Ganwu Kingdom Lord: I Wouldn't Mind

Cao Benqi's words struck the hearts of a million geniuses like a heavy hammer.

The plaza fell deathly silent at first. Then, a wave of discussion surged through the crowd.

"How arrogant! Does he really think first place is his for the taking?" A leopard-man genius clenched his fists, anger flashing in his eyes. His words stirred up the crowd around him.

"But he really does have the strength to back it up..." someone in the crowd muttered, drawing a chorus of admiring agreement.

The geniuses from the various Universe Countries either glared at him, looked unwilling to accept it, or lowered their heads in silence.

The terrifying aura Cao Benqi had displayed forced them to admit that he had every reason to be so arrogant.

"Fight for second place?" Ling Xuan looked at the swaggering Cao Benqi in the middle of the plaza and curled his lips into a brazen, mocking smile. "Are you talking about yourself? You're already rushing to find someone to compete with you for second place? Let me make this clear: I'm taking the throne of first place. Even if Yan Shen Kingdom Lord comes here in person, he won't be able to stop me. I mean it."

His words set the entire plaza ablaze.

There was an even bigger braggart here, one who'd gone and dragged a Universe Country Lord into it.

Blood Sword Marquis beside him couldn't help swallowing. He wanted to reach out and shut Ling Xuan's mouth. Yan Shen Kingdom Lord was even more powerful than Ganwu Kingdom Lord. This kid had no idea when to hold back. He didn't even know whether their lord could stomach this.

The geniuses from Ganwu Universe Kingdom cheered wildly.

"Yanmo! Yanmo!"

"What are you supposed to be? You think you can talk back to me?" Cao Benqi sneered, his aura surging.

"First place in this year's Genius Tournament. Is that good enough?" Ling Xuan stood his ground, matching him without yielding an inch.

"You're asking for death!" Cao Benqi's eyes widened. A red battle halberd appeared in his hand, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.

"Hmm."

A soft cough rang out, and the chaotic plaza fell quiet at once. Cao Benqi's figure appeared behind Ling Xuan, his red halberd raised high but halted above Ling Xuan's head, unable to fall. At the same time, the tip of Ling Xuan's Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear stopped at Cao Benqi's throat.

"I see you have no regard for the Giant Axe Martial Arena at all, daring to cause trouble during such a grand event as the Genius Tournament." A man clad in golden armor appeared in the sky above Giant Axe Continent.

The powerful leaders who had brought their countries' geniuses to compete all knelt on one knee in the plaza and bowed their heads toward the man in the sky.

"Venerable Beiyan, we would never dream of slighting the Giant Axe Martial Arena."

"I doubt that!" Venerable Beiyan said coldly, his aura bearing down without the slightest letup.

Everyone present broke into a cold sweat under his pressure. Though Venerable Beiyan wasn't deliberately directing his aura at the Star Level youngsters, even the pressure in the surrounding air was enough to make them feel suffocated.

"So this is the power of a Universe Venerable?" Ling Xuan felt his heart pound. His thirst for power deepened, and he was all the more glad he'd decided to cultivate the Zhetian Method to rapidly increase his combat strength.

The once-bustling plaza fell utterly silent. You could hear a pin drop.

The oppressive atmosphere lasted ten minutes. Only after even some of the Immortal Experts began to struggle did Venerable Beiyan finally withdraw his aura.

"The dignity of the Giant Axe Martial Arena must not be challenged. This is only a small lesson."

"Thank you, Venerable." The Immortal Experts in the plaza had to thank him for his admonition. That was the difference in status that came with power.

Whoosh~

Ling Xuan, too, let out a breath. The pressure Venerable Beiyan had put on him was immense.

"Hmph. Lucky brat." Cao Benqi lowered his raised halberd. Even he wouldn't dare act recklessly before a Universe Venerable. Besides, this was only the Virtual Universe; he couldn't truly kill Ling Xuan here.

"You should thank the Venerable. Otherwise, you'd already be a corpse," Ling Xuan shot back.

"I'll return those words to you. When the real competition starts, you won't be so lucky." Cao Benqi stopped paying Ling Xuan any attention and went straight back to his team.

Back with his team, the Immortal leading the Yanshen Universe Kingdom asked, "Well? Are you confident?"

"That brat's Law of Fire and Law of Space are both far behind mine. He's nothing but a clown. Once the actual competition starts, he won't last a single exchange against me. I'll make him understand what happens when he offends the Yanshen Clan." Cao Benqi looked as if he didn't take Ling Xuan seriously at all.

"Good. First place this year will belong to the Yanshen Universe Kingdom."

"Hahaha, Zhulong, that kid said even Yan Shen Kingdom Lord wouldn't be able to stop him. Think you can hold up against him?" Ganwu Kingdom Lord laughed as he looked at Zhulong King.

"Yan Shen? That's nothing to worry about." Zhulong King lifted the wine cup before him, took a sip, and replied calmly.

"Is that so? If you can't handle him, just tell me. I still owe the clan a huge pile of Supreme Treasure points. They won't leave me in the lurch." Ganwu Kingdom Lord smiled and took a drink as well.

"Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about. I know Yan Shen well enough. He isn't that narrow-minded." Zhulong King looked relaxed. "If Ling Xuan really beats Cao Benqi, he'll congratulate him."

Ganwu Kingdom Lord gave Zhulong King a long look. He found the old fellow increasingly hard to read. The more ancient and powerful someone was, the more relaxed Zhulong King seemed in their company, as though he had some sort of support to rely on.

But when it came to some younger powerful figures, he was much more careful. Zhulong King even went out of his way to avoid Universe Venerables who had only recently broken through.

"Should we give Ling Xuan a heads-up? In that exchange just now, he was completely outmatched. If Beiyan hadn't inexplicably taken sides, Ling Xuan wouldn't have had time to counterattack."

"No need. Ling Xuan is one of Yan Feng's people. He inherited Yan Feng's will."

Ganwu Kingdom Lord cried out, "You old thing! No wonder you're so cocky. So he's that person's kin."

"Hahaha." Zhulong King shook his head and laughed heartily, but said no more.

"Wait, you old thing, you've been around forever. Could you be that person's son?"

"Bullshit!" Zhulong King glared and shot back, "You're his son!"

"I wouldn't mind." Ganwu Kingdom Lord spread his hands. "Forget being his son—I'd gladly be his grandson."

Zhulong King: ...

On Giant Axe Plaza, Blood Sword Marquis handed out the tokens, gave a few brief instructions, then promptly slipped away. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he'd run into danger. He'd feel safe only after hurrying back to the side of his lord.

As soon as he left, the team from Ganwu Universe Kingdom surrounded Ling Xuan.

"Yanmo, are you really confident you can beat Yan Shen?" someone asked. Ling Xuan had just challenged that peerless genius in front of everyone, which also meant he'd stood up, at least in part, on behalf of the geniuses from Ganwu Universe Kingdom.

Even if Ling Xuan ultimately lost, it wouldn't diminish his strength. After all, the supreme beings of the various factions all agreed that Cao Benqi was the top genius of this year's Genius Tournament, a peerless talent who appeared only once every hundred million eras.

Just daring to face someone like that already made him countless times stronger than them.

Ling Xuan pushed through the crowd, looking composed. "You'll find out when the competition starts. For now, I'm going back to cultivate."

With that, he left the plaza and returned to his room, number one.

"As expected of Yan Di, a peerless genius who became a Universe Master and shook the universe. His talent is terrifying," Ling Xuan thought.

"That kid's talent is no weaker than the Great Emperor's was in his youth. Feeling the pressure now?" The long-silent Void Mirror took the initiative to speak to Ling Xuan.

Author's note: The protagonist isn't from the Dragon-Man Race. He looks just like all you handsome readers. And those of you who guessed that his backer was Lord of Longxing—you were wrong too.

Lord of Longxing really is one of the more ancient human Universe Masters, but the original work never said he was the most ancient one.

I've also hinted at the protagonist's identity and background. The first volume is called The Barbarian Youth. The opening also introduced the customs and character of his people. The hints were actually pretty obvious.

By the way, you won't stop reading just because the protagonist is as handsome as you and isn't from the Dragon-Man Race, will you? Please don't!!