  A phase transition within the molten phase of the Abrikosov vortex system
without disorder in extreme type-II superconductors is found via large-scale
Monte-Carlo simulations. It involves breaking a U(1)-symmetry, and has a
zero-field counterpart, unlike vortex lattice melting. Its hallmark is the loss
of number-conservation of connected vortex paths threading the entire system
{\it in any direction}, driving the vortex line tension to zero. This tension
plays the role of a generalized ``stiffness'' of the vortex liquid, and serves
as a probe of the loss of order at the transition, where a weak specific heat
anomaly is found.
