Punching Through

By this time, most of the geniuses who had been challenging the Trial Tower had already emerged.

Only a few "old foxes" remained, having dragged out their progress in the early stages to build up their strength in hopes of securing a higher ranking.

Including Ling Xuan and Cao Benqi, who were still in the midst of their trials, there were no more than five people left.

"This Cao Benqi from the Yanshen Universe Kingdom, though a bit arrogant, is truly a force to be reckoned with," a young man in black robes among the crowd remarked with a slight nod, his eyes filled with admiration. "He has cut through every obstacle all the way to the seventh floor of the seventh Trial Tower; he might actually succeed."

In contrast, many of them hadn't even managed to step foot into the sixth Trial Tower, and most had been eliminated back at the third, a stark gap compared to Cao Benqi.

Among this group, Ren Yaoli, Leng Yanqiu, and Feng Lishuang were considered the top performers, yet even they had been ruthlessly eliminated upon reaching the first floor of the sixth Trial Tower.

"Lishuang, Yanqiu, who do you think has a better chance of reaching the top, Ling Xuan or Cao Benqi?" Ren Yaoli, being of a lively temperament, was the first to ask.

The three of them had similar talent and strength, and as fellow women, they had begun building a rapport early on, knowing they would likely head to the Shenshi Secret Realm—the one just below the Giant Axe Secret Realm—together after the genius competition.

"Judging by current progress, the Yanshen is faster, but Yanmo Ling Xuan is no slouch either; it's hard to call," Feng Lishuang said, her delicate brows furrowed as she shook her head slowly.

"Hmph, both of them are equally full of themselves. But compared to Cao Benqi, who is both ugly and arrogant, I prefer Ling Xuan," Leng Yanqiu said, making no secret of her appreciation for Ling Xuan.

"Pfft~" The girl's candid remark drew chuckles from those nearby, instantly lightening the tense atmosphere.

Meanwhile, on the seventh floor of the Trial Tower.

"Die!"

Holding nothing back, Ling Xuan unleashed his full firepower.

Using the Great Void Art, his figure flickered like a phantom amidst the Zerg army. Every time he appeared, the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear in his hand unleashed a fierce blade light. Wherever he passed, Zerg warriors were sliced in two, their green blood splattering onto the ground and instantly corroding deep pits into the earth.

Seeing this, the Zerg Mother Empress hissed in fury. Her six butterfly wings flapped frantically, and waves of soul attacks shot toward Ling Xuan like sharp arrows.

Ling Xuan remained unperturbed, pushing the power of his Xiantai First Heavenly Layer to the limit. His mind was clear and serene, and under the resonance of the Great Dao, a golden light emerged to block all the soul attacks.

Immediately after, he flashed, appearing instantly behind a massive Blood Mantis. With a flicker of his blade, the creature's head went flying.

"Burning Wave Horizontal Slash: Nine-Fold Wave!" Ling Xuan roared. The Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear ignited with raging flames, and a surging crimson wave, carrying endless heat and power, swept toward the Zerg army.

In the wake of the wave, Zerg warriors were instantly engulfed, turning into ash that dissipated in the air.

In the blink of an eye, a vacuum zone hundreds of meters wide appeared within the Zerg formation.

The Zerg Mother Empress was thoroughly enraged. She exerted all her strength, causing the remaining Green Mantis and Blood Mantis units to go berserk.

The overwhelming Zerg legion was finally about to unleash its true power.

"Great Void Art." The berserk swarm charged, exactly as Ling Xuan had intended.

The next second, Ling Xuan's figure seemed to plunge into water, dissolving into a spatial ripple and merging into the void.

Seeing this, the Zerg Mother Empress let out a shrill shriek. She remembered how this human had suddenly appeared beside her earlier. With her Zerg army no longer surrounding her, she was highly vulnerable to a sneak attack.

"Swish~"

With the speed of a Xiantai realm cultivator, Ling Xuan merged into the void and instantly crossed dozens of kilometers to reach the Zerg Mother Empress. Without the protection of her Zerg warriors, the Empress was incredibly fragile. The Fire God Absolute Domain Blade flashed with a cold, beautiful light, instantly severing her exquisite head.

The seventh floor of the seventh Trial Tower was successfully cleared; Ling Xuan had conquered all the Trial Towers.

In a vast, desolate world, the endless earth was littered with corpses. Some were as large as planets, while others were smaller than humans, yet every single one of them contained a terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble.

Not far away stood a burly man about three meters tall. He wore complex, ancient dark-red battle armor and boots, with a scaled tail extending from his battle skirt.

"He actually passed. It seems humanity has birthed another peerless genius," the Chaos City Lord said, looking at the message sent to him by the Virtual Universe and opening Ling Xuan's combat footage.

"What a marvelous secret technique. This footwork allows a Star Level genius to merge with the void and perform displacements akin to teleportation. Its sophistication far exceeds even my own; it seems he has had some unique encounters."

Then came the footage of Ling Xuan's full-power outburst.

"It looks like some special inheritance from before the Great Destruction. A fine seedling," the Chaos City Lord sighed. With a thought, all of Ling Xuan's information appeared before him.

"He is actually a descendant of the Zhulong? It seems I have no hope then," the Chaos City Lord said, shaking his head helplessly before closing the video.

A moment later, another email with a special mark arrived, and the Chaos City Lord opened it.

"To think this batch has produced two super geniuses capable of clearing the Trial Towers. I must keep a close eye on these little ones."

Returning to a few minutes prior, on the Giant Axe Plaza, everyone stared at the leaderboard in unconcealable shock.

NO.1 Ling Xuan (Ganwu Universe Kingdom), Score: 77777770000

NO.2 Cao Benqi (Yanshen Universe Kingdom), Score: 67777770000

"Yanmo has overtaken the Yanshen, the first to clear all the Trial Towers."

"What? How is this possible?" The geniuses from the Yanshen Universe Kingdom couldn't believe it. The Yanshen had been leading the entire time, at one point even being a full floor ahead of his opponent.

They never expected such a shocking reversal to occur just as the final floor was about to decide the outcome.

Meanwhile, in the seventh-floor space, Cao Benqi noticed his score had dropped from first to second, and he was filled with both shock and rage.

His speed in killing those Zerg warriors was already fast, and the Zerg Mother Empress's replenishment rate couldn't keep up with him, but killing Zerg warriors didn't grant points; only the Zerg Mother Empress on the seventh floor counted.

He could hack at Zerg warriors until next year and it would be useless, and under the Empress's constant soul attacks, he had to exhaust his focus just to defend his mind.

"Damn it! If this were reality, these bugs wouldn't be able to stop me!" Cao Benqi felt this assessment was incredibly unfair.

In this genius competition, everyone's physical constitution in the Virtual Universe was set to a standard Star Level 9, exactly the same for everyone.

But in reality, he was a genius martial artist who had evolved to six times the base gene level; his foundation was six times stronger.

There were still many ethnic treasures he could use.

The rules of this genius competition were actually restricting his performance.

"Damn filthy bugs, all of you go to hell!" In a fit of rage, Cao Benqi unleashed his full power.

These Zerg warriors became the targets for his venting fury, his halberd slashing repeatedly.

After a fierce battle, he finally found an opportunity to kill the Zerg Mother Empress protected by the Zerg warriors.

NO.1 Ling Xuan (Ganwu Universe Kingdom), Points: 777,7777,0000

NO.2 Cao Benqi (Yanshen Universe Kingdom), Points: 777,7777,0000

NO.3 Leng Yanqiu (Longyun Universe Kingdom), Points: 18,8297,0000

NO.4 Feng Lishuang (Tianfeng Universe Kingdom), Points: 15,4578,5544

NO.96 Ren Yaoli (Gulun Universe Kingdom), Points: 3,6542,6524

"Third brother is first!" Ling Xue jumped up in excitement. "Eldest sister, did you see? Third brother got first place!"

"Yes, third brother is first. The number one genius in the entire universe." Tears of excitement welled up in Ling Yue's eyes as well.

They had never imagined their younger brother could fly so high; one had to know that even on Manlong Planet, their family could only be considered an ordinary household.

Their parents were both ordinary Star Level powerhouses.

They never expected Ling Xuan to be able to seize the number one spot in the total ranking of all human geniuses in the universe in one fell swoop, and even clear the Trial Tower.

Such talent and achievement were things they wouldn't even dare to dream of, yet their own third brother had actually accomplished it.

"Calm down, calm down, this is only the Trial Tower, there are still competitions ahead!" Ling Father said he was calm, but the corners of his mouth were curled up and couldn't be suppressed; if he had a tail behind him, it would have surely been wagging in the sky long ago.

"Hahaha!" the Temple Envoy laughed. "Even if it is just the Trial Tower ranking, it is already very excellent. You can rest assured and celebrate."

After saying this, the Temple Envoy actually logged out of the Virtual Universe himself.

"If I had known this kid was so formidable, I would have given him more pressure. I let this kid off too easily." The Temple Envoy paced back and forth excitedly inside the temple.

After walking for a while, he still felt the temple space was too cramped, so he left the temple directly and flew out into the cosmic starry sky.

In the Virtual Universe, he was an elder and could not lose his composure like that youngster.

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