A Duel Challenge

The 15th day of the preliminary qualifiers.

It was night, and the stars were scattered like dust.

In the center of the forest in World Area 44, sharp edges were scattered everywhere, and corpse after corpse lay before Lu Yan'an. Strangely, aside from the destruction caused to the surrounding environment by various telepathic weapons, there was not a single wound on any of the bodies, and every corpse wore a "smile" on its face.

A wild wind howled, passing through the leaves of the forest and making a "rustling" sound, yet despite such a chaotic scene, there was not a hint of the scent of blood.

Lu Yan'an floated in mid-air, legs crossed, his entire being immersed in a state of pseudo-meditation.

Waiting for a rabbit to hit a tree stump here really was a good idea. I imagine everyone in this world area who had even a shred of confidence in their strength is lying in front of me now, right?

Thinking this, he slowly opened his eyes, looked at the pile of "corpses" with their ambiguous expressions, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

"But now, anyone with even a bit of strength is basically in this pile of 'corpses' in front of me. It's really hard to run into anyone now!" As he spoke, he checked the watch on his wrist; his ranking was 17th.

"But it's not a big deal. It doesn't matter much if there's no one around right now. When the last two days arrive, all the points will be concentrated on the strong, and killing just one person then will be worth more than killing ten thousand now."

There was still plenty of time left.

Suddenly—

He descended from the air, a playful smile on his face as he called out loudly:

"Friend, since you've already arrived, why hide your head and show your tail?"

After speaking, Lu Yan's gaze turned toward an ancient tree behind him—or more accurately, the branches and leaves at the top of that ancient tree.

Whoosh!

A figure leaped down from the tree, toes tapping lightly in mid-air, using the momentum to land before him. The newcomer wore grey-black battle armor and carried a long spear, possessing an extraordinary air and a breezy, unrestrained demeanor.

It was Illusion Dream!

"Nightmare?" a slightly lazy voice asked from his lips.

"It's me! Looking at your attire—black clothes, long spear, wind-style domain—if I'm not mistaken, you must be Illusion Dream, right?" Lu Yan'an nodded, looking the other person up and down as he analyzed.

"I'm honored. I didn't expect the famous Nightmare to know me!" Illusion Dream teased in a rather flamboyant tone.

Hearing this, Lu Yan'an just gave a light smile.

"Fight?"

"No, no, no, I don't want to cross blades with you just yet!" Illusion Dream waved his hands, shaking his head.

"Looking at you, your hostility toward me doesn't seem very strong. Then what is your purpose in coming here to find me?" Lu Yan'an was a bit puzzled; this was the first time he had met a contestant like Illusion Dream.

"Haha, it's rare to meet a fellow illusionist! Isn't it just to come over and say hello?" Illusion Dream said the reason for this meeting nonchalantly, while simultaneously revealing his own identity as an illusionist.

"But, Nightmare, I'm planning to cross into other world areas to hunt down the strong elsewhere! I reckon the strong in World Area 44 have basically been killed off by the two of us." As he spoke, Illusion Dream shook his right hand, revealing the ranking on his wrist screen: 4th!

"The guys in the top three have all run off to other world areas to harvest points. Now, the only ones in the entire World Area 44 who can actually fight are probably just us two! I don't want to waste time here, so I just came to greet you. And, at the same time, I'm challenging you to a duel!" A mysterious smile hung at the corner of his mouth.

"A duel?" Lu Yan'an was somewhat confused.

"If you're interested, we can have a battle on the last day of the qualifiers. That way, while both of us secure our spots to advance, we can also have a hearty, satisfying fight!" Illusion Dream said quite calmly. This was the nature of an illusionist—in any condition, they would use a calm mind to consider problems rather than letting their blood boil at the drop of a hat.

"Location?" Lu Yan'an was immediately interested and asked without a hint of hesitation.

"Hahaha, it seems you also find this competition boring! Then let's do it here. On the afternoon of the last day of the qualifiers, we'll gather here for the final showdown!"

Seeing him nod in agreement, Illusion Dream smiled and turned to leave, his figure gradually disappearing into the depths of the dense forest...

"Interesting, interesting. To have strong competitors of this caliber appear only half a month in—I'm looking forward to the final showdown even more! But it seems I can't stay in this world area anymore. Sigh, the strong have all left..." Lu Yan'an felt a bit helpless. He had gradually realized that the guys coming to deliver their heads to him during this period had fewer and fewer points on them.

"Then I'll leave too. At least let me reach first place in the world area first!" Thinking this, he also stepped forward, heading toward the neighboring world area. After all, he didn't want to participate in the reincarnation battles!

In the luxurious and vast hall of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's spaceship.

Beside the Emperor, that seemingly refined old man received another email. However, this time, he did not knit his brows; instead, his face was full of joy!

Seeing this, the Emperor asked softly, "Is there some turn for the better?"

"Your Majesty, I have just received the latest intelligence. Lu Yan'an and that 'Illusion Dream' have reached an agreement to decide the winner on the final day! Congratulations, Your Majesty. Given Lu Yan'an's strength, he will be able to pass the qualifiers steadily!" The refined old man said to the Emperor with a joyful face.

"Hahahaha, this Lu Yan'an's strength is sufficient to pass the qualifiers. Even if he loses half his points on the last day of the qualifiers, he can still enter the top one thousand of the Ganwu Universe Country! In that case, we haven't come away empty-handed after all!" The Emperor said to the ministers below with a joyful face.

He had it tough, too! As the Emperor of the dignified Black Dragon Mountain Empire, a vast medium-level civilization in the universe, Lu Yan'an was currently the only one who had passed the qualifiers. Before this, this lone seedling, Lu Yan'an, had been teetering on the edge! One could imagine how much psychological pressure he was under.

One must know that face is the thing a nation of the strong cares about most. If they were wiped out in a grand event like the Genius Tournament, the entire face of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire would be lost! His Black Dragon Mountain Empire might not even be able to hold its head up among the surrounding medium-level civilizations that had produced geniuses who advanced! Lu Yan'an was now the last fig leaf for the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, this medium-level civilization.

On the floor, many dignitaries saw the Emperor's expression gradually relax, and the atmosphere became more relaxed as well; some even began to flatter him again.

The Emperor did not speak again, only looking at the giant screen in the center with a smile on his face, remaining silent for a long time...

World Area 45.

Just as he stepped into this world area, Lu Yan'an felt something unusual.

Unlike the primeval forest of World Area 44, World Area 45 was nothing but an endless desert! The star radiated heat wantonly, scorching this land. At a glance, there were only corpses and severed limbs in the desert, and the splattered blood made this yellow earth look as if it had been "cleansed," possessing a bewitching beauty!

Before he could even understand what was going on, a golden ring of light suddenly appeared behind Lu Yan'an and struck at him!

He twisted his body and dodged the attack, then looked at the controller who had suddenly appeared in front of him and laughed:

"Since you've already made your move, there's no turning back now!" As he spoke, his illusion technique, Huo Shen, forcibly locked onto the target, and the power of the illusion instantly enveloped the controller.

With a dull thud, the ambusher lost consciousness and collapsed.

"With a level like this, you still want to try your hand at ambushing others? You'd better go back and practice some more!" Lu Yan'an shook his head, intending to walk over and finish him off.

But before he had taken two steps, the controller lying on the ground suddenly regained consciousness. Seeing Lu Yan's walking slowly toward him, the man shuddered, then scrambled backward like a madman! He didn't even bother to retrieve his spiritual weapon!

"Yo, someone actually resisted my illusion!" Lu Yan'an watched the desperately fleeing controller with a hint of surprise. It was worth noting that this was the first time someone of the same rank had resisted his Huo Shen illusion without sinking into it. "Although it was a struggle, you did indeed resist my technique! I'll let you off the hook this time; feel free to come back again!" Lu Yan'an shouted toward the controller.

The fleeing man's footsteps faltered upon hearing this, and he seemed momentarily speechless, but he didn't dare to pause for even a second, vanishing from Lu Yan'an's sight in a flash.

"This is getting more and more interesting!" Lu Yan'an laughed, and with that, he continued walking toward the depths of the desert ahead...