Battle Emperor Perfection

The match ended faster than anyone had imagined.

In the plaza below the arena, every single person stood wide-eyed, struck dumb with shock.

Even those powerful individuals who already knew something of Lu Yuan's strength hadn't quite managed to process what they'd just witnessed.

A hush fell over the crowd. Then one of the warriors who had been present at Dark Night Forest spoke in a low voice:

"...That young man has grown even stronger."

"He has. When his Spatial Vortex faced Battle Emperor-level opponents before, it couldn't kill them outright. Who would have thought that in such a short span of time, his strength would leap this far again?"

Though Pulan wasn't a Battle Emperor, as a warrior on the Emperor Rankings he was someone even most Battle Emperors couldn't match — and yet he had been effortlessly one-shotted by Lu Yuan. One could only imagine just how far Lu Yuan's strength had grown.

As for the Gene Warriors who'd had no prior knowledge of him, they were at this moment questioning everything they thought they knew about the world.

What Lu Yuan had displayed was simply beyond reason.

Inside a pitch-black warship hovering in the sky, Ye Heng and Yan Liang stood by a window, watching the arena slowly dissolve. The silence between them was heavy.

Yan Liang in particular had his fist clenched tight, his eyes roiling with a tangle of emotions he couldn't quite name.

Ye Heng snapped out of it first.

He gave a wry shake of his head. "What a monster... We're still at Battle King Rank, and he's already number one on the Emperor Rankings."

Yan Liang said nothing. He simply stared in the direction Lu Yuan had gone, his expression grave and still.

Ye Heng glanced at him.

"...Hey, Brother Yan Liang — you're not seriously thinking of surpassing him, are you? I don't think that's even remotely realistic. Word is that monster single-handedly stopped half of the Aberration Beast Tide back in Dark Night Forest."

"I know," Yan Liang said.

"And you still want to surpass him?"

Yan Liang glanced over and said:

"Having a goal is never a bad thing. He's strong — but like a lighthouse in the fog, he lights the path forward."

Ye Heng blinked at that, then let out a rueful laugh.

"I'm afraid that if I make him my goal, I'll just get so thoroughly beaten down I'll lose all motivation."

"If you can't bear this kind of setback," Yan Liang replied, "how do you expect to ever reach Battle Saint?"

Ye Heng threw his hands up in mock surrender.

"Alright, alright. I'll work harder too."

Then he sighed, unable to stop himself.

"I really do envy my imperial sister. If only I'd been born a woman..."

Yan Liang: "......"

He quietly stepped away from Ye Heng.

Noticing the movement, Ye Heng looked at him with mild confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"...Nothing."

On another warship — one that appeared to be carved from pale grey stone — Aimen stood at the window, hands clasped behind his back.

He stared in Lu Yuan's direction, utterly silent.

Behind him, a group of Kaman warriors dared not say a word.

After the silence had stretched on long enough, Aimen spoke in a measured tone:

"Let's go. To the teleportation hall for the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin."

At those words, the group froze. The one at the front — a Kaman man clad in battle armor — spoke up cautiously:

"My Lord, the master instructed you to continue cultivating in the Lower Layer of the Land of Origin first, and to go to the Upper Layer only once you've grown stronger..."

"Hmph. The Lower Layer is too slow." Aimen's voice was flat. "I need higher-grade cultivation resources — at this rate, the gap between me and that man will only keep widening. I'll speak with the old man myself. Those who don't want to come are free to stay behind."

The group exchanged glances, then bowed in unison.

"We follow My Lord to the death!"

On the back of an enormous crimson bird soaring through the sky, Anastasia, Xia Zhi, Nina, and several other Nightshade Race prodigies had all gathered.

The adoration in Nina's eyes was practically overflowing. Her voice trembled as she let out a near-shriek:

"Young Master Lu Yuan is incredible! I want to meet him so badly I could die!"

As she spoke, she kept darting glances at Anastasia beside her — the implication couldn't have been more obvious.

Anastasia's expression remained perfectly serene. She wasn't biting.

Nearby, Xia Zhi's face was difficult to read. Of everyone in their group, she had been the first to meet Lu Yuan — and yet, as it turned out, she still didn't have his contact information. That stung.

She cast a sidelong glance at Nina and said coolly:

"Have some shame."

Nina glanced back with a grin. "You're the shameful one — and you don't even have Young Master Lu Yuan's contact."

Xia Zhi: "......"

She had absolutely nothing to say to that.

Another Nightshade Race girl laughed and spoke up:

"Doesn't Your Highness have Young Master Lu Yuan's contact? Could you share it with us? I heard he has quite a few close female companions — can you really manage that all on your own, Your Highness? We sisters would be happy to help out."

"Yes, yes!"

Nina's eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly.

Anastasia remained unmoved. She swept a composed gaze over them all, her expression regal:

"You should all focus on your cultivation."

The group pursed their lips and muttered quietly among themselves.

But Anastasia's attention had already shifted elsewhere — down to where Lu Yuan stood.

Though she and Lu Yuan had exchanged contact information, they hadn't spoken since. She held genuine admiration for him, and naturally intended to take this opportunity for a proper conversation.

She was the type to act on a thought the moment it occurred to her.

"I'm going down."

With that, her figure vanished from where she stood and streaked toward Lu Yuan and Yeye.

The arena dissolved. Lu Yuan returned to the stone stele, and Yeye looked toward him with a gentle smile:

"Congratulations, A-Yuan."

Beside her, Small White was beaming, her white cat ears bouncing cheerfully.

"Young Master Lu, you're amazing — congratulations on taking first place on the Emperor Rankings!"

Lu Yuan smiled. Before he could say a word, a cascade of glowing orbs materialized in front of him.

Orange ones, red ones — and even a black orb signifying Saint Grade.

The crowd of Gene Warriors who witnessed this bounty felt envy searing through them like fire. Unfortunately, everything belonged to Lu Yuan, and the moment they thought of his strength, every stray impulse was extinguished at the root.

Lu Yuan gathered the items up. There was satisfaction in it, but nothing that could be called genuine surprise.

Even a Sixth-tier Saint Grade treasure was something he could evolve himself now — it just cost resources. What pleased him was simply the windfall of materials, nothing more.

Once everything was stowed away, Yeye spoke softly:

"A-Yuan, we should celebrate — go eat something delicious."

Lu Yuan nodded and was about to respond when a voice rang out:

"If Princess Yeye is looking for good food, I happen to know a place."

He blinked, his expression shifting into something faintly odd. He turned to see Anastasia descending gracefully, landing just in front of him.

She gave him a warm nod and a smile.

"A-Yuan, it's been a while. I heard you were challenging the Rankings, so I came to watch. Congratulations on reaching number one."

Lu Yuan smiled back. "Anastasia, long time no see. Didn't you already congratulate me in advance last time?"

Nearby, Small White caught sight of Anastasia and stiffened. She darted a glance at Yeye, worry creeping through her chest.

*Her Highness always seems a little oblivious when it comes to this sort of thing... This Nightshade woman is clearly no ordinary person. Surely she won't lose ground here, will she?*

Yeye, hearing Anastasia mention a restaurant, let her eyes light up with mild curiosity.

"There's actually a good place to eat?"

"Of course," Anastasia smiled. "I go there quite often myself. Shall I take you all?"

Yeye turned to look at Lu Yuan, eyes full of expectation.

Small White: "......"

*Your Highness, really?! She obviously didn't come here with the best of intentions, and you're going to let it go for the sake of some food?!*

Small White felt very, very tired inside.

Lu Yuan, for his part, was unbothered. He smiled and nodded. "If Yeye wants to go, then let's go."

Anastasia led them to a spot tucked in a corner of White Cloud City — a restaurant run by members of the Nightshade Race. The food, it had to be said, was genuinely good.

Yeye had never been before, but by her expression, she was quite content with what she ate.

Anastasia used the occasion to converse with Lu Yuan, and the group fell into a pleasant enough exchange — the only exception being Small White, who sat through the entire meal in quiet, barely-concealed dread, worrying on her princess's behalf.

When the meal was done, Anastasia bid her farewells and left, promising to catch up again another time.

Lu Yuan, Yeye, and Small White departed the restaurant as well.

Lu Yuan looked at the two of them and said with a smile:

"Shall I see you home?"

A satisfied expression lingered on Yeye's face — the meal had clearly put her in good spirits. She nodded.

"Mm."

Small White, naturally, had no objections. Where the princess went, she followed.

Lu Yuan gathered the two of them and vanished, reappearing moments later in the small courtyard in Youming City that was Yeye's residence.

He smiled and said:

"Oh, right — I have some things I've set aside for the two of you."

He produced a collection of spirit fruits, spirit liquids, and Gene Armaments — the same kinds he'd given Si Tingxue and the others.

He hadn't originally prepared a share for Small White, but since she was here, he went ahead and included her as well. The two of them were inseparable, and when Yeye eventually made her way to the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin, Small White would undoubtedly be going along.

Fortunately, he had accumulated a considerable stockpile of treasures over his various evolutions — items he'd originally intended to put up for auction.

When Small White saw the pile of red and orange glowing orbs materialize before her, she went completely still, staring with wide, blank eyes.

Yeye glanced at the haul for only a moment before looking up at Lu Yuan.

"What about you?"

"I have plenty of my own. Go ahead and store them."

Yeye gave him a small smile. "Mm."

She gathered the items and put them away.

Lu Yuan nudged Small White to do the same. She was flustered, almost overwhelmed, but obediently collected everything.

After that, he said his goodbyes to Yeye and Small White and made his way back — to Red Maple Manor, to Si Tingxue's courtyard.

Si Tingxue and Rebecca were in the middle of cultivating. He didn't disturb them, heading straight to the Gravity Room for his own training session.

Back in the Gravity Room, Lu Yuan took out the rewards he'd earned for reaching first place and went through them methodically.

Among them were a full hundred Sixth-tier Origin Stones. Added to the forty from before, that was a hundred and forty. Factor in what he'd earned from the earlier ranking challenges and from slaying Feral Beasts, and the total came to nearly three hundred Origin Stones. Some weren't Sixth-tier, but anything below that could simply be evolved up to the Sixth-tier equivalent with a bit of effort on his part.

These Origin Stones were more than sufficient for a breakthrough — with plenty to spare.

Beyond Origin Stones, there were five hundred Jade Sovereign Flowers for cultivation use.

There were also two Emperor Grade Sixth-tier Gene Armaments, one Emperor Grade Transcendent Gene, and one Saint Grade Sixth-tier Gene Armament.

If that Saint Grade Gene Armament were handed to anyone else, they'd be overjoyed. But Lu Yuan's own Gene Armaments were Divine Grade — a tier above Saint — so the item was essentially redundant for him. It would have to go to the Auction House. The price it fetched there shouldn't be too low.

On top of all that, there were spirit fruits for strengthening the body and Mental Power, along with single-use Talismans and medicinal compounds.

By the time he tallied everything up, the combined value came to somewhere in the tens of billions in Sixth-tier Spirit Crystals — a staggering fortune that would be considered enormous wealth even for a Battle Saint.

He put everything away, then settled in to cultivate.

With his place at the top of the Emperor Rankings secured and the rewards collected, Lu Yuan found himself with little else pressing on his agenda.

Both the Upper and Lower Layers of the Land of Origin remained quiet. Apart from occasional trips to the Auction Houses in Sky-Mending City and White Cloud City to convert surplus treasures into Spirit Crystals, he devoted the rest of his time to steady, undisturbed cultivation.

During this period, Si Tingxue and the others saw dramatic leaps in strength thanks to Lu Yuan's gifts. Each of them began challenging the King Rankings in turn — and every single one broke in, most landing near the top. This sent yet another wave of ripples through the wider world.

Lu Yuan's daily routine was twelve hours of cultivation, followed by leisure — sometimes spent with Si Tingxue and Rebecca, sometimes venturing out with Amy and Wang Lingling, and sometimes letting Yeye drag him off in search of something good to eat.

Anastasia, too, would send him the occasional message. Their contact had grown noticeably more frequent than before.

Whenever he left the Land of Origin, he continued to train in Body Technique and Spirit Techniques, and would occasionally spar with Si Tingyu and Li Qinghe.

He provided all three — Li Qinghe, Si Tingyu, and Shuangyue — with treasures of their own. With those resources, Li Qinghe and Si Tingyu both made substantial advances in strength.

They often accompanied him into the depths of space for sparring sessions.

Time passed.

Land of Origin. Red Maple City. The Gravity Room within Si Tingxue's courtyard.

Lu Yuan's eyes opened slowly. Wisps of pale grey mist drifted across his gaze, and the energy rolling off him was so dense that space itself faintly distorted around him.

He let out a slow, measured breath. A flush of excitement spread across his face.

After months of effort, he had finally brought the last of his Transcendent Genes — Hand of Death — to peak tempering proficiency.

Now, all seven of his Saint Grade Transcendent Genes had reached their limit. He was ready to break through.

He cast his gaze inward at his Gene Chain.

There at the very top — wreathed in the Evolution Cube's light — the Gene Lock had reappeared, composed of interlocking chains, its upper reaches veiled in white mist.

He looked it over and began to count. A full hundred and ninety-nine chains.

He couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Still, he'd half-expected it. Every one of his genes was a Saint Grade Transcendent Gene. Even with the Evolution Cube's repeated refinements elevating his fundamental life essence to extraordinary heights, the chain count was never going to be modest.

That said, a hundred and ninety-nine chains posed no real obstacle.

His stockpile of Origin Stones was more than enough.

A glint of anticipation lit his eyes. Once he broke through to Battle Emperor, all seven of his Transcendent Genes would evolve to Divine Grade. Add a newly inscribed Transcendent Gene on top of that, and his strength would reach heights that were difficult to even fathom. By then, facing a War God would give him no reason for concern.

His gaze flickered with quiet resolve.

He would rest today.

Tomorrow, the breakthrough would begin.