The Place Where the Dream Began

Early the next morning.

"Everyone, please get ready. We'll soon begin the mass teleportation, sending all contestants to their respective Trial Spaces." A clear, melodious voice echoed throughout the entire plane of existence. All the young talents in the 1,008 towers had risen early, waiting for the first round of eliminations.

In an instant—

Boom!

An invisible, mysterious force descended upon the entire plane, instantly teleporting all the young contestants away.

Lu Yan'an appeared on a massive asteroid floating in the starry expanse of the universe. The asteroid was nearly a hundred kilometers long and rectangular.

All around him stretched the vast starry sky.

Seven Trial Towers had been built upon the asteroid. Each tower stood like a mountain, more than ten kilometers tall and several kilometers wide.

The seven Trial Towers stood at different points across the massive asteroid.

Lu Yan'an couldn't help but marvel inwardly. As expected of the place where City Lord Luo's dream began in the original story. What a spectacular sight!

As he thought this, he lowered his head to look at his wrist. A screen was displayed there, just like the one used in the preliminary selection back in Ganwu Universe Country.

Contestant: Lu Yan'an (Ganwu Universe Country)

Points: 0

Rank: None

Trial Space: No. 00

There were seven Trial Towers in the Trial Space, each with seven levels.

The first Trial Tower awarded a maximum of 10,000 points per level. Clearing all seven levels could earn a maximum of 70,000 points.

The second Trial Tower awarded a maximum of 100,000 points per level. Clearing all seven levels could earn a maximum of 700,000 points.

The seventh Trial Tower awarded a maximum of 10 billion points per level. Clearing all seven levels could earn a maximum of 70 billion points.

Note: If you die, the trial ends.

There are two ways to pass each level:

1: Kill every target on the level to earn the maximum points and be sent directly to the next level.

2: If you fail to kill every target, you will be sent directly to the next level after ten days, provided you are still alive.

The trial ends and the final rankings are determined once all contestants have died.

The rankings are listed below.

Lu Yan'an glanced over the screen and chuckled.

"The trial rules are exactly the same as in the original story. It looks like this method of selection will continue for a long time! And the final condition for determining the rankings is that everyone has to die. The Virtual Universe Company really has no intention of letting anyone clear the entire trial!"

From the original story, he knew the standards set for the "Seven Trial Towers" in the Genius Tournament. They were designed so that no one could clear them. Even a monster as talented as Bolan had been stopped at the first level of the seventh Trial Tower!

Generally speaking, Star Level talents had limited reserves of strength. Of the million or so contestants present, most were only a few hundred years old, and none were even a thousand. At this level, talent could not be made up for easily with time! Since Star Level talents had limited talent and reserves, the Virtual Universe Company was confident that the Trial Towers were difficult enough to wipe out every contestant.

Lu Yan'an looked at the seven Trial Towers standing before him, his eyes shining.

"The place where the dream began. I'm here, too!"

Thud!

Lu Yan'an turned into a streak of light and flew to the first Trial Tower. The entrance pillars, more than ten kilometers high, bore the symbol "1." It was the first Trial Tower.

He entered the tower.

The text on the screen around Lu Yan'an's wrist changed: First Trial Tower, first level: 10,000 ferocious beasts, "Blood-Haired Mammoths."

Each beast killed earns one point. Killing them all earns 10,000 points and sends you directly to the second level.

If you fail to kill them all, survive for ten days to be sent directly to the second level.

Death ends the trial.

"Then let's begin!" Lu Yan'an smiled, his fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.

"Roar!"

His expression changed in an instant as he calmly watched the scene taking shape before him. It was a world of grassland, stretching as far as the eye could see, with Blood-Haired Mammoths scattered across it. The moment he appeared, the countless beasts let out furious roars!

Dense, blood-red fur. A pair of long, sharp tusks. Wild eyes filled with a desire to destroy. These were Blood-Haired Mammoths, the top predators of this grassland!

Rumble! Rumble!

The Blood-Haired Mammoths charged at Lu Yan'an as one, their enormous iron hooves trampling the grass, their auras utterly savage.

"Tch!" Lu Yan'an sneered, immediately activating the illusion technique Huo Shen. His invisible Spiritual Force spread out, forming an illusory domain within a five-hundred-meter radius.

Boom!

In an instant, the Blood-Haired Mammoths within range shuddered and swayed. Blood poured from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and their souls were extinguished. Outside the illusion, the remaining mammoths charged forward fearlessly. Before long, blood had stained the entire grassland, and Blood-Haired Mammoth corpses lay everywhere!

Lu Yan'an had simply stood there without moving an inch. There wasn't even a speck of blood within a hundred meters of him!

"Group attacks are exactly what illusions are best against, especially low-quality group attacks like this!" Enemies of this caliber weren't even a warm-up. The Blood-Haired Mammoths might look intimidating, but they were nothing special. Anyone present could have cut through them!

Suddenly, after completing the first level, Lu Yan'an vanished. When he opened his eyes again, he was already on the second level...

In the Virtual Universe, 1,008 Immortal Gods stood scattered around the Central Plaza, chatting casually. They couldn't just leave their posts during this gathering. After all, it was the first Genius Tournament, and they would have to report back to their rulers.

The eliminations in the Trial Space weren't broadcast to the entire universe. Only changes to the rankings were made public.

Only the final arena battles would be broadcast to the public! However, the Immortal Gods from the various Universe Countries had permission to watch each contestant's trial.

"There really are quite a few talented people who hid their strength during their Universe Country's internal selections! That's an unexpected surprise."

"Indeed."

The Immortal Gods were discussing the outstanding contestants. Since the top 100 in the trial rankings would qualify directly, there was little point in continuing to hide their strength. As a result, many truly powerful contestants who had been concealing their abilities were now showing what they could do, greatly surprising the Immortal Gods.

"Cangming, those two youngsters from your Ganwu Universe Country are at a disadvantage in this sort of test!" A blue-haired Immortal God said to Marquis Cangming. "The Trial Space is only a trial, not a one-on-one duel! And there are Metal Lifeforms and mechanical puppets inside. They're immune to Soul Attacks, which puts those who specialize in Soul Attacks at a real disadvantage."

There was a difference between a one-on-one duel between humans and the talents selected by the Trial Tower challenges.

Marquis Cangming nodded, looking rather troubled. Who could have known the Trial Towers would test them this way? But no one could defy the Virtual Universe Company's rules. They could only accept them.

"Indeed! This makes things difficult for our Ganwu Universe Country." Marquis Cangming sounded helpless.

"It's fine. Haven't they also grasped a trace of the Origin Law and become law-understanding warriors? They still have a good chance, even if they might be at a disadvantage!" A friendly Immortal God beside Marquis Cangming reassured him.

"That's right, Cangming. Don't worry. The Virtual Universe Company must have taken all this into consideration. There's no need to fret so much," another Immortal God chimed in.

"I hope you're right. Let's hope so." Marquis Cangming sighed.

He looked at Lu Yan'an and Illusion Dream on the screen, his heart full of hope that their martial strength would measure up to the average among all the talents from the Universe Countries.

"Do your best!" Marquis Cangming silently urged them.