The Beginning, Seven Trial Towers

"Those freaks actually got together..."

"These four are probably among the strongest of this Genius Battle!"

With Kun Zhou, the 'War Emperor,' appearing as well, their table drew even more attention from everyone throughout the restaurant, upstairs and downstairs.

The discussions among the other geniuses in the distance also grew louder.

"Hmph, enjoy your moment in the spotlight for now. Once we reach the Arena Finals..." Boros, seated on the second floor in dark blue battle armor, had a faint, cruel green glow flickering in his eyes.

"Liya, those people are all very strong!" In the distance, the Silver-haired Elf Girl was also curiously studying them. A white kitten-shaped intelligent spirit floated above her shoulder.

"Who is she?" Sensing something, Lu Ming turned to look at the Silver-haired Elf Girl standing at the restaurant entrance. Her gentle gaze happened to meet his, and she gave him a friendly smile.

Amid the many contestants brimming with fighting spirit, her bearing seemed especially calm and composed.

"That girl isn't simple..." Lu Ming nodded in her direction and smiled as well.

"What, taken a fancy to her? That Snow Elf Race girl does have quite a unique aura. I never thought that was your type." Following the direction of Lu Ming's smile, Tiffany immediately spotted the adorable girl, as pure as a silver-haired elf.

"Still, while her strength is decent, she probably isn't enough to threaten us." Compared to the four of them, the Snow Elf Race girl's performance was not bad, but she could only be considered a genius qualified to compete for a place in the top hundred of the overall universe rankings.

As fellow Mental Master controllers, Tiffany had absolute confidence that she could crush her.

"Perhaps." Lu Ming smiled noncommittally, then picked up the Meteorite Flame Wine that had just been delivered to the table and tasted it on his own.

"Could it be that she hid her strength? But how could you tell?" Tiffany carefully examined the Snow Elf Race girl, who had already turned and left, but still did not take her seriously.

So what if she had hidden her strength? Everyone had a few trump cards.

At dusk.

Lu Ming, who had already returned to his room to rest, suddenly heard a voice invade his consciousness. "All participants from the 1008 Universe Kingdoms, gather at the central plaza."

In an instant—

The 1,008,000 geniuses either flew in from the sky, emerged from the residential towers, or converged on the center from the edges of the central plaza.

In just a moment!

A massive, orderly formation of 1,008,000 geniuses stood in the central plaza. Then...

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"Huh? Why am I here? I was just in the restaurant!"

More than a million geniuses abruptly woke from their unconscious state, utterly shocked, their faces filled with disbelief.

At that moment, 1,008 Immortal Beings stood before the formation. They were the leading representatives from the various Universe Kingdoms. Their expressions were solemn, and the pressure of Immortals naturally spread outward.

At once—

The entire formation of over a million people fell silent. No one dared make a sound.

"Welcome to the Peak Genius Battle organized by our Virtual Universe Company."

A gentle voice entered everyone's ears. It was exactly the same voice that had previously caused them to lose consciousness and gathered them in the central plaza.

Everyone looked over in shock.

In the previously empty sky ahead, a female powerhouse suddenly appeared without warning. She wore white feathered robes and had two angelic wings behind her back. Like a goddess descending from the heavens into the mortal world, she seemed untouched by earthly dust.

Though she appeared close enough to reach, she gave people the sensation of being in another distant world, throwing their senses into confusion and making them feel uncomfortable and awkward.

Without a doubt, she was a great existence above the Immortal level!

A Space Venerable who had completely mastered the Space Origin Law! She could rival those Universe Kingdom Lords who occupied vast starfields and established Universe Kingdoms!

With a wave of a Space Venerable's hand, the stars could shift and space could transform. Even planets in the starry sky were no more than tiny specks of dust before them.

All 1,008 Immortal powerhouses bowed toward her. "Venerable!"

This female Venerable from the Dream Snail Wing Race gave the 1,008 Immortal Beings a slight nod, then turned her gaze toward the formation of a million geniuses and spoke gently. "I will serve as the host for the final battle of this universe-wide Peak Genius Battle organized by the Virtual Universe Company."

The great existence, like a goddess from the heavens, stood in the void and looked down upon the million geniuses below as her voice continued to resound.

"Across the 1,008 Universe Kingdoms, each has more than a million geniuses. Our Virtual Universe Company will select the strongest thousand among you and absorb them into the core of our Virtual Universe Company."

"You million people will compete for these thousand spots."

"The rules are as follows."

"Tomorrow, each of you will enter a Trial Space. Our Virtual Universe Company has prepared over a million Trial Spaces, one for each person."

"There are seven Trial Towers in every Trial Space! Each Trial Tower has seven levels!"

"Begin with the first Trial Tower. Clear all seven levels of the first Trial Tower, then challenge the second Trial Tower... Continue until you die and are kicked out of the Trial Space!"

"Your points will be calculated according to your performance in the Trial Space."

"Ranks 1 through 100 by points—no further selection will be needed. You will directly become core members of our Virtual Universe Company, taking up 100 spots."

"Ranks 101 through 7,300—those 7,200 people will enter the Arena Finals to compete for 900 spots."

"As for everyone ranked below 7,300... all will be eliminated!"

Although this great existence's voice was exceptionally gentle, even making people involuntarily feel favorably toward her, the selection rules she had just introduced left the million-plus geniuses below stunned.

Other than geniuses who hoped to reach the top thousand or those with influential backgrounds, the overwhelming majority of the million geniuses present did not know the elimination rules for the final clash of the Genius Battle. Some had even harbored wishful thoughts.

Only after hearing the female Venerable of the Dream Snail Wing Race's explanation did they understand the cruelty of these rules.

Elimination first, finals afterward.

There were 1,008,000 participants this time, yet only 7,300 could enter the Arena Finals. In other words... the Trial Towers alone would eliminate over a million people!

The next morning.

"All participants, prepare yourselves. Group teleportation will begin shortly, sending every participant to their respective Trial Space." A crisp, pleasant voice echoed throughout the entire plane of space.

At once—

Boom!

An invisible, strange force descended upon the entire plane of space, instantly teleporting away all 1,008,000 young geniuses within it.

Whoosh!

Lu Ming instantly appeared on a gigantic meteorite floating in the cosmic starry sky. The meteorite was nearly a hundred kilometers long and rectangular in shape.

All around was the vast starry sky.

Seven Trial Towers had been built upon the meteorite. Each one was as towering as a mountain, over ten kilometers tall and several kilometers wide.

The seven Trial Towers occupied different positions on the massive meteorite.

Lu Ming lowered his head and looked at his wrist. There was a screen on it, just like during the preliminary round within the Jinlan Universe Kingdom.

Participant: Lu Ming (Jinlan Universe Kingdom)

Points: 0

Rank: None

Trial Space: No. 0024359

There are seven Trial Towers in the Trial Space, and each Trial Tower has seven levels.

First Trial Tower: each level can yield a maximum of 10,000 points. Clear all seven levels to earn a maximum of 70,000 points.

Second Trial Tower: each level can yield a maximum of 100,000 points. Clear all seven levels to earn a maximum of 700,000 points.

...

Fourth Trial Tower: each level can yield a maximum of 10,000,000 points. Clear all seven levels to earn a maximum of 70,000,000 points.

...

Seventh Trial Tower: each level can yield a maximum of 10,000,000,000 points. Clear all seven levels to earn a maximum of 70,000,000,000 points.

Note: Once you die, the trial ends.

There are two ways to clear each level:

1: Kill all targets on that level. This grants the maximum points and directly teleports you to the next level.

2: If you fail to kill all targets, but remain alive after 10 days, you will be directly teleported to the next level to continue the trial.

Once all participants have died, the trial ends and the final rankings will be determined.

A ranking list is provided below.

In the original story, Death God Bolan was a once-in-ten-thousand-eras genius. He cleared the sixth tower but fell on the first level of the seventh tower. I wonder which Trial Tower I can reach...

Looking at the seven towering Trial Towers ahead, a flame also seemed to burn faintly within Lu Ming's heart.