The Curtain Rises

The central plaza of the Genius Competition plane is incredibly vast.

Along the edges of the plaza, there are 99 elegantly decorated, luxurious restaurants that charge exorbitant fees.

One can only say that no matter where the Virtual Universe network goes, it always finds a way to create "fee-based" services.

Among these 99 restaurants, all except for Restaurant No. 1 are open to everyone who can enter this plane.

Restaurant No. 1, however, is the exclusive dining establishment for the Immortal leaders of the various Universe Kingdoms.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of light flickered, and the figure of Qinghuan King appeared at the entrance of Restaurant No. 1 as if out of thin air.

"Greetings, my lord!"

The two Virtual Universe staff members beside the restaurant did not recognize Qinghuan King, but they dared not show the slightest negligence and hurriedly bowed respectfully.

Qinghuan King nodded with a smile before entering the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant at this moment, over a hundred Immortal leaders from various Universe Kingdoms had gathered, chatting with one another about which geniuses from their respective Universe Kingdoms were worth cultivating.

Naturally, Qinghuan King heard the name of his young disciple, Yu Duan.

"Lord Qinghuan King?"

"What!"

"Lord Qinghuan King, why are you leading the team yourself?"

As Qinghuan King walked into the restaurant, Immortal gods immediately noticed him.

Instantly, over a hundred Immortal gods hurriedly stood up in respect, each of them inevitably becoming a bit restrained.

"Everyone, no need to be so formal. Please, sit."

Qinghuan King sat down casually in an empty seat and nodded to the others.

"My lord, I heard that His Highness Yu Duan from the Beiming Universe Kingdom is your personal disciple?"

One Immortal god asked Qinghuan King in a hushed, measured tone.

Qinghuan King sighed and said softly, "He is just an unpromising disciple of mine. His comprehension of the Law of Time is only slightly better than some ordinary World Masters. It is embarrassing to mention."

The Immortal gods looked at each other in dismay.

Star Level and only slightly better than ordinary World Masters... unpromising, embarrassing to mention.

"My lord, your standards for your disciples are too strict. If such a heaven-defying genius were born in our Universe Kingdom, I fear I would laugh in my sleep."

"Yes, yes, yes. Lord Qinghuan King is being too humble."

"..."

Qinghuan King laughed heartily and said, "Hahaha, just a small joke. My disciple is actually quite good. It's just that in this year's Genius Competition, there is a little guy with even more astonishing talent."

Qinghuan King intentionally made a small joke, which immediately made the previously rather stiff atmosphere much more harmonious.

"The lord must be talking about Kedi from the Yuanchen Universe Kingdom."

"Old Yuan Zai, hurry up and tell us about the situation with your Kedi."

The many Immortals began to discuss what kind of achievements Kedi would attain in the future.

Just as the group of Immortals was chatting heatedly, an invisible pressure suddenly rippled outward.

"Which little guy are you all talking about?"

A clear, resonant voice rang out, and then a young man dressed in black battle armor appeared inside the restaurant.

That figure stood there as if he did not exist, becoming one with the flow of time, ethereal and profound.

"Greetings, Venerable!"

Instantly, the Immortal gods hurriedly stood up to bow, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

"Yucheng, long time no see."

Qinghuan King stood up and looked at the young man before him. His appearance had hardly changed from over four hundred thousand epochs ago, but his presence and aura were completely different, as if he were a different person.

Seeing Qinghuan King, this Yucheng Venerable was also somewhat stunned, then couldn't help but say, "Teacher Qinghuan King, why have you come to lead the team for the Genius Competition?"

"What kind of teacher am I? I was merely fortunate enough to guide you for a period of time," Qinghuan King said helplessly.

Yucheng Venerable was the first-place winner of the Genius Competition several hundred thousand epochs ago.

As a member of the Primal Secret Realm, one is qualified to request an Immortal-level instructor.

This instructor is not a true master-disciple relationship; it is merely a bit more intimate than the relationship between a teacher and student in a public lecture.

Back then, when Yucheng Venerable was at the World Master stage and sought to create a secret technique of the illusion type, he requested Qinghuan King as his instructor under the guidance of his true master, Tian Shi Palace Master.

Generally speaking, even ordinary King-level Immortals would not lower themselves to serve as an instructor.

Let alone someone like Qinghuan King.

But because Tian Shi Palace Master had personally stepped forward to extend the invitation, Qinghuan King decided to serve as an instructor for several hundred thousand years.

During those hundreds of thousands of years together, Qinghuan King discovered that Yucheng Venerable's talent was indeed astonishing and his temperament was excellent, so he grew fond of him and passed on the famous ultimate technique he had created to Yucheng Venerable.

"The ultimate techniques I rely on today were all created thanks to the guidance of teacher Qinghuan King back then; Yucheng would never forget the teacher's kindness."

Yucheng Venerable truly held deep respect for Qinghuan King.

For a mentor to pass down a unique skill—one intended for a personal disciple—to someone who wasn't even considered a registered student was an immense favor.

"Forget it, I can't argue with you."

Though Qinghuan King said this, he felt quite gratified to see Yucheng Venerable's attitude.

"I just heard other immortals saying that there is a disciple of yours, teacher Qinghuan King, in this batch?" Yucheng Venerable said with a smile.

Qinghuan King did not hide it: "Yes, his name is Yu Duan. Once he joins the Virtual Universe Company this time, he will be under your direct command."

"Is that so..."

A look of contemplation appeared on Yucheng Venerable's face, and he immediately looked at the other immortals: "Teacher Qinghuan King and I will take our leave first; you all continue your chat."

"Yes, Venerable!"

By evening.

In the central plaza, Yu Duan, Yalunsi, and others were strolling around casually.

"Yu Duan, have you heard your nickname? Light God, oh." Yalunsi teased.

Yu Duan's face darkened. What kind of terrible name was that?

Is this the naming standard of you top-thousand geniuses from the universe countries?

It would be better to name him after the weapon he uses, like 'Sword of Time' as a nickname.

"Heh, don't laugh at me, your nickname doesn't sound good either." Yu Duan rolled his eyes and retorted.

Yalunsi's nickname was even simpler: Old Ghost.

As for why he was called Old Ghost, that didn't need to be explained.

Yalunsi immediately looked depressed as well: "Fine, let's not bring up the topic of nicknames anymore."

An Yao and the others following nearby burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Just then, a voice suddenly spread out, as if containing some kind of magic, drilling directly into the ears of all one million geniuses.

"All participants from the 1008 universe countries, assemble at the central plaza!"

About five seconds after the notification dropped.

All the geniuses who were not in the central plaza were teleported over, immediately forming a massive square formation.

The entire process didn't require these geniuses to do anything themselves; the Virtual Universe Company system would handle everything.

"Whoosh!"

The immortal leaders from each of the 1008 great universe countries also appeared in front of their respective teams.

Surging, vast pressure radiated from these immortal gods, sweeping across the entire plaza.

Immediately, the somewhat noisy plaza fell silent.

Following that, a calm voice rang out.

"Welcome, all of you, to the Peak Genius Tournament hosted by our Virtual Universe Company."

The figure of Yucheng Venerable, clad in black battle armor, appeared in mid-air.

A unique aura rippled outward. It was not a terrifying pressure, but an aura that made everyone feel an urge to submit.

That figure in black armor stood there, and even space and time seemed to be affected, creating a sense of distorted reality.

"The 1008 universe countries have each selected one thousand geniuses, totaling over one million."

Yucheng Venerable's voice rang out once again, containing a grand will that no one could question.

"With a million of you competing for these one thousand spots, there is naturally no time for one-on-one duels."

"Therefore, an initial selection must be conducted through the 'Exclusive Trial Space'."

"The rules are as follows—"

"Tomorrow, you will enter your respective exclusive, independent trial spaces."

"All values, settings, and parameters in every trial space are unified. There are seven Trial Towers in total, and each tower has seven levels."

"You must start from the first level of the first Trial Tower. After clearing all seven levels, you will be teleported to the second Trial Tower to continue the challenge."

"And so on, until you die and are kicked out of the trial space, at which point you will earn points based on your performance."

"Rankings will be determined according to the total points."

"The top 100 on the leaderboard will directly join the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company, occupying 100 spots."

"From 101st place to 7300th place, a total of 7200 people, will be eligible to participate in the arena battles to compete for the remaining 900 spots."

"Everyone else will be eliminated."