The Calm Before the Storm

Virtual Universe, private training room.

"Master, the preliminaries in most universe kingdoms have already concluded. This is intelligence sent over by the Jinlan Dojo, containing information on the most outstanding super geniuses from the other universe kingdoms." Alice, the auxiliary optical brain, swiftly unfolded a nine-grid screen in the air.

Each of the nine screens played highlights of a super genius's battles, with basic information about each genius displayed beside the footage.

"Skyfire from the Nineflame Universe Kingdom, Remnant Dream from the You Yuan Universe Kingdom, the War Emperor from the Xuanming Universe Kingdom..." Lu Ming's gaze swept across the information on these super geniuses, yet his expression remained utterly calm.

That calm stemmed from confidence in his own strength!

"Master, the publicly acknowledged strongest contestant in this Genius Battle should be this genius from the Xuanming Universe Kingdom. He is known as the War Emperor and is an exceptionally powerful warrior."

"Furthermore, the illusionist genius Remnant Dream from the You Yuan Universe Kingdom is also highly dangerous. Even the War Emperor could be placed in danger if he encountered this person. Once one's soul defense secret technique fails to withstand his Soul Attack, they will be left at his mercy..."

While Lu Ming calmly reviewed the intelligence on the top geniuses from the major universe kingdoms, his own information had long since entered the sights of other top geniuses. However, what that intelligence recorded was merely him from five years ago.

Five years had passed since then. That information was already obsolete.

Peakrock Universe Kingdom, at the center of an elliptical galaxy, a vast supermassive black hole governed the movements of the entire galaxy.

Not far from the edge of the black hole's accretion disk was a massive planet. Under the influence of its active core, the entire planet had practically become a sphere of magma.

Yet above the magma ocean stood a castle. Within it, an elegant young woman in a red dress listened to the explanation of an equally refined female World Master.

"...Miss Tiffany, a genius capable of threatening you has also emerged in the Jinlan Universe Kingdom this time. He is called the Demon God and, like the War Emperor, he is a warrior. However, he specializes in the Lightning Origin Law and the Time Origin Law. The secret techniques and weapon he uses are..."

"Oh? He can even integrate the Time Origin Law into his domain. This Demon God cannot be underestimated. Moreover, he is among the youngest group. Five years have passed, so his improvement certainly will not have been small. He may indeed become a formidable opponent." After hearing all of Lu Ming's information, the red-dressed girl's lovely face turned serious.

The female World Master continued with a smile, "Miss, you have attained a high level of comprehension in both the Fire Origin Law and the Space Origin Law. The Blood Edge Divine Weapon you wield possesses both offensive power and speed. You still hold a considerable advantage when facing a purely warrior-type opponent like him."

"On the other hand, that illusionist from the You Yuan Universe Kingdom is more troublesome. No one has yet seen the limit of his Soul Attack ability. If Miss encounters him, you must be especially careful," the female World Master cautiously reminded her.

"My Flame Soul secret technique is nearly at the third level. I am confident I can withstand Remnant Dream's illusion attacks!" The red-dressed girl seemed exceedingly confident in her soul.

"Then I shall wish Miss success in ultimately entering the Primal Secret Realm." The female World Master smiled expectantly.

At the same time.

Tian Qiong Universe Kingdom, within a vast divine kingdom.

Inside an empty divine hall, a blue-haired young man surrounded by ghostly blue flames, with two strange antennae growing from his forehead, softly recited one name after another. "...Skyfire Feike... War Emperor Kun Zhou... Demon God Lu Ming... I, Boros, will definitely defeat every one of you!"

His unwavering voice carried powerful conviction.

Soon, the Virtual Universe Company's notification emails for the finals were sent out, and the competing teams from the various universe kingdoms quickly began gathering.

Virtual Universe, a floating island above Jinlan Continent.

Whoosh!

Lu Ming appeared at the floating island's teleportation point.

"Mr. Lu Ming, this way, please." A Universe level warrior in work clothes stood beside the teleportation point and smiled as he pointed toward a nearby path.

"Thank you." Lu Ming nodded with a smile before walking straight down the path.

A moment later—

Lu Ming saw a large group gathered in a plaza surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants not far away. At a glance, there were several hundred people, both men and women, all with differing appearances.

"The Demon God is here."

"That great Demon God!"

Quite a few young men and women turned to look at him.

"Lu Ming, hello. My name is Elena. Whether our Jinlan Universe Kingdom can achieve good results in this Genius Battle depends entirely on you, the great Demon God."

A petite chestnut-haired girl suddenly walked up to Lu Ming and greeted him with a smile.

"Miss Elena, you flatter me." Lu Ming looked at the chestnut-haired girl and merely nodded faintly.

Seeing that Lu Ming had no intention of talking further, Elena could only retreat awkwardly.

She had thought that her status and beauty would be enough to attract this peerless genius. It seemed she had overthought things.

"Elena, I told you already. A genius like Lu Ming could never possibly fancy you. Look at me, I'm not bad either..." After seeing the chestnut-haired girl's attempt at conversation fail, an honest-looking green-haired young man immediately came over to comfort her.

"Saren, I don't want to talk to you right now!" Elena directly ignored the green-haired young man and walked over to join several other female geniuses.

Watching this little farce unfold, Lu Ming could not help shaking his head with a smile.

Suddenly—

Boom! An invisible pressure blanketed the entire plaza. The expressions of all one thousand peerless geniuses turned pale, and their bodies could not help trembling slightly.

However, because Lu Ming's will had undergone a transformation earlier, this simple consciousness pressure aimed at Stellar level cultivators did not make him feel anything in particular.

Under the gazes of Lu Ming and the many geniuses, a handsome man with a head of golden hair emerged. He wore golden battle armor and even a golden cape.

Although the handsome man was not deliberately targeting anyone, the mere trace of aura naturally radiating from him made people afraid to meet his gaze.

Naturally, Lu Ming was not among them.

"By order of the Kingdom Lord, I will lead this Genius Battle." The voice of the golden-armored deity continued to echo across the entire plaza. "You may address me as the Nine Peaks Divine General, or simply call me Lord Nine Peaks."

The Nine Peaks Divine General swept his gaze over everyone before finally settling on Lu Ming. "Lu Ming, among this group from our Jinlan Universe Kingdom, you are the one most likely and most certain not to be eliminated."

"The Kingdom Lord has placed great expectations on you. Do not disappoint him. Do you understand?" The Nine Peaks Divine General's blue eyes met Lu Ming's.

"I understand." Lu Ming's expression remained calm as he nodded respectfully.

Although the Jinlan Kingdom Lord had never directly accepted him as a disciple, he had indeed provided Lu Ming with much guidance and assistance in his cultivation.

After nodding in satisfaction, the Nine Peaks Divine General turned his gaze toward the others and said coldly, "As for the rest of you, do your utmost and strive to enter the top thousand in the universe-wide rankings!"

Having said that, the Nine Peaks Divine General paid no mind to whether any of these geniuses were dissatisfied and continued coldly, "Now, everyone, depart with me!"

Very soon, this group of peerless geniuses from the various starfields of the Jinlan Universe Kingdom, led by the Nine Peaks Divine General, teleported together into a brand-new plane created by the Virtual Universe.

It was a vast continent.

There were 1,008 buildings, and at the center stood a beautiful plaza filled with birdsong and flowers. At this moment, many young men and women from various universe kingdoms were strolling and chatting in that beautiful plaza. At a glance, there were at least over a hundred thousand people.

The Jinlan Universe Kingdom's team was assigned to Building 0513. The golden-armored Nine Peaks Divine General led the group flying toward the plaza.

"Land!" Lord Nine Peaks' voice boomed.

The Jinlan Universe Kingdom's genius contingent swiftly descended onto the edge of the plaza, then headed directly toward Building 0513 along the road. The plaza had dedicated paths leading to every building.