An Extraordinary Genius!

Within the icy plain illusion, Luo Wen felt pressure unlike anything he had ever experienced. The frigid wind seemed capable of piercing his skin and reaching straight into his bones. Circulating his Law of Fire had become exceptionally difficult, like trying to kindle a flame underwater. Even the Starlight Sky-Rending Blade responded sluggishly, the starlike points of light along its blade dimming.

Valendo’s figure flickered in and out across the icy plain, as though he had completely merged with the illusion. "Here, I am the ruler," his voice echoed from every direction. "Your Law of Fire is nothing but a wavering matchstick here, ready to go out at any moment."

As he spoke, dozens of enormous ice pillars suddenly rose from the plain. Each was several meters thick and dozens of meters tall. Centered around Luo Wen, they formed a sealed circular enclosure that trapped him inside.

"Ice Prison Thousand Strikes."

The ice pillars began to tremble. Countless ice spikes shot out from within them, hurtling toward Luo Wen like a torrential downpour. The density and power of this attack far surpassed the previous one, leaving virtually no room to evade.

Luo Wen knew that in a Law Illusion, ordinary defensive methods were no longer enough. He had to find the illusion’s core node in order to turn the situation around. But first, he needed to protect himself.

"Fire Intent, Undying."

Luo Wen’s body once again glowed with orange-red light. Unlike before, however, this light was more restrained, gathering across the surface of his body to form a thin Energy Shield. Every ice spike that struck it instantly turned into vapor.

But this defense consumed an enormous amount of Luo Wen’s energy. Suppressed by the Law Illusion, his Law of Fire energy could not be replenished effectively. This defense could not last for long.

Luo Wen closed his eyes and attempted to sense the flow of energy within the illusion. To a law cultivator’s senses, any illusion formed by laws possessed traces of energy flow, and those traces were bound to converge at a core node.

"Over there!" Luo Wen suddenly opened his eyes, fixing his gaze on an especially towering iceberg in the distance. The iceberg appeared ordinary, but to Luo Wen’s law senses, all Ice Law energy was flowing around it.

Having found his target, Luo Wen began to act. He controlled the Starlight Sky-Rending Blade to spin rapidly before him, forming a shield-like defense as he advanced toward the iceberg.

Valendo seemed to detect Luo Wen’s intentions. The storm over the icy plain suddenly intensified, reducing visibility to its lowest point. At the same time, even more ice pillars rose from underground, attempting to block Luo Wen’s advance.

"Useless," Valendo’s voice reverberated throughout the illusion. "In my Law Illusion, you will never reach that place."

Luo Wen ignored Valendo and focused on overcoming the obstacles before him. Under his control, the Starlight Sky-Rending Blade became like a sharp cutting machine, slicing through ice pillars again and again to carve out a path forward.

But the problem was that the expenditure was simply too great. With every step forward, Luo Wen had to consume a great deal of energy to resist the illusion’s cold and cut through new obstacles. At this rate, he would likely exhaust all his energy before reaching the target.

Luo Wen realized he needed to change his strategy. Meeting force with force was clearly not a wise choice. He needed to make use of his strengths.

"Starlight Myriad Transformations."

Luo Wen formed a seal with both hands. The Starlight Sky-Rending Blade suddenly broke apart into dozens of tiny points of light that scattered through the air. Each point contained a trace of Luo Wen’s psychic power and Law of Fire energy.

"Go."

At Luo Wen’s command, all the points of light flew in different directions at once, passing through the ice pillars and forming a complex energy network across the icy plain. Wherever they went, they left small scorch marks on the ice.

At first, Valendo did not understand Luo Wen’s intentions and continued creating new ice pillars and ice spikes to attack him. But he quickly sensed that something was wrong.

The points of light scattered across the icy plain began to connect into lines, forming a massive law formation. Law of Fire energy flowed rapidly along those lines, and cracks began appearing across the entire icy plain.

"You—" Only then did Valendo realize Luo Wen’s true intent. Luo Wen had never intended to force his way to the iceberg. Instead, he was constructing a law formation to attack the illusion’s core node directly from afar.

"Too late," Luo Wen said, his voice calm yet filled with strength. "Sparkfire, Prairie Blaze."

As his words fell, every point of light erupted with dazzling orange-red brilliance. Law of Fire energy rapidly spread along the formation, like countless fiery serpents slithering across the icy plain. Wherever they passed, the solid ice began to melt, exposing the pitch-black void beneath.

More importantly, all the fiery serpents converged in the same direction—the iceberg that represented the illusion’s core.

Valendo sensed the danger and immediately poured all his strength into reinforcing the illusion’s stability. The temperature of the icy plain plunged to its limit, attempting to freeze those fiery serpents. But it was already too late. The Law of Fire energy had formed an unstoppable torrent that slammed directly into the illusion’s core.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion rang out. The distant iceberg collapsed under the impact of the fiery serpents. As it crumbled, the entire Law Illusion began to disintegrate. The icy plain vanished, the cold wind ceased, and the original arena reappeared.

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the stands. With absolute wisdom and a profound understanding of laws, Luo Wen had successfully broken Valendo’s Law Illusion.

"That’s unbelievable!" Luo Feng shouted excitedly. "Brother Wen actually turned the tables inside a Law Illusion!"

Thor was equally stunned. "I’ve never seen anyone break a Law Illusion like that. Luo Wen’s understanding of laws is simply inconceivable!"

Meanwhile.

The Black Dragon Mountain Empire’s exclusive viewing area was located on the north side of the highest level of the Virtual Universe Company arena. From there, one could overlook the entire arena with an excellent view. Within a luxuriously decorated private room, Berult Henderson, the Second Prince of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, quietly watched the match between Luo Wen and Valendo that had just concluded.

Berult possessed the Black Dragon Mountain Empire royal family’s distinctive dark green hair. His handsome face was sharply defined, and beneath his high nose bridge were a pair of sharp golden vertical pupils. He wore a finely tailored black robe, its collar and cuffs embroidered with golden thread to symbolize royal nobility. On the ring finger of his right hand was a gold ring set with an emerald, a mark of royal status.

Throughout the match, he had not spoken a word, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the center of the arena. When Luo Wen broke Valendo’s Law Illusion and ultimately claimed victory, a trace of undisguised shock flashed through Berult’s eyes.

"Unbelievable," he murmured, his long fingers lightly tapping the armrest. "A young man barely over thirty actually managed to reverse the situation in a Law Illusion. This Luo Wen from the Xia Universe Country is far stronger than the records suggest."

Berult rose to his feet and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of the viewing area, looking down at the cheering crowd below. Every round of the Virtual Universe Company’s Challenge Tournament eliminated a massive number of contestants. Those who reached the third round were already elites among elites, and those who performed this brilliantly in the third round were rarer still.

The communicator behind him suddenly lit up, and a holographic projection appeared in the center of the room. It showed a middle-aged man in a black uniform, with the emblem of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire’s Royal Intelligence Agency embroidered on his chest.

"Your Highness, the latest intelligence on Luo Wen has been compiled," the man said, bowing respectfully.

Berult nodded slightly. "Go on."

"Luo Wen is a rising genius of the Xia Universe Country, thirty-two years old this year. He rose to prominence suddenly five years ago, placing in the top ten at the Cosmic-Level Martial Arts Tournament before joining the Virtual Universe Company as a core member. According to reliable intelligence, his attainments in the Law of Fire have already reached the late beginner stage and are close to Minor Achievement. What he is best known for, however, is his command of the psychic weapon Starlight Sky-Rending Blade, which is said to have reached the Heaven rank."

"The Heaven rank in psychic power?" Berult frowned slightly. "He reached the Heaven rank in psychic power at thirty-two? Is this intelligence accurate?"

"Extremely accurate, Your Highness. Our intelligence agents personally witnessed the abilities he displayed during a secret mission. More importantly, he seems to have mastered a special method of using psychic power, allowing him to combine it perfectly with the Law of Fire and form a unique style of attack."

Berult nodded thoughtfully. "I saw that with my own eyes just now. Not only could he keep a clear mind within a Law Illusion, he could even use the Starlight Sky-Rending Blade to construct a law formation and attack the illusion’s core directly. Such combat wisdom and understanding of laws are not something an ordinary person can possess."

"Your Highness is wise," the intelligence officer flattered him. "There is another point worth noting. Luo Wen has a younger brother named Luo Feng, who is also participating in this Challenge Tournament and has performed equally well. The two brothers are close and often act together."

"Luo Feng?" Berult recalled another match he had watched earlier. "The young man who defeated Mechanist 8 and then defeated Lin Mo of the Qianwu Universe Country in the third round?"

"That is him, Your Highness. Though Luo Feng is even younger, his potential is equally astonishing. He has only just begun to grasp psychic power and the Gold Law, yet his rate of improvement is incredible."

Berult fell silent for a moment, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "The Xia Universe Country has produced quite a few rising geniuses in recent years. This poses a potential threat to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire’s influence in this region of the universe." He paused. "Continue to monitor the Luo Wen brothers closely, especially Luo Wen. To have reached such a level of law comprehension at so young an age, his future achievements are impossible to predict."

"Yes, Your Highness." The intelligence officer bowed respectfully, and the holographic projection immediately disappeared.

Berult returned to his seat and pulled up a replay of Luo Wen’s match, beginning to analyze every detail carefully. As the Second Prince of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, he possessed not only an illustrious status but was also a rare genius Martial Artist. Though he appeared to be merely watching the tournament, he was actually scouting potential talents—or threats—for the empire.

And Luo Wen had undoubtedly entered his list of priority targets.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Virtual Universe Company arena, in a viewing room decorated in an entirely different style, Imo Henderson, the Seventh Prince of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, had also just finished watching Luo Wen’s match.

Unlike Berult, Imo had chosen an ordinary viewing seat, surrounded by spectators from various star systems. He wore a simple gray robe and a hood that concealed his distinctive green hair, making him look like an ordinary Martial Artist. Only the plain emerald ring on the ring finger of his right hand faintly revealed his identity.

Imo enjoyed personally experiencing the perspective and atmosphere of ordinary spectators. It allowed him to gain a more genuine understanding of how the people of different universe countries viewed the strong. Today, the entire viewing section had erupted because of Luo Wen’s stunning performance.

"That’s unbelievable! That Luo Wen actually managed to strike back successfully in a Law Illusion!"

"Valendo is a veteran powerhouse who has lived for more than three hundred years! Who would have thought he would lose to a young man?"

"The Xia Universe Country has truly produced an extraordinary genius this time!"

The waves of praise around him sent Imo into deep thought. As a Prince, the education he had received from childhood had given him keen observation and analytical abilities. In the match just now, what Luo Wen displayed was not merely formidable strength, but also admirable combat wisdom and a profound understanding of laws.

"Interesting. Very interesting," Imo murmured, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Unlike Berult, Imo did not see the rise of geniuses from other universe countries as a threat to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. On the contrary, he admired true powerhouses, regardless of where they came from. In his view, the universe was vast, and only healthy competition between major powers could drive overall progress.

Imo pressed a concealed button on the armrest, activating his personal privacy field. An invisible Energy Barrier isolated him from the surrounding clamor while ensuring that no outsiders could overhear his upcoming communication.

"Connect to Thor Manor on Serene Star," Imo ordered softly.

A moment later, a holographic projection appeared before him. It was an elderly man clad in a black scholar’s robe, his hair completely white. His face was kindly, but his eyes were sharp.

"Teacher," Imo said with a slight nod. "You saw that match as well, didn’t you?"

The old man nodded. "I did. Luo Wen’s performance was indeed unexpected. His response within the Law Illusion in particular displayed exceptionally high comprehension and creativity."

"I want to know your evaluation of him."

The old man pondered for a moment. "This young man’s comprehension of the Law of Fire is already nearing the Minor Achievement stage. One more step, and he will be able to touch upon the source level. What is even more surprising is his use of psychic power. Not only is it skillful, but it is also exceptionally creative. The method he used to construct a law formation through the Starlight Sky-Rending Blade is one of the most ingenious applications of psychic power I have ever seen."

Imo nodded thoughtfully. "So, his potential…"

"Limitless," the old man said with certainty. "If he can maintain this rate of improvement, he will likely become a top powerhouse on a cosmic scale in the future. Of course, that is assuming he survives." The old man added meaningfully.

Imo understood what his teacher meant. Geniuses often drew jealousy and fear, especially when they displayed talent far beyond that of their peers. The universe was never short on incidents of genius assassinations, and such things often occurred during the crucial period when a genius was about to transform into a true powerhouse.

"I understand." Imo nodded. "After this tournament ends, I want to meet this Luo Wen personally."

The old man frowned slightly. "Your Highness, your identity is special. Too much contact with geniuses from other universe countries may attract unnecessary attention."