Going All Out

Central Plaza.

On those five exquisitely crafted arenas, the battles for the top five spots concluded one after another.

"Xun Kong" versus "Sailin", Xun Kong wins!

"Ming Feng" versus "Noah", Ming Feng wins!

"Lu Yan'an" versus "Aike", Lu Yan'an wins!

"Yi Ran" versus "Liuyun", Liuyun wins!

"Jiao" versus "Lilan", Lilan wins!

Aside from Illusion Dream and Lu Yan'an, who were disguised as illusionists, the other three were all martial artists. In fact, strictly speaking, even Illusion Dream and Lu Yan'an were martial artists!

"Very brilliant. These battles for the top five were truly spectacular and pleasantly surprising," Venerable Plain Robe said, smiling as he looked at the one thousand young people before him.

"Everyone, take a rest. We will soon begin the round-robin for the top five. The rules are that each of the top five must fight the other four. The winner receives one point, and at the end, we will rank them based on points to determine the first place."

"The level of talent emerging in this first Peak Genius Tournament is extremely high, so everyone must strive to secure a spot in the Original Secret Realm and not waste this opportunity lightly. This is the Peak Genius Tournament of the universe! It is a platform provided by my Virtual Universe Company for you to showcase yourselves! There is no need to have any worries!"

After speaking, the Venerable's gaze swept over the top five geniuses, and his eyes lingered on Lu Yan'an for a split second with a hint of profound meaning!

Feeling the Venerable's gaze, Lu Yan'an couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle! He hadn't expected that this Venerable would be able to tell he was hiding his strength just from his previous combat performance!

The rest of the geniuses present were left feeling confused after hearing the Venerable's words.

This statement was clearly directed at the top five geniuses; the gap in strength between them and the others was simply too vast. Although they didn't know the specifics yet, it was clear that this had nothing to do with them! They should just focus on witnessing the competition!

Half an hour later.

The final round-robin for the top five began.

Lu Yan'an was sipping a bowl of fruit wine, while beside him, Illusion Dream sat looking bored. The two watched the ongoing battle on the distant arena.

"Aike's defense is truly absurd! It's only because he ran into a freak like you; otherwise, anyone else would be blown away the moment they touched him!" Illusion Dream remarked, watching the clash between Lilan and Liuyun on the field.

"Heh, you're being modest, aren't you? Not to mention others, do you think I don't know you? Don't act like you're weak. Although Aike's physical defense is monstrous, he has basically no defense against soul attacks, relying entirely on his own willpower to endure! For us illusionists, that is a very obvious weakness!"

Lu Yan'an curled his lip. This Illusion Dream was an old fox, still putting on an act in front of him.

Illusion Dream gave a rather awkward laugh upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything further, as if tacitly agreeing.

The round-robin matches for the top five passed one by one. Suddenly, the Venerable spoke up to halt the competition.

"Since both of you have already lost three matches, let us decide the bottom two places first!" Venerable Plain Robe said with a faint smile. To maintain the suspense, he requested that the fourth and fifth places be decided before starting the battle for the top three.

With a wave of his hand, the two were teleported onto the arena!

"These two guys are unlucky enough to have already lost three matches each. Now it's just a matter of who can maintain their last shred of dignity!" Lu Yan'an spread his hands, looking innocent.

Thus, Lilan and his opponent began this final battle for dignity to preserve their pride!

Both were martial artists, and their strengths were very similar. After a period of stalemate, the scene became increasingly intense! Finally, with the arena constantly shrinking, Liuyun, who relied on his speed advantage, ultimately lost to the rules of the field! After taking a heavy, powerful strike from Lilan, Liuyun's defeat became apparent, and with that, the battle for fourth and fifth place concluded.

On the exquisitely crafted arena.

The gray-robed youth carrying a breeze-like longsword looked solemn as he gazed at Lu Yan'an standing in the distance.

Xun Kong was silent for a long moment before suddenly praising, "You are the most difficult star-level opponent I have ever encountered! That illusion technique you used earlier was truly strong. If I had been completely unprepared, perhaps I would have fallen to you."

He admitted this with a rather frank tone.

"But I will definitely win this battle!" Xun Kong's eyes were incredibly serious. "You are a greater threat to me than that 'Illusion Dream'! But I will tell you a fact today—relying solely on the methods of an illusionist is ultimately not enough to stand on the main stage!"

Lu Yan'an did not immediately respond. Instead, he looked into Xun Kong's eyes and said earnestly, "Today, I will also tell you a fact—weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival; arrogance is!"

"But clearly..."

Lu Yan'an's indifferent, distant eyes shone like stars, and his calm, powerful voice echoed in Xun Kong's ears: "I am far more powerful than you imagine!"

Xun Kong frowned slightly. He felt that this Lu Yan'an was being too arrogant. He was the one ranked first in the Trial Tower, so why did this tone make him feel like he was the one ranked fifteenth?

Without further ado, he slowly drew the breeze-like longsword from his back: "Then let us begin!"

Cyan sword light erupted suddenly!

"Cangming, do you think Lu Yan'an has a chance to win in this situation?" King Lieyu asked with a smile.

"If he has time to use the secret technique he used in the previous duel against Aike, then he certainly has a chance! The key now is whose speed is faster!" Marquis Cangming analyzed with a smile. Lu Yan'an's outburst gave him a glimpse of a potential final showdown within the Ganwu Universe Country.

"Hahaha, I think this Lu Yan'an definitely has no chance!" an immortal giant with a tall stature and an aura as deep as the starry sky spoke up.

Marquis Cangming shook his head: "Luanxing, you should look at the situation on the field before you speak! Accepting reality is not shameful at all!"

Marquis Luanxing was the immortal leader of the "Tianmeng Universe Country" from which Xun Kong hailed, and he was also one of the few immortal beings present who could barely be considered a King!

"Hahahaha, it doesn't matter if you don't know. I'll tell you: Xun Kong's true insight is not the barely-over-a-thousand phantom bodies he showed while clearing the tower! His insight into the Law of Space is far beyond a thousand phantom bodies! It even far exceeds the insight into the Law of Space of your Ganwu Universe Country's 'Ming Feng'!"

As soon as he finished speaking!

Suddenly, two thousand gray-robed youths appeared on the arena, densely occupying almost half of the stage, which shocked everyone watching the match.

"Two thousand phantom bodies? Is his comprehension of space really this absurd? This is already at a level extremely close to the Ten Thousand Line Flow!"

The audience and the immortals present were so shocked they had become numb!

"Clang!"

A brilliant cyan sword light suddenly flared, incomparably beautiful, as if it were the only color in the world! The sword light caused the surrounding space to ripple, carrying an intensely oppressive sensation as it slashed toward Lu Yan'an!

"Such a brilliant sword strike..."

"There is no longer any suspense!"

"This Lu Yan'an is bound to lose!"

These thoughts flashed through the minds of everyone present in an instant.

But the very next moment, their brains completely crashed; the shock brought by the scene before them was far more dazzling and brilliant than the sword light on the field!

"Hiss!"

Lu Yan'an's expression was indifferent, and the fluctuations of time around his body became increasingly distinct. He suddenly took a step forward with his right foot, and the time fluctuations on his body reached their absolute peak!

"The Venerable just told me to bring out my true strength to compete for this Original Secret Realm! Originally, this secret technique was reserved for that guy Illusion Dream, but you are lucky to witness it ahead of time!"

Lu Yan'an began to move continuously, and the time around his body gradually froze, ceasing to flow!

"This is?" An immortal on the field gasped.

"That's right, this is the pinnacle secret technique—Time Stasis! Although it is merely a prototype of a prototype, for him to achieve this at the Star level with his comprehension of the Law of Time is truly unprecedented!"

A voice filled with slight admiration drifted over, answering the immortal's confusion.

The person who arrived was none other than Venerable Plain Robe! At this moment, he was watching the youthful version of "Time Stasis" that Lu Yan'an was displaying with great interest, a hint of admiration on his face!

It was also at this very moment that Venerable Plain Robe began to take an interest in Lu Yan'an!