A Show of Force

"This is the first time the Virtual Universe Company has screened for genius seeds from across the universe. Your strength might be among the absolute peak within your respective universe kingdoms, but at the Virtual Universe Company, it is not enough!" Venerable Plain Robe paused, his voice steady. "Here, you will learn the first lesson of your lives: seize opportunities! And opportunities require your strength to grasp, to fight for, and to snatch! If you cannot grasp them, you must recognize your own weakness, then strive to become strong, becoming one of the few at the very tip of the pyramid!"

Some of the geniuses at the scene heard the Venerable's words and wore thoughtful expressions. The competition of the Peak Genius Tournament was inherently cruel; countless geniuses from 1,008 universe kingdoms had gone through round after round of elimination to select the final one thousand. This perfectly corroborated the Venerable's words: even joining the company was by no means a guarantee of safety; on the contrary, it might just be the beginning of the competition!

"Our Virtual Universe Company has always operated on the principle that the capable rise and the mediocre fall. As long as your strength is sufficient, perhaps you too can become a pillar of support for our human race! We do not lack miracles; or rather, we are the miracle of the human race!" Although the Venerable's words were calm, the dominance contained within them was enough to shock everyone present!

"The arena duels begin tomorrow to determine the final rankings." His voice was ethereal and vast, echoing in the mind of every person. "The rules for the duels have already been transmitted to each of you. Rest well today."

Boom!

Venerable Plain Robe disappeared immediately after speaking, and it was only then that the 1,008 powerful immortals began to talk among themselves.

"The Virtual Universe Company is truly imposing; it is worthy of being one of the top powers of our human race!"

"I wonder what kind of training conditions these four secret realms actually have?"

"I don't care about those; I just want to know who will become the champion of these finals!"

While the immortals were talking, Lu Yan'an and the other 1,000 people were looking down at the wrist screens, which had already received the transmitted duel rules.

The rules were as follows:

In the three rounds of elimination that had just concluded, 900 geniuses were determined. Based on their performance in the Trial Space and the three rounds of elimination, the Virtual Universe System selected the best 100 from these 900. The list is as follows: ...

These 100 people, along with the top 100 from the Trial Space who earned their spots first, totaling 200 people, will engage in one-on-one duels!

The 100 winners are qualified to enter the 'Heaven and Earth Secret Realm'. The remaining 900 will all enter the 'Endless Secret Realm'.

Among the 100 winners, based on the judgment of the Virtual Universe System, the best 20 will be selected, and these 20 will engage in one-on-one duels... to determine the top ten.

The top ten are qualified to enter the 'Primordial Secret Realm'.

From the top ten, the champion will be selected to enter the 'Original Secret Realm'.

A detailed duel list is attached below.

This rule was based on the selection of the Virtual Universe System, which only chose 100 people from those 900; the other 800 did not even have the qualification to participate in the next round of duels and were all assigned to the 'Endless Secret Realm'.

"How can it be like this?"

"They won't even give us the qualification for the final duels?"

"This is outrageously excessive!"

"This... this is trusting the Virtual Universe System too much."

In the central square, the 800 peerless geniuses who had been excluded immediately erupted; they weren't even being given a chance to show their strength!

"I refuse to accept this! I don't accept it!! Why? I have absolute confidence that I could break into the top 100, but now they won't even give me a chance to compete! Is the Virtual Universe System definitely right?" A green-skinned, bald martial artist on the field wailed sharply. As the most outstanding genius in his universe kingdom, he couldn't believe the Virtual Universe Company wouldn't even give him the qualification to compete!

"This is unfair! We demand fairness!!"

"If we really fought, who would be afraid of whom! Why won't they give us a chance!" Seeing a leader emerge, more than twenty peerless geniuses from various universe kingdoms immediately began to shout along.

"What are you thinking?"

"Are you trying to rebel?"

"Shut up, all of you!"

Many of the 1,008 powerful immortals in the distance let out angry shouts. At the same time, their terrifying consciousness pressure spread out, directly suppressing the 800 people, causing the 800 young geniuses of various races to turn pale, their bodies trembling slightly, their legs shaking uncontrollably, until one by one they couldn't resist and knelt on the ground.

Rumble...

The 1,008 powerful immortals all appeared in front of the group of geniuses, looking down at the group kneeling on the ground.

"Idiots! Did you not hear what the Venerable said earlier?"

A Fenghou immortal looked coldly at the group of rebels in front of him, speaking with great disdain.

"Since when does the Virtual Universe Company need you to point fingers at how it does things?"

"You are just a batch of promising seeds. Before you have even grown, you want to say no to the decisions of the higher-ups? The universe lacks nothing except geniuses! In a few thousand years, another batch of genius seeds will arrive. What are you being arrogant about now?"

At this moment, a grand, ethereal, yet slightly ruthless voice rang out: "If you have objections to the duel rules of the Virtual Universe System, you may choose not to join our Virtual Universe Company. The Virtual Universe Company will not force anyone to participate." Venerable Plain Robe had finally responded to the matter.

The voice echoed between heaven and earth, causing the expressions of the eight hundred geniuses lying on the ground to change.

Their faces were filled with disbelief. They had all thought of themselves as the pride of heaven, assuming that if they resisted together, even the Virtual Universe Company would have to value their opinions.

But they had not expected such a reply.

To summarize it in one sentence---if you want to come, come; if you don't, get lost.

"Do you little ones really think you can change the duel rules decided by the high-level officials of the Virtual Universe Company? Such arrogant self-importance!" An immortal sneered. This was the first time in his life he had seen ants dare to make demands of the strong!

"A group of little ones from the outermost layer of the core, and you dare to offer opinions to the highest level? And you dare to be dissatisfied?"

"Who among those who enter the core layer isn't a genius? You little ones are the only ones dissatisfied? As those being cultivated, you should have this level of awareness!"

The 1,008 immortals had cold expressions. Although they didn't understand why the Virtual Universe Company had such heartless rules for the very first genius tournament—when playing a few more rounds wouldn't have cost much time—every immortal present knew one thing: do not defy the decisions of the Virtual Universe Company! Even if those decisions sometimes seemed heartless!

The reason the higher-ups made such a decision was mainly because while these geniuses were indeed highly talented, most were incredibly arrogant and temperamental. On the road to the peak, if this arrogance was not polished away, it would only lead to their deaths.

This rule was meant to make them recognize themselves, to forget their past glory; in the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company, they were not special at all.

A genius is nothing more than a genius until they have fully matured! Before one truly transforms their innate talent into actual strength, it is better to keep a low profile! Which of the powerhouses present here wasn't a genius in their own right in the past? If they don't adjust their mindset, even the vast resources provided by the Virtual Universe Company would be nothing but a waste!

Lu Yan'an watched this scene in silence. Although he had already learned about this event in the original story, experiencing it in person was far more realistic than any written description! Even after entering the core echelon of the Virtual Universe Company, there remained a world of difference in status. Survival of the fittest and the elimination of the weak have always been the only absolute truths in this universe.

Based on this, his determination to become a powerhouse grew even firmer!

Lu Yan'an did not linger to watch the situation any longer and turned to leave.

Tomorrow marks the conclusion of the Genius Tournament, and he needs to prepare early!