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Everyone gathered here was a prince or princess from one of the Ganwu Universe Kingdom's middle-tier vassal states, or the heir of a noble family or a young scion from one of those states.

They often mingled in the same circles in the Virtual Universe. As the heir to the Windfall Empire, Fenglin Yizhen naturally belonged to that circle too.

"Many of the real experts haven't made their moves yet. Maybe the Windfall Empire will produce an expert before long. Isn't that right, Yizhen?"

The prince who had mentioned the Windfall Empire's results earlier seemed to be trying to smooth things over.

Fenglin Yizhen forced a faint smile. "Yes. It's still early, so it's hard to say."

But inside, he was mortified. His fingers tightened around his wineglass.

In the Eighth World Sector, inside the same house in the same residential building.

Qin Ming sat quietly inside, immersed in comprehending the laws.

"Twenty days."

"The preselection is two-thirds over. I've been in this building the whole time. As long as people don't come near and bother me, I haven't even bothered to make a move."

He lowered his gaze to the screen on the bracer around his wrist. It displayed his current points.

Contestant: Qin Ming (Windfall Empire)

Points: 128

Rank: 9527, 1008

"More than ninety million people are ranked above me?" Qin Ming smiled faintly.

"Twenty days have passed. The most chaotic and frenzied stage is over. Most of those still alive now are experts with some real ability."

"It's time to come out."

The corners of Qin Ming's mouth lifted slightly as he stood.

The Crooked-Mouth Dragon King was officially online.

Qin Ming pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway.

The city was still shrouded in the oppressive atmosphere of slaughter, but it was much quieter now than it had been during the initial chaos.

Fighters no longer clashed everywhere in the streets. Most survivors had chosen to hide and lie low.

With a thought, he switched the bracer screen to the rankings for this city. Even the lowest-ranked person in the top hundred had over five thousand points.

"I'll start with you."

Qin Ming flashed out of sight.

At the eastern edge of the city, atop a half-collapsed high-rise.

A hulking man clad in blood-red armor and holding a double-bladed battle axe sat cross-legged, the weighty aura of his Earth Domain swirling around him.

He ranked eighty-seventh in the city and was known as "Earth-Splitting Axe" Talon.

"Hm?" Talon suddenly looked up, alert.

A figure had appeared at the edge of the rooftop without him noticing, quietly watching him.

"Who are you?"

Talon slowly rose, holding his battle axe across his body. Anyone who could approach him without making a sound was no ordinary opponent.

"Someone here to take your points," Qin Ming replied evenly.

"You're asking for death!"

Talon roared, and his domain burst forth. The entire rooftop seemed to sink into a quagmire. At the same time, he swung his giant axe, sending a solid, earthen-yellow arc of light tearing through the air toward Qin Ming!

Qin Ming didn't draw his sword.

He simply raised a hand and pointed into the air.

An invisible ripple spread outward.

The menacing arc of axe-light struck an invisible wall and shattered into pieces.

Talon's expression changed abruptly. He felt a far more terrifying force suppressing his domain and tearing it apart!

"Do... a ninth-level domain? No, it's the laws..." His pupils contracted. Before he could finish speaking, a wisp of sword intent pierced his brow.

[Points +1, acquired half of opponent's points: 2846]

Qin Ming didn't even glance at the fallen body before vanishing again.

Over the next three days, a silent storm of hunting swept through the Eighth World Sector, especially the city where Qin Ming was.

"Phantom Light Sword" Irene, ranked sixty-third, was stalking her prey when a sword pierced her throat.

"Iron Wall" Dunshan, ranked forty-first, was run through by a streak of golden light, along with the defense that was said to withstand every attack beneath the level of the laws.

"Flame Demon" Angela, ranked nineteenth, covered half a street in her Flame Domain, only for it to collapse in three moves. She died beneath a cold sword's edge.

Qin Ming's points began climbing at a terrifying speed.

From just over a hundred, they soared to tens of thousands, then broke one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand... His ranking shot up like a rocket, from over ninety million into the top million, the top hundred thousand, and then the top ten thousand!

Inside a private cabin aboard a spacecraft above the World Zone.

"Look! Third Brother's rank is moving!" Qin Xue suddenly cried, pointing at the screen.

The Qin Family members hurriedly looked over.

The name "Qin Ming," which had been stuck at over ninety million, was now climbing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

95 million... 90 million... 80 million... 50 million...

"W-what's going on?" Second Brother Qin Shou stared wide-eyed.

"He's hunting experts!" Old Ancestor Qin Shanhai fixed his sharp gaze on the changing rankings.

"Every jump means his points have soared by thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands... He's specifically targeting those with high scores!"

The ranking kept climbing wildly.

30 million... 10 million... 5 million... 1 million!

When Qin Ming's name surged into the top million, the entire cabin fell silent.

"T-the top million..." Qin Lan's voice trembled.

But it didn't stop there.

500,000... 200,000... 100,000!

When the name finally settled at rank 8742, everyone in the Qin Family stopped breathing.

The Ganwu Universe Kingdom preselection, Eighth World Sector, top ten thousand!

And he'd done it in just three days.

"Hahaha... Hahaha!" Old Ancestor Qin Shanhai suddenly burst into laughter, unable to contain his excitement and joy.

"Good! Good! Good! My Qin Family... My Qin Family is finally going to produce a peerless genius!"

Qin Ming's parents embraced tightly, their eyes reddening. His siblings were so excited they couldn't speak.

How long had it been since the Windfall Empire last had a genius break into the top ten thousand of the Peak Genius Tournament?

And Qin Ming hadn't just done it. This was probably not even his limit.

"Keep watching." Qin Shanhai reined in his laughter, his eyes shining.

"Ming'er... He's probably going to stun the entire Windfall Empire."

Inside that luxurious spacecraft, the princes and princesses had been chatting and laughing when a loud shout interrupted them.

"Hey, look! Fenglin Yizhen, someone from your Windfall Empire has finally made the top ten thousand!"

A prince from another empire pointed at the giant screen in the center of the hall, sounding surprised after his teasing.

"Hm?" Fenglin Yizhen perked up and hurriedly turned to look.

He'd only just barely made the top ten thousand, but that was still much better than not appearing on the rankings at all. At least it was a start, and he could recover some of his dignity.

"Quick, pull up his details!" Fenglin Yizhen urged.

A small screen immediately appeared beside the giant one, displaying a line of clear data.

[Eighth World Sector, rank 5799: Qin Ming (Windfall Empire)]

Even more eye-catching, the rank kept climbing every few seconds, at an astonishing speed.

"Hahaha, Qin Ming is a genius the Windfall Empire has carefully cultivated. He has a deep foundation." Fenglin Yizhen smiled and went along with it, though his mind raced.

"Qin? There's no family with that surname among the Empire's top families, and I haven't heard of any peerless genius named Qin appearing in recent years... Where did this man come from?"