Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Primal Tenfold Talent

in……

The first stage of the Cosmic Nation Preliminaries was the largest in scale and the most competitive.

A total of over 516 billion participants registered in the Yanlong Universe Kingdom.

The preliminary rounds are divided into two stages: the "preliminary elimination round" and the "round-robin round".

In the preliminary elimination battle of the Yanlong Universe Kingdom, the virtual universe will be divided into 100 independent virtual worlds, with each world having an average of over 5.16 million participants.

Within each world zone, 10081 'Flame Dragon Totems' will randomly appear, and 5.16 million people will compete for the 'Flame Dragon Totems' in the same world.

After successfully acquiring a totem, the corresponding totem mark will automatically appear on the participant's body; if more than 10 totems are acquired, 1 totem mark will still be retained after death.

After the preliminary elimination rounds end, the top 3 participants in terms of the number of totems in this world will directly advance to the top 10081 in the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom.

The remaining participants who obtained the totem mark will qualify for the "Battle of Reincarnation," competing in subsequent matches to determine the remaining qualifying spots, until all 10081 participants from the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom are determined.

After reading the email, Meng Jingrong smiled, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the light screen in front of Lin Youfeng.

Perhaps because it was the first time this competition was held, the rules of this year's Star-level Genius Selection Battle were completely different from what he remembered.

Without a complicated points system or progressive regional selection, it is closer to the "totem grabbing" mode in the battle of cosmic-level strongmen.

The final number of people who advanced remained the familiar 10081.

Meng Jingrong has absolute confidence in his own abilities.

With his profound understanding of the laws of space and time far surpassing that of his peers, and having traversed the long history of humankind, he was confident that no being of any cosmic level could possibly surpass him.

His apprentice, Lin Youfeng, has also made rapid progress over the past twenty years.

Lin Youfeng's talent was already quite strong, and after the battle on Ziwei Star, his talent underwent another transformation.

Now, I have already touched the threshold of the "Nine-Line Flow" of the spatial law, and even comprehended the five most basic essences of the spatial law.

With such strength, even among the geniuses of the entire universe, he has a real chance of ranking among the top few.

"Who truly holds power within the Virtual Universe Company—the 'Original Ancestor' or the 'Lord of Chaos City'?"

Looking at the competition rules displayed on the screen in front of him, Meng Jingrong shook his head slightly. "It seems they don't intend to let me join the Primal Secret Realm directly."

Twenty years have passed since he demonstrated the Immortal Marquis-level spacetime laws in the Killing Space—with the Virtual Universe Company's intelligence network, there is absolutely no way they wouldn't have noticed the existence of this "cheat code."

The most likely explanation is that the battle of the universe's strongest warriors is about to begin, and the higher-ups of the Virtual Universe Company may want to use this battle to gain entry into the Primal Secret Realm through the competition.

"However, twenty years have passed, and according to the conventions of Virtual Universe Company, my protectors should be in place by now."

Meng Jingrong raised his head and looked at the clear sky above Yunhe Bay. His gaze seemed to pierce through the barrier of the virtual universe and see into the depths of the starry sky outside Yunhe Star, where there was a terrifyingly powerful being, like a guardian in the dark, always watching his movements.

Thinking of this, the heavy sense of oppression he felt due to Feng Yuhou quietly dissipated.

.......

After the registration deadline, Virtual Universe Company began preparations, which were indeed very complicated.

However, Virtual Universe Corporation is, after all, a top power that governs the human realm. It operates with extremely high efficiency, and all its work proceeds in an orderly manner without any mistakes.

The day before the battle of the strongest and the battle of the geniuses begins is the day when the universe-level and star-level geniuses of the Flame Dragon Secret Realm gather.

......

Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom, Flame Dragon Secret Realm.

"The competition will begin tomorrow."

"The king has high expectations for everyone, so don't let him down." Inside the secret realm, a group of immortal powerhouses addressed the little ones below.

......

A terrifying figure enveloped in endless flames suddenly descended into the sky, its oppressive aura sweeping across the heavens and earth.

A powerful and resonant voice clearly reached everyone's ears:

"You are the most outstanding geniuses in the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom."

"This is the first-ever 'Battle of the Strongest' and 'Battle of the Geniuses' in the universe. I hope that you will occupy at least 80% of the final spots."

Within the Flame Dragon Secret Realm, almost all the star-level and cosmic-level geniuses knelt respectfully.

At this moment, they were extremely excited—the legendary greatest being of the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom—the Flame Dragon King—had actually appeared in person!

"Cang Tu!"

A moment later, that powerful voice rang out again.

Among the ranks of cosmic-level geniuses, a handsome and upright man dressed in a gilded battle robe slowly raised his head, his gaze burning as he stared directly at the towering figure surrounded by flames in the void.

"My expectation for you is to break into the top ten in the entire universe!" The Flame Dragon King paused slightly, his tone filled with anticipation, "...or even first place!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Cang Tu replied in a deep voice, his voice full of confidence.

"Go on, children..."

The sound gradually faded into the distance, like a whisper in the wind, slowly dissipating into every corner of the secret realm.

The terrifying, blazing phantom in the sky gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

......

Deep within the human race's territory, a white planet enveloped in endless ice and snow hangs suspended in the starry sky, like a giant ice bead adorning a dark velvet cloth.

This planet is tens of millions of kilometers in diameter, and its surface is permanently covered by snow tens of thousands of meters thick.

The planet's interior is vast and boundless, yet sparsely populated by humans; instead, it is inhabited by all sorts of terrifyingly large monsters.

In the dark expanse of space, a colossal temple, entirely forged from cyan metal, floats silently. Any monster attempting to escape the planet will be instantly annihilated by the golden lasers shot from the temple. This is a planet specifically for raising monsters.

Amidst the continuous ice peaks, a giant man nearly nine meters tall stood silently.

He was clad in animal hide armor, his muscles bulging like a mountain range, and six thick arms protruding from his back, with six eyes simultaneously scanning the distance.

His gaze was fixed on the towering, mountain-like behemoth in the distance—a terrifying eighth-tier cosmic-level demonic beast.

The giant remained calm as he slowly drew the golden axe from his back.

He took heavy steps and strode towards the monster.

Each step landed heavily on the frozen earth, causing the thousands of meters-high ice peaks to shatter and collapse, and the entire earth seemed to tremble.

"die!"

A golden axe light suddenly shone!

"Whoosh—"

This earth-shattering blow cleaved the eighth-tier cosmic-level demon beast in two. The axe's remaining power was undiminished, carving out a massive canyon thousands of kilometers long and tens of thousands of meters deep on the planet's surface. The ice on both sides of the canyon was instantly vaporized by the high temperature, turning into a sky full of white mist that lingered for a long time.

"Very good." A clear and melodious female voice came from mid-air.

A woman with cascading black hair and a moon-white dress floated in mid-air. She was beautiful, with a faint air of aloofness between her brows.

At that moment, a few stars shone in those eyes.

"You have made great progress since then. In terms of your understanding of the laws alone, you are the most remarkable 'star-level genius' I have ever seen in my travels through billions of galaxies."

The six-armed giant trembled violently, and a deep sense of astonishment flashed across all six of his eyes.

He opened his mouth, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly: "T-Teacher, you, you just now..."

How long has it been? Ever since his teacher saved him from the jaws of a monster a thousand years ago and began his cultivation under his teacher's guidance, all he has ever heard is harsh reprimands and merciless blows.

His teacher always said that the universe is vast and boundless, and there are countless geniuses who are a hundred or a thousand times better than him. His achievements are insignificant. This was the first time he had heard his teacher praise him.

Normally, his teacher would either silently watch him fight to the death against the monsters, or he would incisively point out the shortcomings in his cultivation, each word piercing his heart, warning him that if he didn't strive to improve, he would sooner or later become dust in the universe...

"With your current abilities, there's nothing more your teacher can teach you."

The black-haired woman gently shook her head, her tone calm yet carrying a barely perceptible hint of relief.

"Teacher, I..." The six-armed strong man wanted to say something more.

But he, who was usually honest and taciturn, suddenly found himself with a thousand words stuck in his throat, unable to express the surging emotions and reluctance in his heart.

"Go and participate in the Ultimate Genius Battle of the Universe hosted by the Virtual Universe Company."

The black-haired woman changed the subject, her gaze becoming serious. "Your understanding of the laws is even more profound than that of many realm lords."

"Only in a virtual universe company teeming with geniuses can you find truly suitable rivals to constantly break through your own limitations; you can also meet teachers who are better at guiding you and embark on a broader path of self-cultivation."

The black-haired woman looked at him, her voice carrying a hint of remoteness: "Our master-disciple relationship has come to an end; there's no need to cling to the past."

"Perhaps, when you break through to immortality in the future, we will have the chance to meet again."

The voice just fell.

The black-haired woman's figure transformed into starlight and disappeared into this frozen world, leaving only a faint fragrance.

Immediately afterwards, a silver-white, bracelet-shaped smart computer slowly floated down from the sky and landed precisely in the palm of the six-armed strong man.

"Teacher—" The six-armed strong man reached out as if to grab something, but his voice stopped abruptly.

He looked down at the smart quantum computer in his palm, his eyes slightly reddening, and then murmured softly, "The battle of the universe's top geniuses?"

He raised his head, gazing at the vast, empty sky filled only with howling wind and snow. He took a deep breath of the icy air, suppressing the surging sorrow and reluctance in his heart, and silently made a vow:

"Teacher, I will definitely cultivate diligently and break through to the Immortal Realm as soon as possible. When that time comes, I will find you and be with you forever..."

......