Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Primal Tenfold Talent

Apart from Meng Jingrong, who remained calm, the faces of the other 20,000-plus geniuses turned pale, and their bodies trembled slightly involuntarily.

This oppressive aura wasn't deliberately targeted, yet it carried an absolute suppression originating from a higher level of life, like a star crushing dust, making all the geniuses present deeply feel the vast difference in their strength.

Then, as footsteps sounded, a dragonman wearing blood-red armor slowly walked over.

He was about three zhang tall, with terrifying flames rising from his body. Wherever he passed, the air was scorched and distorted, and the temperature rose sharply.

"By order of the King, I will lead the team of 20162 geniuses from the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom."

The fiery dragon's voice, like the mooing of a bull, carried a heavy, resonant quality. Enveloped in blazing flames, its blood-red eyes exuded immense pressure. "You may call me 'Crimson Flame King,' understand?"

"clear!"

More than 20,000 exceptional geniuses spontaneously responded in unison.

Only Meng Jingrong, who had once faced the Yanlong Kingdom's ruler directly, remained calm and composed in the face of the Chiyan King's imposing aura.

"Meng Jingrong!"

The fire dragonman slowly turned his gaze, his voice filled with affection, "You're quite good."

"Thank you for your praise, Lord Chiyan." Meng Jingrong bowed slightly, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

"The King places high hopes on you." The Crimson Flame King's blood-red eyes were fixed on him, his tone extremely solemn, "You... must not disappoint the King, understand?"

"Yes," Meng Jingrong replied in a deep voice.

Then, the Crimson Flame King's gaze swept over the other contestants, his tone instantly turning icy and sharp: "As for the remaining ones, only Cang Tu and Lin Youfeng still possess some strength and have a chance to break into the top twenty of the finals!"

His words were merciless, completely disregarding the feelings of the other geniuses.

In the eyes of this immortal-level powerhouse, apart from a few individuals, the rest of the so-called geniuses were ultimately just supporting characters.

"Alright, follow me." The Crimson Flame King said no more and turned to walk towards the giant teleportation array deep within the floating island.

......

Under his guidance, the 20162 participants from the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom stepped into the teleportation array together.

A sense of spatial distortion washed over them, and before their eyes, they were transported to a brand-new dimension created by the Virtual Universe Company specifically for the finals.

This is a vast continent.

Meng Jingrong and others, along with the Crimson Flame King, a total of 20163 people, appeared on the continent at the same time.

Just as everyone was looking around, a middle-aged man dressed in a white robe and with a refined demeanor walked slowly towards them.

He bowed respectfully to the Crimson Flame King: "Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom team, there are 800 palaces not far ahead. According to the competition schedule, you have been assigned to Palace No. 087."

"Hmm." The Crimson Flame King nodded slightly and waved his hand. "Come with me."

Before he finished speaking, he had already taken to the air, and the more than 20,000 geniuses behind him quickly followed.

"Wow!"

"What a huge palace! An entire cosmic nation's army lives in one palace?"

Looking into the distance, one can see 800 giant palaces of various shapes, like 800 majestic mountains, arranged in a ring around the central square.

In the central square, many geniuses from other universe nations were already strolling and chatting. The number of people exceeded one million, yet the square did not appear crowded at all, which shows how vast it was.

"Land!" Crimson Flame King's voice boomed like a bull's bellow.

The geniuses of the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom immediately landed in unison, gathered at the edge of the square, and then walked directly along the road towards Palace 087.

In the square, there are dedicated passageways leading to each palace.

"Look, Palace 087 is the headquarters of the Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom, and their troops are here!"

"Wow, the most handsome one is 'Emperor Jing'."

"Hmm! He's incredibly strong."

"Isn't that middle-aged man with the gun next to him 'Gun Demon' Lin Youfeng?"

"The Gun Demon is pretty good too?"

Along the way, geniuses from other universe nations turned their heads to look at the Yanlong universe nation's team from afar and began to whisper among themselves.

Led by the Crimson Flame King, the Flame Dragon team entered Palace 087 one after another.

The palace is more expansive than one can imagine; the first-floor hall alone covers an area of ​​over 1,000 square kilometers and can easily accommodate more than 20,000 people.

The Crimson Flame King turned around, his gaze sweeping over the geniuses before him, and said in a deep voice, "I have numbered tokens 1 to 10081 here. Cosmic-level individuals will receive tokens 1 to 10081 for the first level, and Eternal-level individuals will receive tokens 1 to 10081 for the second level. With your tokens, you can enter the corresponding rooms, which will be your accommodations during the competition."

He had barely finished speaking when he casually waved his hand.

More than 20,000 gleaming gold number plates flew out from the sleeves, landing precisely in front of each participant as if they were alive.

Meng Jingrong raised his hand and grabbed a number plate, which landed steadily in his palm. It was clearly engraved with the number "1" for the first layer.

Cang Tu followed closely behind and received number "2" on the first floor.

Lin Youfeng got number "1" on the second floor.

In a short while, all the geniuses received their own number plates.

"Now, let's disperse!"

The Crimson Flame King said coldly, "You may return to your rooms to rest, or you may go to the central square to exchange ideas with geniuses from other cosmic nations. At dusk, the organizers of the Virtual Universe Company will summon you, and you will be able to hear them no matter where you are."

After saying this, the Crimson Flame King turned and strode away, leaving the geniuses to go about their own business.

The central square is far larger than imagined; even with millions of geniuses gathered here, it still feels incredibly spacious.

The square is surrounded by countless exotic flowers and plants, and the air is filled with a fresh fragrance. Occasionally, adorable little animals can be seen darting among the grass.

Large restaurants are also scattered randomly in the square.

There are 99 large restaurants scattered throughout the square, open to all geniuses, except for Restaurant No. 1 in the center, which has an invisible barrier at its entrance, preventing anyone from getting close.

Just as the geniuses were scattered, a streak of fiery red light sped out of Palace 087 and landed instantly in front of Restaurant 1—it was none other than the Crimson Flame King who had just left.

"grown ups!"

The two waiters at the restaurant entrance immediately bowed.

Crimson Flame King walked straight into the restaurant without glancing to the side.

The restaurant's interior was equally magnificent, with over a thousand seats on the first floor, where hundreds of terrifying figures were already seated.

Some were resting with their eyes closed, while others were talking in hushed tones. Their auras varied greatly; some were as violent as a star exploding, making it impossible to look directly at them; others were as cold as ice, as if they could freeze the soul. Every aura made people's hearts tremble.

These are all team leaders sent by various cosmic nations, and they are all king-level powerhouses.

"Crimson Flame!"

"Crimson Flame is here."

"Hey, your Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom team arrived pretty early!"

Upon seeing the Crimson Flame King enter, many powerful figures who had been granted the title of King turned their heads and greeted him with smiles.

"Hmm." The Crimson Flame King nodded slightly, a smile playing on his lips, and sat down.

"Crimson Flame, I heard that your Flame Dragon Universe Kingdom has produced a genius named Meng Jingrong this time? And several other seeded players have a chance to get into the top twenty of the finals!" A powerful king-level expert wearing dark blue armor spoke up, his tone filled with curiosity.

"good."

The Crimson Flame King didn't mince words. He then looked at a woman opposite him, dressed in a light blue dress with a cool and aloof expression, and said, "Xuan Shui, your Ancient Wheel Universe Kingdom has also produced a genius nicknamed 'Golden Axe,' right?"

King Xuan Shui nodded slightly, smiling gently: "Indeed, his fighting style is fierce and unparalleled, somewhat similar to Lin Youfeng from your Universe Kingdom."

"Lin Youfeng is still a bit lacking." King Fentian shook his head slightly. "The number one in the universe at the Hengxing level will, barring any unforeseen circumstances, be 'Golden Axe'."

Then, the Crimson Flame King looked at a man in a purple robe not far away and said, "Canglan, everyone is saying that the number one ranking in the universe must be your Yuan Chen Universe Kingdom."

"Haha! 'Witch Xiyue' is too powerful!" King Canglan nodded with a smile.

"Hmm, only at the cosmic level, yet their comprehension of the laws of spacetime has reached that level—it's simply unbelievable!"

"This Xi Yue is a complete freak!"

"Yes, that's outrageous!" an elderly man with white hair chimed in. "We've lived this long and seen countless geniuses, but this is the first time we've seen someone with such a profound understanding of cosmic laws! Even if we were to fight her ourselves, we might not be able to beat her!"

The group of powerful figures who had been granted the title of King discussed among themselves, their words filled with amazement at Xi Yue.

They've seen plenty of geniuses of cosmic caliber.

They had never heard of anyone whose comprehension of cosmic laws rivaled that of an immortal king, even after living for a very long time.

Meanwhile, inside Palace Hall 087.

Meng Jingrong's gaze swept over the people around him, finally landing on Lin Youfeng. "Let's go out and take a look."

"Okay, teacher." Lin Youfeng's eyes were filled with strong anticipation.

Led by Meng Jingrong, core geniuses such as Cang Tu, Lin Youfeng, and Lei Yu walked out of the palace together.

.....

In the central square, millions of geniuses from 800 cosmic nations were engaged in various activities, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

However, when a group of geniuses from the Yanlong Universe Kingdom entered the square...

quiet!

The entire square fell silent.

Millions of geniuses from various cosmic nations almost all turned to look in one direction.

"Look, Emperor Jing!"

"It is Emperor Jing."

"I feel like Emperor Jing alone could wipe out tens of millions of our contestants!"

"This competition is outrageous! Emperor Jing's strength is already ridiculous enough, but I didn't expect there to be a witch who's even more outrageous. How are the others supposed to compete?"

After a brief silence, discussions resumed in the square, though the volume was much lower, with many geniuses whispering to each other.

Meng Jingrong paid no attention to the gazes and discussions around him, his gaze calmly sweeping across the square, a slight disappointment in his eyes.

Ever since meeting the King of Yanlong, he had been curious about who the opponent he could not defeat was.

After watching the video of Xi Yue controlling a planet with a single thought and slaughtering hundreds of millions of cosmic-level contestants in a few breaths, Meng Jingrong admitted that he was no match for her.

He guessed that Xi Yue most likely possessed a World Lord-level true body, and that the one participating was only a Universe-level avatar.

Even so, to be able to comprehend such a law while being a realm lord is enough to make one a top genius among the human race.

Apart from Xi Yue, none of the other geniuses in the square could ultimately pique his interest.