Crushing Defeat

Nuolanshan watched the video playing on the screen, his face cold. He held no fondness for Luo Feng, especially after Luo Feng failed to respond to his enticing email, which only fueled his irritation. How could he be pleased to see Luo Feng in the spotlight?

“Oh?” As he watched, Nuolanshan showed surprise, turning to the large-nosed man seated beside him. “This is the genius you spoke of?”

In the video, Luo Feng was being utterly dominated!

A complete defeat!

“This is the video of his last match,” the large-nosed man quickly explained. “The young man called ‘Madman’ hasn’t fought again since losing this one.”

“The video of his last battle?” Nuolanshan’s lips curled slightly, his smile deepening as he watched Luo Feng being overwhelmed in the footage.

***

In the battle space, it was empty.

Luo Feng sat alone on the black arena, his Duntiansuo lying beside him.

“How could this happen?”

“So vulnerable?”

“Completely vulnerable! She’s just a warrior, not a spirit reader. A First-tier Star-level warrior, and only a six-star evaluation, yet… my Duntiansuo was utterly powerless against her?” Luo Feng’s eyes held a pained expression, the recent scene like a nightmare.

822 wins! 1 loss!

822 consecutive victories—what glory, what high spirits? Luo Feng had believed himself an absolute genius among First-tier Star-level cultivators, with few who could defeat him. But just now, against that dual-wielding female warrior, he was completely dominated. The female warrior even gave him chances, letting him go each time she could have killed him…

She spared him nine times at critical moments, then the tenth time, she sliced through his brow.

Death!

In a short battle, he was spared nine times by his opponent. Clearly, this female warrior was merely ‘playing,’ her strength far surpassing Luo Feng’s, like an adult toying with a child. She spared him nine times, then killed him on the last.

“I… I’m actually so weak?”

“Am I… am I this weak?” Luo Feng gritted his teeth in agony.

Many challenge requests were coming in for Luo Feng, but he had no desire to fight. His mind was entirely consumed by the previous match… no matter how powerful his ‘Swordfish Formation’ was, it was thrown aside by the female warrior’s incredibly resolute and sharp blades!

Her left and right blades were seamless!

“How could I lose so badly? She’s the same rank, and a warrior! I actually…” Luo Feng could accept defeat, but not such a crushing one. This devastating loss taught Luo Feng one thing… even on Black Dragon Mountain Island alone, there were many stronger than him at the same rank!

Otherwise, how could someone of the same rank so easily dominate him?

***

In another battle space.

Lei Shen was battling a female warrior clad entirely in white. Lei Shen’s previous record was also formidable: 691 wins, 3 losses, with an ‘eight-star’ evaluation! Although he had lost three times, Lei Shen didn’t mind, as battles were inherently about wins and losses, and most who came to fight sought breakthroughs.

Losses were often more beneficial for ‘breakthroughs’ than successes!

And because he possessed a domain, Lei Shen’s opponents were often seven, eight, or even nine-star evaluators. Three losses were quite normal.

“Break, break, break, break, break!!!!” Lei Shen, like a madman, was completely enveloped in his domain, his force battle blade transforming into streaks of lightning.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of impacts.

The female warrior, in her clean and crisp white battle armor, was expressionless, her eyes cold. She wielded two sharp battle blades, one in each hand. Her ethereal dual blades seamlessly parried Lei Shen’s rapid, continuous strikes. Yet, in the incredibly fast-paced combat, one of the white-clad female warrior’s blades strangely pierced through Lei Shen’s blade afterimages, sweeping past his neck.

His head flew into the air.

Lei Shen, defeated!

***

Hong, clad in black battle armor, held a silver long spear, his eyes gleaming as he looked at his opponent: “Haha, exhilarating, truly exhilarating! I’ve fought 695 matches, but compared to you, other opponents are simply not worth mentioning, a disgrace to the term ‘elite’.” Hong’s words were automatically translated into the universal cosmic language by his virtual assistant.

Across from him stood a slender man in a white robe, holding a long sword. He looked at Hong: “I also didn’t expect to meet an opponent like you in this Slaughterhouse battle space!”

“Again!” the man growled.

Whoosh!

He charged forward like lightning, closing in on Hong. Simultaneously, his long sword moved with an almost spiritual grace, tracing strange arcs, seemingly preparing to strike various parts of Hong’s body.

“Hahahahaha…” Hong let out a hearty laugh.

The tip of his spear suddenly swirled, as if stirring up countless waves, directly engulfing his opponent. This spear intent merged into his dark domain, like a terrifying vortex in the darkness, directly swallowing the white-robed swordsman before him. The white-robed swordsman’s long sword was incredibly clean and sharp, striking at every point of the vortex with sparks of lightning, while his surrounding lightning domain continuously expanded.

“Boom!”

Both sides clashed and then separated, only to engage in battle again with lightning speed.

Intense!

Hong had won his previous 695 matches with effortless ease. But this time, he suddenly encountered a terrifyingly powerful opponent! The two fought over a thousand rounds. Hong’s domain clearly had an advantage, but his opponent’s incredibly precise and tricky swordplay was extremely strong, making them evenly matched.

After such a long battle, neither side had made a mistake.

Boom!

The two stood on the arena, facing each other from a distance.

“Assassin, you’ve earned my respect. Let’s call this a draw,” the white-robed swordsman said.

“You’ve earned mine too.” Hong’s eyes, like stars, stared at his opponent. “I’ve cultivated diligently in the Slaughterhouse for a month, and my domain spear technique has advanced. I’ve never used this move… now, I’ll use it, as a sign of respect.” Hong’s words were translated into an electronic voice by his virtual assistant.

“What?” The white-robed swordsman’s face changed.

“I call this move ‘Endless Regret’.” After Hong finished speaking, he shook his long spear. Instantly, the spear shot out like a great dragon, carrying a swirling intent, pulling in the denser dark domain, creating an endless, tornado-like shockwave, with the spear tip as its apex.

The white-robed swordsman narrowed his eyes, his long sword striking like lightning.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Each sword strike was strangely just a hair off, grazing the edge of the spear tip. That spear tip was incredibly agile and slippery, affecting the entire air around it, making it impossible to block. The white-robed youth wanted to escape, but he was enveloped by the domain, his speed inferior.

He couldn’t block it.

“Pfft!”

The chilling spear tip pierced directly through the white-robed youth’s brow, exiting from the back of his head.

In this battle, Assassin (Hong), wins!

***

Slaughterhouse Hall.

With its blood-red ceiling, black tables, and cold chairs, Luo Feng and Lei Shen sat there, both in low spirits.

“I didn’t expect you to meet her too,” Luo Feng said with a bitter smile.

“What, you too?” Lei Shen was surprised.

“Yes,” Luo Feng nodded. “That female warrior… I’m no match for her. She was completely toying with me, dominating me. Her physical stats are only First-tier Star-level, same as me, yet she’s so much stronger. My Duntiansuo was a joke in front of her!”

“Me too. I feel like she must have a domain, but she didn’t even use it. She wounded me nine times before finally killing me. Too, too…” Lei Shen smiled bitterly.

On Earth.

They were a peerless genius and the founder of Thunder Dojo, standing at Earth’s peak. Who would have thought someone of the same rank could toy with them like this?

“Second Brother, Third Brother, why did you call me?” Hong, in black, walked over smiling, full of vigor. “Huh, why do you both look down?”

“Lost,” Luo Feng shook his head.

“Lost badly,” Lei Shen’s face was grim.

“Losing is a good thing,” Hong said, sitting on a nearby chair. “Losing helps you find your weaknesses, so you can improve.”

“But it was a crushing defeat,” Luo Feng looked at Hong. “Big Brother, you seem to be in a great mood?”

“Haha, I met an opponent, a very strong one.” Hong smiled at Luo Feng and Lei Shen. “If you two were Ninth-tier Planetary-level, you probably wouldn’t be his match either. Extremely powerful! If I hadn’t made a breakthrough in my cultivation in the Slaughterhouse battle space this month, I wouldn’t have won. It was truly exhilarating to meet such an opponent.”

***

Besides the main hall, which had low consumption and high traffic, the Slaughterhouse also offered private ‘meditation rooms’.

In one such meditation room.

A tall, burly man with dark green skin sat on a sofa, watching three videos simultaneously: Luo Feng versus the female warrior, Lei Shen versus the female warrior, and Hong versus the white-robed youth. The burly man’s eyes shone brighter than ever.

He stared intently at the third video—Hong and the white-robed youth.

“Actually, actually, it’s Domain Triple-level?”

“That last spear strike, the domain he unleashed, was definitely Domain Triple-level! A Ninth-tier Planetary-level kid actually reached Domain Triple-level.” The burly man was incredibly excited.

Suddenly—

“Tap! Tap! Tap!” A knocking sound echoed.

“Come in,” the burly man said.

The door opened.

The serious-faced female warrior in a white robe and the thin white-robed swordsman entered, closed the door, and then the female warrior bowed respectfully: “Sir, mission accomplished.”

“Excellent, you can leave the Virtual Universe and return. I’ve already issued the contribution points,” the burly man said.

“Yes.”

The female warrior and white-robed youth vanished, their consciousness leaving the Virtual Universe to return to reality.