Chapter 305: Lucky Guy Wins the Bet
In the vast, opulent main hall of a Universe spaceship, thousands of high-status figures stood.
These were all the ruling class of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.
At this very moment, the entire vast hall, which was usually filled with polite murmurs and political maneuvering, was abuzz with shocked, frantic noise.
The big figures of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire were stunned and speechless, staring at the main holographic screen.
On that huge screen, a piece of unbelievable information was being displayed.
"Black Dragon Mountain Empire - Has Passed the Preliminary Qualification (Temporary): Seven!"
Behind that astonishing number, the names of Luo Feng and the others were also displayed.
"1. Luo Feng. 2. Yang Qi. 3. Shi Hao. 4. Shi Jian…"
The Black Dragon Mountain Emperor, the ruler of 1,000+ galaxies, was utterly bewildered. He stared at the screen, his mind blank.
"When did my Black Dragon Mountain Empire produce so many geniuses? Geniuses who could all pass the preliminary selection? What are the identities of these people? Check! Check them now!"
"Your Majesty... Earth! All these people... they all come from Earth."
His subordinates quickly searched for the information and then discovered a shocking, impossible fact.
"Earth?!" The Black Dragon Mountain Emperor was even more bewildered. "What is so special about this backwater place that it can produce so many geniuses at once?"
…
Compared to the bewilderment and panic of the higher-ups...
The billions of citizens of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire were immensely, explosively proud.
It was just like the ancient international competitions on Earth.
If there were athletes from one's own country among the competitors, it would naturally make people incredibly excited and proud, with everyone hoping for their country's athletes to win.
And the Peak Genius Battle is one of the biggest events for all of humanity in the Universe, with an astonishing influence among the populace.
In the past...
For the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, if even one person could enter the preliminary list, it was cause for celebration with champagne across all its galaxies.
But now...
More than one person from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire entered the preliminary list.
It was a whole group of people.
More importantly, these people's points were... ridiculously, absurdly, impossibly high!
…
"Black Dragon Mountain Empire… How could such a small, remote corner of the universe produce such terrifying geniuses?"
"Xiao Yan! Luo Feng! Fang Han! Quickly, collect all available information on these people."
In the central government of the Ganwu Universe Nation, countless super-experts, many of them Undying and Immortal-level beings, looked at the overall leaderboard and were stunned.
[Inorin's Note: "Immortal" (Bùxiǔ) is a god-like rank in Swallowed Star, far beyond the "Sector Lord" rank, capable of living for eons.]
The preliminary round had only started for a few days.
The points ranking had already undergone terrifying changes.
Xiao Yan, ranked first, already had nearly 100 million points.
A person named Fang Han followed closely behind, with tens of millions of points.
Following them, Lin Dong, Shi Jian, and a whole group of others also had millions, even tens of millions of points.
This was a very terrifying phenomenon.
It indicated that as soon as these people entered the virtual world zone, they didn't explore, they didn't hide, they didn't train. They immediately began a bloody, systematic massacre of their surroundings.
Using the same "blank" Stellar-level 9-star body...
Their combat strength, their skill, completely surpassed the other participants.
And it was unknown by how much!
More importantly, these super-strong individuals from the Ganwu Universe Nation specifically investigated the situations in the virtual worlds where these people on the list resided.
As they expected...
The strength of these people was exceptionally, monstrously terrifying.
Other participants, including the seeded "prodigies" from their own powerful families, were simply powerless to contend with them.
Basically, they died upon encountering them.
Even the top few Prodigies of the Ganwu Universe Nation, when encountering these people, were almost instantly killed with one move.
They had no power to resist!
The person ranked first, Xiao Yan, was situated in a world zone that was supposed to be a standard forest. He had transformed it into a special sea of fire.
His "Fire Domain" unfolded, a multi-colored sea of flames that almost encompassed the entire world.
[Inorin's Note: This "Fire Domain" is, of course, Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flames, far surpassing any normal "Domain" comprehension a Stellar-level fighter should have.]
Only a very small number of individuals who had also comprehended the Fire Domain, or those with powerful, unique strength, could barely survive in that sea of fire.
Everyone else was turned into his points, cooked alive.
The person ranked second... wait, the rankings just updated.
The person ranked second, named Shi Jian, was even stranger. He wasn't even seen. His entire world zone was covered in invisible killing formations. Geniuses would be walking, and then they would just... disintegrate. The whole world was an automated slaughterhouse.
The third person, named Fang Han, stood in the Void Realm, with Five Elements Law Domains of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth simultaneously manifesting on his body.
The five Law Domains were played like a game in his hands, transforming into a sea of Five Elements Godly Lightning that swept across thousands of miles!
The Five Elements Law transformed into divine lightning and descended.
No one could stop it.
Some super-experts witnessed with their own eyes that the royal prodigy of the Ganwu Universe Nation, who had comprehended his own Law Domain, was blasted into dust under that lightning, not even lasting a single second.
And that person believed it was a "world mechanism" (an environmental hazard) until his death. He never even realized it was another contestant.
The person ranked fourth, Lin Dong...
With a single finger, his finger transformed into a pillar reaching the sky, with the Five Elements Domain flowing on his finger. It was the Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger. It directly suppressed an entire area!
Hundreds, even thousands, of those experts teamed up to resist.
All were annihilated by him in one move!
The rest of those people on the list were also more terrifying than the last.
The Law Domain, which ordinary people struggled to comprehend a tiny bit of, was like free money in their hands. They wielded it with casual, world-breaking mastery.
Genius.
Peerless Genius.
Super Invincible Universe Peerless Genius!
Those super-experts quickly had people investigate the identities of these individuals.
Soon, these super-experts discovered the same shocking fact the Black Dragon Mountain Emperor had.
These people...
All came from a place called — Earth. In the backwater Black Dragon Mountain Empire.
Many people realized something was deeply wrong.
For a small, remote place to produce one genius might be understandable.
But to produce so many monstrous geniuses at once?
Clearly...
This place might have some very big issues.
They kept this matter in their hearts and continued to observe the situation in various world zones.
Looking at the other "normal" geniuses who were being brutally massacred in those world zones...
Countless super-experts sighed.
"Poor children…"
…
The participants still trapped in various world zones were actually not that broken.
Because they simply didn't know what they were facing.
Basically, they couldn't even meet Shi Jian and the others.
They were already killed by a random wave of fire, a bolt of lightning from the sky, or just... disappearing.
No survivors meant no fear could be spread.
These participants...
Only started to break down after they were eliminated and logged out.
They felt that their elimination was unjust, a bug, or a world hazard.
Then they quickly went to watch the subsequent matches, or even the replays of their own deaths.
After seeing the performance of Xiao Yan and the others—after seeing the replay from the killer's perspective—they all fell silent.
Doubts, and a cold, drenching terror, arose in their hearts.
"These... these monsters... are they in the same competition as us?"
"...Are we supposed to deal with him?"
…
"Fighting! Awesome!"
Lin Dong fought very freely. He had killed his way through his zone and had barely checked the points ranking.
Now that he had fought to his heart's content, he finally remembered to check the points leaderboard.
"I must be in the lead, right? The others in the group probably didn't think about points being lost…"
"They definitely wouldn't be like me, initiating extreme slaughter from the very beginning!"
Lin Dong was very confident. He opened the leaderboard, and the next moment, he cursed:
"Xiao Yan, you son of a b*tch!"
…
What followed was no suspense.
This preliminary round almost became a personal show for everyone in the group.
The members of the group...
Almost dominated the top ten of the entire Ganwu Universal Nation's points ranking.
They were all first place in their respective world region's points ranking.
The highest ranked, the ultimate winner of the bet, was Xiao Yan.
His method: "Setting fire to the mountains." He created a world-spanning sea of Heavenly Flame. There's nothing else to say about that. Just carry him out directly.
Second was Shi Jian. He spent the first day setting up heaven-defying killing formations, but after that, he also swept through the entire world, auto-farming everyone. Therefore, his points were very high.
Although Fang Han's Five Elements Godly Lightning Domain canopy was efficient, it was still slightly inferior to a complete, inescapable clear-out. So Fang Han was third.
Fourth was Lin Dong. He started with bloody slaughter and got an early share, but his efficiency was low. He hunted people down. It was stylish, but slow.
Later, the methods of Yang Qi, Shi Hao, and others were no less efficient than Lin Dong's, but they acted too late.
Too many points were lost while they were "getting serious."
…So to speak.
The little clever one (Lin Dong) was truly clever.
But not clever enough.
…
Fifth was Luo Feng.
Luo Feng originally wanted to cultivate in seclusion, but when he saw the points ranking and the names of his "brothers," his world collapsed.
He immediately stopped his seclusion.
He directly came out and went on an absolute rampage, channeling the rage of the Golden Horned Beast. Because of his native advantage and familiarity with the VUN, his killing efficiency was also very high.
Sixth was Lin Feng.
He injured enemies with Sword Qi. His Sword Qi was sharp and terrifying, but its area-of-effect was still a bit lacking. His killing efficiency was not high.
Seventh was Meng Qi.
Meng Qi... no need to mention. He played his new account into a tank, again. For a tank to achieve this output, walking from one side of the world to the other as people killed themselves on his indestructible body... it was already the result of him fighting with all his might.
Eighth was Shi Hao.
Shi Hao suffered from the lesson of the Immortal Ancient experience. He was thinking of first cultivating in seclusion for a while to familiarize himself with his "blank" body.
He tried to apply the "seclusion, emergence, treasure hunting" routine from Immortal Ancient to the Universal Genius Battle.
And then, he was unfamiliar with technological products, so he didn't check the points ranking much at the beginning.
He missed the best "early-stage" farming period. Although he also went on a rampage in the late stage, his points were still slightly inferior.
Ninth was Li Changshou.
The King of Slacking.
He slacked off all the way in the early stage, sending out paper dolls to mark interesting geniuses.
Only later, in the final hour, did he make his move to reap the harvest. His points were the lowest... but this was only relative to the people in the group.
…
When the preliminary round was almost over...
Everyone waited for the preliminary round to end in their respective worlds.
After a magnificent, universe-spanning voice sounded...
Everyone exited the virtual world, materializing back in Luo Feng's living room.
"HAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!"
As soon as they left the virtual world, they immediately heard a burst of wild, obnoxious, and utterly smug laughter.
No need to think.
The owner of this voice must be Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan pointed a finger, and the virtual panel in front of him was enlarged, with the clearly detailed points rankings recorded on it, his name in shining gold at the very top.
"Oh my, oh my!"
"I... whoops! I accidentally got to first place, didn't I? I wasn't even trying."
"It seems this time's bet... I won? Hehehe!"
The smug, arrogant expression on his face was completely, despicably uncontrollable.
The others looked at this scene, wishing they could beat him up.
However...
A bet is a bet, and a loss is a loss.
"...You're impressive!"
Shi Jian was the first. He sent Xiao Yan 1,000 Heavenly Dao Power in the group chat, along with the "highest honor for a man."
"You got lucky, but I'll admit you're good!"
Lin Dong also transferred the money to Xiao Yan. While speaking, he walked over and patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, hard.
The pat made Xiao Yan wince, his shoulder smoking slightly.
"You're impressive!"
"Ugh. You're impressive."
The others also offered their "highest honors" and transferred the Heavenly Dao Power.
Once everyone had fulfilled their promises...
Xiao Yan's tail was practically wagging in the sky. He struck a pose, his chin held high.
Seeing him like this...
Lin Dong gritted his teeth: "This is just the preliminary round! It's not the real Genius Competition yet. Winning the real Genius Competition is what truly counts!"
Xiao Yan glanced at him with pure disdain.
"If you want to say you're not convinced, just say it directly. Anyway, I won now. Although being invincible is lonely, I can still understand the unwillingness of you losers!"
Lucky Guy was getting arrogant.
He was not lucky at all anymore.
In front of others, he was as humble as could be.
In front of the group members, he was as annoying as could be.
"You fellow!"
Lin Dong's fists clenched, crackling with lightning.
Shi Jian smiled at the sight, then gave a subtle look to the others: "Then it's settled. We'll have another match then."
"What's the fun in eliminating other participants? If we're going to compete… it has to be between us to determine the victor!"
The others' eyes lit up upon hearing this.
They looked at each other.
Their eyes were filled with strong, burning Battle Intent.
The situation in the Virtual Universe was too suitable for them to have a true "PK"!
They all felt a bit regretful that they were in different world zones.
No chance to fight each other.
Bullying weaker opponents was fun, but after a while, it became mundane.
Sparring with people in the group...
That was truly interesting.
Virtual space. Standardized bodies. No holding back.
They could go all out!
After Shi Jian voiced his idea, everyone started a new bet.
Imperial City PK! The finals!
The last one standing would be the champion!
Preliminary elimination points didn't really reflect their true combat power.
Imperial City PK was different.
Everyone was full of fighting spirit and supremely confident in themselves.
Xiao Yan was even more overconfident, arrogantly stating: "Just a bunch of chickens and dogs, yet they dare to challenge the throne of this Emperor Yan! I will crush you all again with absolute power!"
The others, seeing his unbearable arrogance, exchanged glances.
And they laughed.
A silent, unspoken agreement was reached among them.
Imperial City PK.
At that time, they would first focus fire... and instantly kill Xiao Yan.
Let him be the "ninth place" for once!
Then the remaining people would decide the winner.
Arrogance...
Comes with a price.
…
After the few of them exited the virtual Universe world...
Soon, many real-world forces began to contact them.
Regarding these forces, the other people in the group ignored them.
They all left it to Luo Feng to handle.
After all, they were all "Earthlings" now.
Luo Feng was the Earth's "mayor" (highest leader); if he didn't handle such matters, who would?
With great power comes great responsibility!
They were just ordinary, common folk.
They couldn't get involved in such high-level political matters.
Seeing everyone passing the buck...
Luo Feng was speechless. He tried to counter the people in the group: "You still know I'm the mayor, right? I command you, as the mayor, that all the external attention you've attracted must be dealt with by yourselves!"
Facing his command...
The people in the group were silent for a moment, then Shi Jian threw out a very philosophical question.
"What are we eating tonight?"
…
The performance of Luo Feng and the others attracted the attention of many people.
Many top forces were already secretly investigating the situation on Earth!
There were many forces that could directly contact Luo Feng.
There were even more forces secretly investigating.
Regarding this situation, the people in the group were not very panicked.
Their existence was very special.
However, Earth itself had some special characteristics.
[Inorin's Note: Earth in Swallowed Star was heavily modified by 'Zuo Shan Ke,' one of the strongest beings in the Primal Universe, to create a perfect cradle for a successor.]
Earth had been modified by one of the strongest in the Universe, and the people on Earth had extraordinary mental states.
Therefore, besides Luo Feng...
There were also Hong and Lei Shen, two other peerless geniuses.
In the original work...
Because of the relationship between these three...
The special nature of Earth had been discovered before.
The strength of the group members could also be entirely attributed to Earth.
Using Earth's special nature to conceal their own special nature.
Then there was no need to worry.
If it was just a problem on Earth...
It could be completely handled.
Even if it couldn't be handled, it didn't matter.
Liu Shen would act.
Previously, Liu Shen had deduced the Law of the Swallowed Star world, and a part of the Swallowed Star world's system was integrated into her Quasi-Immortal Emperor Dao.
When she acted in this world, she didn't have to worry about being discovered for anomalies.
Even the strongest in the Universe...
It was impossible to discover that Liu Shen had another cultivation system.
With Liu Shen, such a "local great power," overseeing them...
The threats from other forces...
Could be easily suppressed.
(By the way… with Liu Shen's current strength, what Realm do you think she can fight in Swallowed Star?)
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