Chapter 78: Domain of Wind, Invitation

The changes in the real world jolted Jiang Chen awake.

Feeling the power spreading from within his body, Jiang Chen's eyes widened in disbelief. "The Domain of Wind?!"

He had only read the opening pages of a book, and already he had mastered a domain?

There was no need for any tests; Jiang Chen instinctively understood the function of the domain. It strengthened his speed, defense, and attack, while within its range, it suppressed the movements of his enemies.

If the enemy was much weaker, the domain’s suppression alone could directly kill them, without him having to lift a hand.

"The first tier of domain shouldn’t be this powerful..." The thought flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind.

Of course, Jiang Chen had witnessed domains before. Hong, Thor, and Luo Feng—after taking over the Golden-Horned Beast—all possessed domains. Jiang Chen had even sparred with Luo Feng and personally experienced the might of his "Domain of Gold."

He had to admit, domains significantly enhanced combat power. Although Jiang Chen had a huge advantage in Spiritual Force, if he didn't pilot the "Goliath Giant" and relied solely on his own mental strength to fight Luo Feng’s Golden-Horned Beast, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Of course, if he piloted the "Goliath Giant," it would be a different story. The massive gap in offense and defense couldn’t be bridged by Luo Feng’s current level of domain.

It was precisely because he had experienced Luo Feng’s domain that Jiang Chen sensed his own was much stronger. Such an "abnormal" degree of power couldn’t possibly be the first tier.

"Could it be that as soon as I comprehended the domain, I reached the second tier?" The thought flickered in his mind. Jiang Chen decided to test it in the Virtual Universe.

—

Virtual Universe, Slaughter Space.

The cost of the Slaughter Space was steep, but for Jiang Chen, whose "Goliath Giant" business was thriving, it was negligible. At the Stellar level, a single day’s profit from the Goliath Giant could fund years in the Slaughter Space.

Entering, Jiang Chen didn’t head for the chaotic "Arena" where others fought, but instead entered his personal space.

Boom!

The domain burst forth, dazzling cyan light filling the entire room.

At Jiang Chen’s will, a large screen appeared above, displaying his current power level.

"Spiritual Force Level: Stellar Ninth Tier. Domain: Wind Domain, Second Tier."

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Chen’s lips. "As I thought, it’s the second tier. Same level as Hong. But my Origin Force and Spiritual Force foundation far surpass his."

Jiang Chen’s Origin Force was at the Stellar First Tier, but his Spiritual Force, bolstered by a vast number of free attribute points, had reached the Stellar Ninth Tier—a gap of eight full levels.

As for the immense gap in combat experience, the relentless grind of the Slaughter Space had quickly made up for his shortcomings.

Jiang Chen was no battle maniac, but he clearly understood his weaknesses. Since registering in the Virtual Universe, he had spent considerable time honing his combat skills in the Slaughter Space.

He wouldn’t claim to be better than the true prodigies, but at least he wouldn’t drag his team down.

"Since I’m here, I might as well get some practice before leaving." The thought flitted across his mind as he communicated with the Slaughter Space and quickly set up his opponents.

Moments later, the scene shifted. Jiang Chen found himself in a desert.

But this desert was unique; every grain of sand was extremely tough, nearly impossible for an ordinary Stellar-level to destroy.

The stronger one was, the more destructive their power. If two evenly matched Stellar-level fighters battled on Earth, the mere aftershocks would bring devastating catastrophe.

Only a sufficiently resilient "scene" could withstand the shockwaves of such clashes.

One by one, figures radiating powerful aura appeared in the desert, neatly forming a phalanx.

It was an army of over ten thousand Stellar-level warriors!

Although they were only at the Stellar First or Second Tiers, with the strongest just reaching Fourth Tier—far below Jiang Chen—their numbers more than made up for individual weaknesses.

—

Before awakening his domain, Jiang Chen would have had no chance against such a force. At best, he could kill a thousand or so before being overwhelmed.

But this time, he wanted to test his limits with the second-tier domain.

The countdown above the desert hit zero.

In an instant, the army across from him seemed to awaken from slumber; every one of them erupted with fierce energy and launched their assault.

It wasn’t a mindless charge—they split into several echelons.

The martial artists fanned out in a semicircle, attempting to surround Jiang Chen.

Meanwhile, five thousand spiritual force users formed ten squads, taking turns attacking with mental weapons, ensuring relentless pressure without pause.

The Slaughter Space’s functions were formidable. Whatever enemy you could imagine, as long as the Virtual Universe’s records contained it, it could be simulated.

The database, built over countless epochs and untold trillions of years, was unimaginably vast—nothing was impossible.

Boom!

His domain erupted, and under Jiang Chen’s formidable Spiritual Force, its radius stretched over a thousand meters, covering much of the battlefield.

All domains provided comprehensive enhancements, but their specific effects depended on their attribute. For example, Metal domains were stronger in attack, Water domains excelled in suppression.

Jiang Chen’s Wind domain, however, was unmatched in speed!

Already fast, he became a streak of cyan light within his domain, moving through the battlefield far swifter than any normal Stellar-level.

Even the opponents’ spiritual weapons couldn’t keep up with his flight.

"So fast!"

He was amazed; the second-tier domain doubled his speed. This alone sent his combat power soaring.

Imagine: if you’re so fast the enemy's attacks can’t reach you, they can only take hits, unable to retaliate.

"Let’s test the offense."

With a thought, blades of wind appeared within his domain, lashing out at his foes.

Each blade, though not his full strength, still packed Stellar-level power. More importantly, their numbers were staggering—thousands at once, engulfing over a thousand warriors.

Each had to face seven or eight wind blades.

Some raised shields to block, others swung weapons to shatter the blades.

But there were simply too many. It was impossible to block them all.

In an instant, countless attacks exploded among the warriors; nearly ten thousand blades engulfed them.

After a dozen minutes, the battle ended.

The army of over ten thousand had barely troubled Jiang Chen before being obliterated.

Throughout, Jiang Chen did only two things: evade all attacks with blinding speed, then unleash a storm of wind blades for a saturating assault.

"With a domain, it doesn’t matter how many ordinary enemies there are—it’s meaningless," Jiang Chen mused.

Of course, that was only because the power gap was too vast. The difference in Origin Force and Spiritual Force meant that the army couldn’t withstand even his wind blades.

Even if they barely blocked once or twice, Jiang Chen could conjure more blades endlessly.

But if his opponents were also Stellar Ninth Tier, even without domains, their superior numbers would still pose a challenge.

Realm and technique were important, but level was a crucial factor too.

"I should spend more time in the Slaughter Space. Since the System Library can let me master domains, it could let me grasp the laws too. Perhaps I could even secure a spot in the Genius Battle in a few years?"

The thought flashed through his mind.

Initially, Jiang Chen had no interest in the so-called "Genius Battle."

He knew his strengths: even with the system’s aid, his talents didn’t lie in mastering laws or secret arts—the mainstream paths of the universe—but in creating powerful weapons and boosting his strength through external means.

Such a path was far from the Genius Battle’s requirements; he couldn’t even pass the preliminaries, so he had never considered it.

But the "Elemental Laws" in the System Library had given him hope.

—

Whether or not the core treasures of the Virtual Universe Company, such as the "Monument of Chaos," would suit his system after joining through the Genius Battle, the identity and resources of a core member alone would be immensely beneficial.

If given the chance, Jiang Chen naturally wanted to become one of the top thousand geniuses of his generation in the universe.

There were still several years until the Genius Battle. With only a twofold domain, thinking about it now might seem naive.

But Jiang Chen was well aware that Luo Feng's current progress wasn't as advanced as his own, yet Luo Feng still managed to place in the top ten and enter the Primal Secret Realm.

With the System’s support, even if he couldn’t match Luo Feng, he had a decent shot at the top thousand.

"Still, I can’t focus entirely on the Elemental Laws. After all, the system only provides the six elemental laws, not the higher laws of time or space. Even if I gain deep insight into the Wind law, facing a genius in the higher laws, victory would be uncertain."

"If the Genius Battle doesn’t work out, I’ll return to my original plan. At least I can’t fall behind in progress."

Thoughts flickered through his mind as he exited the Virtual Universe and returned to the System Library.

Having confirmed the value of the Elemental Laws, he slightly increased his time spent researching them.

But he didn’t neglect natural science, alchemical technology, or other disciplines within arcane technology.

The increased hours in the System Library inevitably led to less attention to the real world.

Nonetheless, his factories on White Orchid Star, and the mining sites on Aurora Star and Raven Star, were managed by highly capable slaves and monitored by intelligent systems, so Jiang Chen had little to worry about.

As for Earth, the high-level officials of War God Palace were far more invested, and with Luo Feng dedicating resources and energy to cultivating Earthlings, there was even less need for Jiang Chen to intervene personally.

A year passed swiftly. In that time, Jiang Chen left his seclusion only twice—to purchase a batch of slaves and supplies, accelerating the development of White Orchid, Aurora, and Raven Stars.

By the end of 2062, with a new year approaching, Luo Feng finally brought news: his Earthling clone, after a period of intense "cramming," had reached the Stellar level.

Jiang Chen politely declined Luo Feng's offer to share the Hu Yanbo inheritance.

Luo Feng thus became Earth's lord in his own right, buying a batch of life planets scattered across the galaxy as a contingency plan—if Earth ever faced a major crisis, humanity could be relocated swiftly.

In Luo Feng’s simple worldview, what mattered most was always Earth’s people, not Earth itself.

Jiang Chen had no intention of interfering.

Compared to the major crises that would arise in the universe’s future, the threat of the Nolan Mountain family, which may or may not even still exist, was trivial.

Yet Jiang Chen found himself interested in another proposal from Luo Feng.

—

"Ah Chen, you’ve been cooped up for ages. Don’t tell me you plan to stay shut away on Earth forever?" Luo Feng looked at him and invited, "I was mentored by a great expert in the Virtual Universe. The battles in Slaughter Space are effective, but they can't help us reach our peak. Only real life-and-death trials can truly grant us great power. I’m planning to take the Universe Mercenary Assessment—let’s go together?"

"Universe Mercenary Assessment?" Jiang Chen wasn’t too keen on so-called "life-and-death trials."

At least, not before the system reached its limits. His growth had no bottleneck; as long as he continued to acquire knowledge, his level would rise.

All he wanted was to improve his power peacefully, run some technology businesses, and earn wealth for his enjoyment.

If it were just ordinary training, he’d have refused outright.

But the Universe Mercenary Assessment...

Jiang Chen clearly remembered that Luo Feng had obtained many treasures during that assessment.

After a moment’s thought, he asked, "The Mercenary Assessment is usually done in teams. Who else are you planning to bring?"

There were no strict limits on team size, as people could always apply separately and regroup inside the assessment world. Still, typical teams ranged from five to ten people.

"You, me, Hong, and Thor—the four of us, plus a few slaves to fill out the numbers," Luo Feng replied without hesitation. "All four of us have domains, and strong ones at that. Ordinary Stellar-levels are no match. There is danger in the assessment, but with our strength, it’s minimal. Instead, it’ll broaden our horizons."

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel Luo Feng had a knack for jinxing things.

Still, thinking of the wealth in the "World Within Worlds," he didn’t refuse. Instead, he said, "I’ll go, but you’ll have to follow my lead."

If the assessment was really the Thunder World, and if, as in the original story, they encountered the opening of the "World Within Worlds," Jiang Chen was confident he could secure far greater riches than Luo Feng and the others had originally obtained.

But only if he commanded the team.

Luo Feng agreed without hesitation. "You’re the strongest, of course we’ll follow you."

(End of chapter)