The Gnolls' Change of Plans — Targeting Lu Yuan

After an extensive selection process, Lu Yuan settled on a ring.

**Silver Radiance Ring (Third-rank, 100%): King Grade Armament**

Unlike his other Gene Armaments, this ring carried no bundled Combat Technique. It was pure attribute amplification — flat boosts to Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Mental Power.

Once evolved to Emperor Grade, the boosts became formidable. Wearing the ring alone pushed Lu Yuan's base attributes up by a full third of his current total.

Inside the Training Hall, Lu Yuan finished the evolution and closed his fist. The corner of his mouth curved upward.

With a foundation this powerful stacked on top of his King Grade Gene Armaments, his base stats had left ordinary Battle Generals far behind. Even a Battle General who had inscribed nothing but Emperor Grade Transcendent Genes and tempered all of them to perfect completion — Lu Yuan suspected his own attributes might still come out ahead.

The only real gap would be at the Combat Technique level. Emperor Grade techniques simply hit harder than King Grade ones.

*How do I actually stack up against that Gnoll Battle Venerable genius right now?*

In raw base attributes, he figured he was probably on par. The Gnoll was a Battle Venerable with five Transcendent Genes, yes — but those genes were only tempered to Advanced, not perfect completion.

Compared to Lu Yuan, his only edge might be one extra Combat Technique. Though of course, a Battle Venerable-rank genius had almost certainly trained in Body Techniques and Spirit Techniques as well.

That said, Lu Yuan's Gene Armaments were Emperor Grade, with powerful bundled Combat Techniques of their own. All things weighed against each other, they were probably roughly even.

And then there was his spatial-type Combat Technique — King Grade. A significant advantage the Gnoll couldn't touch.

*Even facing that Gnoll Battle Venerable, I'd have a real shot.*

Lu Yuan took a slow breath and returned to his cultivation.

Ten more days before he had to leave the Land of Origin. The Ice Vein Star competition hadn't started yet, so there was no point wasting the time.

Just then, he stopped. A white pulse flickered on his Communication Crystal.

He answered. Si Tingxue.

"Tingxue, what's up?" he asked, mildly curious.

Si Tingxue stiffened. "Don't address me so familiarly!"

"Got it, Tingxue. So what's going on?"

Si Tingxue's cool, composed expression twitched with faint exasperation.

"It's time to leave. The competition has been scheduled — tomorrow. We're heading to Ice Vein Star."

Lu Yuan blinked. "That soon?"

She looked at him evenly. "It has to do with you."

"With me?"

"Mainly because Feiba is dead. The Gnolls have been pushing for a faster timeline all along — he was their strongest Third-rank genius, and with him gone, their remaining cultivation window has shrunk. Every passing day hurts them. We've been the ones stalling, since more time works in our favor. But they've finally run out of patience. We can't delay further. It starts tomorrow."

Lu Yuan couldn't help a quiet laugh. "I see. Then let's head out."

To exit the Land of Origin without a Departure Crystal, there was an alternative: the Departure House, a dedicated facility found in the Land of Origin's major built-in cities, White Cloud City among them. The cost for a Third-rank Battle General: a hundred thousand Third-tier Spirit Crystals. A considerable sum for most Gene Warriors. For Lu Yuan, barely a rounding error.

He left the Training Hall to find Si Tingxue and Rebecca already waiting outside. The three boarded Black Bear No. 1, rode to the transport hall, teleported to White Cloud City, and went straight to the Departure House.

The facility was called a "house," but it sprawled across roughly five hundred meters — enormous, subdivided into individual rooms. You entered one, paid your Spirit Crystals, and stepped out. Lu Yuan swiped his Origin Bank card through the room's terminal. A white flash consumed him, and the Land of Origin fell away.

Talent Camp Plaza.

Lu Yuan arrived at the assembly point to find Si Tingxue and Rebecca already there, along with three young men and one young woman — four additional participants in total. He recognized all of them: third- and fourth-year seniors, ranked in the top twenty, King Grade genes inscribed.

Every single one of them was Battle General rank.

Lu Yuan stared at the group and felt a headache forming.

He'd read the Gnolls' kill list. Three Battle Venerable-rank fighters. The strongest among them, Bloodrage Fang, was a high-level Battle Venerable. The other two were low-level. In terms of elite combat power, they were being outmatched before a single blow landed.

He understood why, honestly. The Blood Bone Gnolls had the advantage of a single bloodline concentrated on one planet, while Great Qi Star was divided among multiple empires — the Red Maple Empire was just one piece of it. Their talent pools simply weren't comparable.

Nothing to be done.

He walked over. The group turned toward him, the seniors offering easy smiles and nods.

A youth with short dark-red hair gave Lu Yuan a firm thumbs-up.

"Lu Yuan, I was there when you dropped that red-furred mutt with one sword strike. All I can say is — incredible. Honestly, I think you could take out every Third-rank Gnoll Battle General yourself."

Lu Yuan smiled. "Senior Weili, you're exaggerating. We'll need everyone working together."

Rebecca beamed. "Ah-Yuan is the best! And he's still being modest!"

Nearby, a girl with long teal hair and delicate features spoke up, her tone carrying an undercurrent of worry.

"Fighting their Battle Generals is manageable with all of us — but what about their Battle Venerables? They have three."

The words landed in silence.

Even Si Tingxue's brow furrowed.

Then footsteps. Elder Yu appeared, his face wearing that familiar kindly expression. Behind him followed three Talent Camp instructors — all Battle Sovereign rank, as Lu Yuan confirmed at a glance. Alongside them was Si Tingyu.

Every face was set with quiet gravity.

Elder Yu's gaze swept the assembled group.

"Everyone's present. Let's head to the spatial rift for assembly."

He raised one hand. A massive warcraft materialized. Lu Yuan recognized it — the same vessel that had carried them to the Endless Mountain Range before.

They boarded, and the craft lifted off, streaking away in a blaze of light.

The Ice Vein Star spatial rift wasn't located near the Imperial Capital — it lay to the north. The warcraft quickly left the capital behind and carved a path toward the northern frontier.

Inside the cabin, the young talents sat alongside Elder Yu and the instructors.

Elder Yu looked around at the visibly uneasy faces and offered a warm, unhurried smile.

"We have a little time. If any of you have questions, now's the moment."

The teal-haired senior spoke first.

"Elder Yu, is it really just us for this competition? The numbers feel thin. And everyone here is a Third-rank Battle General — not a single Fourth-rank Battle Venerable. How are we supposed to deal with three of theirs?"

Elder Yu smiled gently.

"It won't be only you. Beyond the Talent Camp, the Red Maple Empire's military divisions and certain major families will be sending hidden talents as well. We've also invited top fighters from allied empires as outside reinforcements. As for the Gnoll Battle Venerables — don't worry about them. Your job is this: when you face a Gnoll Battle General, don't lose. You're Red Maple Talent Camp students. Don't bring shame to the name."

The tension in the cabin released visibly.

Weili cracked a grin and rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought we were being sent against Battle Venerables. Nearly scared me half to death."

The Battle Sovereign instructor beside him — short dark-red hair, features strikingly similar to Weili's — fixed him with a flat stare.

"That's all you amount to? You don't even have the spine to face a Battle Venerable?"

Weili's expression froze. He lowered his head and said nothing.

"Hmph! I'll deal with you when we get back! You'd better put on a good show this time — or I'll break your legs!"

The instructor wasn't finished, and by the time he was, Weili looked like he'd bitten into something deeply unpleasant.

Lu Yuan spared him a sympathetic glance. *That must be Weili's father.* Having your dad as your teacher had to be a strange kind of suffering. Lu Yuan had never experienced it himself, but watching the scene play out, he felt a flicker of gratitude that he hadn't. Then he remembered that the original body's parents were both gone, and the gratitude evaporated.

Si Tingxue's voice cut through the quiet.

"What exactly is the competition format?"

Elder Yu and the instructors exchanged a glance. The air shifted subtly — more than a few pairs of eyes drifted toward Lu Yuan, expressions turning faintly grave.

*That doesn't bode well,* Lu Yuan thought.

Elder Yu spoke carefully.

"Originally, we negotiated a pure arena format with the Gnolls — one appearance per participant, consecutive fights permitted, and whichever side still had someone standing on the platform at the end would claim sovereignty over Ice Vein Star. But the Gnolls changed the terms afterward. They insisted on appending a team battle after the arena rounds, to be fought inside a Small World."

He paused.

"The change came right after Lu Yuan killed Feiba. They've clearly identified him as a threat, and they want to use the team battle to eliminate that threat before it grows any further."

Si Tingyu's voice was flat and precise.

"A clever enough scheme. In the arena rounds, both sides have senior overseers watching — deaths are unlikely as long as everyone stays alert. But inside a Small World, with us locked outside? They're going after Ah-Yuan's life directly. That's all this is."

Si Tingxue's expression went glacial. Rebecca's face shifted sharply, her brow knitting.

"How could anyone agree to those terms?! If they want to break the deal, let's just go to war! This is outrageous — changing the rules after the fact!"

Weili and the others traded uneasy looks, shooting worried glances toward Lu Yuan.

At Rebecca's words, however, something shifted in the expressions around the cabin. The Talent Camp seniors looked at her strangely. Elder Yu and the Battle Sovereign instructors visibly suppressed a reaction.

Then they looked at Lu Yuan — unbothered, perfectly composed.

*So this was the one people in certain circles called "the kept man."* His sworn sister was the Li Family's eldest daughter. His mentor was the imperial First Princess. Word was that Princess Shuangyue of the Jade Elf Tribe had adopted him as a younger brother. He'd fought shoulder to shoulder with the imperial Ninth Princess. His relationship with the Algaibi Family's eldest daughter was thoroughly unclear. And apparently there was even some kind of connection with Princess Yeye of the Tianming Empire.

None of them could figure out how he managed it.

*Did this guy grow up on a diet of powerful women's goodwill?*

Rebecca's identity, they all knew. And here she was, ready to declare war on another empire over one man.

Another one.

Was this really normal? She'd thrown all reason out the window.

A real war wasn't declared on impulse. Pull one thread and empires unraveled. The casualties would be incalculable.

Si Tingyu, unhurried, brought things back to earth.

"It's not as severe as it sounds. Our original plan was to settle everything with the arena matches. Now we have two rounds — even losing one gives us shared claim over Ice Vein Star. For the team battle, we can simply concede. Win the arena rounds and the core objective is met. Ceding them half of Ice Vein Star's resources is an acceptable outcome."

"Mentor." Lu Yuan spoke simply, with a smile. "There's no need to concede. I'll enter the team battle."

Silence.

Everyone stared at him.

Si Tingxue's brow creased. When she spoke, her voice had an edge it didn't usually carry.

"Lu Yuan, do you understand what you're saying? Every Gnoll talent in that team battle will have one purpose — killing you."

Rebecca nodded vigorously. "Ah-Yuan, even Tingyu-jie said you can sit this out. Just don't go."

Elder Yu and the instructors looked to Si Tingyu, waiting. She was his mentor; they'd rather she handled this.

Si Tingyu held Lu Yuan's gaze and spoke evenly.

"Ah-Yuan. Give me one reason to let you go."

Lu Yuan smiled. "I'm strong enough now. Even if every Gnoll talent in there comes for me at once, I don't think they can kill me."

Si Tingyu's brow drew slightly together. "Should be isn't good enough. Your talent is exceptional — you have a remarkable future ahead of you. There's no need to risk that over a single contest outcome. If there's even a marginal chance of something going wrong, I won't allow it."

Her tone was firm. But Lu Yuan could hear what lived beneath the firmness — genuine concern.

He thought for a moment.

"Can participants bring items from their Battle-mark Space? What if someone smuggles something unusual in? That would be a significant unfair advantage."

The dark-red-haired Battle Sovereign instructor answered.

"That won't happen. Both sides have young lives at stake — no one's going to take that kind of gamble. Before anyone enters the Small World, a special method is used to temporarily seal Battle-mark Spaces. On top of that, every participant is searched thoroughly. No outside items are permitted — not even gene serums."

Lu Yuan's eyebrow arched. His expression was entirely earnest.

"Then I want to go. If the other side isn't holding any unusual trump cards, I won't be in danger."

If they wanted him dead, he wasn't the type to smile and let it pass. He wanted to test the ceiling of his current strength. Even if Bloodrage Fang was out of reach, he didn't believe any real danger awaited him there.

Si Tingyu held his gaze steadily. He held hers back, unhurried.

After a moment, she looked away.

"Fine," she said quietly. "You can go. But I told Li Qinghe you wouldn't be participating. You'll explain that to her yourself when we're out."

Lu Yuan: *???*

*Oh hell—*

The image of Li Qinghe's expression when she was angry floated into his mind, and ice shot down his spine.

*That is going to be a very unpleasant conversation.*

*I'm still going.*

He steeled himself and nodded. "Understood."

Si Tingyu, having apparently failed even the threat of Li Qinghe's wrath to deter him, let out a quiet, resigned sigh.

"All right. But if you're in danger, we forfeit immediately and come in after you. The team battle is five on each side — I'll have three Battle Venerable-rank talents join you, plus one more..."

She hadn't finished when another voice cut in.

"I'm going too."

Si Tingxue.

The cabin went quiet again.

Elder Yu and the three Battle Sovereign instructors looked genuinely bewildered.

This was not the plan. Not even close.

They had been fully prepared to forfeit the team battle entirely. Then Lu Yuan decided to enter — fine, unsettling, but manageable. But now the Ninth Princess was insisting on going in?

*What the hell is happening right now?*

The Ninth Princess was imperial royalty. Sending her into a high-stakes team engagement where the enemy was openly hunting for blood — the pressure that put on all of them was something none of them had agreed to carry.

Si Tingyu looked at her sister steadily. Si Tingxue looked right back without flinching.

Silence settled. Rebecca reached over and tugged softly at Si Tingxue's sleeve.

"Xiao Xue..."

"Don't." Flat. Final.

Rebecca withdrew her hand and shot Lu Yuan a desperate look.

Lu Yuan felt genuinely helpless. When Si Tingxue made up her mind about something, there was no pulling her back. The woman was stubborn to her core.

Si Tingyu's expression turned deliberate.

"You're right on the logic. Being a princess doesn't disqualify you — you're a Gene Warrior. If Ah-Yuan can go, and your strength meets the criteria, there's no valid reason to exclude you. I'll allow it. But inside the Small World, your life is in your own hands. Are you certain?"

Si Tingxue's answer was immediate.

"In the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin, life is always in your own hands. What's different here?"

Si Tingyu went still. Then a small, quiet smile crossed her lips.

"Fair point."

At that moment, Lu Yuan felt a private transmission at the edge of his awareness. Si Tingyu's voice, low and unguarded.

*"Ah-Yuan... look after my little sister."*

He glanced at her composed, carefully neutral face.

"Don't worry, Mentor. I've got her."

"Mm."

Several hours later, they arrived over a vast, desolate wilderness.

Below, a massive iron-reinforced military camp spread across the barren land. At the center of its main square gaped a strange fissure — hundreds of meters wide, hundreds of meters tall, its interior an absolute, lightless black.

Lu Yuan studied it with open curiosity.

Possessing a spatial-type gene granted him a rudimentary sensitivity to spatial fabric. He felt it clearly: the space around the fissure was in chaos. Countless spatial threads tangled and interwove, weaving together the space around them and some unknown coordinates elsewhere.

For now, the connection was holding stable.

But he suspected that a sufficiently powerful spatial-affinity warrior could seal it entirely — smooth out the knotted threads and close the rift. All that was needed was to untangle the chaotic spatial lines.

At his current level, that was out of reach. He estimated it would take at least an Emperor Grade spatial gene, possibly Saint Grade.

Though at that tier, the embedded Combat Technique would be terrifying beyond measure. A Will Remnant bearing an Emperor or Saint Grade spatial Combat Technique would be beyond any same-rank opponent. He still remembered clearly — when he'd inscribed his own spatial gene, the residual Will he'd faced had possessed only a Boss Grade Flicker technique, and even that had given him trouble. Against a spatial-type gene at equal rank, unless you had your own spatial Combat Technique or something equally overwhelming, you were asking to die.

He was fairly certain neither Great Qi Star nor Blood Bone Star had a warrior at that tier — because if they did, someone would have simply sealed the rift long ago and ended the entire standoff. No competition necessary.

The warcraft touched down at the aerodrome while Lu Yuan was still turning these thoughts over.

They disembarked. Outside the landing pad, soldiers in military uniform were waiting. Leading them was a lean, slightly built man who stepped forward with a professional smile.

"Elder Yu. The Commander is waiting for you in the main headquarters."

Elder Yu returned the smile warmly. "No time to waste, then. Lead us there, please."

"Of course — right this way."

The group followed the lean man through the iron military installation. Lu Yuan took in his surroundings. The camp was heavily manned — Gene Warriors in military uniform throughout, most Second-rank, a solid contingent Third-rank.

Every structure was alloy construction, dense and hard, enclosing the spatial rift on all sides. Given that the rift led directly into Ice Vein Star and its deposits of ice vein crystals, the fortification made complete sense. Beyond the resources, an unmonitored rift was a strategic liability — the Gnolls could funnel forces through it directly into Red Maple Empire territory, which meant it had to be defended regardless of what lay on the other side.

They crossed the main square and came to stand before the rift itself.

Up close, Lu Yuan felt the spatial distortion intensify. In his perception, the rift's edges crawled with twisting, tangled threads of spatial force — and there was nothing he could do about it. The spatial energy concentrated here was simply too powerful for him to interact with at his current level.

They stepped through.

The black consumed him. Cold flooded his body. The world flipped — and then he stepped out onto another square entirely.

The cold struck like a physical blow. His body shuddered involuntarily.

Weili and the others beside him were already shivering. Si Tingxue, on the other hand, had a flush of color in her cheeks, her complexion visibly healthier than a moment ago.

Lu Yuan glanced sidelong at her. *Her entire gene set is ice-affinity. In an environment like this, she's in her element. Her combat power here might actually be meaningfully higher.*

Si Tingxue noticed the look and caught his eyes. A small, thoroughly satisfied smile curved the corners of her lips.

*Insufferable.*

Lu Yuan's mouth twitched. *She still couldn't beat me fighting one-handed. What is there to be smug about?*

He kept the thought to himself.

He scanned the surroundings. Another military installation — iron-built like the one on Great Qi Star, but considerably larger. Beyond the outer wall, an endless expanse of snow and ice stretched to the horizon.

"Right this way. Apologies for the cold — please bear with it," the lean man said pleasantly.

Elder Yu waved it off. "Not at all. We're here for the Empire's interests. A bit of cold is nothing."

That was something of an understatement on his part. Si Tingyu and the Battle Sovereign instructors were entirely unaffected. At Battle King rank, a warrior could sustain themselves in a vacuum — this was nothing.

For the young talents, the difference was noticeable: the atmosphere was distinct from Great Qi Star, the gravity slightly heavier. Uncomfortable, but workable. Three phases of genetic optimization at Battle General rank, and the inscription of Transcendent Genes elevating their entire biological baseline, meant they could function normally even here. An unenhanced person stepping through that rift would likely collapse within minutes.

They passed through the square to a tall building at the camp's center and were shown to a conference room on one of the upper floors. The lean man paused at the door.

"Elder Yu, the Commander and the others are all inside."

He opened it.

A large conference hall. Quite a few people — some young, some older. Lu Yuan's gaze swept the room and stopped.

*Li Xinghai.*

The Shadow Battle Emperor. Li Qinghe's ancestor. Patriarch of the Li Family — a gaunt figure in black robes, silver-haired, his face mapped with deep lines. Lu Yuan hadn't expected him to be here.

Li Xinghai spotted him at the same moment and smiled, the lines on his face deepening with it.

Two seats away — another familiar face. Violet hair, striking features, middle-aged: Adams Algaibi. Amy's great-grandfather. The Tianrao Battle Emperor. He was seated beside Li Xinghai, at the head of the table.

Adams caught Lu Yuan's eye and gave him a warm, easy smile. Even at his age, there was a natural magnetism to his expression.

Lu Yuan smiled back.

And then — Wang Lingling. Seated among the younger participants, wearing her signature gentle expression.

*Her too.* Lu Yuan hadn't expected that. And no Amy in sight.

Adams being here made obvious sense — he was the Lion Empire's Battle Emperor, clearly one of the outside reinforcements Elder Yu had mentioned. But Wang Lingling as a combat participant? He'd never actually seen her fight. He genuinely had no idea how strong she was.

Then again, she was young, and her standing within the Algaibi Family was anything but minor. On paper she was Amy's attendant, but back in Tianrao Mansion, Lu Yuan had seen her managing Gwen's affairs — work that put her at the center of the family's operations. That kind of trust didn't come without real capability behind it.

*Maybe this calculating woman really is a hidden genius.*

Wang Lingling caught him looking. Her eyes curved with her signature soft smile. Lu Yuan offered a small smile in return and looked away.

They filed into the conference room, and the warmth of the heating system hit him immediately.

Lu Yuan exhaled in genuine relief.

Every eye in the room tracked them as they entered. The younger participants exchanged glances across the table; Lu Yuan felt the weight of several gazes settling on him specifically — curiosity, appraisal. His reputation had apparently traveled beyond the Red Maple Empire's borders.

The man at the head of the room rose to his feet. Lean frame, commanding bearing, composed expression — Commander Meng Jiang. He crossed to Elder Yu and offered a measured smile.

"Elder Yu. You've made it."

"We're a little later than I'd have liked," Elder Yu said warmly. "I hope we haven't kept you waiting."

Commander Meng Jiang shook his head. "We only just gathered ourselves. Your timing is perfect."

They took their places — Elder Yu, Si Tingyu, and the Battle Sovereign instructors moving to the seats near the front; Lu Yuan and the younger talents drifting toward the back rows where the other young participants were clustered.

Wang Lingling was seated directly in front of him. Lu Yuan had barely settled before she turned around, her eyes bright, voice lowered.

"Ah-Yuan. What a coincidence."

Heads turned throughout the room — both the Talent Camp students who had come with him and several of the other assembled talents all looked toward Lu Yuan at once.

One gaze in particular carried a distinct chill.

He followed it, faintly puzzled, and found Si Tingxue's eyes on him.

*The cold in this place is actually enhancing her presence.* Even her stare felt sharper here.

Unexpected.

He turned back to Wang Lingling with an easy smile. "Lingling. Don't tell me you're one of the outside reinforcements? And where's Amy?"