Prologue

Across the various continents and islands of the Virtual Universe, over a million peerless geniuses from the 1008 Universe Countries were being teleported to their respective gathering points.

Beside the teleportation point on a floating island.

This was a floating plaza adorned with lush greenery, currently crowded with a large group of people. At a glance, there were hundreds of them—men and women of diverse appearances—though at least a quarter of them looked quite similar to humans from Earth.

It seems that the Earthling appearance is considered mainstream in the universe.

"You've arrived?"

"Heh, this time it's going to be fun!"

Greetings echoed around Lu Yan'an. During the nearly three years of the elimination battles, many had forged deep friendships.

"Nightmare, you're here?"

Illusion Dream ran over from some corner, waving a greeting to Lu Yan'an.

Hearing the voice of Illusion Dream, Lu Yan'an turned his head and smiled: "That's right, you arrived pretty early yourself!"

Illusion Dream was still the same, dressed in dark gray battle armor with an approachable, breezy temperament that made people feel an immediate sense of affinity. However, after nearly three years of elimination battles, the strength hidden beneath that approachable exterior had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation!

Suddenly...

"BOOM!"

An invisible pressure blanketed the entire plaza, causing the faces of the thousand peerless geniuses to turn pale as their bodies trembled involuntarily.

Lu Yan'an felt fine; this was merely willpower pressure directed at the Star Level, which he could basically ignore. But when he saw Illusion Dream trembling beside him, he was stunned for a moment, before realizing the truth the next second. What an old fox, he's acting so well! Lu Yan'an cursed inwardly, and his body began to shake uncontrollably.

Illusion Dream, seeing his rather clumsy acting, curled his lips and thought: What a little brat, putting on such a fake show. But he didn't say anything, choosing instead to wait for further instructions!

Before long, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, an ape-man wearing deep blue battle armor approached. The aura naturally radiating from him was as vast and profound as the ocean.

"The one thousand geniuses of Ganwu Universe Country, by the order of the Lord, I am your team leader."

The ape-man's voice was cold, like the frost of a November morning. "I am the First Divine General under the Lord, titled 'Marquis Cangming'. You may address me as 'Lord Marquis Cangming'. Do you all understand?" the ape-man introduced himself.

"Understood!"

The 1000 peerless geniuses responded in unison, unable to help themselves.

"The pressure brought by this Marquis Cangming is quite terrifying!" Lu Yan'an looked around, seeing everyone covered in cold sweat, and sighed to himself. If not for his state of mind having reached Grand Perfection, he wouldn't have performed any better than the others here!

To this immortal powerhouse, Marquis Cangming, the 1000 geniuses were as weak as ants. It was only natural for them to feel fear; it was a pure, uncontrollable instinct.

"Lu Yan'an! Ming Feng!" Marquis Cangming's gaze fell upon Lu Yan'an and Illusion Dream—for Illusion Dream's real name was indeed Ming Feng.

"You two are the ones in this batch from Ganwu Universe Country with the most hope and the best chance of not being eliminated. The Lord has high expectations for your performance in this Genius Tournament. Do not let the Lord down, understand?" Marquis Cangming said bluntly, though his eyes lingered on Illusion Dream, revealing a rare hint of warmth.

"Yes!" Lu Yan'an and Illusion Dream responded respectfully.

Then, Marquis Cangming swept his gaze over everyone else and said coldly: "As for the rest of you, there is basically no hope! You had best make other plans early!"

Among the young people below, many clenched their fists, but no one dared to voice a dissenting opinion against the conclusion of a Marquis-level immortal powerhouse.

"Hmph! Don't be unconvinced. Strength isn't something you talk about; it is demonstrated through battle!" the ape-man said coldly: "The strongest among you is only at the level of 'Lu Yan'an', yet according to our intelligence, the number of geniuses emerging in this first Genius Tournament exceeds anyone's imagination!"

"It would be good enough for someone of Lu Yan'an's level to break into the top hundred. Wanting to go any further is as difficult as ascending to heaven! As for the rest of you, it's not that I don't have faith in you." Saying this, Marquis Cangming sighed, "From any perspective, I don't think you have any chance at all!"

"Forget it, forget it. What is the point of telling you all this?" He seemed somewhat listless, then waved his hand and changed the subject:

"Alright, follow me!"

Afterward, the thousand geniuses, led by that Marquis, teleported simultaneously and arrived in a brand-new plane created by the Virtual Universe Company.

This was a vast continent.

There were 1008 buildings surrounding a beautiful, lush plaza in the center. At this moment, many young men and women from various Universe Countries were strolling and chatting in that beautiful plaza; at a glance, there were at least over a hundred thousand of them.

The team from Ganwu Universe Country was assigned to Building 0623, and Marquis Cangming led the team toward the plaza.

"Land!" Marquis Cangming's voice boomed.

The genius team of Ganwu Universe Country landed quickly on the edge of the plaza and then walked along the path directly toward Building 0623. The plaza had dedicated passages leading to each building.

The buildings were numbered according to the strength of the Universe Country Lords. Since the Lord Ganwu was in the lower-middle tier among the 1008 Universe Country Lords, their building was ranked 623.

"Look, that Building 0623 belongs to Ganwu Universe Country. I heard their genius team is very strong, and there are even two genius illusionists among them!"

"Yeah! I heard that too. Illusionists are the most troublesome; I really hate that path. A true genius should face their opponent head-on!"

"Brother, that's not even the most troublesome part. The most troublesome thing is that both of them are also genius fighters who have comprehended a trace of the origin laws! The combination of these two professions is the real headache! They have both control and damage output!"

In the plaza, many geniuses from other Universe Countries looked at the Ganwu Universe Country team from afar and began to discuss them.

With over a million geniuses from many different countries, it was impossible for everyone to know each other, but through intelligence gathering, the most top-tier geniuses had already made a name for themselves.

And the ones from Ganwu Universe Country who enjoyed this treatment were undoubtedly the pair of genius illusionists, Nightmare and Illusion Dream. They weren't just illusionists; they were also fighters who had comprehended laws. Compared to other geniuses, this type of talent was even more terrifying in actual combat. Admittedly, there were hidden talents everywhere in this first Genius Tournament, but mainstream fighters and controllers were naturally passive when facing illusionists!

The genius team of Ganwu Universe Country, hearing the discussions of the geniuses from other countries in the distance, felt depressed.

As the top 1000 geniuses of Ganwu Universe Country, which one of them wasn't a child of heaven?

Everyone was used to being the center of attention and being respected, but here, they didn't even have the qualifications to be discussed; they had completely become background characters. How could they maintain their mental balance!

In the universe, human beings are generally quite immature when it comes to cultivating the heart! Even many "powerhouses" in the eyes of the public completely lack the state of mind to control their own power! This is not only reflected among the upper echelons; one can also get a glimpse of it from the current mindset of these geniuses. Without a certain level of mental cultivation, one can never reach the pinnacle of power!

Regarding the discussions among the other geniuses, Illusion Dream remained completely unmoved, and Lu Yan'an even more so! They didn't come to participate in this tournament to gain the admiration of others; what they pursued was to truly become the core of the Virtual Universe Company. So what if they were discussed? It wouldn't affect the final result in the slightest!

"Don't hide your strength this time! Playing the pig to eat the tiger is fine, but if you play the pig too much, you'll really become a pig!" Lu Yan'an said to Illusion Dream beside him, his tone carrying a hint of resentment regarding their last peak battle.

"You can rest assured about that. The trump cards I've hidden will definitely shock you! But then again, you should worry about yourself first! Don't let it be that in the final peak showdown, I'm the only one left; that would be a slap in the face, haha!" Illusion Dream replied with a smile, while subtly returning a soft jab.

Afterward, the two genius illusionists of Ganwu Universe Country stopped speaking and shared a smile.