Chapter Ninety-Three: Beyond the Boundary

Luo Yuan and his seven companions frowned as they saw the dark swarm of pursuers closing in on them.

"Sanzi, what do we do? These elite ninth-level stellar warriors—there’s no way we can face them head-on!" Hong said anxiously.

"In that case, let's use the C9-class starship. I have no desire to waste time with them. We'll just wipe them out with the laser cannon!" Luo Yuan snapped, furious.

"Let’s go! Everyone, get inside, now!" Luo Yuan released the starship and shouted the command.

Simultaneously, he used his psychic power to manipulate the fragment of Red Alloy, piercing through the heads of their pursuers as he and Luo Feng, Hong, Thunder God, and the others boarded the vessel. All the while, his psychic force was constantly gathering up the scattered attributes—origin force, spiritual power, domains, laws, and skill proficiencies—merging them directly into himself.

Yet, he realized he was still short of breaking through to the cosmic rank. He wondered if his foundation was simply too vast, or perhaps his breakthrough would be a true metamorphosis; the stars within his body continued to expand, as did his sea of consciousness and dantian.

If an ordinary person’s sea of consciousness, dantian, and stellar capacity were the size of Earth, his would be hundreds or thousands of Earths. This was why he could stand toe to toe with a fifth-level cosmic powerhouse.

He was especially curious about what changes would befall his eight dantians when he finally broke through—after all, his situation was unprecedented in history.

"I hope the upcoming Cosmic Genius Battle will give me a qualitative leap," Luo Yuan mused inside the starship.

"Xiao Ba, concentrate firepower. Obliterate that squad chasing us," Luo Yuan ordered coldly.

The laser cannon's muzzle aimed at the ninth-level stellar troops, and a terrifying beam shot out, instantly vaporizing the entire squad that had charged at them without fear of death.

"Do you think these people—after seeing our ship and the laser cannon—would still dare charge at us? Aren’t they afraid of dying?" Thunder God asked, puzzled as he watched the troops vanish into nothingness.

"Heh, they have no choice. Perhaps they, too, have people they must protect. As for that so-called Ninth Prince—if I ever get the chance, I’ll kill him myself," Luo Yuan replied with an icy tone.

"Let’s get out of here. This place has become utter chaos," Luo Yuan added, and Luo Feng and the others nodded in agreement.

With a roar, the starship sped away from the battlefield drenched in carnage.

...

Three days later, the eight of them piloted the ship out from the Inter-Realm and arrived at Thunder World’s Gale Canyon. Disembarking and storing the ship, they also put away their fifth-level origin force armors into their space rings, then waited quietly for the remaining army of Three Axe Mountain. Only by regrouping with them could they blend in and leave without attracting the attention of the universe lords outside.

They waited idly for several days before the remnants of the Three Axe Mountain army arrived. The survivors looked dispirited, battered, and their numbers greatly diminished.

Afterward, they traveled through Thunder World for about seven more days before finally reaching the final exit—the passage to Blue Wave Star! However, this exit was much smaller than the black hole in Gale Canyon, which could accommodate over a hundred people abreast. Here, only a few could pass side by side.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The adventurers turned into streaks of light, flying toward the exit in succession.

"This exit is so small. With so many people, how long will it take?" Thunder God floated in the air, looking ahead.

"Even though everyone moves quickly, it’ll be at least an hour before it’s our turn," Luo Yuan calculated.

"We’re finally getting out," Hong said with a sigh, sharing his thoughts telepathically. "This journey has been truly bizarre."

"It really has," Luo Yuan and the others laughed.

What began as a cosmic probationary mercenary test turned into the discovery of a new Inter-Realm. When that happened, who cared about the test anymore? Every adventurer threw themselves into the struggle for fortune. The Inter-Realm meant unimaginable riches! And clearly, this time, the gamble paid off—Luo Yuan’s harvest was immense.

In terms of wealth, he was now comparable to an average universe lord! Of course, still far from the likes of "Thunder Lord Kabu," "Jiang Tianchen," or "Hargreave," those peerless universe lords.

"We have plenty of wealth now, but our strength lags far behind," Thunder God muttered. "We need to focus on improving our power when we return."

The others nodded in agreement.

As they waited, with adventurers entering the exit one by one, it finally came to the eight of them.

"Let’s go!"

"Charge!"

Luo Yuan, Luo Feng, Hong, Thunder God, and their four attendants turned into streams of light and surged into the radiant waterfall ahead.

...

Blue Wave Star, Ancient City.

A villa had a special passageway opened in one wall, allowing the massive influx of adventurers from Thunder World to stream out rapidly.

Whoosh—

Adventurers poured out in a steady flow.

"All adventurers, gather ahead!"

"Anyone attempting to escape—kill!"

"Anyone defying orders—kill!"

All around the sky hovered cosmic-level powerhouses, with the occasional domain lord among them. These mighty figures watched the returning survivors with cold indifference. Their commands thundered into every adventurer’s ears, ensuring no one dared to act out of line.

...

Time passed. On the wasteland beside the ancient city, the surviving army from Three Axe Mountain was camped out, with Luo Yuan’s group among them. One by one, envoys from each power arrived to collect their own forces, and the numbers on the plain dwindled: seventy thousand, sixty thousand, fifty thousand, forty thousand...

"Luo Yuan!"

"Ha! Seeing you all safe brings me great joy!" A hearty voice boomed, and the burly, imposing Ming Yu hovered in the air.

Luo Yuan, his companions, and more than two hundred others flew over to Ming Yu.

"Sir," the two hundred adventurers greeted him respectfully.

Luo Yuan and his seven stood together and saluted as well, "Lord Ming Yu."

"Excellent! Come, let’s rest at my manor," Ming Yu said, leading them and the two hundred adventurers away.

...

A beautifully designed manor stood on the grasslands. The two hundred adventurers had already been dismissed. Now, Luo Yuan and his seven companions sat together with Ming Yu at one table.

Luo Yuan couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed—after waiting so long, he hadn’t seen a single universe lord. The lords had all sent their subordinates to collect the survivors, never appearing in person.

"So, what did you gain in the Inter-Realm this time?" Ming Yu asked, glancing at the eight.

"I exchanged for a treasure," Luo Yuan replied, smiling at Ming Yu.

At this, Ming Yu’s tiger-like eyes flashed with sharp light. "What kind of treasure?" he asked eagerly.

With a thought, Luo Yuan produced a broad-bladed war saber three meters long. The blade was etched with intricate secret runes, exuding an aura that sent chills down one’s spine. Ice crystals formed around the edge, and the temperature in the manor plummeted below zero; even space itself seemed to freeze.

"Lord Ming Yu, this is a fifth-level origin force weapon—Ice Soul Saber," Luo Yuan announced.

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