The Venerable

The Ganwu Universe Country's team of geniuses followed Marquis Cangming into Building 0623. The building looked small from the outside, but its interior could hold more than a thousand people.

"I have numbered badges from 1 to 1,000. Each of you, take a badge and use it to enter your assigned room. Those rooms are where you'll rest and stay!"

Marquis Cangming said coldly. Then he swept out a hand, and the badges floated down, one by one, stopping in front of their owners.

Lu Yan'an casually grabbed his badge. There was only one number on it: "1." He glanced at Huan's badge beside him. As expected, it was "2." It seemed the badges had been assigned according to how each genius had performed in the Ganwu Country's preliminaries: the stronger the competitor, the smaller the number!

The thousand talented experts from the Ganwu Universe Country all took their badges and checked their numbers.

"You're dismissed!"

"You can rest in your rooms, or go to the plaza and talk with the geniuses from the other Universe Countries," Marquis Cangming said plainly. "When it gets close to dark, the Virtual Universe Company's organizers will summon all of you. No matter where you are in this plane of existence, you'll hear the announcement."

With that, he strode out, leaving the thousand geniuses to do as they pleased.

After Marquis Cangming left, the thousand geniuses gradually began to relax. They gathered in groups of three or five, badges in hand, chatting or heading off to find their rooms.

The Central Plaza, surrounded by 1,008 buildings, was enormous and ingeniously designed. Even a million people could gather there without feeling crowded. Flowers, plants, and small ornamental animals could be seen all around its perimeter.

Large restaurants were scattered across the plaza.

There were 99 restaurants in all. Geniuses from every Universe Country could enter any of them—except Restaurant No. 1.

Marquis Cangming teleported directly to the entrance of Restaurant No. 1.

The attendant at the door bowed politely and opened it. "Please come in, sir!"

Marquis Cangming showed no expression as he strode inside. The first floor alone had more than a thousand seats, and over a hundred Eternal Immortals were already there.

"Cangming, you're here?"

"Long time no see!"

Some of these great beings radiated murderous intent, others were more violent than a star, while still others gave off a chill that seemed to freeze the soul. Their unsettling auras drifted through the room. Though they sat casually, each seemed to command a world of his own, as if the surrounding space were under his control.

These beings had all been sent by the rulers of their respective Universe Countries. Perhaps because this was the first Genius Tournament, every Immortal sent was the strongest beneath their country's ruler. It was a way to show how much each Universe Country respected the Virtual Universe Company.

Marquis Cangming, for example, was Lord Ganwu's foremost Divine General, and immensely powerful. Even among Marquis Immortals, he ranked among the very strongest; he was even capable of barely reaching King-level. Yet none of the Immortals present seemed weaker than him—and quite a few were stronger.

"Cangming, I hear two genius Illusionists have appeared in your Ganwu Universe Country. And they've both reached Entry Level in an Origin Law?"

"One in the Origin Law of Wind, the other in the Origin Law of Light. Hahaha! Young people these days are impressive. They're stronger than I was back then!"

A refined-looking Immortal in white robes spoke to Marquis Cangming. His aura was stronger than that of most people in the room.

"King Lieyu, you flatter them. They can't compare to you! Besides, even the Zhouguang Universe Country has two geniuses who've comprehended an upper-level law. That alone gives them a shot at the top ten!" Marquis Cangming, usually so stern and cold, answered with a smile and a respectful tone.

King Lieyu was the most powerful Immortal in the Zhouguang Universe Country. He was an ultimate King-level Immortal who had even mastered Space Lockdown, a divine technique! In terms of strength alone, he could easily beat every other Immortal in the restaurant to a pulp.

"Hahaha! Illusionists are different from other geniuses. Those two youngsters in our Universe Country might not even be able to withstand an Illusionist's techniques."

"Exactly. Cangming, your Universe Country is lucky. Everyone knows how good Illusionists are at one-on-one combat," an Immortal below added.

"If those two really make it into the Virtual Universe Company's Core Layer, you'd better treat us!"

"They really are promising prospects!"

The Immortals chatted among themselves.

Everyone waited for the finals to begin!

Central Plaza.

The plaza was larger than a city on Earth. But the peerless geniuses were all at Star Level Nine, and could see a hundred kilometers in a single glance.

Lu Yan'an and Huan walked around the plaza together, talking and gathering information.

"There are 1,008 Universe Countries, and geniuses are everywhere. I know of at least a handful who've comprehended upper-level laws, and plenty more are still keeping their abilities hidden. The preliminary results tell us nothing!"

Huan shrugged as he spoke to Lu Yan'an.

"Are there any competitors with overwhelming strength?" Lu Yan'an asked curiously. He had few sources of information. Aside from the profiles of Ganwu Universe Country's geniuses that the Black Dragon Mountain Empire had sent him, he knew practically nothing about the other Universe Countries.

"Not that I know of. The most talented Star Level fighters are the ones who've comprehended upper-level laws," Huan said, shaking his head.

Lu Yan'an fell silent for a moment. Looks like everyone's still holding back in this first Genius Tournament! he thought helplessly.

"Hey, don't dwell on it. I'll introduce you to some friends. They're interesting people I met during the Reincarnation Battle..." Huan suggested. Without waiting to see whether Lu Yan'an agreed, he started dragging him around to meet people.

Toward evening.

Lu Yan'an was resting in Room No. 1 of Building 0623 when a voice suddenly entered his consciousness: "All contestants from the 1,008 Universe Countries, gather at the Central Plaza."

In an instant—

Geniuses began arriving from every direction. Some flew in from the sky, others emerged from the residential buildings, and still more converged from the edges of the Central Plaza. Even Lu Yan'an, whose mind was exceptionally strong, found himself flying out of his room to join them, unable to resist despite remaining fully conscious.

In just a moment!

A vast formation of geniuses stood in orderly ranks across the Central Plaza. Then...

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"Huh? Why am I here? I was just in a restaurant!"

More than a million geniuses snapped out of their unconscious state, deeply shaken and staring in astonishment.

At the front of the formation stood 1,008 Immortals, representatives leading the delegations from the various Universe Countries. Their faces were solemn, and the pressure radiating naturally from them as Immortals filled the air.

At once—

The million-strong formation fell silent. Not a single person dared make a sound.

"Welcome to the Peak Genius Tournament, hosted by the Virtual Universe Company."

A gentle voice reached everyone's ears. It was exactly the same voice that had taken away their awareness and gathered them at the Central Plaza.

Everyone looked forward in shock.

A man in plain robes, with horn-like ridges on his head, had appeared in the air where no one had been before. Time itself seemed distorted around him. Many geniuses felt dizzy after facing him for only a short while; their brains had activated a self-protective response! He floated in the air, yet on closer inspection, it was as if he didn't belong to that time or place.

He was a mighty being beyond the Immortal level, a Time Venerable who had fully comprehended the Law of Time. He stood on the same level as the rulers of the Universe Countries!

A Time Venerable endured through time without perishing and weathered countless calamities without destruction. He was a master of time, so powerful that he could even reverse time in certain parts of the universe!

Venerable Plain Robe smiled. "There are 1,008 Universe Countries, each with more than a million geniuses. Our Virtual Universe Company will select the strongest thousand among you and bring them into our Core Layer." He stood alone in the void, looking down at the million geniuses below, yet his voice remained gentle.

"The rules are as follows."

"Tomorrow, each of you will enter a Trial Space. Our Virtual Universe Company has prepared more than a million Trial Spaces, one for each person."

"Each Trial Space has seven Trial Towers, and each Trial Tower has seven levels!"

"Start with the first Trial Tower. Clear all seven levels, then move on to the second Trial Tower... Keep going until you die and are expelled from the Trial Space!"

"Your points will be calculated based on your performance in the Trial Space."

"The top 100, ranked first through 100th, won't need to be screened further. They'll be directly accepted into the Virtual Universe Company's Core Layer, filling 100 of the spots."

"Those ranked 101st through 7,300th—the 7,200 of you—will compete in arena battles for 900 spots."

"As for everyone ranked below 7,300th... you'll all be eliminated!"

Venerable Plain Robe's words left the million geniuses below stunned!

There were more than a million contestants this time, but only 7,300 would qualify for the arena battles. That meant the Trial Spaces alone would eliminate more than a million people!