Showcasing

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Zhao finished tidying up his residence in the Ice Ripple Secret Realm, exchanged brief farewells with Claude and Snow, and then waited quietly. When the familiar gloom once again shrouded the courtyard, Nine Peaks Immortal's figure materialized soundlessly.

"Ready?" Nine Peaks Immortal's gaze swept over Qin Zhao. Seeing his steady aura and clear eyes, he gave a slight nod.

"Yes, sir," Qin Zhao replied.

Nine Peaks Immortal said no more. Raising a hand, an invisible force enveloped Qin Zhao. The next moment, Qin Zhao felt the scene around him blur and twist, as if he had been thrown into a bizarre tunnel where time and space lost all meaning. In just an instant—or perhaps a fleeting eternity—the distortion vanished abruptly.

The view before him had completely changed.

No longer the pale blue sky of the Ice Ripple Secret Realm or the Ten Thousand Mountain Wall, but a hall of unimaginable grandeur. The entire structure was forged from some dark-gold metal, its vaulted ceiling soaring so high the top was lost to sight. The walls were carved with countless intricate, ancient patterns—roaring beasts, battles between gods and demons, the birth and death of stars... Just gazing at these carvings, Qin Zhao felt a vast, desolate aura pressing down on him, his very soul trembling.

At the center of the hall stood a massive circular platform, its edges inscribed with countless secret runes that now pulsed with a faint glow. Beyond the platform stretched a deep starry sky, countless stars dotting the pitch-black curtain, so close they seemed within reach.

"This is the 'Reception Hall' of the Noah Secret Realm," Nine Peaks Immortal's voice snapped Qin Zhao out of his awe. "Just now, I used a God Kingdom teleport to bring you directly from the Glacier Sacred Land to the core of the Noah Secret Realm."

God Kingdom teleport! Qin Zhao's heart tightened. So this was the power of an Immortal God—crossing endless star regions in an instant.

"Follow me to the Ark Hall for identity verification and initial assessment," Nine Peaks Immortal said, then transformed into a streak of light with Qin Zhao, flying out of the Reception Hall toward a distant range of towering, unbroken mountains.

The cosmic energy within the Noah Secret Realm was so dense it was almost obscene, even condensing into faint mist. Every breath Qin Zhao took felt like his cultivation was subtly increasing. The distant mountains rose and fell, each peak radiating powerful energy fluctuations—clearly excellent cultivation grounds. Streaks of light occasionally flashed across the sky; the weakest among them were Star Level, Universe Level was common, and occasionally he sensed an Immortal presence that made his soul shudder.

The Ark Hall was the Noah Secret Realm's dedicated facility for newcomer assessments and resource allocation. Atop a white, jade-like mountain peak, the summit had been leveled into a vast plaza. Dozens of young men and women had already gathered there, each exuding an extraordinary aura with sharp eyes—clearly geniuses from all over the Noah Universe Kingdom. When they saw Nine Peaks Immortal descending with Qin Zhao, their gazes snapped toward him, carrying scrutiny, curiosity, and a faint, barely perceptible competitive edge.

Presiding over the assessment was a Domain Lord in a silver uniform, his expression cold and stern. After bowing respectfully to Nine Peaks Immortal, he turned to Qin Zhao and the others, his voice flat and devoid of emotion: "New entrants to the secret realm, step forward one by one. Place your hand on the 'Realm Testing Stone' and unleash your strongest techniques, displaying your comprehension of the laws. The secret realm will assess your potential, assign a rank, and allocate initial resources and residences."

Compared to the Glacier Sacred Land, the Noah Secret Realm's assessment method was far more direct—judging a candidate's genius by the power of their attacks, crude and efficient.

The Realm Testing Stone was a ten-meter-tall, pitch-black monolith with a smooth surface and faint energy flowing within.

The geniuses before him stepped up one by one. Most released domains of the fourth or fifth level; those who could cross into the seventh level or above were few and far between. Even the one or two who managed it had only a tentative grasp, their strength falling short of Shi Feng's level, whom Qin Zhao had fought back in the Glacier Sacred Land. As a result, their ratings mostly fell into "C Grade" or "B- Grade," with the best only achieving "B Grade."

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

All eyes converged on him again. The fact that Qin Zhao had been personally escorted by an Immortal was a signal in itself.

Qin Zhao's expression remained calm as he walked up to the Realm Testing Stone and pressed his hand against it as instructed.

In an instant—

"Buzz!"

A thick, imposing earth-yellow domain erupted violently! The domain was solid and dense, its range controlled to a hundred meters, but the pressure—heavy as a mountain, pulsing like a heartbeat—made many of the surrounding geniuses' expressions shift.

"A Ninefold Earth Domain! So solid!"

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

Murmurs rose softly. Even the silver-robed Domain Lord's eyes flickered with surprise as he nodded. "Star Level, first stage, Ninefold Earth Domain, Law of Earth threshold crossed. Rating: Special Lower. Not bad..."

He was about to record it when he saw that Qin Zhao hadn't withdrawn his hand. A glint of eagerness flickered in his eyes.

Just as everyone was wondering—

"Shing!" "Shing!" "Shing!"

Three phantom bodies, nearly identical to Qin Zhao's original, appeared beside him without warning! Four "Qin Zhaos" stood before the Realm Testing Stone, their forms interweaving, resonating subtly with the surrounding space, creating an illusion of reality and unreality. At the same time, a far more elusive and sharper fluctuation than the Earth Domain spread outward, accompanied by faint ripples in space.

"What?!"

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

"First Line Flow! It's the First Line Flow that can only be performed after crossing the threshold of the Origin Law of Space!"

The plaza erupted in an uproar! Even the geniuses who had remained composed earlier widened their eyes in disbelief at the four figures. For a Star Level to master one lower law and cross its threshold was already a rare genius, but this person had simultaneously grasped both the Law of Earth and the Law of Space—and had reached the "First Line Flow" level in the latter!

Dual law thresholds! At Star Level!

The coldness on the silver-robed Domain Lord's face vanished completely, replaced by sheer shock. He stepped forward involuntarily, his voice trembling slightly: "Star Level, first stage, Ninefold Earth Domain, Law of Earth threshold, Law of Space threshold! Dual laws... Rating: Special Upper! No, this exceeds the standard assessment criteria!"

Nine Peaks Immortal stood to the side, his face also showing considerable astonishment, which quickly turned into excitement. Qin Zhao's performance was even better than he had anticipated. He had only known that Qin Zhao had crossed the Law of Earth threshold, never expecting such mastery in the Origin Law of Space as well. Now, the credit would be even greater.

After all, a genius who had crossed the threshold of the Law of Earth Origin and one who had crossed the thresholds of both the Law of Earth and the Law of Space were worlds apart in value. If the former might only reach the top 1,000 in the Universe Peak Genius Battle, the latter was guaranteed to contend for the top 10—or even the top 5!

At this moment, the biggest loser was undoubtedly the Glacier Sacred Land! They had traded away a genius seed capable of vying for the top 10 in the Universe Peak Genius Battle for just two initial universe comprehension slots! If Ice Ripple World Lord and Ice Plains World Lord of the Glacier Sacred Land found out, they'd probably be furious enough to die!