Rong Jun had been a contestant in the 88th World Zone during the preliminaries, known by his title "Savage."
His strength was formidable, he too had stepped into the threshold of the Space Origin Law.
In the original story, Thunder God had been killed by him during the preliminaries, which was why Thunder God didn't even make it past the arena stage.
In that same prelim battle, Rong Jun had also defeated Luo Feng.
He was, without a doubt, an extremely powerful contestant.
However, Luo Fan didn't regard him as a threat.
After all, even the strongest of this generation, Boland, wasn't his match.
His target had never been his peers.
Oh, except Luo Feng.
The protagonist didn't count.
Looking at the battle intent burning all over Rong Jun's body, Luo Fan said calmly,
"When the time comes, I'll give it my all."
"Good!"
"Hahaha!"
Rong Jun laughed heartily, satisfied with the answer.
Suddenly—
Boom!
An invisible pressure swept across the entire plaza.
The faces of all one thousand prodigies turned pale, their bodies trembling slightly beyond control.
Then came heavy footsteps.
A giant clad in scale armor and a battle robe, wearing a helmet, strode forward, his mere presence like that of the Grim Reaper descending upon the world.
The air was thick with killing intent and oppression, stirring instinctive fear.
The giant stood more than eight meters tall, the very same existence who had appeared last time.
"By order of the Lord of the Qianwu Cosmic Nation, I will be leading the thousand geniuses of Qianwu."
The giant's voice boomed through the air, and the eyes beneath his helmet radiated infinite pressure.
"You may address me as Lord Thirteen. Understood?"
"Understood!"
The thousand peerless geniuses answered in unison, unable to resist.
Even Luo Fan felt the crushing pressure.
Before the armored giant, they all seemed as insignificant as ants, lives that could be crushed at will.
"Luo Fan. Rong Jun."
The giant's gaze landed upon the two of them.
"Lord Thirteen!"
They immediately bowed respectfully.
"You two have great potential to advance further. The Lord of the Nation places high expectations upon you."
"Do not let him down. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The two responded with utmost respect.
The giant's eyes swept coldly over the others.
"As for the rest of you, don't get your hopes up."
At once, several among the young geniuses clenched their fists tightly.
But the giant ignored their reactions entirely.
"Enough. Let's move out."
He turned and strode forward.
The geniuses could only grit their teeth and follow, this was the reality of the universe.
...
Soon after, the thousand geniuses of Qianwu Cosmic Nation, under the lead of the armored giant, were transported simultaneously to a newly created realm within the Virtual Universe.
It was a vast continent.
The geniuses of Qianwu Cosmic Nation were assigned to Building No. 0825.
"Look! That's the team from Qianwu Cosmic Nation!"
"That wild-looking brute must be the Savage, right?"
"Wait, who's that standing next to him?"
"That's the Blade Emperor!"
"They say the Blade Emperor has the highest chance of winning this tournament."
"He can perform Ten Thousand Threads Flow, splitting into thousands of after images!"
"He's terrifyingly strong!"
Hearing the discussion, many from other cosmic nations turned to look.
The other geniuses from Qianwu Cosmic Nation felt indignant that no one mentioned them.
After Lord Thirteen brought everyone to Building No. 0825, he handed out identification numbers and dismissed them.
Then, Thirteen made his way alone to a restaurant.
Inside, one could feel the terrifying aura emanating from each being seated there.
Some exuded a chill that could freeze one's soul at a glance.
Some radiated heat that could scorch the eyes upon contact.
Others had an overwhelming presence, as if a planet itself pressed down upon you.
"Thirteen!"
"Ah, Thirteen's here!"
Thirteen nodded to them and casually took a seat beside one of the others.
"Thirteen, your Qianwu Cosmic Nation's Luo Fan, he's already become famous across the universe."
"Looks like this Cosmic Genius Battle's champion is as good as his."
Thirteen didn't bother to be humble.
"This time, we're indeed lucky."
"Our Lord of the Nation also has great hopes for Luo Fan."
"Still, your cosmic nation has produced a fine talent too. And there's also Bolan from the Noah Cosmic Nation."
"Bolan truly is a monster, one of those once-in-ten-thousand-eras geniuses."
At that, the Immortal leading the Noah Cosmic Nation's team sighed softly.
"Ah, what a pity."
"If not for Luo Fan, Bolan would have undoubtedly been the champion."
"Yes. For someone at the Star level to already grasp the Space Law to such a degree, there's even a faint chance he could one day become a Venerable."
"But to think, this time, there are two such geniuses in the same tournament."
"Bolan was simply born in the wrong era."
"With his talent and strength, he could have easily taken first place in almost any other Cosmic Genius Battle. But now, it's a pity he has to face Luo Fan."
At that moment, everyone couldn't help but feel regret on Bolan's behalf.
Although both Bolan and Luo Fan could create thousands of after images with Ten Thousand Threads Flow, these Immortals could clearly see that Luo Fan's blade power far surpassed Bolan's attack strength.
Just how talented was Bolan?
Even among World Masters.
To reach the fourth layer of Ten Thousand Threads Flow, one of the most difficult techniques of the Space Origin Law, was one in ten thousand!
If even World Masters could scarcely reach that level, imagine how terrifying it was for a mere Star-level youth to achieve it.
After all, a World Master's law comprehension speed increased by hundreds or even thousands of times.
Yet even so, many World Masters couldn't match the two of them in Space Law comprehension.
That was what it meant to be a once-in-ten-thousand-eras genius.
"Hey, speaking of which, have any of you noticed that Luo Fan's blade technique seems… off?"
"Indeed. It resembles the secret technique paired with the Tide God Blade, but the original Tide God Blade method isn't nearly that powerful."
Everyone turned their gaze toward Thirteen.
Seeing this, Thirteen didn't bother to hide it.
"You all… know the Tideblade King, don't you?"
"Hiss—!"
"It's him? No wonder."
"Then Bolan's loss wasn't undeserved."
Instantly, everyone present understood.
Among the Human Race's titled Immortals, there weren't that many Kings, and these were all close to their respective Lords of the Cosmic Nations.
They were familiar, at least by name, with most titled Immortals, especially the powerful ones.
And the Tideblade King was one of the absolute top among titled Immortals.
...
By evening.
While Luo Fan was resting in his room, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"All participants from the 1,008 Cosmic Nations, assemble at the Central Plaza."
Before he could react, Luo Fan found himself already standing up, leaving his room, and heading for the plaza.
It wasn't just him, every other genius did the same.
The moment they heard the voice, they all instinctively stopped what they were doing and began walking toward the Central Plaza on their own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonus chapters every 200 Power Stone!
10, 20, 30 Advanced chapters in my Patreon!
patreon.com/hollyrisk