Virtual Universe, Ganwu Continent, Molten Rock Island.
On the bustling streets, many Universe citizens excitedly discussed while pointing at the incredibly huge black announcement board in the sky.
On this entirely black announcement, there were characters emitting dazzling white light.
"Universe Humans — Pinnacle Genius Battle"
"Once every ten thousand years!"
"About to begin!"
"Jointly organized by the Huge Axe Dojo and all Universe Countries."
"Are you a Genius? Can't find an opponent at the same Rank? Want to become a renowned expert in the Universe? Then participate in the 'Pinnacle Genius Battle'."
"Here, billions of Geniuses from numerous Universe Countries across the entire Universe will engage in fierce battles!"
"For details, please use your virtual assistant to visit the official website of the 'Huge Axe Dojo'."
The black announcement board was incredibly huge; as long as one was on any continent or island in the Virtual Universe, they would inevitably see this black announcement, as it was a grand event held twice every ten thousand years by Universe humans.
…
"The Pinnacle Genius Battle, held once every five thousand years, is about to begin."
Leaning against the railing of the villa's rooftop, Ender looked at the incredibly huge black announcement board for a moment, then turned around and softly asked, "Second Uncle, how are your preparations coming along?"
On the villa's rooftop, besides Ender, there were four other men dressed in casual clothes but wearing battle suits underneath, either sitting or standing.
These four men, apart from two of them having a seven or eight-tenths resemblance, also shared common features: black hair and black vertical pupils!
And these four were Ender's four Family members who were about to participate in the Genius Battle.
Second Uncle, Ron Royce.
Eldest Brother, Eric Ron Royce.
Thirteen, Gerry Royce.
Nineteen, Arthur Royce.
Second Uncle Ron smiled and said, "We've been ready for a long time. We've waited over four thousand years for this moment to arrive."
"Eleven, just watch." Eldest Brother Eric smiled and nodded, "According to Teacher World Master Molten Rock's evaluation, we have a very high chance of entering the top 1,000 in the Ganwu Universe Country."
"Brother Eleven." Thirteen Gerry said in a deep voice, "Eldest Brother and I, as well as Nineteen, have all comprehended a trace of a lower Law, and even have a chance to contend for a spot in the Universe's top 1,000."
"Tsk." Nineteen Arthur glanced at Thirteen, sneering, "That sounds good, but don't mess up at the critical moment."
Hearing these clearly antagonistic words, Ender frowned slightly and said, "Nineteen!"
"Brother Eleven, don't worry." Nineteen Arthur, hearing this, showed a brilliant smile, but the scar on his face made his expression somewhat ferocious at the moment.
"Eldest Brother and I will definitely make it into the top 1,000 in the Ganwu Universe Country. Although Second Uncle hadn't comprehended a trace of Law, he has been stuck at Domain Nine Heavens for a long time and has a good chance of entering the top 1,000 in the Ganwu Universe Country."
"As for a certain someone…" At this point, Nineteen Arthur's smile faded, "Maybe he won't even make it out of the world preliminaries."
"Nineteen! Don't go too far!!"
Thirteen Gerry called out in a low, displeased voice, suppressing a hint of violent emotion.
"Tsk." Nineteen Arthur said disdainfully, "What, you want to practice with me? You can't even beat Eldest Brother, and you still want to beat me?"
Hearing these disdainful words, Thirteen's face showed annoyance, "You…"
"Thirteen, Nineteen." Eldest Brother Eric softly advised, "Don't cause trouble today, your Brother Eleven is still here."
"Hmph!"
Hearing Eldest Brother's words, Thirteen and Nineteen, who were standing on opposite sides of the villa's rooftop, both snorted coldly at the same time.
Ender still leaned against the railing of the villa's rooftop, looking at Thirteen and Nineteen, whose relationship was clearly not good, feeling a bit of a headache.
Thirteen and Nineteen's personalities were inherently incompatible. After the Possession of the Flame Star Beast, Thirteen, influenced by the Space Beast Bloodline, became even more stubborn, with a few more hints of bloodlust and violence.
As for Nineteen, after being sentenced by Ender to a hundred years in Black Prison Star during the Family trial incident, he developed a stubborn personality influenced by the Lorgar Tribe Bloodline after surviving Black Prison Star, and he found Thirteen increasingly displeasing due to the Possession incident.
After each obtaining their Possession Opportunity, the two of them Cultivated together in the Molten Rock Secret Realm for over four thousand years. It is said that during this period, they often engaged in 'friendly sparring' in the Virtual Universe.
However, the losing side would inevitably work harder after the 'friendly sparring' to win back in the next 'friendly sparring'.
Initially, their strengths were evenly matched, with 'friendly sparring' having mixed results, but as their Cultivation time in the Molten Rock Secret Realm grew longer, the gap between them gradually became apparent.
According to Ender's expectation, among the three, Thirteen, who had undergone Possession of the Flame Star Beast, should have the best Law talent and be the strongest. However, the reality was that Thirteen's strength was subtly at the bottom among the three brothers.
Because he underwent Possession of a Black Zhuo Clan, Nineteen had seven-tenths talent in Light Law. He was able to firmly suppress Thirteen in later 'friendly sparring' sessions.
Thirteen, who underwent Possession of the Flame Star Beast, had good talent in Fire Law and also comprehended a trace of Fire Origin Law. However, when facing Eldest Brother, who had also comprehended a trace of Fire Origin, he lost more often than he won.
Ender asked, "Nineteen, I heard that World Master Molten Rock found you an Immortal teacher who specializes in Light Law?"
"Yes, Brother Eleven." Nineteen nodded and introduced, "That Immortal is a Disciple of King Aurora. It is said that his strength is very close to Marquis-level Immortal.
"After receiving World Master Molten Rock's invitation, he heard that I was Brother Eleven's younger brother and agreed to guide me until the end of this Pinnacle Genius Battle."
Hearing this, Ender nodded slightly and said, "If you achieve good results in this Pinnacle Genius Battle, I will give that Immortal a generous gift."
"Thank you, Brother Eleven." Nineteen said gratefully.
"Second Uncle." Ender said to the only elder present, "Is your goal this time to enter the Dry Witch Secret Realm?"
"Yes." Second Uncle Ron nodded, smiling with a hint of helplessness, "My talent is a bit lacking, so I can only set my goal on entering the Dry Witch Secret Realm."
"The difficulty of entering the Dry Witch Secret Realm is much easier than entering the top 1,000 in the Universe."
Ender comforted, "During the Pinnacle Genius Battle, the Ganwu Universe Country will select outstanding Geniuses who are eliminated and admit them into the Dry Witch Secret Realm. Even if you don't make it into the top 1,000 in the Ganwu Universe Country, you still might be selected to enter the Dry Witch Secret Realm."
"I know, but I'm still a bit unwilling." Second Uncle Ron sighed, "I've been stuck at Domain Nine Heavens for over a thousand years, unable to comprehend that trace of Fire Origin Law."
Hearing this, the four people present, including Ender, fell silent. They had all comprehended Laws and knew how difficult it was to comprehend a Law.
Even a Genius like Ender, his progress in Space Origin Law was slow now, as Law comprehension becomes harder the further one goes.
Of course, this is for those who have already comprehended Laws. For those who have not, comprehending that first trace of Universe Origin Law is very, very difficult!
Eric ask, "Eleven, will you watch this Pinnacle Genius Battle until the end?"
"As long as you are not eliminated, I will watch until the end." Ender smiled, "So, I hope you can make it to the last day of the finals."
"Brother Eleven, I won't disappoint you." Nineteen said.
Thirteen nodded, "Brother Eleven, I will make it to the last day of the finals."
After hearing their words, Ender smiled and nodded, "Eldest Brother, what about you?"
Eldest Brother Eric smiled and said, "I can only say I'll do my best to strive for a spot in the top 1,000 in the Universe."
"Heh, top 1,000 in the Universe." Ender laughed, "Eldest Brother's words are not humble at all."
Under the incredibly huge black announcement board in the sky, Ender and the others chatted on the villa's rooftop.
Meanwhile, on various continents and islands in the Virtual Universe, countless Stellar Rank Geniuses were signing up on the Huge Axe Dojo's official website, fighting for the title of Pinnacle Genius!
…
Time flowed, and the new Pinnacle Genius Battle began.
The Ganwu Universe Country's more than 7 billion participants were distributed among 100 world zones for battles. Only the top 1001 from each world zone could advance to the next stage of the competition.
In the starry sky outside the 100 world zones.
"Second Uncle is in Zone 7, Eldest Brother is in Zone 24, Thirteen is in Zone 15, and Nineteen is in Zone 80."
Ender rented a spaceship and was watching the world preliminaries of the Pinnacle Genius Battle in the Ganwu Universe Country.
He had invited his father and mother to watch together, but his mother refused, so he had to watch alone.
"It seems Thirteen is heavily influenced by the Flame Star Beast Bloodline; his fighting style is somewhat violent and cruel…"
In World Zone 15, within a forest.
Thirteen held a greatsword, his Fire Domain enveloping all enemies, suppressing them within the Domain and preventing them from exerting their full strength.
Afterward, he used an open and grand sword technique, slaughtering wildly among the crowd, resulting in severed limbs scattered everywhere.
"Hmm… Thirteen's sword technique is open and grand, every strike aims to kill the enemy, the control of force is good, with no wasted movements."
After watching Thirteen's situation for a while, Ender controlled the Universe spaceship to travel to World Zone 7 to observe Second Uncle's preliminary battle situation.
It took some time, but he found Second Uncle Ron, who was entrenched in a tall building. It seemed he had not moved since clearing out most of the participants in the building.
"Is he planning to wait a few days before resuming the slaughter?"
Seeing that Second Uncle, entrenched in the tall building, had no intention of moving, Ender vaguely guessed his intention, which was the same as his own when he first participated in the Pinnacle Genius Battle.
After learning that Second Uncle would not act for the time being, he began to check the skill level of the participants in this Pinnacle Genius Battle and whether the competition was as fierce as in his own Rank.
After two days of observation, observing more than twenty worlds, Ender came to a conclusion, "The level of participants in this Pinnacle Genius Battle is a bit low; the competition is not as fierce as in my Rank."
"In my Pinnacle Genius Battle back then, more than a thousand participants who passed the world preliminary stage alone had comprehended a trace of Law. This current Rank is much worse."
As for Zone 7, Ender did not find any Genius who had comprehended a trace of Law. At first, he was not resigned.
So, he observed all the cities in that world zone. Although the observed participants might not be all of them, it could be said that he observed most of them, but still did not find any Genius who had comprehended a trace of Law.
He then observed several more worlds before making this assertion.
"Judging from the current level of the Ganwu Universe Country in this Genius Battle, Second Uncle has a good chance of entering the top 1,000 in the Ganwu Country."
After continuously observing Second Uncle for several days, with Ender's insight, he could naturally judge the former's strength.
And from the observation results of other World Domain Nine Heavens participants, Second Uncle was at the top tier in terms of both Domain application and skill strength among Domain Nine Heavens Geniuses.
After all, Second Uncle had been in Domain Nine Heavens for over a thousand years. Unable to comprehend a trace of Law, he could only hone his skills, and the Molten Rock Secret Realm was not lacking in secret techniques.
"It seems that after becoming a Official Disciple of Lord of Ganwu, World Master Molten Rock's authority has increased significantly. The secret techniques Second Uncle is using are of a high level, suspected to be entry-level secret techniques created by Immortals. Although they are only basic parts, they are enough to defeat Geniuses of the same Rank."
At this point, Ender nodded gently, "Indeed, after I officially became a Disciple of my teacher, the authority I obtained had already reached the King-level Immortal Rank. Now, my authority is even higher, comparable to Limit stage King."
"No matter what, Lord of Ganwu is a Universe Venerable, and also a Universe Venerable affiliated with the Virtual Universe Company. It's normal for his authority to increase after becoming a Official Disciple."
World Master Molten Rock's strength was comparable to an ordinary Immortal. After becoming a Disciple of Lord of Ganwu, he should have the authority of an ordinary Immortal Rank, and the Rank of secret techniques he could purchase also increased.
As far as he knew, World Master Molten Rock had obtained a treasure suspected to be a Beast God Inheritance Token during an adventure. Besides that Inheritance Token, he might have also obtained other treasures, so he was not short of money.
With Mixed units and authority, he could naturally purchase entry-level secret techniques of ordinary Immortal Rank, which was also reflected in the secret technique resources of the Molten Rock Secret Realm.
"World Master Molten Rock has increased his investment in the Molten Rock Secret Realm again. Is this a decision made due to my rise last time?"
Ender couldn't help but wonder if Lord of Ganwu had promised something, making World Master Molten Rock, who had already achieved his goal, start increasing his investment in the Molten Rock Secret Realm again.
"If any of Eldest Brother and the others can enter the top 1,000 in the Universe this time, World Master Molten Rock's name will likely become very famous—a World Master who consecutively cultivated Geniuses in the top 1,000 of the Universe for two Ranks."
At this point, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Being called the Cultivation Master of the Ganwu Universe Country? And then the Molten Rock Secret Realm becomes the second Genius cultivation base after the Dry Witch Secret Realm, specifically for Geniuses participating in the Pinnacle Genius Battle and entering the Dry Witch Secret Realm…"
He recalled that when he participated in the Pinnacle Genius Battle through the Molten Rock Secret Realm and became the second-place winner of that Pinnacle Genius Battle, the name of the Molten Rock Secret Realm had already become well-known.
As his performance in the Virtual Universe Company improved, the number of Geniuses coming from other intermediate Universe countries to join the Molten Rock Secret Realm gradually increased. It is said that the total number of Geniuses in the Molten Rock Secret Realm now approaches one hundred thousand, and this is even after raising the entry standards.
"World Master Molten Rock increasing investment in the Molten Rock Secret Realm is a good thing. The more outstanding younger generations of the Family also enter the Molten Rock Secret Realm through the newly built Stellar Training Camp."
"Hmm… The Family's development is currently good. The newly built Stellar Training Camp is in one of the ten star systems under my name, which is considered the Royce Family's exclusive Stellar Training Camp."
Ender was not very concerned about the development of the Royce Family. He only heard a few things about the Family's development during gatherings and meetings he attended.
As his strength grew, this situation would become even more pronounced in the future. Now, one Cultivation session for him would take hundreds or thousands of years, making it difficult to pay too much attention to the Family.
"The Family can be left to Sixth Uncle and the others. I just need to be the pillar of the Family."
Ender was very clear about his own positioning, so he did not interfere with the Family's development.
"Hmm… Finally, I found a participant who has comprehended a trace of Law."
While observing the world preliminaries distractedly, he finally had some Gains while thinking…