On the massive screen inside the observation spaceship—
Rows of empire names scrolled past.
Beside each name was the same cold line of text:
Passed Pre-Selection (Temporary): 0
Again and again.
Until—
One empire stood out.
Heilongshan Empire
Passed Pre-Selection (Temporary): 1
The moment that line appeared—
The Heilongshan Empire's name surged straight to the top of the list.
Silence.
Then—
"Hahahaha!!"
Botero leapt to his feet, his face flushed red with excitement.
"It's us! It's our Heilongshan Empire!!"
For countless Genius Battles—
The Heilongshan Empire had been nothing but a joke.
In the previous session, their best ranking hadn't even cracked the top ten thousand.
The royal family had been humiliated again and again, unable to lift their heads in front of other empires.
In the universe—
Imperial honor mattered.
If even one person from Heilongshan could enter the top thousand of the Ganwu Universe Kingdom—
The entire empire would bask in that glory.
Disbelief
Meanwhile—
The other nobles froze.
Pupils shrank.
Expressions stiffened.
"…How is it possible?"
"The first temporary qualifier… isn't from the direct Star Domain?"
"Nor from one of the major subordinate empires?"
"But from… Heilongshan?"
The empire they had casually dismissed just moments ago.
The Crown Prince's brows knitted tightly.
"Open it," he said quickly.
"Show the details!"
The Second Slap
Ding!
A smaller screen unfolded beside the main display.
A single line appeared.
World Area 21
Rank 1: Jiang Yan (Heilongshan Empire)
Dead silence.
Then—
A collective intake of breath.
"…Jiang Yan."
"The Thunder Emperor!"
It was him.
The very Thunder Emperor they had just mocked.
For a moment, it felt as if invisible hands had slapped them across the face—
hard.
Sharp. Loud. Unmistakable.
Even Qinia, who had always been confident in Jiang Yan, felt her breath hitch.
She had believed he could take first place in the Ganwu Universe Kingdom—
But this fast?
Less than five minutes since the qualifiers began.
Ten thousand points.
Ten thousand kills.
Shockwaves
"Hahaha!! It's the Thunder Emperor!!"
Botero roared, ecstatic.
Among everyone present—
Only Qinia shared his joy.
The rest were stunned.
"Five minutes… ten thousand kills?"
"That's not a person—that's a butcher!"
"Even slaughtering livestock wouldn't be that fast!"
"This is insane!"
"Which city is he in? Zoom in—now!"
The nobles rushed to the observation windows, frantically searching the vast terrain of World Area 21, trying to locate the source of this carnage.
Universe-Wide Attention
At the same moment—
Across the Ganwu Universe Kingdom, across divine kingdoms and super organizations—
Shock erupted.
Three minutes of actual combat time.
Ten thousand points.
Names were recorded.
Archives were updated.
Spaceships that had been observing other world areas immediately rerouted, racing toward World Area 21.
Family Pride
Above World Area 21, inside a private cabin—
Janet, Jiang Fang, Venina, Enchanting, Tang Yongqing, and the children were watching the rankings.
"Dad is first!!"
"So cool!!"
"Dad is the strongest in the universe!"
Jiang Chen, Jiang Wei, Jiang Heng, Jiang Ning, and Jiang Na jumped up and down, faces glowing with pride.
To them—
Jiang Yan was invincible.
An idol.
Janet and the others smiled gently.
No matter where he went—
Their husband continued to create miracles.
"Let's check Uncle Hong and Uncle Luo Feng!" Jiang Wei said excitedly.
The screen shifted.
Hong and Luo Feng's rankings were steadily climbing.
Thor's ranking was rising even faster, already breaking into the top million.
Jiang Ning giggled.
"Dad is still the best—first place!"
Another Perspective
In a different luxury spaceship—
Three figures sat in silence.
At the center, a man in black robes reclined calmly.
A vertical mark split his brow.
Black flames faintly curled around him.
Below him sat two others.
One of them—
Red Kite.
The other, a man in golden battle armor, smiled faintly.
"At the stellar level, he's already mastered the Triple Thunder Prison Demon Realm."
"He's begun fusing Golden and Space laws."
"Thunder, Gold, Light, Space—all at Small Completion…"
"Tsk."
"This junior brother of ours is truly monstrous."
Red Kite's gaze followed Jiang Yan's figure on the screen, watching him descend like a god of slaughter.
"Our talent back then," the golden-armored man continued softly,
"was nowhere near his."
"No wonder Teacher values him so highly."
The man in black sighed.
"With such talent, if the foreign races discover him…"
"The consequences would be disastrous."
The golden-armored man nodded, then looked toward Red Kite.
"Junior Sister, we can't appear openly yet."
"After the qualifiers, remind him—don't be too sharp."
"In the Genius Battle, reveal one or two laws at most."
"Our lineage has too many enemies."
"Now… only four of us remain."
Red Kite nodded solemnly.
"I will."
The Star Prison Lineage
The Star Prison Demon Lord's lineage—
Once nine disciples.
Now—
Only the First, the Third, Red Kite, and Jiang Yan remained.
The others had all fallen.
Even among named disciples—
Only Red Kite survived.
"But with you protecting him," the senior brother said, smiling faintly,
"the junior brother's safety isn't a concern."
"You've already mastered the three mysteries of Space."
"The next step… is becoming a Universe Venerable."
The third senior brother chuckled.
"If you need help, Junior Sister, don't hesitate."
Red Kite sighed helplessly.
"Easier said than done."
"How many epochs has it been since the human race birthed a new Venerable?"
She paused, gazing at Jiang Yan's overwhelming slaughter below.
Then she smiled faintly.
"…At this rate, Jiang Yan might step into the Venerable Realm before me."
Below—
In World Area 21—
The Thunder Prison Demon Realm continued to descend.
And the world trembled.
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