Secret Realm

In Building 0623, there was a massive room.

Marquis Cangming was giving a briefing.

"Tomorrow's qualification battle will depend on your performance."

"Understood!"

"You two go first; Ming Feng and Lu Yan'an, stay behind." Marquis Cangming waved his hand at the four of them. The other two youths respectfully departed, leaving only Lu Yan'an and Ming Feng.

Once the others had left the room, he cast his gaze upon the two of them.

"15th place and 5th place—on the surface, you look quite strong." Marquis Cangming nodded, praising them in a rather gentle tone.

"However! Do not let a little glory go to your heads. The trials alone prove nothing... The upcoming finals are direct confrontations between participants, so you must be especially careful!"

"Among the top five participants in the trials, aside from Ming Feng, the other four are geniuses who reached the seventh Trial Tower, especially that first-place winner." Marquis Cangming paused to organize his thoughts. "That guy reached the second level of the seventh Trial Tower. In terms of his control over the space origin laws alone, he is even above Ming Feng! That is a level of spatial comprehension far exceeding the vast majority of sector lords."

Lu Yan'an's brow relaxed slightly; he was well aware of this. Reaching the second level of the seventh Trial Tower was a result even better than Bolan's, so naturally, his comprehension of the higher laws should be superior as well.

Furthermore, compared to the benchmark for core members of the Virtual Universe Company—the Tongtian Mountain, which has three gatekeepers at the foot, waist, and peak, consisting of an illusionist, a martial artist, and a spirit reader controller who attack in coordination—the Trial Tower was different. It was most favorable to spirit reader controllers, followed by martial artists, and least favorable to illusionists.

"So, you must be extremely cautious about the Virtual Universe Company's arrangements. Otherwise, in such a situation, a single moment of carelessness could turn you into someone else's stepping stone."

"Understood!"

"The trials do reflect one's strength to a certain extent. Although illusionists are the most targeted in the Trial Tower, others are not blind; they can still see a portion of your true ability!"

Marquis Cangming explained slowly, while Lu Yan'an and Ming Feng listened quietly without a word.

"Based on the judgments of us many immortals watching your live streams... Lu Yan'an, your strength is likely in the top ten. Most of those whose Trial Tower scores are higher than yours probably don't match your true combat strength!"

"However, you must also consider factors like style counters, so the final ranking depends on you." Lu Yan'an listened to the analysis without a word, but internally, he didn't care about Marquis Cangming's opinion at all. He had hidden countless trump cards, preparing to give Ming Feng a surprise during the peak showdown of the finals!

"And you, Ming Feng." Marquis Cangming's expression became even gentler as he looked at him. "Your strength goes without saying; it is enough to take first place in the finals. But that little guy who took first in the trials is not without threat to you!"

"Although that kid fell on the second level, he is a martial artist after all. Facing ten thousand opponents alone without support and lacking explosive techniques, it is natural he would fail. Moreover, his control over the space origin laws is even above yours. You must be especially careful not to let him get close; use illusions to restrain him, and that will give you the best chance of victory!" Marquis Cangming analyzed and cautioned them slowly.

Ming Feng bowed and said, "I understand. Thank you for your advice, my lord!"

"Very well!"

"You two should rest. Since you have already secured your spots, tomorrow has nothing to do with you. Prepare yourselves for the final slaughter."

"Although one thousand people can enter the core layer, there is a vast difference in treatment, and there is a hierarchy of status even within the core layer," Marquis Cangming added.

That day, the one million geniuses who had been eliminated were all teleported away. Only five people remained in Building 0623—the immortal leader and the four selected geniuses.

The next morning.

The 7,300 geniuses, including Lu Yan'an and Ming Feng, gathered in the central plaza. Suddenly, an invisible aura enveloped the entire square, causing all 7,300 human elite geniuses to involuntarily feel a sense of closeness and submission. Everyone looked up to see that familiar figure appearing in mid-air.

He was still wearing that plain robe, his facial features sharp, and his face still carried a gentle smile. His eyes swept over the 7,300 geniuses below, and he nodded with slight satisfaction.

"Venerable!"

The 1,008 powerful immortals bowed respectfully in unison.

This made the 7,300 elite geniuses' hearts skip a beat.

"The preliminary selection of the trials has ended. First, congratulations to the 1st through 100th place participants; you have earned the qualification to enter the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company! Now, if anyone is unwilling, you may speak up. The Virtual Universe Company will never force anyone." The Venerable Plain Robe's voice was ethereal, echoing in everyone's ears and minds.

Silence!

No one spoke.

"Good." The Venerable Plain Robe smiled with satisfaction. "For the 101st to 7,300th place, these 7,200 participants, the Virtual Universe system has automatically arranged arena battles for you based on your performance in the Trial Space. Those who win three consecutive matches will receive a spot; those who lose are eliminated."

With 7,200 people, half would be eliminated in a single round of battles. After three consecutive rounds, only 900 would remain.

When these words were spoken, many elite geniuses below felt confused.

The Venerable seemed to notice the confusion on their faces and smiled:

"The Virtual Universe system's arrangements are absolutely optimal; do not doubt them! Now, 7,200 participants, go and conduct your arena battles!"

With a "boom," the central plaza vibrated slightly. The crowd of elite geniuses was suddenly teleported away, leaving only the 100 human elites behind.

"There are seats over there; watch the live stream first." The Venerable Plain Robe pointed into the distance. Suddenly, 100 wide chairs and some tables appeared in a corner of the central plaza, with drinks and food on the tables. The Venerable himself sat in a section reserved for the 1,008 powerful immortals.

The hundred geniuses quickly sat down. Lu Yan'an and Ming Feng chose adjacent seats; regardless of anything else, they were from the same universe country, and both felt an inexplicable affinity for one another.

"Look, 3,600 screens."

"It's starting."

On the 3,600 screens, the battles began almost simultaneously! The arena battles for the 900 spots had officially begun!

The winners advanced, the losers were eliminated; everything was cruel!

One peerless genius after another fell!

In less than five minutes, 3,600 people were eliminated.

Those who were eliminated were naturally unwilling; they had come this far, only to fall just short. Yet, from the outside, that tiny gap was a chasm that no one could cross!

Half an hour later, the second round began.

Half of the 3,600 geniuses fell once more, while the other half continued to advance.

After another half hour of rest and preparation, the third round began...

"Swish! Swish!"

Nine hundred figures suddenly appeared on the central plaza. Most of these 900 elite human geniuses wore expressions of excitement; yes, after three consecutive rounds of elimination, they were the 900 who had finally succeeded out of the original 7,200.

Being in a universe country versus being in the core of the Virtual Universe Company was completely different!

Lu Yan'an and the other hundred people all stood up and walked over to gather. As the 1,000 elite geniuses assembled, many who were considered to have the strength to reach the top ten or top twenty, or those who believed themselves to be among the best, were sizing up the others.

"Congratulations to you all!"

A ethereal voice echoed in the minds of the 1,000 people. Venerable Plain Robe suddenly appeared in front of the crowd, yet not a single person on the scene had noticed his arrival.

"This is the first Genius Tournament of my Virtual Universe Company. You are the 1,000 most outstanding individuals out of the entire human race's 1,008 universe countries. Our Virtual Universe Company will cultivate you with all our might. If anyone does not wish to join the Virtual Universe Company, you may speak now."

Silence. No one made a sound.

"Very good."

"However, you must understand that competition is eternal in the universe; there is competition everywhere. You 1,000 people... it is impossible for you to receive the same treatment and the same cultivation resources. Even my Virtual Universe Company would not dare to waste precious resources in such a way." Venerable Plain Robe smiled. "Let me make an announcement."

"Among you 1,000, those ranked 101st to 1,000th will receive a bonus of 10 Hunyuan units, may enter the Initial Universe for enlightenment, and may join the 'Endless Secret Realm' of our Virtual Universe Company's core."

"Those ranked 11th to 100th will receive a bonus of 100 Hunyuan units, may enter the Initial Universe for enlightenment, and may join the 'Heaven and Earth Secret Realm' of our Virtual Universe Company's core."

"Those ranked 2nd to 10th will receive a bonus of 1,000 Hunyuan units, may enter the Initial Universe for enlightenment, and may join the 'Primordial Secret Realm' of our Virtual Universe Company's core."

"The 1st place winner will receive a bonus of 10,000 Hunyuan units, may enter the Initial Universe for enlightenment, and may join the 'Original Secret Realm' of our Virtual Universe Company's core."

"Only the strongest geniuses can receive the highest quality cultivation from my Virtual Universe Company. Everyone, you must give it your all!"

Quiet.

Most of the 1,000 peerless geniuses were somewhat confused as to what the four major secret realms—the Endless Secret Realm, Heaven and Earth Secret Realm, Primordial Secret Realm, and Original Secret Realm—actually entailed. However, everyone could tell that the fewer the spots in a secret realm, the more resources it provided! Therefore, aiming for the Original Secret Realm could never be wrong!