Swallowing the Stars: Starting with Panlong

Chapter 144: Battle of the Pinnacle Geniuses

After the Qianwu Auction ended, the four returned to Earth.

With about three months left until the Genius Battle, every minute and second was precious. Luo Feng wasted no time and went straight to the cultivation room after returning to Mingyue Residential Area.

"Babata, the Demon Slayer skin is in hand. Now, let's begin nurturing the second clone." Luo Feng sat cross-legged and took out the black skin containing strange dark gold patterns from his spatial ring.

"It should have started long ago." Babata's voice was filled with excitement. "Once the Golden Horned Beast reaches the cosmic level, it can spawn a second clone. The Demon Slayer Clan is the pinnacle race among energy-type life forms, known as the strongest assassins. Their affinity for space is second only to those legendary spatial beasts. Using it to spawn a clone will give your spatial laws a qualitative leap."

Luo Feng took a deep breath and immersed his consciousness into his inner world.

The golden-horned behemoth's avatar was curled up in the center of its inner world, its body covered in jet-black scales with golden markings flowing across them. It opened its massive maw and swallowed the Demon Slayer's skin.

Innate Secret Technique - Clone. Development.

The inner world began to tremble, and a mysterious power surged from the Golden Horned Beast, enveloping the Demon Slayer's skin. Under the influence of this mysterious power, the skin slowly melted, transforming into a mass of black liquid. Within the liquid, dark golden runes flickered continuously—the imprints of the fundamental laws of space.

Gradually, a phantom shadow began to materialize—the nascent form of the Demon Slayer Clan's avatar. The shadow was still blurry, with only an outline, but Lin Yun could sense that it was gradually solidifying.

"Pregnancy time... 3 years and 9 months." Luo Feng received a message from his inner world.

"So long?" Luo Feng frowned.

"Three years and nine months isn't a long time," Babata said. "The Demon Slayers are the pinnacle of energy-based life forms, with extremely high levels of genetic life. It's normal for it to take a long time to develop such an avatar. How long did it take for your Earthling avatar to develop? A year and a half. The Demon Slayers are far more powerful than Earthlings; three years and nine months is perfectly normal."

"But the Genius Battle starts in three months." Luo Feng said with some helplessness.

"The Genius Battle doesn't require a Demon Slayer Clan clone," Babata said. "Your Earthling clone is the main body for the Genius Battle. Neither the Golden Horned Beast clone nor the Demon Slayer Clan clone can participate—the Genius Battle only allows human forms. What you need to do now is to familiarize yourself with the Divine Weapon as quickly as possible and strive to master the first level before the Genius Battle."

Luo Feng nodded and shifted his attention to the Divine Weapon.

He took out the dark gold staff from his spatial ring. The Divine Weapon in its normal form is a staff, about 1.2 meters long, entirely dark gold with fine patterns on its surface. Holding it in his hand, he could feel the immense energy contained within—a power interwoven with the fundamental laws of metal and space.

"The Divine Weapon has nine forms," ​​Babata said. "The first form is incredibly difficult for a Hengxing-level being. A Hengxing-level being who can unleash the first form is practically invincible among their peers. Your Golden Origin Law has already reached the threshold, but your Spatial Law hasn't made much progress. To unleash the first form, you need to make a breakthrough in your Spatial Law."

"The laws of space..." Luo Feng murmured.

Although his golden-horned behemoth avatar possessed some spatial talent, its main focus remained on the Law of Metal. He hadn't delved deeply into the understanding of the Law of Space.

"No rush," Babata said. "You have three months. Three months is enough time for you to touch the threshold of the laws of space. Moreover, the Divine Weapon itself can help you comprehend the laws of space—each of its golden swords contains spatial runes."

Luo Feng closed his eyes and probed his spiritual power into the Divine Weapon.

Inside the Divine Weapon, 10081 thin, golden swords floated silently, each containing incomparably profound primordial law runes. When Luo Feng's spiritual power touched those runes, countless fragments of insights into the laws of metal and space immediately surfaced in his mind.

"So profound..." Luo Feng murmured.

He was so engrossed in it that he forgot the passage of time.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

In the cultivation room of Mingyue Residential Area, Lin Yun sat cross-legged, suspended in mid-air, surrounded by seven-colored light. His cultivation level remained at the peak of the ninth rank of the Hengxing level, but the depth of his understanding of the laws had increased to another level. The wind, thunder, and light laws were nearing minor completion, and the other four laws were also progressing steadily. The spatial law was also not far from stepping into the threshold of the laws.

"Master, today is March 9, 2066," Xiao Lan's voice echoed in his mind.

Lin Yun opened his eyes, and a flash of seven-colored light disappeared from them.

March 9th – In the original novel, this is the day the rankings for the Peak Genius Battle are released.

"Finally, it's here," Lin Yun said softly.

He stood up, walked out of the cultivation room, and came to the living room. He Lingruo was playing with Lin An on the sofa. The little guy was almost four years old, with a chubby face and bright, darting black eyes.

"Dad!" Lin An saw Lin Yun and ran over with her little hands outstretched.

Lin Yun picked him up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Daddy has to go out for a bit. Be a good boy/girl at home."

"Where did Daddy go?" Lin An asked, tilting his head.

"I'm going to participate in a competition," Lin Yun said with a smile. "When Dad wins the competition, he'll bring you a present."

"Okay!" Lin An nodded vigorously.

Lin Yun put Lin An down and looked at He Lingruo.

"The battle of geniuses is about to begin," he said.

He Lingruo nodded, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes, but more so trust.

"careful."

"I will."

Lin Yun stepped out of his house and arrived at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, where his consciousness instantly entered the virtual universe.

In the killing field, Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen were already waiting.

"Lin Yun, you've arrived!" Thor shouted excitedly. "Look at the sky!"

Lin Yun looked up.

In the virtual universe, an enormous scroll floated in the clouds, radiating a dazzling golden light. Each character on the scroll was several meters in size, clearly visible, as if etched into the heavens.

"Universe Humanity - Battle of Ultimate Geniuses!"

"Once in a million years!"

"Coming soon!"

"This event is jointly organized by Virtual Universe Company and all the universe nations!"

"You're a genius? Can't find any opponents of your level and rank? Then join the 'Peak Genius Battle'! Here, billions of geniuses from numerous cosmic nations across the universe will engage in fierce battles!"

For more details, please visit the official website of "Virtual Universe Network" through the virtual assistant.

The announcement was concise yet powerful; every word seemed to carry an invisible force, stirring the heart.

Looking at the enormous notice, Lin Yun felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside him.

"It's finally here," he said softly. "I've been in this world for so long, and this is the day I've been waiting for. Whether I can go further depends on this battle of geniuses!"

"Master, with your strength, it shouldn't be difficult for you to enter the top three in the entire universe in this Cosmic Genius Battle. You might even be able to compete for first place." Xiao Lan's voice rang in his mind, filled with excitement. "If you wait a few more years, it will be difficult for you not to get first place."

Lin Yun smiled but didn't reply.

He knew Xiao Lan was telling the truth. His current strength was indeed unmatched among the Hengxing-level beings. He had reached the threshold of all seven elemental laws, with wind, lightning, and light nearing completion, and the spatial law steadily progressing. Moreover, he could fuse different laws—his wind and light fusion technique, "Flowing Light Illusion," could now create nine clones, each three times the speed of his main body. Such strength was rare even among the geniuses of the entire Hengxing-level universe.

However, Lin Yun also understood that the amount of law one comprehends is not directly equivalent to combat strength. Someone who comprehends three fundamental laws, even if they only grasp one-tenth of each, would find it difficult to defeat someone who has comprehended only one fundamental law but has reached 30% comprehension. Of course, those like him who can fuse different laws are a different story.

Currently, his understanding of the fundamental laws of wind, thunder, and light is quite profound, while his understanding of the other laws—metal, water, fire, and earth—is relatively weaker. However, this is only relative—at least his understanding of the metal law is in no way weaker than Luo Feng's. In the original story, Luo Feng was able to achieve considerable success solely with the metal law, so one can imagine how terrifying Lin Yun's strength is now.

"Lin Yun, is this the genius battle you were talking about?" Thor's eyes gleamed as he stared at the suspended notice board, his fighting spirit surging. "This is truly insane! Star-level beings from the entire universe are fighting together!"

"Haha, the four of us brothers are teaming up!" Luo Feng exclaimed excitedly. "Virtual Universe Company is really generous; anyone who makes it into the top 1,000 will receive at least 10 Mixed Yuan Units as a reward!"

"Luo Feng, what are you thinking?" Babata's voice rang out at the most inopportune moment, mercilessly pouring cold water on his hopes. "You're seriously underestimating the billions of geniuses in the universe. Of the four of you, apart from Lin Yun, it's extremely difficult for the three of you to even make it into the top thousand!"

Luo Feng's smile froze on his face.

"Uh, are we that bad?" Luo Feng couldn't help but be taken aback.

"It's not that you're inferior, but rather that your starting point was somewhat low," Babata explained. "While there are few immortal powerhouses in the universe, the number of star-level beings who have studied under immortal powerhouses across all the universes is in the billions! In terms of talent, there are plenty of people with powerful bloodlines and exceptional abilities! In terms of comprehension, with the universe's population countless, how could there not be those with extraordinary comprehension? And in terms of willpower and diligence, there are even more. So it will be difficult for you to enter the top one thousand, but there is still hope!"

"Babata is right." Lin Yun nodded. "The Genius Battle is no child's play. All the geniuses in the universe will participate. The Qianwu Universe Kingdom alone has trillions of participants, but only 1000 can be selected in the end. The competition is far more intense than you can imagine."

"Trillions?" Thor's eyes widened.

"That's right," Lin Yun said. "The Qianwu Universe Kingdom has more than 13,000 star regions, and each star region contains countless star systems. Even if each star system only sends one person, that's still hundreds of millions of people. What's more, many star systems have tens of thousands of people applying."

Luo Feng was silent for a moment, then clenched his fist.

"No matter how difficult it is, I will give it a try." His gaze was firm. "I have already reached the threshold of the first level of the Divine Weapon. Give me some more time, and I will definitely master it."

"How's your training with the Divine Weapon coming along?" Lin Yun asked.

"I'm still a little short on the first level," Luo Feng said. "I'm fine with the fundamental laws of metal, but my understanding of the laws of space isn't deep enough. Every golden sword in the Divine Weapon contains spatial runes, and I need to understand those runes before I can control them."

"No rush," Lin Yun said. "There's still some time between registration and the official start of the Genius Battle. You still have a chance."

Thor also put away his playful expression and became serious.

"Lin Yun, how far do you think we can go?" he asked.

Lin Yun thought for a moment and said, "With your current strength, passing the preliminary selection of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom should not be a problem. But getting into the top 1000 will depend on luck and performance. However, even if you don't make it into the top 1000, being able to compete against geniuses from the entire universe in the Genius Battle is a rare experience in itself."

"That's right." Hong nodded. "Participation itself is a gain."

The four of them stopped talking, each opened their virtual assistants, entered the official website of the Virtual Universe Network, and carefully browsed the detailed information about the Genius Battle.

The rules of the Peak Genius Battle are divided into two main stages.

In the first phase, the top 1000 experts will be selected from various cosmic nations.

In the second stage, the top 1000 experts from each universe nation gather together, and all the geniuses from various universe nations come together for the final battle to determine the top 1000 in the overall universe ranking.

The largest phase is the first stage. The Qianwu Universe Kingdom initially estimates that there will be nearly one trillion participants, divided into two stages: "preliminary elimination" and "final battle".

Through preliminary elimination, nearly one trillion participants will be eliminated, leaving only 100,100. Because of the large number of eliminations, the preliminary elimination process is destined to be extremely brutal.

The preliminary elimination rounds of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom will first divide the virtual universe into 100 worlds. Each world will be divided into nearly 10 billion participants, who will fight each other in the same world. Killing others earns points; the more you kill, the higher your points. Each person has only one life; death ends the game.

At the final deadline, the final rankings will be determined by points. Those ranked in the top 1001 in this world will pass the preliminary elimination round. A total of 100,100 people will be selected from 100 worlds.

Meanwhile, the player ranked first in each world's rankings will automatically secure one of the top 1000 spots without needing to participate in a ring battle. The remaining 900 spots will be contested by the remaining 100 players through a ring battle.

"Only 1001 people from each world can pass the preliminary selection?" Thor gasped. "Nearly 10 billion people competing for 1001 spots... that ratio is one million to one!"

"That's why it's called the 'Battle of the Ultimate Geniuses'," Lin Yun said. "Those who can pass the preliminary rounds are all geniuses, one in a million."

"And what happens after you pass the preliminary selection?" Luo Feng asked.

"After the preliminary rounds, it's time for the final battle in the arena," Lin Yun continued. "One hundred thousand one hundred people, plus the 100 people who directly enter the top 1000 from each world's number one, make a total of one hundred thousand two hundred people. These one hundred thousand people will compete in the final battle in the arena to determine the top 1000."

"100,000 people vying for 900 spots..." Luo Feng murmured.

"It's very difficult, but not hopeless," Lin Yun said. "The arena battle is a one-on-one elimination system, and luck is also very important. If I draw a weaker opponent, I can go through a few more rounds."

"You can't go far by relying on luck," Hong shook his head. "Strength is the key."

"Brother Hong is right." Lin Yun nodded. "So, we must give it our all in these last few months."

The registration deadline was a full month long. Every day, billions of people registered. Across the hundreds of millions of star systems in the entire Qianwu Universe Kingdom, even if only 10,000 people participated in each system, there would still be trillions of participants.

"Trillions..." Thor swallowed hard.

"What's wrong, scared?" Luo Feng patted his shoulder with a smile.

"Afraid?" Thor grinned. "The word 'fear' doesn't exist in my dictionary! No matter how many come, I'll kill them all!"

"Stop bragging," Hong said calmly. "First, take your Law of Lightning to the next level."

Thor awkwardly shut his mouth.

Looking at the three of them, Lin Yun felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

From Earth to the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield, from the Black Dragon Mountain Starfield to the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, from the Qianwu Universe Kingdom to the entire universe—their stage grew larger and their opponents stronger. But no matter where they went, the four of them always stayed together.

"Alright, enough chit-chat," Lin Yun said. "There are still a few months before the Genius Battle officially begins, so we need to seize the time to cultivate. Luo Feng, continue to familiarize yourself with the Divine Weapon and try to master the first level before the preliminary selection begins. Thor, your Law of Thunder is still some distance from minor mastery; you need to sprint with all your might in these three months. Brother Hong, the same goes for your Law of Light."

"And you?" Luo Feng asked.

Lin Yun smiled and said, "I have my own plans."

He didn't say much, but all three understood that Lin Yun's strength far exceeded their comprehension. His goal wasn't to pass the preliminary rounds or enter the top 1000, but to break into the top three, or even number one, in the entire universe.

"That's settled then," Lin Yun said. "We'll see each other in the Genius Battle."

"Okay!" the three replied in unison.

The four figures disappeared into the killing field, each returning to their own training rooms to begin their final sprint.

In the virtual universe, the list of winners of the Genius Battle still hangs high in the sky, its golden light shining on everyone who looks up at it.

Countless geniuses from countless cosmic nations and star systems were filled with fervor and eagerness at this moment. Among them were direct disciples of immortal powerhouses, core heirs of ancient families, and rogue cultivators who had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. They came from different planets, different races, and possessed different talents and opportunities.

But they all share a common goal—to prove themselves in the ultimate battle of geniuses and fight for that sliver of a chance to enter the Virtual Universe Company.

Lin Yun stood in the cultivation room, looking through the window at the huge banner in the sky of the virtual universe, feeling exceptionally calm.

"The battle of geniuses..." he said softly.

In his mind, every moment of the past years flashed by. From the low-rent housing on Earth to the villa in Mingyue Community; from a senior student to the peak of the ninth level of the Hengxing Star Realm; from being alone to having brothers, a wife, and a son. Every step he had taken was preparation for today.

"Xiao Lan, what place do you think I can get?" Lin Yun asked in his heart.

"Master, with your current strength, entering the top three in the entire universe is no problem," Xiao Lan said. "If you perform well, even first place is not impossible. You have reached the threshold of all seven elemental laws, and the wind, lightning, and light elements are close to minor mastery. You can also fuse different laws. With such strength, you are almost unmatched in the Hengxing Star System."

"Don't be careless." Lin Yun shook his head. "The universe is vast, and there are many geniuses. There might even be someone stronger than me."

"Master is right," Xiao Lan said. "However, given your rate of progress, it would be difficult for you not to take first place in a few years. Unfortunately, the Genius Battle waits for no one."

"It's fine if we don't wait," Lin Yun said. "Challenges make things interesting."

He closed his eyes and immersed his consciousness in the ocean of laws.

Fragments of the seven elemental laws swirled around him, like a multicolored halo. Wind, thunder, light, metal, water, fire, and earth—the seven forces intertwined within him, forming a strange harmony.