Chapter 306: The Genius Battle Begins, Confused Virtual Universe Company Higher-Ups
The final results came in. The Qianwu Universe Empire was ultimately allocated 1,000 slots for the Universe Genius Battle.
Everyone in the group chat, having dominated their respective world zones as the top scorer, directly obtained the final qualification to participate.
As for everyone else among the billions of contenders in the empire, they still had to go through a brutal "Reincarnation Battle" to finally determine the remaining spots.
And the estimated time for this Reincarnation Battle—at least three years.
[Inorin's Note: The 'Reincarnation Battle' is an elimination tournament where contestants fight, die, and are 'reincarnated' (respawned) in the virtual world to fight again, accumulating points over a long period.]
"Three years?" Meng Qi was the first to squawk, his eyes wide. "We have to wait three years just for the preliminaries to finish?"
"So, the real Universe Genius Battle won't begin for another three years?" Xiao Yan asked, his brow furrowed.
The others in the group were stunned into silence after hearing this news.
Luo Feng nodded, a wry smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He was quite helpless about this; it was a cultural shock he was already used to.
Time in the Swallowed Star world was just that worthless.
A span of three to five years, for the powerful beings of the universe, was already considered an extremely short period, barely a blink. Spans of tens of thousands or even millions of years were the norm for training or travel.
In three to five years, Luo Feng himself would find it difficult to undergo a truly qualitative change.
But for the people in the group to wait three to five years... with their accelerated cultivation and cheat-like group, they could already blow up worlds.
Fortunately, there was an online/offline function in the virtual universe.
"You guys should go back to your own worlds and wait for a bit," Luo Feng suggested. "I'll go offline and AFK for three years, and then I'll call you when the real battle is about to start."
The others in the group nodded, having no objections.
Although they were having a lot of fun in the Swallowed Star world, and the technology was fascinating...
For a short period, it was fine. But to wait idly for three to five years? They really didn't have that much patience.
"The Virtual Universe Company should have noticed Earth's situation by now," Shi Jian said, his tone suddenly serious. "If they come looking for you while we're gone, remember to contact the group first."
He looked Luo Feng in the eye. "Earth can only belong to Earthlings."
L Luo Feng nodded grimly. "No need to rush. Currently, it's not just the Virtual Universe Company paying attention to Earth. There are other major forces as well."
"They're only interested in Earth for now and haven't truly discovered its ultimate secret. Let them fight and probe among themselves first. When needed, I'll tell you."
"Alright." Shi Jian clapped him on the shoulder, his seriousness fading into a confident smile. "I'll still say the same thing—with Liu Shen, there are no surprises!"
[Inorin's Note: 'Liu Shen' (Willow Deity) is an immensely powerful being from Shi Hao's world (Perfect World) who is allied with the group, serving as their ultimate trump card and protector.]
His frank conversation with Liu Shen back then was simply a stroke of genius.
Liu Shen, that powerful, unfathomable ally, was being utilized to the extreme by the people in the group.
...
After exchanging farewells, the several group members opened their respective portals and left the world of Swallowed Star.
After they left, Luo Feng activated the offline function, his consciousness logging out of the virtual universe. He then began to cultivate diligently in the real world.
He would be offline for three years here. He had gained an extra three years of development time over his friends.
He wanted to use this opportunity to quickly become stronger, to truly close the gap.
And then, amaze everyone in the group.
Soon, three years passed in a flash for him.
He went online in the group chat.
[Luo Feng: "Brothers, three years have passed. Please, all Dragons, return to your positions!"]
The people in the group, who felt like they had just returned to their own worlds, immediately saw the message Luo Feng sent.
Upon seeing this message, the few of them knew that Luo Feng had just spent three long years in his own world.
"This online/offline function is truly exaggerated..." Shi Jian sighed with emotion.
After their initial shock, the people in the group opened their portals again and returned to the world of Swallowed Star.
It was still the familiar place where they had left, a private lounge in the virtual universe. Seemingly unchanged.
But in reality, three years had passed in this world.
After three years of diligent cultivation, Luo Feng's aura had indeed undergone some changes. It was sharper, deeper, and more integrated with the laws of this universe.
"The competition will start tomorrow. As I expected, in these three years, the Virtual Universe Company and other forces haven't made much overt movement," Luo Feng began his report.
"It's not entirely true to say no movement, though. They should have already discovered Earth's secret. The Virtual Universe Company has contacted me privately... Their attitude towards me is a bit confusing."
"How so?" Lin Dong asked.
"They treat me with extreme respect, but also extreme caution," Luo Feng explained. "I estimate they want to see our performance in the Genius Battle before deciding their final attitude towards Earth."
"Also, your collective 'disappearance' for these three years, right after qualifying, has attracted some significant attention from the higher-ups."
The people in the group felt a little dazed upon hearing this.
Don't say it, really don't say it... this feeling was quite strange.
They had only left this world for less than a few seconds from their perspective. Yet, three whole years had already passed here.
Time. It was truly a mysterious and terrifying power.
"Let them pay attention. In the end, it will all come down to a show of force anyway," Shi Jian spoke calmly after understanding the situation.
"As soon as Liu Shen makes a move, there will naturally be great scholars to argue on our behalf!"
The few of them were no longer unknown individuals in the world of Swallowed Star. Disappearing for three years right after becoming the top geniuses of the Qianwu qualifiers? This was a major event.
If some forces investigated carefully, they would probably uncover a lot of confusing information about them. Suddenly disappearing. And suddenly reappearing, perfectly in time for the finals.
It would be strange if it didn't attract attention.
However, these were minor matters. It didn't matter!
As long as Liu Shen made a move, those forces would naturally "imagine" and justify things themselves!
Luo Feng nodded. It felt good to have someone so powerful covering for you.
Soon, the few of them fully logged into the Virtual Universe and then headed to the gathering places of the various universe nations.
...
On a floating island in the Qianwu Continent sector of the virtual world.
Everyone in the group appeared here.
"Mr. Xiao Yan, Mr. Luo Feng… this way, please!"
A Universe-level warrior standing by the teleportation point, wearing a formal uniform, smiled respectfully and pointed the way for everyone.
[Inorin's Note: A 'Universe-level' warrior is a high-ranking expert, far above the 'Stellar-level' of the contestants. Their respect is significant.]
Hearing that he was addressed first, Xiao Yan's tail almost wagged to the sky. He let out a faint "hmm," puffed out his chest, and proudly led the way along the path.
The people in the group were speechless at this sight, but they followed along.
A moment later, they arrived at a vast plaza surrounded by exotic flowers and plants.
There were already hundreds of people here. These were the 1,000 geniuses representing the Qianwu Universe Nation.
When these people saw Luo Feng's group arrive, their eyes widened in shock, and a terrified murmur swept through the plaza.
"They're here… Xiao Yan, Luo Feng, those monsters! Those Earthlings are here!"
The preliminary rounds of the Universe Genius Competition, it turned out, had something similar to a recording!
The battle footage of some seeded players and top-ranking geniuses who passed the preliminary rounds would be closely watched and analyzed by other participants.
Xiao Yan and the others… without a doubt, they were the key players among the key players.
The scenes from their preliminary rounds—Xiao Yan's world-burning fire, Lin Dong's sky-covering finger, Shi Jian's lightning—were widely spread by countless people.
Almost no participant here didn't recognize them. Having witnessed their casual, large-scale destruction... people naturally knew the terror of these individuals.
Many people looked at Xiao Yan and the others with deep awe and a hint of fear.
The group didn't pay attention to these individuals, just quietly stayed to one side, waiting for arrangements.
Not long after, a giant wearing heavy scale armor and a horned helmet arrived. His aura was vast and ancient. An Immortal.
[Inorin's Note: An 'Immortal' (Buding) is a god-like being in the Swallowed Star universe, having achieved practical immortality and immense power.]
The giant's gaze swept over the 1,000 geniuses, lingering on Luo Feng's group for a noticeable moment, before he spoke, his voice booming: "The one thousand Geniuses from the Qianwu Universe Nation will be led by me, according to the command of the Nation Lord!"
"Alright, follow me!"
...
A group of 1,000 people, led by the scale-armored giant, activated a long-range teleportation and arrived in a new space opened up by the Virtual Universe.
This was a vast, floating continent.
As soon as their team arrived, someone immediately made arrangements.
In the distance, there were 1008 towering, magnificent buildings. Each building represented a team from one of the 1008 universe nations.
The group headed towards the building marked for the Qianwu Universe Nation.
As they walked, people from other universe nations noticed the arrival of the Qianwu team.
Countless peerless prodigies from other universe nations, who were already gathered, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Xiao Yan and the others.
"They're here! The people from the Qianwu Universe Nation are here!"
"Look, that's Xiao Yan. His comprehension of the Law of Fire is terrifying. His martial skill is too special; his fire can actually cover an entire world zone…"
"The strength of those other few is also terrifying. Almost everyone has comprehended multiple Laws! Thousands of people combined were no match for one of their moves!"
Anyone who had watched the recorded matches of the group's preliminary rounds now looked at the group with awe.
From the scenes of the preliminary rounds, these people from Earth were simply on a different level than them.
There were many peerless prodigies in the various universe nations.
However, no matter how terrifying these prodigies were—like the famous 'Illusion Demon' Garaixi, or 'Light Sword' Aichen, or the Qianwu nation's own 'Savage' Rong Jun—they couldn't instantly kill thousands of experts of the same realm with one move.
But for these people from Earth, that was just a basic operation.
Such a group of monsters. How were they supposed to compete with them?
Many people had also watched the recordings of geniuses from other universe nations.
They could instantly kill people of the same realm, yes. But this kind of instant kill was only effective when the number of enemies was small.
Even ants can kill an elephant if there are enough of them.
Even these peerless prodigies, if they suddenly faced thousands, or even tens of thousands of experts of the same realm... they would only be able to drink their fill of bitter defeat.
However, Xiao Yan's group was different.
They were powerful to a terrifying degree. People of the same realm were just cannon fodder in front of them.
Numbers could not cause a qualitative change at all!
...
Time quickly flowed by.
With the strength displayed by the people in the group, they naturally wouldn't suffer from irrational provocations. Moreover, almost everyone who participated in the Universe Genius Battle and reached this stage was a genius.
No one was bored enough to do such a thing.
Therefore, soon, the Universe Genius Battle officially began.
Millions of geniuses who had passed the preliminary rounds from all 1008 universe nations were instantly summoned to a massive central plaza. On the plaza stood over 1,000 Immortal beings, their auras shaking the virtual space.
These Immortal beings exuded terrifying pressure.
"Welcome to the Peak Genius Battle, hosted by the Virtual Universe Company!"
A gentle voice rang out, and a man wearing a green battle robe with purple scales on his head appeared before the crowd. The aura he exuded was extremely terrifying, surpassing all the other Immortals.
This was a high-ranking person from the Virtual Universe Company.
He stood in the void, looking down at the countless geniuses below. His gaze lingered on Xiao Yan, Luo Feng, and the others for a moment.
"Our Virtual Universe Company wants to select the strongest among you and absorb them into the core of the Virtual Universe Company!"
"Tomorrow, you will all enter a trial space. The trial space has 7 trial towers, and each trial tower has 7 levels. You will start from the 1st trial tower, pass the 7th level of the 1st trial tower, then proceed to the 2nd trial tower…"
"You will continue until you die!"
"Your points will be calculated based on your performance in the trial space. The top 1 to 100 in points can be directly absorbed by the Virtual Universe Company."
"Those after 100th place will go to a ring battle…"
This powerful being announced the rules very briefly, then with a wave of his hand...
An invisible, irresistible force descended upon the entire plane.
Countless geniuses were instantly teleported away.
...
Shi Jian appeared on a dark asteroid. His gaze swept around, and there were many tiny, floating stars around him.
"This Virtual Universe Company is indeed impressive. It can instantly create millions of trial spaces, and each trial space is surprisingly so real."
Shi Jian secretly sighed in his heart. The positioning of this virtual world was similar to the Virtual God Realm of his home world.
However, the application technology here was even more amazing than the Virtual God Realm. The Virtual God Realm couldn't freely program and create entire worlds like this virtual world could.
Shi Jian directed his gaze towards the seven massive trial towers in front of him. Each trial tower was as tall as a mountain, nestled within the asteroid.
[Inorin's Note: The 'Trial Towers' are the next stage. Each contestant gets an identical, private instance to test their combat power against waves of enemies.]
"Trial Tower…"
Shi Jian simply glanced at the rules, then directly walked into the first tower. There was nothing complicated to say about the rules.
Mindless killing was all that was needed.
"Let's finish this quickly."
"With thunder—shatter the darkness!"
Shi Jian's figure hovered high in the sky. Endless lightning surged around him, and a ray of light shone like a new sun.
Lightning Domain. Light Domain.
The Lightning Domain was comprehended by Shi Jian, derived from the lightning techniques on his body. The Light Domain was comprehended by him, derived from his Heaven's Divine Fist and Dominator Domain.
[First Trial Tower, First Level]
[Ten thousand Vicious Beasts: Blood-furred Mammoths. Killing one Vicious Beast earns one point. Killing all of them earns 10,000 points and teleports you to the Second Level.]
The trial information appeared. Thunder rumbled around Shi Jian's body, and countless Blood-furred Mammoths were instantly annihilated, turning to ash under the scouring lightning. He vanished and appeared at the second level.
...
"Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger!"
[Inorin's Note: 'Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger' (Da Huang Yin Tian Zhi) is a powerful martial art from Lin Dong's home world, Wu Dong Qian Kun.]
Lin Dong's eyes were cold. His Five Elements Domain of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth simultaneously surged forth. The Five Elements Domain evolved and combined with the Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger.
Five giant fingers, each representing an element, descended from the sky, smashing fiercely into the Vicious Beast horde.
"Xiao Yan… I don't believe it. This time, can your points still be higher than mine? Can your clearance time still be faster than mine!"
...
"Sword Qi spans thirty thousand miles, one sword brings frost to nineteen states!"
Lin Feng swept his long sword. Terrifying Law of Metal permeated the air. The Law of Metal, carrying his indomitable Sword Qi, directly swept across the entire trial grounds in a single, graceful arc.
All the Vicious Beasts seemed to be frozen in place.
Only after Lin Feng's graceful figure entered the second level did the thousands of Vicious Beast corpses belatedly split into two, falling apart cleanly.
Lin Feng didn't even glance back, just held his sword and walked forward resolutely.
If Meng Qi had seen this scene, he would probably be green with envy. This was the exact scene he dreamed of! A handsome Sword Cultivator. A dashing swordsman!
...
"Yang Fire!"
"Yin Fire!"
"Yin and Yang Buddha's Angry Fire Lotus!"
Xiao Yan stood in the air, holding white Yang Fire in his left hand and black Yin Fire in his right. His Fire Domain expanded, and then he began to rub the two terrifying flames together.
After the flames merged, a violent, world-destroying power erupted.
Xiao Yan directly threw the unstable, beautiful lotus into the Vicious Beast horde.
A familiar, terrifyingly powerful Fire Lotus bloomed, incinerating everything.
Xiao Yan didn't hesitate at all. His figure flickered and disappeared from the first level. He wanted to defend his champion's throne from the preliminaries. Absolutely unwavering.
...
Fang Han's Domain canopy unfolded. The Five Elements Domain, mixed with the Lightning Domain, caused countless Five Elements Divine Thunders to descend from the sky.
In an instant, all Vicious Beasts were annihilated. He stepped into the second level.
...
Yang Qi simply threw a punch forward. Countless divine lights permeated behind him, like the birth of a holy kingdom.
Wherever the light shone, all things were extinguished. Law of Light!
He stepped into the next level.
...
Shi Hao, Luo Feng, Meng Qi, and the others also broke through the first level almost immediately.
They all possessed Divine Abilities with large-scale destructive power.
The reason they had "lost" to Xiao Yan in the preliminary points race... that was because the world zone in the preliminary rounds was too vast, and Xiao Yan had the advantage of timing and a flammable terrain.
That's why they lost to him.
Now, in the tower challenge, the area was restricted.
The few of them could almost clear all the monsters in the very first instant.
...
Virtual Universe, Central Plaza.
Over 1,000 Immortal beings, along with some true higher-ups of the Virtual Universe Company, were observing the group's progress in the tower challenge.
Xiao Yan and the others were already their key targets.
But when they saw the performance of the few... they were also stunned.
"Are these... even human?" one Immortal muttered. "I'll eat my words!"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, Lightning, Time, Space, Wind! The Ten Great Origin Laws.
Xiao Yan's group...
Almost every single one of them had comprehended the Five Elements Laws of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, as well as the Law of Lightning!
[Inorin's Note: This is the shocking part. A 'genius' in Swallowed Star struggles to comprehend one Origin Law. This group has members who have comprehended six or more simultaneously at the Stellar level.]
How were others supposed to play then?
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