Chapter 85: [Hundred Shadow Domain]!

Chapter 85: [Hundred Shadow Domain]!

"Mr. Jiang Zhe, this way please."

Following the guidance of a Cosmic Level official, Jiang Zhe entered a spacious plaza surrounded by lush greenery.

Many candidates who had secured spots were already gathered here.

"The Lightning Emperor is here."

"Is his real name truly Jiang Zhe?"

"They call him the Lightning Emperor. My master said that if nothing unexpected happens, he'll definitely be among the top two in this Genius Tournament - someone we can only look up to."

Jiang Zhe had dominated the qualifiers without continuing through later rounds, so no familiar faces greeted him here. While he nodded politely at those who acknowledged him, his focus remained on finding Luo Feng and their companions.

Luo Feng, who knew many people, was exchanging greetings with several participants. When Jiang Zhe approached, he was deep in conversation with Rong Jun, making plans to challenge each other during peak matches.

Seeing Jiang Zhe, the broad-shouldered wild man Rong Jun's eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "Lightning Emperor! These past four years you haven't stagnated, right? I truly hope to clash with you - don't disappoint me!"

Jiang Zhe smiled. "Reach the top five and we'll definitely cross paths. I'll be waiting."

"Deal!" The fire in Rong Jun's eyes burned brighter.

Suddenly...

An invisible oppressive force blanketed the plaza as a towering figure clad in scale armor and a battle helmet strode forward - the divine general Shisan, who would lead this Genius Tournament.

After using Jiang Zhe, Rong Jun, and Luo Feng as examples to humiliate several arrogant geniuses, Shisan led the thousand prodigies from the Qianwu Cosmic Nation forward.

They were transported to a new realm created by the Virtual Universe.

Before them stretched a vast road lined with 1008 towering buildings arranged in a ring. At the center stood a magnificent plaza, as large as an entire Earth city, easily capable of holding a million people.

A middle-aged man in white robes informed Shisan that the Qianwu Cosmic Nation delegation had been assigned to Building 0825.

Without hesitation, Shisan led his group flying toward the distant structure.

"That handsome young man with the unassuming, rock-solid aura - that's the Lightning Emperor!"

"He's incredibly strong! He can leave dozens of phantom images. My master said he's definitely hiding his strength. He's a serious contender for first place!"

"And next to him - that tall wild man is Rong Jun. He's a guaranteed early qualifier!"

...

Other Cosmic Nations' prodigies whispered among themselves while watching Qianwu's group from afar.

The Qianwu geniuses exchanged quiet conversations too, their minds set on proving their worth with fierce determination.

Inside the lobby of Building 0825, Shisan distributed numbered tags before dismissing everyone. He then strode away.

Jiang Zhe received #1, Rong Jun #2, Luo Feng #3, while Lei Shen and Hong were assigned numbers beyond 500.

After greeting familiar faces, Jiang Zhe returned to his quarters first.

...

On the central plaza spanning city-like proportions, 99 grand dining halls stood. Hall #1 was reserved for the immortal mentors.

"Shisan!"

"Shisan has arrived!"

Immortals clad in scale armor greeted the giant Shisan, who nodded in return.

"Shisan! Your Qianwu Cosmic Nation has produced a genius named Jiang Zhe? He can leave dozens of temporal echoes - his comprehension of higher principles rivals Domain Lords. He'll definitely take first place, won't he? Ha! Your nation certainly has good fortune!"

A friendly immortal patted Shisan's shoulder in advance congratulations.

Others weren't so convinced. "Perhaps top two, but first place? Have you forgotten my Nuoya Cosmic Nation's young prodigy? From battle records we've collected, his comprehension of upper laws surpasses Jiang Zhe's."

"It might appear slightly inferior, but who can predict the outcome in actual combat?"

Shisan shook his head, his tone measured but intrigued. "Saifula, maybe first place will emerge from either your or my delegation. Care to make a wager?"

"A gamble? Count me in! I'm backing Nuoya's prodigy!"

"Me too! I'll bet on their young genius!"

"These two young men are both exceptional... Shisan, there are no outsiders here. Share some insider information with us."

"Right, Shisan! Just how strong has that boy become after four years? Give us an accurate assessment so we can place our bets."

"Don't you care about his use of mental strength weapons? Has the Youmeng Cosmos Nation's mentor arrived? Maybe they know some inside information about this boy's situation?"

"Yalis isn't here yet."

...

Hundreds of thousands of prodigies gathered on the central plaza.

Jiang Zhe declined Luo Feng's suggestion to go sightseeing, unwilling to be gawked at like a sideshow exhibit.

Standing by the window, he gazed at the distant plaza where countless prodigies passionately discussed this tournament's "seeds."

Without mid-journey deaths, these might become a million immortals - perhaps thousands of Marquis-Level, hundreds of King-Level, and maybe one or two Sages.

Such was the universe's brutal reality!

Without superior fortune or game-breaking power, even the most brilliant geniuses would eventually fade into mediocrity, becoming mere background characters.

Jiang Zhe raised his wine glass toward his reflection in the glass, draining the deep crimson liquid in one gulp.

In Hall #1.

As time passed, all 1008 mentor immortals arrived, casually chatting with acquaintances on the first and second floors.

Though no actual gambling ring formed, conversations still revolved around Jiang Zhe and Bolan.

"These two achieved stellar comprehension of two upper origin laws at the Stellar Class. Perhaps in a hundred eras... they could become Space Sage or Time Sage."

"Overestimating them."

"Exactly. Immortals cultivate for billions of years without reaching 'Sage' status. These two still have a long way to go."

"One can't physically teleport through space, the other can't freeze time. Let's discuss Sage status when they achieve those feats."

Mentioning "Time/Space Sage" triggered defensive reactions from immortals, who began criticizing these young prodigies harshly.

Suddenly, hearty laughter echoed through the plaza. Everyone recognized the tournament host had arrived and fell silent in respect.

At dusk.

A voice invaded everyone's consciousness, summoning them from all directions to the plaza. They formed a massive formation.

In midair before them appeared a man in an azure battle robe with purple scales on his head, radiating an aura that demanded submissiveness.

The Genius Tournament host - a former champion from hundreds of thousands of eons ago, now the Space Sage who surpassed all - Nine Sword Sage!

After announcing the final selection rules, Nine Sword Sage departed immediately.

At dawn the next day.

Everyone woke early, waiting in their building's lobby for teleportation. Soon, a crisp, melodious voice chimed in.

"Hong, Lei Shen, Luo Feng - let's give it our all until the end!"

"Together!"

"Fight hard!"

"No regrets!"

The Earth quartet stood shoulder to shoulder, exchanging determined glances and encouraging pats on the back.

Boom!

A strange force enveloped the entire realm. All participants were transported away.

...

In the cosmic void, a massive rectangular asteroid spanning nearly a hundred kilometers floated in space.

Seven Trial Towers stood upon it, each over ten kilometers tall, occupying several kilometers in diameter. Like colossal mountains, they stood at different positions across the asteroid.

Jiang Zhe checked his wrist, where a screen of light and shadow displayed:

"Participant: Jiang Zhe (Qianwu Cosmic Nation)

Points: 0

Rank: Unranked

Current Trial Space: #0000001.

First Trial Tower..."

...

The trial would end when all participants perished, determining the final rankings.

Below were detailed rules and point systems for clearing Trial Towers. Jiang Zhe skimmed through, finally focusing on the trial space number.

"Number one? Could Virtual Universe consider me stronger than Bolan? They gave me Trial Space #1?"

"Good buddy, you've got taste. I won't disappoint you!"

Smiling, Jiang Zhe's Primordial Force Battle Armor transformed into a dark purple battle suit. Left hand wearing Huisuo's Hand, feet on the Mistshadow Shuttle, he flew into the Trial Tower marked "#1."

First Tower, First Floor: 10,000 Blood Wool Mammoths!

Cleared in under ten minutes!

First Tower, Second Floor: 10,000 Nine-Headed Pythons!

Cleared in about ten minutes!

First Tower, Third Floor: 1000 Toluo Race Metallic Lifeforms!

Cleared in five minutes!

...

Metallic Lifeforms were tough, but fewer enemies meant faster kills for Jiang Zhe.

The sixth tower's first floor only featured Domain-level opponents, while the seventh tower's first floor could use principle attacks - individual strength rivaling top 100 participants.

His killing speed would only slow at the fourth or fifth tower.

Trial Towers inherently favored Mentalist Controllers, with eight of the top ten rankings typically belonging to them.

Even if Bolan was strong, in terms of speed, he was far behind Jiang Zhe.

...

A day later.

Second Tower, Fourth Floor: 1000 Fei Hu beasts.

Furry three-eyed lions with wings, low intelligence, easily outmaneuvered by Jiang Zhe's phantoms.

Nine three-foot lightning beams flashed through the air, quickly eliminating them all.

...

Third Tower, Fifth Floor: 100 Mechanical Race puppets.

Compared to his E9-Grade Mechanical Puppet, these were laughably inferior. Silver Robe Yuan Shen had dismantled countless Mechanical Puppets during training, so Jiang Zhe knew their weaknesses intimately.

Activating his Domain of Shadowed Echoes, he dodged railgun fire with unpredictable movements. Beams of three-foot lightning pierced their chests, shattering their control memory cores.

...

Fourth Tower, Sixth Floor: 10 Star Sky Beasts named Cang.

High intelligence, immense power, terrifying speed and attacks. Even human warriors of equal or higher rank hesitated to confront them directly. But they had one glaring weakness - their massive size!

Especially against a nimble Controller, this weakness became fatal.

Their 200-meter-long bodies became Jiang Zhe's moving targets. On average, every half minute, another Cang beast exploded, its head completely shattered.

...

Fifth Tower, Seventh Floor: One Xenomorph Queen!

A forty-story-high insect hive continuously spawning 3000 mantis-like Qing Tang creatures in three waves. A second wave would emerge in twenty minutes.

Would Jiang Zhe let it survive twenty minutes?

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Exactly one hundred Temporal Echo Techniques appeared, forming the "Hundred Shadow Domain" stage of Domain of Shadowed Echoes.

This stage mirrored the "One Line Flow", "Nine Line Flow", "Hundred Line Flow" progression of the Myriad Lines Flow secret technique.

Each phantom carried unique principle fluctuations, enhancing movement efficiency with increasingly unpredictable maneuvers.

Nine lightning beams danced around him, appearing and disappearing like ghosts. In moments, 3000 Qing Tangs lay slaughtered.

The Xenomorph Queen personally attacked, piercing Jiang Zhe's mind with sharp mental energy. But it couldn't shake his three-tier pagoda.

Jiang Zhe raised his hand. Nine lightning beams pierced the hive, turning it into a bloody fireworks display.

...

In the Virtual Universe's central plaza surrounded by 1008 buildings, the 1008 immortal mentors sat together, their full attention on Jiang Zhe's performance.

Now that he was entering the sixth Trial Tower, the real spectacle would begin.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end