At the Central Plaza.
More than a million talented competitors, along with the many Immortal Experts, watched the single screen. On it, trial-taker Lu Yan'an unleashed the Time Law—Time Acceleration—and swept away all the mechanical puppets on the fifth floor in an instant. The million talented competitors in the Central Plaza fell silent.
"This is ridiculous. Those two from Ganwu Universe Country aren't even in the same league as everyone else!" murmured a Three-Eyed Race genius who had been eliminated from the Third Trial Tower.
"Maybe that's just how uneven the universe is. Who would've thought such an outrageous guy would turn out to be an Illusionist, too?"
"This Genius Tournament has really opened my eyes!"
Every genius in the plaza was stunned by Lu Yan'an's breakthrough in the middle of battle. And the key was that his main profession was Illusionist! Unlike Meng Huan, who had displayed the Hundred Line Flow movement technique, Lu Yan'an had comprehended a superior Law of Origin of Time in full view of everyone! In terms of both drama and legend, he stood alone.
"He should be able to make the top ten, right?"
"Of course. There aren't even ten people here who've comprehended a superior Law, and on top of that, he's an Illusionist who's unbeatable in one-on-one fights!"
"Counting that other Illusionist who comprehended the Hundred Line Flow movement technique, Ganwu Universe Country has two top-ten spots locked down!"
"Come on, don't get carried away! Even if he comprehended a superior Law, rankings are what count. Look, he hasn't even made the top twenty in the trials!"
"Use your head! Don't you know the trial rankings can't reflect someone's strength with complete accuracy?"
The Trial Tower challenges were very different from one-on-one combat. A Mental Master Controller could ride a spiritual force weapon and keep their distance while attacking from afar. A martial artist, on the other hand, had to charge into the enemy's ranks and fight... On top of that, this time there were "mechanical puppets," "Metal Lifeforms," and other beings immune to Soul Attacks, leaving many unable to show what they could do. Anyone with a discerning eye could see how much of a disadvantage these trials put the two Illusionists at!
Just because they hadn't made the top twenty in the trials, did that mean they weren't strong enough to rank in the top twenty?
In the Central Plaza, a million geniuses looked up at the screen as Lu Yan'an entered the fifth floor of the Sixth Trial Tower.
"He's reached the fifth floor of another Trial Tower. The odds of him getting through shouldn't be high!" a group of geniuses below speculated wildly. And they were right: the fifth floor of the Sixth Trial Tower was on a completely different level from the fifth floor of the Fifth Trial Tower. Even someone as powerful as Meng Huan had fallen there! Meng Huan was now in the plaza, watching Lu Yan'an's challenge closely, his eyes intent...
"He can't hold on."
"This time, he's really going to lose."
"He's strong, but the Sixth Trial Tower is several times harder than the Fifth. Tsk, he's been wounded again."
"It's over. He's finished."
The geniuses watched with rapt attention, voicing their opinions from time to time as they debated.
On the fifth floor of the Sixth Trial Tower, the battle had reached its most frenzied point.
"Not one of you is getting out alive! You're all going to die!" A fierce blaze now burned in Lu Yan'an's usually calm eyes. Even with Time Acceleration enhancing his movement, he was still badly wounded against this horde of mindless mechanical puppets! He tapped the ground and swiftly dodged an attack from the front, but before he could feel relieved, another attack came from behind. Even Time Acceleration couldn't overcome the sheer numbers!
Lu Yan'an's movements were unpredictable, but the puppets calculated every possibility and sealed off every escape route.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The mechanical puppets attacked in wave after wave from every direction, their strikes relentless and unbroken. With the combined boost of more than a hundred puppets' domains, the battlefield instantly became their territory. Lu Yan'an had nowhere to dodge!
"No wonder Galesi only ranked 189th in the Trial Towers in the original story. This level is just too hostile to us Illusionists!" Lu Yan'an sighed.
That was right. If Lu Yan'an's illusions could affect these puppets, the first four floors of both the Sixth and Seventh Trial Towers would have posed no challenge at all! But relying only on his own martial ability and the Time Acceleration he had just comprehended, getting through this floor was far too difficult!
"Bang!" A mechanical puppet's attack suddenly struck Lu Yan'an as he was lost in thought, freezing his movements for an instant. The puppets around him wouldn't let such a rare opportunity slip by. They gathered their strength and lunged at him all at once! Lu Yan'an, already exhausted to the point of collapse, tried desperately to dodge, but one airtight attack after another hit him.
Then his vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.
In the Genius Tournament's Trial Tower challenge, the last competitor, Lu Yan'an, killed three mechanical puppets before meeting the same fate as Meng Huan, falling on the fifth floor of the Sixth Trial Tower.
Overall rank: 15th!
Lu Yan'an felt space shift around him, and then he appeared in the Central Plaza. The many geniuses from human races across the various Universe Countries all turned to look at him.
"Hm?" His gaze swept across the crowd, quickly locating the Ganwu Universe Country team, and he hurried over.
"So that's Lu Yan'an?"
"An Illusionist made it into the top twenty in the trials?"
"Brother, he's the weaker Illusionist from Ganwu Universe Country. The stronger one is currently ranked fifth!"
Hearing the crowd's chatter, Lu Yan'an returned to the Ganwu Universe Country team.
"Nightmare, congratulations!" Meng Huan ran over from the side and called out loudly.
"Congratulations."
"Congrats."
Some of the other young men who weren't very close to Lu Yan'an smiled and congratulated him as well. After all, 99 percent of the people here knew they had no chance of making the top thousand.
"You've ranked higher than me, and you're congratulating me? You're just congratulating yourself!" Lu Yan'an laughed and punched Meng Huan lightly on the shoulder. This guy had clearly killed more than he had, yet here he was offering fake congratulations. What a shameless guy!
"Ming Feng, Lu Yan'an, come with me." A deep voice suddenly rang in their ears.
"Hm?" They both turned toward one area of the Central Plaza. The 1,008 powerful Immortal Experts had all risen and were flying toward the genius teams of their respective Universe Countries. Marquis Cangming, his expression cold, arrived at the Ganwu team in an instant and ordered, "Everyone, return to your lodgings."
"Rumble!"
The 1,008 genius teams returned to their lodgings under the Immortal Experts' leadership.
On the first floor of Building 0623.
The thousand members of the Ganwu genius team stood there, each respectful and silent under Marquis Cangming's pressure.
"Our Ganwu Universe Country's team performed very well this time!" Marquis Cangming's voice echoed throughout the first-floor hall. To everyone's surprise, he even praised them. "Aside from Ming Feng and Lu Yan'an, who both ranked in the top twenty and directly qualified to enter the Core Layer of the Virtual Universe Company, two others ranked in the top 7,300 and are eligible to compete for the last 900 spots."
"As for everyone else..."
"Your Peak Genius Tournament ends here," Marquis Cangming said coldly.
His words immediately dampened the spirits of the geniuses from the many star regions of Ganwu Universe Country. They had struggled for so long, only to be eliminated completely.
"You can return to reality and leave now, or wait a while. The Virtual Universe System will send those of you who've been eliminated back to your respective Universe Country's mainland," Marquis Cangming said. "Ming Feng, Lu Yan'an, you four, come with me!" He finished speaking and strode into the corridor.
Lu Yan'an, Meng Huan, and the other two hurried after him.
The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive.
"It's over."
"Everyone, our journey has finally come to an end."
"Haha, don't be too discouraged. Even if we can't advance any further, getting an invitation to enter the 'Ganwu Secret Realm' is still something."
"Right!"
"I refuse to believe that just because we're weaker than them now, we'll always be weaker! We're only at Star Level... Our cultivation journey has barely begun. The road ahead—to Universe Level, Domain Lord, and World Lord—is long and distant! We'll keep climbing until we reach the summit and become eternal Immortal Experts!"
"Well said!"
"Even entering the Core Layer of the Virtual Universe Company doesn't guarantee you'll become an Immortal Expert! We have just as much chance of becoming eternal Immortals in the Ganwu Secret Realm!"
"Exactly!"
"Come on, let's go get a drink. Having the chance to compete with geniuses from across the universe has made this trip worthwhile!"
Most of these young men and women, all qualified to enter the Ganwu Secret Realm, left together for a restaurant in the Central Plaza. Only a very few returned to reality immediately.
At this point, the thousand geniuses of Ganwu Universe Country had split onto two paths.
Most would enter the Ganwu Secret Realm.
A very few would enter the Core Layer of the Virtual Universe Company.
What would the future hold?
No one knew.
Before you continue