Chapter 322: Domain Lord

The Hall of Slaughter.

Luo Feng was sitting with Hong and Thunder God, discussing the previous three battles. It had to be said—his battle with that female warrior had dealt Luo Feng a heavy blow. It wasn’t the loss itself that frightened him, but the sheer devastation of the defeat. It meant one thing clearly—he still had a long way to go before reaching the highest level among warriors of the same rank.

There were definitely many stronger than him.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng caught sight of a staff member from the Hall of Slaughter walking in their direction from the corner of his eye.

“Huh?” Thunder God glanced around, noticing that only the three of them were seated nearby.

“It seems he’s looking for us,” murmured Hong.

The staff member was a thin man with a sharp nose. He smiled and said, “Gentlemen, upstairs, a master of a Meditation Chamber is requesting your presence.”

“A Meditation Chamber master?” Luo Feng was surprised and exchanged glances with Hong and Thunder God.

The hall was a place where many elite warriors, who were being specially cultivated, would rest and chat.

But the Meditation Chambers were highly private rooms. Many powerful warriors rented these chambers long-term, and the masters of these chambers were at least Cosmic-level warriors—unless they were among the rare few who were simply overflowing with credits.

“Lead the way,” Luo Feng and the others rose.

“Of course.”

The staff member led them forward. Soon, they followed a spiral staircase to the second floor. The first floor was a vast, open hall, while the second floor was a quiet, beautiful maze. Within this maze were individual Meditation Chambers, where many Cosmic-level warriors, even Monarchs, and even the exalted Sovereigns resided.

In the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, Sovereigns were considered the peak of martial might. However, Sovereigns usually resided in the virtual universe’s Qianwu Continent rather than on Black Dragon Mountain Island. After all, there were very few Sovereigns within the entire territory of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, and even fewer who frequently appeared in the virtual universe. Naturally, they preferred to go to Qianwu Continent.

That was where the true gathering place of powerful warriors lay.

“Here it is,” the staff member smiled as he stood before the door, gently knocking.

“Come in,” a deep voice responded.

The door opened.

The staff member respectfully bowed, “Sir, I have brought the three guests,” and then he quietly left. Luo Feng and his two senior brothers carefully observed the massive, muscular man who had already risen within the Meditation Chamber. His entire body was dark blue-black, as if forged from steel.

“Please, come in,” the muscular man said.

Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God were not afraid and entered the Meditation Chamber directly.

As they stepped inside, the entire chamber seemed to brighten. Luo Feng suddenly noticed something startling—the muscular man wore a battle robe with a badge on the left chest. The badge’s design was two planets floating above a sea of blood.

A Two-Star Cosmic Mercenary!!!

Two-Star?

Goodness!

Luo Feng was completely stunned. To qualify for the Two-Star Cosmic Mercenary exam, one of the requirements was to possess the strength of a Monarch. Therefore, a Two-Star Cosmic Mercenary was at minimum a Monarch, and possibly even a Sovereign.

A Monarch-level warrior—what a concept!

Even the “Cosmic-level minor civilizations” like the Silver Blue Empire or the Karuo Empire dared not provoke a Monarch! They were warriors who could claim dominion over a region and be recognized as such by the universe. If a Cosmic-level warrior could destroy Earth, it would require repeated attacks.

But a Monarch could simply throw a punch that radiated across the oceans, causing massive floods that would drown the entire Earth and trigger mass extinction!

That was a Monarch!

A terrifying super-existence capable of shaking even the minor cosmic civilizations. The former master of the Qiu Long Star had only been a Monarch. And the man before them was even stronger than the average Monarch!

“Greetings, Lord.”

Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God exchanged glances before simultaneously speaking with slight reverence.

Respect for the strong was a universally accepted etiquette in the cosmos.

“I’ve been observing you three for over a month,” the muscular man looked at the trio, a faint smile on his face. “Since you entered the Hall of Slaughter, you have trained here every single day without fail. Am I correct?”

Luo Feng was startled.

A warrior at least at the Monarch level had been observing them for over a month?

He turned to glance at Hong and Thunder God, who were equally shocked.

“But I don’t understand why you three have remained in the Hall of Slaughter. It’s fine to train here occasionally, but staying here long-term is simply wasting time!” the muscular man said, puzzled.

“Wasting time?” Luo Feng furrowed his brows.

“What do you mean?” Thunder God also frowned.

Hong remained silent, watching the man.

“Hasn’t your master told you that the fastest way to evolve, the quickest way to improve, is through training amidst life and death?” the muscular man asked in confusion.

“I understand that,” Thunder God replied.

Hong and Thunder God naturally understood.

The fastest era of human evolution on Earth was the Great Nirvana era and the era of the Muya Crystal. During the Great Nirvana era, within just a few short years, humanity rapidly evolved from a weak state into numerous powerful warriors, even Planetary-level warriors. Decades later, the discovery of the Muya Crystals catalyzed another wave of powerful warriors.

“If you understand, why are you still staying in the Hall of Slaughter?” the muscular man countered.

“But this is also life-and-death combat, extremely dangerous!” Thunder God argued.

“Wrong. Very wrong,” the muscular man laughed, shaking his head. “It seems you have no master, or your master is of very low caliber.”

Luo Feng and the others listened carefully.

It was their fortune to receive guidance from a Monarch-level warrior.

“Do you know why combat in life-and-death situations leads to rapid growth, quick enlightenment, and swift evolution? Do you understand the principle behind it?” the muscular man looked at the three, and all of them shook their heads. They truly didn’t understand the underlying mechanism.

The muscular man sighed, “In the face of death, there is great terror!”

“In the face of death, there is infinite potential.”

“It’s like the instinctive reflex of closing your eyes when a needle is pointed at your eyes. When facing the threat of death, every cell in your body instinctively struggles, and even your genetic material accelerates its evolution. The terror of death pushes the body and soul to an evolutionary peak that artificial cultivation cannot achieve. In this state, one becomes more susceptible to enlightenment, evolution, and power enhancement.”

Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God held their breath, completely captivated.

“It’s an instinctive reaction.”

“Or rather, a life reflex!”

“When facing death, life instinctively unleashes its most intense struggle! A warrior might struggle for decades without breakthrough, but a single brush with death might push him past that threshold.” The muscular man looked at Luo Feng and the others. “In the face of death, there is great terror and infinite power. This is why countless warriors seek danger and fight in life-and-death situations!”

Luo Feng murmured to himself, “In the face of death, there is great terror and infinite power?”

Hong and Thunder God were deep in thought.

“Warriors!”

“I’m talking about warriors—Cosmic-level, Monarchs, Sovereigns, even the legendary Immortals! Over 99% of them have joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance and engaged in life-and-death adventures.”

“The Axe Fighting Arena is an extremely brutal battlefield where every life-and-death match ends with one side’s death! Yet such arenas thrive because fighting on the edge of a blade is the fastest way to evolve! How many warriors in the cosmos haven’t walked the path of life-and-death battles?”

The muscular man looked at Luo Feng and the others, “So I’m puzzled—why have you three been wasting your time in the Hall of Slaughter?”

“Training here for a few days occasionally is fine.”

“But the battles in the Hall of Slaughter are just training, with effects like teachers and so on. They cannot replicate the effects of life-and-death combat. Because in the Killing Realm or the Final Battle Realm, even if you die, you can instantly revive. This is the virtual universe. It cannot make your life feel the threat of death, so naturally, it cannot trigger true evolutionary effects.”

Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God now fully understood.

Why, after so many days of intense battles, especially in the Killing Realm, they had set up many powerful opponents to fight, thrilling them greatly.

But…

Their physical evolution rate remained unchanged.

Hong was still at the ninth stage of the Planetary level, and Luo Feng and Thunder God’s physical forms had not improved. Perhaps their skills and experience had improved, but their physical foundations had not advanced much.

“Yes, death in the virtual universe poses no real threat, so you can’t feel true danger. After all, it’s a virtual world—you can instantly revive after death. Naturally, you won’t experience the real emotions of fear, panic, terror, or rage,” Luo Feng thought to himself, then mentally shouted, “Babata!”

“What do you want?” Babata’s voice whispered in his mind.

“Why didn’t you tell me that staying in the Hall of Slaughter for so long is a waste of time!” Luo Feng angrily replied.

“Don’t blame me! You already have the body of a Gold-Horned Beast, so you don’t have any bottlenecks—you can keep evolving until reaching the peak of Sovereign. Why take life-and-death risks? Although evolution is faster that way, the death rate is high. Wait until your strength improves a bit before going.”

“I’m fine, but what about Big Brother and Second Brother?” Luo Feng asked.

“Them? Without life-and-death threats, they’ve probably reached their peak at the Stellar level,” Babata said.

“Reached their peak? Why didn’t you say this earlier?” Luo Feng realized that staying in the Hall of Slaughter was indeed wasting Hong and Thunder God’s time.

“The mission the master gave me was to cultivate you—not Hong and Thunder God. When your strength improves, I’ll remind you about life-and-death adventures. Anyway, it won’t hurt Hong and Thunder God much. The cultivation plan is centered around you,” Babata said clearly this time.

…

As Luo Feng felt a sense of guilt toward Hong and Thunder God,

“Life-and-death adventures?” Hong and Thunder God’s eyes lit up.

“No wonder I’ve been unable to break through to the Stellar level,” Hong murmured. “Life-and-death adventures… yes, that’s the life for me.”

“I always felt that a peaceful life lacked excitement, and I lacked energy. That’s why,” Thunder God’s eyes gleamed.

“Little Brother, ready to go on an adventure together?” Thunder God turned to Luo Feng.

At this moment, the muscular man beside them smiled, “Life-and-death adventures are a journey every warrior must experience! Breaking through death’s threshold time and again, surpassing yourself—that is the path of the strong! But before that… I must remind you of one thing—the importance of physical foundation.”

“Different bloodlines result in varying evolutionary efficiency.”

“Some evolve easily amidst death, while others struggle to evolve even more than others in the same situation.”

“Some races reach the Stellar level upon adulthood, even Cosmic-level, even Monarchs.”

“That is bloodline.”

“Look, here’s a chart classifying human bloodlines into ten tiers. Take a look first and see which tier your bloodline belongs to. Perhaps I can help you avoid many detours on your evolutionary path.” The muscular man smiled, pointing at the screen. The screen instantly displayed a chart.