If you really want to visit Zhang Junbao and the others, there are ways. Visiting them directly through the Virtual Universe is a good method. Of course, this is on the premise that Zhang Junbao and the others want to see you; otherwise, it will only lead to an awkward situation.
The day after the qualifiers ended, in the Virtual Universe, on Black Dragon Mountain Island, in the Nine Star Bay Residential Area.
"Master, the emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire has sent a special envoy to visit us. The leader is a World Lord, followed by a large group of Domain Lord, including the ruler of the Silver Blue Empire."
They request to see you, along with Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God.
"As expected, they came."
Let's go! We still have to give the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's ruler face; let's go and meet him!
The Silver Blue Empire, a primary cosmic empire that rules over eight star systems including the Milky Way Galaxy, also accompanied the emperor's special envoy this time.
Zhang Junbao didn't put on airs. Although their preliminary results were good, which caught the eye of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's ruler, genius is one thing, and strength is another.
Too much arrogance from geniuses, putting on airs in front of the strong, often results in them being slapped to death. The fact that they became Immortal Expert at least proves that they were geniuses in their time.
Zhang Junbao and his three companions were greeted by a special envoy from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire at the villa entrance. The World Lord of the envoy was all smiles and gave Zhang Junbao and his group plenty of face.
"I am Butashka, entrusted by the ruler of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire." The white-haired old man at the front was the World Lord. He smiled and was very kind as he took the initiative to introduce himself.
"Greetings, Lord Butashka." Butashka represents the Emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, so basic courtesy must be observed.
Inside the living room, twelve people sat in different positions.
After everyone took their seats, Butashka smiled and said, "The four of you have achieved excellent results in the preliminary rounds, which has enhanced the reputation of our Black Dragon Mountain Empire in the Ganwu Universe Country and brought glory to the empire."
This also improved the ranking of our Black Dragon Mountain Empire, prompting the Ganwu Universe Country to invest more resources in us, thus enhancing our overall strength.
"You all come from the same place and have a very good relationship. The king is very pleased with your achievements!"
"It's what we should do," Hong said, finding this kind of polite formality most appropriate.
Luo Feng is too arrogant and lacks tact, Thunder God is too impulsive, Zhang Junbao simply doesn't want to talk, while Hong Hongchen is experienced and such reception is a piece of cake for him.
Although Zhang Junbao was in charge of their cultivation, they didn't necessarily have to rely on Zhang Junbao to conduct their external affairs.
When talking to an old fox like the imperial envoy, Hong could completely control the situation.
"Hehe, the four of you are all young talents of my Black Dragon Mountain Empire. His Majesty greatly admires and values you, and therefore has decided to reward you handsomely!"
Zhang Junbao smiled. The ruler of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire probably didn't know that his third prince, who was most likely to inherit the throne, had been killed by Zhang Junbao.
"His Majesty, seeing that you all come from the same place, has decided to reward you with a star system ahead of schedule."
"A galaxy?"
Zhang Junbao and the others feigned surprise, but inwardly they secretly despised the stinginess of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's ruler.
The value of an entire galaxy is roughly equivalent to one Life Fruit. They've already used several Life Fruit, and Zhang Junbao still has over a hundred left, but nowhere to use them. And that's it?
"This is Emperor Yi Wei of your Silver Blue Empire. The Silver Blue Empire's royal family has agreed to this matter." Not far from the silver-haired World Lord, a handsome man in white nodded and smiled as he said to Zhang Junbao, "I have long wanted to meet these geniuses. If you could manage the Milky Way Galaxy, it would be an honor for my Silver Blue Empire."
He dared not say that Zhang Junbao and the others were trained by the Silver Blue Empire under his jurisdiction. The Black Dragon Mountain Empire could say such a thing, but he could not.
Silver-haired World Lord Butashka was very satisfied with Zhang Junbao and the others' reactions. He nodded and said, "The King has also decided that in the upcoming arena competition, if any one of you makes it into the top 1,000 of the Ganwu Universe Country, you will be rewarded with another star system. If all four of you make it into the top 1,000, then the Silver Blue Empire will belong entirely to you."
The Lord will grant the Emperor of the Silver Blue Empire a new territory.
All four entered, and the direct reward was the Silver Blue Empire, possessing eight star systems—a truly generous reward. The price of selling a star system individually differs from selling multiple star systems together. Selling multiple star systems together doesn't make them cheaper; on the contrary, they become more valuable due to their greater strategic significance.
Butashka also brought a list of all the noteworthy geniuses, which saved Zhang Junbao and his team a lot of trouble.
nice one!
Information, even in the universe, is of immense value.
Knowing yourself and your enemy is the Bai Zhan. Zhang Junbao and Hong Du were well-versed in ancient Huaxia texts and naturally understood this principle.
During this period, they also carefully studied the enemy's information, strategically underestimating the enemy, but tactically taking them seriously. They would not do anything as foolish as being arrogant and underestimating the enemy.
One month later, the tournament officially began.
The tournament is divided into two stages. First, 90,000 people are eliminated through the First Order of the ' Arena Melee, ' and the remaining 10,000 people will fight one-on-one. In the end, 900 spots will be created.
When this rule was announced, there was a great deal of discussion below the ring.
The Arena Melee consist of 100 people in each group, with the last ten surviving through the melee. Compared to the previous elimination rounds, it's not too brutal.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the numbers in front of you indicate your group assignments!" the tournament host announced. "Get ready, the arena battles will officially begin in 5 minutes."
"I am number 99," Zhang Junbao said.
"I'm 382," Luo Feng said, looking at the number in front of him.
"I got 233, another lucky number! What about you, Brother Hong?" Thunder God said with a smile. Drawing his lucky number twice in a row, Thunder God was incredibly lucky.
"161!"
Looking at the grinning Thunder God, the three were speechless. Thunder God's luck was truly incredible.
Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye; all 100,010 geniuses vanished instantly, and the arena battle was about to begin.
Virtual Universe Company truly lives up to its reputation as a top-tier force in the universe. Its operation and promotion of commercial competitions are simply unparalleled. Thanks to their publicity, the attention given to the arena competition even surpassed that of the initial qualifiers.
Those who can get through the preliminaries are true geniuses; no amateurs have a chance of making it to this stage. As a result, the live broadcast and tickets for the tournament sold like hotcakes.
Watching a live stream at home is obviously completely different from watching a game live in person.
There are a total of one thousand matches in the arena, with only two hundred matches held each day. Zhang Junbao and Hong will play on the first day, while Thunder God and Luo Feng will have to wait until tomorrow.
The match between Zhang Junbao and Hong was undoubtedly very eye-catching. One of them was ranked second in the World Zone and the other was ranked 29th. Both of them had a very good chance of entering the top 1,000.
" Junbao, there's definitely no problem with Brother Hong!" In the audience seats by the ring, Luo Feng and Thunder God watched the match with their families.
"This arena battle is only thirty kilometers long, which is incredibly convenient for Brother Hong. He doesn't even need to worry about his opponents running around. The only thing to watch out for is how many people he can pull into the illusion at the same time."
"Hehe, the arena was originally meant to prevent you Spirit Reader from flying around everywhere, but now it's created a good opportunity for Brother Hong to cast illusions."
Wait a minute, something's happened with Brother Hong, this is bad!
The two were not worried about Zhang Junbao at all; what they were really concerned about was Hong's unexpected turn of events.
Because Thunder God saw the figure he could never forget— the Savage —on the same stage as Hong!
After the host introduced the geniuses who had entered, the melee immediately began.
On arena number 161, the contestants proceeded with extreme caution.
As soon as the competition started, some players quickly formed groups.
Clearly, Hong, ranked 29th, was isolated, because everyone else knew that the weak had to band together to take down the strong, and they had no chance at all.
Hong carefully observed the entire arena, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
"To be in the same arena as the Savage, this is going to be difficult!"
Eliminate the others first. There's still one spot left in this arena; there's no need to go head-to-head with him.
Hong noticed that a small group of eight people was attacking him.
These individuals were all ranked below 500, placing them at the bottom of the rankings in the arena. Therefore, they decided from the beginning to stick together.
"You're treating me like an easy target! But eight people make no difference to me."
Hong's figure twisted and disappeared before the eight people's eyes.
"What? Where is he? Why can't I detect him in my domain?"
"Here you are, you wretched fellow, take this!"
One of the eight, a player of average strength, suddenly launched an attack. In his eyes, his domain detected Hong's presence. But to others, it was clear that he had ambushed the strongest player in the team.
" Kabuli, you were up to no good, you actually ambushed me!" The ambushed player took a sword to the back, but fortunately reacted in time and was not killed instantly. He swung his axe back.
" Nuo Ke, what are you doing, you idiot? Hong isn't dead yet!" Another person nearby was puzzled by the sudden infighting within the team. Although he really wanted to kill the rest of the team, he knew that doing so now would be completely mindless, especially with Hong watching.
"Hahaha... I won! I've broken into the top 1,000 in the Ganwu Universe Country! Your Majesty, did you see that?"
Suddenly, another player in the team burst into laughter, only to have his head pierced by Hong's spear before Hong disappeared again.
The arena battle was chaotic, but the more chaotic it was, the more Hong thrived. The eight people who wanted to join forces to attack him were instantly manipulated by Hong's illusionary manipulation, turning into a bloody battle with no chance to fight back.
Hong's illusions never stray from reality; instead, they amplify and fully unleash the enemy's deepest desires or anxieties.
Such illusions are the hardest to detect. Even if a flaw occasionally appears, it will be completely masked by the person trapped in the illusion's own desire for the outcome. No one can wake someone who is pretending to be asleep, nor can anyone awaken someone who longs to be trapped in an illusion.
" Brother Hong's illusion is terrifying! These contestants are all up to no good and they even want to join forces to deal with Brother Hong. They're just delusional!" Thunder God exclaimed from the audience.
"He has found the point of convergence between his own secret techniques, domain, the Law of Light, and even the Time Law, integrating all of this into his marksmanship. Every shot is imbued with endless mental training. If the opponent does not have a sufficiently firm will, Brother Hong's marksmanship is enough to plunge them into an abyss of no return."
Even if the opponent isn't trapped in an illusion, it's extremely difficult to break free from a gun attack alone." Luo Feng nodded. Even with the tenacity of his Golden Horned Beast will, he would occasionally fall for Hong's tricks.
Once you develop an excessive obsession with Hong, you can easily be manipulated by him, which is quite terrifying. Even with the Golden Horned Beast, Luo Feng dared not underestimate Hong's strength.
In one corner of the arena, the Savage slashed down a contestant with a single blow, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Hong's presence, his eyes gleaming.
He moved his feet and walked towards Hong.