Nine Swords Venerable

On July 17, 2066, China Calendar, the arena battles began.

The preliminary rounds across the hundred world zones had not been broadcast.

This left countless cosmic citizens across the more than 13,000 starfields of the Gan Wu Universe Kingdom anxiously waiting, since they could only look at the rankings!

However, the upcoming arena battles could actually be watched in person, causing tickets to sell like mad!

The arena melee battles were divided into one thousand groups! Two hundred groups were held each day.

The first day covered Groups 1 through 200.

The Black Dragon Mountain Empire had a total of four people pass the preliminaries. Since Luo Feng had ranked first in his world zone, he could skip the lengthy arena matches entirely.

But Nabbini, Hong, and Lei Shen all had to take part in the arena matches.

Nabbini was in Group 32, Hong was in Group 161, and Lei Shen was in Group 382.

Nabbini and Hong both fought their arena melees on the first day, while Lei Shen's group was scheduled for the second day.

Within the Virtual Universe, in a specially opened plane of space, a vast, boundless river surged onward. Islands dotted the river that ran through the entire space, and every island held an arena.

The arena battles were held in those arenas.

Island No. 003.

Inside the arena, the spectator stands were packed with people as far as the eye could see.

Luo Feng, Hong, and their respective families were among the audience.

"Dear audience!"

A sweet, crisp voice carried to the ears of all one billion spectators in the arena.

"The upcoming event is Group 382 of the arena melee battles. Let me introduce the hundred genius fighters in Group 382."

"The first is Lei Shen from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. He previously ranked eighth in World Zone 88!" The beautiful brown-haired girl's clear, pleasant voice echoed through the ears of the billion spectators.

A screen appeared beside her, displaying Lei Shen's image and some basic information.

"Lei Shen!"

"Lei Shen!"

Thunderous cheers suddenly erupted throughout the arena. Around Luo Feng and the others, a large group of people wildly cheered and shouted Lei Shen's name!

They were all citizens of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire who had come to watch, more than one million people in total!

Across all of Black Dragon Mountain, there had hardly been anyone who ranked in the top ten of a world zone. Yet this time, three had appeared at once!

How could they not go wild?

"Only two law genius fighters are in Second Brother's arena. Their secret techniques are inferior to his, so there shouldn't be a problem. The only one he needs to watch out for is that genius who uses the Laws of Wind!"

Amidst such an atmosphere, Hong browsed the various geniuses introduced by the host and spoke to Luo Feng.

His own arena matches had ended the day before. As expected, he had secured a qualifying spot.

However, it had taken quite a bit of effort.

After all, his arena had contained the wildman Rong Jun and another female law genius!

Rong Jun in particular had eagerly charged at Hong after eliminating half the arena's contestants.

Hong had made tremendous progress over the past few years. Otherwise, he truly might not have been able to hold on beneath Rong Jun's blade!

"As long as Second Brother isn't too unlucky, making it through the first stage shouldn't be a problem." Luo Feng held his child and replied softly.

There were only a few hundred geniuses in the entire Gan Wu Universe Kingdom who had comprehended laws, while there were a full thousand slots for the second stage!

As long as he did not encounter the wildman Rong Jun or several other geniuses with profound law comprehension, Lei Shen would definitely pass the first-stage selection without incident!

"Mm." Hong nodded slightly.

During the arena melee, Lei Shen's strength was practically unstoppable within that arena!

His ultimate explosiveness and ultimate speed made him seem to move through empty space. With a casual sweep of his blade, another person fell.

Not even domains could impede him in the slightest!

"Now this is thunder!" Lei Shen said with a smile.

The arena melees ended. Next, the top ten from each arena zone—ten thousand people across one thousand arenas—would compete for nine hundred spots representing the Gan Wu Universe Kingdom.

The arena finals were very simple.

One-on-one battles. Winners continued forward, while losers were sent into the 'defeated group,' until the final selections were made!

Hong and Lei Shen had been quite lucky. Even when they encountered opponents who had comprehended laws, those opponents used them far too crudely and could not compare to them, who had received the guidance of a King-level teacher!

Thus, as expected, both successfully earned spots in the all-universe genius showdown!

Once the defeated group's round-robin battles ended, they could join Luo Feng in the true Universe Peak Genius Battle!

September 5, 2070, China Calendar.

Across the continents and islands of the Virtual Universe, over a million peerless geniuses from the 1008 universe kingdoms traveled by teleportation to their respective universe kingdoms' gathering places.

A floating island above Gan Wu Continent.

Whoosh!

The three of them appeared at the floating island's teleportation point.

"Mr. Luo Feng, Mr. Hong, Mr. Lei Shen, please come this way." A Cosmic-level warrior in work clothes stood beside the teleportation point and smiled as he pointed toward a nearby path.

A moment later—

The three saw a large group gathered in a plaza surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants not far away.

"Hong is here."

"Lei Shen is here too!"

"Madman!"

Quite a few young men and women looked over at the three, and many greeted them.

In the battles among ten thousand people, many of them had fought Hong and Lei Shen.

As for Luo Feng, he also had quite a few acquaintances from Zone 1!

The three smiled and exchanged greetings with those they knew.

As time passed, more and more geniuses arrived, and the crowd grew larger.

The wildman Rong Jun arrived relatively late. Once all one thousand genius fighters had gathered, they stood together in a bustling crowd, chatting and reminiscing with those they knew in real life or had befriended through battle.

"Hong, your strength must have improved quite a bit over these three years!" The wildman youth Rong Jun walked over and spoke to Hong.

The two had fought for a long time during the arena melee, laying the foundation for their friendship!

"Not bad. I'm probably still not as good as you." Hong smiled faintly.

There was nothing wrong with admitting he was inferior. As long as he had enough time, he was confident he could catch up!

Luo Feng curiously glanced at the wildman over three meters tall. To his surprise, after Rong Jun nodded at Hong, he turned to look at him.

"You're Madman? I've seen your information. You're very strong. I hope we get to fight each other during this selection!"

Throughout the Gan Wu Universe Kingdom, countless powerful beings believed that Luo Feng and Rong Jun would definitely enter the core level of the Virtual Universe Company!

If Hong improved enough, he would also have a considerable chance!

Therefore, Rong Jun was quite curious about Luo Feng as well!

"Is that so? I'm looking forward to fighting you too!" A smile appeared on Luo Feng's lips.

Because of the Golden Horned Beast's influence, he also desperately wanted to fight powerful opponents and release the killing intent he had suppressed for so long!

"Haha." Rong Jun laughed twice. Luo Feng suited his tastes even more than Hong did!

Suddenly.

Boom!

An invisible pressure blanketed the entire plaza. The thousand peerless geniuses all went pale, their bodies trembling slightly despite themselves.

Then, accompanied by footsteps, a giant wearing a scale-armored battle robe and helmet approached. The aura naturally radiating from him was like the arrival of the god of death.

Beside the scale-armored giant stood a figure in white.

"Teacher?" Luo Feng and the other two were all astonished, unable to understand why Su Heng had appeared here!

Su Heng sensed their gazes and smiled slightly at them.

As a King-level immortal in the core level of the Virtual Universe Company, he naturally had the authority to come and watch!

However, Su Heng had no intention of interfering with the scale-armored giant beside him. After all, he was merely a guest visiting the Gan Wu Universe Kingdom.

"By order of the kingdom lord, I will lead the one thousand geniuses of the Gan Wu Universe Kingdom." The giant's voice boomed. The eyes beneath his helmet gave off boundless pressure. "You may address me as Thirteen. Do you understand?"

After a lengthy speech, Thirteen led the thousand geniuses to a vast continent.

"Gan Wu Universe Kingdom delegation, there are 1008 buildings ahead. Your universe kingdom's delegation has been assigned Building 0825." A middle-aged man in a white robe respectfully bowed to Su Heng and the giant in scale armor.

At the same time, he was still deeply shocked inside.

Why had even this person come to watch this genius battle?

The scale-armored giant nodded slightly, then led the thousand geniuses flying toward the building.

After their room numbers were assigned, the thousand geniuses dispersed.

"Teacher, why did you come too?"

In a quiet corner of the continent, Luo Feng and the other two curiously asked Su Heng.

"I came to see your final results." Su Heng smiled faintly.

He had actually come because of Nine Swords Venerable, and watching the three of them compete was merely convenient.

Their teacher had personally come to watch them fight!

Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen exchanged glances. They absolutely could not disappoint their teacher's expectations!

"Alright, get some rest. The selection begins tomorrow!" Su Heng waved slightly, then left.

Seeing this, Luo Feng and the other two went to a nearby plaza and began observing the contestants from other universe kingdoms.

Restaurant No. 1.

This was a place only immortal beings could enter!

The first floor of the restaurant was a spacious hall with over a thousand seats arranged within it.

Su Heng entered the first-floor hall.

"Annihilation King!"

The Immortal Military Lords chatting among themselves in the first-floor hall were briefly stunned before greeting Su Heng.

After Su Heng killed Spirit Feather King, information about him had spread through nearly all of humanity's immortals. Thus, the many immortals had all memorized his appearance!

Facing a group of Immortal Military Lords who did not even qualify as Marquis-level, Su Heng merely nodded before heading toward the restaurant's third floor.

This place was normally where venerables or King-level immortals visiting on a whim would rest.

After Su Heng left, many curious voices immediately rose on the first floor.

"Why is Annihilation King here? Shouldn't he be cultivating at the company headquarters?" An Immortal Military Lord from the Fireflame Universe Kingdom asked Thirteen beside him.

"His disciple happens to be participating in this genius battle." Thirteen knew quite a bit about that.

"You know?" The Immortal Military Lord was somewhat surprised. He had merely mentioned it casually!

"Mm. His disciple registered in the Gan Wu Universe Kingdom!" Thirteen nodded slightly.

Generally speaking, disciples accepted by King-level immortals were already core members of the Virtual Universe Company.

Even if they were not, becoming core members after being accepted as disciples would be extremely easy!

Those participating in the Universe Peak Genius Battle were generally geniuses cultivated by the various universe kingdoms or ordinary immortals, along with the rare wild genius!

"A disciple of a King-level Invincible is actually participating in the genius battle. Thirteen, your side has really struck it lucky this time!" The Immortal Military Lord said enviously.

He had originally heard that the Gan Wu Universe Kingdom had a wildman with an extremely impressive reputation, someone expected to rank among the top twenty in this genius battle!

He had not expected a disciple of a King-level Invincible to be hidden among them as well!

"Hahaha, the kingdom lord is very pleased too!" Thirteen laughed twice.

Originally, the Gan Wu kingdom lord had been worried about the cultivation provided by the Gan Wu Mystic Realm. But after Luo Feng and Hong appeared, he became much happier.

The two continued chatting, and after hearing their conversation, several other Immortal Military Lords nearby joined in.

Luo Feng, Rong Jun, Bolan, and geniuses from other universe kingdoms all became topics of their discussion!

Until a man in an ordinary green robe appeared on the first floor of the hall!

The green-robed man had handsome features, though purple scales covered his head, and his eyes held a smile.

As he stood there, he seemed not to exist at all, as if he and the other immortals present were not even in the same spacetime.

Boom!

The several hundred immortal beings on the first floor all stood, including Thirteen, the giant in scale armor. Every one of them bowed respectfully.

"Venerable!" Hundreds of immortals bowed.

Although Su Heng was King-level Invincible, in terms of realm, everyone was still immortal. But the green-robed man before them was a Universe Venerable, a being whose life level had evolved further!

Therefore, regardless of what they thought inside, these immortals were all extremely respectful on the surface!

"This time, the Virtual Universe Company is holding the genius battle. The various universe kingdoms have given us your full support. On behalf of the Virtual Universe Company, I thank you." The green-robed, purple-scaled man said with a smile.

Hm?

Suddenly, the green-robed man's expression changed for an instant, and his gaze turned toward the restaurant's third floor.

"Continue chatting. I have something to take care of." After saying this, the green-robed man walked step by step toward the third floor.

Inside a private room on the third floor.

Click.

The green-robed man pushed open the door and walked in.

"Annihilation King? What do you need from me?" The green-robed man looked at the white-robed figure inside and asked softly.

"Nine Swords Venerable." Although his strength was already comparable to that of a high-level venerable, Su Heng was outwardly only a King-level Invincible, so he stood and greeted Nine Swords Venerable.

"It's nothing major. My disciple happens to be participating in this genius battle, and my teacher also asked me to pay the venerable a visit." Su Heng said with a smile.

Mother Ancestor and Nine Swords Venerable both served under Lord of Dragon Travel of the Virtual Universe Company, so Su Heng and Nine Swords belonged to the same faction as well.

However, he had not come to see Nine Swords Venerable just to get acquainted with him!

He had come for the universe mystic realm that Nine Swords would discover a century later!

That mystic realm where anyone below the venerable level would surely die!

There might very well be top-grade heavy treasures within it, perhaps even true treasures!

The results of the genius battle would be briefly covered in the next chapter. What remained would be the protagonist's storyline.