There were no spectators in the Martial Arena that day.
One thousand geniuses from star systems across the Ganwu Universe Country stood there, looking at a giant before them.
The giant was over eight meters tall, clad in a scaled battle robe and a helmet. A bloody aura radiated from him, and his eyes seemed to cast the gaze of death over the assembled geniuses.
They held their breath.
Cold sweat seeped from the foreheads of all one thousand geniuses.
His will alone is this terrifying in the Virtual Universe. Is this what an Immortal is like? Yun He could not stop his body from tensing, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Under the pressure of the will the giant naturally radiated, his very soul trembled. This was the instinctive awe a lesser life-form felt toward a higher one.
"Congratulations!"
The icy voice echoed through the Martial Arena.
"You thousand are the finest in our Ganwu Universe Country. You are all qualified to represent our Universe Country and compete against the geniuses of many others. However, this showdown at the pinnacle will be far more difficult than your previous battles."
"There are 1,008 Universe Countries. Some have territories even vaster than our Ganwu Universe Country, with far more star systems."
"Because conditions vary between Universe Countries, their internal selections also take different amounts of time."
"Thus, the showdown between the finest geniuses among all cosmic humans will not truly begin until a year and a half from now. That year and a half is your last chance to improve yourselves."
In the vast universe, humanity was one of the pinnacle races, occupying an enormous expanse of territory.
At that moment, many of the 1,008 Universe Countries were still conducting their internal genius selections, while many others had already finished.
The geniuses ranked first or second in their respective Universe Countries were gathering intelligence on threatening opponents from other countries, provided they had any means to do so.
Bolan was highly favored by all the Immortals. They considered him a peerless genius rarely seen even once in a thousand eras, and the unquestioned champion of this Peak Genius Tournament.
He had comprehended the wind origin law and the space origin law, reaching an extremely profound level in both. His comprehension of the space origin law could even rival that of many World Lords and Immortal Experts.
Savage Rong Jun had comprehended the two origin laws of earth-space. His grasp of the space law also allowed him to create phantom bodies. Many supreme beings favored him, believing he had the strength to rank among the top ten in the entire universe.
The Prince of Manka Star belonged to the Manka Star people, a warrior race with one of humanity's ten greatest bloodlines...
In the Giant Axe Arena, a Universe Level expert who crossed the threshold of the laws could be considered invincible. Winning ten thousand matches and earning the title of Giant Axe Fighter would be easy.
In truth, however, there were quite a few geniuses in the universe who crossed the threshold of the laws at Star Level.
Across the entire Human Race, such peerless geniuses numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Divided evenly among the 1,008 Universe Countries, though, that amounted to only a few hundred per country.
Such promising talents were usually taken into secret realms by their respective Universe Countries to be nurtured. Immortals were specifically assigned as their teachers to guide them carefully in preparation for the Genius Battle, and they rarely appeared in public.
Every one of these peerless geniuses was a treasure. No one would send them to risk their lives in the Giant Axe Arena. Every match there ended in life or death, and the risk of dying was simply too high for anyone to bear.
That was why people outside generally believed that crossing the threshold of an origin law at Universe Level already made someone invincible.
The days passed one by one.
September 6, 2070, China time.
The day arrived when over a million geniuses from the Human Race's 1,008 Universe Countries gathered for the showdown at the pinnacle.
Across the continents and islands of the Virtual Universe, over a million peerless geniuses from the 1008 Universe Country teleported to their respective countries' gathering points.
On a floating island above the Ganwu Continent.
Whoosh!
Yun He appeared at the floating island's teleportation point.
"Mr. Yun He, this way, please." A Universe Level staff member standing beside the teleportation point smiled and showed him the way.
"Thank you." Yun He smiled and nodded, then followed the indicated path straight ahead.
Before long, Yun He saw a large crowd gathered in a nearby plaza surrounded by beautiful flowers and greenery. There were several hundred people, men and women of all different appearances.
More than a third of them, however, looked relatively similar to Earthlings. Clearly, the appearance of Earthlings was also common in the universe.
"Hey, look. That's Yun He."
"The one who ranked first in World Zone 66?"
"Tch!"
Quite a few geniuses looked over, some with dismissive expressions.
Yun He had always kept a low profile, and many people had almost forgotten even his name.
After all, he had shown his face so rarely over the past few years that he barely had any presence.
First place in a World Zone?
There were a hundred of those here!
Besides, that was ancient history from years ago.
Some geniuses who felt they had made tremendous progress over the years thought nothing of these so-called former World Zone champions.
Yun He did not care either. He found a corner to stand in and closed his eyes to rest.
As time passed, more geniuses arrived, and the crowd steadily grew.
Luo Feng and Savage Rong Jun arrived at the last moment as well, drawing everyone's attention.
Eventually, all one thousand talented experts had assembled. They gathered in groups of three or five, and many who had become friends in reality or through fighting one another chatted, caught up, and discussed their progress.
Suddenly.
Boom!
An invisible pressure enveloped the entire plaza. All one thousand peerless geniuses paled, their bodies trembling slightly against their will.
Footsteps sounded as a giant in a scaled battle robe and helmet walked toward them. The aura he naturally exuded was like death itself descending.
It carried a thick, bloody presence that inspired involuntary fear.
"By order of the ruler, I will lead the Ganwu Universe Country's delegation in this Peak Genius Tournament." The giant's voice rumbled, and the eyes beneath his helmet exerted boundless pressure.
"You may address me as Lord Thirteen. Understood?"
"Understood!"
All one thousand geniuses, including Yun He, answered in unison without thinking.
What terrifying pressure! Yun He's brows furrowed slightly as he gained a fresh understanding of an Immortal's power.
He's this terrifying in the Virtual Universe alone. In reality, he could probably make my soul collapse in an instant!
Yun He clenched his fists, truly experiencing the enormous gulf between himself and the powerful.
This was merely an Immortal, a Marquis at most.
What about a King Rank Immortal?
A Universe Venerable?
A Universe Master?
Only now did Yun He clearly understand how far he still had to go before reaching the true pinnacle.
Terror.
The one thousand previously confident geniuses were as insignificant as ants before the Scale-Armored Giant. Like ants facing a dragon, they naturally felt fear. It was purely the instinctive reaction of a lesser life-form, an instinct that even the strongest will could not suppress.
"Rong Jun." The Scale-Armored Giant turned his gaze toward Savage Rong Jun.
"Lord Thirteen." Savage Rong Jun, who stood over three meters tall, bowed slightly. Before the Scale-Armored Giant, he looked like a small child.
"Among this group from our Ganwu Universe Country, you are the only one certain to avoid elimination. The ruler has placed great hopes in you. Do not disappoint him. Understood?" the Scale-Armored Giant said.
"Yes," the young Savage Rong Jun answered respectfully.
The Scale-Armored Giant swept his gaze over the other geniuses and said coldly, "As for the rest of you, there is essentially no hope!"
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