At dawn the next day, as the first faint rays pierced the clouds of the Finals Plane, 7,300 geniuses had already gathered in the Central Plaza. They stood waiting, their eyes filled with tension and anticipation, for the second round of arena matches to begin.
Suddenly, an invisible aura swept over the entire Central Plaza like a tide. Every genius present felt their heart sink. As though facing the boundless starry sky, they felt an overwhelming urge to submit, and even their breathing grew cautious.
Zhou Yuan looked up and saw the familiar silver-robed man appear in midair. His expression was kindly, a faint smile on his lips, but wherever his deep eyes swept, no one dared meet his gaze.
The 1,008 Immortal Experts below bowed in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized. "Greetings, Venerable!"
The silver-robed man waved a hand, and his gentle voice carried across the plaza. "The first round of trials ended yesterday. First, congratulations to the top one hundred contestants. You have directly qualified to join the Virtual Universe Company's Core Layer. If anyone does not wish to join, speak up now. We will not force you."
The plaza fell silent. Not a single person spoke. Every genius standing here had come to enter the Virtual Universe Company. None of them would even consider giving up their place.
"Good. Since no one wishes to withdraw, we will consider you all to have agreed to join," the silver-robed man said with satisfaction.
"Very good." The silver-robed man nodded and turned his gaze toward the remaining 7,200 contestants. "For those ranked 101st through 7,300th, the Virtual Universe System will automatically assign your opponents based on your performance in the first round. Winners advance, losers are eliminated. Three consecutive rounds will decide the final nine hundred places."
No sooner had