The tall, thin man with red eyes finished speaking and immediately left the hall.
As soon as he stepped outside, an overwhelming, irresistible force spread out, enveloping the thousand young geniuses present.
Whoosh!
In an instant, they turned into streaks of light. After flying for several minutes, they arrived before a strange spaceship resting on the lawn.
The sight before them was astonishing, it was an enormous fish!
The entire vessel was shaped like a massive blue fish, its tail fin gently swaying. The whole thing stretched nearly a thousand meters long.
However, the "fish" had an open hatch on its belly, and through it, one could see a corridor within.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Except for a small number who seemed to recognize this type of ship, most of the thousand geniuses wore blank, confused expressions.
Under the tall red-eyed man's urging, they began boarding one after another.
Luo Fan understood that this spaceship must have been fused with a living organism.
Just as plant life could attach itself to creatures, some metal lifeforms could do the same.
These metal lifeforms could even merge with spaceships.
Such fusion enhanced the ship's performance, potentially making it superior to those of the Mechanical Race.
Of course, that depended on the strength of the metal lifeform.
Moreover, this vessel wasn't built from ordinary metal—
It was crafted from G-grade metal!
G-grade metal was so tough that even an Undying being could barely damage it.
Every piece of G-grade metal was worth a fortune.
A spaceship made from it would belong only to Venerables, or at least to extraordinarily powerful or well-connected Immortal beings.
Once they entered the hall, an invisible pressure instantly enveloped everyone.
The oppressive force silenced the thousand geniuses.
Even the dozen or so Immortal beings aboard, including the tall man with red eyes, bowed slightly.
Luo Fan's gaze fell on the purple-scaled man in a cyan battle robe standing at the front.
Although he appeared to stand there, there was an unreal quality to him, as if he were a projection rather than a physical presence.
This man was none other than the overseer of this Universe Genius Battle, Venerable Nine Swords.
Venerable Nine Swords glanced over the young crowd and spoke to the ship's intelligence system.
"Depart. Head for the Original Universe."
Rumble…
The fish-shaped spaceship flicked its tail fin, vanishing instantly from its position.
Luo Fan was now enduring the terrifying pressure as well.
In truth, this wasn't something Venerable Nine Swords intentionally released.
On the contrary, this was already the result of him deliberately suppressing it.
Otherwise, apart from Luo Fan and Luo Feng's space-worm clone, nearly everyone here would be dead in under three seconds.
Yes, Venerable Nine Swords could have killed all the geniuses here with sheer presence alone.
Geniuses were still just geniuses, not true powerhouses.
Their journey had only just begun.
At that moment, the spaceship came to a halt.
"It's me. Open the cosmic channel."
Venerable Nine Swords spoke calmly.
His voice penetrated the spaceship, echoing into the outside void.
Boom!
A deep, resonant sound came from outside, and then the ship continued forward.
The next moment, Luo Fan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his mind.
He tried to open his eyes to see his surroundings, but he couldn't.
Only the space-worm clone and other incarnations could remain unaffected.
His Mechanical Race clone could also maintain normal function, but his true body could only barely remain standing.
"We are now traveling through the passage between the Original Universe and the Primordial Universe," Venerable Nine Swords said, glancing at the pale, trembling youths, many of whom had already fallen.
"The flow of time differs between the two universes. The resulting distortion within this channel makes you feel disoriented."
Only about three hundred of the thousand geniuses could barely stand.
After five or six minutes, the discomfort finally faded.
Luo Fan recovered his clarity.
"Hm?" Luo Fan looked around and saw many lying on the ground.
Several were pale, tears streaming down their faces.
Some had even lost control of their bodies.
They scrambled to their feet, quickly evaporating their tears and other fluids, restoring their composure.
"We have now arrived in the Primordial Universe."
Venerable Nine Swords smiled as he addressed them.
At that moment, curiosity filled the young geniuses' faces, Luo Fan included.
After all, he had never seen the Primordial Universe either.
Even the dozen Undying beings around looked expectant.
"Open the top."
As Venerable Nine Swords gave the command, the top of the spaceship slowly opened, revealing a transparent layer.
Luo Fan looked up and saw a dim expanse above.
Occasional flows of chaotic energy drifted by, softening the oppressive gloom.
Across the sky, countless rifts gathered and split apart, and along their edges, crystalline threads of light visibly pulsed.
These were the manifested laws of the universe's origin.
Inside Luo Fan's world ring, his space-worm clone suddenly felt inspiration and hurriedly began comprehending the laws.
The other geniuses could only stare in awe.
Meanwhile, the dozen Undying beings watched intently, sometimes closing their eyes to contemplate, sometimes studying carefully.
"Stars and planets have lifespans, and so do universes, only theirs are immeasurably long."
Venerable Nine Swords smiled.
"This Primordial Universe exists at the dawn of creation, a newborn cosmos."
"In this stage, the universe is still forming and perfecting itself, and its foundational rules of operation are visible."
"The spatial rifts you see constantly repairing themselves represent those very fundamental rules. Each one embodies different origin laws."
"The universe we live in, the Original Universe is vast, immense, and perfect."
"Because of its perfection, its operating laws cannot be externally displayed, making comprehension extremely difficult."
"But in the Primordial Universe, you can directly witness them."
"You can see how each law intertwines, how the universe takes shape, how order operates."
"Everything is visible, which makes understanding far easier."
"These next thirty years will be invaluable to you. Use this time well to build your foundation, it may determine your future achievements."
Having said that, Venerable Nine Swords looked over the group once more and spoke to the ship's system.
"Close the top."
The top of the ship slowly sealed shut.
Luo Fan knew the external scene could not be simulated.
That was why Venerable Nine Swords had opened the top, to let them witness it firsthand.
If it could be simulated, one could simply comprehend the laws within the virtual universe instead.
The colossal fish continued gliding through the vast expanse of space.
Moments after the top was sealed, the enormous fish flew over an ancient city. The hatch in its belly opened.
Venerable Nine Swords spoke calmly.
"I hope, thirty years from now, you're still alive."
The next moment, before anyone could react, all one thousand geniuses were ejected from the ship.
The hatch closed, and the massive "fish" flicked its tail, swimming away into the distance once again.
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