Swallowing the Stars: Starting from the Endless Dungeon

Chapter 86 The Battle of Geniuses Begins

"And this footwork manual, I've already practiced it. This is a handwritten copy, along with some of my cultivation experience. This footwork manual will be very useful for you. At a higher level, you can even cultivate an illusory body, which is absolutely top-notch for survival!"

Then, he handed over the "Thunder Flash" secret technique. This was something Su Jing had planned long ago. When he first obtained the Willpower Manual, he tried to record it so he could pass it on to his family. However, he discovered that the Willpower Manual could only be used by himself and could not be spoken or written down, just like Luo Feng's cultivation of the Nine Tribulations Manual in the original story. He immediately understood what was going on. This was a limitation imposed by the will of the primordial universe. The Willpower Manual was clearly not a secret technique that should exist in the primordial universe. The system rewarded him with it, which itself had already surpassed the will of the original universe. Only he could cultivate it. As long as he was still within the primordial universe, it could not be spread or spoken of, unless he also had the means of the Mountain Guest and the Heavenly Soul Crystal carrier. Even then, there would be layers of restrictions. So, after that, he did not try again. After all, with the limitation of the will of the primordial universe, other attempts were useless, unless he could one day transcend the primordial universe or leave the primordial universe. In that case, he would naturally not be subject to the restrictions.

Franka took the secret technique and began to read it. With the Lightning Fruit before him, the Domain Lord-level movement technique manual, though good, was still far inferior to it. Therefore, Franka readily accepted it. After all, secret techniques, unlike treasures, were meant to be shared and disseminated. However, he still felt a pang of regret. He remembered Su Jing's previous disappointment at his ineffective seclusion to improve his skills. In the blink of an eye, Su Jing was now confident and full of vigor. Although this power might come at a price, this was a more authentic way for his son to live. Thinking of this, Franka made up his mind to help Su Jing resolve the hidden dangers!

Because both of them were reserved and not good at expressing themselves, they had two completely different interpretations, leading to a big misunderstanding.

"This secret technique is considered top-tier even among domain lords. Its final level even touches upon the laws of nature. The one who created this secret technique must be a genius among domain lords."

Franka flipped through the records in the secret technique and couldn't help but sigh. It was fortunate that he hadn't looked through it carefully, otherwise he would have seen Su Jing's annotations and cultivation insights. In that case, he might have realized Su Jing's strength. After all, being able to cultivate the secret technique to such a high level was very different from what he had imagined.

After chatting for a while, the two stopped talking and stayed quietly together in the garden, maintaining the tranquility.

Ten days later, Su Jing emerged from the dungeon and couldn't help but sigh. He was so close, so very close, each time feeling like he was just a hair's breadth away from defeating Hector, but he just couldn't seem to get close enough. His comprehension over the past ten days had indeed slowed down considerably without the help of the Lightning Fruit. In addition, having already passed the initial threshold, the difficulty of comprehension was gradually increasing. He had made progress in the laws during these ten days, but it was still too slow. In fact, compared to other geniuses, this was definitely not slow!

Su Jing knew that this was because he had always relied on various treasures and opportunities in the past, which was why he felt his current speed had slowed down. But now, this was true enlightenment, and he would continue to comprehend the laws at this pace for a long time to come. After all, the laws were not like other things; slow comprehension was normal. Being able to comprehend the laws at the Hengxing level was already the mark of a genius among geniuses. He suppressed his impatience, patiently comprehended the laws little by little, and solidified his foundation. The height of the laws was determined by the foundation. Before, when he had no talent, he had tried to force himself to comprehend them in seclusion. Now that he had talent, he could feel them, so why rush? One must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Even if he was impatient now, it would be useless.

After adjusting his mindset, he prepared to begin comprehending the laws. In addition to not wasting real time in the dungeon, he also used it to comprehend the laws. Now that he had cultivated all the secret techniques in his hands to the highest level, apart from occasionally cultivating the will secret technique through the passage of time, he spent the rest of his time in the dungeon farming drops and improving his affinity with other laws.

"Master, an email has arrived from the virtual universe!"

Just as Su Jing was preparing to comprehend the laws, a virtual image appeared before him. It was Jarvis. It was an email from the virtual universe. Su Jing knew what it was as soon as he thought about it. Today was exactly one month since the Starry Sky Ranking appeared, so the registration deadline should be approaching. He entered the virtual universe. In the Starry Sky Community of Spirit Pattern Island, when Su Jing appeared, there were quite a few other people who had also registered for the Genius Battle. They didn't linger here. After entering a room in the community, Su Jing pointed, and a virtual screen appeared in front of him. He opened it to view the email from the virtual universe: "Welcome to the Selection Battle of the Universe's Human Peak Genius."

You have been detected as belonging to the Qianwu Universe Kingdom. In this selection battle, over 6421 billion Star-level experts from within the Qianwu Universe Kingdom have registered to participate. These geniuses come from the same region as you, and you will be competing against each other. We guarantee that everything in the genius selection battle will be conducted under absolutely fair conditions.

Looking at the information in the email, there was quite a lot of content. This time, there were 600 billion people from the Hengxing level in the Qianwu Universe Kingdom who signed up for the Genius Battle. Of course, this included a lot of fakes, such as those who had spent their whole lives just joining in the fun in the Hengxing level, as well as those unlucky guys from the Hengxing level earlier. No one wanted to miss such a grand event, and many people would choose to sign up even if they were not strong enough. At least they would have experienced it and have something to brag about in the future.

Next are some rules, such as everyone's realm in the virtual universe is the ninth level of the Eternal Star, and everyone's physical attributes are the same. There are also some weapon choices, and you can only choose a fifth-level weapon at most, and you cannot choose other special things.

The competition is divided into two major stages. The first stage selects one thousand masters from various universe nations. The first stage is further divided into preliminary elimination and arena final battle.

The Qianwu Universe Kingdom, where Su Jing is located, has a total of 640 billion participants. After the preliminary elimination, the virtual universe will be divided into 100 worlds, with each world receiving more than 64 billion participants.

More than 64 billion people are fighting each other in the same world, killing others to earn points. The more you kill, the more points you get! Each person only has one life, and death ends it.

The deadline has arrived.

Those who rank in the top 1001 in the world based on their final points will be eliminated in the preliminary rounds.

Each world selects 1001 people; 100 worlds would then select 100,010 people.

There is no revival round in the qualifiers; it all comes down to individual skill. If you're not good enough, you'll be eliminated.

This is also the most brutal selection process. Out of more than 640 billion people, only 100,010 can remain. The rest are all eliminated in this stage. It can be said that 99% of the star-level beings fall at this step!

Of course, if you perform well in the preliminaries and rank first in points in each world, you will directly win one of the 100 spots in the top 1000 without having to participate in the arena finals. The remaining 900 spots will be contested by the 100,000 participants in the arena finals.

After reading the email from the virtual universe, he found the rules to be the same as he knew. For him, this first major stage wasn't a problem; passing the preliminaries wouldn't be difficult. The subsequent arena battles would depend on luck—if he encountered those who had mastered the laws of the universe—

Even at the powerful Hengxing level, he might still be defeated, but there would be elimination rounds to compete in, and he would definitely be able to enter the top 1,000. This step is the most time-consuming, taking about three years to complete the first stage. So he still has time to become stronger. He has become so strong in just four months, so he can't be sure how far he can go in three years. He can only do his best to improve himself.

After confirming that no information had been missed, Su Jing exited the virtual universe. The Genius Battle was about to begin, and it would be good to improve his strength as much as possible before then. He didn't want to participate in the elimination rounds, otherwise spending three years in the elimination rounds would be too much of a waste of time.

Back in reality, Su Jing handed his father three more Lightning Fruits amidst his father's bewildered gaze. Seeing his father's expression of utter confusion, as if asking, "Did you cut down the Lightning Fruit tree?", Su Jing felt much better. After telling his father to use them freely, Su Jing decided to go into seclusion to improve himself. The preliminary elimination rounds were about a month away, and he could use this time to enhance his strength. "Jarvis, I'm going into seclusion now. If I haven't emerged from seclusion by the time the Genius Battle starts in a month, remember to remind me on time."

Su Jing reassured him, explaining that it was normal for him to lose track of time while in seclusion comprehending the laws and traveling between several dungeons. With Jarvis's reminder, he wouldn't have to worry about missing anything and could focus on improving his strength before the Genius Battle.

Meanwhile, Franka, looking at the three Lightning Fruits in her hand, was somewhat bewildered. Had Su Jing just come in? Then he stuffed three Lightning Fruits into her hand, said a sentence, and then disappeared again? Could it be that she was under an illusion?

But looking at the Lightning Fruits in his hand, Franka quickly put them into his storage equipment. Other things could be explained by illusions, but these three Lightning Fruits were real. He could feel his body's desire. However, looking at the four Lightning Fruits in his storage space, Franka fell into deep thought!

A single Thunder Fruit would drive a Domain Lord to his death, and now he has four. Moreover, judging from Su Jing's casual attitude, it seems he underestimates his son. Could it be that he has actually found a Thunder Fruit tree?

That's why he seemed so indifferent to the Lightning Fruit. Franka felt his thinking was a bit off. He had previously assumed that Su Jing had gone through countless near-death experiences to obtain the Lightning Fruit. After all, something that even domain lords would fight tooth and nail for, Su Jing's acquisition of it must have been incredibly difficult. But now, Su Jing casually tossed out three Lightning Fruits, making them seem no different from ordinary fruits.

Even if Su Jing has difficulty obtaining the Thunder Fruit, it's definitely not as difficult as I think. So, should I still use it?

Considering his own situation and the allure of the Thunder Fruit, he ultimately resisted the urge to act.

No rush, let's ask Su Jing thoroughly after he comes out of seclusion before deciding whether to use it!

Anyway, he's been stuck at this level for a while now, so he's not in a hurry at all. He has plenty of time, and rather than being confused like this, he feels he can only feel truly at ease after finding out the truth.