The Empire's Expectations

There were eleven people in the living room. Thunder God, Hong, and nine other unfamiliar individuals were all seated around a long dining table. "Old Third." "Sanzi." Thunder God and Hong both stood up. The other nine turned their heads to look, and eight of them immediately rose. Only a silver-haired elder in the center remained seated, observing Luo Feng carefully, a smile gracing his lips: “Luo Feng, I am Bute'ashika, here on behalf of the Emperor of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.” “Greetings, Lord Bute'ashika.” Luo Feng bowed respectfully. Having attended the Ganwu Auction and seen countless Realm Lords, Luo Feng could tell at a glance that this silver-haired elder was a Realm Lord! “Please, sit.” The silver-haired elder smiled faintly. Luo Feng walked over and sat beside Hong and Thunder God. “Luo Feng, my visit today is twofold. Firstly, I wished to see the remarkable genius of our Black Dragon Mountain Empire.” The silver-haired elder, with his white hair and beard, exuded a benevolent aura that naturally inspired warmth. “Secondly, it's because of His Majesty. His Majesty is extremely concerned about you, Luo Feng, values you greatly, and intends to reward you handsomely!” Luo Feng was taken aback. The Emperor probably didn't know... ...that he had a conflict with his Ninth Prince. “Lord Bute'ashika, I haven't really done anything significant, just some personal matters,” Luo Feng quickly said. “No!” The silver-haired elder shook his head. “Luo Feng, you have brought immense honor to our Black Dragon Mountain Empire this time. Countless citizens of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire are proud because of you! You have rendered a great service.” “A great service...” Luo Feng could only listen obediently. “Originally, the Emperor intended to bestow a reward upon you, Luo Feng.” The silver-haired elder looked at Luo Feng. “However, I suggested that we temporarily withhold that reward.” Luo Feng looked at the Realm Lord before him, even more confused. “I proposed to the Emperor... that if you, Luo Feng, can break into the top 1000 of the Ganwu Universe Nation, you will be granted a galaxy!” the silver-haired elder declared. “Granted a galaxy?” Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God were all greatly astonished. “As far as I know, your first planetary territory is Earth. So... as long as you can break into the top 1000 of the Ganwu Universe Nation, then the Milky Way Galaxy, under the Silverblue Empire, will be yours!” The silver-haired elder carefully observed the three of them. As he expected, all three Luo Feng showed expressions of shock. The Milky Way Galaxy? That was the territory of the Silverblue Empire. “Rest assured, this gentleman here is Yiwei, the Emperor of the Silverblue Empire. This matter has the full consent of the Silverblue Imperial Family.” The silver-haired elder gestured towards a handsome, white-robed man nearby. The man smiled and nodded at Luo Feng: “I have long wished to meet Mr. Luo Feng. If Mr. Luo Feng can manage the Milky Way Galaxy, it would be an honor for our Silverblue Empire.” “Hmm?” Luo Feng paused, then quickly understood. Top 1000 in the Ganwu Universe Nation? One must know that the Ganwu Universe Nation contained hundreds of millions of galaxies, with an average of one per hundred thousand! Those who could break into the top 1000 of the Ganwu Universe Nation... many were likely at Domain Lord Level 9, some even having comprehended a sliver of origin laws. To be so formidable at the Star-level... Such a genius, as long as they didn't fall midway and continued to grow, would almost certainly reach the 'Realm Lord' stage! And if such a genius received focused cultivation... they would become a powerful figure even among Realm Lords in the future! A Realm Lord could easily acquire a galaxy as territory. This was essentially granting a 'future Realm Lord' a galaxy. If Luo Feng were to perish midway... without Luo Feng, the Black Dragon Mountain Empire and the Silverblue Empire would naturally have many ways to reclaim the Milky Way Galaxy. “This... this reward is too grand, and breaking into the top 1000 is extremely difficult,” Luo Feng said, a troubled expression on his face. “Indeed.” The silver-haired elder, Bute'ashika, nodded with a sigh. “It is very difficult. The military strength of our subordinate nations is weaker than the direct star regions of the Cosmic Nation. In the last competition, we didn't even make it into the top 10,000 of the Cosmic Nation, let alone the top 1000, which we haven't achieved in a very long time. However, Luo Feng, you have a chance to break through.” “Here are some materials our empire has collected.” A screen appeared before the silver-haired elder, and he tapped it gently. “I'll send them to you.” “Materials?” Luo Feng was puzzled. At the same time, Babata notified him that he had received an email with an attachment. “Although the preliminaries weren't broadcast, based on the names on the leaderboard and the fact that many talented powerhouses already have great reputations, we've gathered a lot of information,” the silver-haired elder said, smiling at Luo Feng. “We've recorded 827 super geniuses who passed this preliminary round, all renowned super geniuses from the Ganwu Universe Nation. Take a look; it might help you during the actual Arena Battle.” “Oh?” Luo Feng's eyes lit up. Good stuff! Knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory. Knowing others' trump cards in advance would allow him to prepare and increase his chances of winning. “Thank you,” Luo Feng said gratefully. “No need,” the silver-haired elder replied, smiling at Luo Feng. “If you can break into the top 1000, I, Bute'ashika, will be thanking you instead.” “I will do my best,” Luo Feng nodded. “Yes, this is a hope for our Black Dragon Mountain Empire! To break into the top 1000 and contend with the many geniuses from other Cosmic Nations... at least, our Black Dragon Mountain Empire will have someone step onto the stage of the entire cosmic humanity.” A hint of expectation gleamed in the silver-haired elder's eyes. He was a Realm Lord, and very powerful. But Realm Lords were not all equal. A Realm Lord like him differed greatly in status and strength compared to someone like Tianchen. And if Tianchen were to be compared to the super geniuses meticulously cultivated from the start by giants like the Virtual Universe Company, his status would be far inferior! Giants like the Virtual Universe Company... they cultivated super geniuses not just to produce Undyings, but more importantly, to produce powerhouses among the Undyings! Of course... Everything was still very distant! From Star-level to Undying, it was too far and too difficult. Many top geniuses remained trapped at the peak of Realm Lord for tens of millions of years until they died of old age! “Work hard. In the Ganwu Universe Nation's Arena Battle, you represent the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. When you participate in the pinnacle battles among the various Cosmic Nations, you will represent our Black Dragon Mountain Empire even more,” the silver-haired elder said expectantly. “Understood,” Luo Feng nodded slightly. ... Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God gathered together, spending three days reviewing the extensive data on various powerhouses. “Ranked 3rd in the Eighth World Sector? Stronger than me,” Hong said with a serious expression. A video played on the screen before them, showing a tall, golden-haired man with a golden scale on his forehead. He wielded a two-handed greatsword, and when he swung it, everything became illusory and distorted. The greatsword was clearly there, yet when an opponent tried to block, they would find themselves hitting empty air. One sword strike killed the opponent. This person's light domain was even more terrifying than Hong's. “Is this the Savage? He's indeed very strong,” Luo Feng's pupils contracted, a hint of excitement in his eyes. “Yes, that's him,” Thunder God nodded repeatedly. “He is very strong,” Hong's expression grew even more solemn. Video after video played, accompanied by numerous text documents. These were all materials on super geniuses collected by the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Many of these geniuses were already highly renowned before this genius battle. They had long been eagerly recruited by various super organizations. “This guy...” Thunder God's eyes widened. The video showed another bald, muscular man who used his bare iron fists as weapons, each punch incredibly powerful. ... After three days of reviewing the data, Luo Feng and Hong, who were about to participate in the Arena Battle, felt the pressure. Indeed, powerhouses were as numerous as clouds! It was truly heaven-defying to comprehend a sliver of origin laws at the Star-level, but the Ganwu Universe Nation had such a vast population that hundreds of such individuals could still be found. ... Time flowed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of the Arena Battle. On July 16, 2066, Huaxia time, the day before the Arena Battle, a massive conference hall was located on one of the floating continents above the Ganwu Continent in the Virtual Universe. The conference hall was enormous, with rows stretching far back. “This conference hall is truly massive, it can seat a hundred thousand people,” Hong exclaimed with a laugh. “The seats are quite spacious too.” “This is nothing. Each seat at the Ganwu Auction is astonishingly large, and there are three million seats. You can't even see the end of the entire auction hall,” Luo Feng whispered to Hong. “Silence!” A deep voice boomed, and the entire conference hall immediately fell silent. A man in a silver robe appeared on the high platform at the front of the hall. His gaze swept over the 100,100 individuals below, all of whom were geniuses who had passed the preliminaries. “There are 100,100 individuals who passed the preliminaries in the Ganwu Universe Nation.” The silver-robed man pointed to his side, where a screen instantly appeared, displaying images of individuals. “The 100 who achieved first place in their respective world sectors directly secure a final spot, qualifying to represent the Ganwu Universe Nation in the pinnacle showdowns among the various Cosmic Nations.” “The remaining 100,000 will compete for 900 spots.” “The Arena Battle... is divided into 'Arena Melee' and 'Arena One-on-One Battle',” the silver-robed man continued. “First, 90,000 will be eliminated through the Arena Melee! You 100,000 will be divided into a thousand groups, with a hundred people per group. Each group will battle it out on the same arena, and the ten survivors will be considered to have passed the melee.” “After the Arena Melee, only 10,000 will remain!” “The 900 spots will be decided from these 10,000! Next will be the Arena One-on-One Battles.” The silver-robed man's gaze swept over the 100,100 geniuses below, who were now buzzing with discussion. The Arena Melee would eliminate 90,000 people in one go. Too ruthless! “I heard,” Hong whispered, “that last time, the Black Dragon Mountain Empire was completely eliminated in the Arena Melee, resulting in not a single person making it into the top 10,000.” “Hmm,” Luo Feng nodded. “During the preliminaries, I barely scraped into the top 1001. The elimination rate for this Arena Melee is very high,” Hong whispered. Luo Feng replied in a low voice, “Big Brother, anything can happen in a melee. You still have hope of passing. After that, it'll be the one-on-one battles.” Whoosh! Suddenly, a screen appeared before every genius powerhouse in the conference hall, displaying a number ranging from 1 to 1000. “Do you see the numbers before you? These are your groups!” the silver-robed man announced loudly. “Starting tomorrow, groups 1 to 200 will compete. The entire Arena Melee will last for five days, concluding after five days.” Luo Feng looked at the number '382' before him, while Big Brother Hong's group number was '161'. “I wish you all success in passing the Arena Melee,” the silver-robed man's voice echoed throughout the entire conference hall. “Now, you will be teleported out. Everyone, prepare yourselves well.” Buzz~~~ The 100,100 geniuses in the entire conference hall instantly vanished.