Jiuyuan

After listening to the introduction of the rules, Jiang Yao muttered to himself, "This is somewhat similar to the life-and-death battles in the Giant Axe Coliseum, though those are real combat—the most brutal and fastest way to evolve."

Aside from his initial curiosity, Jiang Yao had barely entered the Killing Field in the past 17 years. According to Bajie, entering the Killing Field ten thousand times couldn't compare to a single confrontation with the will of Bizhang.

No matter how realistic the Virtual Universe simulations were, they were not true life-or-death crises. They could not trigger the conditioned reflexes of the body and soul when facing the terror of mortality; the Killing Field was actually better suited for testing the results of secret technique cultivation.

The World Lord in the black battle robe spoke in a solemn voice: "A reminder to you all: the simulated opponents you face will not be in a hurry to kill you. At least in the first few rounds, you have ample time to demonstrate your understanding of combat, your use of Bloodline Divine Abilities, telekinesis, origin power, your physical body, and even your domain techniques."

"Not only are most of the elders of the clan watching, but the Ancestor will also see your individual performances!"

Once these words were spoken, even those who had mentally prepared for the Ancestor's personal attendance could not help but feel nervous, let alone the majority who were completely unprepared.

That was the supreme existence of the Lingtong Race, the one who could decide the fate of everyone.

"I've spent these years focusing on improving my domain in front of the Fish Scale Wall, rarely logging into the Virtual Universe, and I've never even entered the Killing Field. This is too sudden."

"Haha, it wasn't in vain that I entered the Killing Field every day for five years straight. As long as my opponent's domain doesn't exceed mine, they won't be my match!"

"I think it's quite fair. Everyone is being compared against themselves. I've only just acquired a domain; if I encountered someone older than me with a higher domain, I'd likely be killed in one strike. If the Ancestor saw that..."

"Pfft, you think the Ancestor can even see you?"

Duomeng looked at Jiang Yao, Prose, and the others, saying, "My teacher told me that in this selection battle, you shouldn't just think about killing your opponents as quickly as possible. This is also an excellent opportunity to improve your telekinesis and domain usage techniques."

"Practice more on the easier opponents in the first few rounds so that you're more likely to defeat the stronger simulated opponents you'll face later. The longer you persist, the more the elders and even the Ancestor will focus their attention on you..."

Before Duomeng could finish, Jiang Yao heard a deep, resonant voice ring in his ear: "Jiang Yao, as long as you demonstrate a domain that has reached the fourth level, you will be a key focus for the Ancestor. Do not be impatient, do not worry about whether you can win the rewards; stay steady and fight methodically, and you will have already won half the battle."

The voice was familiar. Jiang Yao immediately looked up at the World Lord in the black battle robe standing in front of the group. This powerhouse met Jiang Yao's gaze with a smile and gave a slight nod.

Duomeng noticed Jiang Yao looking at the black-robed World Lord and smiled: "That is my teacher, World Lord Kasa. He thinks very highly of you."

Duomeng felt quite fortunate at this moment for his teacher's decision to have him approach Jiang Yao. Of course, this was also thanks to his own quick action and thick skin.

World Lord Kasa was not the only elder in the clan planning to invest in Jiang Yao. He believed he wasn't the only Stellar Level genius instructed to approach Jiang Yao, but geniuses—especially those taken as disciples by World Lords—were naturally proud and arrogant, and were likely all pondering how to approach him in a more dignified manner.

After all, ever since Jiang Yao arrived at the main sect, he had stayed on Yuluo Island and rarely logged into the Virtual Universe, living a secluded life. If one didn't set aside their pride, it was quite difficult to find a dignified opportunity for interaction that didn't seem overly sycophantic.

"Good luck, perform well!"

"Now everyone is on the same starting line. The old clan leader just sent an email telling us not to disgrace the Yanhe Branch."

"That goes without saying. I haven't spent little time in the Killing Field these past few years. Maybe my results will even be better than Jiang Yao's. Opportunities to surpass this freak Jiang Yao in competitions will become fewer and fewer, so everyone should cherish this."

"Haha, you're the one with the thick skin. Just don't get eliminated early and end up as a spectator!"

After Jiang Yao exchanged words of encouragement with Prose and the others, he and the few other geniuses who possessed domains registered their domains and walked to the teleportation platform on the side of the plaza.

Immediately, the scene before Jiang Yao shifted.

The sky was a dark, silent universe with only faint starlight.

The ground was a desolate landscape of continuous ravines; this was an irregular asteroid flying rapidly through space.

In the Elder Council, on the semi-circular, tiered stone steps, hundreds of elders sat in their seats. Opposite them were tens of thousands of screens displaying the combat scenes of all the geniuses participating in the selection battle.

Sitting on the highest tier were over twenty World Lord elders. In the center of the World Lords sat a black-clad man with an ancient, rugged appearance, his face as sharp as if carved by a knife and axe. His age was indiscernible; he looked like both a youth and a middle-aged man.

However, judging by the way the Domain Lord elders on the lower tiers looked upward with awe from time to time, this black-clad man was none other than the backbone of the Lingtong Race, the undying powerhouse Jiuyuan.

Meng Yi also looked cautiously at the black-clad man on the highest tier: "I didn't expect the Ancestor to actually come to watch the battle in person."

The white-clad youth Beiqiong sitting next to him smiled: "Isn't it better that the Ancestor came in person? I really didn't expect Jiang Yao to give us such a big surprise. It seems that fighting for him to enter Yuluo Island was the most correct decision."

"Haha, I was also shocked when I heard it from Jiang Yao. If he can maintain this speed of domain cultivation, who else could it be but him in the genius battle three hundred years from now? Not to mention surpassing Bancha, even rivaling Yanchen is not impossible."

Although domain cultivation speed and the comprehension of laws were not the same thing—after all, the speed at which the Lingtong Race's most dazzling genius, Yanchen, reached the eighth level of the domain was not the fastest in the clan's history, and examples of fast domain improvement but difficult law comprehension were everywhere.

But Meng Yi had an inexplicable confidence, perhaps stemming from that assassination attempt years ago, and the light that burst through the gaps in the Moyun Vine branches when he was on the verge of despair.

Although Beiqiong did not have as strong a confidence as Meng Yi, he also believed that Jiang Yao was undoubtedly the most dazzling genius of this era for the Lingtong Race.

Yuluo Island was covered in scales, and the spatial vibrations they produced were beneficial to domain cultivation. But Yuluo Island wasn't the only place with scales; the capitals of every star system in the main sect and Lingshen Planet all had scales. Which genius in the clan didn't cultivate within the coverage of the scale-induced spatial vibrations?

Even if there were differences, how much could they really differ?

While Meng Yi and Beiqiong, both Domain Lords from the Yanhe Branch, were rejoicing over Jiang Yao's domain improvement speed, the undying powerhouse Jiuyuan on the top tier was listening to the report from the black-robed World Lord Kasa.

"...1 person at the seventh level of the domain, 3 people at the sixth level, 8 people at the fifth level, 15 people at the fourth level..."

The rugged-faced Jiuyuan interrupted Kasa's report. His deep blue eyes, like an unfathomable ocean, looked toward a scene on one of the screens. On that screen, a youth stood on an asteroid without an atmosphere.

"Is he Jiang Yao?"

Not only Jiuyuan, but almost all the elders turned their gaze toward Jiang Yao's combat scene at this moment.

Every screen displayed basic information about the genius participating in the battle. Because they were virtual opponents matched to each individual's strength, there were detailed descriptions of the contestant's Bloodline Divine Ability type, whether they possessed a domain, and the level of their domain.

If the information in the top right corner of the screen was correct, this youth was one of the 15 geniuses in the Lingtong Race at the Stellar Level with a fourth-level domain.

Most of the twenty-plus World Lords on the highest tier remained relatively calm, as most of them had already learned the news of Jiang Yao advancing from the first to the fourth level of the domain in 17 years; both Duomeng and Gaichen had reported the situation to their respective mentors immediately.

But the vast majority of the Domain Lord elders could not hide their shock at this moment, whispering to each other. If it weren't for the presence of an undying god, their voices might have been several times louder.

"If I remember correctly, when this little guy first came to the main sect 17 years ago, he was at the first level of the domain, right?"

"Is this kid really that Jiang Yao?"

"Does Yuluo Island really have such a significant effect on improving one's domain?"

"If I had known, I would have sent my disciple to Yuluo Island as well. The clan's restrictions on Yuluo Island are far too strict..."

"Heh, who are you playing dumb for? As if anyone sitting here hasn't been to Yuluo Island. If it had such powerful effects, why are you still at your current level today?"

"The Yanhe Branch is going to rise after this..."

"It's a good thing the ancestor changed the competition rules at the last minute, otherwise my disciple definitely wouldn't have been able to get a reward."

"Look at your narrow perspective. Compared to a spot in the Youyuan Secret Realm, what is a Grade 5 weapon?"

"What is a Grade 5 weapon? You couldn't afford one even if you sold yourself!"

"It seems there's no hope for a spot in the Youyuan Secret Realm; it must belong to this Jiang Yao. Being able to get a Grade 5 weapon is decent enough. I just hope the ancestor doesn't change the reward rules because of Jiang Yao."

"Wasn't it said that there were three spots for the secret realm?"

"How have you become as ridiculous as those low-level disciples below, spreading rumors like that? Do you think the Youyuan Secret Realm is being sold wholesale? Three spots? You'd be lucky to get one. Even Emperor Kasolo has only been awarded one spot in all the years since he ascended the throne."

"Why do you think we happened to run into the ancestor suddenly changing the rules? If it were a head-to-head competition, this Jiang Yao might have even had a hope of fighting for the reward. With this format, if he gets eliminated in the first round, the scene might not look too good."

"That shouldn't happen. I heard that the opponents in the first few rounds are the weaker ones of the same rank, serving as a form of tempering. I'm afraid the difficulty won't ramp up until after the third round..."