First Arena Match

Luo Wen glanced at the man before him. He was extremely familiar—a longtime friend. It was Nine Swords Venerable.

Nine Swords Venerable had naturally come to explain the main rules of the upcoming arena matches.

Nine Swords Venerable addressed all the geniuses present. "All geniuses who passed the preliminary selection, you will next participate in the Virtual Universe Company’s Genius Battle. There will be group melee arena matches lasting five days. Each day will feature two hundred groups of one hundred participants fighting in a free-for-all. The last ten remaining in each group will advance, eliminating nine-tenths of all contestants. The remaining ten thousand contestants will enter the one-on-one elimination stage. In the one-on-one eliminations, contestants will fight in pairs. Winners advance, losers are eliminated. After winning four consecutive matches, the final 625 contestants will pass this stage."

"Damn, that’s brutal… Ninety percent eliminated in one go, and it’s a multiplayer melee on the same arena. There’s nowhere to hide now."

"It’s over. In this kind of arena melee, it’ll be hard for me to retain any advantage."

"Damn it, the order will definitely be disrupted. There’s no way to team up with my teammates anymore."

Luo Wen heard waves of anxious voices rising and falling around him.

During the preliminary selection, geniuses from many factions formed teams. Relying on the advantage of a main team, they slaughtered opponents together and frantically amassed points.

Therefore, among the top 1,001 who passed the preliminary selection, quite a few had gotten in through loopholes and opportunistic methods.

But the favorable conditions created by such teams would now be shattered. Two hundred groups would be held each day, with all sorts of team members scattered apart. Once it began, there would be no opportunity for communication, only frenzied slaughter.

There were only ten spots, and no one was willing to waste such precious time.

The final outcome was obvious. In any competition that followed, such opportunistic methods would no longer work.

Whether someone was truly a genius would be plain to see.

Nine Swords Venerable added, "Repechage battles: the remaining 9,375 people will enter the repechage stage. The 9,375 contestants will fight one-on-one. Each victory earns one point. The top 275 in the final rankings will claim the remaining spots. Together with the 625 who advance through the one-on-one elimination matches, that will make up the one thousand places for each universe country to enter the final selection of the entire universe."

As Nine Swords Venerable spoke, everyone held their breath, knowing that an extremely difficult arena battle lay ahead.

At the same time.

The immortals from all 10,018 universe countries had also arrived to watch the battles.

Unlike the previous world projections, the arena matches could be watched directly at the virtual venue.

Tickets for the various seats were extremely expensive, yet the instant they went on sale, they were snatched up.

Countless people had come from afar, all wanting to cheer for the geniuses of their own countries.

Because Luo Wen was connected to the Black Dragon Mountain Empire’s royal family, he and Nabini had obtained more than two million live tickets in total.

Luo Wen took only one hundred tickets and gave the rest to Brolin, who then handed them to her father.

At this time, Luo Wen and the others began receiving their assigned numbers.

"Third Brother, what number are you?" Hong walked over and asked.

"I’m number 798. I’m expected to compete in the first match tomorrow," Luo Wen replied.

Hong and Thor also stated the numbers on their cards.

Hong was number eighty-nine in the first match today.

Thor was number 971 in the tenth match tomorrow.

Luo Feng was number one hundred in the first match on the third day.

"I didn’t expect it to be my turn today!"

A relaxed smile appeared on Hong’s face, without the slightest hint of nervousness before a great battle.

His state of mind was now as calm as the wind, without the slightest ripple.

Luo Wen was secretly startled as he watched. He had not expected Hong’s mental state to become so resilient. It seemed the Illusory Heart Secret Method had helped him immensely. There would probably be a good show today.

Luo Wen had one hundred tickets, so he brought along his entire family and went straight to the audience seating at the competition venue. As contestants, they were given the best seats.

They sat in the third row, where the view was the best and they could see the entire battle clearly.

Hong mainly brought Beast and Glacier, letting them witness just how intense the genius battles in the Virtual Universe truly were and broaden their horizons.

Thor brought his daughter. Thor had already been married, but for various reasons, his relationship with his daughter had not been good. Fortunately, after Thor entered the universe, the distance between father and daughter gradually faded, and they finally reconciled.

Luo Wen gave the remaining dozens of tickets directly to the Five Great Nations, which selected elites from their clans to broaden their horizons.

The stands were bustling with excitement. Not only were there spectators from the Qianwu Universe Country, where Luo Wen and the others were from, but spectators from other universe countries were also here cheering for their own nations.

There were too many seats to count, and cheers rose and fell continuously. However, the seating areas had been divided according to their respective universe countries.

To prevent disputes arising from unnecessary friction between spectators of different countries, each section of the stands had been separated.

The Qianwu Universe Country had its own section, and the other universe countries each had their own sections as well. Thus, it was extremely unlikely for the spectators to start fighting like they might at a football match.

"How spectacular. Is this the Virtual Universe’s Genius Battle? It’s simply incredible."

As an Earthling, Yao Rao was seeing so many aliens for the first time. Although she had reached the ninth rank of the Planetary Level and begun to connect with the universe,

most of the people she had encountered were staff from Azure Wave Star. Their usual appearance was grayish-black skin, and they did not look too different from humans.

But here, she could see the vast human race, with all kinds of different appearances. The roaring crowd and jubilant cheers were enough to make her feel incomparably excited just listening to them.

Veenina was inwardly excited but outwardly dignified. Brolin had seen grand occasions before, yet she was still cheering for the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

In the previous Genius Battle, the Black Dragon Mountain Empire had not even managed to enter the top ten thousand. This was not the first time—it had been this way for a very, very long time.

As a result, the Black Dragon Mountain Empire had always ranked at the bottom among the more than thirteen thousand starfields of the Qianwu Universe Country.

Thus, they desperately wanted to achieve a better ranking. As for Luo Wen, Brolin naturally had absolute confidence that he would make it into the top ten thousand.

But before that, there was another person: Nabini.

He was also a citizen of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, and they hoped he could achieve a good result as well. He was scheduled for the fourth match.

Because of Luo Wen’s appearance, both Hong and Thor had advanced and entered the arena matches, causing enormous changes to all the original arrangements.

The competition order had been completely disrupted and was no longer like the original version.

In Hong’s first match, Luo Wen surprisingly discovered that Illusion Demon Garaisy had also been assigned to the first group.

At this moment, the match was about to begin.

On the enormous screen in the center of the arena, the names of one hundred contestants appeared.

Luo Wen spotted Illusion Demon Garaisy. This fellow was an extremely powerful Illusionist.

As Luo Wen pondered this, Thor beside him cried out in alarm, "Garaisy… How did Big Brother run into this guy?"

"Hm? You know him?"

"This Illusion Demon Garaisy ranked first in World Zone Number Seven. Any opponent who fought him was easily killed with just a glance from him. There was no suspense in any of his battles. Later, no one was willing to provoke him at all. Instead, he hunted opponents everywhere. He’s a Spiritual Master with extremely powerful illusions. For Martial Artists like us, he’s simply a nightmare."

Thor’s scalp went numb. He did not dare guarantee that he could emerge unscathed if he faced Garaisy. Though his state of mind was also exceptional,

he would not be easily killed by the other party.

But he still did not dare guarantee that he could withstand it completely.

Luo Wen fell into slight thought after hearing this.

"Hall Master…"

Beast and Glacier were both becoming anxious.

But Luo Wen merely pondered and said nothing more.

Then, as the countdown ended.

Hong, Garaisy, and the other hundred contestants were teleported directly onto the arena.

At this time, the hundred contestants around the arena faced one another. Many had clearly already heard of Garaisy’s formidable reputation and did not dare approach him at all.

Quite a few even closed their eyes directly, afraid that they might accidentally meet his gaze and be pulled straight into an illusion.

As the match began, everyone around them suddenly charged toward their opponents.

For a moment, all kinds of domains erupted. Brilliantly colored domains collided in an instant, shaking the heavens and splitting the earth.

All across the battlefield, beams of light flashed, weapons danced, and explosions of power burst forth in a dazzling display.

Yet there was one particularly strange place in the center of the battlefield: Illusion Demon Garaisy. He stood in the middle, and not a single person dared challenge him.

Among these hundred contestants, twenty-five were Spiritual Masters. They were all Spiritual Masters, yet none of them was confident of defeating Garaisy. They all chose to stay away from him, doing their utmost to eliminate the opponents around them first.

Garaisy sneered at the sight. He was in no hurry to act and merely watched the battles around him as though he were an outsider.

He was showing off. Standing in the center of the battlefield, ignoring everyone else’s attacks, and effortlessly claiming a place in the top ten filled him with an indescribable sense of superiority.

Some people could not stand Garaisy’s arrogant, contemptuous, self-important posing any longer. They hated him fiercely, but no one dared make a move.

At this time, the immortals dispatched by the various universe countries were seated in the highest section of the stands.

They watched the scene below. The Black Dragon Mountain Emperor was also present, because both Luo Wen and Nabini represented Black Dragon Mountain’s chance to shed its reputation as the very bottom of the Qianwu Universe.

"Hong! Hong!!!"

"Come on! Fight for our Black Dragon Mountain Empire…"

All 2.5 million spectators shouted and cheered for Hong. Their momentum was overwhelming. They yelled with all their strength, and quite a few turned red in the face and gasped for breath.

Yao Rao and Veenina began shouting along as well, swept up by the atmosphere around them.

On the battlefield, lightning and flint flashed as explosions rang out one after another.

The cheers from the stands also reached their peak as the battle grew more intense.

Hong was no longer standing still as he had during the preliminary selection. Instead, he held a silver spear and transformed into endless silver dragons, charging through the battlefield and slaughtering enemies.

The surrounding opponents felt tremendous pressure at Hong’s appearance. At this moment, Hong already possessed strength that placed him among the top five of the hundred participants.

Clad in black and wielding a long spear, he was like a man entering an unguarded realm, charging across the battlefield and killing enemies.

At this moment, a powerfully built man holding two shields charged at Hong at high speed, while the twin blades in his hands unleashed endless rays of saber light.

A tremendous sense of pressure suddenly descended. This man’s strength was enough to rank among the top ten.

But Hong remained completely calm in the face of the incoming attack. With a flick of his spear, the countless spearheads spun wildly against the charging twin shields.

"Illusion Realm: Demon Spear!"

Hong thrust his spear fiercely. What seemed like an ordinary strike sent strange ripples spreading out the instant it struck his opponent.

The man, whose attack had been extremely fierce, suddenly lost focus for a moment. The twin shields in his hands unexpectedly stopped receiving energy.

The next second, the silver spear moved like a roaming dragon and instantly pierced through his skull.

With one person easily slain, fewer than fifty remained. Every person who had managed to stay was exceptionally skilled.

Those who possessed domains made up seventy percent of them.

As the various domains collided and time passed, the arena began to gradually shrink at a visible rate.

This also worsened the predicament of those Spiritual Masters skilled in using Spiritual Power weapons.

But the denser the battlefield became, the more the death rate increased at an astonishing speed. Only true powerhouses could survive in such danger.

Just then, as the space compressed, some people were forced to gradually approach Garaisy.

During the battle, these people also wanted to eliminate Garaisy, the strongest person in the group, but for various reasons they had been too occupied to deal with him before.

Only eighteen people remained active on the battlefield, and every one of them possessed extraordinary strength.

Among them was a Spiritual Master who relied on a soul-defense technique. With one hand, he controlled two Flying Daggers to slash at his opponent.

At the same time, he secretly controlled a needle-like weapon with Spiritual Power and suddenly sent it flying directly toward Garaisy from amid the explosions.

Everything happened incredibly suddenly, in the blink of an eye.

Just as that genius thought he had succeeded, tragedy struck the next second. Garaisy drew two short blades. With a flash of blade light, the concealed Spiritual Power weapon was sent flying away.

The youth was shocked, but the next second, a wave of Spiritual Power swept over him. That genius fell into an illusion, and in the next instant, his brain burst apart with a bang. He was dead beyond doubt.

One glance, one life.

Illusion Demon Garaisy had made his move!

In the original story, Garaisy did not seem especially powerful, but only after truly understanding him did one realize that he was terrifyingly strong.