The Stars Beyond

Chapter 411: Single-Hand Dragon Slaying

Wang Xuan felt a mix of anger and amusement. It was a truly frustrating experience. Had he been reduced to a savage species, with someone attempting to domesticate him and eventually turn him into a ‘barbaric god’?

The beautiful visage of Demon Lord Yan Yan... truly darkened. She was unable to bear it. The peerlessly elegant woman, who had looked down upon the Immortal Realm after sweeping through countless foes, now faced the prospect of being captured and bred for stronger lineage—it was utterly intolerable.

The crushed black armor still managed to emit mechanical sounds. "Respected guest, this is the Challenger's Arena—a fair battleground designed for the selection of supreme beings, emphasizing grand justice. Combatants of similar major realms are matched, making it difficult to capture either one instantly."

"I suggest expelling them to the next domain, which might facilitate effective capture," the mechanical voice droned on, offering a suitable plan to the VIP user.

The blue-haired woman refused, stating, "That would mean I'd have to leave here first and log in from another scene, which is terribly inconvenient. I demand their immediate capture!"

Yan Yan, though seething, maintained her composure to gather more information.

Now, she and Wang Xuan had pieced together part of the truth. The likelihood was high that many supreme beings had perished here. The so-called fair arena bound by rules only dispatched beings of similar realms for combat, yet the supreme beings had failed to overcome it.

The mechanical voice responded, "Apologies. One is a maturing supreme being, and the other is a supreme being cub still in growth. Similar powerful specimens are rare and difficult to gather in their entirety, hence the recommendation to attempt capture in the subsequent scene."

"Silence! Do it now, immediately! As a VIP, I am your god. Hurry up and execute my command!" The young and capricious blue-haired woman insisted on immediate action.

"Very well, I will need to search and see what kind of superspecies samples can be assembled." The mechanical voice rigidly complied with the order.

"Let's capture an otherworldly VIP for research!" The Demon Lord, now completely done waiting around, took action. Proud as she was, she naturally did not want to be spectated as a ’performer’ or ’monkey’ passively awaiting capture.

At that moment, she was enveloped in billions of thunderbolts. It was an ability inherited from her father—commanding thunderstorms as if wielding divine punishment.

Countless lightning bolts morphed into mythical beasts such as undying phoenixes, golden crows, and other auspicious creatures, each a species that had once withstood great heavenly tribulations.

With a light shout, the Demon Lord unleashed endless lightning symbols and summoned myriad spirits to battle alongside her. Leading the charge was a banner with the Godslaying pattern, invincibly empowered by thunder.

With a thunderous crack, she shattered the barrier screen in an instant.

"Alert, the supreme species has mutated! Bloodline talent and divine ability have suddenly increased! Danger level escalated! Activate defenses!" The mechanical voice blared non-stop. From its perspective, it was as if the special glass of a beast enclosure had been suddenly shattered by a ferocious animal, scattering fragments everywhere and impacting the VIPs present.

The golden banner unfurled, attempting to ensnare the spectator trio and eliminate them all at once.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuan's entire body glowed as he summoned his iron crowbar, treating it like a flying sword and propelling it with the supreme mysteries of the Dao-splitting Sword Scripture.

A streak of light, tinged with rust, flew out at incredible speed. The crowbar teleported into a hazy column of light, aiming straight for the woman's chest, poised to pierce through her.

"Hmph!" A cold snort sounded, accompanied by dazzling light. The two males and the female, though shocked, were not frightened and fought back.

Simultaneously, defensive measures were activated. The shattered barrier transformed into splendid auroras, guarding the trio, with the columns of light roaring, ready to whisk them away.

The trio attempted to counterattack, but challenging supreme beings here proved to be arduous. The primary objective was to ensure their own safety; in case of any incident, they would be evacuated first.

With a whoosh, a strand of the woman's blue hair was severed by the golden grid emitted by the Slash God Banner and was swept away.

Wang Xuan's iron crowbar struck the woman's lofty chest with a clear sound, but alas, it was blocked by her special protective suit and impeded by the guardian light, causing it to be repelled.

Three beams of light surged, carrying the trio skyward. They phased through the metallic cabin walls without causing any damage, as if ethereal, letting the columns of light disappear into the distance.

"In the next scene, we shall meet again!" the blue-haired woman called out in a hurry.

"Are you using light-speed escape? If you want to be a cultivator, you need the courage to face challenges yourself," Wang Xuan lamented. Capturing the VIPs directly would have made things much simpler, but they had been forced into a passive escape. He knew it was an unrealistic expectation.

"I will give you a chance," the blue-haired female responded, her final words echoing from the depths of the cosmic void before she completely vanished.

The Demon Lord looked at a strand of blue hair on the ground and remarked, “Not weak!”

Wang Xuan stabbed the ground where the decayed black armor had been with his iron crowbar. Despite its condition, the armor had transformed into a liquid and escaped. It seemed that the metal it was made of was some kind of living metal. It was still issuing mechanical commands from afar: “Summoning superspecies sample. Selection—Bat Dragon.”

Although the blue-haired woman had departed, the black armor faithfully executed her orders, choosing a formidable being to subdue Wang Xuan. Instantly, the armor solidified, morphing into a creature resembling a bat, dark and cold, with a dim metallic sheen. Its head was adorned with a helmet in the form of a true dragon's head, and its tail was that of a black iron dragon. Of course, it was still empty inside.

A muffled roar erupted as a shadowy light resembling the armor entered it, reviving it with a surge of transcendent energy. The Bat Dragon, a tenth-stage monster, exuded a chilling aura. Its presence cast darkness all around.

"Is a 'superspecies' defined as a being that has broken through the limits of its realm?" wondered Yan Yan, intrigued by the notion.

Wang Xuan said, “It seems that the dragon itself hasn’t physically manifested but is emulated by a 'sample' capable of replicating the Bat Dragon's formidable power.”

Yan Yan turned, noticing another source of movement. The silver armor she had broken also liquefied, emitting a mechanical voice as it too summoned a sample to apprehend her.

"Ah, so they really intend to capture me to be paired with you, in hopes of breeding a stronger lineage?" Yan Yan's voice carried a faint sneer as she glanced at Wang Xuan.

He quickly clarified, “It wasn’t my idea. That woman was making it all up!”

With the situation at hand, no room was left for jest. Should the formidable demoness fail to find the true instigator, Wang Xuan would be in a world of trouble.

With a dragon's roar that could shatter eardrums and crack the metallic walls, the Bat Dragon's terrifying power was unveiled. Its lightning-fast descent was marked by the sound of metal, its ink-dark wings carrying corrosive super-material and slashing through the air like heavenly blades.

Wang Xuan extended his right hand, and his fingertips shimmered with runes. Fused together, they formed a translucent sword that clashed with one of the bat wings, sparks flying from the impact.

The Bat Dragon trembled violently but did not fall. Instead, it surged upward with its razor-sharp claws aiming for Wang Xuan's skull, threatening to bring a swift and brutal end to the confrontation.

The creature’s speed was astonishing, surpassing instantaneous movement as if warping time itself. A single motion from it, and any other being's skull would have been cracked open and their brain matter scattered in all directions. This was a favored hunting method of the Bat Dragon, which liked to open up the skull of its prey to consume the brain.

Wang Xuan's crown burst forth with sword energy, a brilliant light slashing across the Bat Dragon, which elicited a profound dragon cry as it was sent flying. It crashed into the distant metal hull of the spacecraft, creating a web of fractures that instantly self-healed thanks to the living-metal mold of the ship's interior.

Like an arrow released from the Bow of Time, the Bat Dragon closed the distance to Wang Xuan with incredible speed, enveloping him in a cloud of black mist. Its claws and wings, inscribed with glaring runes, launched a formidable attack.

Wang Xuan parried the assault and sent the Bat Dragon reeling with a barrage of roars. In a flash of defiance, the Bat Dragon flicked its tail. which narrowly missed Wang Xuan's face, the following wind fierce and wild.

Labeled as a superspecies, the creature of the tenth realm exhibited extraordinary strength capable of overwhelming multitudes of ordinary transcendent beings. At such a level, even a collective force of numerous masters would struggle to withstand its power.

Wang Xuan realized that the mass demise of the Celestials must have been at the hands of such supreme beings. It was a lamentable fate. Eons ago, true immortals utterly outmatched by their formidable adversaries met their brutal end within these very halls.

The tenth realm represented an almost incomprehensible pinnacle, transcending conventional boundaries and driving others to despair. Now, facing such a monstrous entity, Wang Xuan felt the intense pressure yet remained confident.

His entire body erupted in dazzling sword light, transforming into a radiant wheel of sword lights, brighter than the sun itself and moving with breakneck speed.

Clashes resounded as they battled once more. As Wang Xuan, in sword wheel form, collided against the tenth-realm beast, sparks flew amidst ceaseless beastly howls and sword-light runes flashed across space.

A crack sounded as the dragon's tail broke off. The Bat Dragon had suffered a grievous wound.

In an instant, hundreds, thousands, and then tens of thousands of sword lights swirled. Wang Xuan—now entirely a sword wheel—swept across the beast in a violent confrontation.

One final roar resounded, and the entire suit of black armor was disassembled by Wang Xuan. The Bat Dragon took in the final sight of its sample, a shadow of darkness, exploding and dissipating completely.

Wang Xuan had triumphed, slaying the dragon!

The shattered black armor, in an instant, liquefied and reassembled. Emitting a mechanical voice, it then evolved to take a Celestial Dragon’s form.

"Are dragons truly so formidable? How come they have such a great number and variety of specimens becoming superspecies compared to other races?" Wang Xuan mused.

A form of Celestial Dragon manifested as light and entered the armor, which instantly leaped up. Appearing as a fleeting radiance, it was a remnant shadow of the great path. This superspecies was no easy adversary.

Celestial Dragons, known for soaring through the heavens and rarely touching ground, became even more formidable upon evolving into superspecies, although such powerhouses were very few in number.

"Who has the time for a drawn-out battle with you? I must also guard against those 'distinguished guests'. I wonder if their civilization has any connection to the true realm." Wang Xuan stood firm, not pursuing but instead waiting for this terrifying species, known for its eternal flight across the skies, to strike.

His hand began to glow as he employed a technique from the stone tablet scriptures, known as the Apocalypse Fist. It was notoriously difficult to master, but he had recently gotten the hang of it.

With a single punch, the surrounding super-material would be drained dry, as if heralding the end of days for the transcendent world. Every bit of super-material would be desiccated and then absorbed into the fist before being unleashed.

The Celestial Dragon attacked, its form a blur of light. Exuding an unparalleled tyranny and pressure unique to its species, it arrived in an instant before Wang Xuan.

Without hesitation, Wang Xuan unleashed a punch and poured all his might into this decisive strike, ready to obliterate the enemy. Success meant vanquishing the foe; failure, an indication of his inferiority and possibly instant death.

In battles between masters, a fight could sometimes last a day and a night, with each party cautiously probing and attacking.

Yet, often, life and death could be determined in a single moment—a clash without reservations, akin to a collision of physical embodiments of the Dao.

For a moment, countless dragon shadows roared and vibrated the cosmic void, marking the Celestial Dragon's mightiest blow as it danced across the heavens.

Unfortunately, it was met with despair. Upon being struck by the Apocalypse Fist, this supreme dragon of the tenth realm found its super-material and even its vital essence being siphoned away.

With a thunderous roar, the Apocalypse Fist unleashed its fury, causing the Celestial Dragon armor to crack. The dragon's shadow within howled unwillingly, struggling fiercely and unready to dissipate. Wang Xuan's fist, now ablaze with boundless light, transformed into a palm pressing down upon the dragon's head, causing it to tremble until the entire Celestial Dragon armor shattered.

The sample of the Celestial Dragon—a radiant dragon-shaped light—exploded and vanished into nothingness.

Wang Xuan gasped for breath, feeling a tad weary. Of course, he breathed in super-matter and not air, while acknowledging the challenge of facing a tenth-realm creature.

"Superspecies are indeed tough to kill."

From the depths of the cosmos, columns of light were about to descend again. They had reestablished contact with the ancient spaceship after receiving information from the ship.

The guests fell silent. Two superspecies had been slain in front of them, while the 'youngling' responsible for it hadn't taken any damage and still had the energy to utter words like these.

"Are you humblebragging, or are you flaunting your regret?" The black armor liquefied and reassembled into a curvaceous female form.

Wang Xuan's expression darkened. "Are you ever going to stop?!"

Then, he charged forward in an attempt to break apart the superspecies, indifferent to its nature and gender.

A superspecies enveloped in a shower of pure light entered the armor, exuding an unmatched sanctity. This sample was incredibly powerful, even more than the dragons he had faced earlier.

Yet, in the fierce battle that followed, she was smashed into pieces, while the sample—a bright light shadow—was obliterated.

"Is there no end to this?!" Wang Xuan panted heavily, his chest heaving as if on fire. Killing three tenth-realm entities had indeed taken its toll, leaving him utterly exhausted.

He used the scripture from the Golden Bamboo Slips to rejuvenate his spirit and body, trying to maintain his peak condition.

Fortunately, this time, the armor did not reassemble. The mechanical voice announced, "After assessment and identification, this superspecies' bloodline is inherently brutal, bloodthirsty, and belligerent. It is not recommended for purchase by our distinguished guests. After extracting information on its sample in the next venue, it is advisable to destroy it."

"You're already shattered, and you still dare to mock me?" Wang Xuan strode forward and unleashed the Apocalypse Fist, while quietly stimulating the red matter within his body, intending to utterly destroy the armor.

"Danger, warning, savage creature... suspected of going berserk!" With a loud bang, the fragments of the armor further exploded and then liquefied, disappearing into the ground.

On the other side, Demon Lord Yan Yan had also slain three superspecies samples, conclusively ending the battle without any more creatures emerging to fight them.

"Let's go, capture that blue-haired woman. I'll cultivate her in turn and make her breed offspring for me," said the Demon Lord. Her high heels stepped over the toughened living-metal arena, leaving behind terrifying little holes.

"What if she captures us instead?" Wang Xuan felt it wise to be modest and subtle, fearing Yan Yan might be too overconfident in their situation.

Yan Yan turned back with a light and radiant smile. "Are you perhaps looking forward to that?"

"No, absolutely not! Let's go, we're going to capture that blue-haired woman!" Wang Xuan immediately set off with firm steps forward.