Chapter 308: PK Between Group Members
Since the other, "normal" participants were still being filtered through the final trials, Shi Jian and the others suddenly found themselves with some rare free time.
However, they didn't idle. They couldn't. Instead, they fully immersed themselves in comprehending the various Laws and Domains of the Swallowed Star universe, preparing for their entry into the Primal Universe.
The ten major basic Laws—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Lightning, Time, and Space—were Laws that no one in the group wanted to miss out on.
[Inorin's Note: These ten "Origin Laws" are the foundation of power in the Swallowed Star universe. Comprehending them is the path to becoming an Immortal.]
The Five Elements Laws of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth were self-evident. Most of them had foundations in this area. Fang Han, with his Great Five Elements Technique, was already a grandmaster.
Xiao Yan and the others hadn't deeply comprehended the Lightning Law of this universe, but it was only a matter of time.
There were too many methods to comprehend the Lightning Law. Lin Dong had his Ancestral Talisman, and Fang Han had his Five Elements Godly Lightning.
With cultivation techniques like the Kunpeng Law (from Shi Hao) and the Instant Kill Great Law, which represented the pinnacle of speed, assisting them, beginning to comprehend the Wind Law wasn't difficult either.
With Lin Dong's Spatial Ancestral Talisman assisting with the Space Law, and Luo Feng's own innate talent, comprehending it wasn't too difficult.
On the other hand, the Light Law and the Time Law were a bit difficult to comprehend.
The Light Law was abstract. Most of the group had no advantage.
However, Shi Jian, with his pupil techniques, and Yang Qi, with his fundamental divine light, had both gained entry. By guiding and verifying with each other, the others could also learn a superficial understanding.
The most difficult, the true prize, was the Time Law.
Among the many cultivation systems of the group members, there was almost nothing directly related to the Time Law. This was a true challenge and a massive opportunity.
Time flew by quickly.
Amidst the group members' focused cultivation, the Peak Genius Battle trials quickly concluded!
…
Above the Central Plaza of the Virtual Universe.
Over 1,000 peerless geniuses gathered here, the survivors from trillions of contestants.
Shi Jian and the nine others stood at the very front. The countless other geniuses looked at them with awe, respect, and a deep, unconcealable fear.
Clearly, this selection…
Had dealt them a heavy, reality-shattering blow.
The man in the green battle robe from the Virtual Universe Company (VUC) looked at everyone, his face beaming.
"Congratulations! You are the most outstanding 1,000 individuals from over 1,000 Cosmic Nations in the entire Universe Human Race in this Genius Battle!"
"My Virtual Universe Company will fully cultivate you… However, you should understand that competition always exists in the Universe. If you want to obtain better treatment in the Virtual Universe Company, you must compete!"
He then began to announce the rewards, his voice booming across the plaza.
"Among these 1,000 of you, those ranked 101st to 1,000th will receive a bonus of 10 Mixed Yuan Units, enter the Initial Universe for comprehension, and can join my Virtual Universe Company's Apocalypse Secret Realm!"
[Inorin's Note: A "Mixed Yuan Unit" is a vast currency, 1 unit can buy many planets. The "Secret Realms" (Apocalypse, Heaven and Earth, Grand Beginning, Primal) are the four core training grounds of the VUC, with Primal being the highest.]
"Those ranked 21st to 100th will receive a bonus of 100 Mixed Yuan Units, enter the Initial Universe for comprehension, and can join the Virtual Universe Company's core Heaven and Earth Secret Realm!"
"Those ranked 11th to 20th will receive a bonus of 1,000 Mixed Yuan Units, enter the Initial Universe, and join the Grand Beginning Secret Realm!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the nine group members and Luo Feng.
"Those ranked 1st to 10th will receive a bonus of 10,000 Mixed Yuan Units, enter the Primal Secret Realm!"
"Under normal circumstances, the Primal Secret Realm only admits one person per session. However, this session of yours is... quite outstanding."
"After discussion with the highest echelons of the Virtual Universe Company, we have decided to grant your session 10 slots to enter the Primal Secret Realm!"
"Next, we will proceed with the final arena battles to determine the final rankings!"
The voice of the man in the green battle robe resonated, echoing in everyone's minds.
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked towards Shi Jian and the others.
Under normal circumstances, the Primal Secret Realm only admitted one person.
But this time...
They were actually going to admit 10 people.
Clearly.
This new rule was aimed specifically at Shi Jian and the other nine monsters from Earth. The VUC was bending its own ancient rules to accommodate them.
As the man in the green battle robe finished speaking, the rules for the arena battles were also displayed.
First, based on their performance in the trial space and the three rounds of elimination, the 100 "most outstanding" individuals were selected from among the many peerless geniuses.
Then, these individuals would challenge the top 100 on the trial leaderboard (which included the group).
A total of 200 people would engage in one-on-one battles.
From the 100 winners, the 40 most outstanding would be selected for one-on-one battles.
Then, the top 20 would be determined.
The 20 would then engage in another battle—to select the final ten!
These ten could all enter the Primal Secret Realm.
These ten would also compete against each other to determine the ultimate final ranking.
However, this ultimate ranking did not affect their treatment. The top 10 all got the same reward.
The Virtual Universe Company's rules this time had changed significantly compared to previous sessions.
One could say...
They were completely tailor-made for Shi Jian and the others.
After the man in the green battle robe announced the rules, a ripple spread through the crowd. (The original text mentions gold, but he was green).
Some people raised questions about the rules, feeling it was unfair.
This caused a minor commotion.
However, none of this concerned the people in the group.
What they cared about...
Was only the final arena competition.
The group of people all looked eager to make a move.
…
The next morning.
In the Central Plaza, the 1,000 peerless geniuses gathered again.
The man in the green battle robe spoke: "Today is a good day. We will select the top 100, top 20, and top 10 from among you 1,000 people within a single day!"
"If you are ready, then let the finals begin!"
The man in the green battle robe looked down at everyone. With a wave of his hand, 100 massive arenas appeared in the Central Plaza!
Shi Jian and over 200 others were teleported into the arenas.
Each arena had two people.
In an instant, all the Immortal powerhouses watching from afar and those genius elites who were not qualified to participate focused their attention on the first ten arenas.
These were the arenas of the group members.
Shi Jian.
Shi Hao.
Meng Qi.
Lin Dong.
Xiao Yan.
Yang Qi.
Fang Han.
Lin Feng.
Luo Feng.
Li Changshou.
The silver-white arena covered an area of several tens of miles, and a black mesh enveloped the entire arena.
Some of the combatants in the arenas were full of passion and excitement! They yearned for progress and to compete for higher trial rankings.
However...
The people in the top ten arenas, the opponents of the group, had faces of pure despair.
Shi Jian's opponent was a thin young man with a dark complexion and thick lips. This young man looked at Shi Jian…
And was already trembling slightly.
He cursed the Virtual Universe Company's arrangement in his heart a thousand times.
'Me? Fight this monster from Earth?'
'Are you serious?!'
The previous trials also had recordings. They weren't open to the public, but these top 1000 participants were qualified to watch them.
Therefore...
They had almost all seen Shi Jian and the others' progress through the trials.
Their overwhelming, physics-defying, logic-breaking methods made these peerless geniuses from various Cosmic Nations feel doubt about their entire lives.
'Is this really a Stellar Level cultivator?'
'I'd believe it if you said they were Sector Lords!'
[Inorin's Note: A "Sector Lord" (Jiè Zhǔ) is a vastly powerful being who controls an entire star sector and has their own internal world, millions of times stronger than a Stellar level.]
The gap was too vast.
Inside the trial tower, those monsters that made them despair…
In front of these people...
Only despair remained.
Now… he had replaced those monsters in the trial tower.
And he had to stand in front of this group of people!
The pressure in his heart was immense, but he was still a genius. He mustered his courage, instantly accelerating his speed. The sword in his hand transformed into a surging gale, and endless sword light converged, forming a whirlwind that swept across the world.
He made his move.
The next moment...
His body flew backward.
He was carried away on a stretcher. He had been defeated by Shi Jian in a single, casual glance.
The others also had no surprises.
The moment the competition began, it had already ended.
These normal "peerless geniuses" couldn't even withstand one move from them.
The real spectacle...
Was their "infighting" among themselves!
"Congratulations, little ones standing in the arena. You have entered the top 100 and can enter my Virtual Company's Heaven and Earth Secret Realm… Next is selecting 20 people from 40!"
"According to the Virtual Universe System's selection… I will announce the list!"
"Shi Jian…"
"Meng Qi…"
Soon. The arena battles for 20 out of 40 began.
Without exception.
The 10 people from the group were all arranged into different arenas, facing the 10 strongest native geniuses.
According to the current rules, the top ten was practically predetermined.
The Virtual Universe Company naturally wouldn't let the ten of them fight each other to the death before the final list of ten was confirmed.
A moment later...
Another 20 were selected!
Another arena was set up.
Ten arenas, ten duels!
On one side were the cheat-like group members like Shi Jian.
On the other side were the true native geniuses of the Swallowed Star universe, prodigies like the "Death God" Bolan and the "Illusion Demon" Ai Chen!
If it were peacetime, Bolan and these others would certainly receive the support and cheers of most.
But now...
They were hardly favored by anyone.
It could be seen from the previous trial matches…
These people and Shi Jian's group were completely on different levels of existence.
Although Bolan and the others were not favored, both the other contestants and the Immortal powerhouses were quite interested in the outcome of this arena battle!
They all wanted to know.
How big was the gap between their strongest native genius, Bolan, and this group of monsters?
Soon...
The 20-to-10 arena battle began!
Shi Jian faced "Ai Chen," an existence who had comprehended the Origin Laws of Light and Time.
Although she had comprehended the Origin Law of Time, in the face of absolute strength, it was still useless.
Shi Jian, however, was curious. He gave her a chance to make a move, carefully experiencing the profundities of the Time Law with his pupils. "Interesting. You can slow my perception by 0.08 seconds."
Then, he simply stepped forward, ignoring her "time stop" entirely, and tapped her on the forehead, eliminating her. His method was already very gentle.
That "Death God" Bolan, the #1 hope of the native geniuses, faced Fang Han.
He was beaten so badly he didn't even have the right to kneel and act like a dog.
Bolan was proud. He unleashed his strongest Domain, "Death God's Realm."
Fang Han didn't even look at him. He just raised one hand. "Five Elements Great Hand Seal."
A mountain-sized hand, formed of the five elements, descended. Bolan's "Domain" shattered like glass. The hand pressed down, and Bolan's body was instantly crushed into data, eliminated.
Soon.
The 20-to-10 arena battle also concluded!
"All four levels of selection have been completed. This session of the Universe Human Race Peak Genius Selection, as of today… can basically be considered concluded!"
The man in the green battle robe had a slight, relieved smile on his face.
"This session of yours is the most outstanding. I believe that after several tens or hundreds of epochs, the names of some of you will still awe the entire Universe!"
He focused his gaze on Shi Jian and the nine others.
"Especially you all—to be able to make the Virtual Universe Company break its ancient rule and admit ten people into the Primal Secret Realm at once, this is an unprecedented event!"
"The benefits and treatment for you ten have already been determined and will not change… However, your rankings have not been completely finalized!"
"The upcoming arena battles will no longer involve issues of benefits and treatment; they will only determine the ranking."
"Please... begin your performance!"
The man in the green battle robe waved his hand, then spoke:
"The Virtual Universe System cannot provide exact data for your simulated strength. Therefore, it cannot arrange opponents in the arena like before!"
"I have decided... to let you decide the final ranking arena battles yourselves!"
"You can use any method or any rules to determine the final ranking."
As the man in the green battle robe's words fell, everyone's eyes lit up.
Shi Jian and the others, needless to say, had long wanted to engage in an internal, "Royal City PK."
As for the other participating geniuses and the Immortal powerhouses watching the competition…
Watching a good spectacle was human nature.
In literature, there is no first; in martial arts, there is no second!
Shi Jian and his group were so overwhelmingly powerful that other geniuses who went up to spar were defeated before they even understood what happened.
Their own sparring, among themselves...
Everyone couldn't imagine how exciting it would be!
Watching such a group of peerless prodigies determine their superiority, wasn't this more satisfying than just watching a one-sided slaughter?
Shi Jian and the others were also a bit surprised. The VUC was directly handing over the "competition process" to them to decide.
The previous few arena battles...
All procedures were arranged by the VUC's System. The System selected "outstanding" members, then arranged for them to PK.
Everything was arranged by data, and there was no "fair" process.
Some people whose data indicated they weren't good enough didn't even get the qualification to participate in the arena battles.
Previously, some people had even caused a small conflict over this matter.
Now...
The Virtual Universe Company simply stopped arranging the final process.
Instead, it let Shi Jian and the others decide the process themselves.
This was very "spiritual"!
It just happened to suit the intentions of everyone in the group!
The ten of them gathered together and began to discuss how to conduct the finals.
Regarding the rules of the finals, everyone unanimously upheld two fundamental principles:
Everyone wanted to beat Xiao Yan up.
They wanted to beat Xiao Yan up together.
Based on these two principles, everyone quickly discussed and came up with the final process.
[Event 1: PK Match - King of the Hill]
[Event 2: Grand Melee - Battle Royale]
For the PK Match, one arena, one person would be "champion."
Then, everyone else would come up to challenge, one by one.
If you win the challenge, you replace the champion. If you lose, someone else takes the stage.
One point is awarded for each person defeated.
This way, they take turns fighting.
Once they have fought each other and determined a winner, no more challenges are allowed.
When everyone has fought once, the PK Match ends.
Then, the Grand Melee begins.
All ten in the arena at once.
The person eliminated first in the Grand Melee gets the lowest score.
The person who remains until the end gets the highest score.
The scores from both competitions are added together, and the final ranking (1... to 10...) is determined by the total score!
The PK Match was already fair enough.
However, everyone still unanimously requested to add a Grand Melee.
As for this Grand Melee...
Hehe. Let's see you survive being jumped by nine protagonists, Xiao Yan.
After hearing the process from the ten of them, a strange look flashed across the face of the man in the green battle robe.
However, he didn't say anything.
Instead, he agreed.
With a wave of his hand, an incredibly massive arena instantly appeared on the ground!
"Since that is the case, let the final competition begin!"
The man in the green... robe (not golden) informed the others of the rules from the ten of them.
Under the gaze of all.
The Royal City PK...
Began!
Shi Jian and the others looked at each other, their eyes filled with intense, burning Battle Intent.
"Who wants to be the first champion?" Shi Jian's gaze swept over everyone.
Several people, including Lin Dong and Shi Hao, were eager to make a move.
However...
It was Xiao Yan who spoke first, stepping forward with a cough.
"Of course, I, the big winner of the last bet, am the only one qualified to be the first champion!"
He walked onto the stage with a proud, arrogant demeanor, as if he already was the champion.
The other few who were eager to move saw this, and their fists clenched!
They became even more eager to move.
They had no objection to Xiao Yan being the first champion!
However...
They all wanted to be the first to challenge Xiao Yan.
And teach him a good, proper lesson!
Shi Jian looked at the few people whose fists were clenched, and sighed helplessly.
His own fists were actually clenched too.
"How about this," Shi Jian, as the calm-headed one, set a rule. "Let's roll a dice in the group. The one with the highest dice roll will be the first to challenge Xiao Yan."
"Those who don't get to go first, don't worry. According to this process, everyone will have a chance to fight him."
The others nodded and started rolling dice in the group.
The result was quickly out.
The highest roll...
Lin Dong!
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