At this moment, many of the more confident geniuses had desire and fervor flashing in their eyes.
Originally, they had thought that winning first place was impossible.
After all, everyone knew that the champion of this Cosmic Genius Battle would undoubtedly be Luo Fan.
Even without Luo Fan, there was still Berlan.
The two of them stood like twin mountains, blocking the path of all other geniuses.
But now, the rewards for the top three were identical.
That meant there was still one remaining spot, someone else could receive the same treatment as Luo Fan and Berlan.
Those who were confident in entering the top ten were now filled with battle intent, vowing to seize third place.
"Tomorrow will begin the arena finals to determine the final rankings."
The man in the cyan battle robe with violet scales spoke in a vast, ethereal voice that echoed in everyone's minds.
"The rules for the finals have already been transmitted to each of you. Rest well today."
Boom!
As soon as he finished, the man in the cyan robe disappeared. The 1,008 Immortals present began discussing among themselves.
They too were a little surprised that there were actually three available slots for the Primal Secret Realm this time.
But thinking of Luo Fan and Berlan's strength, they all understood.
At that moment, the geniuses also received the arena battle rules.
The Virtual Universe System would select two hundred contestants based on their previously displayed strength.
Winners would advance into the top one hundred.
The remaining eight hundred who were not chosen would directly enter the Doomsday Secret Realm.
The same process applied for the top ten, the system would pick twenty people.
The ten winners among them would enter the top ten.
Then, the last ten would fight each other to determine the top five.
The top five would then battle in a round-robin format.
Each victory would earn one point.
The three with the highest total scores would enter the Primal Secret Realm.
The rules were simple and brutal.
But soon, the geniuses began to protest.
Just like in the original event, those who voiced their dissent were instantly suppressed by the Immortals.
Luo Fan quietly watched from the side.
He knew that perhaps the rules seemed unfair.
But in truth, this was already considered lenient.
After all, the possibility of the Virtual Universe System making an error was extremely low.
And even if it was unfair, so what?
As the Immortals said, no one was forcing them to join.
Did they really think the Virtual Universe Company lacked geniuses?
To the higher-ups, geniuses were nothing but consumables.
Unless one was a once-in-a-trillion-years genius like Kedi.
Otherwise, even someone like Luo Fan meant little to the true upper echelons.
Soon, the geniuses dispersed.
…
The next day arrived quickly.
Early in the morning, the thousand geniuses gathered in the central plaza.
Suddenly, the man in the cyan battle robe with violet scales appeared in midair.
"Honored One!"
The 1,008 Immortals and the thousand geniuses immediately saluted.
"Mm."
The man nodded faintly.
"Today marks the official start of the arena finals."
"Within a single day, the top hundred, top ten, and top three will all be decided."
"Are you ready?"
"If you are, then let the final battle begin."
With a wave of his hand, a hundred arenas instantly appeared on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, two hundred contestants, including Luo Fan, Berlan, and Luo Feng appeared upon the platforms.
Luo Fan glanced around casually, then looked toward his opponent.
Standing across from him was a young man with green skin.
The instant the man saw Luo Fan, his expression changed drastically.
A look of utter despair appeared in his eyes.
His name was Kata.
Kata's Trial Tower ranking was 101st, an extremely high position.
He had narrowly missed entering the top hundred.
Because of that single spot, he had fought three exhausting arena matches just to make it this far.
If it were anyone else, Kata might still have had a chance.
But his opponent was Luo Fan.
Back in the Trial Tower, Luo Fan had been among the final few participants.
Kata had seen Luo Fan's trial recordings.
Luo Fan's strength filled him with hopelessness.
He had clawed his way here through blood and sweat, only to face Luo Fan as his final opponent.
"Begin!"
At the command, Kata was the first to attack.
He knew full well he couldn't withstand even a single strike from Luo Fan.
Gripping his long spear, he infused it with his Fire Domain, turning it crimson.
Terrifying heat radiated from the weapon as the Law of Fire intertwined around it.
"I'm a genius too! Die for me!"
A crazed look filled Kata's face as he thrust his spear with all his might.
Luo Fan's expression remained indifferent.
"Genius? That's merely the threshold to stand before me."
He lifted his hand slightly and flicked his finger.
A transparent blade of light shot out from his fingertip.
The invisible blade met the blazing spear head-on.
Boom!
The spear shattered instantly.
The blade continued forward, slicing Kata cleanly in half.
"Hiss."
The watching geniuses gasped sharply.
They knew Luo Fan was strong.
But few had ever personally witnessed his true power, most had never even entered the seventh Trial Tower, and barely anyone had reached the sixth.
Now, they finally understood.
Luo Fan hadn't even used the Tidal God Blade.
Just a flick of his finger, a single strand of blade light, and he killed a genius who had nearly reached the top hundred.
The audience was utterly stunned.
In truth, to Luo Fan, Kata wasn't even as strong as a Blood-Furred Mammoth from the seventh Trial Tower.
At least the mammoth's thick hide required him to use an actual blade.
…
"First of all, congratulations to those of you still standing on the arena platforms."
The man in the cyan robe hovered above, looking down at the hundred young men and women below.
"Congratulations on entering the top hundred. You now qualify to enter the Virtual Universe Company's 'Heaven and Earth Secret Realm.'"
"Now, we must choose the twenty strongest among you."
"According to the Virtual Universe System's selection, I'll announce the twenty names."
Upon hearing that, the hundred remaining contestants, all recent victors grew nervous.
Only twenty of them would earn the chance to compete for entry into the 'Initial Secret Realm.'
The rest would have to settle for the 'Heaven and Earth Secret Realm.'
Luo Fan quietly watched the Nine-Sword Honored One, unconcerned about not being chosen.
The man began reading the names.
"Luo Fan."
"Berlan."
"Luo Feng."
"Guslo."
"Aichen."
"Wuka."
"Yifeng."
"Galesi."
"Rong Jun."
…
As the names continued, those unmentioned couldn't hide their anxiety.
Each of them had won their matches, yet only twenty would proceed to the next stage.
"Qianshui."
"Bonar."
"Hong."
At that moment, Lei Shen... still standing on the platform showed a trace of dejection.
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