Showcase

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Zhao finished tidying up his residence in the Ice Ripple Secret Realm. After exchanging brief farewells with Claude and Snow, he waited quietly. When the familiar darkness once again shrouded the courtyard, Nine Peaks Immortal appeared without a sound.

"Are you ready?" Nine Peaks Immortal looked Qin Zhao over. Seeing his steady aura and clear eyes, he nodded slightly.

"Yes, sir," Qin Zhao replied.

Nine Peaks Immortal said no more. He raised a hand, and an invisible force enveloped Qin Zhao. In the next instant, the world around Qin Zhao blurred and twisted, as if he had been thrown into a fantastical tunnel where time and space had lost all meaning. It lasted only a moment—or perhaps an instant, or even an eternity—before the distortion abruptly vanished.

The scene before him had changed completely.

Gone was the pale blue sky and the Ten Thousand Mountain Wall of the Ice Ripple Secret Realm. In their place stood a magnificent hall of unimaginable size. It was built entirely from some kind of dark gold metal, and its domed ceiling soared so high he couldn't see the top. Countless intricate, ancient designs were carved into the surrounding walls: giant beasts roaring, gods and demons battling, stars being born and dying... Merely gazing at them sent an ancient, boundless aura washing over Qin Zhao, making even his soul tremble.

At the center of the hall stood a massive circular platform, its edges engraved with countless Mystic Patterns that glowed faintly as they slowly shifted. Beyond the platform stretched the depths of space, countless stars scattered across the dark expanse, so near they seemed within reach.

"This is the Reception Hall of the Noah Secret Realm." Nine Peaks Immortal's voice brought Qin Zhao back from his awe. "I brought you directly from the Glacier Sacred Land to the heart of the Noah Secret Realm through Divine Kingdom Teleportation."

Divine Kingdom Teleportation! Qin Zhao was inwardly shaken. This was the power of an Immortal God: crossing endless starfields in an instant.

"Come with me. We'll go to the Ark Hall for your identity verification and initial assessment." As he spoke, Nine Peaks Immortal led Qin Zhao out of the Reception Hall, both of them turning into streaks of light as they flew toward a distant, towering mountain range.

The cosmic energy inside the Noah Secret Realm was astonishingly dense, even condensing into a faint mist. With every breath, Qin Zhao felt his cultivation subtly improving. Mountain ranges rolled in the distance, every peak radiating powerful energy fluctuations; they were clearly excellent places to cultivate. Streaks of light flashed across the sky from time to time. Even the weakest auras belonged to Star Level cultivators, Universe Level cultivators were everywhere, and every so often Qin Zhao sensed an Immortal presence that made his soul tremble.

The Ark Hall was where the Noah Secret Realm assessed newcomers and assigned resources. The summit of a white, jade-like mountain had been leveled into a vast plaza. Dozens of young men and women had already gathered there. Each had an extraordinary aura and sharp eyes; they were clearly geniuses from across the Noah Universe Kingdom. When they saw Nine Peaks Immortal land with Qin Zhao, their gazes all turned toward them, filled with scrutiny and curiosity, along with a hint of barely concealed rivalry.

The assessment was overseen by a Domain Lord in a silver uniform, his face stern. After respectfully greeting Nine Peaks Immortal, he looked at Qin Zhao and the others, his voice cold and flat. "New arrivals, step forward one at a time. Place your hand on the Realm Testing Stone and unleash your strongest attack. Show us your understanding of the laws. The Secret Realm will assess your potential, assign you a rank, and allocate your initial resources and residence."

Compared with the Glacier Sacred Land, the Noah Secret Realm's assessment was much more direct. It judged a candidate's talent by the power of their attacks—a crude but efficient method.

The Realm Testing Stone was a ten-meter-tall boulder, pitch-black all over, its smooth surface shimmering with faint traces of energy.

The geniuses stepped forward one by one. Most released domains of the fourth or fifth layer. Only a handful could reach the seventh layer or higher. Even the one or two who could manage that had only just touched upon it; their strength didn't even match Shi Feng's, whom Qin Zhao had fought in the Glacier Sacred Land. So they were mostly ranked "Grade C" or "Grade B Lower." The best of them had only received "Grade B Middle."

"Next, Qin Zhao." The silver-robed Domain Lord called his name, his voice still even.

Everyone's attention shifted back to him. Qin Zhao had been personally escorted here by an Immortal Level being, which was a signal in itself.

Qin Zhao remained calm as he walked up to the Realm Testing Stone and placed his hand on it as instructed.

In an instant—

"Hum!"

A heavy, earth-yellow domain erupted! It was incredibly solid. Though its range was limited to a hundred meters, its weighty pressure—steadfast as a mountain, pulsing like a heartbeat—made many of the surrounding geniuses' expressions change.

"Ninefold Earth Domain! It's so solid!"

"He's definitely crossed the threshold of the Law of Earth!"

Low murmurs spread. A flicker of surprise crossed the silver-robed Domain Lord's eyes, and he nodded. "Star Level One, Ninefold Earth Domain, has crossed the threshold of the Law of Earth. Assessment: Special Lower! Not bad..."

He was about to record the result when he saw that Qin Zhao hadn't withdrawn his hand. A look of eager anticipation had risen in his eyes.

Just as everyone began to wonder—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three Phantom Bodies almost identical to Qin Zhao appeared beside him without warning! All four "Qin Zhaos" stood before the Realm Testing Stone, their figures crisscrossing as if resonating with the surrounding space in some marvelous way, making it impossible to tell which were real and which were illusions. At the same time, a ripple spread quietly through space, carrying a far subtler and sharper fluctuation than the Earth Domain.

"What?!"

"Phantom Bodies?! That's... the Origin Law of Space!"

"First Line Flow! You can only use First Line Flow after crossing the threshold of the Origin Law of Space!"

The plaza erupted in an uproar! Even the geniuses who had kept their composure before now stared wide-eyed at the four figures in disbelief. A Star Level cultivator who had mastered a lower law and crossed its threshold was already a rare genius. Yet this person had mastered both the Law of Earth and the Law of Space, and had even reached the First Line Flow level in the latter!

Two laws, both at the threshold! At Star Level!

All traces of coldness vanished from the silver-robed Domain Lord's face, replaced by utter shock. He instinctively stepped forward, his voice trembling slightly. "Star Level One, Ninefold Earth Domain, crossed the threshold of the Law of Earth and the Law of Space! Two laws... Assessment: Special Upper! No, this is beyond the usual assessment scale!"

Nine Peaks Immortal stood to one side, looking just as astonished. Then his astonishment turned to excitement. Qin Zhao had performed even better than he'd expected. He'd known Qin Zhao had crossed the threshold of the Law of Earth, but hadn't realized he'd achieved so much with the Origin Law of Space as well. This made his accomplishment even greater.

After all, there was a world of difference between a genius who had crossed the threshold of the Origin Law of Earth and one who had crossed the thresholds of both the laws of Earth and Space. The former might only make it into the top thousand of the Universe Peak Genius Battle, while the latter was guaranteed to contend for the top ten, perhaps even the top five!

At that moment, the Glacier Sacred Land was the only one that had truly lost out. For just two spots to study the Initial Universe, the Noah Secret Realm had taken away a genius who had a real shot at the top ten of the Universe Peak Genius Battle! If Ice Ripple World Lord and Ice Plains World Lord of the Glacier Sacred Land found out, they'd be furious enough to die of rage!