"My opinion?"
Jiang Yan fell silent for a moment. His gaze shifted to Hong, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"My opinion is simple—wait until the Genius Battle ends."
Luo was known as the Time Realm Lord.
Within the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, his comprehension of the Law of Time ranked among the very top—even many Immortal-level powerhouses were inferior to him in that regard.
Not only that, he had also achieved notable attainment in the Law of Light.
But—
That was only within the Qianwu Universe Kingdom.
With Hong's current strength, advancing through the first stage of the Genius Battle was almost guaranteed. Even in the second stage, entering the top 1001 was well within reach.
The same applied to Thor.
Compared to the original timeline, the growth of the two of them was explosive.
The reason was simple—
their current wealth and resources were already comparable to those of ordinary Immortals.
With enough cultivation resources, their foundations were vastly stronger than before.
Once they entered the top 1001 of the second stage, they would become core members of the Virtual Universe Company, gaining access to secret realms such as the Primal Chaos Secret Realm—and even the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm was not impossible.
Compared to a single Time Realm Lord like Luo, the Virtual Universe Company was an incomparably greater backing.
As for Hong no longer following the original path—joining the Giant Axe Arena and failing to apprentice under the Giant Axe—
That no longer mattered.
With Jiang Yan and Luo Feng present, they were the real pillars of Earth.
Hong nodded after hearing Jiang Yan's words, smiling calmly.
"Third Brother, our thoughts align perfectly. I think the same."
Jiang Yan nodded, then asked casually,
"Have you secured your final qualification for the second stage yet?"
"Not yet," Luo Feng replied.
"Elder Brother and I have only won three arena matches. We still need one more victory."
The structure of the first-stage arena battles was straightforward.
First came the Ring Knockout Round.
From the 100 world zones, a total of 100,100 people entered this stage—including Jiang Yan and the other world-zone champions.
90,000 were eliminated immediately10,000 entered one-on-one arena matches
Each round halved the number:
10,000 → 5,0005,000 → 2,5002,500 → 1,2501,250 → 625 undefeated winners
These 625 people, together with 100 world-zone first-place holders, secured direct entry into the second stage—725 spots confirmed.
The remaining 275 spots would be decided through a brutal reincarnation battle, lasting nearly three years, among those who had suffered a single defeat.
At that moment, Thor sighed heavily.
"Third Brother… this fourth arena match is dangerous."
"One of us is almost guaranteed to fall into the defeated group."
Luo Feng nodded grimly.
"Yeah. The only question is—which one of us."
Hong's expression also grew solemn.
Jiang Yan thought for a moment, then understood.
"You're worried about Rong Jun."
The virtual matching system paired contestants based on strength.
Anyone who had comprehended a law to the threshold level was highly likely to be matched against another such expert.
Among the participants of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, there were very few threshold-level geniuses.
Aside from Jiang Yan—who had already secured qualification—
only Luo Feng, Hong, Thor, and Rong Jun remained.
The odds were clear.
Thor spoke with a serious expression.
"Almost guaranteed. According to what I know, every other threshold-level contestant has already lost to Rong Jun in the first three rounds."
Hong added quietly,
"So far, Rong Jun has never needed a second blade."
"If you meet Rong Jun and lose, that's not the end," Jiang Yan said calmly, shaking his head with a smile.
"Entering the defeated group isn't a disaster."
"With your strength, surviving the reincarnation battles is practically guaranteed."
"Treat it as tempering."
The reincarnation battle forced contestants to fight everyone else in the defeated group.
Only the strongest 275 would emerge.
This system existed precisely to ensure that monsters like Rong Jun didn't prematurely eliminate other true elites.
Thor sighed helplessly.
"I know… but the reincarnation battles last for years."
Before he could say more—
Ding!
All three of them received an email simultaneously.
"The match list is out!" Luo Feng said immediately.
Thor clenched his fists.
"Hurry up—let's see who we got."
A few breaths later—
Silence.
Thor's face darkened instantly.
"…Damn it."
"My opponent is Big Brother."
Hong was equally stunned.
"Thor… I didn't expect this either."
Thor let out a bitter laugh.
"This is ridiculous."
Hong turned toward Luo Feng.
"Fourth Brother—what about you?"
Luo Feng raised his head slowly. His eyes were sharp and calm.
"Rong Jun."
Thor's eyes widened.
"So only one of us can advance directly?"
"The other two go to reincarnation battles?"
"This luck is awful."
"Luck is also part of strength," Jiang Yan said lightly, smiling.
"Alright."
"Fight well."
"I'm heading to the Dry Witch Secret Realm."
At this stage, comprehending the laws was Jiang Yan's highest priority.
Since the Lord of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom had granted him three years of cultivation in the Dry Witch Secret Realm, there was no reason to waste it.
Though inferior to the Virtual Universe Company's ultimate secret realms, the Dry Witch Secret Realm was still among the top cultivation holy lands.
Hong smiled.
"Go ahead."
"In a few years, we'll stand beside you in the second stage."
Soon after, Red Kite escorted Jiang Yan to the Qianwu Dojo.
The one who received him surprised Jiang Yan—
Qinya.
Under her guidance, Jiang Yan entered the Dry Witch Secret Realm, beginning his closed cultivation with resources available only to the dojo's core elites.
At the same time—
The decisive arena battles were about to begin.
Hong vs. Thor.
Luo Feng vs. Rong Jun.
The storm had arrived.
Reduced the price because you can read 120 something chapters of this book on webnovel and it dosent feel fair to charge for whole book like that and this will mostly continue till the end of next month[HAPPY READING][for some reason i cannot set price to 2$ it says price must be 3$ min]
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