After living another life for more than thirty years, Yu Duan finally came across a familiar figure.
Kedi, the future personal disciple of the Chaos City Lord, had charged through all three Original Tongtian Mountains: Universe Level, Domain Lord Level, and World Lord Level.
He was hailed as a peerless prodigy who appeared only once in tens of millions—or even hundreds of millions—of eras.
"Seeing you, I'd say you're rather happy?" King Qinghuan noticed that his disciple didn't seem discouraged in the slightest. Relieved, he asked with a chuckle.
Yu Duan smiled. "Teacher, if everyone of my generation were mediocre, it would be far too dull."
His tone was natural. He was simply voicing what he truly thought, without the slightest arrogance, though what he said did sound pretty "arrogant."
"Good. It's a good thing not to be afraid of difficulty."
King Qinghuan gave Yu Duan's shoulder another habitual pat. "Go on. You've barely rested these past three years, and the Universe Finals are about to begin. Take today off and get some rest!"
"Yes, Teacher!"
The following morning.
In the Virtual Universe, inside a temporary space created for the occasion, stood a vast and magnificent plaza.
The thousand strongest Star Level prodigies from the various Universe Countries, selected through the Preliminary Elimination Tournament, Arena Group Battle, and Reincarnation Battle, would all gather here.
At this moment, only a little over three hundred people were scattered across the plaza, but new arrivals were appearing every moment.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a dazzling flash of white light swept across the plaza, and the figures of more than five hundred young people appeared all at once.
"It's the prodigies from the Beiming Sacred Land!"
"Haha, I see my brother-in-law An Yao! I bet that bastard entered the Reincarnation Battle on purpose just to beat me up because I married his sister!"
"That one leading them... is that Yu Duan and Yalunsi?"
"That's right, those two. I heard they're both far stronger than the top contestant in the last Genius Tournament!"
Yu Duan, Yalunsi, and the other prodigies joined the crowd. Most of them had already become friends with many of the people here.
After all, they were the strongest Star Level prodigies from their respective Universe Countries. Anyone who failed to break into the top thousand in the universe would become a new Universe Level student at the Beiming Sacred Land, where they'd need to band together to stand up to the older students.
But Yu Duan and Yalunsi, who had ranked first in their World Zones, had barely interacted with the other prodigies here, let alone made friends with them.
"Yu Duan, the First Divine General told me something yesterday. A monster has appeared in the Yuanchen Universe Kingdom."
As Yalunsi spoke, his whole bearing seemed a little dejected.
He had spent five thousand years struggling at Star Level, only for not one but two prodigies to emerge in his generation: Yu Duan, and a supermonster who had gone from first grasping a lower-level law to mastering the Nine Illusion Bodies in just two years.
It had taken him more than a thousand years to go from first grasping a lower-level law to being able to use the Nine Illusion Bodies!
"Mm, I know... Kedi really is a supergenius, one who appears only once in countless eras."
Yu Duan patted Yalunsi on the shoulder to console him.
Then it suddenly dawned on him.
Oh no, I've caught Teacher King Qinghuan's habit!
Yalunsi was stunned. Yu Duan wasn't the slightest bit dispirited—in fact, he was comforting him.
Once again, Yalunsi felt the gap between himself and Yu Duan. It wasn't just their talent, but also their outlook and breadth of mind.
"I thought that meeting a freak like you, the kind who appears once in a hundred million years, meant I was born at the wrong time."
"I just didn't expect you to be even less fortunate. Without Kedi, you'd be the brightest new star in tens of thousands of years."
Yalunsi couldn't help but sigh.
Yu Duan smiled. "Born at the wrong time? No, that's wrong. Yalunsi, if you don't change your mindset, you'll face plenty more setbacks on your path to becoming a true powerhouse."
"This isn't being born at the wrong time. It's being right on time!"
Yalunsi looked at Yu Duan, whose bearing far surpassed what it had been three years ago, and fell silent. He remained that way for a long time.
As Yu Duan and Yalunsi talked, the top thousand prodigies from their Universe Country finished gathering.
Suddenly, an immense aura, free of the slightest oppressive force, swept across the entire plaza.
Then Yu Duan saw his teacher, King Qinghuan, appear before the assembled crowd, dressed in white and possessing an unparalleled bearing.
Both King Qinghuan and the Beiming Kingdom Lord were exceptionally handsome. The Beiming Kingdom Lord, in particular, was so beautiful that his gender was almost indistinguishable.
"I am King Qinghuan, and I'll be leading this year's Genius Tournament. You may address me as Senior."
His voice carried a gentle smile.
Unlike the divine generals and Immortals under the Lord of the Kingdom, he didn't care how well these prodigies performed, so he made no effort to put on an imposing air.
Yu Duan was surprised to hear that his teacher would lead the Genius Tournament. Such a minor matter would hardly have warranted King Qinghuan's personal attention.
Still, Yu Duan could sense his teacher's care. The only reason he had come to lead the group himself was his personal disciple.
"Yes, Senior!"
Hearing King Qinghuan's title, the young prodigies grew respectful, assuming he was one of the more than fifty King Level experts appointed by the Lord of the Kingdom.
In reality, the so-called King Level experts appointed by the Lord of the Kingdom were only at Peak Marquis. True King Level powerhouses in the entire Universe Country could be counted on one hand—fewer than ten, in fact.
"Youngsters, don't feel pressured in this Genius Tournament. Treat it as a trial and show everyone your best."
"Among you, only Yu Duan, Yalunsi, Pengnuolai, and Delisi are sure to rank in the top thousand in the universe. The rest of you are probably around the level of the universe's two-thousandth-ranked competitor at best."
King Qinghuan spoke, giving the youngsters a dose of reality so they could adjust their expectations.
Yet some of the prodigies still looked unconvinced, clearly harboring ambitions of making the top thousand in the universe.
King Qinghuan saw this but said nothing.
In past Genius Tournaments, the top hundred could perhaps be ranked by ability. But the competitors in the top thousand were far more evenly matched, with little variation between them.
"I hope you can work miracles!"
King Qinghuan smiled, then swept a sleeve through the air. "Let's go!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, King Qinghuan and all the young people vanished from where they stood.
The Virtual Universe, a special plane sealed away for five thousand years.
It was a vast continent.
At its center stood 1,008 skyscrapers.
The skyscrapers were arranged in a ring, enclosing a wide open space that formed a vast plaza.
When Yu Duan and the others arrived, tens of thousands of young people were already chatting and strolling around the plaza.
They were the strongest prodigies from the various Universe Countries, gathered here in a crowd that would eventually number more than a million.
About half of them were Star Level prodigies who had crossed the threshold of the Source Law, a rare achievement in the outside world.
"Building 0087 up ahead is the rest area reserved for our Beiming Universe Country."
King Qinghuan pointed to the building, then led the thousand young prodigies into the lobby on its first floor.
"Hum!"
King Qinghuan waved a hand. Ripples spread through space and time as one thousand numbered badges appeared, numbered from 1 to 1000.
Each badge then floated in front of its assigned person.
Yu Duan's badge was number one, naturally, with Yalunsi's number two. The rankings were based on their strength.
"These are your badges. You can use your numbers to enter your assigned rooms and rest. Now, youngsters, feel free to do as you please."
King Qinghuan's voice rang out again. It seemed to contain a special quality that immediately soothed the prodigies who were nervous about their unfamiliar surroundings.
"You can rest, or talk with prodigies from other Universe Countries. Before the competition begins, the Virtual Universe Company will teleport you all to the same place."
The young people hurriedly bowed and acknowledged his words.
King Qinghuan's gaze swept over the prodigies before finally settling on Yu Duan.
Noticing his youngest disciple looking over at him, King Qinghuan smiled and nodded. Then he vanished from the spot.
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