Chapter 283: Nihility Collapse
Xiang Yu raised his palm once again and tried to activate his domain once more. He was using his main body this time instead of the light clone. A dark dot appeared on his open palm, no bigger than a pinpoint at first.
The dot quickly expanded and instantly reached a full meter in size, creating a sphere of absolute void that absorbed all light around it. Xiang Yu smiled with satisfaction. His idea had actually worked.
He clenched his hand, dismissing the void domain. Although he felt confident he could expand it much further if needed, he could already sense it taking a noticeable toll on his soul, and he didn’t want to push his limits recklessly. He would carry out more extensive testing safely within the battle simulation environment.
Xiang Yu thought to himself that he hadn’t expected his plan to work out quite like this. When he noticed that he couldn’t expand his domain, he decided to give up on the idea of trying to create it from scratch.
Instead, he focused on his void flame that was now him. By concentrating on the existing void space within his soul, Xiang Yu wondered why not simply summon the already existing void domain that resided within him rather than trying to recreate another one from scratch.
Xiang Yu quickly summoned his system to see if anything had changed. Surprisingly, nothing seemed to have changed in his stats. He even double-checked and triple-checked but still found nothing new.
The light clone held its chin in thought. Was the domain ability not considered a stat? No, that didn’t make sense. Domain mastery would definitely qualify as a stat as domains also had their own progression paths.
Then, was it perhaps not upgradable through the system? No, that didn’t make sense either. Even when stats couldn’t be upgraded, they were still displayed in the system.
After thinking about it for several more seconds, he came to what he felt was a plausible explanation. He still didn’t technically have a true domain in the traditional sense. What he was currently using was not a genuine domain but rather an inherent ability of his species.
It was kind of like the natural regeneration ability that came from the phoenix bloodline. Although he possessed the ability to regenerate injuries, that ability didn’t appear as a stat in his system interface. The same principle applied here - the "void domain" was simply part of his void flame soul and not a genuinely domain technique.
The main Xiang Yu wondered what this meant in the grand scheme of things. He was particularly concerned about whether his "domain" would be weaker than a genuine domain created through traditional methods.
He decided to test it in the battle simulation to get concrete answers. As usual, he selected Li Yao as his opponent. He quickly went through her other forms until he finally reached the new version that he had been completely unable to defeat before.
Just like in their previous encounters, when the new Li Yao materialized, he immediately felt the space around him suddenly freeze solid. But surprisingly, even though he could clearly sense that the space surrounding him was completely frozen, it didn’t feel nearly as oppressive as before, and he definitely didn’t feel helplessly trapped like last time.
He decided to test his mobility. He raised his leg experimentally, and it encountered virtually no resistance from the frozen space. He then began walking casually on the air toward Li Yao, the frozen space not affecting him at all.
Even without expanding his domain actively, he still managed to break free from the frozen space effect. This wasn’t because he was so strong (even though he was)
For domains, you didn’t actually have to expand them fully to utilize their benefits. Domain expansion was primarily intended as an area-of-effect technique for exerting influence over a large area. You could still use domain power on yourself to negate hostile domain effects without needing to expand it outward. This approach was actually much more energy-efficient.
Though most cultivators still preferred to expand their domains when facing opponents, since being trapped inside someone else’s domain gave the domain controller a huge tactical advantage. It was generally better to crash the opponent’s domain with your own, or at least create overlapping domains.
Li Yao looked at Xiang Yu coldly.
She raised her fist, then punched toward Xiang Yu, despite still being a considerable distance away from him.
She shattered the space between them effortlessly and appeared instantly right before him with her fist already in motion. But Xiang Yu had already foreseen this exact attack sequence long ago through his precognition ability.
He decided this was the perfect moment to test his domain expansion. Just as Li Yao’s fist was about to make contact with his body, everything suddenly went completely dark as his void domain erupted outward.
...
Xiang Yu expanded his void domain, enveloping the area around them in absolute darkness. Li Yao found herself suddenly stuck mid-motion, her fist frozen just inches from his face, completely unable to move at all.
But she wasn’t to be outdone so easily. Cracking sounds began to be heard through the darkness as fractured space started forming around her body, allowing her to gradually regain mobility once again. She also expanded her own domain with tremendous effort, overlapping it with Xiang Yu’s void domain.
She then broke through the newly formed space and appeared instantly behind Xiang Yu, attempting to catch him off guard with a surprise attack.
But Xiang Yu casually moved his hand without even looking. He grabbed her incoming strike and smoothly swung her over his shoulder. He was already stronger than her in raw physical power - the only thing that had been stopping him from beating her was her domain. But now that he could counter it with his own, the balance had shifted.
Xiang Yu crashed her down onto the newly formed space around them, causing it to shatter under the strong impact. Li Yao coughed up a mouthful of blood, the cracks on her body deepening even more.
Li Yao disappeared into the fractured space and controlled her domain to heal it back together.
But Xiang Yu didn’t seem too concerned by this.
He turned to look in a specific direction. He then threw out a punch, effortlessly punching a hole straight through space and connecting solidly with Li Yao, who had been attempting to ambush him by hiding within layers of space.
She struggled to get back up, her gaze rising to meet Xiang Yu defiantly. She then attempted to disappear into space once again, but she found that she couldn’t do it anymore.
Xiang Yu smiled with satisfaction. It seemed his domain was stronger after all. His void domain had been steadily devouring all the space formed by Li Yao’s spatial domain. Slowly, the space was completely consumed by the void until Li Yao couldn’t move anymore. Once again trapped within absolute nothingness.
Xiang Yu walked up to her and placed his hand gently on her head.
"Nihility Collapse"
In the next instant, the point of contact between his palm and her forehead turned completely dark. The darkness then quickly spread throughout her entire body until she was completely black and blended seamlessly with the surrounding void.
When Xiang Yu finally let go and stepped back, her body simply crumbled away, merging seamlessly into the surrounding void as if she had never existed at all.
The simulation ended, and Xiang Yu found himself back in the spirit vein.
"I won?" he wondered in disbelief. Even after returning to the spirit vein, he couldn’t quite believe the result.
...
Author’s Corner
Void space: space as in space (not to be confused with space)
Last Chapter this month sadly. Me still sick so no mass release today. I’ll do it when i get better ♥️