The Divergence

"Nine-Line Flow?"

"Thirteen, your Ganwu Universe Nation hasn't had a junior break into the top 20 for hundreds of epochs, and now, unexpectedly, two have emerged at once!"

"Haha, Mosuo is right! There are 1008 universe nations here, and your nation gets to claim two spots in the top 20." The other Immortal beings around them laughed and teased the scaled armor giant. Although Luo Feng's performance was astonishing, to these supreme existences, who were top-tier in their respective universe nations, he was merely a junior.

"Didn't the brother and sister from Augustus Star also make it into the top 20?" A faint smile appeared on the scaled armor giant's face.

"Haha, you actually smiled, you old dog."

"A rare sight indeed."

"I've met him three times in hundreds of epochs, and this is the first time I've seen him smile."

"He's proud, of course he'll smile."

The powerful Immortals around them chatted and laughed. There were 1008 powerful Immortals present, and those sitting with the scaled armor giant were naturally his close acquaintances! Even powerful Immortals had friends and enemies, and the closeness of their relationships naturally divided them into discussion circles.

"Haha, what do you all think of Luo Feng from my Ganwu Universe Nation? How strong is he?" The scaled armor giant looked around at the other Immortals.

"He has cultivated the space-type flying secret technique, Myriad Line Flow, to its second layer, and can control nine illusory swords with his Yan Shen Weapon." A dark green-haired, large-nosed man, whose eyes seemed like endless oceans, commented, "His foundation is solid, his temperament is steady, and his potential is immense! His current strength could place him in the top ten!"

"He could indeed rank in the top ten."

"In the trial space ranking, he could reach the top five. But in a true arena battle, he should be confident of a top ten finish." The other Immortals nodded in agreement.

The trial couldn't perfectly reflect a person's true strength.

Because...

There was a significant difference between the trial and one-on-one combat. For instance, a Spirit Reader Controller, standing on their psychic weapon, could retreat and attack from a distance. A Warrior, however, had to charge into the enemy's ranks to fight... Moreover, this time, there were 'mechanical puppets' and 'metal lifeforms' that were immune to soul attacks, preventing many from performing at their best.

For example, Jialaixi, the 'Illusory Demon' of the Howling God Race, who was previously considered to have top 20 potential.

During his internal selection within his own universe nation, the 'Illusory Demon' Jialaixi could defeat opponents with just a glance, always with such ease. But in the 'trial space,' facing mechanical puppets and the like, his illusions were useless, and his mental attacks completely ineffective.

Therefore—

The 'Illusory Demon' Jialaixi's overall trial ranking was only 189th. Does this mean he was weak?

...

In the Central Plaza, millions of geniuses looked up at the screen, watching Luo Feng enter the first level of the sixth trial tower.

"Your Highness, this Luo Feng is very strong," a burly man, seemingly cast from steel, whispered. Beside him was the black-haired youth in silver battle armor, the Manka Star youth who ranked 18th this time. His eyes shone brightly as he stared intently at Luo Feng on the screen, muttering, "Hmm, I admit, I misjudged him before."

Just moments ago, the Manka Star youth had said, "It looks like he can't hold on. He won't pass the seventh level of the fifth trial tower. His final rank will probably be around 9th or 10th. Although he ranks higher than me, the trial is different from one-on-one combat. In a one-on-one battle, he's definitely no match for me. I'm confident I can defeat him!"

He had been full of confidence just moments before.

But now...

"What a formidable opponent," the Manka Star youth's eyes sparkled, completely fixated on Luo Feng. "He cultivates the Myriad Line Flow, and has already reached the 'Nine-Line Flow' level... Hmm, he's a very powerful opponent. I want to enter the Primal Secret Region... This Luo Feng is a big obstacle, I must defeat him!" As he spoke, his fists clenched, and faint lightning flickered around them.

...

"Luo Feng!" The disheveled, barefooted savage youth, Rongjun, stared intently at the screen, muttering, "He has become truly terrifying, but no one can stop me. I will become the strongest, I will!"

...

A man shrouded in a black robe, amidst the crowd of geniuses, gazed eerily at Luo Feng on the screen, whispering, "Luo Feng, huh? You've stolen all the limelight. Just wait, soon, I'll make you all realize... that trial space ranking is nothing but camel beast's droppings! I will defeat each and every one of you! Including the Death God, Bolan..."

...

Among these millions of geniuses, the most outstanding and top-tier prodigies were not easily swayed and possessed absolute confidence and arrogance! Yet, almost all of them now regarded Luo Feng as an opponent, and a rather troublesome one at that.

...

"He can't hold on."

"He's going to lose."

"Although he's strong, the difficulty of the sixth trial tower is several times higher than the fifth. Oh, he's injured again."

"It's almost over."

The geniuses watched intently, discussing animatedly.

...

Inside the first level of the sixth trial tower, the battle had reached its most frantic point.

"Die, all of you!" Luo Feng's eyes held a shocking killing intent, his body covered in blood, with a gaping hole in his waist. He moved on his Dark Cloud Shuttle, transforming into nine ghostly, unpredictable illusory figures. These nine figures were not disconnected; instead, they formed a nine-cycle formation, creating an absolute domain within their range, as if it were Luo Feng's personal territory.

His movement technique was bizarre!

His illusory swords were unfathomable!

"Rumble~~" Overwhelming Bloodfur Mammoths charged forward, their iron hooves trampling, their massive bodies repeatedly crashing into him. Many Bloodfur Mammoths possessed their own domains, and with countless domains spreading out, the entire battlefield became their home ground. Luo Feng had nowhere to escape.

"No wonder Death God Bolan couldn't even pass the first level of the seventh trial tower," Luo Feng thought to himself. "The difficulty is too high, much higher than the seventh level of the fifth tower."

Yes.

In the seventh level of the fifth tower, Death God Bolan had passed with ease, showing no signs of struggle. But upon entering the first level of the seventh tower, even fighting desperately, he ultimately failed. And Luo Feng was now feeling the problem... Although his comprehension of the Nine-Line Flow had greatly improved.

The first level of the sixth tower was truly much harder.

"Thump!" A Bloodfur Mammoth's tail whipped Luo Feng, interrupting his movement technique for a moment. Luo Feng, already mentally exhausted, desperately dodged, only to be trampled by iron hooves.

Then his mind went blank, and he knew nothing more.

...

In the genius battle, the last participant in the trial, Luo Feng, killed 6892 Bloodfur Mammoths. Like those ranked 2nd to 6th before him, he was stopped at the first level of the sixth trial tower.

Overall rank 3!

...

Luo Feng felt the space around him shift, and then he appeared in the Central Plaza. Geniuses from various universe nations and human races looked his way.

"Hmm?" Luo Feng glanced around, quickly located the Ganwu Universe Nation team, and walked towards them.

"That's Luo Feng."

"Overall rank three, I'd never heard of him before, yet he's so strong."

"During this trial, several individuals suddenly emerged, but this Luo Feng is the strongest among them."

...

Listening to the various discussions around him, Luo Feng returned to the Ganwu Universe Nation's genius team.

"Crazy, you really scared me, you're ruthless!" The green-haired youth, Feng Lun, exclaimed.

"Luo Feng, congratulations."

"Congratulations."

Other youths who weren't too familiar with Luo Feng also offered their congratulations with smiles, as 99% of the people here knew they had no hope of breaking into the top 1000.

"Luo Feng, Rongjun, follow me." A deep voice suddenly echoed in Luo Feng's and the savage youth Rongjun's ears.

"Hmm?" Luo Feng and Rongjun both turned to look at a section of the Central Plaza. There, the 1008 powerful Immortals had all risen and were flying towards their respective universe nation's genius teams. The scaled armor giant instantly arrived at the Ganwu genius team, simultaneously commanding, "Everyone return to your quarters."

Rumble~~~~

The 1008 genius teams, led by Immortal beings, returned to their respective residences.

...

First floor of Building No. 0825.

The 1000 genius members of the Ganwu genius team stood there, respectful and silent under the scaled armor giant's imposing presence.

"This time, our Ganwu Universe Nation's team performed very well!" The scaled armor giant's voice resonated throughout the first-floor hall, and he actually, uncharacteristically, praised them. "Besides Luo Feng and Rongjun, who ranked in the top 100 and directly qualified for the Virtual Universe Company's core layer, three others ranked in the top 7300, qualifying them to contend for the final 900 spots."

"Aside from these five, everyone else..."

"Your peak genius battle ends here," the scaled armor giant announced.

This caused the geniuses from various star regions of the Ganwu Universe Nation to feel disheartened. They had struggled for so long, and now they were completely eliminated.

"You can now return to reality directly and leave this place. Or you can wait a while, and the virtual universe system will directly teleport those of you who have been eliminated back to your respective universe nation's continents," the scaled armor giant said. "Luo Feng, Rongjun, the five of you, follow me!" With that, he strode directly into the corridor.

Luo Feng, Rongjun, and the other three quickly followed.

The atmosphere in the hall was very oppressive.

"It's over."

"Our journey is over."

"Haha, everyone, although we failed, we've at least received an invitation to enter the Ganwu Secret Region, which isn't bad."

"Indeed!"

"I refuse to believe that if we're inferior to them now, we'll remain inferior in the future! We're only Star-level now... The path of cultivation has just begun. The Universe-level, Domain Lord, Sector Lord stages are still long and distant!"

"Well said!"

"Even those who enter the Virtual Universe Company's core layer find it hard to become Immortals! But we, in the Ganwu Secret Region, still have the possibility of becoming eternal Immortals!"

"Right!"

"Come on, let's go for a drink."

Most of these young men and women, who had qualified for the Ganwu Secret Region, left together for the Central Plaza restaurant, with only a very few returning directly to reality.

...

At this moment, the 1000 geniuses from the Ganwu Universe Nation embarked on two different paths.

Most entered the Ganwu Secret Region.

A very few entered the Virtual Universe Company's core layer.

What the future held... no one knew.