Chapter 80

Chapter 80

“The top three in the world zone must be geniuses who’ve crossed the Principle threshold!”
“The top hundred include prodigies who’ve begun grasping fragments of the Principle!”
“With a Ninefold Domain, as long as you’re cautious, you’re guaranteed a spot in the top thousand—perhaps even the top five hundred!”
“In the first few days of the preliminaries, don’t waste time fighting. It’s exhausting and yields few points. Wait until day eight to ten—the last twenty days are when points surge the fastest!”
“That’s all I’ll say. Good luck to you all.”

With sixty seconds left, Jiang Zhe gave final instructions, his piercing gaze lingering on Lei Shen.
“Haha, I know! I won’t go overboard,” Lei Shen replied, scratching his bald head with a sheepish grin. He’d been planning to dive into the chaos from the start.

“Luo Feng, your cultivation time is too short. This Genius Tournament will last three to four years—this is your final chance for Metamorphosis. Plan carefully.” Jiang Zhe turned to Hong. “You’re the most composed among us. Your only limit now is your grasp of the Light Principle. Push harder!”

Amid the ocean of competitors, the four exchanged glances.
“Good luck!” Luo Feng smiled.
“Let’s pass the preliminaries together,” Lei Shen said, his tone unusually solemn.
“Fight well!” Hong added with his signature calm smile.

“3…2…1—Transmission!”

The universal language of the cosmos echoed in the ears of 80 billion souls. In an instant, every person on the continent vanished.

In the Virtual Universe, one hundred isolated worlds each received 8.2 billion participants. The preliminaries had begun.

…

World Zone 99.

Jiang Zhe’s vision blurred, then clarified after a few seconds. Sunlight bathed the sky. Sea breezes carried a salty tang, and the soft sand beneath his feet confirmed he stood on a beach. Coconut trees and shrubs stretched ahead, while behind him, the endless ocean faded into distant islands.

“Such immense gravity!” Jiang Zhe stretched, adapting. “No wonder Earth is like a marble among the universe’s habitable planets.”

He glanced at the armband on his wrist. A screen projected messages from the organizers:

Competitor: Jiang Zhe (Bize Star)
Points: 0
Rank: Unranked
World Zone: 99th World Zone
Time: Preliminaries last 30 days. Final rankings determine winners based on points at the deadline.

Notes:
World Zone 99 simulates the Azure Blue Planet of the Qianwu Cosmic Nation’s reality. Total area: 19 million square kilometers. Contains 87 large islands, 54% land. Hardness of structures, terrain, and vegetation: B9-grade.

Point System: …
Ranking Rules: …
Warning: Each competitor has one life. Death halts the preliminaries and halves your points.

Jiang Zhe sat cross-legged on the sand, reading the data. His frown deepened.

“Only 87 islands across two million square kilometers?”
“Each island averages 120,000–130,000 square kilometers—like my old world’s Fujian Province. Yet each must host nearly a billion competitors? Population density: 300–600 per square kilometer?”

He glanced up. Distant skies swarmed with fighters, and the jungle echoed with explosions. Several streaks of light approached him.

A shadow darted from the bushes behind him, a blade that drank in light flashing toward his back.

“Your points are mine!” a rasping voice hissed.

The dagger plunged into his skull—only for the seated figure to dissolve into mist.

The assassin’s eyes widened. “An illusion? His speed—”

“A Mirage. You’re too slow.”

“Erk—!”

The assassin looked down at a hand bursting from her chest, the Wrathful Ape Pattern on its dark purple gauntlet glistening with blood. Her vision dimmed, disbelief etched on her face.

Jiang Zhe withdrew his arm, flicking off the blood. The armband screen updated:

Points: 1 | Rank: 695,948,864

“Patience. Let the pigs fatten first. Find a base, then strike in ten days.”

He walked into the jungle, bypassing his Mistshadow Shuttle. Those reckless enough to approach him were vaporized by lightning arcs orbiting his form.

Huisuo’s Hand, First Form: Celestial Retribution!

Though inferior to the Controller’s Nine Divine Weapons, it was still peerless at this level.

The world’s gravity limited his Mental Energy to a 1,000-meter radius. Any Stellar-class fool entering his perimeter died instantly.

Scouting revealed the rules: a barrier capped the sky at 9,000 meters, the ocean depths at 1,000 meters. The civilization was medieval, no technology.

After claiming a riverside stilt house untouched by competitors, Jiang Zhe settled in. His lightning arcs deterred all intruders.

Over ten days, the area became a no-go zone. Competitors dubbed him “Lightning Emperor,” a name spreading quietly.

He spent ten days cultivating Tower of Void, building a three-layered mental fortress in his Consciousness Ocean—a Cosmic-level soul defense!

His willpower could sustain more layers, but his Stellar Ninth Stage body limited his Mental Energy. Still, it was monstrous. Even in the final tournament, no Mentalist could breach his mind.

Points: 10,223 | Rank: 92,456

“Time to move. I’ll claim my guaranteed spot in World Zone 99!”

Suddenly, his brow twitched. Dozens of powerful auras encircled him.

His isolation had bred rebellion. Competitors knew the stilt house harbored a tyrant who let them grow… before reaping them.

Some fled the island. Others formed a coalition.

Thirty-eight competitors surged toward the stilt house, unleashing Mental Strength Weapons and Primordial Force attacks.

Crackling lightning erupted. A dark purple Domain engulfed them, crushing pressure sealing their fates.

“Mental Strength Weapons—annihilated! Primordial Force—dispersed!” a voice screamed. “This is a Principle! He’s fused Law Comprehension into his Domain!”

“Flee! He’s top hundred material!”

Jiang Zhe descended on his Mistshadow Shuttle, forty phantom clones swirling. Nine lightning arcs blurred through the crowd, shattering skulls.

A Qianwu Cosmic Nation genius, recognizing his Temporal Echo Technique, roared in disbelief. “Time Law? Why is this monster unranked?!”

Above the stilt house, the battle shocked onlookers. Dozens of clones, none knew which was real. In seconds, survivors scattered.

Jiang Zhe retracted his Domain, checking his screen:

Points: 1,690,034 | Rank: 892

“Late strikes pay best. Killing strong foes nets millions.”

…

Bize Star, a second-tier administrative world under Qianwu’s Cosmic Nation, managed dozens of sectors. Its superiors were nine first-tier worlds governing thousands of systems.

Jiang Zhe held Qianwu citizenship, so officials registered him under Bize—like Luo Feng’s ties to Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

In a luxurious starship hall sat thousands—Bize’s rulers and subordinates, including elites surpassing Black Dragon’s emperor in rank.

“Congratulations, Star Lord!”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end