As the Nine Swords Venerable's words faded—
Luo Feng and Ai Chen, who had been resting, were instantly teleported onto the colossal arena.
The arena was vast and silent.
The two stood far apart.
Luo Feng hovered on the Dark Cloud Shuttle, the Yan Divine Soldier—one of the Nine Divine Weapons of Spirit Controllers—floating behind him. His gaze was solemn.
Opposite him, Ai Chen spread her wings of light, suspended gracefully in the air. Her pink twin ponytails swayed gently as two lightsabers materialized in her hands.
Her aura was calm—
Yet unfathomable.
"Luo Feng,"
Ai Chen smiled softly.
"You are very strong."
"Dual laws of Metal and Space crossing the threshold.
The Myriad Lines Body Technique stepping into the Nine-Line Flow.
And mastery of the second level of the Divine Weapon—Piercing the Heavens."
Her eyes sharpened.
"So in this battle…"
"I will fight with my full strength."
The moment her words fell—
A dazzling pink radiance burst forth.
The aura expanded outward, spiraling around Ai Chen like a tide. Within dozens of meters, space itself seemed distorted—
Time slowed.
No—
It froze.
"Huh?!"
Luo Feng's expression changed instantly.
"The Laws of Time and Light… perfectly integrated into her domain?!"
A crushing pressure descended.
"Damn!"
"So deeply hidden!"
"Perfect integration of a superior law into the domain—this is the same level as Long Yun!"
In the central plaza, the geniuses were stunned.
"Long Yun defeated Guthro precisely because of this!"
"When a law is perfectly fused into the domain, external attacks are crippled!"
"Monsters… everyone in the top ten is a monster!"
Guthro clenched his fists.
As a Spirit Controller himself, he knew exactly how terrifying this was.
Against Long Yun, once his telekinetic weapons entered the domain, their power dropped by ninety percent.
And once he was enveloped—
Defeat was inevitable.
Thor swallowed hard.
"Ai Chen looks harmless… but this is terrifying."
Hong nodded quietly.
"Our cultivation time is still too short."
He understood the difficulty better than anyone.
Perfect law–domain integration was a nightmare-level threshold.
Even Bolan hadn't achieved it.
Among this generation—
Only Long Yun, Ai Chen, and…
Hong glanced subconsciously at Jiang Yan.
…Jiang Yan.
"Third Brother," Hong asked softly,
"Does Luo Feng still have a chance?"
Jiang Yan shook his head.
"It's very difficult."
"The moment she revealed this…"
"The outcome was already decided."
Luo Feng's talent was unquestionable.
But his starting point had been too low.
His cultivation time—
Too short.
He had yet to integrate Space and Metal into his domain.
And against Time–Light Domain Suppression—
There was no room for miracles.
On the arena—
"Go!"
Luo Feng shouted.
Behind him, the Yan Divine Soldier split into nine golden streaks, forming nine phantom swords that shot forward like lightning.
But—
The moment they entered Ai Chen's domain—
Their speed plummeted.
Then—
They froze.
"Slash!"
Ai Chen moved.
A flash of pink sword light swept through the air—
Clang!
All nine phantom swords were sent flying.
Luo Feng's pupils contracted.
How do I fight this?
"Time embedded in the domain…"
An Immortal sighed.
"Even a moment of stagnation is enough."
"Unless Luo Feng reaches the Ten-Thousand-Line Flow like Bolan—there is no way."
Ai Chen advanced.
Her speed was terrifying.
Even with the Nine-Line Flow, Luo Feng was nearly pierced several times.
"Piercing the Heavens!"
No more hesitation.
Luo Feng unleashed his strongest move.
Eighty-one golden swords merged—
Nine phantom blades—
Then—
A single, real golden sword.
It streaked forward like a comet.
Ai Chen's expression turned serious.
"Condense!"
The Law of Time erupted.
Shriek—!
The golden sword slowed violently upon entering her domain.
The Metal Law clashed against Time and Light—
Its speed fell to less than one-thousandth.
Ai Chen moved.
A pink blade flashed.
Clang!
The golden sword was sent flying.
To her—
That speed was meaningless.
Luo Feng clenched his teeth.
"My attacks… can't touch her."
"If only I had one more year…"
With his Space affinity—
One year would've been enough.
But cultivation allowed no such "ifs".
The arena continued shrinking.
At last—
Time froze for a single instant.
Luo Feng's nine phantom bodies stalled.
A blade of light passed through.
Clean.
Decisive.
The battle—
Was over.
Elsewhere — Black Dragon Mountain Empire
In a distant star field—
On a silent death star—
Buzz!
Space tore open.
A man in a purple robe stepped out, scanning his surroundings.
A spaceship appeared.
Moments later, it entered dark universe travel.
Inside the ship—
A black-robed figure stood silently.
"Master,"
the purple-robed man said respectfully,
"At our speed, we'll reach Jiang Yan's galaxy in half a month."
A hoarse laugh echoed.
"A genius rare in hundreds of millions of epochs?"
"It will be his honor…"
"…to die by the hand of a High Universe Venerable."
The shadow of assassination—
Had begun to descend.