Thirteen's Frustration

Virtual Universe, the heart of the Ganwu Secret Realm.

In a towering palace, a giant eight meters tall, clad in scale armor, sat upon the main throne. His fingertips glided across a virtual light screen, processing the complex affairs of the Ganwu Universe Kingdom.

He was Thirteen, one of the eighteen Divine Generals under the command of the Ganwu Kingdom Lord. This era, it was his turn to oversee the secret realm and coordinate all matters.

During the previous Human Universe Peak Genius Tournament, the Ganwu Universe Kingdom had produced three peerless geniuses in succession: Bolan, Rong Jun, and Luo Feng. The Kingdom Lord had been overjoyed, not only praising him verbally but also "generously" rewarding him with several hundred million Hunyuan.

Although this reward did not seem meager to others, Thirteen knew in his heart that his Kingdom Lord was notoriously "poor."

Having followed the Kingdom Lord for many years, he had witnessed with his own eyes the Kingdom Lord's divine kingdom extinguish and revive three times. After such turmoil, it was a miracle he wasn't buried in debt, let alone having spare money for generous rewards.

Yet, Thirteen never uttered a word of complaint. He knew well that his current cultivation and status were all due to the Kingdom Lord's promotion; without the Kingdom Lord, there would be no him today.

Furthermore, the greatest benefit of following the Kingdom Lord was the "priority resurrection right."

Even if one were to unfortunately fall while adventuring in the universe, one could be resurrected with priority, at most owing the race a debt. This debt not only carried no interest but could also be deferred indefinitely, to be repaid slowly; there was simply no need to worry.

If only a new batch of peerless geniuses could emerge among my subordinates, Thirteen couldn't help but calculate in his heart.

The more geniuses there were, the more generous the race rewards the Kingdom Lord would receive. Perhaps he could finally pay off the debts owed to his friends and set off to explore the universe once again.

Having suffered heavy losses three times already, surely his luck couldn't stay this bad forever? Once the Kingdom Lord had money and leisure, he could also "rely on his elder" and no longer be trapped in this secret realm dealing with these trivial official duties.

Just then, a subordinate rushed into the hall, his face full of excitement, his voice even trembling: "My Lord! Big news! A peerless genius has appeared in the Tower Challenge Zone of the Ganwu Secret Realm. At the Star Rank, he charged straight to the thirtieth floor in one go, breaking the Star Rank tower-climbing record held by our Ganwu Universe Kingdom for one hundred thousand years!"

"Oh?" Thirteen felt a sudden surge of joy, a flicker of light that was hard to detect flashing in the depths of his eyes.

It seemed the Ganwu Universe Kingdom's luck was about to turn! Yet, he maintained the dignity of a Divine General on his face, merely waving his hand dismissively: "Understood, I will handle it this afternoon."

The subordinate looked at him with reverence, thinking to himself, The boss is truly the boss. One had to know that every time such a genius appeared, the Kingdom Lord's rewards were often astonishing, yet his superior could remain so calm.

After the subordinate withdrew, the eight-meter-tall armored giant instantly shed all his dignity, his face breaking into a simple, joyous smile. He couldn't wait to use his authority to pull up the tower-climbing video of that genius.

By common logic, a Star Rank who could reach the thirtieth floor was truly a top-tier genius, at the very least having gained entry into the higher-level space laws. If lucky, they would have the potential to compete for first place even in a weaker session of the Human Universe Peak Genius Tournament.

One must know that some World Lord level powerhouses, whose speed of comprehending laws was ten million times that of a Star Rank, still failed to grasp the space laws.

In other words, a "freak" who could touch the space laws at the Star Rank would, as long as they successfully broke through to become an Immortal, inevitably be a standout among Immortals, at the very least reaching the level of an Immortal Military Lord, only slightly weaker than himself.

Thirteen opened the video with great anticipation, but after watching for only a moment, the smile on his face gradually stiffened, finally freezing completely.

Good news: This was indeed a genuine genius at the Star Rank. He had actually achieved a breakthrough during the challenge, gaining entry into two types of origin laws and perfectly coordinating them to exert a one-plus-one-equals-two stacking effect. This talent was already far beyond that of ordinary people.

Bad news: This genius hadn't relied on raw strength to clear the levels at all; he had exploited a bug in the tower-climbing rules! Relying on unparalleled speed and evasion techniques, he had "kited" his opponents throughout the entire process, grinding his way through the thirtieth floor without showing any comprehension of space laws whatsoever.

"Sigh~" Thirteen let out a heavy sigh, his fingers operating rapidly on the light screen.

He still followed the rules and issued the honorary title of special-grade genius along with the corresponding rewards for breaking the record, then conveniently patched the tower-climbing bug.

From now on, climbers would find that as the levels progressed, the battlefield area would rapidly shrink and intermittently lock down. If they couldn't crush their opponents with raw strength, they would eventually be overwhelmed by the endless stream of enemies, no longer able to use "kiting" to take shortcuts.

No matter how many lower-level laws one comprehended, there was still a world of difference compared to the higher-level laws. The Ganwu Universe Kingdom never lacked ordinary Immortal powerhouses; what it lacked were top-tier seeds capable of comprehending higher-level laws and having the potential to impact higher realms in the future.

Thirteen shook his head, casting the matter to the back of his mind, and refocused on the official business at hand.

But after reading only a few lines, his brow furrowed again. Someone had reported that the Kingdom Lord's seventh son had wiped out an entire family due to a dispute over a slave trading business.

This was too outrageous!

Thirteen secretly complained in his heart. Even if the Seventh Prince was short on money, he shouldn't be interested in the petty profits of slave trading, let alone causing a massacre over such a trivial matter.

"Damn it~" He couldn't help but curse, "These damn official duties are a real pain in the ass to deal with!"

Compared to being trapped in the palace dealing with these petty disputes, he missed the days when he followed the Kingdom Lord to explore the secret realms of the universe, living a free and unfettered life.

Virtual Universe, deep within the Ganwu Secret Realm, Feng Lun Island floated quietly above the sea of clouds.

As a Universe Level special-grade student certified by the Ganwu Secret Realm, the treatment Feng Lun received was luxurious; the entire Feng Lun Island was her exclusive residence.

Here, one only needed to rely on the imagination in their mind to reshape the environment of the island at will: if she wanted a lush forest, ancient trees would tower in the blink of an eye; if she wanted a vast sea of stars, she only had to look up to see the brilliant galaxy; even the changing of the four seasons and the alternation of day and night could be adjusted according to her wishes.

Of course, in the entire Ganwu Secret Realm, there were only one thousand Universe Level students who could enjoy such treatment. That Feng Lun could occupy a spot was proof enough of her strength and talent.

At this moment, in the reception hall of Feng Lun Island, Feng Lun was chatting with two newly promoted geniuses, but her gaze drifted toward the outside of the hall from time to time, her fingertips tapping the table unconsciously, unable to hide the anxiety in her heart.

The two people in front of her were none other than Tang Ping, who had just set a record in the Star Rank Tower, and Luo Xiaoyu, who also possessed extraordinary talent.

The reason she was so concerned was that as long as she could successfully recruit a special-grade student, the reward given by the Ganwu Secret Realm would be at least several hundred million Universe Crystals.

This money was exactly what she needed to support the upgrade of her plant-based life form to the Universe Level.

Once the plant-based life form broke through, she could take it to explore those high-risk, high-reward secret realms of the universe with greater combat power, obtaining the opportunity to break through to the Domain Lord level.

By then, even among the genius-packed Domain Lord level students, she could firmly stand in the top one hundred, no longer worrying about being squeezed into the resource-poor outer training grounds and having to look at others' faces.

Half an hour later, just as Feng Lun was about to lose her patience and check for herself, a crisp notification sound suddenly rang out in the hall:

"Ding~"

"Universe Level special-grade student Feng Lun, certified by the Ganwu Secret Realm administrator: among the students you recruited, Tang Ping meets the criteria for a special-grade student quota, and Luo Xiaoyu meets the criteria for a third-grade student quota. The certification has passed. A reward of one hundred million Universe Crystals has been issued to your account.

Additional notice: The special-grade student you recruited, Tang Ping, has broken the Ganwu Secret Realm's one-hundred-thousand-year Star Rank record in the Star Rank Tower. An additional reward of one hundred million Universe Crystals from the secret realm has been synchronized to your account."

The moment the notification sound faded, Feng Lun stood up abruptly from her seat, the composure on her face completely replaced by wild joy.

She walked quickly to the virtual screen, and the moment she confirmed the account balance, she couldn't help but pump her fist in the air.

Two hundred million Universe Crystal! It was double what she had expected! A massive profit!

"That's wonderful!" Feng Lun turned to look at Tang Ping and Luo Xiaoyu, her smile sincere and radiant. "Congratulations to you both. Your certification has been approved; from now on, you are official students of the Ganwu Secret Realm!"

Across from her, Tang Ping and Luo Xiaoyu both revealed expressions of joy as their personal terminals had also just received the notification from the secret realm.

A triple win!