The source-force transmission came with a gigantic golden spearhead.
The enormous golden spear beam slammed into the shield formed by the God-Slaying Group, yet made not a sound.
It was as if everything had gone into slow motion. The instant the massive spear met the white shield, everything stopped.
Then, in a flash, everything returned to normal. The white shield shattered and vanished in the blink of an eye, along with nearly a thousand members of the God-Slaying Group.
They shattered like a broken mirror beneath the unstoppable attack, like ice beneath the blazing sun.
Looking at the enormous crater before him, Huang Wuye nodded with satisfaction. He had been honing his spear techniques for some time, and had finally managed to incorporate the Origin of Gold into the Spear Canon.
With that, the Spear Canon had gained a sixth secret technique: Great Annihilation.
Huang Wuye had created Great Annihilation based on the penetration and sharpness of the Origin Law of Gold. It consisted of eighty-one forms, primarily thrusts, sweeps, and jabs.
These movements were perfectly suited to a spear. As soon as he created the technique, Huang Wuye's formidable comprehension of the Origin of Gold had brought it to the pinnacle of ordinary secret techniques, just a step below his other five secret techniques.
"All right. This is probably as far as I can go for now. I'd better claim first place in the preliminaries."
Huang Wuye collected his thoughts and decided to take first place in the Eighty-Third World Zone before anything else.
He had no intention of taking part in the arena battles. After all, he was already very powerful and had no need to hone himself through them.
Making rapid progress was difficult for him now. He would have to slowly deepen his Law Comprehension through painstaking effort.
Unless something unexpected happened—such as gaining the support of the Initial Universe and Chaos City—it would be hard to make a major leap in a short time.
Because he had spent these past few days honing his spear techniques, his score had fallen behind by quite a bit. Groups had occasionally come to deliver points to him, but some people had still overtaken him.
Huang Wuye called up the points panel.
Contestant: Huang Wuye (Meteor Universe Kingdom)
Points: 8304766
Rank: 4
His points were substantial. Each kill earned him half the points of his target, so even though Huang Wuye had not killed that many people, his score was still quite high.
Anyone he tracked down—or who tracked him down—was bound to have plenty of points.
Still, some people had surpassed him by hunting frantically. The three contestants ahead of him must be quite capable.
But there was still more than a month left, and as time passed, the terrain had shrunk considerably. It was much easier to find people now.
Huang Wuye swept his gaze around and spotted several people watching from a distance.
They were all geniuses hoping to scavenge some points, but they had never expected the famous God-Slaying Group to be wiped out in the blink of an eye.
The shock still lingered on their faces. Seeing this, Huang Wuye's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Close as the Horizon!"
With a loud shout, he swept his spear, drawing in every figure he could see nearby.
Hundreds of figures seemed to fly backward against the flow of time, hurtling toward Huang Wuye. Their faces were all marked with fear.
They struggled desperately as they were dragged along with the others.
But their struggle did not last long. As flames surged into the air, they all became fireflies above the snowy plain.
"Prairie Fire: Barren Earth!"
At the sound of his voice, hundreds of blazing torches ignited in the sky, heating the air for dozens of miles around.
Huang Wuye had already disappeared. Real men never look back at explosions.
A few faint voices came from the torches. Listening closely, they all said the same two words:
"Monster."
As Huang Wuye continued his rampage, flames rose now and then across the vast, icy world.
His points climbed at a soaring pace. Before long, he had reached third place—and this was only the beginning.
As the person in charge of the Meteor Sacred Land in the Meteor Universe Kingdom, Marquis Fire Spirit was naturally keeping an eye on the preliminaries.
There were few contestants worth his attention, just the little ones from his own Sacred Land who ranked in the top ten.
Of course, since Huang Wuye and the others had arrived, a few more had caught his eye.
After all, even as a Marquis Immortal, he would never dare underestimate a genius from Desolate God Mountain.
Though Desolate God Mountain rarely sent its people to participate in selections held by the Virtual Universe Company or other factions, over the course of his long life he had seen a few exceptions.
Some young beasts always left their nests to venture out alone.
The last person to leave him awestruck was named Huang Tian.
Though Huang Tian had not yet become Immortal, Marquis Fire Spirit had not the slightest confidence that he could defeat him.
It had to be said: sometimes, the gap between people was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.
It was not just a matter of factions and resources. Talent and opportunity were sometimes the most important factors keeping others out of reach.
This time, Huang Wuye, Huang Tian's son, would undoubtedly impress him.
Just as he had expected, he had been keeping an eye on the young man from the very beginning.
And the facts had proven his guess right—no, they had far exceeded his expectations.
As time went on, he realized this was a monster whose talent surpassed even Huang Tian's.
From the start, Huang Wuye had turned his understanding of the world upside down with his instant-transmission secret technique and powerful Fire Origin Law.
Though Marquis Fire Spirit had not experienced it firsthand, his formidable strength and experience told him that this youngster's comprehension of the Origin Law surpassed that of ninety-nine percent of World Lords.
The rest were beings who could break through to Immortality at any moment. If he was not mistaken, this youngster was not even a hundred years old!
From then on, Marquis Fire Spirit focused all his attention on Huang Wuye. The other geniuses paled in comparison.
Even the two princes who had arrived with him, though exceptionally talented, were not in the same league.
When Huang Wuye revealed his Origin of Gold, Marquis Fire Spirit was stunned once again.
His comprehension of the Origin Law of Gold, only a step behind his Fire Origin Law, left him utterly astounded.
At that moment, he had even wondered if Huang Wuye was the biological son of the Will of the Original Universe.
Could even the legendary peak human geniuses, who appeared once every ten million eras and grasped the laws as easily as drinking water, compare?
He had to admit that jealousy had almost robbed him of his reason. Fortunately, his powerful will and the authority of the Meteor Kingdom Lord helped him regain his composure.
He then used his authority to restrict access to the livestream of Huang Wuye's battles. To prevent information about Huang Wuye from getting out, he acted decisively.
He had the authority to do so during the Meteor Universe Kingdom's selection. Once he came to his senses, he realized this was an opportunity for their faction, and he did not forget to send the information to the Meteor Kingdom Lord.
After all, he was already bound to the Meteor Universe Kingdom, and Huang Wuye was naturally bound to it as well.
If he remembered correctly, members of the Virtual Universe Company's Primal Region could have an Immortal Level guard captain. It seemed he would need to make some arrangements.
Marquis Fire Spirit pulled his wandering thoughts back and turned his attention to Huang Wuye again. Watching him incorporate his comprehension of the Origin of Gold into his spear techniques in just a few months, he found it almost normal.
All right, it was not normal at all! If Law Comprehension was the foundation for becoming an Immortal or some other powerful being, then comprehending secret techniques was the key to truly becoming strong. After all, mastering a law was one thing, but how much of that comprehension one could put to use was another.
Huang Wuye had no idea that someone was watching him. Even if he had known, he would not have cared. He now had enough strength to protect himself, at least to some extent.
He was focused entirely on earning points, and as time passed, he had returned to first place.
The preliminaries were also nearing their end.
Before you continue