Ruoxi

At that moment, the crowd naturally split into groups, with people who knew one another gathering together.

Some were fellow disciples or members of the same clan who had known each other in real life. Others had met during the preliminaries or the reincarnation tournament, becoming acquainted through battle. They chatted and reminisced, while the air was filled with the tension and restlessness unique to the eve of a great contest.

Only one spot seemed especially "peaceful."

Qin Ming stood alone to one side. Facing him was only a silver-haired woman, Ruoxi, who still stood there with a dark expression. She neither walked away nor said a word, merely glaring at Qin Ming with her mismatched eyes as if she wanted to burn two holes through him with her gaze.

Every now and then, curious or amused glances came their way, but no one approached to disturb this peculiar "standoff between two people."

"Bzzzz!!!"

An invisible, terrifying pressure suddenly descended, enveloping the entire plaza on the Floating Island.

The thousand supremely proud geniuses instantly paled. Their bodies trembled involuntarily, and instinctive awe rose from the depths of their souls.

Heavy footsteps rang out.

A giant, clad in a dark teal scale-armored battle robe and wearing a fearsome war helm, strode toward them.

He stood over eight meters tall, like a moving mountain. The aura he naturally exuded crashed over them like a sea of corpses and blood, carrying a suffocating stench of death and bloodshed. He seemed like a god of death returned from an ancient battlefield.

"The one thousand geniuses of the Ganwu Universe Kingdom."

The giant's voice boomed like rolling thunder across the plaza. His eyes, concealed beneath the helm's shadow, swept over the crowd, bringing immense pressure.

"By order of the kingdom lord, I will lead you this time."

"You may address me as 'Lord Thirteen.' Understood?"

"Understood!" the thousand answered in unison. Even beneath that overwhelming pressure, their voices still sounded somewhat uneven.

Yet one clear voice stood out from the rest. "Uncle Thirteen!"

The giant turned his gaze toward Ruoxi. His stern face, hidden beneath the helm, softened ever so slightly. "It's little Ruoxi."

His voice lowered a little.

"How has your father been lately?"

"He's still in seclusion," Ruoxi replied. Then, unable to hide her smugness, she glanced at Qin Ming beside her.

Qin Ming paid no attention to her look, his expression still calm.

The smugness on Ruoxi's face froze instantly, and her expression darkened again.

Thirteen naturally noticed this. A hint of surprise rose in his heart.

His codename was "Thirteen," and the "Big Brother" he had mentioned was naturally "One," the leader of their personal guards.

Ruoxi was One's only child.

As everyone knew, the higher a life form's level, the harder it was to produce offspring.

They were all followers and personal guards of the Ganwu Kingdom Lord. Anyone who could take on this role was among the top undyings.

He himself was an undying at the Marquis level—and no ordinary Marquis.

As for his Big Brother, "One," he was an undying at the King level!

At their level, they should have been almost incapable of having children.

Yet Big Brother had still paid an unimaginable price to have Ruoxi.

That was also why Big Brother had remained in seclusion for the past several decades. The toll had simply been too great.

It was fair to say that Ruoxi had hardly spent any real time with her father as she grew up. Instead, she had been raised under the watchful eyes of all her uncles.

They doted on Ruoxi, too. In all these decades, this was the first time they had seen the little girl take such an "interest" in a man—enough to sulk over him.

"Qin Ming?"

Thirteen's gaze lingered on Qin Ming for a moment.

"His talent is decent enough. He might just... be worthy of little Xi."

This was no arrogance on his part.

Anyone who could become an undying was an exceptional genius who had endured countless hardships.

Qin Ming was dazzling at the Star Level and even had a chance of breaking into the top thousand of the Genius Tournament. But so what?

Tens of thousands of geniuses had entered the Virtual Universe Company in past tournaments. In the end, only a tiny handful had survived to become undying.

What was more, he himself was no ordinary undying.

In his eyes, Qin Ming's current showing merely made him worthy of being "remembered" by Ruoxi.

Of course, if he knew that Qin Ming truly had the strength to contend for first place in the universe-wide finals, his attitude would have been completely different.

The first-place finisher in the finals of any Peak Genius Tournament, so long as they did not fall along the way, was almost certain to become undying—and very likely to reach King Rank!

Such a person would truly stand among the upper echelons of the Human Race. Even he, "Thirteen," would have to treat them with caution.

But at this moment, he naturally had no way of knowing that.

"All right, set out with me!"

Thirteen put those thoughts aside. He would neither favor nor suppress Qin Ming because of Ruoxi's unusual "interest" in him.

At his level, he had long since seen through many things. He let nature take its course.

He only needed to complete the task given to him by the kingdom lord and take these one thousand geniuses to the finals venue.

The light of teleportation faded. Qin Ming and the other one thousand geniuses appeared, led by the scale-armored giant "Thirteen," in a vast plane newly opened by the Virtual Universe.

Before them stretched an endless continent, with a high, distant sky. In the distance stood magnificent buildings of various styles, each towering into the clouds.

"The Ganwu Universe Kingdom team has 1,008 buildings ahead. Your team has been assigned to Building 0989." A middle-aged man in white robes appeared before them in an instant. With a respectful expression, he bowed to Thirteen and delivered his report.

"Mm," Thirteen replied in a low voice, then led the thousand geniuses behind him toward their assigned area.

They landed on a broad plaza, which connected to dedicated passageways leading to each building.

As they headed toward Building 0989, teams from other Universe Countries arrived one after another through the surrounding passageways. Snatches of their noisy conversation drifted over.

"Look, that's Building 0989, the team from the Ganwu Universe Kingdom."

"Heh, I heard they don't have a single person this year who's guaranteed to make the top thousand."

"They're so weak."

"Isn't the Ganwu Universe Kingdom going to come in last again in this Genius Tournament?"

Those voices hadn't been lowered in the slightest, and they carried clearly to the geniuses from the Ganwu Universe Kingdom.

Most of the team's members looked grim, anger and resentment rising in their eyes.

Everyone standing here was supremely proud, an outstanding genius who had fought their way through countless battles. When had they ever been looked down on like this?

"Qin Ming, did you hear them?" Ruoxi had somehow made her way to Qin Ming's side again. She lowered her voice, sounding indignant.

"They all underestimate our Ganwu Universe Kingdom. I believe you'll definitely make the top thousand!"

Qin Ming glanced at her. Seeing how sincerely she trusted him, he suddenly found it rather amusing, so he answered with a half-joking smile. "More than just the top thousand. My goal is first place in the finals."

He thought she would roll her eyes or tease him in response.

But to his surprise, Ruoxi's mismatched eyes immediately lit up. She nodded firmly without hesitation. "Mm! I believe you!"