Becoming the Lord God from Devouring

Chapter 123 The Path of the Strongest: The Battle of the Eighth Round
The preliminary rounds, which had been held with a thousand participants, quickly progressed to the round of sixteen to eight.

Among these sixteen finalists, there is clearly a distinction between strong and weak levels.

Wu Hao is in the top tier. He currently holds a commanding lead over the other contestants, and so far no contestant has been able to hold his own for even a second.

The best performer was Karanga, whom Wu Hao encountered again in the top 64. After fighting Wu Hao in the previous selection competition, Karanga's understanding of the Earth element law had increased even more.

In the round of 64, he actually withstood his divine judgment for a full 0.75 seconds before finally being killed by the sword light.

Apart from that, no one else has been able to exceed 0.5 seconds.

As the competition progressed, Wu Hao could feel the fighting spirit of each player more and more. The players looked at him without any fear, but with endless fighting spirit.

However, Wu Hao did not feel any excitement about this fighting spirit, simply because the gap between their strength and Wu Hao's was still too great.

The second tier of players consists of five individuals: 'Dragon' Bruno, 'Fantasy Fairy' Irene, 'Barbarian King' Daryl, 'Falcon' Black, and 'Bloody Hand' Howell.

These five are evenly matched based on their respective opponents, and until they actually fight each other, no one knows who is stronger.

Next up are the third tier of contestants, including 'Viper' Elena, 'Magic Vine' Anlin, 'Pharmacist' Nader, and 'Eagle Claw' Pengming, who are slightly weaker than the previous ones.

However, Wu Hao only paid attention to Eileen and Bloodhand; he didn't take the rest seriously.

Eileen was immune because she didn't understand illusions enough and didn't know exactly how strong her resistance was, while Bloodhand was immune because of his fighting style.

Bloodhand fights using only his bare hands, without using any weapons. Wu Hao wanted to have a hand-to-hand battle with him to test his Saiyan bloodline's fighting racial talent.

Soon the quarterfinal matchups appeared on the big screen. Wu Hao scanned the screen from top to bottom and saw the opponents assigned to each player.

The first match was Bruno vs. Anlin, the second match was Irene vs. Elena, the third match was Darleil vs. Pengming, and the fourth match was Howell vs. Tuka...

Wu Hao was assigned to the seventh match against the pharmacist Nader, who is a gene-matching pharmacist who specializes in concocting various poisons and gene-enhancing drugs.

The fact that a pharmacist could make it to the top 16 already speaks volumes about his ability.

The match began quickly, with the first match being between Demon Dragon Bruno and Demon Vine Anlin. These two players, known for their madness and bloodshed, were surprisingly scheduled to face off in the first match.

Wu Hao was very curious about who would win the fight between the two.

It should be noted that the contestants who can enter the top 16 are already geniuses among geniuses in all the human worlds of the stellar level. Each of them has their own trump cards that they have not yet used.

Now, in this final showdown between the strongest teams, whose trump card is truly the strongest?

Soon, the Demon Dragon Bruno stepped onto the arena, and opposite him was the Demon Vine Anlin. The two faced each other and looked at each other. Anlin actually smiled and said, "Demon Dragon Bruno, I didn't expect that the plant life I prepared for Wu Hao, the Light of Despair, would have to be used on you first."

Bruno scoffed dismissively: "You're a useless piece of trash who relies on external things. It doesn't matter what kind of plant you use; it won't change the fact that you're destined to lose the game!"

"Hmph, you won't say that when I entangle you with my Star-Eating Grass and devour you!" An Lin roared instantly, "Cloud Vine Armor, Star-Eating Grass, attack! Kill him!"

The two stellar-level ninth-tier plants immediately obeyed their master's command and began to entwine themselves around Bruno.

"A mere stellar-level plant life form, stay in the top sixteen!" Bruno's dragon horn spear instantly formed a whirlwind, cutting through the tendrils of the Cloud Vine and the entanglement of the Star-Eating Grass.

Each swing of the Dragon Horn Spear emitted a soul-stirring dragon roar, the sound of which suppressed the Cloud Vine and Star-Eating Grass, preventing them from fully strangling them and causing them to be constantly cut by the whirlwind.

However, the 'sacrifice' of the two plants also delayed Bruno's attack, giving their master, Anlin, an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

"Die!" An Lin used his mental power to control dozens of fine needles, stabbing them all over Bruno's body.

However, at this critical moment, Bruno suddenly manifested eight phantom gods, blocking all the surrounding attacks and rushing towards An Lin.

"The fundamental laws of space have been comprehended to such a high level?" An Lin was shocked. At the same time, he released his earth element law, and four figures appeared in the air to interfere with Bruno's attack.

"Game over, spatial blast!" Bruno roared, gathering a large amount of spatial power from his body and combining it with the whirlwind. In conjunction with the wind domain and the spatial domain, he created a mixed storm with a wide coverage area.

The storm, carrying the laws of wind and space, directly surrounded and killed An Lin's two plant life forms and his four phantom gods.

Bruno wins and advances to the quarterfinals!

Watching the match, Wu Hao couldn't help but nod. Bruno's comprehension of the laws of space and wind had reached a very deep level. It was just a pity that his attack speed and power were not up to standard for Wu Hao, so he could not pose a threat to him.

Next up is Eileen, whom Wu Hao is most interested in; she's the one whose match Wu Hao really wants to watch.

The moment the two entered the arena, Viper Elena's expression underwent an extremely subtle change.

Elena's strength is extremely mysterious and sinister; she is exceptionally skilled at using swift, surprise attacks to deliver a fatal blow to her enemies.

His understanding of the laws of light seems to have mutated. His field of light carries a huge amount of poison. If one is enveloped in it for too long, his limbs gradually become stiff and no longer obey the brain's commands.

"The match begins!" After the grand and majestic voice of the virtual universe broadcast rang out, Viper immediately rushed towards Eileen, attempting to kill her and prevent her from falling into the hallucination.

However, after running less than a kilometer, he suddenly froze on the spot, his eyes losing all color.

Eileen, on the other hand, walked slowly and deliberately toward Elena.

"Your dream is so beautiful, then go and die in your fantasy!"

Eileen used her mental power to manipulate a short blade, which then sliced ​​open Elena's neck.

"Match over! Eileen wins!"

Wu Hao watched this bizarre battle, still unable to figure out how the opponent used illusion magic, what emotions the illusion magic manipulated, or what the upper limit of its influence on willpower was.
Shaking his head, Wu Hao dismissed these thoughts. By the time he met Eileen, it would be the quarterfinals round-robin tournament, and he would need to prepare for the next battle. He also didn't know what surprises the apothecary might bring. The battles quickly came to an end. In the first six matches, aside from Barbarian King Darail's unexpected loss to Peng Ming, all the other matches were won by players predicted to be at least in the second tier of strength.

Finally, it was time for Wu Hao's battle against the pharmacist. He stepped onto the arena and looked at his opponent, nicknamed the pharmacist.

"Hello, Wu Hao, the Light of Despair. I never expected to run into you in the top 16. I'm really not reconciled!" Nader's eyes were full of gloom, and the anger in his heart was almost ignited.

"Wu Hao, I am one of the strongest geniuses in the pharmacist lineage of the Virtual Universe Company. At the planetary level, I have developed several bloodline evolution potions, earning the company millions of Chaos Units. The company wants me to continue down this path and has even promised to use resources to help me achieve Immortality or even higher!"

"But I'm not reconciled!" he roared furiously. "I clearly have the talent for combat, which could lead me to the path of a powerful being. Why should I be tied to a dead-end profession like becoming a pharmacist!"

Wu Hao did not answer. He believed that one's own destiny and future should indeed be in one's own hands, rather than following a path chosen for one by others.

But the path one chooses depends on one's abilities; the world doesn't give you a choice. In his previous life, Wu Hao had the opportunity to choose during the college entrance examination. As long as he scored high enough, he could choose the destiny he wanted.

The opportunities to choose your path in this life lie in the Cosmic Genius Battle and the internal company selection process. You must have enough talent and an absolute understanding of the laws to walk the path you want to take.

Nader's words here are nothing more than the impotent rage of the weak; without absolute power, everything he says is wrong.

"Game start!"

As soon as the start of the match was announced at 0.0001 seconds, Wu Hao immediately rushed out, the laws of light and time frantically accelerating him, his speed reaching its limit.

With the eyes of an ordinary ninth-order star, one could only see a beam of light rushing toward him.

Light is so fast that no human can resist it.

"Divine Judgment!"

The lightsaber shone as brightly as the sun, spinning wildly and slicing, concentrating all its power into a single point.

The pharmacist could barely withstand it, and his body was about to be reduced to nothingness by the scorching light.

However, just as he was about to dissipate, his entire body suddenly turned into a large amount of blood mist, enveloping Wu Hao within it.

This was a trap he created using his entire body as a foundation. The words he just uttered were also his actions to mislead Wu Hao and make him lower his guard.

Now, only the head of the pharmacist Nader remains alive; the rest of his flesh and blood are corroding Wu Hao's body.

"Hahahaha, Light of Despair, you didn't expect this, did you? Ever since you first showed your talent, I've been thinking about how to deal with you. This move is specifically designed to target the flesh and blood virus of the virtual universe body. I've been hiding it until now before using it. I didn't expect it to actually catch you off guard!" Nader's remaining head laughed loudly, his victory practically written all over his face.

"Stop wasting your time struggling. As a martial artist, this virus targets flesh and blood, giving you absolutely no chance to resist!"

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Wu Hao, using his mental power to manipulate the Divine Light Sword, pierced through his head, ending the match.

In fact, for Wu Hao, this flesh-and-blood virus was not particularly pathogenic; he was simply caught off guard and tricked by the other party.

The Saiyan genes have already triggered the bloodline of a warrior race, causing their bodies to be strengthened several times over.

Unfortunately, a virtual body cannot be brought into the real world.

Wu Hao was teleported away from the arena, but he did not expect that his act of manipulating the Divine Light Sword with his mental power would cause a great reaction off the field.

You should know that Wu Hao, with his martial arts skills, is already an insurmountable mountain among all the contestants. Now you're telling me that he's also a mentalist?
No one believed that Wu Hao possessed stellar-level ninth-tier mental power without having cultivated the abilities of a mental master; they simply thought it was a hidden trump card.

After their respective matches ended, everyone was in a virtual space and couldn't communicate with each other. They couldn't analyze the situation together and could only treat Wu Hao as another mentalist.

After Wu Hao finished, the final battle broke out, and the competition determined the final eight.

After the quarterfinals, the semifinals will begin.

Wu Hao's opponent this time is the winner of the eighth group match, whose name is Bloodaxe Rice.
This person hasn't shown off much, yet they've managed to eliminate all sorts of geniuses and reach the top eight. They must have some real skills.

It's just a pity that this is a talent selection competition within the Virtual Universe Company, not a global talent recruitment war for the Virtual Universe Company.

The intervals between each competition are very short, which doesn't give many people a chance to grow. Often, it is a single defeat that determines their future fate.

Of course, such a selection process will inevitably cause the headquarters to miss many talented individuals who have been accumulating strength for a long time. However, it is not impossible for the Virtual Universe Company's branches to cultivate strong individuals. It's just that the cultivation resources they receive and the path to becoming strong individuals are much more difficult.

The semi-finals have begun as scheduled, and Wu Hao's match is still scheduled for later.

The four matches are as follows: the first match is between Demon Dragon Bruno and Illusion Fairy Irene; the second match is between Eagle Claw Black and Blood Hand Howell; the third match is between Giant Booth and Iron Ape Vance; and the fourth match is between Despair Light Wu Hao and Blood Axe Rice.

Of course, the most anticipated match of these four games is the one between Bruno and Erin. The outcome of their match will determine Wu Hao's opponent in the semifinals.

Their showdown can be considered a semi-final match in advance.

At this moment, all the strong individuals in the Virtual Universe Company who are watching this year's genius selection competition have reached a consensus: Wu Hao is absolutely the only champion this year.

What everyone wants to know is exactly where the limits of Wu Hao's power lie.

Is he a genius of tens of thousands of epochs or a genius of millions of epochs?

Judging from this selection battle alone, it seems that no one can force him to use his full strength.

Wu Hao's real opponents are not on the arena, but on the Tongtian Bridge in the future Chaos City. The opponents he will face on the Tongtian Bridge will only be those who have become King-level powerhouses or even Universe Venerables.

Only by standing shoulder to shoulder with them, or even surpassing them, can Wu Hao truly become a dazzling existence in the universe, gaining better resources and more support.

(End of this chapter)