Trump Card

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

Upon hearing the rules announced by the Venerable, the 1,008 powerful Immortals present were all taken aback. The 990 spectating geniuses were also stunned, and the ten peerless geniuses about to face off were equally bewildered.

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

If the fastest were to 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 tournament bracket completely staggered the matchups for Xun Kong, Nightmare, and Lu Yan'an, ensuring that all three of them would advance to the top five!

"Isn't this Virtual Universe system being a bit too partial to those three? It completely avoided any matchups between them before the top five."

"Partial? I strongly suspect the rules were set specifically based on their battle times!"

Hearing the rules announced, the many spectating geniuses began to whisper, and a sense of being manipulated immediately arose! However, having experienced the harsh reality check from yesterday, everyone remained outwardly sensible, keeping their true thoughts to themselves.

"Rest for a moment; the arena battles will begin shortly," the voice of Venerable Plain Robe echoed in everyone's ears.

"Interesting, truly interesting!"

"Marquis Cangming, your Ganwu Universe Country has really hit the jackpot this time! Two spots in the top ten at once, and in the top five qualifiers, the Virtual Universe system didn't even arrange for your two little ones to fight each other! This is practically a guaranteed path to the top five!"

"Hahaha, nothing is certain until the dust settles, right? It's not that stable! The 'Lu Yan'an' versus 'Aike' match still holds quite a bit of suspense. In all of Aike's previous battles, I have never seen him panic! To have such a temperament at such a young age, he might just be able to withstand that 'Lu Yan'an's' illusions!"

"Hmm, that is a fair point!"

"I have to disagree with you there! Just look at the opponents 'Lu Yan'an' has faced to see how terrifying his illusions are. He has fought his way here, and basically no one has been able to withstand his illusions!"

"By comparison, he is still the stronger one."

Around Marquis Cangming, a group of Immortals began to discuss the situation on the field.

He looked at Lu Yan'an and the others in the distance with a beaming smile. Two of the top ten in this first Peak Genius Tournament were from the Ganwu Universe Country! And looking at the current momentum, the top ten was not their final destination!

Before the decisive battle, the ten young men and women waited silently, observing their opponents.

Half an hour later.

The original arenas in the Central Plaza had long since vanished. At this moment, five more exquisite and luxurious arenas rumbled into existence. The light shields over the arenas were massive, translucent membranes that reflected seven-colored light under the illumination of the light spheres in the sky, looking quite beautiful.

The ten peak geniuses were teleported into the arenas.

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

On an arena inlaid with beautiful borders, Lu Yan'an and Aike stood facing each other from a distance.

Aike was dressed in earth-yellow battle armor and held a pair of battle axes. He stared at Lu Yan'an with sharp eyes, clearly a warrior who favored explosive power.

Lu Yan'an was dressed in white, holding a Tang dao, the standard look of a warrior.

"Nightmare, you are strong!" Aike's voice was low and powerful, like a beast that had just woken up! He stared indifferently at Lu Yan'an before him. "They all think I'm no match for you, and they even doubt how someone like me, with only a single-attribute low-level Law of Earth, managed to make it to these finals!" Aike's words were steady and forceful, yet carried a hint of self-mockery.

As a genius who had only grasped a trace of the Law of Earth, it was hard to imagine how Aike had made it this far! And throughout this journey, one could only wonder what he had endured!

On the other side, Lu Yan'an realized how extraordinary Aike was the moment he heard that he had reached the top ten of the universe with only the single-attribute Law of Earth! Wasn't this just a version of Long Yun? And wasn't it against Long Yun's monstrous defensive capabilities that City Lord Luo had met his defeat in the original story?

"I will let you know how we ordinary geniuses have made it to this point!" As soon as he finished speaking, earth-yellow currents faintly radiated from his body. These currents rippled slowly, and the surrounding space seemed to solidify. A strange, suffocating pressure caused Lu Yan'an's expression to change instantly.

"Sure enough, this Aike is following Long Yun's path, using his domain to fuse his deep understanding of the 'Law of Earth' with his superficial grasp of the 'Law of Space' almost perfectly, creating a sense of spatial solidification the moment his domain is released!"

"It's not that he hasn't grasped the 'Law of Space', but compared to his 'Law of Earth', his 'Law of Space' is simply not worth mentioning! He can only use the method of perfect fusion to indirectly strengthen the defensive power of his 'Law of Earth'!"

Thinking of this, Lu Yan'an felt a headache coming on! With this kind of turtle-shell defense, even if he fell into an illusion and weakened the domain enhancement brought by his consciousness, it would still be very troublesome to defeat him completely.

"I am not City Lord Luo. His combat style as a controller was completely countered by Long Yun's turtle-shell defense. I am an illusionist and also a warrior; even if I have to grind him down slowly, I will grind this Aike to death!" Lu Yan'an resolved.

"Boom!" With a loud sound, both sides desperately closed the distance. The collision of the long dao and the twin axes sparked fire.

Lu Yan'an raised his hand, and the illusion "Huo Shen" was cast instantly. Soon, Aike on the opposite side clearly fell into the illusion. Taking this opportunity, Lu Yan'an pressed forward, striking Aike with his long dao again and again!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Under the weakening effect of Aike's surrounding domain, by the time Lu Yan'an's long dao struck Aike's force battle armor, its speed was less than one-third of the original, and its power was less than one-tenth! It was awkward; although he managed to crack Aike's armor, the remaining force only caused minor injuries!

"It's no wonder City Lord Luo was helpless against this turtle shell!" Realizing he might be worn down, Lu Yan'an wore a wry smile. "Since ordinary physical attacks are indeed ineffective, then I'll use spiritual soul attacks! I don't believe this guy's defense is comprehensive enough to cover his soul!"

Thinking of this, he tapped his toes and pulled back slightly. "Since I mastered the second layer of the secret technique, 'Huo Xin', you are the first one to force me to use it! You should be proud!"

Having said that, Lu Yan'an threw his long dao aside and formed a strange seal with his hands! Immediately, a destructive spiritual force radiated from around Lu Yan'an's body, enveloping Aike! Aike, who was already struggling in the illusion, now saw his consciousness sink completely!

"Crazy, crazy, this is truly crazy."

"Just how many trump cards does this Lu Yan'an have?! What exactly is his primary focus?"

"When he broke through to the Law of Time during the battle earlier, I thought he was just a warrior in an illusionist's clothing, but now this terrifying illusion has left me completely baffled!"

The many geniuses watching the battle were stunned.

Aike's comprehensive defensive ability was absolutely the best in this Genius Tournament, and his perpetually calm mindset and willpower allowed him to handle illusions with ease! Yet, even with such formidable physical defenses and such powerful willpower, he still could not withstand Lu Yan'an's illusions!

The many geniuses at the scene looked at the figure still standing in the center of the arena, and the same thought couldn't help but emerge in all of their minds: does this guy really have no limits?

At this moment, the 1008 immortal powerhouses watching from afar were also shocked into a daze!

"I previously thought this little guy Lu Yan'an was inferior to the other two, but it seems I was hasty!"

"Compared to Ming Feng, this little guy Lu Yan'an is the true illusionist! That Ming Feng is just a martial artist wearing the cloak of an illusionist!"

"Marquis Cangming really has good luck! Now, two of the top five geniuses belong to their Ganwu Universe Country."

The group of immortals was thrown into disarray by the rapidly changing situation, but the theme remained one of envy toward Marquis Cangming; that much had not changed at all!