In the plaza.
Many of the Ganwu Universe Country's 1,000 geniuses clenched their fists. Luo Feng, standing among them, frowned slightly as well.
Yun He did not care. He closed his eyes and rested. The genius battle? It was nothing special.
"Hmph! What, not convinced? Strength isn't something you prove with words. You prove it in battle!"
The Scale-Armored Giant said coldly, "Apart from Rong Jun, the strongest among you are only at Luo Feng's level. But according to our intelligence, many rarely seen geniuses have emerged this year. Luo Feng would be doing well to reach the Top 5000 in the universe overall ranking. As for the Top 1000... his chances are slim."
"Of course."
"You can also create miracles! Throughout history, some peerless geniuses seemed ordinary at first, only to suddenly reveal their brilliance in the final showdown. I hope you can give me a surprise too!"
The Scale-Armored Giant swept his gaze over the crowd, then said, "All right, follow me!"
The geniuses from the various star regions could only swallow their frustration and follow the Scale-Armored Giant. Under his leadership, they teleported together into a brand-new plane that the Virtual Universe Company had created specifically for this peak genius tournament.
It was a vast continent.
Yun He and the others, including the Scale-Armored Giant leading them, appeared on the continent together-all 1,001 of them.
"Ganwu Universe Country team, your team has been assigned to Building 0825." A middle-aged staff member in white robes bowed respectfully to the Scale-Armored Giant.
"Mm!"
The Scale-Armored Giant grunted, then led the team straight into the distance.
"Wow!"
"1008 Buildings! So each universe country's team gets a building of its own?"
From afar, the 1008 Buildings formed a natural ring.
At the center of the ring formed by the 1008 Buildings lay a beautiful plaza filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.
Many young men and women from the various universe countries were strolling and chatting in the plaza.
At a glance, there were at least a hundred thousand of them.
"Descend!" the Scale-Armored Giant thundered.
The Ganwu Universe Country's geniuses quickly descended to the edge of the plaza, then followed the road straight toward Building 0825.
"Look, the team heading to Building 0825 is from the Ganwu Universe Country."
"I heard the Ganwu Universe Country has a genius who might make the top ten in the universe overall ranking. His name is Rong Jun?"
"Yes, Rong Jun. Look, that tall fellow with the loose hair, the one who looks like a savage-that's Savage Rong Jun!"
"Mm, he's very strong!"
"Which one is Rong Jun?"
"Rong Jun?"
Many geniuses from the other universe countries watched the Ganwu Universe Country's team from afar and began discussing them.
Hearing those distant conversations, most of the Ganwu Universe Country's geniuses seethed inwardly.
Who among those who had made the Ganwu Universe Country's Top 1000 was not an exceptional genius?
Yet now, the geniuses from the other universe countries clearly cared only about Savage Rong Jun. They paid no attention to anyone else.
Inside Building 0825.
The ground-floor lobby was spacious enough to hold over a thousand people.
Boom!
That powerful pressure appeared again, bearing down on the 1,000 geniuses and forcing every gaze toward the Scale-Armored Giant.
Only then did the Scale-Armored Giant withdraw his pressure. He said indifferently, "I have tokens numbered from 1 to 1,000. Each of you will receive one. It will grant you access to your assigned room, where you'll stay and rest."
Then the Scale-Armored Giant waved his hand.
Numbered tokens floated down, each landing before its recipient.
Savage Rong Jun received number 1.
Luo Feng received number 2.
The others took their own numbered tokens as well.
Yun He reached out and caught his token. He glanced at the number on it: 108.
Clearly, apart from Savage Rong Jun and Luo Feng, the Scale-Armored Giant had no great expectations for any of them.
"You're dismissed!"
"You can sleep and rest in your rooms, or go to the plaza and interact with the geniuses from the other universe countries."
The Scale-Armored Giant surveyed the 1,000 geniuses and said coldly, "When nightfall approaches, the Virtual Universe Company's organizers will summon all of you. Wherever you are in this plane space, you'll hear the summons."
With that, the Scale-Armored Giant strode straight out.
Only then did the Ganwu Universe Country's geniuses breathe a sigh of relief. Holding their numbered tokens, they gathered in small groups to chat or went off to find their rooms.
Yun He took his numbered token, found his room, and went inside. He shut the door and settled down to rest.
He could not be bothered to wander around outside.
The central plaza encircled by the 1008 Buildings was enormous. Even a million people would not have made it feel crowded. Flowers, plants, and small ornamental animals could be seen everywhere around it.
Large restaurants were scattered across the plaza.
There were ninety-nine restaurants in all. The geniuses from the various universe countries could enter any of them except Restaurant No. 1.
Boom!
The Scale-Armored Giant streaked through the air and landed before the entrance to Restaurant No. 1.
"My lord!" The attendant at the entrance bowed respectfully.
The Scale-Armored Giant walked straight inside.
There were over a thousand seats on the restaurant's ground floor, and more than a hundred mighty beings were already seated there.
"Thirteen."
"Thirteen's here."
Some radiated murderous menace, others a ferocity greater than a star's, and still others a coldness that seemed capable of freezing the soul. All manner of heart-stopping auras faintly emanated from them...
Even sitting casually, these mighty beings seemed to form worlds of their own, as though the space around them lay under their control.
"Mm." The Scale-Armored Giant nodded slightly, found a seat, and sat down.
"Thirteen, I heard a genius named Rong Jun emerged in your Ganwu Universe Country this time. Haha, you're lucky."
"He's decent." When it came to Rong Jun, the Scale-Armored Giant made no attempt at modesty and simply nodded.
"Trov, didn't your universe country also produce a genius nicknamed Blood Axe?"
A smiling man in white robes, whose presence felt like a spring breeze, replied with a smile, "Yes, we have such a genius. His style is very much like yours, Thirteen."
"Thirteen, perhaps your Ganwu Universe Country will have two people make the Top 1000 this time?" A tall, barefoot, bald man with golden skin spoke from nearby. "That other youngster named Luo Feng seems rather promising too."
"He isn't strong enough yet." The Scale-Armored Giant, Thirteen, shook his head. "Sephora, everyone's saying your Noah Universe Country will take first place this time."
"That youngster from the Noah Universe Country really is strong."
"Indeed. That youngster named Bolan is only at Star Level, yet his comprehension of the space origin law has already reached such heights. It's simply unbelievable."
The mighty beings continued their discussion.
They were all Immortal Experts sent by the rulers of their respective universe countries to lead their teams.
For beings who had lived through endless ages, having a genius in their team reach the top ten in the universe overall ranking would be something they could boast about with great pride.
After all, a genius who made the universe's top ten might have some hope of reaching their level after hundreds of thousands or even a million epochs. That alone was exceedingly rare.
Of course, it was only a possibility.
A genius's growth was inherently full of uncertainty, and far more perished along the way.
As for the even higher ranks of King-level Immortal or Venerable?
They did not even consider them.
The genius battle was held twice every ten thousand years, and only 1,000 contestants were accepted each time. Yet across the Human Race's endless epochs, how many geniuses had there been? Countless! And how many King-level Immortals had accumulated in all that time?
The path to becoming an Immortal alone was fraught with obstacles. Countless World Lords fell before the final threshold.
Becoming a Venerable was a million or even ten million times harder.
Take Venerable Nine Swords, who was overseeing this genius battle for the Virtual Universe Company. Hundreds of thousands of epochs ago, when he was still at Star Level, he too had participated in the genius battle. He had taken first place that year, stunning every universe country with a talent even more extraordinary than Bolan's was now.
Venerable Nine Swords was already the greatest surprise and reward the Human Race had gained from its genius battles over the past several million to ten million epochs.
Before you continue