The Virtual Universe, a temporary, privately created space.
This was a vast, boundless continent. More than 1.1 trillion geniuses from the entire Universe Country had gathered here, yet it didn't feel crowded. If anything, they were rather scattered.
At the very center of the continent lay a vast region that served as the gathering area for the Beiming Sacred Land Academy.
At this moment, over a hundred million young people were ready. Each wore battle armor and carried a sharp weapon.
"Whoosh!"
A streak of light flashed by, and Yu Duan, Yalunsi, Pengnuolai, and two others were teleported over. They immediately drew the attention of those nearby.
"Yu Duan, Senior Brothers, hurry and choose your weapons!" Chi Li hurried over at once to remind them.
According to the rules of the Genius Tournament, every participant in the preliminary round could simulate one second-tier Force Battle Suit and ten weapons or pieces of equipment of any grade.
Battle suits were special. They didn't require Law Comprehension or anything like that. Simply wearing one could reduce the force of incoming attacks, so they were limited to second-tier Force Battle Suits.
Some high-grade battle suits, when worn by a Star Level fighter, were practically impossible to break through. They had an effect similar to an Apprentice Level fighter attacking a Black God Set.
Weapons were different. Whether they were psychic weapons or Force Weapons, their grade didn't matter: to unleash their full power, the wielder needed a sufficiently high level of Law Comprehension.
Yu Duan didn't need to think twice. He chose a Light and Time Sword, along with a pair of Tamyue Boots to help him use his movement technique. For his battle suit, he chose a common white second-tier suit.
"Yu Duan, I'm in World Zone 74. Which World Zone are you in?" An Yao nudged Yu Duan and asked quietly.
Yu Duan smiled. "My number's pretty lucky: World Zone 1."
At that, Claton, a young man from the Chilian God imperial clan who had come over, brightened. "Senior Brother, I'm in World Zone 1 too! I'm counting on you to protect me!"
"Sure, but first you have to find me," Yu Duan replied. He naturally didn't refuse.
Claton chuckled. "I'll come find you, Senior Brother. If I can't, then so be it."
Claton himself was a genius with a seventh-level domain, ranking among roughly the top thirty thousand geniuses at the Beiming Sacred Land.
At least during the preliminary round, he should be fine as long as he played it safe.
If he ran into the Sacred Land's senior brothers, he could usually form an alliance with them even if he couldn't win.
"All participants, please take note. The Preliminary Elimination Tournament is about to begin. Check your weapons and equipment immediately. Once the preliminary round begins, you will no longer be able to request weapons or equipment."
As a clear announcement rang out, a huge sixty-second countdown appeared in the air and began ticking down.
"Good luck!" Chi Li wagged her fluffy tail and said with a grin.
"See you at the summit!" Yu Duan said with a smile.
As Yu Duan and the others talked, the countdown entered its final moments.
"Five, four, three, two, one. The preliminary round begins!"
In an instant, every figure across the continent was teleported away.
The Cosmic Humans' Peak Genius Tournament had officially begun!
World Zone 1.
This was a vast artificial structure, with layer upon layer of interior space, like a skyscraper.
On its twenty-fourth level, inside a room with a futuristic feel, Yu Duan's figure suddenly appeared.
"The gravity here... is so weak."
Yu Duan took a moment to feel it, shook his head, then shook out his hands and stretched his body as he surveyed his surroundings.
The decor... looked a bit like an ordinary spaceship lounge.
Yu Duan raised his right hand. A tiny screen on the Optical Computer wristband on his right arm displayed his personal information.
Participant: Yu Duan (Beiming Universe Kingdom) Points: 0 Rank: None World Zone: First World Zone Duration: The Preliminary Elimination Tournament will last 30 days. It will end when time runs out, and the winners will be determined by their final point totals. Note: First World Zone is a simulated world modeled after Tianyu Star City in the Beiming Universe Kingdom. The entire world is a medium-sized space flight base. It is 4,500 kilometers long, 120 kilometers wide, and 120 kilometers tall, with an elongated, shuttle-like shape. Tianyu Star City has 72 levels of space. The largest level covers about 540,000 square kilometers, while the smallest covers 1,400 square kilometers. Inside Tianyu Star City, the strength of all substances and materials has been reduced to B9 Grade. The outer shell is maintained at D9-class, as in the real world... Point rules: Killing a participant grants one point and plunders half of their points. Ranking rules: A dead participant's points are halved, but they remain in the rankings. If their remaining points are high enough, they can still place in the top 1,001. A detailed ranking list is provided below..."
Yu Duan only glanced at it and took in all the information.
"I didn't expect a World Zone to have an artificial flight base as its terrain. With more than 11 billion participants crammed into such a small space, I guess I won't have to search too hard for prey."
Yu Duan let out a long breath, then knocked on a dark-gold metal cabinet beside him. "Come out."
Boom!!
The metal cabinet exploded in an instant. Countless shards tore through the air in every direction like bomb fragments, moving at terrifying speed.
At the same time, a pitch-black spear shot out of the smoke and flew straight toward Yu Duan's brow.
The next moment, the spear pierced through Yu Duan's brow.
"Haha, what lu—"
A rough laugh began, then abruptly cut off.
Yu Duan's figure suddenly scattered into light.
At the same time, a sharp fragment from the shattered metal cabinet shot straight through the attacker's chest.
He hadn't even seen which direction the sharp fragment had come from. It had moved too fast—far too fast to detect.
Thud!
As the figure crashed to the ground, the smoke that had filled the cramped area finally cleared, revealing a burly young man with two horns on his head.
Even at the very end, the expression on the burly young man's face was a happy smile, as if he'd gotten off to a great start.
The instant the burly young man was killed, Yu Duan's points rose from zero to one.
Participant: Yu Duan (Beiming Universe Kingdom) Points: 1 Rank: 7,013,842
Only about five seconds had passed since the preliminary round began, yet more than seven million people had already earned points.
More than 11 billion participants in World Zone 1 were packed into a shuttle-shaped flight base. It was far too crowded.
Killing had erupted the moment the preliminary round began.
Several million people had been thrown into life-or-death battles the instant they were transported into the World Zone.
"Rumble!"
A tremendous boom rang out from somewhere more than two hundred kilometers ahead, followed by the surging field of thunder.
A brilliant golden field of gold spread out right after it. Two Star Level experts with domains were fighting.
In such a crowded flight base, their battle was like a charge horn. It immediately set off a chain reaction.
Fierce battles broke out in every corner of the flight base's 72 levels.
Origin Force and psychic energy surged everywhere, while dazzling lights and explosions spread through the air.
Thirty seconds into the tournament, the fighting reached a fever pitch. More than three billion participants had begun fighting to the death, willingly or otherwise.
"In this kind of large-scale melee, I hope Claton's lucky enough to stay alive and see me."
The Third Pupil on Yu Duan's brow opened slightly, and a Glazed Light Sword appeared in his right hand.
At once, the deep, dark Domain of No Light began to spread out from Yu Duan in every direction, like the Reaper's tentacles reaching toward one participant after another.
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