Trump Card

Xun Kong, Ming Feng, Lu Yan'an, Yi Ran, Jiao, Lilan, Liuyun, Aike, Noah, Sailin

When they heard the Venerable announce the rules, the 1,008 powerful Immortal Experts present were stunned. The 990 geniuses watching were dumbfounded too, as were the ten peerless geniuses about to face off.

The order of the matches was Xun Kong, Ming Feng, Lu Yan'an, Yi Ran, Jiao, Lilan, Liuyun, Aike, Noah, and Sailin!

So the fastest would face the slowest, and so on...

"Xun Kong" versus "Sailin"!

"Ming Feng" versus "Noah"!

"Lu Yan'an" versus "Aike"!

"Yi Ran" versus "Liuyun"!

"Jiao" versus "Lilan"!

This schedule completely avoided any matchups involving Xun Kong, Illusion Dream, and Lu Yan'an, ensuring all three could make it into the top five!

"Isn't the Virtual Universe System being a little too generous to those three? It's completely avoided having them face each other before the top five!"

"Generous? I seriously suspect they set the rules based entirely on their match times!"

Hearing the rules announced, the watching geniuses burst into discussion, and a sense that everything had been rigged sprang up among them. But after the warning they'd received yesterday, everyone kept their comments fairly reasonable in public. No one dared say what they really thought.

"Take a short break. The arena matches will begin shortly." Venerable Plain Robe's voice echoed in everyone's ears.

"Interesting, very interesting!"

"Cangming, your Ganwu Universe Country really struck it rich this time! You've got two spots in the top ten, and the Virtual Universe System didn't even make your two youngsters fight each other in the top-five qualifiers! They're practically being escorted into the top five!"

"Hahaha, nothing's certain until the dust settles, is it? It's not exactly a sure thing! The 'Lu Yan'an' versus 'Aike' match still has plenty of suspense. In all his battles, I've never seen 'Aike' lose his composure! For someone so young, he has remarkable composure. Maybe he can withstand 'Lu Yan'an's' illusions!"

"Hmm, that makes sense!"

"I have to disagree! Just look at the opponents 'Lu Yan'an' has faced to see how terrifying his illusions are. He's made it this far without anyone being able to withstand them!"

"Compared to the others, he's still the stronger one."

The Immortal Experts gathered around Marquis Cangming began discussing the matches.

He watched Lu Yan'an and the others in the distance, beaming with delight. Two of the top ten in this first Genius Tournament were from the Ganwu Universe Country! And from the looks of things, the top ten wasn't their limit!

Before the decisive matches, the ten young men and women waited in silence, studying their opponents.

Half an hour later.

The original arena in the Central Plaza had long since disappeared. Now, five even more exquisite and luxurious arenas rose into view with a thunderous rumble. Their protective barriers were enormous, translucent membranes that reflected the light from the orb in the sky in a dazzling array of colors.

The ten peak geniuses were teleported into the arenas.

The five most powerful peak duels of the first Universe Peak Genius Battle were about to begin!

On an arena edged with beautiful decorative patterns, Lu Yan'an and Aike faced each other from a distance.

Aike wore a suit of earthy yellow battle armor and held a double-handed axe. His sharp gaze fixed on Lu Yan'an, making it clear he was a warrior who specialized in explosive strength.

Lu Yan'an, by contrast, wore white and held a Tang saber—the very picture of a warrior.

"Nightmare, you're strong!" Aike's voice was deep and powerful, like that of a ferocious beast just roused from sleep. He stared impassively at Lu Yan'an. "Everyone thinks I'm no match for you. They even wonder how someone with only a single attribute—the lower-level Origin Law of Earth—could possibly have made it to the finals." His voice was steady and strong, but his words carried a hint of self-mockery.

It was hard to imagine how a genius who had comprehended only a trace of the Origin Law of Earth had made it this far. How much had he endured along the way?

Hearing that Aike had reached the top ten in the universe with nothing but the Origin Law of Earth, Lu Yan'an immediately realized there was more to him than met the eye. Wasn't he just a second Long Yun? Hadn't City Lord Luo met his end against Long Yun's near-abnormal defensive power in the original story?

"I'll show you how ordinary geniuses like us made it this far!" As soon as Aike finished speaking, an earthy yellow aura began to emanate faintly from his body. The aura rippled slowly, and the surrounding space seemed to solidify. A strange, suffocating pressure made Lu Yan'an's expression change.

Just as I thought. Aike's following Long Yun's path, using his domain to fuse his deeper comprehension of the Origin Law of Earth with his rudimentary grasp of the Law of Space almost perfectly. The moment he releases his domain, it creates the sensation of space solidifying.

It's not that he hasn't comprehended the Law of Space. Compared to the Origin Law of Earth, his grasp of the Law of Space just isn't worth mentioning. He can only use a perfect fusion of the two to indirectly strengthen his defense through the Origin Law of Earth.

Lu Yan'an felt a headache coming on. That kind of turtle-shell defense was troublesome to break through. Even if the illusion weakened the boost to Aike's domain by impairing his consciousness, defeating him outright would still be difficult.

"I'm not City Lord Luo. He was a Controller, and his fighting style was completely countered by Long Yun's turtle-shell defense. I'm an Illusionist and a warrior. Even if it takes a while, I'll wear Aike down!" Lu Yan'an declared grimly.

Boom! Both men charged at each other. Their saber and double axes clashed, throwing off showers of sparks.

Lu Yan'an raised a hand and instantly unleashed the illusion technique Huo Shen. Aike quickly fell into the illusion. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yan'an closed in and struck at him over and over with his saber!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Aike's domain weakened Lu Yan'an's attacks. By the time the saber struck the Origin Force battle armor around Aike's body, it was moving at less than a third of its original speed, and its power had dropped to less than a tenth! It was awkward: Lu Yan'an managed to hack through Aike's armor, but by the time the remaining force reached his body, it had only inflicted minor injuries!

"No wonder City Lord Luo was helpless against this turtle shell!" Lu Yan'an smiled bitterly, realizing he might be worn down himself. "If ordinary physical attacks really aren't effective, then I'll use a spiritual soul attack! I refuse to believe his defenses cover his soul too!"

As the thought came to him, he lightly tapped the ground with his toe and opened up a little distance. "Since I mastered the second layer of this secret technique, Huo Xin, you're the first person who's forced me to use it! You should be proud!"

With that, Lu Yan'an tossed aside his saber and formed a strange seal with both hands. A destructive spiritual force spread out from his body and enveloped Aike! Aike had already been struggling in the illusion. Now, his consciousness sank completely into it!

"Unbelievable. This is truly unbelievable."

"Just how many trump cards does Lu Yan'an have?! What's his main specialty?"

"When he broke through in the Time Law in the middle of a fight, I thought he was just a warrior pretending to be an Illusionist. But now this terrifying illusion has me completely baffled!"

The watching geniuses were stunned.

Aike's overall defensive ability was undoubtedly the best in this Genius Tournament. His ever-calm mindset and iron will had allowed him to face illusions with ease! Yet even his formidable physical defenses and powerful will couldn't withstand Lu Yan'an's illusion!

As the geniuses watched the figure still standing in the center of the arena, the same thought surfaced in all their minds: did this guy really have no limits?

The 1,008 Immortal Experts watching from afar were also left dumbfounded!

"I thought Lu Yan'an was inferior to the other two, but it looks like I was too hasty!"

"Compared to Ming Feng, Lu Yan'an is the real Illusionist! That 'Ming Feng' is just a warrior pretending to be an Illusionist!"

"Marquis Cangming really is lucky! Now two of the top-five geniuses belong to the Ganwu Universe Country."

The Immortal Experts were thrown into confusion by how quickly the situation had changed. But one thing hadn't changed: they were all envious of Marquis Cangming!