Luo Pu had also fused five types of profound insights into the Laws of Earth.
Among the six profound insights of the Laws of Earth, the only one he hadn't integrated was 'Gravitational Space'. He had fused all the other five. Particularly after fusing 'Force of Life', 'Earth Movement', 'Earth Pulse', 'Power', and 'Earth Element', he had created his most powerful Earth Movement technique. His soul power circulated ceaselessly within his mind, its aura not leaking out in the slightest.
His stealth and escape abilities had reached an extreme.
However, there were gains and losses. His slashing attack only integrated four profound insights. The 'Earth Movement' aspect couldn't be incorporated into this slash at all.
"Whoosh!" Luo Pu moved like a slippery fish within the 'Black Stone Space', rapidly and constantly shifting position.
Lin Lei, however, moved with ease, effortlessly blocking him.
"Who dies isn't certain yet," Luo Pu roared inwardly. The war blade in his hand slashed soundlessly through space, heading straight for Lin Lei's head. Just as Lin Lei's 'Afterimage' divine sword struck towards his blade, "BOOM!" The blade's energy surged violently.
"CLANG!"
One slash, one sword!
Lin Lei was forced back slightly. "Haha, good!" Lin Lei laughed and attacked again. Unfortunately, in terms of weaponry, Luo Pu's war blade was slightly inferior to Lin Lei's 'Afterimage' divine sword.
"Relying on weapons," Luo Pu noticed Lin Lei's superior weapon, feeling resentful. His gaze turned cold. Abruptly, his left index and middle fingers pressed together, then flicked forward. A streak of semi-transparent sword qi shot towards Lin Lei at incredible speed, penetrating directly into his mind.
It was a soul attack!
"Haha... Luo Pu, don't bother bringing out that little soul attack," Lin Lei hadn't taken it seriously at all. Experts in the Laws of Earth were generally not adept in soul techniques, and Luo Pu himself was average in this area. How powerful could it be? Lin Lei simply used his own soul power to shatter it.
Luo Pu had no other choice but to do that.
"Is that so?" Luo Pu sneered, his attacks growing even more frantic. Lin Lei was only too happy to meet them head-on.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
Lin Lei and Luo Pu's figures clashed ceaselessly, but they were clearly evenly matched. In Lin Lei's eyes, Luo Pu's strength among the Commanders was at the bottom tier: "He doesn't even have a single Sovereign artifact. No wonder he has to rely on sneak attacks. However, his stealth method is worth studying."
Lin Lei guessed that among the insights Luo Pu had fused, 'Earth Movement' must certainly be one of them.
And that slash, its power completely restrained until the very last moment before erupting.
"That slash demonstrated the 'Force of Life' insight perfectly." Lin Lei was fighting Luo Pu with the mindset of practicing his swordplay, while Luo Pu fought with the desperate hope of seizing an opportunity to kill Lin Lei and gain a sliver of a chance to escape.
"Thud!"
Lin Lei thrust his sword forward.
Unexpectedly, Luo Pu flipped his blade, dodging Lin Lei's strike and pressing down on the sword's edge to slice towards Lin Lei's body.
"Hmm? He's really fighting to the death." At this critical moment, all Lin Lei heard was a "Whoosh!" A cyan-gold phantom appeared. Lin Lei's dragon tail, carrying terrifying force, whipped fiercely against the war blade. In terms of toughness, Lin Lei's dragon tail was in no way inferior to this high-grade divine artifact.
The war blade was knocked aside. "Thud!" The slash that had been aimed at decapitating Lin Lei instead landed on his chest. After the dragon tail's blow had weakened it, the blade only managed to barely tear through the dragon scales, drawing a tiny trickle of blood.
"Slash!"
Lin Lei's 'Afterimage' divine sword swept past Luo Pu's head. His body and head separated.
Once the head is separated from the body, it's practically a death sentence! Even if the soul remained, unable to control the body to resist or attack, it was tantamount to surrendering.
"You're ruthless, but the result is your death," Lin Lei said to the flying head.
"If I had a Sovereign artifact, the outcome would definitely be different!" Luo Pu's head roared. He knew death was certain.
"Whoosh!" The light of Lin Lei's 'Afterimage' divine sword flashed. Luo Pu's voice cut off abruptly, a thin red line appearing on his forehead.
At this moment, Luo Pu's high-grade divine artifact, spatial ring, and a golden emblem fell to the ground.
"Different outcome with a Sovereign artifact?"
Lin Lei shook his head and sighed inwardly.
This world was simply a place where the strong devoured the weak, where the powerful were revered. Having a Sovereign artifact also depended on strength! Only because one was powerful would they be valued as an Emissary of a Sovereign and granted a Sovereign artifact. Only by earning enough military merit could one exchange for a Sovereign artifact. Everything depended on one's own efforts. The children of Sovereigns certainly had a huge advantage, but sometimes luck was also a part of strength.
"This Luo Pu's sneak attack was decent, but his actual combat ability is at the bottom among Commanders. It's natural the Sovereign didn't choose him as an Emissary," Lin Lei sighed, shaking his head. "Therefore, even when fusing five insights from the same set of Laws, there are differences between individuals."
The Laws of Earth contained six profound insights. Fusing five of them resulted in six possible combinations. These different combinations determined different developmental paths.
"This Commander emblem was obtained quite easily." Lin Lei took the golden emblem, feeling a surge of joy in his heart. "Now I have three golden emblems. I only need one more."
"Bei Bei, let's go."
Lin Lei and Bei Bei quickly left the battlefield.
Places like the Planar Battlefield required anyone who entered to be prepared to die. The weak perished so the stronger could survive.
In the depths of an ordinary large mountain within the Planar Battlefield, Lin Lei and Bei Bei had carved out a temporary cave dwelling. The cave was hundreds of meters deep beneath the rock face. Normally, a Commander's divine sense couldn't penetrate that far.
Of course, there were three exceptions.
First, using the power of a Sovereign to scout with divine sense.
Second, a Grand Magus of Perfection among Highgods, whose divine sense also had immense range.
Third, Variant Highgods—soul mutants. Their most distinctive feature was their 'soul', which was far more powerful than that of a normal Highgod. Of course, the degree of soul mutation varied. Those with two types of divine power who underwent soul mutation had a decent survival rate. The vast majority of soul mutants possessed two types of divine power; Oliveria was at this level. Those who possessed three types of divine power and still mutated were almost certain to die. In all of Hell, there was only one known case of a successful mutation with three types of divine power. Their souls, however, were even more formidable!
As for those possessing four types of divine power who attempted mutation, in countless planes over endless ages, none had ever succeeded. No one knew what the outcome of possessing four types of divine power and undergoing soul mutation would be.