"Hahaha, that is true as well."
While those great Immortal beings were engaged in their lofty discussions, the remaining geniuses had already received the rules for the final decisive battle.
"What?!"
"Our rankings will be directly determined by the Virtual Universe Company?"
"Why?!"
The moment they saw the rules, the previously quiet square erupted into an uproar.
"Hmm?"
Amid the endless clamoring, Jiang Li remained silent.
According to the rules established by the Virtual Universe Company, the peerless geniuses ranked within the top 100 based on their Trial Points would be matched against another 100 geniuses selected from those who had passed the three rounds of decisive battles. They would fight one-on-one to determine their rankings in the second round.
As for those other 100 geniuses, they would be directly selected by the Virtual Universe Company and would not need to participate in any further battles.
"I refuse to accept this!"
"Apart from the Great Demon King 'Jiang Li,' even against the God of Death 'Bolan,' I have the strength to fight him! Why won't you give me the chance to challenge them?"
"That's right! I refuse to accept this too!"
One after another, the geniuses who had been eliminated glared furiously, their faces filled with unwillingness and resentment.
Seeing this scene, the Immortal beings in the distance immediately released terrifying auras.
The peerless geniuses who had been excluded from their respective factions were instantly suppressed to their knees.
"Shut up!"
"Do you think the Virtual Universe Company is something you can question?"
The terrifying pressure immediately made those eight hundred geniuses struggle to breathe, let alone continue voicing their objections.
At this moment, the ethereal voice of Nine Sword Venerable rang out once again.
"If you refuse to accept it, you can withdraw from the Virtual Universe Company right now."
"Our Virtual Universe Company will never make things difficult for you!"
After leaving behind those words, Nine Sword Venerable departed without a trace.
"Huff…"
"Huff…"
"Huff…"
One by one, the peerless geniuses gasped for breath.
Although their eyes were filled with unwillingness, none of them dared to vent their anger any further.
The Universe Human Race's Peak Genius Battle had been organized by the Virtual Universe Company in the first place. Naturally, the final decision-making authority belonged to the Virtual Universe Company.
They might desperately desire talented individuals, but they still needed to have the capital to be selective!
"You want to make people look at you differently?"
Among the Immortal powerhouses, a burly figure dressed in black with fiery red hair swept his cold gaze across the eight hundred geniuses and sneered.
"Then catch up to him first…"
As he spoke, he pointed toward Jiang Li with one slender finger.
"Little fellows, remember this!"
"The Universe Human Race's Peak Genius Battle has been held countless times. Unless you possess the ability to break the records…"
"Don't become too full of yourselves!"
"You are nothing more than a group of promising seedlings who happened to perform well in this particular edition!"
One after another, the Immortal beings criticized them without the slightest mercy.
They knew very well that geniuses were often confident to the point of arrogance. Some even became conceited because of their outstanding achievements.
But most of them eventually fell because of that very arrogance.
Therefore, suffering a setback now was not necessarily a bad thing.
Even Jiang Li, despite his terrifying performance, had still failed to truly make those great existences above the Universe Venerable level scramble to recruit him.
The reason was still the same…
The road ahead was simply too difficult!
Inside the elegant courtyard on the first floor of Building No. 0825.
Jiang Li, Luo Feng, Rong Jun, and Hong gathered together.
It was worth mentioning that, through his performance in combining the Laws of Light with the Law of Time, Hong had been selected by the Virtual Universe Company as one of the final 200 geniuses.
"I never thought I would actually make it this far."
Hong sighed with emotion.
According to his teacher, Luo Jun Master, it would already have been a miracle if Hong had managed to break into the top ten thousand.
"Perhaps Jiang Li had something to do with it…"
Although Rong Jun hoped to challenge Jiang Li, his desire was one born from healthy competition.
The same applied to Luo Feng.
Although losing to Rong Jun in the arena decisive battle seemed like a humiliation to Luo Feng, in reality, it served more as motivation.
Otherwise, he would never have broken through his limits again and again over the course of two years, walking through countless life-and-death trials to reach where he was today.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Jiang Li shook his head and looked toward Hong.
"Your talent as the Pavilion Master was never inferior to ours. You simply had to feel your way across the river by yourself all this time. Now that you have systematic training methods, your rise is only a matter of time!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Feng also nodded firmly.
For people like Jiang Li and himself, there had always been a clear path to follow ever since they stepped onto the path of martial warriors.
But what about Hong?
Relying solely on himself, he had created his own spear techniques, comprehended his own movement technique, and even improved various other cultivation methods.
He truly possessed the bearing of a grandmaster of an entire generation.
Very soon, the Virtual Universe Company's arrangements were announced.
Jiang Li's first opponent turned out to be the Illusory Demon, Galaxi, whom many of the Immortal beings had extremely high hopes for.
Galaxi did not express any opinion regarding this arrangement.
Instead, the other geniuses who had failed to qualify for the final decisive battles were extremely excited.
"Looks like this Galaxi is already destined to suffer a defeat!"
"Not necessarily. Galaxi specializes in the soul path. In all three battles, he defeated his opponents through soul suppression. His actual combat ability is extremely powerful!"
"That's right. His ranking in the Trial Tower was low because the warriors of the Tuo Luo Race are pure metal lifeforms. They don't even have souls!"
"He was defeated there precisely because of that!"
At this moment.
The enormous square was once again filled with a thousand peerless geniuses.
When Nine Sword Venerable appeared, everyone slightly bowed.
"Greetings, Nine Sword Venerable!"
"Mm."
"Are you all ready?"
"Then let's begin!"
Nine Sword Venerable, clad in blue battle robes, looked down upon the crowd.
With a casual wave of his hand, 100 enormous arenas instantly appeared across the square.
Each arena was surrounded by strange rays of light.
At the same time, the 200 peerless geniuses participating in the battles, including Jiang Li, were directly teleported into the arenas.
Jiang Li was placed in the arena at the very center.
His opponent was none other than the black-robed figure known as the Illusory Demon, Galaxi, whose eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
At this moment, the powerful Immortal beings, as well as the geniuses who had failed to qualify for the battles, had almost all focused their attention on the central arena.
On the arena.
Jiang Li remained dressed in white as he hovered in midair.
"The 'Great Demon King' Jiang Li?"
"First in his world region, first in the Trial Rankings, hailed as the most dazzling peerless genius of the past countless eras…"
Galaxi's eyes fell upon Jiang Li.
The corners of his mouth curled into a cold, ruthless arc.
He spoke indifferently.
"Unfortunately, beneath the pressure of the soul, all Law techniques are completely useless!"
As he spoke, an invisible yet vast surge of soul power suddenly erupted from Galaxi's eyes.
It directly slammed into Jiang Li's consciousness.
"What you said…"
Facing the invasion of his soul, Jiang Li's eyes narrowed slightly.
With a faint smile, he said,
"Is absolutely correct!"
Immediately afterward—
Mental force, vast and violent like raging waves, suddenly swept outward.
In an instant, Galaxi, who had been completely confident just moments ago, underwent a drastic change in expression.
"Impossible!!!"
He specialized in the soul.
Ever since he had embarked upon the martial path, he had relied on his incomparably powerful soul strength to crush every genius of the same level.
His disadvantage in the Trial Tower was purely due to the one-sided nature of his weakness.
But in one-on-one decisive battles, among the 7,200 peerless geniuses, Galaxi was practically the only one who possessed an overwhelming advantage and displayed an unmatched bearing!
If he lost in other areas, it would be completely understandable.
But this was different!
The soul was the path he specialized in.
It was his strongest domain.
To lose here—
He was unwilling to accept it!
BOOM!
A counter-surge of soul power instantly overwhelmed Galaxi's mental force.
Following that, an incomparably vast pressure invaded his consciousness.
This was a suppression that completely transcended their levels.
Galaxi was instantly forced to his knees.
His gaze gradually became vacant, and his lips trembled faintly as he muttered something…
Everyone watching could easily make out the words.
Every single one was filled with unwillingness.
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