The Ancestor's Attention

What does it mean for Jiang Yao to possess a domain of the fourth level?

It means the entire competitive landscape within the clan is about to be rewritten.

Duomeng realized this almost immediately. Previously, Jiang Yao was merely a promising talent with a bright future, someone who might one day chase the brilliance of Yanchen, but everyone assumed this current Genius Tournament was not his era.

One must realize that even Yanchen spent a full 800 years raising his domain to the eighth level before he began to comprehend the laws; that was already an incredibly fast speed.

Even among Stellar Level powerhouses, there are some who possess no domain at all, which shows just how difficult it is to comprehend and improve one.

Even for geniuses who possess a domain at the Stellar Level, a lifespan of one epoch is far too short to raise a domain to a high level. Usually, by the time geniuses like Duomeng reach the eighth level of a domain, they are already at the Universe Level.

While reeling from the shock, Duomeng hurriedly asked about the domain cultivation progress of the others.

"Didn't I tell you last time? Second level. Do you think I can jump to the third level in just two years? Do you take me for Jiang Yao?"

Prose and Kuman are both at the second level. Prose has improved from the first to the second level over these years, and Kuman was already at the second level back at the Yanhe Branch, but a dozen years is clearly not enough to reach the third.

Gaichen, also from the Yanhe Branch, is at the third level. He is only a little over a thousand years old, making him the youngest among those present aside from Jiang Yao and Kuman. Even among the Stellar Level members of the clan who possess domains, he is among the youngest. At this age, reaching the third level of a domain is something any genius can be proud of.

But compared to Jiang Yao right now, he naturally pales in comparison.

Hearing the answers of the other three, Duomeng let out a sigh of relief, as if returning to reality from some absurd world. Facts proved that it wasn't the world that was absurd, but rather one specific person.

Seeing that Gaichen and Duomeng were feeling a bit off, Jiang Yao quickly changed the subject: "Duomeng, you are well-informed. What are the rules for this selection tournament?"

Duomeng sighed: "There are no complicated rules; it's just combat. However, what is certain is that the Senate has indeed prepared eight Grade 5 spirit weapons and eight Grade 5 force weapons as rewards, based on the eight origin laws."

Prose said in surprise: "That's a total of sixteen Grade 5 weapons? It doesn't seem like the competition will be that intense."

Stellar Level geniuses with domains are not exactly common, and sixteen Grade 5 weapons as rewards is quite generous.

Duomeng snorted: "The competition for other attributes isn't that fierce; having a fourth or even third-level domain is enough to fight for first place. But the competition for our water attribute is intense. Have you heard of Bancha? That old guy is over nine thousand years old and is stubbornly refusing to break through to the Universe Level. He has already cultivated his domain to the seventh level. Who can compete with that?"

Everyone nodded. The only Immortal God of the Lingtong Race comprehended the origin law of water, so the clan has the most geniuses and powerhouses who possess water-attribute domains and comprehend the origin law of water.

However, everyone was unimpressed by Duomeng's sour tone.

What does being over nine thousand years old matter? To Universe Level, Domain Lord, and Sector Lord powerhouses, they are still young geniuses. Every Genius Tournament has plenty of these eight or nine-thousand-year-old Stellar Level fighters achieving great results. For them, breaking through to the Universe Level is just a matter of a single thought.

Moreover, being able to cultivate a domain to the seventh level at nine thousand years old is already considered good aptitude. The higher the domain level, the harder it is to improve; most Universe Level powerhouses wouldn't reach that level even if given a hundred thousand years.

"However, hehe." Duomeng looked at Jiang Yao: "Aside from our water attribute, the competition for your fire attribute is also very fierce. There is a guy named Feinan who possesses the Burning Domain and has already cultivated it to the fifth level. His teacher is the Clan Leader, and he is usually arrogant, looking down on everyone, even Bancha.

But he has finally met his match. It's a pity that your powerful bloodline divine ability hasn't been nurtured back to its peak; otherwise, you might really be able to teach him a lesson."

Gaichen, who had been silent for a long time, seemed to have processed his complex emotions. His expression returned to normal as he joined the conversation: "For us Spirit Readers of the Lingtong Race, we all have bloodline divine abilities, so the level of our domain largely determines the strength we can exert.

Why hold such a large-scale selection tournament? It's hard for those with weak domains to take first place. After all, the will contained within a bloodline divine ability cannot be simulated in the Virtual Universe. What is the point of letting Stellar Level fighters with first or second-level domains, or even those without domains, participate in such a selection tournament?"

Prose didn't feel offended and chimed in: "I checked, and it seems there hasn't been such a selection tournament before. The clan already knows who has a high domain and who has strong secret techniques; there's no need for a selection tournament to decide who should be heavily cultivated, right? Geniuses like Jiang Yao didn't need any selection tournament to compete for rewards in the past."

Jiang Yao was actually quite curious about this as well. Making such a big fuss about this feels a bit strange.

Duomeng was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice mysteriously: "My teacher actually revealed to me that the Old Ancestor is very likely to come and watch this selection tournament in person."

"The Old Ancestor is coming?"

"I haven't even seen the Old Ancestor yet."

"I checked, and it seems the Old Ancestor only appears to watch during the preliminary elimination rounds of the peak Genius Tournament."

None of them expected this selection tournament to attract an Immortal God to watch. The distance between the Stellar Level and an Immortal God is just too vast.

Duomeng continued: "You should all have heard about the quotas for the Youyuan Secret Realm, right?"

"I've heard of it. It's said that the Old Ancestor performed meritorious service on the outer-universe battlefield, and the Xuanshang Universe Country bestowed 8 quotas for the Youyuan Secret Realm."

"I heard it was 3 quotas."

Jiang Yao didn't speak, just feeling a bit puzzled. What kind of merit could be achieved on the outer-universe battlefield to earn a reward from the Xuanshang Universe Country? If he remembered correctly, the outer-universe battlefield isn't divided by universe countries, is it? Isn't that a battlefield for the entire race?

"My teacher told me that for this selection tournament, the prizes and the fight for first place are just a facade. It is actually to make each branch work hard to cultivate geniuses, to send the most outstanding ones to the main clan, and to let all Stellar Level geniuses display their full potential and capabilities.

After all, Grade 5 weapons are priceless treasures to us, and even to the various branches, but to the Old Ancestor, they are merely a drop in the bucket.

So, although taking first place does earn a prize, the most precious prize is not some Grade 5 weapon, but the attention of the Old Ancestor.

If the secret realm quotas are real, the Old Ancestor might not choose based on strength alone, but will comprehensively examine potential, comprehension, and other talents. This selection tournament is just the first examination, and the Genius Tournament three hundred years from now will be the second.

That is why the Old Ancestor didn't set a goal for this Genius Tournament, unlike in the past where they required a ranking in the top ten thousand or top one thousand of the world sectors. It is precisely because the Old Ancestor is not selecting based solely on strength. Even if you have the best results in the Genius Tournament, the Old Ancestor might not choose you."

The mini Bajie on Jiang Yao's shoulder transmitted his voice: "This kid actually makes a lot of sense. Even if this Immortal God of your Lingtong Race doesn't have any Youyuan Secret Realm quotas, he probably has other treasures of similar value."

At this point, Duomeng looked deeply at Jiang Yao: "So, most people are dazzled by those few Grade 5 weapons, but in reality, the favor of the Old Ancestor is the true priceless treasure.

Jiang Yao, even if you don't get the Grade 5 spirit weapon for the fire domain law, as long as you display your fourth-level domain, you will absolutely be the biggest winner.

To put it bluntly, this selection tournament is a performance. It's not about fighting for first place, but about showing why you are worth cultivating in front of the Old Ancestor."