"Seventy-sixth contestant: Luo Feng, from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire! He placed third in World District No. 1 during the preliminary round!"
"Luo Feng! Luo Feng! Luo Feng!"
From the spectator stands, the audience from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire erupted into thunderous cheers that shook the entire arena.
"Ninety-ninth contestant: Lei Shen, from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire! He ranked 1,001st in World District No. 88 during the preliminary round!"
The moment Lei Shen's introduction was announced, many of the participating geniuses narrowed their eyes.
The most troublesome opponents were always two geniuses from the same empire. They would often join forces against everyone else.
After all, there were only ten advancement slots.
"This is going to be troublesome."
Having returned to the spectator stands, Hong frowned slightly.
"Previously, whenever contestants from the same empire teamed up... the others would immediately unite to eliminate them first. I'm afraid Luo Feng and Lei Shen are about to become everyone's primary targets."
"Luo Feng should be fine."
Jiang Li had complete confidence in Luo Feng.
Being able to wield the Yan Shen Bing meant Luo Feng already possessed a respectable comprehension of the Gold and Space path. Coupled with the fact that he was a Spirit Reader, his chances of advancing were extremely high.
Lei Shen, however, was another matter.
Although he had made breakthroughs in the Law of Thunder, without comprehending the Origin Law of Time, relying solely on a single lower-level law to reach the top ten thousand of the Ganwu Universe Country would require quite a bit of luck.
Soon, as the countdown ended, a tremendous roar echoed throughout the fighting arena.
Luo Feng and Lei Shen appeared inside the battlefield simultaneously.
Inside the arena...
Lei Shen gripped his thunder battle blade tightly and immediately moved toward Luo Feng.
The battlefield for this free-for-all had a radius of thirty kilometers.
However, as the battle progressed, the fighting area would continuously shrink, preventing Spirit Readers from endlessly relying on extreme speed to avoid combat.
"They really teamed up."
"Should we all work together and eliminate Luo Feng and Lei Shen first?"
"Sorry, I don't trust you."
In a chaotic battle royale like this, no one knew whether their so-called allies would suddenly stab them in the back.
"Battle... Begin!"
A deep, majestic voice instantly echoed across every corner of the arena.
Immediately afterward, the battlefield began shrinking.
Boom!
Violent air currents exploded outward.
The hundred genius fighters instantly released their domains and charged toward one another.
"Kill Luo Feng first!"
"He was third in his district! Everyone attack him together!"
Amid the chaos, someone shouted loudly.
Several streams of light immediately swept toward Luo Feng from both sides.
"Damn it! Taste one slash from your Grandpa Lei first!"
Seeing the incoming attackers, Lei Shen roared as he raised his thunder battle blade.
Lightning snakes wrapped around the blade before exploding outward over a hundred meters, forcing several charging figures to retreat.
Clang!
The attackers were pushed back before disappearing once more into the chaos.
But no sooner had one group retreated than several more charged in.
Lei Shen's expression changed.
"This is bad. We've become everyone's target!"
"Then let's kill them."
Standing atop his Soaring Heavenly Shuttle, Luo Feng's eyes instantly turned icy.
He slapped the dark golden staff on his back.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Golden streams of light shot out with incredible speed, tracing bizarre, unpredictable arcs through the air.
One of them slammed directly into a young man's shield.
Boom!
The impact exploded violently.
At the same time, another golden stream curved around the shield altogether.
"What?!"
The young man's eyes filled with horror.
Unfortunately, by the time he realized what had happened...
It was already too late.
Pfft!
The golden light pierced straight through his skull.
Meanwhile, the remaining seven golden streams flew toward three other opponents.
Pfft!
Pfft!
Pfft!
Four kills.
Instantly.
The other geniuses controlling spirit weapons toward Luo Feng abruptly halted.
"Damn it!"
"That's the Yan Shen Bing!"
"He's comprehended the Origin Law of Gold!"
"We can't fight him!"
Before their cries had even faded...
The golden streams shot toward them once again.
Everyone's expressions changed drastically as they turned and fled without hesitation.
Behind Luo Feng, Lei Shen blinked in surprise.
"They... ran away?"
As the battle intensified, the death toll climbed rapidly.
"They're coming! Run!"
Faced with Luo Feng's terrifying Yan Shen Bing, the contestants who had originally been hunting him had completely switched to fleeing for their lives.
Pfft!
A brilliant golden sword ray flashed across the battlefield.
Another opponent fell beneath Luo Feng's attack.
Clang!
Lei Shen unleashed another powerful slash.
The burly warrior wielding a massive shield dared not underestimate it.
He immediately raised the shield to block.
But at that exact moment—
Several golden sword rays swept in from both sides.
Boom!
His head exploded instantly.
Another kill.
The audience erupted.
"Damn it!"
"This is cheating!"
"This is blatant cheating!"
"Teaming up in a battle royale—how shameless!"
"The hell do you mean cheating? Wasn't it cheating when over a dozen people ganged up on Luo Feng and Lei Shen first?"
The millions of spectators from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire refused to back down.
Countless people shouted at audiences from other empires, their faces flushed with excitement as insults flew back and forth across the stands.
Seeing this, Jiang Li and Hong exchanged a glance before smiling knowingly.
With the strength Luo Feng had displayed, he was undoubtedly the strongest contestant in this group.
As a Spirit Reader wielding the increasingly proficient Yan Shen Bing, escorting Lei Shen into the next round was entirely within his capabilities.
Inside the palace on Black Dragon Mountain Island, the Emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire stared nervously at the floating holographic projection.
When he saw Luo Feng unleash his might and kill seventeen geniuses in succession, the entire palace exploded into excitement.
"Amazing!"
The emperor slapped his thigh and leaped to his feet.
"This Luo Feng isn't just powerful himself—he can even bring his friend through the competition! Such a genius deserves to be rewarded handsomely!"
"His future is limitless."
Kristensen watched Luo Feng and Lei Shen advance together and sighed emotionally.
"The path of cultivation passes in the blink of an eye. A friendship like this is truly enviable."
"Kristensen."
The emperor suddenly asked,
"Do you think it's possible to recruit them into the Holy Land?"
Hearing that, Kristensen and the several World Masters present all shook their heads.
"The fact that he can already use the first level of the Yan Shen Bing means he has definitely entered the threshold of the Origin Law of Gold."
"Judging from how skillfully he controls it, his mastery of the Gold Law is already quite profound."
"A genius like him won't be left for us."
Kristensen sighed.
"Besides, they're all close friends of Jiang Li."
"And Jiang Li's teacher is a Universe Venerable. There are even several Undying experts serving under him."
"What force could our Holy Land possibly offer that's better than that?"
"You have a point."
The emperor nodded helplessly.
Within the Virtual Universe Network...
After taking over the Milky Way Galaxy, Jiang Li had purchased an enormous tract of land inside the Virtual Universe.
He then established his own city there—
Galaxy City.
Building a city in the Virtual Universe was incredibly fast.
As long as you had enough money.
Galaxy City was divided into four major districts, while the central palace district naturally belonged to the four members from Earth.
The residence at the center was Jiang Li's personal estate, named after Jiangnan Base City—
Jiangnan Courtyard.
The courtyard stretched for over a dozen kilometers.
Its white walls and black-tiled roofs were arranged in orderly elegance, while the tops of the surrounding walls were carved with majestic dragon totems unique to the Huaxia people.
"Haha! Thanks to Luo Feng, I advanced too!"
In one corner of the courtyard, Lei Shen beamed from ear to ear, unable to hide his excitement.
Regardless of how it happened, he was now officially among the top ten thousand geniuses of the Ganwu Universe Country.
"The next round will be direct elimination matches. They'll be even more brutal."
Hong sipped his tea before looking at Lei Shen.
"Second Brother, if you don't improve quickly, you're probably going to be eliminated."
"That Rong Jun is unbelievably strong. If I hadn't barely grasped the overlapping flow of Time, I doubt I could've escaped his pursuit."
Recalling the battle, Hong still felt lingering fear.
Jiang Li nodded slightly.
If nothing unexpected happened, Rong Jun would eventually fight his way into the top ten geniuses of humanity.
At that moment—
"Your Highness."
The elf demi-human servant Jiang Li had previously purchased walked in quickly and bowed respectfully.
"Someone outside claims to be Jiang Tianchen and wishes to pay Your Highness a visit."
"Jiang Tianchen?"
The name sounded familiar to Jiang Li.
Back in the World Within a World, the treasure exchange had been conducted under Jiang Tianchen's authority.
"Let him in."
Jiang Li gave the order.