From the Metropolis to the Strongest in the Cosmos

None of the geniuses spoke, all listening in silence.

"The competition will be divided into two groups. In the first group, the top fourteen contenders will each fight one another once!"

"In the second group, those ranked from 15th to 3,000th will be paired off for single-elimination matches. The victors will advance..."

After announcing the competition rules, the Longyan Emperor added, "Based on your final rankings, the Eternal Saint Hall will grant you corresponding rewards."

"Rewards?"

"What kind of rewards will the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall give us?"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the many geniuses lit up.

It went without saying that any reward from the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall would be extraordinary.

Under the crowd’s expectant gazes, the Longyan Emperor said, "After the third round, the final first and second-place winners will each be rewarded with three inheritance opportunities, along with 100,000 and 80,000 contribution points, respectively."

"Those ranked 3rd through 14th will each receive two inheritance opportunities and a reward of 70,000 down to 50,000 contribution points."

"Those ranked 15th through 3,000th will each receive one inheritance opportunity and a reward of 40,000 down to 10,000 contribution points."

Everyone listened intently.

’Contribution points are probably for redeeming treasures inside the Eternal Saint Hall, but what are these ’inheritance opportunities’?’

’Mixed Void and Lan Yu each get three inheritance opportunities, while Long Zhan and the others get two. We only get one.’

Hearing the Longyan Emperor’s words, many of the geniuses thought to themselves.

’So we’re being paired off for battles?’

In the crowd, Li Yang listened to the competition’s rules. They were just as Mute had described.

He was currently ranked 10th, so he didn’t need to concern himself with the later matches. His task was to fight the other thirteen contenders, including Mixed Void, Lan Yu, Long Zhan, and Mute.

’So, what are these inheritance opportunities? An inheritance from the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall? Is it about comprehending the fundamental principles?’

At that moment, Li Yang, like many of the other geniuses, was pondering the nature of this inheritance.

"Alright, let the competition begin."

The Longyan Emperor waved his hand, and the vast area instantly divided into multiple sections. Arenas materialized in each one. The first section had the fewest arenas, with only seven in total.

The names of the combatants appeared on each arena.

Li Yang felt a shift and found himself standing in one of the arenas. Another figure was already there—it was Mute.

"Haha, Li Yang! We fought once before, but it was a draw. Let’s have a good, proper fight now."

Seeing that his opponent was Li Yang, Mute let out a great laugh and charged, swinging his battle saber.

"Let’s fight!"

At this point, Li Yang could no longer afford to evade. A spark of fighting spirit ignited in his eyes.

Swinging his Hexagram Spear, he clashed violently with Mute.

With enough space, Li Yang could have kept dodging, and Mute would have been powerless against him. But in the confines of the arena, Li Yang’s strength was clearly inferior. In the end, he lost.

’I lost.’

Li Yang was frustrated, but it was to be expected. He had only just recently mastered the Hexagram Spear, whereas Mute had possessed this level of strength for a while. It was a given that Mute was stronger than him.

After losing the match, Li Yang’s form flickered, and he reappeared in another arena.

As soon as a match concluded, the next one began. The competition wasted no time at all.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Li Yang looked ahead. On the other side of the arena, an ordinary-looking young man had appeared.

"Mixed Void."

Seeing this young man, Li Yang’s expression immediately became one of extreme caution.

This was the genius said to be even stronger than Lan Yu.

’Let’s see just how strong Mixed Void is.’ Li Yang took a deep breath.

Naturally, he wanted to properly test his skills against such a peerless genius.

But a flash of sword-light streaked past, and his life force was instantly extinguished.

An instant kill!

After being instantly killed by Lan Yu before, he was now instantly killed by Mixed Void.

A moment later, Li Yang appeared in a third arena.

’Mixed Void is terrifyingly strong.’

There was a look of clear shock in Li Yang’s eyes. He hadn’t even seen how Mixed Void had attacked; he was just suddenly dead.

’Mute said Lan Yu’s strength could very well surpass Mixed Void’s, but this guy is definitely no weaker than Lan Yu,’ Li Yang thought to himself.

At the very least, he could sense the extent of Lan Yu’s power. But he couldn’t perceive Mixed Void’s strength at all.

His soul was exceptionally perceptive, yet it couldn’t get any read on Mixed Void’s approximate power level.

"Hm?"

Li Yang saw his next opponent appear on the other side of the arena. He stopped overthinking and prepared for the next battle.

After that, Li Yang fought one match after another. He only managed to win two of them—against Huo Lie and Yun Rou. He lost to every other opponent he faced.

Finally, having fought his full thirteen matches, Li Yang left the arena.

By this point, Mute and a few others had also finished their matches.

"Haha, Li Yang! You won two matches, so you’re still ranked 10th," Mute said with a loud laugh.

Li Yang replied with a sigh, "You got a good rank. Fifth place."

Mute was ranked fifth, having lost four matches to Mixed Void, Lan Yu, Long Zhan, and the youngest contender, Dilunxi.

In the arenas, two matches for the top fourteen were still underway.

The two matches were Mixed Void versus Long Zhan, and Lan Yu versus Dilunxi.

"Look! Dilunxi was also instantly defeated by Lan Yu."

"Lan Yu is a monster! He’s too strong! He instantly defeats every opponent he faces!"

"But that Dilunxi is really strong! He’s only twenty-two, and he’s managed to rank 4th!"

The battle between Lan Yu and Dilunxi was over in an instant. Everyone marveled at Lan Yu’s incredible power, while others were amazed by Dilunxi’s youth.

"I lost. He defeated me instantly."

Having been eliminated, Dilunxi glared at Lan Yu in the arena. Lan Yu stood with an arrogant smirk, his formidable presence on full display. Clearly unconvinced of his defeat, Dilunxi shouted, "Lan Yu, you’ve only been cultivating longer than I have! Don’t get so smug. Just give me time, and surpassing you will be a piece of cake."

He looked at Lan Yu with absolute confidence as he made his bold declaration.

"That Dilunxi is so arrogant! To claim that surpassing Lan Yu is just a matter of time."

"Fighting above your level... that’s not a gap you can close with just more time."

"At this stage of cultivation, just doubling your strength can take as long as all the time you’ve spent cultivating until now. How could it possibly be so easy to catch up?"

"He’s too arrogant."

Hearing Dilunxi’s words, many of the geniuses present showed expressions of displeasure.

Peerless geniuses said to appear only once every few hundred million years, and now two had appeared at once!

For Dilunxi to say something like that... was he implying his Talent was even greater than Lan Yu’s? Did that mean the rest of them were just weak in comparison?

"Haha, this Dilunxi is quite confident to say something like that."

"Ah, the fire of youth. It’s a good thing for a genius like him to have such absolute confidence in himself."

"Too much pride isn’t a good thing, of course. But once he truly enters the Eternal Saint Hall and witnesses all the other geniuses there, Dilunxi will surely become a bit more grounded."

Hearing Dilunxi’s audacious words, the powerful Deities simply smiled serenely. Such was the rashness of youth; it was only natural for a genius to be proud.

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