The Central Square of the Genius Tournament's dimension was enormous.
Along the edge of the square stood 99 elegant restaurants, lavishly decorated and exorbitantly priced.
It had to be said: no matter where you went, the Virtual Universe Network always found a way to charge you.
Of these 99 restaurants, all but Restaurant No. 1 were open to anyone who could enter this dimension.
Restaurant No. 1, however, was reserved exclusively for the Immortals leading the various Universe Countries.
"Whoosh!"
A streak of light flashed, and King Qinghuan appeared as if from nowhere at the entrance to Restaurant No. 1.
"Greetings, my lord!"
The two Virtual Universe staff members beside the restaurant didn't recognize King Qinghuan, but they didn't dare show the slightest neglect. They hurriedly bowed respectfully.
King Qinghuan smiled and nodded before entering the restaurant.
Inside, the leaders of more than a hundred Universe Countries had already gathered, chatting about which countries' young talents were worth cultivating.
King Qinghuan naturally heard his junior disciple Yu Duan's name mentioned.
"Lord King Qinghuan?"
"What!"
"Lord King Qinghuan, why have you come to lead the team yourself?"
As King Qinghuan entered the restaurant, several Immortal Gods immediately noticed him.
At once, more than a hundred Immortal Gods hurried to their feet and respectfully greeted him, each one inevitably growing a little stiff.
"There's no need to stand on ceremony, everyone. Please, sit."
King Qinghuan casually took an empty seat and nodded to the others.
"My lord, I heard that His Highness Yu Duan of the Beiming Universe Kingdom is your personal disciple?"
An Immortal God hesitantly asked King Qinghuan in a quiet voice.
King Qinghuan sighed and said softly, "That disciple of mine is still far from impressive. His understanding of the Law of Time is only a little better than that of some ordinary World Masters. I'm afraid I've made you laugh."
The Immortal Gods exchanged glances.
A Star Level fighter was only a little better than an ordinary World Master... And he was "far from impressive," supposedly making them laugh.
"My lord, your standards for your disciples are far too high. If a prodigy like that appeared in our Universe Country, I'd be grinning in my sleep."
"Exactly, exactly. Lord King Qinghuan is much too modest."
"..."
King Qinghuan laughed. "Hahaha, I was only joking. My disciple is quite good. It's just that this year's Genius Tournament has a youngster with even more astonishing talent."
King Qinghuan had deliberately made a little joke, and the atmosphere, which had been rather stiff, immediately became more relaxed.
"You mean Kedi of the Yuanchen Universe Kingdom, my lord?"
"Old Yuan Zai, come on out and tell us about your Kedi."
The Immortals began discussing what sort of achievements Kedi might make in the future.
Just as their conversation was heating up, an invisible pressure suddenly swept through the room.
"Which youngster are you talking about?"
A clear, resonant voice rang out, and then a young man wearing black battle armor appeared in the restaurant.
He stood there as if he didn't exist at all, blending into the flow of time—ethereal and remote.
"Greetings, Venerable!"
The Immortals hurried to their feet and bowed, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
"Yucheng, it's been a long time."
King Qinghuan rose and looked at the young man before him. His appearance had barely changed since more than four hundred thousand eras ago, but his bearing and aura were completely different.
Seeing King Qinghuan, Yucheng Venerable looked surprised. Then he couldn't help asking, "Teacher King Qinghuan, what brings you here to lead a team in the Genius Tournament?"
"I'm no teacher. I was merely fortunate enough to guide you for a time," King Qinghuan replied helplessly.
Yucheng Venerable had won first place in the Genius Tournament several hundred thousand eras ago.
Members of the Primal Secret Realm were entitled to ask an Immortal Level expert to serve as their instructor.
This instructor wasn't a true master. The relationship was simply a little closer than that between a teacher and student in a public class.
Back when Yucheng Venerable had been a World Master and wanted to create an illusion-based secret technique, his true teacher, Tian Shi Palace Master, had advised him to ask King Qinghuan to be his instructor.
Normally, even an ordinary King Level Immortal wouldn't lower himself to serve as an instructor.
Much less King Qinghuan.
But Tian Shi Palace Master had personally extended the invitation, and so King Qinghuan agreed to spend several hundred thousand years as Yucheng's instructor.
During those years together, King Qinghuan discovered that Yucheng Venerable truly had astonishing talent and an excellent temperament. Appreciating his abilities, King Qinghuan taught him the famous ultimate technique he had created himself.
"The techniques I rely on today are all thanks to Teacher King Qinghuan's guidance back then. He helped me create the first form. I would never forget your kindness."
Yucheng Venerable truly respected King Qinghuan.
An instructor had passed on a secret move meant for his personal disciples to a student who wasn't even an official disciple. That was an immense act of kindness.
"Fine, I can't argue with you."
King Qinghuan said that, but he was still gratified by Yucheng Venerable's attitude.
"I just heard the other Immortals say that one of your disciples is competing this year, Teacher King Qinghuan?" Yucheng Venerable asked with a smile.
King Qinghuan didn't hide it. "Yes. His name is Yu Duan. Once he joins the Virtual Universe, he'll be under your direct command."
"I see..."
Yucheng Venerable fell into thought, then turned to the other Immortals. "Teacher King Qinghuan and I will take our leave. Please, carry on."
"Yes, Venerable!"
By evening,
Yu Duan, Yalunsi, and the others were strolling casually around Central Square.
"Yu Duan, have you heard your nickname? The Light God," Yalunsi teased.
Yu Duan's face darkened. What kind of lousy name was that?
You top thousand geniuses from the various Universe Countries really had no talent for naming things, did you?
They might as well have named him after his weapon, the Sword of Time.
"Heh, don't laugh at me. Your nickname isn't any better," Yu Duan shot back, rolling his eyes.
Yalunsi's nickname was even simpler. He was just called Old Ghost.
As for why he was called Old Ghost, that didn't need explaining.
Yalunsi looked just as frustrated. "All right, let's stop talking about nicknames."
An Yao and the others walking beside them burst out laughing.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out and spread everywhere. It seemed to carry some kind of magic, burrowing straight into the ears of all one million geniuses.
"All contestants from the 1008 Universe Countries, report to Central Square!"
About five seconds after the announcement,
every genius who wasn't in Central Square was teleported there, forming an enormous formation.
The geniuses didn't have to do anything themselves. The Virtual Universe System took care of everything.
"Whoosh!"
The Immortal leaders from all 1008 Universe Countries appeared in front of their respective teams.
A surging, overwhelming pressure radiated from the Immortal Gods and swept across the entire square.
The noisy square fell silent at once.
Then a calm voice rang out.
"Welcome to the Peak Genius Tournament, hosted by the Virtual Universe Company."
Yucheng Venerable, clad in black battle armor, appeared in midair.
A peculiar aura spread outward. It wasn't some terrifying pressure, but an aura that made everyone feel compelled to submit.
The black-armored figure stood there, and even space and time seemed affected, giving the impression that time and space had fallen into disarray.
"The 1008 Universe Countries each selected one thousand geniuses, for a total of more than one million contestants."
Yucheng Venerable's voice rang out again, carrying a grand will that none could question.
"With one million of you competing for one thousand places, there simply isn't enough time for one-on-one battles."
"Therefore, we'll conduct a preliminary selection through the Exclusive Trial Space."
"The rules are as follows—"
"Tomorrow, you will enter your respective independent Exclusive Trial Spaces."
"All Trial Spaces will have identical values and settings. There will be seven Trial Towers, each with seven levels."
"You must begin on the first level of the first Trial Tower. Once you clear all seven levels, you'll be transported to the second Trial Tower to continue."
"And so on, until you die and are ejected from the Trial Space. You'll then receive points based on your results."
"The rankings will be determined by your points."
"The top 100 on the leaderboard may join the Virtual Universe Company's Core Layer directly, taking 100 of the available places."
"Contestants ranked 101st through 7300th—a total of 7200 people—will qualify to compete in Arena battles for the remaining 900 places."
"Everyone else will be eliminated."
Before you continue