Chapter 1: The First Battle

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Standing within one of the mythic layers of the Inner World, Li Mingxing examined his new body. This was the first time he had entered the Inner World without using either his own astral body or his true body; instead, he was occupying the body of a sixth-tier human.

Beside Li Mingxing stood Zheng and Aisha. They, too, had taken over sixth-tier human bodies. The only difference was that their new bodies were both female—and both belonged to Eastern women.

Looking at the two women, whose skin was as smooth as jade and who were even more beautiful than Zheng and Aisha had originally been, Li Mingxing recalled Raymond’s words.

“Li Mingxing, these seven mythic-layer worlds of the Inner World will not be easy to deal with. Normally, astral bodies like yours cannot enter before reaching fourth-tier strength. Even if you use a teleportation array in one of the Inner Worlds, you still will not be able to come into contact with them.

“However, the people of the Light Alliance seem to have discovered some method that allows them to forcibly send the astral bodies of apprentice heroes into the mythic layers, where they can use techniques akin to spirit possession to operate. Of course, they cannot remain there for very long. If they stay too long, the power of their astral bodies will be assimilated by the souls of those they possess. That is why they usually remain there for only ten to fifteen days.

“Although that is a very short time, it is still enough to accomplish many things—such as contacting the supreme leaders of those Inner Worlds and persuading them to support the work of their respective alliance with divine power. At present, the Light Alliance has already established contact with three mythic-layer Inner Worlds.

“If they are allowed to continue, then by the time one of the apprentice heroes of Earth’s Dark Alliance raises a certain skill to level four, all seven mythic-layer Inner Worlds will already belong to the Light Alliance.

“That is why you must go. Once you do, you and the followers you take with you will be able to obtain one skill from the bodies you possess—a level-six or level-seven skill. Although that skill will be sealed temporarily, once your strength reaches the rank of a monarch hero, you will be able to activate it at will.

“In addition, this time you will receive a construction blueprint and a skill as your reward. So work hard and complete the mission.”

Recalling this, Li Mingxing also remembered how, when he first heard the news, he had intended to bring all of his followers into the Inner World in one go.

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Only later did he realize that, apart from Zheng and Aisha, his other three followers each had their own duties.

In the end, Zheng and Aisha were the only ones who could take advantage of this opportunity. Once he had sorted out his thoughts, Li Mingxing began familiarizing himself with his new body.

Through the body’s original memories and its current attire, Li Mingxing realized that he had been rather lucky this time. He had possessed an Eastern swordsman, whose strength was roughly at the lower sixth tier—just enough to meet the standard for entering a mythic layer with one’s true body.

His greatest specialties were Level Six Swordsmanship Essence, a Saint-tier universal passive skill, and Level Six Physical Control, a universal active skill.

By mastering Swordsmanship Essence, one could wield any sword-type weapon with power more than a hundred times greater than normal, killing even formidable opponents with a single strike.

Physical Control allowed one to become familiar with every muscle in one’s body, reducing the stamina normally consumed by movement and achieving the greatest results in battle at the lowest possible cost.

Li Mingxing estimated that this new body was equivalent to that of a swordsman or sword immortal who had only just crossed the threshold. Given his own way of thinking—and the circumstances of the Inner World they now occupied—Li Mingxing preferred to call himself a sword immortal.

Naturally, Li Mingxing had no intention of facing such an enemy alone. He lured the man to one side, then loudly called for Zheng and Aisha to attack.

When Zheng and Aisha saw what was happening, they prepared for battle as well. Through their previous conversations with Li Mingxing, and their understanding of sixth-level skills, they knew that every skill developed branches once it reached level five, the Grandmaster tier.

Li Mingxing’s Level Six Swordsmanship Essence, for example, had followed the sword-immortal branch. It emphasized the power of sword energy, making his attacks unpredictable and impossible to anticipate.

The man who had launched the surprise attack, on the other hand, had most likely taken the path of speed. The speed of his attacks had already surpassed Li Mingxing’s ability to react.

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No matter how unpredictable Li Mingxing’s attacks were, they would be useless if he could not hit his enemy. Faced with this situation, Li Mingxing had no choice but to abandon his attempts to attack directly. Instead, he focused on entangling the enemy and creating an opportunity for Zheng and Aisha to strike from behind.

The moment Aisha saw what Li Mingxing was doing, she understood his plan. After glancing around and confirming that there was no danger nearby, she began preparing her Level Six skill, Storm Strike.

Since this was Aisha’s first time using the skill, it took her somewhat longer to complete. Afraid that the enemy might escape her attack range, she expanded its area of effect.

When Aisha finished chanting, the air nearby began to gather. The man attacking Li Mingxing immediately realized that dealing with Li Mingxing alone would be easy enough, but facing all three of them was beyond his abilities.

As soon as he saw Aisha preparing her magic, he retreated without hesitation. But Li Mingxing reacted even faster. The instant he realized that the man intended to flee, he threw himself forward recklessly.

With Li Mingxing clinging to him, the man could no longer make use of his advantage in speed. Under the force of Aisha’s Storm Strike, he collapsed to the ground.

Li Mingxing had also suffered minor injuries from the Storm Strike, but he did not let such a perfect opportunity slip away. The longsword in his hand plunged directly into the man’s throat.

The moment the blow landed, Li Mingxing felt a powerful soul aura surge from the man’s body and flow into his own.

His mind stirred. He redirected the soul aura toward his back, where the lion-scorpion representing his astral body lay in silent concealment.