The so-called slide tackle was actually just a figure of speech. He was already prepared for a frontal breakthrough, moving with spiritual steps, but he didn't want to prolong the fight.
However, immediately after, the boulder that was rolling towards him also revealed itself in the darkness.
It was a burly figure, yet it was as fast as a gust of wind, so fast that it almost exceeded Yu Lian's dynamic vision.
The two approached each other at an extremely high speed. To Yu Lian's surprise, the opponent should also be moving with spiritual steps. He even anticipated Yu Lian's footwork, and with a slight shift, he had already blocked Yu Lian's path.
A strong light instantly bloomed in the darkness, but in an instant, it condensed into a sharp and cold glow.
Yu Lian saw the weapon in the opponent's hand, a two-meter long spear held horizontally in front of him, with a halo extending from the sharp spearhead, forming a condensed light blade nearly a meter long. This was an Atomic Light Spear.
A Star Realm Knight?
Yu Lian frowned slightly. He was very familiar with this type of enemy! However, the aura and oppressive feeling emanating from the opponent made him dare not relax in the slightest.
At this moment, the opponent's attack had already arrived. The sharp light spear blade was as agile as a swimming snake, yet it unrestrainedly unleashed the might of a giant dragon.
"Buzz!" Yu Lian brought out his Lightsaber and parried the thrust. The clash of light against light dispelled the darkness, illuminating the true form of the shadow.
It was a man around thirty years old, with a tall physique of nearly two meters, burly and majestic, like a divine statue naturally meant to stand in the center of a plaza. This was a man so handsome as to be almost inhuman; his overly exquisite features, under the brewing Domineering of his stern eyes, were not like a human's, but seemed to possess a hint of divinity. In the glow of the spear and sword, his silver hair seemed to flow with moonlight, and his purple eyes were like gems formed over billions of years.
Yu Lian had to admit that, purely based on appearance, this person was indeed worthy of being called his lifelong enemy.
However, this was not the point. How could he not recognize such a famous person? Even though he was actually more familiar with the opponent's appearance in his elderly stage.
He was Grand Emperor Ilansel, the current supreme ruler of the Galactic Empire, the owner of the Infinite Crown, the overlord who dominated half of the galaxy, and one of the most powerful people in this universe.
...If it were truly the Emperor's sacred presence here, Yu Lian would immediately abandon his sword and surrender. It wasn't that he was cowardly, but the disparity in strength between them was probably further than from the Andromeda Galaxy to Earth, and it couldn't be overcome by things like external maneuvers, experience, or combat Wisdom.
Moreover, like the divine monarchs of previous Dawn Dynasties, Grand Emperor Ilansel was also a broad-minded and talented individual. If Yu Lian's acting skills exploded, he might even be able to fool the other party and gain a very prestigious title. This way, he could take the route of saving the nation through a circuitous path.
However, this was not the Grand Emperor in his elderly stage, but a younger imitation of him.
Alright, this is fairer! I've actually wanted to fight you for a long time!
Yu Lian crossed his sword, very difficultly blocking the opponent's horizontal slash. He knew that he could no longer conventionally block the opponent's counterattack, so he could only let the Pamino Ring form a storm vortex.
This tiny vortex could at most blow away a few cats and dogs; not to mention stopping Ilansel's attack, it would be difficult to even make him blink. However, what Yu Lian wanted was only the air barrier formed by the airflow vortex; his Fa Fu'er Dragon Eye took the opportunity to drill out of the vortex and directly slammed into that handsome, chiseled face.
Grand Emperor Ilansel smiled, and with a casual lift of his light spear, he parried the Fa Fu'er Dragon Eye.
However, he seemed not to have expected that a considerable part of the Pamino Ring's airflow had actually been poured into the Dragon Eye, and the condensed light blade was horizontally above the Dragon Eye, immediately forming a ripple-like hot airwave.
There seemed to be an almost imperceptible contraction in the Grand Emperor's eye sockets. He still stood as unmoving as a mountain, but an invisible spiritual energy field naturally formed around him, repelling all the airwaves.
Yu Lian had already circled to the opponent's side, taking the opportunity to swing his sword three inches below his armpit.
"Clang!" The Lightsaber, however, only swept through a void of mist.
Yu Lian gritted his teeth, enduring the pain from the spiritual energy recoil from the opponent, while simultaneously estimating that his true body had condensed again ten meters in front of him.
"Very good! This is what combat is about!" The young Grand Emperor Ilansel began to laugh, revealing the fanaticism and excitement of a warrior.
His voice and tone were very flat, but the invisible domineering aura seemed to make the entire world heavier by a few points. Whether it was the darkness ahead or the gray mist rushing from behind, everything seemed to solidify.
Yu Lian lowered his eyelids, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"Do not fear! This is the enemy you must face!" A faint voice sounded in his ear.
My enemy is not the Emperor alone, never has been! Yu Lian muttered softly.
"Stand before him! Do not tremble! Face your fear!"
Fool! I am indeed trembling, but not from fear, but from excitement!
Yu Lian looked directly at the opponent, licked his lips, adjusted his spirit, and a never-before-seen madness finally emerged in his smile. This was a crazy expression that none of his companions in the real world had ever witnessed.
"I'm just missing a prey of this caliber!" Yu Lian burst into laughter.
Yu Lian gripped the Lightsaber in his hand tightly, with the Fa Fu'er Dragon Eye suspended beside him, like his own satellite. At this moment, all doubts, worries, victories, defeats, life, and death, and even the truth behind the history he was involved in, he had completely forgotten.
If I cannot break through him, I cannot escape this Mustard Seed World. If I cannot defeat him, I will forever lose the courage to face Grand Emperor Ilansel himself. If I cannot advance further, I will even be torn to shreds by the approaching myriad-headed beast behind me... But so what?
The opponent surpassed him in skill, strength, agility, perception, and spirit, as well as in their understanding of spiritual energy and the essence of combat.
But so what?
He wanted to fight the legendary Grand Emperor Ilansel, he wanted to defeat this legendary existence, he wanted to carry the head of this so-called "reality god" and drink his blood. Even if this was just a virtual phantom.
The sensation in Yu Lian's hand, from the cold, hard metal hilt of the Lightsaber, transformed into a mysterious perception, extending to the energy blade, then gradually expanding to this gray world.
His senses seemed to have reached the end of the world, capturing traces of reality! He no longer hesitated and charged towards the opponent!
Advance, no retreat! I am invincible! It's just a bloody battle!
Grand Emperor Ilansel, meanwhile, was laughing loudly, shaking the entire world as if it were trembling. He twirled his long spear, turning the light blade into a dazzling vortex of energy. The magnetic field reaction sound of the light blade cutting through the air, from a dull "hum hum hum," actually turned into a very uncomfortable whistling sound of breaking air.
In Yu Lian's spiritual perspective, countless terrifying dragon shadows had condensed within the swirling light spear, ready to roar forth and tear him to shreds.
Heaven and Earth were one, impregnable. Yu Lian knew clearly that if he took another step, whether it was a full charge or a slide tackle, he would face the spiritual energy thrust of the long spear, a tearing bite that was integrated into one.
No retreat, no blocking!
But at this very instant, Yu Lian, who had rushed to within an arm's length of the Emperor, made a move that left the opponent dumbfounded. The hand that had been empty behind him suddenly stretched out, tightly clutching a cylindrical object the length of a forearm.
"...A universe spirit's gallstone!" Grand Emperor Ilansel couldn't help but curse in the Imperial court language.
What Yu Lian held in his hand was a miniature portable neutron bomb. It was originally an "experimental" weapon developed by the Imperial Academy, but it had been difficult to put into active service because its kill radius was always beyond the range of infantry weapons. If this thing really exploded, at the very least, neither of them Present would survive.
Of course, if it were truly His Majesty the Emperor's real body, he might even be able to tap dance under the neutron beam.
But the problem was, wasn't this guy just a younger fake?
Well, calling him a fake might be a bit demeaning, but at most, he was a thought-form.
"That's right, I'm a fake!" That Grand Emperor Ilansel seemed to finally react. He then also realized that the neutron bomb in the opponent's hand vaguely emitted the same aura as himself, so that one should also be fake!
"You can actually create objects in the Mustard Seed World?" He looked at Yu Lian with fervent eyes, about to say something, but it was already too late.
Yu Lian naturally saw the opponent's wavering reaction clearly, so how could he let go of such a good opportunity?
He looked directly into the opponent's eyes, which showed obvious emotional fluctuations, and launched a mental whip.
At that moment, he felt as if he was whipping a wall, and the recoil made his temples throb. But perhaps because the whip was strong and thick enough, the wall did indeed shake, and thus, the opponent's spirit did indeed waver.
However, this world, which was silently and continuously collapsing, suddenly erupted with an unrestrained roar again.
It was still a silent roar, directly resounding in his soul.
The indescribably powerful Void Realm creature, the Myriad-Headed Beast, Ogosola, was advancing.
Yu Lian and the Emperor's battle had once again returned from the stagnant domain to the "reality" within the Mustard Seed World.
Now, Ogosola had targeted both of them as prey.
Grand Emperor Ilansel looked at Yu Lian, his expression a bit stiff, but his gaze grew even more fervent.
"Ahaha, so this is the successor?"
He let out a sigh of satisfaction, like an addict who had taken enough drugs, the expression on his face gradually relaxing. Consequently, his entire body also relaxed.
Grand Emperor Ilansel adopted a posture full of flaws, as if he had given up resistance, but Yu Lian became even more tense instead.
"No self..." The secret art of the Morningstar Royal Family!
Would I be foolish enough to let you unleash your ultimate move?
All of Yu Lian's spiritual energy was now concentrated in his legs; his active cells were instantly injected with more supernatural power, gaining vitality beyond their capacity.
The cells of his muscles and bones almost explosively unleashed a storm-like burst of power. The intense pain almost made Yu Lian lose the sensation in his legs, but he still controlled his nearly Deprecated lower limbs with every last bit of sensation.
Yu Lian's body transformed into a storm, his light blade swirling, infusing a deadly slash into almost every wisp of airwave.
This was the ability of a "Regulator"!
The Grand Emperor remained unmoving, like a towering mountain that overshadowed the sky, completely unaffected by a mere storm. However, Yu Lian could feel that he had attacked half a second faster, and his rhythm was still disrupted.
Almost at the same moment, a huge fleshy head extended from the gray mist behind Yu Lian. It had no eyes, no nasal cavity, but only a giant mouth that could swallow an elephant. At first glance, it didn't look like a head at all, but more like a tentacle with a giant mouth and sharp teeth.
Grand Emperor Ilansel's light spear tilted forward, unleashing an incomparably profound strike. The transparent energy light blade actually formed a shadow in the collapsing world, engulfing both Yu Lian and the indescribable head.
The energy and the energy light blade clashed and splattered at least a hundred times in an instant, and the impact and entanglement of the magnetic fields transformed into deafening collisions.
The Corridor floor beneath Ilansel's feet let out a mournful cry and began to crack.
He did not completely neutralize Yu Lian's slash; the invisible spiritual energy condensed into a spiral sword qi, which ultimately pierced through his body and affected the surroundings.
But in comparison, Yu Lian was in a much more disheveled state.
A bloody mark had been drawn across his back, and the high temperature instantly carbonized the flesh around the wound. However, strangely, Yu Lian felt as if his blood was boiling.
Spiritual energy, transformed into sword qi with the aura of solar flames, was blasted into his body, and who knew when it would burn his internal organs to ashes.
However, Yu Lian was very certain that he had succeeded.
He had broken through the opponent's interception and was now behind him.
Ilansel turned his head, his long spear flowing like clouds and water, once again horizontally in front of him, a casual movement, yet a myriad of changes seemed to be hidden within it.
A fervent expression of delight at the hunt appeared on his face, and he prepared to counterattack again, but then he realized something and withdrew his weapon, showing a hint of helplessness.
Yu Lian nodded at him, then spread his hands and shrugged.
The grotesque head, like a massive tentacle, fell to the ground. It was still twitching, but the flesh around the wound had also been carbonized. However, more indescribable distorted faces emerged from the gray mist, like an army of monsters.
But this time, between Yu Lian and the monster, there was already Grand Emperor Ilansel.
Without even saying goodbye, he rushed into the darkness beyond with this stagnation. The roar of the giant beast behind him was still intense, but it seemed to grow further and further away, and the oppressive feeling that made his soul tremble slowly subsided, as if a sky-rending tsunami slowly calmed, turning into gentle waves.
Yu Lian did not dare to relax in the slightest and continued forward. He didn't know how long he ran, and just as he was getting a bit impatient, he finally saw the end of the road. Under the illumination of the Lightsaber in his hand, there was no longer any path ahead. One step forward would be endless void, with no light or shadow, no sound, and no sensation of anything.
"Jump down!" the voice said.
Yu Lian bit his lip.
"Look, how mysterious the void is!"
"Walk into it, and you will melt into the void."
"Keep walking forward, don't look to either side! Didn't Salwen jump too?"
"Jump!"
Yu Lian sneered, spread his arms, and leaped up, throwing himself into the embrace of more nothingness. He deactivated his mental shield, allowing his body, mind, and spirit to freely endure the invisible baptism.
He didn't know how long passed before he reopened his eyes, certain that he was indeed standing firmly on the ground of the real world.
He was still in the office of the Independence Memorial Museum, standing before the "the pantheon" painted by Karlsa II.
All the injuries sustained in the Mustard Seed World had vanished without a trace, and the abundant sense of satisfaction in his soul realm made him so comfortable that he almost wanted to sing. An unknown source of vitality flowed incessantly through his veins, like an inexhaustible river.
In Yu Lian's inner spiritual world, the universe that only he could perceive had broken through the confinement of the Three Rings. The Star Ring of the Three Rings shimmered with brilliant light.
He had now activated the "Balance" Three Rings, what the world called a "Thought Warrior."
However, the source of life flowing through his body now was absolutely not something a "Balance" should possess.
So, this was Count Salwen's legacy?
