to dust in the 1600-times-gravity battlefield of the virtual duel arena.
He launched a sweeping barrage of blade light toward Hong.
Hong activated his domain. The moment the blade light touched the field of darkness, it dissolved into nothing, eaten as if by a void.
Inside that swirling darkness, Hong's spear shot forward like a dragon rising from the deep sea. Each strike carried spiraling force that tore through the incoming energy with astonishing efficiency.
Before the Nirvana period, Hong had been a killer who walked through countless life-and-death battles. After humanity's fall on Earth, he had struggled tirelessly, growing stronger, pushing through limits, and eventually achieving a realm unmatched by other Earthborn fighters. His comprehension and talent placed him at the peak of all who shared his origins.
"I will not lose!" the green-clad boy roared. As a top-tier Level-1 elite personally cultivated by the Virtual Universe Company, he was not used to humiliation. His pride cracked as he faced defeat again.
Hong's calm did not waver. His movements were refined, disciplined, even elegant. His light-based domain continued to evolve as the fight dragged on.
Minutes passed.
Then Hong exhaled and narrowed the domain to a hundred meters around him, compressing it to its limit. Within this space, his speed multiplied tremendously. His body flickered like beams of light.
He lifted his spear. At the tip, the entire domain concentrated into a single point of radiance.
"Fourth-layer domain. Phantom King Pierce."
Hong thrust.
His speed surpassed even light. The boy's pupils dilated. The spear pierced his skull before he could breathe.
Hong lowered his weapon slowly. "Calm as still water, steady as a circle, swift as light, shadow following thought. So this is the meaning of illusion."
…
Outside the Slaughter Hall, Rowan, Hong, Thor, and Luo Feng gathered together once more.
Thor was ecstatic. "I finally grasped blade intent. If I use the Ninefold Thunder Blade again, I can push my power to thirty-sixfold."
His excitement was understandable. With Rowan's guidance and access to superior secret arts, Thor's path had changed dramatically. Even a shallow grasp of the second realm had allowed him to touch blade intent. His strength surged like a tidal wave.
Hong also looked pleased. His improvement in the Illusion Heart Secret Art refined his mental state. His soul felt stronger, more stable, more perceptive. That clarity was what allowed him to break through to the fourth-layer domain during battle.
Only Luo Feng looked miserable.
"I lost. Completely. I didn't even have a chance to resist."
Rowan placed a comforting hand on Luo Feng's shoulder. "Don't be discouraged. You possess the Golden Horned Beast. You will soon grasp the Law of Gold and later many other laws. Right now you cannot catch up with us, but the future is yours. Just keep working."
Luo Feng nodded hard. "I understand. I won't let you down."
As they laughed together, Thor suddenly frowned. "Something was strange. Both of those elite fighters sought us out directly. Their ratings were only six-star and seven-star. They ignored everyone else and challenged us first. That can't be a coincidence."
Hong and Luo Feng also sensed something unusual.
Rowan simply smiled.
A moment later, a staff member approached.
"Honored guests, someone in one of the private meditation lounges requests your presence."
The group exchanged glances. Normally even cosmos-level warriors could only remain in the outer halls. Anyone seated inside those upper rooms belonged to high-ranking powers.
"Shall we go?" Thor asked Hong.
Rowan answered for them. "We go. This is an opportunity."
They followed the staff member up to the second level.
Inside the lounge stood a burly man. Flanking him were the two elite fighters they had faced earlier.
"Lord Netherfield, we take our leave," the two said before exiting.
"Please, sit." Netherfield gestured warmly.
Rowan knew exactly who he was, but the others could not sense his true strength due to the virtual universe suppressing all combat metrics to basic warlord level.
Rowan spoke first. "What business do you have with us?"
Netherfield introduced himself. The others reacted with shock. A domain lord and branch manager of the Virtual Universe Company, one of the Five Great Powers of the universe, was not someone ordinary fighters could meet.
"You four surprised me," Netherfield said. "Earth is a new race that has never appeared in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Yet within a single year, four top-tier geniuses emerge. That alone is astonishing. But what puzzles me is why you are wasting time in the Slaughter Arena."
Rowan replied calmly. "We are honing our skills. We planned to finish our training in a few days and apply for universe mercenary licenses."
"Understandable," Netherfield said, then smiled. "But instead of becoming trainee mercenaries, why not join the Virtual Universe Company? Your talents are remarkable."
"Virtual Universe Company?" Rowan feigned confusion, as did the others.
Babata popped out excitedly. "Join! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Rowan ignored him and instead asked, "Why seek us out?"
Netherfield explained: Rowan with five-layer domain and law comprehension was a "special elite"; Thor with blade intent and dual-layer lightning domain was a "special elite"; Hong with three-layer domain and high-level intent was also a "special elite"; and Luo Feng's spiritual force placed him as a "third-class elite".
Then Netherfield offered the reward: purified bloodline serum.
He explained the bloodline ranks of the universe, how humans of various planets possessed different potentials, and asked them to evaluate their own origins.
"We are ninth-tier bloodline," Thor and Hong answered.
Netherfield froze. "What?"
Ninth-tier bloodlines rarely reached even the star level. To produce four top geniuses in one generation was almost impossible.
Naturally, he asked, "Who is your teacher?"
Rowan smiled politely. "We cannot reveal that for now."
Netherfield sensed hidden enemies and chose not to pry further.
He leaned forward.
"Then I will ask the final question. Are you willing to join the Virtual Universe Company? You may choose to become internal members or external members."