The Dust Settles

Luo Feng, Rongjun, and Wuka were all seated on the sofa, watching the screen where a new qualification battle for the Original Secret Realm was underway. "The qualification battles for the Original Secret Realm are already halfway through. I reckon it won't be long before it's Moluo versus Sima Yan," Wuka said, holding a wine glass and crossing his legs. "Whoever loses between those two will have to enter the elimination round!"

"Hmm," Luo Feng also stared intently at the screen. *Moluo must lose, absolutely must!*

Inside Moluo's vast estate in the Original District, amidst the sprawling grasslands, Moluo sat cross-legged in meditation. He enjoyed reflecting on his battles in quiet contemplation. "I never expected Bolan to be so strong. He only recently broke through the seventh level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge... yet he forced me to sustain severe injuries just to defeat him." Moluo had never imagined that two newcomers could cause him such trouble. Experts like Sajin Huolong and Ni Nan from the Taichu District had long since cleared the seventh level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge. Moluo could easily defeat them! But to defeat Bolan, he had paid the price of a leg. What did that signify? It meant their strengths were very close!

"His strength, even in the Taichu Secret Realm, is probably only slightly inferior to Ke Luofu's," Moluo sighed inwardly. "A newcomer who only cleared the seventh level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge two years ago, yet so powerful..." He didn't know. Bolan's talent in spatial laws was astonishing. He had simply wasted so much time before due to his arrogance, always wanting to study the Cosmic Chaos Tablet and prepare for simultaneous cultivation of space and time. Now, once he focused solely on spatial laws, his strength immediately began an astonishing leap!

"Bolan has been defeated, no longer a threat... Now I must defeat Sima Yan." Moluo's brow furrowed slightly. Among the three veterans of the Original Secret Realm, Feituo was undeniably the first, having long cleared the eighth level of the Sky-Reaching Bridge, his advantage clear. He, Moluo, and Sima Yan, were evenly matched!

"I defeated Sima Yan in the last qualification battle. And then in the elimination round... Sima Yan defeated Ke Luofu!" Moluo pondered. "Sima Yan is an illusionist, which happens to counter Ke Luofu! But... I am a martial artist, and Ke Luofu is also a martial artist! Ke Luofu's progress in the past one or two centuries has been astonishing!" "The last qualification battle was already dangerous, but back then, his strength should have been comparable to mine." "But now... looking at the combat footage of him and Luo Feng, Ke Luofu's strength has already surpassed mine." Moluo's brow furrowed, deeply troubled.

The werewolf Ke Luofu! His strength had surged primarily in the last one or two centuries. While he was strong before, he was only comparable to the alchemist Yu Feng! But now, he was completely far ahead... giving a feeling of being 'on a different level'! Even Luo Feng was directly crushed, suppressed, and defeated by the werewolf Ke Luofu! Moluo knew from watching the video that Ke Luofu had already surpassed him!

"If I'm defeated by Sima Yan and have to participate in the elimination round, with six people vying for one spot, and Ke Luofu among them... I have no hope!" Moluo shook his head. "No matter what, I must remain in the Original Secret Realm!" "What to do?" "What to do?" Moluo's expression was complex. While he was shocked by Luo Feng's strength, it was clear that at this moment, he was more concerned about the werewolf Ke Luofu!

"There's only one way!" "Defeat Sima Yan!" "That way, I'll rank in the top two!" Moluo took a deep breath. "If I'm in the top two, there's no need to participate in the elimination round. Let Sima Yan fight it out with the werewolf Ke Luofu..." "Against Sima Yan, I must win, I absolutely must win!!!" Moluo thought to himself.

Just a moment later— The voice of the Virtual Universe system echoed in Moluo's ear: "Moluo, your third battle in the Original District's Universe-level qualification matches is about to begin. Your opponent is 'Sima Yan'." Simultaneously, detailed information automatically appeared on the screen of Moluo's wrist-mounted bracer, and he was instantly teleported into the battlefield.

A biting wind howled, and goose-feather-like snowflakes drifted down aimlessly, covering an incredibly thick layer of ice. Two figures appeared out of thin air on the ice.

"Moluo!" a furious shout rang out. "Sima Yan!" Moluo smiled as he looked. In the distance stood a purple-haired youth clad in a magnificent black robe, his feet resting on a winged psychic weapon. The youth's purple hair shot upwards, and complex purple secret patterns adorned his forehead. His pair of purple eyes seemed to possess an eerie, magical power. This purple-haired youth was Sima Yan, an illusionist. The illusionary demon 'Jialaixi' from the last genius battle was also an illusionist, but compared to Sima Yan... he was clearly far inferior.

"Moluo." Sima Yan's eyes were filled with indifference. Standing on his winged weapon, he looked down at Moluo. "You're well aware of this qualification battle. Whoever loses between us will likely have to participate in the elimination round. And the werewolf Ke Luofu's strength is clearly much, much greater than it was a century ago. Although I can counter him, I don't have much confidence! As for you... you'll probably lose for sure!"

Moluo's expression instantly darkened. Pressure. Even these peerless geniuses who entered the Original Secret Realm felt pressure, because one careless mistake could lead to elimination. Just like the werewolf Ke Luofu's sudden surge in power... it put both Sima Yan and Moluo in a very dangerous position. "I might lose if I face Ke Luofu, but I don't need to fight him at all. Because... you will definitely lose!" Moluo roared, stomping fiercely on the icy ground. With a thunderous sound, the thick ice layer instantly shattered, countless fragments sinking into the deep sea from his stomp, while even more ice shards flew into the air in all directions. He himself, like a bolt of lightning, instantly charged before Sima Yan, his fist transforming into a fiery meteor. Boom! One punch, like a meteor striking Sima Yan, instantly altered the surrounding world.

"Haha, your speed is too slow." Dozens of kilometers away, Sima Yan, standing on his winged weapon, laughed loudly. "Didn't you realize that what was standing there before was my illusion?" "Hm?" Moluo abruptly retracted his fist, landing on the ice and gazing at Sima Yan in the distance. "I let you have that one just now, but now, I won't hold back." Sima Yan laughed heartily, while his invisible psychic energy once again directly permeated Moluo's soul world, his illusion already seeping into his words...

This battle was being watched by tens of thousands of geniuses from the core layers of the Virtual Universe Company, including, of course, Luo Feng, Rongjun, and Wuka. Before the screen. The three of them, Luo Feng included, were staring intently. "They're really something, Lunatic, Savage, who do you think will win between them?" Wuka was quite relaxed, and Rongjun watched with a smile, but Luo Feng meticulously scrutinized every frame, his consciousness calculating like a supercomputer, constantly analyzing the duel and considering how he would react if he were in it. Without a doubt, he hoped Moluo would lose! But observing the battle, although Sima Yan's mental illusions were exquisite and peerless, Moluo fought with a wild ferocity, like a living beast. Though occasionally affected by the illusions, he quickly broke free and resumed his pursuit of Sima Yan. Sima Yan, on the other hand, tried to maintain distance, then cast illusions, and once successful, immediately attacked with his psychic weapon, which resembled a 'scimitar'!

"Boom!" The world instantly transformed into an endless sea of fire, and within this inferno were countless Sima Yans. At a glance, billions of Sima Yans stood everywhere. "Moluo!" "Moluo!" "Moluo!" "Moluo!" "Moluo!" "Moluo!"... Billions of Sima Yans spoke simultaneously, while Moluo, surrounded in the center, frowned slightly, calmly surveying his surroundings, seemingly trying to discern which of the billions of Sima Yans was real. "This is the latest illusionary technique!" "It's called 'Reflection of the Flame World'." "Die!" Moluo actually closed his eyes, completely ignoring his surroundings, waiting with focused concentration. "Here!" Moluo suddenly charged forward like lightning, his legs twisting like two battle blades in a flash! *Puchi!* Moluo opened his eyes and immediately saw Sima Yan before him, with a horrifying wound stretching from his chest to his thigh. Blood gushed out, revealing his internal organs. "Hmph!" Moluo revealed a faint smile, but then his smile froze. His head split directly in two, and his corpse fell. Moluo, dead! "It was truly an illusion, an illusion that was real!" In the distance, the severely wounded Sima Yan, standing on his winged weapon, looked at the corpse with a pale, half-smile. "Did you think closing your eyes would help?"

In Moluo's estate in the Original District. "I actually lost, I actually lost." Moluo sat in his meditation room, his fists clenched tightly, fingernails digging into the flesh of his palms, his eyes filled with unwillingness. "I still fell for it in the end!" "I thought I had broken through the environmental attack and struck his true body, but I never expected... he used his own injury as a price to set up another layer of environment. Within reality was illusion, and within illusion was reality." Moluo shook his head. Indeed, Sima Yan's mental illusions, combined with the 'Laws of Fire' and 'Laws of Space,' had reached an incredible level. "This is troublesome now." Moluo frowned. "I have to participate in the elimination round! I, Bolan, Longyun, Ke Luofu, Yu Feng, Luo Feng... six people vying for the single spot in the Original Secret Realm. The other five who fail will all enter the Taichu Secret Realm." "Ke Luofu... I have no confidence whatsoever." "Hmph, I didn't expect Luo Feng to also make it into the top three of the Taichu Secret Realm." "I can't be bothered with him. My biggest opponent is still Ke Luofu!" Moluo stopped overthinking and quickly found Ke Luofu's previous combat videos, then proceeded to analyze them thoroughly.

In Wuka's estate in the Taichu District. The three of them, Luo Feng included, sat on the sofa watching the battle between Moluo and Sima Yan playing on the screen. "Mental illusions and physical illusions completely intertwined, reality within illusion, illusion within reality," Rongjun praised. "I heard that the highest realm for an illusionist... is to make people believe an illusion is reality, living their entire lives within it." Luo Feng nodded, a hint of joy appearing in his eyes. Excellent! All was settled. The spots for this elimination round were now confirmed. The third person from the Original Secret Realm, besides Bolan and Longyun... was Moluo! "Heaven has given me an opportunity, Moluo. This time, I'll step on you first. Next time, I'll deal with you in reality." Luo Feng's eyes narrowed.