Boom!!
Only a few breaths after Jiang Yan stepped onto the first floor of the First Trial Tower, the ground suddenly roared as if the world itself were awakening.
The earth cracked.
From the horizon, a tide of colossal figures surged forward.
"Ten thousand Blood-Haired Mammoths… ordinary Star-Level Ninth Order."
Jiang Yan raised his head calmly, gazing at the endless sea of crimson fur and towering tusks charging toward him with earth-shaking momentum.
"A decent opening."
His thoughts moved.
In an instant—
Thunder Prison Demon Realm descended.
Dark thunder rolled, demonic light spread, and a prison-like illusion enveloped the entire floor.
The mammoths didn't even have time to howl.
Their consciousness collapsed, souls shattered, and their massive bodies fell lifelessly to the ground.
Ten thousand beasts—
annihilated instantly.
"For me, this floor barely counts as a warm-up."
The data on Jiang Yan's wrist updated immediately.
Participant: Jiang Yan (Qianwu Universe Kingdom)
Points: 10,000
Ranking: 1
Trial Space: 0000001
Boom!
Spatial light flashed.
Jiang Yan was automatically teleported to the second floor.
"Next should be the Nine-Headed Pythons."
He chuckled softly as the Thunder Prison Demon Realm unfolded once again.
The structure of the Trial Towers was identical across all Trial Spaces—
the same enemies, the same numbers—
Only their strength increased layer by layer.
First Floor: 10,000 Blood-Haired MammothsSecond Floor: 10,000 Nine-Headed PythonsThird Floor: 1,000 Special Metal Life WarriorsFourth Floor: 1,000 Cosmic Beasts — Flying CalvesFifth Floor: 100 Mechanical PuppetsSixth Floor: 10 Starry Sky Giant Beasts — CangSeventh Floor: A Zerg Mother Nest
Every enemy represented a hostile race of the human domain.
Outside — Central Square of the Finals Plane
Within the Virtual Universe Network, the leading Immortals of the 1,008 Universe Kingdoms were seated casually across the square, observing the trials of key contestants.
The Trial Space stage was not publicly broadcast—
only rankings were visible to the outside world.
But these Immortals had full viewing privileges.
"This speed is absurd."
"He cleared the first floor in mere breaths!"
"Jiang Yan is already far ahead of the entire field!"
"Top-tier illusionists really are terrifying…"
"Bo Lan is fast too—second place—but compared to Jiang Yan, it's not even close."
"Rong Jun, Hong, Thor… all performing well."
"Thirteen, your Qianwu Universe Kingdom has truly produced monsters this time."
Suddenly—
"Hm?"
"What's going on with Luo Feng?"
"Why hasn't his ranking moved much at all?"
The Immortals frowned.
Among the Top Ten Rankings, four were already from Qianwu Universe Kingdom.
But Luo Feng—
one of the most hyped geniuses—was lagging far behind.
Jiang Yan's Trial
"Wait—he's already on the fifth floor?!"
Gasps rang out.
"That's the Mechanical Puppet layer!"
"They're immune to illusion attacks!"
"So he'll have to—"
Before the thought finished—
"What?! Spatial Cut of the Yan Divine Weapon?!"
"And… the Law of Gold?!"
"Has it crossed the threshold as well?!"
The Immortals collectively froze.
On the fifth floor, Jiang Yan stood amid shattered metal, divine light surging around him.
The Yan Divine Weapon — Fifth Layer activated.
A terrifying spatial slash erupted, reinforced by the Law of Gold, cutting through the mechanical puppets like paper.
One strike.
One annihilation.
The floor—
cleared.
"This…"
"Three laws—Space, Thunder, Gold—all crossed the threshold?!"
"A Star-Level Ninth Order… is this even human?!"
Shock rippled through the square.
This was the first time Jiang Yan had revealed both the Yan Divine Weapon and his mastery of the Law of Gold during the Genius Battle.
The implications were terrifying.
The Fifth Layer of a Divine Weapon—
Meant the ability to break through the Fifth Level of the Tongtian Bridge.
Which meant—
Domain Lord–level combat power.
An Immortal with a single horn on his head let out a long sigh.
"There's no suspense anymore."
"The champion… is already decided."
The others nodded silently.
Since the Genius Battle began,
no one—
no one—had ever been this dominant.
"Congratulations, Thirteen."
Many Immortals looked toward the Scale-Armor Giant with envy.
Thirteen laughed modestly, though the pride in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Haha… it's not over yet. Until the final moment, nothing is certain."
Everyone knew—
That was just courtesy.
Suddenly, Thirteen frowned.
"But what about Luo Feng?"
Thor, Hong, and Rong Jun were all comfortably within the Top 100.
Luo Feng, however, was buried around 700,000th place.
Thirteen narrowed his eyes and looked directly into Luo Feng's Trial Space.
"This kid…"
"He wouldn't be using the Trial Tower to temper his strength, would he?"
Another Immortal chuckled.
"Do you really think Jiang Yan can maintain this speed all the way through?"
Several Immortals shook their heads.
"Impossible."
"The difficulty rises sharply with each tower."
"Whether it's illusion techniques or Divine Weapons, the consumption of mental energy is enormous."
"Once his mental power is exhausted, his speed will inevitably drop."
They were right.
By the time Jiang Yan cleared the Third Trial Tower, his mental energy was nearly dry.
The recovery speed provided by the Virtual Universe system was simply too slow.
First Floor — Fourth Trial Tower
Jiang Yan glanced at his status panel.
Participant: Jiang Yan (Qianwu Universe Kingdom)
Points: 7,770,000
Ranking: 1
Trial Space: 0000001
He smiled.
"Since mental power is exhausted…"
"Then it's time—"
"To fight as a warrior."
A purple-gold battle spear materialized in his hand.
Its aura pierced the void.
The trial—
Had just entered a new phase.