Chapter 59: Third Stage
Chapter 59: Third Stage
"This is a domain."
"The power of a domain."
"Only Fourth and Fifth Stage Evolvers are capable of wielding the power of domains."
Host Sun Bin seemed to have realized something, and his voice trembled with excitement.
Theoretically, only Fourth and Fifth Stage Evolvers could hope to master the power of domains.
But nothing was absolute, and certain unique evolutionary paths, along with the individual circumstances of Evolvers, could also lead to an early mastery of domain power.
Of course, these prematurely acquired domain powers were still in their initial states and couldn't compare to the true domain powers of Fourth and Fifth Stage Evolvers.
Even so, for a First, Second, or Third Stage Evolver to possess domain power was akin to cheating.
By using a domain, one could preemptively sense everything and impose suppression, easily sweeping through opponents of the same stage.
"I never expected that in this session of the Dongning City Arena, there would be an Evolver who has mastered a domain."
Host Sun Bin was full of emotion.
His gaze fell upon Lin Yuan, who had seemingly never joined the battle at the forefront but was now the center of attention.
Now it was clear to him that this 'newcomer', Lin Yuan, was the Evolver who possessed domain power.
Using a domain was extremely exhausting, and with Zong Bai and the other two fighting with all their might, they obviously didn't have the capacity to do so.
Only Lin Yuan, who had stayed at the back from the beginning, had the ability to wield a domain.
The citizens watching the arena match were equally stunned, and soon, they erupted in excitement.
"He's too strong! To be able to suppress the four Evolvers from Zijing City single-handedly, forcing them to only display a fraction of their strength... This is just..."
An Evolver muttered in awe, "Who is this 'newcomer'? Is he the offspring of some big shot in Dongning City?"
"Yeah, yeah! Big brother is amazing!"
Although Lin Yi didn't understand what was going on, she cheered happily upon hearing the host's praise for Lin Yuan.
"A domain?"
"Could our son really have the ability to defeat Zijing City's team?"
Lin Shoucheng muttered to himself. He had only been flattering his wife earlier, but now it seemed that his words had become a reality.
On the battlefield.
The fight continued.
The four Evolvers from Zijing City were suffering under the oppressive might of the domain.
They realized that Lin Yuan was the cause of their predicament but were powerless to do anything about it.
Under the suppression of the omnipresent Taiji Domain, every step they took was excruciatingly difficult.
One of the Evolvers, who specialized in speed, attempted to get closer to Lin Yuan.
However, the closer he got, the greater the pressure he felt, and in the end, he nearly knelt on the ground.
"What's going on?"
The giant team captain panted heavily.
He vaguely sensed that the ubiquitous domain power could, if it wanted to, instantly surpass his endurance limit.
But why hadn't they been completely overwhelmed? Why was the fight being dragged out like this?
"Could it be that he's toying with us?"
The giant captain felt extremely stifled.
But he didn't know what to do about it.
Should he surrender?
He couldn't bring himself to do that.
Time passed slowly.
In the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had gone by.
The size of the battlefield was gradually shrinking.
One of the rules of the arena was that after half an hour, the stage would shrink in size to prevent Evolvers specializing in speed from intentionally dragging out the fight and avoiding direct combat.
"It's about time."
Lin Yuan's thoughts stirred slightly, and he increased the weight of the Taiji Domain.
Instantly.
The four Evolvers from Zijing City, unable to withstand the combined attacks of Zong Bai and the other two, perished one after another.
With Lin Yuan's strength, he could have easily crushed his opponents with a single thought if he had used the Taiji Domain from the start.
However, doing so would not have given him the opportunity to observe and understand the evolutionary paths cultivated by the four Evolvers.
That was why he had dragged the fight out for so long.
"It was worth participating in this arena match."
Lin Yuan sighed softly.
By carefully observing everything about the four Evolvers, he had gained valuable insights that would aid him in his own unique evolutionary path – the Martial Dao Evolutionary Path.
The Martial Dao Evolutionary Path was a path that Lin Yuan had created himself, and he stood at its pinnacle, its absolute limit. What lay ahead was a blank canvas that he would have to fill bit by bit, creating and exploring as he went.
During this process, Lin Yuan would need to absorb the strengths and weaknesses of various other evolutionary paths to refine and improve his own.
Only by doing so could he continuously innovate and improve.
This was something that couldn't be achieved by simply secluding himself away from the world.
Of course, with his heaven-defying comprehension, he could probably still gradually perfect the Martial Dao Evolutionary Path even if he did go into seclusion.
But it would undoubtedly take far longer, and the Martial Dao that emerged might not be as comprehensive as it would be after integrating a hundred or a thousand other evolutionary paths.
"Did we win?"
Even though they had expected this outcome, Zong Bai and the others still felt like they were dreaming.
They had truly defeated opponents that they would never have been able to overcome in the past.
After a brief moment of silence.
Zong Bai and Cao Rong approached Lin Yuan respectfully.
They knew very well that their victory was entirely due to Lin Yuan's power.
Without him, their own strength would have been utterly insufficient, and they would have been crushed by the giant captain.
"In this session of the arena, no matter how far we advance and whatever rewards we obtain, I will give them all to Mr. Lin."
"Zong Bai thought for a moment before speaking up, "We ought to be content with what we have. Given the strength that Lin Yuan just displayed, not only will we be able to break into the top five thousand, but there's a good chance we could even make it into the top two or three thousand."
The team battle rankings in the top three thousand of the arena would earn them official rewards, and Zong Bai felt unworthy of such a prize.
If he had contributed in some way, Zong Bai could have convinced himself that he deserved a share. But in the fight, he had simply been a puppet, doing exactly as Lin Yuan instructed.
Anyone could have done the same in his place.
Therefore, Zong Bai felt unqualified to accept the official reward.
"I feel the same," Cao Rong and Lu Xianguang exchanged a glance, both echoing his sentiment.
Over the next two months, the arena battles continued.
In addition to the team battles, Lin Yuan also participated in individual matches.
And as expected, every match was a 'narrow victory'.
There was no other way; Lin Yuan could easily defeat his opponents swiftly, but that would defeat the purpose of his participation in the arena. By prolonging each battle, he was able to carefully observe and understand the evolutionary paths of each opponent, taking away insights to refine his own Martial Dao.
The evolutioners who made it to the arena were all exceptionally talented, especially as the tournament progressed, with each fighter a true genius.
Among the top five hundred evolutioners, most had reached the peak of the second stage, and occasionally, there would even be a few third-stage powerhouses.
Soon, Dongning City's team ranking in the Canglan Star tournament entered the top one hundred.
They lost the match against an opponent from the Central Continent, a team from Lan Yue City, one of the most prosperous cities in the Central Continent.
Among their four members, three had reached the peak of the second stage, and one had attained the third stage.
Moreover, the evolutionary paths they walked upon were incredibly powerful.
In particular, the third-stage evolutioner cultivated the Dream Evolution Path.
As a result, at the start of the match, before Zong Bai and the others could react, they fell prey to the dream evolutioner's gaze, plunging into a deep layer of illusion and getting eliminated.
Only Lin Yuan remained.
However, even so, under the frenzied assault of the four evolutioners, Lin Yuan held his ground with the power of the Taiji Domain for a full half-hour.
Finally, as the battlefield area shrank, Lin Yuan continued to endure.
If it weren't for the rule in team battles that the remaining number of evolutioners on the field would determine the winner in the event of a draw, Lin Yuan might have persisted even longer.
Lan Yue City still had four evolutioners left standing.
Dongning City had only Lin Yuan.
So Lan Yue City emerged victorious.
"I never imagined that our Dongning City would be able to rank among the top one hundred globally," President Liao said, as if he were dreaming. This was a position he had never dared to aspire to.
Not just him, but even if all the past presidents of the Evolutioners' Association were gathered together, they wouldn't have dared to entertain such a thought.
"All of this is thanks to Mr. Lin," he added.
"With just our strength..." Zong Bai and the others, who were also present, quickly spoke up.
If it had been a ranking of three or two thousand, he might have dared to take some credit and show off a little in front of President Liao.
But being in the top one hundred was just too awe-inspiring.
Every evolutioner in the top one hundred of the global team battle rankings, even those with auxiliary abilities, could easily sweep through all the evolutioners in Dongning City.
No matter how thick-skinned Zong Bai was, he couldn't bring himself to take credit for this achievement.
"It's all thanks to Mr. Lin," President Liao nodded in agreement.
He wasn't a fool; he had watched the matches himself and could clearly see that Lin Yuan had been the one carrying the team.
Compared to Lin Yuan, Zong Bai and the other two were as insignificant as accessories.
"How is Mr. Lin doing now?" President Liao asked with concern.
After losing to the team from Lan Yue City, Lin Yuan had left the virtual universe.
"Mr. Lin said he wanted to seclude himself for a while," Zong Bai replied honestly.
Indeed, before leaving, Lin Yuan had mentioned this to him.
"I see, Mr. Lin must be tired," President Liao nodded understandingly.
After all, the opponents from Lan Yue City had been incredibly powerful, especially that rare dream evolutioner who had reached the third stage.
If they were in the real world, a full-powered attack from that evolutioner could put nearly a million citizens of half a city into a deep sleep.
Fighting such a terrifying opponent would indeed be exhausting.
Water Moon Residence.
Residence Number 32.
Underground Training Ground.
Lin Yuan sat with his legs crossed.
After dozens of arena matches and encounters with hundreds, even thousands of evolutioners, countless evolutionary paths and their strengths and weaknesses flooded his mind, all of which were seamlessly integrated thanks to his heaven-defying comprehension.
At some unknown point, Lin Yuan abruptly opened his eyes.
The Taiji symbol of the entwined yin and yang fish flashed in the depths of his pupils.
"Third stage," Lin Yuan exhaled softly.
The energy within his body began to transform at an incredible speed.
Finally, he had reached the third stage of the Martial Dao evolutionary path.
(End of Chapter)
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