Rumble—!
Endless streaks of lightning rampaged wildly through the air, arcs of electricity slithering across the surrounding space like serpents.
Standing in the midst of this storm, Qi Yuan seemed to have transformed into a god bathed in thunder and lightning.
"This… this is… a Domain! You actually comprehended a Domain?!"
Staring at the terrifying arcs of electricity pulsing with destructive power, Montian—the Iron Ridge Tribe warrior—had lost all composure. The confidence on his face had completely vanished.
"How… how is this possible? Your foundation was so weak. Why… why can someone like you comprehend a Domain? This is impossible!"
Qi Yuan stood tall, wielding his black tier-two psionic warblade, now wrapped in writhing serpents of electricity, as if it were a weapon forged by the gods themselves.
At that moment, he felt as if he had become the embodiment of lightning. With just a thought, he could channel the full power of the Domain into his own body.
A surge of absolute confidence welled up inside him.
"Possible or not—try and find out."
With that, Qi Yuan moved. His figure blurred and vanished, lunging forward like a lightning bolt!
Wreathed in crackling arcs of thunder, he seemed to merge into the storm itself, his form now indistinct, nearly invisible within the Domain.
With a swing of his warblade, a bolt of pure lightning slashed through the air toward Montian.
"Hmph, so what if you have a Domain?!"
Though shocked at first, Montian—the massive, gorilla-like warrior—quickly regained his composure.
"I'm of the Iron Ridge Tribe. My raw power alone dwarfs yours. Even if you have a Domain, that doesn't mean you can withstand my attacks!"
He roared as raw force exploded from his body. Channeling his formidable might into the long psionic staff in his hands, it glowed with dazzling intensity.
Then, he charged forward as well.
"Break for me!"
With a furious shout, Montian hurled his entire strength into a downward smash, aiming to crush Qi Yuan's head with overwhelming force.
But Qi Yuan remained calm. Not even the slightest panic showed in his eyes.
His consciousness spread out rapidly, merging with the lightning-filled Domain around him. In that moment, his speed skyrocketed.
Zing—!
His figure became pure lightning. In a blink, he dodged the staff and reappeared at Montian's flank.
Crackle—!
A piercing hum burst from the black warblade in his hand. A colossal blade of thunder exploded forth like a waterfall of lightning!
Montian's missed strike left him no time to react. The crackling warblade, blazing with destructive lightning, hacked directly into the unarmored side of his neck!
A black force-field war-suit sprang up on Montian's body, quickly encasing his head and neck in an attempt to shield him.
Ssssshh—!
Qi Yuan's blade couldn't cut through immediately. But the thunder energy it carried erupted violently, seeping through the protective layer like a flood.
Slash!
The concentrated lightning burst forth within Montian's neck, ravaging it from the inside out.
His charging figure froze on the spot.
A second later, the helmet retracted, revealing Montian's pale, blood-drained face.
"Kh-khh…"
A gurgling wheeze came from his throat as blood poured freely from his mouth.
"So this is… the power of a Domain… Strong. Very strong… Losing to you… I don't regret it."
"…Thank you… for setting me free…"
Montian sent one final thought into Qi Yuan's mind. Then, his body collapsed into the sea below.
Qi Yuan watched the corpse disappear into the waves. His eyes dimmed. A heavy weight seemed to press against his chest, emotions too complex to describe.
Even now, Montian's last mental plea still echoed in his mind:
"If you can… please… set me free…"
Up in the floating fortress above—the spectators' box—chaos erupted.
"My god!"
"Was that—?!"
"A Domain! He's using a Domain!"
"Unbelievable! A fourth-tier Stellar-level warrior already mastered a Domain?! And he's a slave?! What the hell—who owns this guy?! This is insane!"
Mastering a Domain at the Stellar level was rarer than even becoming a Cosmic-tier powerhouse. In the Eternal Empire, someone like this would be instantly recruited into the imperial elite!
And yet, what had they just witnessed?
A Stellar-level genius who even the Eternal Empire would covet… turned out to be a slave!
"A slave with guaranteed potential to reach the Cosmic-tier?! Do you know how rare that is?! That's more valuable than an entire life-bearing planet!"
"Gods… who could possibly afford a slave like that? Wait, isn't the Seventh Prince of the Eternal Empire visiting Lanka Star right now? Could it be—?"
Unlike the frenzied uproar in other spectator rooms, the chamber where Hugo and the others were seated had fallen into dead silence.
Not only the smug Sixth Brother, but even the accompanying Ortega family members were all frozen in disbelief—Hugo included.
Only the mysterious Seventh Prince still looked calm, though there was clear intrigue gleaming in his eyes.
Finally, after a long pause, someone broke the silence.
"Well, well… Little Nineteen… you really know how to keep secrets."
Sixth Brother, Adona, had a look on his face like he had just swallowed something sour.
Moments ago, he had been utterly confident, hoping to squeeze more gains out of Hugo.
But in a stunning reversal, Hugo's unremarkable Stellar-level guard had exploded with Domain power and turned the battle upside down.
Instead of taking advantage of Hugo, Adona had lost a rare and precious Iron Ridge Tribe slave.
Even Hugo himself looked dazed.
He had always thought Qi Yuan had potential—perhaps enough to reach the late Stellar levels, maybe even the ninth tier someday.
But he had never imagined Qi Yuan would awaken a Domain at just fourth-tier!
Those who comprehended Domains this early were all but guaranteed to reach the Cosmic level.
And if lucky—maybe even the Domain Lord level!
Even if Hugo were to sell Qi Yuan right now, the value of a Stellar-level Domain wielder would be ten times that of an ordinary ninth-tier Stellar warrior!
A ninth-tier Stellar slave was already worth 5 billion Eternal Credits.
Ten times that meant 50 billion!
And how much had Hugo paid when he bought Qi Yuan?
What was it—8 million? 10 million?
That's a profit margin of thousands of times.
Of course, only an idiot would actually sell such a valuable asset now.
Hugo abruptly turned toward his stunned brother, Adona, and broke into laughter:
"**Hahaha! Adona, no need for words—**a bet is a bet. Transfer control of Binglan to me!"