"Ah?"
Babata froze, staring blankly in shock.
But the very next second, Doyi suddenly opened her right palm. A violet crystal bloomed with flowing light, like a purple shooting star streaking through the air, lancing straight toward Jiang Li.
"Open!"
At the instant of impact—almost at light speed—the strike was forcibly slowed as it collided with Jiang Li's Peerless Sword Domain.
Clang!
At the same time, Jiang Li's figure flickered, the Black Dragon Warblade flashing forth like lightning. The explosive power smashed into the crystal and burst apart, and in that moment, a vision unfolded before Jiang Li's eyes—he seemed to stand within a magnificent, dreamlike paradise.
But it lasted for only a heartbeat—then the illusion shattered.
"Hm?"
"How strange."
Doyi let out a soft, curious sound. "Planet-level, and yet such a weak attack?"
"His movement and perception are crude… but that spiritual power is absurdly strong?"
Even as she spoke, her figure shimmered. To the naked eye, seven Doyis suddenly appeared at once—it looked like an illusion, but it was simply speed pushed to the extreme.
"The eyes may deceive the brain," Jiang Li murmured, "but spiritual sense will not!"
He closed his eyes, ignoring the phantom images. His consciousness flared outward to distinguish illusion from reality.
Then—while his body flew backward—
He swept the Black Dragon Warblade in a blur of shadow.
"Ninefold Thunder Blade!"
The blade shadows erupted like a storm, streaks of black lightning cascading forward, raining densely toward the incoming Doyi.
"Too weak."
Doyi's lips curved into a cold smile. To an immortal who had existed for tens of millions of years, even a strike five times amplified was still laughably frail.
Her arm flicked sharply. One after another, violet crystals shot forth, each colliding precisely with Jiang Li's ninefold strikes. In an instant, black-violet light burst in every direction, and Doyi's figure slipped effortlessly through the curtain of blade shadows.
"It's over."
Passing through the storm of blades, she raised her right hand, palm open. The scattered black-violet radiance seemed to answer her call, converging in an instant above her palm—forming a massive, rectangular crystal.
Across its surface flowed violet-black light—and within it, Jiang Li could sense his own Ninefold Thunder Blade energy!
"She can use my power?"
Then I can only go all out!
Jiang Li's eyes snapped open. The enormous violet-black crystal before him pulsed with destructive force. For the first time since his transmigration, a genuine sense of death gripped him.
The pressure of that threat drove his spirit to erupt once again. His power soared to a terrifying peak; every cell in his body reached its utmost limit, even the cosmic space deep within his soul expanding in that instant.
This—was the crisis between life and death.
Even though this was a virtual space and he wouldn't truly die, the experience was real. The instinct to survive drove his body, mind, and soul to their absolute limit.
"Void Break!"
"Sword Formula!"
Jiang Li gripped his blade like a sword, gathering every ounce of his strength, unleashing his domain in a final collision with Doyi's crystal.
Boom—!
The entire virtual realm shuddered violently.
"Ah!"
Jiang Li was hurled hundreds of meters backward before he could stabilize himself, pain twisting across his face. The Black Dragon Warblade in his hand shattered into dust—and along with it, his entire right arm disintegrated.
The limb reformed a second later, but the agony was excruciatingly real.
"Oh right, Jiang Li…"
At some point Babata had donned a pair of sunglasses, tapping his little finger in the air and chuckling. "Forgot to tell you—this virtual space has one hundred percent sensory feedback. So pain works exactly the same, you know?"
In that moment, Babata looked utterly smug, a picture of petty satisfaction.
"Babata, you're absolutely right."
The voice that answered wasn't Jiang Li's—it was Doyi's.
"What—what?!"
Babata spun toward her, eyes widening in disbelief. "He actually hurt you?!"
Doyi didn't look much better than Jiang Li. The arm she'd used to control the black-violet crystal had likewise shattered into powder.
Babata gawked, his crimson pupils trembling in shock.
Both wounded?
But Doyi was an immortal!
"Babata, you seem quite surprised."
Doyi flexed her severed arm. Violet light blossomed like butterflies, gathering at the wound, reforming slowly until her arm was whole again.
"Just a scratch…"
Babata curled his lip, unwilling to admit how shaken he was.
And who wouldn't be?
Doyi had roamed the universe for tens of millions of years. Even if her realm was suppressed to Planet-level Nine, her combat experience and methods should have absolutely crushed Jiang Li.
And Jiang Li?
He was also Planet-level Nine—but the last six ranks had been practically forced up, and how long had he even cultivated?
At most—twenty-three years.
But Babata could never have known: Jiang Li's battles had always been real fights to the death. His clones had died countless times—each death, each rebirth, tempering his will through life-and-death struggle.
"What's your name?"
Doyi ignored Babata, her emotionless gaze settling on Jiang Li. A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Jiang Li."
He gave a slight nod. "I merely seized a lucky chance. If we fought again, I would surely lose."
He wasn't being modest. That explosive strike of his hadn't truly hurt Doyi.
Had she not underestimated him and chosen to clash head-on—taking the brunt of his triple-layered power surge—they wouldn't have both ended up injured.
Otherwise, with her transcendent perception and near-invisible movement, he'd never have landed a hit.
In truth, from the very beginning, Doyi had stood in an unassailable position.
"Heh."
Doyi chuckled coldly and shook her head. "Jiang Li, your spiritual force is formidable, but you don't know how to use it at all."
"Still… that's fine. At least, within the same level, I can't seize your body."
Jiang Li's mouth twitched. His eyes slid sideways toward Babata, who instantly threw up his hands, ducking his head like a frightened turtle.
"Spiritual power itself is a form of attack," Doyi said. "When you comprehend that truth, come find me again."
Though her expression remained cool, a fleeting hint of expectation glimmered in the depths of her gaze.
——
That battle with Doyi had indeed given Jiang Li immense gains.
Rapid strength often breeds arrogance—and indeed, his recent surge in power had left him faintly complacent. After all, at this moment, he truly stood above the entire world.
No exaggeration: even if Hong and Thor joined forces, they could no longer defeat him.
However—
Facing Doyi within the same realm, though she possessed immortal-level combat insight and technique, Jiang Li was certain of one thing: across the endless cosmos and its billions of races, someone like Doyi could not possibly be the strongest.
"Jiang Li!"
Babata waved his hand, and Jiang Li's consciousness returned to the second-floor study of the blood-red castle.
"Look here!"
Babata flew to the bookshelf, pointing at a stack of faintly glowing tomes. "These are the Control Volume and Illusion Volume—foundational manuals for spiritual masters left behind by my master. And this—" he tapped another stack, "this Miscellaneous Volume holds the very essence of our Yunmo Star lineage."
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