When news of the Peak Powerhouse Battle spread throughout the Human Territory, countless Universe Level powerhouses yearned for this grand event, while major factions began selecting their elites and preparing for the coming battle.
On a vast continent within the Purple Zenith Secret Realm stood a magnificent palace between heaven and earth, radiating incomparable majesty.
On the square before the palace, powerful Immortals stood respectfully on either side. Their auras were as deep as an abyss and as steady as mountains, making others afraid to meet their eyes.
At the center of the square, tens of millions of Universe Level powerhouses knelt on the ground, their faces filled with reverence and excitement.
Inside the main hall sat an enormous figure. Though his face could not be seen clearly, the pressure he radiated made even heaven and earth tremble.
He was the ruler of the Purple Chen Universe Nation, a powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the Human Race, an existence even Immortal deities had to look up to.
"I hope that among the top thousand in the Peak Powerhouse Battle, you will occupy at least half the places. Do not disappoint the training I have given you." A deep voice came from the hall, seeming to pierce through space and enter the depths of every Universe Level powerhouse's soul.
"Yes, Nation Lord!" Tens of millions of Universe Level powerhouses were beside themselves with excitement. This was their first time seeing the ruler of a universe nation, and their first time receiving his personal instructions.
They all secretly swore that they would give it everything they had and win glory for the Purple Chen Universe Nation.
This was the controller of the entire Purple Chen Universe Nation, an existence even Immortal powerhouses revered.
"Go, children. Go register for the Peak Powerhouse Battle." With a light wave of his hand, the Nation Lord released an invisible force that enveloped every Universe Level powerhouse present.
Then, tens of millions of figures vanished from the square in an instant, teleported back to their respective planets.
Whenever the Immortal powerhouses standing nearby witnessed this inconceivable divine ability, their hearts trembled, and their reverence for the ruler of the universe nation deepened further.
Elsewhere in the universe, within a vast Divine Kingdom, an Immortal deity stood in the void.
On the ground below, several hundred Universe Level elites stood respectfully. They were all top geniuses of the Nether Thunder Divine Nation, their strength far surpassing that of ordinary Universe Level powerhouses.
"You are the elites of my Nether Thunder Divine Nation." A voice like rolling thunder echoed beside the ears of the several hundred Universe Level elites below.
"As long as you pass the first round of the universe nation preliminaries, I will accept you as my personal disciple. If you pass the preliminaries and enter the final battle, I will grant you a galaxy as your territory!"
These words instantly ignited the fighting spirit of the Universe Level elites present. The value of an entire galaxy was impossible to estimate.
"Go register. Do not disappoint me!" the Immortal deity said.
"Yes, Divine Lord!" The several hundred Universe Level powerhouses answered in unison, their eyes filled with fervor and resolve.
Similar scenes played out continuously throughout every corner of the Human Territory.
Whether high-tier universe nations or mid-tier universe nations, all were actively preparing for battle, selecting their most outstanding Universe Level powerhouses for this grand event.
Countless geniuses rubbed their hands in anticipation, eager to make a name for themselves in the Peak Powerhouse Battle and obtain supreme honor and resources.
After registering, Zhou Yuan did not immediately leave the Virtual Universe Company's official website.
His gaze was fixed on the constantly changing number at the top of the registration page—Purple Chen Universe Nation registrations: 19,183,741.
Every five seconds, the number surged by more than a million, like an endless rushing river constantly gathering powerhouses from every corner of the universe.
"This registration count is more than ten thousand times lower than the Genius Battle in the original novel, isn't it?" Zhou Yuan murmured as he rubbed his chin.
The Peak Genius Battle was open to Stellar Level participants, with hundreds of billions taking part at a time. The Peak Powerhouse Battle, on the other hand, targeted only the Universe Level. Powerhouses who could reach this realm were already exceedingly rare, so nearly twenty million registrations from the outset was not bad at all.
As Zhou Yuan stared blankly at the number, Universe Level powerhouses who had been in secluded cultivation also began receiving news that registration for the Peak Powerhouse Battle had opened.
Whether solitary powerhouses on remote planets or elites nurtured by the core forces of universe nations, all set aside their cultivation and submitted registration applications through the Virtual Universe Assistant.
For a time, the virtual network of the entire Purple Chen Universe Nation was flooded with registration information. Countless powerhouses rubbed their hands in anticipation, longing to make their names known through this grand event.
One month later, the registration channel officially closed.
The number on the official registration page froze at 91.27 million, meaning that nearly one hundred million Universe Level powerhouses from the Purple Chen Universe Nation would participate in this Peak Powerhouse Battle selection.
"Master, an email from the Virtual Universe Company has arrived!" Beibei's voice rang out in his consciousness.
Zhou Yuan immediately sank his consciousness into the Virtual Universe and returned to his virtual home in the Sky Orchid Plain residential district of Purple Zenith Continent.
Sitting in a chair in his study, he tapped lightly with his fingertips and opened the email that shimmered with golden light.
The email read:
Welcome to the selection tournament for the "Universe Humans—Peak Powerhouse Battle."
A total of 91.27 million participants from the Purple Chen Universe Nation will take part in this selection tournament. This is an increase of 3.5 million compared to the previous edition. It reflects the growing strength of the Human Race, and we are deeply gratified.
We guarantee that every aspect of the Powerhouse Battle selection tournament will be conducted under conditions of absolute fairness.
Because the participants' genetic energy levels vary greatly, ranging from Universe First Order to Universe Ninth Order, the selection tournament will be conducted entirely within the Virtual Universe to ensure fair combat.
We will provide every participant with a Universe Ninth Order body of identical physical quality. Genetic energy and spiritual force will likewise be uniformly adjusted to the Universe Ninth Order standard. All combatants will possess the same physical qualities and body specifications, while their appearances may be freely chosen.
Appearances may be freely chosen. Each participant may select any ten genetic energy weapons or spiritual force weapons, as well as one genetic energy battle suit no higher than the third order.
Please choose carefully. Weapons of excessively high grade cannot display their full power if your strength does not match them. We recommend selecting equipment suited to your own combat style.
We only assess a powerhouse's "will," "domain," "experience," "law comprehension," and so on. External conditions will be completely identical, truly allowing strength to determine worth.
This selection will be divided into two major stages.
First stage: Internal selection within each universe nation to determine the top 1,000 powerhouses.
Second stage: The top thousand powerhouses from every universe nation will gather together. All Universe Level geniuses from all universe nations will assemble for the final battle, determining the top thousand universe humans.
Of these, the first stage is the largest in scale and the most fiercely contested.
The universe nation you belong to is the Purple Chen Universe Nation, with a total of 91.27 million participants.
We will divide the competition into two parts: the preliminary round and the arena round.
Through the preliminary round, we will eliminate the 91.27 million participants until only 100,100 remain.
First, we will generate one hundred worlds within the Virtual Universe, with 912,700 participants assigned to each world.
Each world will have a diameter of 100,000 kilometers. Every world will possess a base strength of C9 grade.
We will continuously deploy alien Universe Level powerhouses into each world, with 100 billion deployed every day. Furthermore, the aliens will become twice as strong each day as they were the previous day. Naturally, the points gained from killing aliens will also double.
You may obtain points by killing aliens, or by killing human participants and taking half the points they possess.
When the number of survivors in each world falls to 501, that world's competition will end.
Among the survivors, the participant with the highest points will directly advance to the second-round finals.
The remaining 500 survivors, together with the top 500 eliminated participants by points, will enter arena battles against similar participants from the other worlds to determine the remaining 900 spots.
An attachment follows this letter. Please refer to the attachment for detailed information.
After reading the notice, a trace of excitement flashed through Zhou Yuan's eyes. Nearly one million people would slaughter one another in the same virtual world, with only 501 ultimately remaining. The elimination rate exceeded 99%. It was undoubtedly an incomparably brutal battle royale.
But this kind of extreme competition was exactly what he desired—only in the fiercest battles could he break through his own limits more quickly.
After registration closed, the Virtual Universe Company gave everyone one month to prepare.
Zhou Yuan did not waste this time. Every day, he simulated combat in the Killing Ground of the Virtual Universe, familiarizing himself with the power of a Universe Ninth Order body and ensuring that he could display his greatest strength in the preliminary round.
Soon, the month of preparation ended, and the elimination round officially began.
Countless Universe Level powerhouses were transported through the Virtual Universe to a dedicated preparation world. The place was packed with people, and powerhouses were everywhere.
Those who dared to register were the absolute elites of their respective galaxies—the Purple Chen Universe Nation averaged only two or three Universe Level powerhouses per galaxy, and every person who dared enter the Peak Powerhouse Battle was utterly confident in his own strength.
Zhou Yuan lowered his head and glanced at the contestant mark on his wrist. It showed that he had been assigned to Zone 66.
"Sixty-six. That's a lucky number." He chuckled softly and began selecting his equipment.
One third-order genetic energy battle suit, one Zhenkong Blade, and one Breaking Mountain Blade were enough. He did not choose any other weapons.
While the contestants made their tense preparations, the major forces of the Purple Chen Universe Nation were also watching the selection closely outside the preparation world.
"Keep your eyes on the points rankings in every world! Super geniuses may be directly recruited by the Virtual Universe Company, but we cannot let the next tier of elites slip away. This is our best opportunity to recruit talent!" The commander of a large mercenary group in the Purple Chen Universe Nation was instructing his subordinates to watch the competition.
"Watch every genius. This is the best chance to recruit elites."
"Report the moment every ranking update comes out. We absolutely cannot miss a single promising prospect!"
"Record the information of every elite. Future Domain Lords and World Lords of our Purple Chen Universe Nation may emerge from among them."
Representatives of countless factions rubbed their hands in anticipation, ready to reap ample benefits from this grand event.
Soon, the preparation time was about to end.
"Attention, everyone! This elimination round will be divided into one hundred world zones, and group teleportation will begin shortly. Confirm your equipment immediately. Once teleportation begins, you will no longer be able to change or request weapons and equipment!" A majestic voice suddenly rang out above the preparation world, shaking hearts like thunder.
Zhou Yuan lowered his head to inspect the battle suit on his body and the two blades in his storage ring. After confirming that everything was in order, he stood quietly where he was and waited for teleportation.