Swallowing the Stars: Reboot, The Eternal Serpent!

Chapter 87: Will the Nine Swords be the biggest winner?

"Thirteen, a genius of this caliber doesn't seem like someone who developed on their own. Tell us who his teacher is?"

"Yes, if he hadn't come from a prominent family, then his level among immortals must have been quite high to have been able to learn the 'Shadow Realm' flying technique."

"It's not that outrageous, is it? As long as the cultivation method in the latter part of 'The Realm of Shadows' doesn't affect the flow of time, the first half is still quite widely circulated, and many immortals in medium-level civilizations can obtain it; just like the 'Myriad Threads Flow' secret technique circulating in the market, it doesn't have a cultivation method of 'teleportation'."

"That's true..."

"Thirteen, do you know any inside information? Tell me quickly."

Facing the probing gazes of the crowd, Thirteen frankly admitted, "He has a master, His Majesty the King knows it, and I know it too, but I cannot reveal it."

The immortals had subtle expressions; knowing the master's lineage meant that this person was not problematic.

But I can't say?

Most likely, it involves a matter of enmity.

Among the geniuses undergoing trials in the Trial Tower, many are burdened with blood feuds; this is a common occurrence in the universe.

If Jiang Zhe's teacher is an immortal, then the immortal's enemy must be an immortal. Thirteen is protecting him.

This matter should not be asked any further; let's leave it at that.

In fact, Jiang Zhe's earlier revelation of his master's lineage to Thirteen was not rash.

It was to patch up the excellent qualifications of himself, Luo Feng, and the other three.

First, the stance of the ruler of Qianwu Kingdom is certain, and his eighteen trusted generals would not possibly plot against him.

Secondly, the Demon Hand King has already taken notice of this year's Genius Battle.

In the original novel, after Luo Feng broke into the top ten, he suspected that Luo Feng was the successor of Hu Yanbo.

It wasn't until Lord Luo Feng traveled on the Meteorite Star that the Demon Hand King truly confirmed his theory and hurriedly prepared measures to save his life.

As for assassinating a prince from a virtual universe? The Demon Hand King doesn't have that kind of guts.

Jiang Zhe's logic is simple: when you have a big secret to hide, you should first expose a small secret.

……

The space around him shifted, and Jiang Zhe appeared in the central square, where the geniuses who had long been eliminated all turned their attention to him.

"Look! The Thunder Emperor is out!"

"He ranked first in the trial, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he'll likely maintain that position in the final overall rankings. Berlan is still on the fifth floor, seventh level—the gap between them is enormous!"

"That's a monster! I suspect he's not even human!"

……

Ignoring the discussions around him, Jiang Zhe glanced around and pinpointed the location where the geniuses of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom were gathered.

Because a handsome monk, like a husky, was waving and calling his name.

What a big, eye-catching bag.

It's Thor; he's probably been out for a while now.

Thor was surrounded by his newly made friends.

They were all geniuses selected by the Qianwu Universe Kingdom. After being introduced by Thor, Jiang Zhe greeted them.

These people will basically all enter the Qianwu Secret Realm in the future, and they will become Thor's future connections.

Therefore, Jiang Zhe didn't mind showing them some goodwill, so that Thor and Hong would have someone to help them and make their future path easier.

After exchanging greetings, they wisely left, leaving Thor to speak with him alone.

"Thor, when did you come out? How did you do?"

Thor felt like he was a kid being checked on by his dad for his yoga progress, and he chuckled sheepishly as he scratched his head.

"Eliminated on the 114th day, the third one on the first level, was trampled to death by the Blood-haired Mammoth."

Jiang Zhe understood that this result would inevitably place him below 50th place, marking the end of Thor's journey in the battle of geniuses.

"Get ready to go to the Qianwu Secret Realm to learn. After that, you can join the Virtual Universe Company through the normal procedures. Luo Feng and I will go in first to scout the way for you."

Just then, Hong, who had also been eliminated, came looking for them.

"Xiao Zhe, you're amazing! You cleared all seven trial towers in the shortest time. You truly deserve the title of the best human in the universe!"

Jiang Zhe smiled politely, without feigning modesty, and accepted the title.

When asked about Hong's results, he said he made it to the seventh floor of the third level, and his results were similar to those of "Wind Wheel." Both of them were crushed to death by the overwhelming swarm of insects.

The geniuses who have only crossed the threshold of the lower-level laws have mostly achieved their results in the third training tower.

Jiang Zhe found Luo Feng's live stream of conquering the tower among tens of thousands of screens. He killed the flying beasts on the third and fourth floors and then broke into the fifth floor.

He was slowly climbing the tower; 156 days had passed since the trial began.

The entire trial process is not something that can be completed in one go; there are breaks and adjustments that can be made along the way.

In the original timeline, only four people, including Luo Feng and Bo Lan, remained to participate in the trial, more than 200 days after the trial began.

Jiang Zhe believed in Luo Feng's abilities and didn't look at him for long.

After glancing at Bolan's tower-climbing livestream one last time, I returned to my room to study the laws.

As Jiang Zhe completed the trial, his related videos began to be released in the virtual universe. However, strangely, it was only mentioned that Jiang Zhe had already secured the top spot.

What specific results were achieved? What was the extent of the advantage? How did they secure the top spot? None of this was explicitly stated.

The edited videos of the tower-climbing challenges look exciting and impressive, but to a discerning eye, it's clear that they don't offer much substance.

This is not suppression, but rather a manifestation of Virtual Universe Company's high regard for Jiang Zhe.

Otherwise, should we release his full-power combat video and put him on the alien sniper leaderboard?

On the 207th day, Rong Jun stopped at the sixth floor of the fifth tower, and his ranking was temporarily set at 14th.

Meanwhile, Luo Feng was still slowly making his way through the first level of the fourth building.

He was aware of his shortcomings, namely that his cultivation time was too short, so he squeezed out time to cultivate slowly in the Trial Tower.

He had already seen Jiang Zhe's achievements, so he wasn't surprised. He thought it was normal and was full of motivation, eager to catch up with his senior.

On the 243rd day, Berlan stopped at the first level of the seventh tower, and his ranking was fixed at second place.

After he came out, he watched the battle video of Jiang Zhe in the seventh trial tower, and personally experienced the oppression of the ten thousand blood-haired mammoths on the first floor. He clearly realized the gap between himself and Jiang Zhe.

After the trial ended, he returned to his room and devoted himself to intensive training.

Over the next twenty days, "Blood Edge" Candita and "Sword of Life" Yifeng were both eliminated.

At this point, only Luo Feng remained in the Trial Tower.

Thirteen's lips have been curving into an uncontrollable smile lately. From Jiang Zhe to Rong Jun to Luo Feng, the series of surprises have left him feeling like he's in a dream.

The Qianwu Universe Kingdom hadn't produced a top 20 genius in over a hundred sessions, but now three of them have emerged all at once, making him the focus among the thousands of immortals present.

His Majesty must be watching the Genius Battle right now, and he must be very pleased, right?

On the 319th day after the trial began, Jiang Zhe saw that Luo Feng had already reached the seventh floor of the fifth level, so he left his room and went to the central square to wait for him.

On the 322nd day, Luo Feng stopped at the first level of the sixth level, and his ranking was fixed at 3rd.

Thirteen led the team back to Building 0825.

In the hall, Thirteen directly announced that the journey of this year's Genius Battle had come to an end for the participants whose trial ranking was below 7300.

Then, he left Jiang Zhe and the other five alone and gave them a thorough lecture.

The next morning, when the many geniuses gathered in the central square, the number had plummeted from over a million to 7300, making it much quieter.

The Nine Swords Master reappeared and explained the rules to everyone; the second round of elimination had begun.

Round of 7200 to Round of 3600!

Round of 3600 to Round of 1800!

Round of 1800 to Round of 900!

Finally, including Jiang Zhe and the other top 100 spectators, there are a total of 1000 people who are eligible to join the Virtual Universe Company.

I'm currently reading the error-free version! This is the first time I've published this novel.

Before disbanding, the Nine Swords Master once again announced the rewards and the rules for the subsequent final battle.

Jiang Zhe glanced at it and then stopped caring.

He's currently thinking about how many points he'll get after obtaining the Primal Secret Realm qualification, and how to choose a suitable resident teacher.

Luo Feng ventured into the primeval secret realm, and with the help of the True King, he found the most suitable teacher for him.

Are you all alone, waiting to be randomly assigned by the virtual universe company?

Headache!

There were some minor incidents along the way, such as a genius who refused to accept the arrangements of the virtual universe system and was forcefully suppressed.

The next morning.

1000 geniuses gathered in the central square.

Two hundred people were selected and teleported to the silver-white arena. Jiang Zhe quickly ended the battle and entered the top 100.

After all 100 battles are completed, the virtual universe system will select the top 20 players, and the Nine Swords Venerable will announce the list.

Kang Chul!

Berlan!

……

Luo Feng!

A thousand waters!

涛！

After the list was announced, the young men and women sitting casually discussed it and offered their congratulations to their friends.

"Thunder Emperor, Madman, it seems we still have a chance to fight!" Rong Jun laughed heartily, full of fighting spirit.

The three of them were all from the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, and none of them had any personality flaws. They got along very well and had been sitting together since yesterday.

Half an hour later, ten arenas rose up in the square, and the 20 people on the list were instantly teleported to the arenas.

Jiang Zhe glanced at the opponents assigned to him by the virtual universe system.

A four-armed snake-man with a cold demeanor, carrying a cross-shaped dagger, who is completely absent from the original work.

Three feet of lightning shot out, and even though the snake-man had four hands, he couldn't defend against it and was instantly killed by Jiang Zhe.

They made it into the top ten and had the fastest completion time.

Second, Berlan;

Third, a thousand waterways;

Fourth, Luo Feng;

……

The winners emerged one after another on the ten arenas, and the final list was finalized.

Jiang Zhe, Bo Lan, Qian Shui, Luo Feng, Jiang Mo, Lancelot, Wu Ka, Ai Chen, Long Yun, Rong Jun!

The battles between the top five have begun.

The rule is that the player who wins the fastest time plays against the player who wins the slowest time, and so on...

Jiang Zhe VS Rong Jun!

The two exchanged a glance. Jiang Zhe nodded and smiled, while Rong Jun laughed heartily, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

Bolan vs. Longyun!

Jiang Zhe felt that the competition between the chief and the second-in-command in the original work was a foregone conclusion.

Qianshui VS Aichen!

The battle between the two alien girls is quite interesting.

Luo Feng VS Uka!

The infighting among the "Primordial Three" in the future? That's something to watch.

Mo vs. Lancelot!

……

Jiang Zhe won first, and Rong Jun got what he asked for!

The four spots were then decided as follows: Bolan, Qianshui, Luofeng, and Lancelot.

The format for the top five has changed to a round-robin tournament. Because he could beat Luo Feng and Bo Lan, Jiang Zhe is taking it more seriously.

After a short rest, the cycle of battles begins.

First match, VS Qian Shui, won!

In the second match, VS Jiang Mo, I won!

They defeated the genius brother and sister from the planet Augustus one after another.

Jiang Zhe faced the civil war on Meteorite Star and used his still immature "Hundred Lines Flow" to teach Luo Feng the correct way to use the laws of space.

The three-foot-long bolt of lightning shattered the solidified golden sword of the Sky-Piercing Style, securing victory!

Next is the final battle of the Cycle of Reincarnation.

Three-time winner Jiang Zhe vs. three-time winner Bolan!

The duel between two geniuses, a phenomenon that occurs only once every ten thousand epochs, attracted the attention of all the unparalleled geniuses, over a thousand immortals, and the Nine Sword Venerables.

Among them, the Nine Swords Venerable is the most enjoyable.

It's worth noting that the 1000 geniuses selected this time will all be his subordinates in the future.

Drawing two "gold cards" that exude an air of nobility? The host of this year's Genius Battle is really making a killing!

The description of Bolan's strength was incorrect and has already been corrected. In the Genius Battle, Bolan could create thousands of clones, not several thousand.

Next chapter, late at night, currently writing...

(End of this chapter)