The Curtain Falls

As the Time Venerable, Venerable Plain Robe had long ago discerned Lu Yan'an's attainments in the Law of Time through the recordings of his Trial Tower runs! Perhaps others did not understand, but as a Time Venerable himself, he knew very well that it was impossible to comprehend Time Acceleration without first grasping Time Slowdown!

Although there was no distinction of strength between these two directions of time manipulation, the latter was more like a variant of the former, much like two sides of the same coin, light and dark!

While their manifested characteristics differed, they were both essentially derivatives of the Law of Time.

Based on this, the Venerable had spoken those words; he wanted to see just how far Lu Yan'an had truly comprehended the Law of Time!

On the field.

Going all out, Lu Yan'an moved like a fish swimming back and forth through the ocean of time.

The time within a five-meter radius around him had been frozen and brought to a standstill, and every attack Xun Kong launched that entered this five-meter zone was completely halted, unable to touch him at all!

Striding forward and quickly arriving before Xun Kong, Lu Yan'an looked at his opponent, who was right in front of him but completely unable to struggle free from the Time Stasis, and smiled faintly: "Do you still not understand? From the moment I decided to use my full strength, there was no longer any possibility of you turning the tables!"

"With time frozen, it means I cannot be struck by any attack other than those derived from the Law of Time! Even your mastery of the Thousand Line Flow in space comprehension is useless. This is why they say, 'Space is King, Time is Venerable'!"

As he finished speaking, his hand rose and his blade fell with absolute decisiveness!

"Lu Yan'an" versus "Xun Kong", Lu Yan'an wins!

"How is this possible!"

The moment Lu Yan'an unleashed his peak secret technique—the pseudo-Time Stasis—the entire arena nearly suffocated.

Most of the 1008 powerful immortals rose from their seats in shock, their expressions filled with astonishment!

Even after the Venerable provided his explanation, everyone present remained in a daze!

It was too bullying! This was the only thought everyone had after watching the battle. Time Stasis was one of the three heaven-defying secret techniques of the Law of Time.

Stasis, Annihilation, Regression—these were the three heaven-defying secret techniques of the Law of Time, corresponding respectively to the three heaven-defying secret techniques of the Law of Space: Space Lockdown, Space Strangling, and Teleportation.

Even if Lu Yan'an had only mastered the rudimentary form of Time Stasis, it was enough to leave everyone present in awe!

"After Lu Yan'an used his full strength, Xun Kong didn't even have the ability to resist!"

"This was essentially a one-shot kill."

"This guy even treated the Peak Genius Tournament like a game; he's reached the grand finals, and yet no one has even forced him to reveal his true strength!"

"The gap in their comprehension of superior laws is just too vast! It's not just the comprehension; even his application is far beyond him. Sigh, actually, Xun Kong was truly excellent; to reach the level of 'Thousand Line Flow' at the star level! One can only say he picked the wrong opponent! Sigh!"

The 1008 immortals who had observed the duel began to comment and discuss once they gradually recovered from their daze.

Xun Kong's comprehension of the Law of Space was very high, surpassing the vast majority of world lords and even rivaling some immortals! But unfortunately, everything Lu Yan'an displayed was far superior to Xun Kong in every aspect!

Comprehension of the laws had always been the foundation for the strong, but it was not the only factor.

However, Lu Yan'an had achieved a state where both his comprehension and control of the laws were miles ahead of everyone else! Thus, this final, which almost no one had expected Lu Yan'an to win, came to an end in this fashion!

"Brother, it's our turn!" Illusion Dream patted Xun Kong on the shoulder and smiled.

At this moment, Xun Kong, who still wore a dazed expression, was pulled by a force back onto the arena!

"It seems you aren't in the mood to continue, so let's make this quick!" On the exquisite and magnificent arena, Illusion Dream looked at the still-distracted Xun Kong and said with a hint of helplessness.

As soon as he finished speaking, over three thousand spatial phantoms appeared on the field—a thousand more than even the full-strength Xun Kong had managed!

"Are all the geniuses coming out of your Ganwu Universe Country monsters?" King Liekong looked at Marquis Cangming with a malicious glint in his eyes. "How did you manage to scout two geniuses of this monster caliber at once?"

At this moment, Marquis Cangming was also in a daze. After rubbing his eyes repeatedly to confirm he hadn't misread the situation, his inner joy surged, but he dared not show it. Amidst the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes of the immortals present, he could only answer with a low-key, sheepish smile: "Luck, just luck!" He dared not say another word, fearing he might provoke one of the big shots!

On the arena, the already distracted Xun Kong couldn't even exert seventy percent of his strength, and facing Illusion Dream's three thousand phantoms only made matters worse! He couldn't even put up a resistance before being instantly slain!

"Ming Feng" versus "Xun Kong", Ming Feng wins!

"We finally made it to this last battle, Illusion Dream!"

On the arena, Lu Yan'an and Illusion Dream locked eyes, both revealing knowing smiles.

"Indeed, I didn't expect it either! Nightmare, my opponent in this final battle is actually you!" Illusion Dream felt a sense of unreality; the two best opponents from the same universe country and the same world sector were now facing off in the grand finale of the Peak Genius Tournament!

"Then let's begin! Let's continue that last battle of ours!"

With that, the two began to move rapidly, closing the distance.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The spear imbued with the Law of Space and the blade filled with the Law of Time collided incessantly! The low pressure rebounding from the scene stirred up the dust on the arena.

The two maintained their usual fighting styles: one an elegant warrior, the other a master strategist!

Each lightning-fast exchange was accompanied by the nearly eight hundred schemes they both held in their minds.

It was essentially no different from their previous encounter in the world sector, even though both sides had replaced their techniques with the superior laws they were most proficient in!

Both were wary of each other! As far as Illusion Dream was concerned, Lu Yan'an's Time Stasis technique was an insurmountable hurdle. And for Lu Yan'an, Illusion Dream's three thousand spatial phantoms were not easy to deal with either!

The Time Stasis technique sounded powerful—and indeed, it was—but it had a huge drawback for Lu Yan'an: the consumption was too great! With the origin energy and recovery rate simulated by the Virtual Universe, he couldn't even maintain the technique for more than ten seconds! If he were in reality, he doubted he could even execute it at all!

If Xun Kong hadn't fought recklessly in the previous battle and had instead chosen to kite him slowly, Lu Yan'an wouldn't have been able to sustain the fight!

Illusion Dream, standing opposite, clearly realized this as well. While maintaining his own state and distance, he began to pressure Lu Yan'an! He was forcing him to make the first move, intending to wait at his leisure and turn the situation around!

However, it was a pity that neither side was a fool. Especially Lu Yan'an, who was quite experienced in dealing with such stalemates.

"So you're planning to go with the shrinking arena strategy, huh?" After failing to break through for a long time, Illusion Dream suddenly realized Lu Yan'an's intention. Since my secret techniques consume too much energy to sustain indefinitely, I'll just wait until the arena shrinks to the point where you have nowhere to run!

It was an obvious open scheme, but unfortunately, Illusion Dream had no way to counter it!

At this moment, he fully understood the helplessness felt by City Lord Luo.

The arena was slowly shrinking, and the space for maneuvering was visibly becoming smaller. Helpless, he had no choice but to stake everything on one final gamble! In the blink of an eye, the Three Thousand Illusionary Bodies of Illusion Dream filled the entire arena!

"Finally caught you!" Lu Yan'an calculated the distance and realized that with his speed, he could eliminate all the illusionary bodies on the field within ten seconds! Immediately, the peak secret technique Time Stasis was unleashed; every illusionary body that came within five meters of him was frozen by the Time Stasis!

"You didn't actually lose; if it weren't for this arena..." After slaughtering all the fleeing illusionary bodies and securing victory, Lu Yan'an felt a sense of loss in his heart. In the end, he had relied on the rules, making the victory feel somewhat unearned!

1,000 geniuses and 1,008 powerful immortals stood in the Central Plaza, listening to Venerable Plain Robe speak.

"First place."

"Second to tenth place."

"Eleventh to one-hundredth place."

"One-hundred-first to one-thousandth place."

"With these four tiers fully selected, this year's Human Universe Peak Genius Tournament has come to a perfect end today." Venerable Plain Robe smiled, "You are the seeds selected from the first Genius Tournament, and the quality is so high that even I cannot help but marvel! I believe that in ten or a hundred epochs, many of you will be able to shake the entire universe."

His gaze landed on Lu Yan'an with profound meaning.

"Special personnel will contact you later to take you to the headquarters of my Virtual Universe Company, where you will assemble before heading to the 'Initial Universe'."

"From this day forward, your paths will no longer be ordinary."

"My Virtual Universe Company will assist you with all our might. As for whether you become super beings who shake the universe, become ordinary powerhouses, or fall along the way, it all depends on yourselves. Work hard; your path to becoming a powerhouse has only just begun!" The voice of Venerable Plain Robe echoed in everyone's mind.

The first Genius Tournament officially came to a close!