Swallowing the Stars: I Have a Primordial Dao Seed

brush!

Zhou Yuan's figure appeared out of thin air in the central square.

The geniuses who were discussing the incident immediately fell silent, involuntarily taking a step back and silently making way for him.

No one dared to approach him, and even their gazes towards him were filled with awe—the terrifying strength Zhou Yuan displayed in the Trial Tower had become an insurmountable mountain in the hearts of all geniuses.

Zhou Yuan ignored the gazes around him and looked down at the light screen on his arm. It displayed his final score: 3836777, ranking first, far surpassing Shafi'i, who was still on the fifth floor.

He looked up at the large screen floating in the air, where the leaderboard was being updated in real time, and many contestants were still struggling in the Trial Tower.

Time slipped away silently, like sand in an hourglass. More and more contestants were killed by the monsters in the Trial Tower, their figures constantly appearing in the central square, most with ashen faces and eyes filled with resentment.

Six months later, the last contestant was finally killed and exited the trial space, and the first trial was finally completed.

The giant screen in the air finally lit up with a line of large golden characters: "The first round of the Peak Warriors Battle has concluded!"

In the central square, the 1,008 Immortal leaders of the Cosmic Nation who had been sitting and watching the battle all stood up. Their gazes swept over the geniuses in the square, but most of them finally focused on Zhou Yuan. Their eyes were complicated, containing admiration, jealousy, and above all, anticipation for the future.

"Everyone, gather in the lobby of the building." The cold voice of Bloodthirsty Marquis suddenly echoed in Zhou Yuan's mind.

Meanwhile, the geniuses from other cosmic nations also received messages from their respective team leaders.

In a short while, the crowd in the central square dispersed, like birds returning to their nests, and followed their respective leaders back to their respective buildings.

In the lobby of Building 0007, a thousand geniuses from the Zichen Universe Kingdom stood in neat rows. Bloodthirsty Marquis stood at the front, and the terrifying pressure emanating from him silenced the entire lobby, even making people breathe cautiously.

"Our Zichen Universe Kingdom's performance this time far exceeded expectations." Bloodthirsty Marquis's voice was still cold, but he couldn't hide a trace of excitement. "Zhou Yuan won first place in the trial and directly secured a spot in the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company; Karen ranked twenty-first and also entered the top one hundred, thus obtaining core layer qualification as well."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the other geniuses in the queue: "Besides those two, there are nine others, including Raymond, Mengwu, Soston, and Lunjing, who have made it into the top 7,300 and qualified for the second round of the arena competition, with the opportunity to compete for the remaining 900 core level spots."

"Except for these eleven people, the battles for the rest of you peak experts end here. After signing the confidentiality agreement not to disclose the contents of this trial, you can return to reality and leave this place. Of course, you can also wait a while; the virtual universe system will eliminate you directly and teleport you back to your respective universe continents."

After speaking, Bloodthirsty Marquis addressed the eleven people who still had a chance to participate in the arena, saying, "All eleven of you, come with me."

After speaking, Bloodthirsty Marquis strode into the corridor.

Watching Bloodthirsty Marquis's departing figure, the atmosphere in the hall became oppressive.

The eliminated geniuses hung their heads, their faces full of disappointment—they were all top geniuses from their respective universes, having fought their way through the competition to reach the finals, only to be defeated in the first round. It would be hard for anyone to accept that.

"Hey, brothers, don't be so down!" A hearty voice suddenly came from the crowd, and a tall genius patted his chest and laughed.

"Although we didn't make it into the top 7,300, just standing on the finals stage has already proven our strength! The cosmic level is just the beginning; there are Domain Lords, Realm Lords, and even Immortals ahead! We can also join the Zichen Dojo of the Zichen Cosmic Kingdom. The Zichen Secret Realm within the Zichen Dojo has excellent resources; as long as we're willing to work hard, our future might not be inferior to theirs!"

"That's right!" another genius chimed in. "So what if we didn't get to join the Virtual Universe Company? We can still join the Zichen Dojo and enter the Zichen Secret Realm. In the future, we might not be inferior to them."

"Yes, we're not dead. We're still alive, so we can still fight."

……

"Let's go! Let's drink! We won't leave until we're drunk!"

"Yeah! Let's go for a drink!"

The oppressive atmosphere gradually dissipated, and the eliminated geniuses rekindled their fighting spirit. They walked out of the building in small groups, heading towards the restaurant next to the central square, ready to bid farewell to this peak journey with a hearty drink.

The geniuses have emerged from their repression, but the outside world is bustling with excitement.

At this moment, the results of the trial were transmitted back to reality, and the real world of the Zichen Universe Kingdom was in an uproar. Out of 1008 universe kingdoms, their universe kingdom actually had two entries in the top 100, and both ranked very high. The entire universe kingdom was in a frenzy of celebration. Streets and alleys, teahouses and restaurants, everywhere was talking about this pinnacle competition.

Zhou Yuan, in particular, won first place, the first place in the entire human race competition—what an honor!

"Zhou Yuan has truly brought honor to our Zi Chen! Out of millions of geniuses in the human race, he actually came in first!"

"Karen isn't bad either, ranking twenty-first, which directly secures her a spot in the core layer!"

"Raymond is ranked 530th. There are 900 spots available, so he also has a chance to enter Virtual Universe Company."

"Even reaching the Wheel Realm is uncertain; ranking 6215th, competing for one of the nine hundred spots is too difficult!"

As news reports continued, Zhou Yuan's name spread to every corner of the Zi Chen Universe Kingdom. Even those who never paid attention to cultivation knew that the Zi Chen Universe Kingdom had produced a genius named Zhou Yuan.

Amidst this booming scene, cultivation and powerful individuals became the most talked-about topics, and many cultivation-related industries experienced a sales frenzy.

……

Inside a small conference room in Building 0007, Bloodthirsty Marquis was lecturing Zhou Yuan and eleven others. Zhou Yuan was the listener, and the other ten were the ones being lectured. Given Zhou Yuan's grades, Bloodthirsty Marquis couldn't say anything more.

Bloodthirsty Marquis concluded, "I'm not worried about Zhou Yuan. His strength is unmatched; as long as he doesn't hold back, he'll definitely take first place."

Bloodthirsty Marquis paused, then turned to Karen and said, "Karen, although you're ranked twenty-first, the Trial Tower has a clear advantage over mentalists, so your score is a bit inflated. You're a martial artist, and ranking twenty-first still gives you a chance to enter the top ten. There's also a difference in the core level of the Virtual Universe Company; the top ten and the top one hundred are a whole tier apart, and the treatment will be much different. You need to strive to enter the top ten."

"Understood," Karen answered loudly.

Bloodthirsty Marquis turned to the remaining nine and said, "Tomorrow's arena battle is your last chance. The nine of you should try your best to secure a spot. Just getting one of the 900 spots will do; I don't ask for much. Only by securing a spot can you join the Virtual Universe Company. If you don't get a spot, you'll be eliminated just like everyone else."

"Yes, sir!" the nine replied in unison. Although their tone was respectful, the resentment in their eyes was hard to hide.

"Alright, everyone go back and rest." Bloodthirsty Marquis waved his hand. "Tomorrow is the arena battle, so get plenty of rest and prepare for the final showdown!"