After selecting his equipment, Han Jue found the options rather limited.
He donned dark blue, second-tier Force armor and matching combat boots. His spatial ring contained the fifth-tier Force weapon 'Cloud Sea Dragon Hunter' and the second-tier blade 'Frost.' After securing his gear, Han Jue smoothed his hair back and was pleasantly surprised to discover goggles resembling sunglasses among the optional equipment.
He slipped them on with satisfaction.
The preliminaries were about to begin.
World Zone 99.
A flash of white light accompanied Han Jue's teleportation, and he materialized inside an ordinary room.
"Five hundred times Earth's gravity? Not bad."
After taking a moment to adjust to the intensified gravitational field, Han Jue glanced at the screen on his wristband. Dense text covered its surface.
Participant: Han Jue (Black Dragon Mountain Empire)
Points: 0
Ranking: Unranked
World Zone: World Zone 99
Time Limit: The preliminary elimination round will last for 30 days. At the conclusion of this period, the entire preliminaries will end, with final rankings determined by accumulated points.
Note: World Zone 99 is a continent modeled after the real "Gege Planet" of the Ganwu Universe Country. It features 76 cities, wilderness zones, and mountain ranges, covering a land area exceeding 11 million square kilometers. The hardness of all buildings, terrain, and structures within World Zone 99 is rated at B9 grade.
Scoring System: Killing a participant awards points equal to 1 plus half of the opponent's current point total. Therefore, eliminating skilled participants with high scores yields greater rewards.
Death Rules: Death is not elimination. Even if you die and lose half your accumulated points, maintaining a high enough score can still secure placement in the top 1,001. Fight hard, everyone!
"The rules remain unchanged from previous competitions," Han Jue noted with a slight nod.
Crack!
A flaming arrow shattered the window glass behind him, streaking toward the back of his head!
Without even turning around, Han Jue reached back with his right hand and caught the projectile mid-flight. With a casual flick, he extinguished the flames and dropped the arrow to the floor.
"How is that possible!" Inside another building across the street, the archer stared in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Han Jue turned, lowered his head slightly, and removed his sunglasses.
His pale blue eyes were revealed.
The archer met Han Jue's gaze and instantly felt as though he faced an endless tsunami. In that single moment, his mind was overwhelmed by crashing waves, and he was dragged into a dreamlike illusion.
Whoosh!
The next instant, Han Jue appeared beside the man. He gently reached out with his right hand and, with a simple pinching motion, snapped the archer's neck.
"This Mirage Sea secret technique is more than sufficient to handle these competitors," Han Jue said with a faint smile.
He had previously tested this technique against Hong and Lei Shen with predictable results, it had been completely useless. Even Luo Feng, who possessed the weakest state of mind among the three, was protected by the Void Tower, rendering Han Jue's Mirage Sea illusions ineffective.
Fortunately, no one in this world zone possessed the same abnormal mental fortitude.
Bang!
The room's door exploded inward under tremendous force!
A tall man clad in heavy armor strode in with a sinister grin spreading across his face.
"You, "
Han Jue glanced at him.
Before the armored man could finish speaking, the Mirage Sea secret technique instantly engulfed his consciousness.
"Let's accelerate the pace," Han Jue muttered. "Points are accumulating too slowly this way."
Time to increase the kill rate.
Pale pink water suddenly materialized above the city, enveloping the surrounding streets in an ethereal mist.
The Mirage Sea secret technique wasn't limited to single-target attacks. Rather, it possessed two distinct forms.
The first form utilized the illusory Mirage Sea within his sea of consciousness to oppress an enemy's mind, trapping their soul within layers of illusions before annihilating them. In this form, the Mirage Sea possessed direct soul-attacking capabilities, and the illusions were even more potent.
The second form manifested like what Han Jue had encountered in the Dry Sea Divine Realm, transforming the illusory Mirage Sea into physical reality. It could drag all enemies within its range into the illusion. If an enemy's willpower proved insufficient, they would be trapped forever.
Creating a physical Mirage Sea still stretched Han Jue's capabilities. Generally, one needed to reach the third level of the Mirage Sea secret technique to perform such a feat.
Only through his exceptionally strong willpower and profound understanding of the fundamental laws of water had Han Jue achieved this manifestation.
Splash!
The pink sea surged and rolled!
Han Jue's figure vanished into the mirage like a ghost. Each time he reappeared, he carried off another enemy lost in the illusion. Even the few participants with the most steadfast willpower couldn't withstand a single sword strike from Han Jue.
He didn't even need to employ his swordsmanship techniques. Without drawing his Cloud Sea sword, he could easily dispatch them in seconds!
This was massacre. Only this word could accurately describe Han Jue's current actions.
Soon, the surrounding participants fled in terror, not daring to approach the pink sea again.
Above World Zone 99.
Spaceships hovered in the darkness of space. In one particular vessel, Han Hesheng and Han Hechang sat watching the proceedings.
"Xiao Jue's ranking has been rising rapidly!" Han Hesheng exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, he's already broken into the top one hundred, and his rank is still climbing," Han Hechang observed, laughing with satisfaction.
"Lei Shen's ranking is also rising quickly, but Hong and Luo Feng's rankings haven't changed much," Han Hesheng noted with some puzzlement.
"I suspect they're conserving their strength and accumulating resources," Han Hechang suggested.
Han Hesheng nodded and continued monitoring the rankings.
At this moment, Han Jue was approaching the top ten, closing in on first place.
Above World Zone 61.
Inside a luxurious spaceship, a group of young nobles held wine glasses and enjoyed exquisite cuisine while watching the battles through virtual outdoor scenes.
"Diaman, I heard you've been confirmed as the heir to the Cuimu Empire's throne? Your Cuimu Empire has been quite prominent lately," a burly man over three meters tall, dressed in regal robes, laughed heartily while raising his wine glass.
"You flatter me, Your Highness. I'm still no match for you," Diaman replied with diplomatic modesty.
"Your Cuimu Empire has acquired a second-class bloodline!" the Crown Prince said noncommittally. "I expect the next Genius Competition will be your empire's time to shine!"
Diaman shook his head helplessly.
The merfolk bloodline was indeed powerful, but they were divine beings. Without hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of epochs, their potential would be difficult to recover, and their bloodline rank might even decline over time.
Furthermore, their clan's treasure, the Sea-Suppressing Pearl, was gone.
Otherwise, the merfolk would never have fallen into the Cuimu Empire's hands. The Empire now had to expend considerable resources to support and strengthen the merfolk bloodline.
Of course, if the merfolk successfully recovered their former glory, the Cuimu Empire could transform itself into one of the strongest vassal states within the Ganwu Universe Country.
It was a gamble, to be honest.
"Hey, Brolin, your Black Dragon Mountain Empire has produced quite a few promising talents this time!" the Crown Prince remarked, turning his attention to Brolin, who stood nearby.
"Indeed! The Black Dragon Mountain Empire performed poorly in previous competitions, but they've really risen this time!"
"Last time, it seems no one from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire even made it into the top ten thousand," another noble chimed in.
A group of nobles began chatting animatedly, bringing a bright smile to Brolin's face.
"Lucky, lucky!" Brolin beamed, exchanging pleasantries with those around him.
"The number one spot in World Zone 99 just went to someone from your Black Dragon Mountain Empire!" a young woman suddenly exclaimed.
"What!"
Everyone's attention immediately shifted to the rankings.
"Han Jue?"
Diaman also noticed the change in rankings and showed momentary surprise before his expression softened with understanding.
That's right. If Han Jue can't secure top rankings, then who can?
What a shame they couldn't recruit him to the Cuimu Empire back then.
Diaman sighed inwardly with regret.
Han Jue's name was immediately noticed throughout the Ganwu Universe Country, by numerous divine kingdoms, countless organizations, and powerful individuals.
Number one in a world zone!
Although the final round hadn't arrived yet, maintaining this level of dominance during the fiercest early stages of competition virtually guaranteed placement in the top one hundred of the preliminaries!
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, this is wonderful news!"
The vast imperial hall suddenly erupted in excitement as the dignitaries of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire cheered enthusiastically. Those permitted to attend this event included not only the Empire's elite, Realm Lords and Domain Lords, but also the emperors of over five hundred "primary civilizations," each holding status far exceeding that of figures like Nuolanshan.
"Haha..." The Emperor, clad in his dark imperial robe, let out a hearty laugh that echoed throughout the hall.
At the front of the hall stood an enormous screen displaying, "Number of Black Dragon Mountain Empire participants who passed the preliminary selection (current): 1," followed by Han Jue's name in bold characters.
"Han Jue, very good!"
The Emperor laughed heartily, his voice booming, "At the very least, our Black Dragon Mountain Empire didn't finish last this time. Han Jue has made an indelible contribution! He must be rewarded generously!"