A Challenge

Day 15 of the qualifiers.

That night, stars dotted the sky.

At the heart of the forest in World Area 44, killing intent radiated in all directions. Corpses lay sprawled before Lu Yan'an. Strangely, aside from the damage inflicted on the surrounding area by the Spiritual Force weapons scattered around, not one of the bodies bore a single wound. Every face wore a smile.

The wind howled through the leaves, making them rustle, but despite the chaos, there was not a trace of blood in the air.

Lu Yan'an floated in midair, legs crossed, his entire body in a state of simulated meditation.

Waiting here to catch them as they come has turned out to be a pretty good idea. Everyone in this World Zone who's even a little confident in their strength is probably lying in front of me now, right?

As he thought this, he slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the heap of meaningless "corpses" before him, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

"But nearly everyone with any strength around here is in that pile of 'corpses.' It's getting really hard to find anyone now!" He glanced at the ranking on his wrist display. He was in 17th place.

"But it's not a big deal. If there aren't any opponents now, it won't make much difference. In the last two days, all the points will end up concentrated among the strong. By then, killing just one person will be worth more than killing ten thousand now."

There was still plenty of time.

Suddenly—

He descended from the air. With a playful smile, he called out in a clear voice,

"Since you're already here, why hide?"

Lu Yan'an turned his gaze toward an ancient tree behind him—or, more precisely, the branches above it.

Whoosh!

A figure leaped down from the tree. He touched down lightly with his toes in midair, using the momentum to land in front of Lu Yan'an. He wore gray-black armor and carried a long spear on his back. His bearing was extraordinary, his easygoing elegance as free as a breeze.

It was Illusion Dream!

"Nightmare?" he asked in a languid voice.

"That's me! From your black clothes, long spear, and Wind Domain, I'd guess you're Illusion Dream, right?" Lu Yan'an nodded and sized him up, explaining his reasoning.

"I'm honored. I never thought the famous Nightmare would know who I am!" Illusion Dream teased him in an exaggerated tone.

At that, Lu Yan'an only smiled.

"Fight?"

"No, no. I don't want to fight you just yet!" Illusion Dream waved a hand and shook his head.

"You don't seem to have much of a grudge against me. So why did you come looking for me?" Lu Yan'an was puzzled. He'd never met a contestant like Illusion Dream before.

"Haha, it's not every day you meet another Illusionist! I just came to say hello." Illusion Dream explained the reason for their meeting casually, revealing that he was an Illusionist himself.

"But, Nightmare, I'm planning to cross over into other World Zones and hunt down their strong contestants. I reckon the strong in World Area 44 have nearly all been killed by the two of us." Illusion Dream shook his right hand, showing Lu Yan'an the ranking on his wrist display: 4th!

"The top three have all gone to other World Zones to rack up points. Right now, we're probably the only ones in all of World Area 44 who can put up a fight. I don't want to waste time here, so I thought I'd let you know. And while I'm at it, I wanted to challenge you to a match." A faint, inscrutable smile played at the corner of his mouth.

"A challenge?" Lu Yan'an asked, puzzled.

"If you're interested, we can fight on the last day of the qualifiers. That way, we'll both secure a spot in the next round and get to have a proper fight!" Illusion Dream spoke calmly. That was what an Illusionist was like: no matter the circumstances, he considered things with a cool head instead of letting his blood run hot at the drop of a hat.

"Where?" Lu Yan'an immediately perked up, asking without the slightest hesitation.

"Hahaha, looks like you think this tournament is boring too! Let's meet here on the afternoon of the last day of the qualifiers and settle things with a decisive battle!"

When Lu Yan'an nodded in agreement, Illusion Dream smiled and turned away. His figure gradually vanished into the dense forest...

"Interesting, interesting. A strong contestant of this caliber has shown up after only half a month. I'm looking forward to the final battle more and more! But I guess I can't stay in this World Zone. Sigh, all the strong ones have left..." Lu Yan'an was a little helpless. He was gradually realizing that the contestants coming to him to throw their lives away had fewer and fewer points.

"Then I'll leave too. I may as well make it to first place in my World Zone before anything else!" With that thought, he set off toward the neighboring World Zone. After all, he had no desire to compete in the Reincarnation Battle!

Inside the luxurious, spacious hall of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's spacecraft.

The refined-looking old man beside the emperor received another email. This time, however, he didn't frown. Instead, his face lit up with delight!

Seeing this, the emperor asked softly, "Has there been a change in the situation?"

"Your Majesty, I just received the latest news. Lu Yan'an and that 'Illusion Dream' have agreed to decide the victor on the final day! Congratulations, Your Majesty. Given Lu Yan'an's strength, he should be able to get through the qualifiers without any trouble!" The refined old man spoke to the emperor with delight.

"Hahahaha! Lu Yan'an is strong enough to get through the qualifiers. Even if he loses half his points on the final day, he can still make the top thousand in the Ganwu Universe Country! It seems that at least this time, we won't come away empty-handed!" The emperor addressed the assembled ministers below him, his face full of delight.

It hadn't been easy for him! He was the emperor of the mighty Black Dragon Mountain Empire, a vast, mid-level civilization in the universe, and so far Lu Yan'an was the only one who had made it through the qualifiers. Until now, even that one lone prospect had been hanging by a thread! It was easy to imagine the pressure he was under.

After all, a powerful nation cared about its reputation more than anything. If they were completely wiped out in an event as grand as the Genius Tournament, the Black Dragon Mountain Empire would lose face completely! It might not even be able to hold its head high among the neighboring mid-level universe civilizations that had produced qualifying geniuses! Lu Yan'an was now the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's last shred of dignity.

Around the hall, the nobles saw the emperor's expression gradually relax, and the atmosphere grew less tense. Some even started flattering him again.

The emperor said nothing more. He simply smiled as he watched the enormous screen at the center of the hall, remaining silent for a long time...

World Area 45.

As soon as Lu Yan'an stepped into this World Zone, he sensed something was out of the ordinary.

Unlike the primeval forest of World Area 44, World Area 45 was an endless desert! The star blazed fiercely, scorching the land. As far as the eye could see, corpses and severed limbs littered the desert. Sprayed blood seemed to have "washed" the yellow earth, lending it an eerie beauty!

Before Lu Yan'an could figure out what was going on, a golden ring of light suddenly shot at him from behind!

He twisted around and dodged the attack, then looked toward the Controller who had appeared in front of him and smiled.

"Since you've already attacked me, you won't get to take it back!" As he spoke, his illusion, Huo Shen, locked onto the target, and the power of the illusion instantly engulfed the Controller.

With a thud, the ambusher lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

"With skills like that, you still think you can copy other people and launch a sneak attack? Go back and get some more practice!" Lu Yan'an shook his head, intending to finish him off then and there.

But before he could take two steps, the Controller on the ground suddenly regained consciousness. Seeing Lu Yan'an walking slowly toward him, he jolted in fright and bolted backward in a panic! He even abandoned his Spiritual Force weapon!

"Oh? Someone actually resisted my illusion!" Lu Yan'an watched the fleeing Controller with mild surprise. This was the first time someone at his level had resisted his illusion, Huo Shen, without being completely ensnared. "You only barely managed it, but you did resist that illusion of mine! I'll let you off this time. You're welcome to come back for another try!" Lu Yan'an called after the Controller.

The fleeing man paused at his words, seemingly at a loss, but he didn't dare stop for even a moment. In a flash, he vanished from Lu Yan'an's sight.

"This is getting more and more interesting!" Lu Yan'an said with a smile, then headed deeper into the desert...