"Break!"
The third move of the Fire God Absolute Domain Blade, "Blade Domain Whirlwind Kill," unleashed its full power, transforming into a thousand-meter-wide storm of death. Wherever it passed, the mammoths fell like wheat beneath an invisible scythe.
One thousand, two thousand, three thousand... Blood congealed into a rainstorm in the Void, while the giant beasts' cries of agony accompanied the energy display on the rankings screen as it flashed again and again.
His score skyrocketed like a nuclear explosion.
"Impossible!" The Yanshen Kingdom genius staggered backward.
The Ganwu Country camp erupted in a tidal wave of cheers. Ling Yue and Ling Xue stood on either side of their father, tears streaming down their faces as they clutched his hands. "I knew it. Our little brother wouldn't lose!"
"I told you there was nothing to worry about." Ling Tianhe nodded excitedly.
On Tianzhou Island, the King-level Immortals who were interested in watching the competition had all seen this.
"Breaking through in the middle of a battle—this boy's future is limitless. He makes even faster progress under danger and pressure."
"What a pity. That old Zhulong King is like a dog in the manger, insisting on ruining such a rare talent."
"Come on. With the talent he's displayed, even the Universe Venerables will be tempted. We should watch the other geniuses instead, shouldn't we?" someone said pragmatically.
At that moment, Cao Benqi's score soared once more, reaching 2,777,770,000.
"Our Yanshen from the Yanshen Universe Kingdom is the real invincible one. He's already reached the third level!" the Yanshen Universe Kingdom geniuses cheered in Giant Axe Plaza.
"Ling Xuan has reached the second level too." The Ganwu Universe Kingdom geniuses also noticed that Ling Xuan's score had reached 17,777,770,000.
"Pah! He's still a whole level behind, isn't he? The gap is clear. The outcome's already decided."
The ten thousand Nine-Headed Pythons on the second level were much stronger than the Blood-Haired Mammoths.
The Blood-Haired Mammoths were merely ferocious beasts, with far less intelligence than the Nine-Headed Pythons, who belonged to the Monster Race. Their tactics were simple.
The Nine-Headed Pythons, however, could surround Ling Xuan more flexibly.
But there wasn't much difference in their individual strength. After his breakthrough, Ling Xuan's power had increased considerably. He had already been extremely agile, so this level of improvement didn't affect him much. After spending some time fighting, he made it to the third level.
The third level held a thousand metal lifeforms: Tuoluo Race Warriors.
The liquid-metal bodies of the thousand Tuoluo Race Warriors gleamed with a cold luster. The patterns on their surface seemed to ripple with the Law of Gold, and a sharp aura swept toward Ling Xuan, stinging his face even from a distance.
"Burning Wave Horizontal Slash!"
Ling Xuan roared and swung his blade, striking first. Seven overlapping crimson waves surged forward like an erupting volcano.
Wrapped in surging flames, the red blade light resembled a giant Heaven Opening axe. In an instant, it cleaved through the first five warriors, splitting them in half along with their spears.
With Ling Xuan's shameless sneak attack, the battle officially began. The nearly thousand remaining Tuoluo Race Warriors rushed toward him.
"Good!" Ling Xuan roared. He lightly touched his toes to the ground and unleashed the Youlong Movement Technique, creating thousands of Phantom Bodies that drew the attention of most of the warriors. He sent out three blade lights with Blade Domain Whirlwind Kill; like snakes darting from their holes, they coiled around three warriors on his left.
The three Tuoluo Race Warriors raised their golden spears to block in unison. The Law of Fire on the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear collided violently with the Law of Gold, erupting in dazzling sparks.
Ling Xuan twisted his wrist. His blade flashed like lightning, shredding the three warriors' golden bodies.
Suddenly, a piercing metallic screech rang across the battlefield.
Twenty warriors in the distance stamped their feet at once. The Law of Gold spread along the ground, transforming into golden chains that shot toward Ling Xuan.
Ling Xuan spun and swung his blade. Burning Wave Horizontal Slash sent eight layers of flames crashing into the chains. Red fire and golden light intertwined, illuminating the surrounding space as bright as day.
The Flame Domain and Gold Domain collided fiercely, and the air burst with a series of deafening cracks.
Ling Xuan's gaze sharpened. He noticed that the warriors on his right were quietly shifting their positions.
They formed triangular formations in groups of three. The patterns on each trio lit up at the same time, forming an unusual Secret Pattern Diagram. Their Gold Domains overlapped like a honeycomb, congealing in the Void into spinning wheels of blades.
Without hesitation, Ling Xuan unleashed Burning Wave Horizontal Slash again. The crimson waves crashed against the golden blades, and the tremendous impact warped space.
Ling Xuan gritted his teeth and circulated his Flame Domain at full power, engaging the Gold Domain in a fierce tug-of-war.
The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear danced in his hands, leaving layer upon layer of blade shadows.
Whenever he killed one warrior, the long spears of those around him would thrust at him along bizarre paths. One thrust after another, sharpened by the Law of Gold, interrupted Ling Xuan as he gathered power and forced him to keep repositioning.
Ling Xuan became a crimson dragon shadow, weaving through the forest of spears. His blade clashed constantly with the long spears, and the metallic clang of each collision rang without pause.
Flames and golden light flew in every direction. Each clash seemed capable of tearing space apart.
Just as he forcibly broke through the second triangular formation, an unexpected change occurred.
Hundreds of warriors thrust their spears into the ground at the same time. The Law of Gold burrowed underground like a living thing, and hundreds of spikes instantly thrust up from the earth.
Ling Xuan leaped into the air, but a huge net of the Law of Gold suddenly descended from above, formed by the resonance of thirty formation units.
With a roar, he unleashed Blade Domain Whirlwind Kill at full force. The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear spun wildly, shattering the golden net as it clashed fiercely against the Law of Gold raining down from above.
The moment he landed, Ling Xuan found that the battlefield had turned into a honeycomb.
Every six warriors formed a hexagonal unit. The strands of law between the units intertwined, creating a shifting golden maze.
Every time he charged forward, it triggered a chain of attacks from the neighboring units.
Flames and golden light dyed the entire space a chaotic blur.
Ling Xuan fought more fiercely with every passing moment, but when he broke through the seventh unit, he triggered the formation's ultimate transformation.
The remaining warriors' golden bodies suddenly melted into liquid, then reassembled in midair as a circular wall of blades. It spun at high speed in every direction, as if it could grind anything to pieces.
He pushed the third level of the Youlong Movement Technique, Dragon Battles in the Wild, to its limit, weaving through a dense barrage of blade light. The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear clashed wildly against the wall of blades. Each collision shattered his dragon shadow, while waves of sharp force traveled from the spear into Ling Xuan's body, leaving several wounds.
Suddenly, the circular wall of blades accelerated, transforming into a golden wheel that devoured everything as it rolled toward Ling Xuan.
"He can't hold on. He's already pushed the third level of Youlong and 'Blade Domain Whirlwind Kill' to their limits. It's pointless if he can't break the formation made up of these Tuoluo Race Warriors." Ganwu Kingdom Lord shook his head as he watched the battle. "Still, with a performance like that, he ought to be worth at least 1.5 Supreme Treasure points. What a loss, what a loss. Old Zhulong, why not have Ling Xuan withdraw? He'd definitely take first place in the next Virtual Universe Company Genius Tournament, and he'd surely be worth a Supreme Treasure point by then. He's still too young."
"Keep dreaming. First or second, they both end up in the Giant Axe Secret Realm. What difference does it make?" Zhulong King grumbled as he prepared to leave the channel.
Ganwu Kingdom Lord pursed his lips and said nothing. He had only been joking.
Withdraw?
Wouldn't Venerable Beiyan come pounding on his door and refuse to let the matter rest?
The geniuses selected by the Genius Tournament would, after becoming Immortals, serve under the Venerable who hosted them until they broke through to become Venerables. It was a way to replenish those Venerables' ranks.
If he tricked someone like Ling Xuan, a Venerable-level talent, into withdrawing, Venerable Beiyan would definitely turn against him.
As Ganwu Venerable had said, the golden wheel was far too powerful. Ling Xuan was completely unable to withstand it. His Flame Domain and the countless blade lights forming his defenses were shattered in an instant, and the next moment, Ling Xuan's figure was swallowed.
"Alas, what a pity," Ganwu Venerable sighed. Ling Xuan's greatest weakness was still his short cultivation period. He was only a little over thirty. If he'd had a hundred years to cultivate, like Cao Benqi, he might really have been able to pass the seven-level Trial Tower.
"Hm?" But the next moment, they realized something was wrong.
If a contestant had been eliminated, the Tuoluo Race metal warriors inside the Trial Tower should have returned to stillness, and the live feed should have been cut off.
But although the golden wheel had disappeared, the live feed was still running.
That meant the Virtual Universe had determined that the battle wasn't over and Ling Xuan hadn't been eliminated. It was just that, given the current situation, the Tuoluo Race formation had judged Ling Xuan dead and thus dissolved.
"What happened?" At that moment, Ganwu Venerable, the Immortals watching the competition on Tianzhou Island, and even certain supreme beings secretly following the competition were all wondering the same thing.
First of all, the Virtual Universe could never make a misjudgment, nor could it be infiltrated.
Unless they were dreaming.
Indeed, these supreme beings, who had lived for countless years, possessed an unknown Brain Domain Width, and had computing power comparable to Intelligent Life, would sooner doubt themselves than the Virtual Universe System.
Unless he'd lost his mind.
"Could it be some method none of us know about?"
"Zhulong, what's going on?" Ganwu Kingdom Lord hurriedly asked.
At the same time, emails poured in like a flood.
Zhulong King spread his hands awkwardly. "I don't know either."
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