The Understated Opponent

“So, his true strength wasn't his movement technique, but his blade technique.” Luo Feng stared at the wild youth, Rongjun, as he recalled a scene from their decisive battle five years ago— “My true goal… is the number one spot in the cosmic rankings!” That roar seemed to echo in his ears once more. Number one? So, this wild man Rongjun wasn't just boasting. “That’s right, Rongjun knows so much about even the four secret realms of the Virtual Universe Company. He’s clearly not a frog in a well,” Luo Feng mused. “He must know the standard of previous genius battles’ first-place winners, and since he dares to say his true goal is number one, he must have some confidence!” Before he unleashed that astonishing blade technique, Rongjun was considered to have top 20 strength, but now he had actually defeated Gusiluo. “Top five, definitely top five strength,” the tall youth, Aopatela, whose body was as black as ink, whispered. “That blade technique, it’s truly…” The purple-scaled man in the cyan battle robe flew into mid-air, his invisible pressure naturally drawing the gaze of all 1,000 human geniuses. “Congratulations to the ten victors. You have entered the top ten, and your prize money has increased to 1,000 mixed yuan units, and you can enter the Taichu Secret Realm.” The purple-scaled man in the cyan battle robe smiled, “This top ten competition was very exciting; the explosive performance of a few youngsters surprised even me.” The 1,000 young people and 1,008 powerful Immortals all obediently listened to the words of Jiujian Venerable. “Bolan, Qianshui, Luo Feng, Jiangmo, Lansiluo, Wuka, Aichen, Longyun, Aopatela, Rongjun, congratulations to you ten.” “In a moment, the top five will be selected from among you ten, and the first and second places will be chosen from those top five.” The purple-scaled man in the cyan battle robe smiled, “As for how you ten will be grouped, according to the rules previously set by the Virtual Universe System, your previous battle victory times varied. The fastest time will face the slowest time, the second fastest will face the second slowest… and so on!” *Whoosh!* The 1,008 powerful Immortals were all astonished, the 990 observing geniuses were stunned, and the ten peerless top geniuses about to compete were also taken aback. The time order was Bolan, Qianshui, Luo Feng, Jiangmo, Lansiluo, Wuka, Aichen, Longyun, Aopatela, Rongjun. So, if the fastest faced the slowest, and so on… Bolan would face Rongjun! Qianshui would face Aopatela! Luo Feng would face Longyun! Jiangmo would face Aichen! Lansiluo would face Wuka! Rongjun, the most dazzling wild youth from the previous battle, actually ran into the terrifying Death God Bolan. According to everyone present, including the 1,008 Immortals, anyone who encountered Death God Bolan was considered destined to lose! “Rongjun against Bolan?” Luo Feng glanced at the wild youth in the distance. “This is bad. Even if Rongjun’s true strength is terrifying, no matter how much he bursts forth, his opponent is Bolan. Bolan far surpasses the rest of us; Rongjun is bound to lose!” Bolan was simply too strong, as evident from the trial space. Leading everyone else by an entire trial tower, almost everyone sighed for the wild man Rongjun. It was known that the Virtual Universe System’s arrangements were absolutely unchangeable and had to be accepted. Moreover, none of the other nine present wanted to encounter Bolan, but eventually, one person had to. And that unlucky fellow was Rongjun. “Take a short break. The arena battles will begin shortly,” the voice of the purple-scaled man in the cyan battle robe echoed in everyone’s ears. “Interesting, truly interesting.” “Thirteen, both of your Ganwu Universe Nation’s seedlings this time are very formidable. Especially the one named Rongjun! While everyone else is using secret techniques created by their predecessors, this Rongjun actually created his own secret technique… That blade technique, integrating both the Earth and Space Origin Law insights, its power is truly immense. If he hadn’t encountered Bolan, he could have absolutely contended for second place!” “Don’t praise Rongjun so much. Rongjun is strong, but the other one, Luo Feng, is no less impressive. His temperament and will are perfect among his peers, and a person’s will and temperament also determine how far they can go in the future. Comparatively, I’m more optimistic about Luo Feng. As for Rongjun, he’s only at the Stellar level now, still very weak. It’s too early to create his own secret technique at this stage. He should first learn from his predecessors. At the very least, when he becomes a Sector Lord, his horizons will be broader, and his understanding of the Origin Laws will be deeper. It won’t be too late to create his own secret technique then.” “Hmm, that makes sense.” “What you’re saying isn’t entirely correct either. While Rongjun’s self-created secret technique is only in its nascent stage, its immense power is already evident. Moreover, a self-created secret technique, when unleashed, is even more potent. Others’ techniques are, after all, others’; they’re not as good as one’s own.” “Too early, too early. Now is not the time to create secret techniques.” Around the scaled battle-robed giant, the other Immortals began to converse. “Hmm.” The scaled battle-robed giant frowned slightly, looking at the two youths, Rongjun and Luo Feng, in the distance, unable to hide the joy in his eyes. “These two youngsters truly surprise me again and again. In a competition of 1,008 cosmic nations, two of the top ten are from my Ganwu Universe Nation. Haha, the Nation Lord will surely be very pleased when he knows.” On the Central Plaza, the 1,008 powerful Immortals and 990 geniuses continuously discussed, but the ten young men and women about to engage in decisive battles waited silently. At first, they felt a little pity for Rongjun, but afterward, everyone began to observe their own opponents. “Longyun.” Luo Feng looked at the figure in the distance. He was about two meters tall, with a robust physique, wearing a rather peculiar set of heavy armor. He had a horned helmet on his head, and his eyes were deep and unfathomable. There were also some yellow fuzz on the edges of his face. He was Longyun, a very low-key young man from the Lantian Cosmic Nation. He had never attracted attention. When the million geniuses first gathered, many, such as the Illusory Demon Jialaixi, the Manka Star Prince, the genius siblings from Planet Augustus, and the wild man Rongjun, were already widely renowned. However, Longyun had always gone unnoticed. In the trial rankings, although he was in the top 100, he was ranked 50th or lower. As for breaking into the top 100, Longyun won decisively. He still remained inconspicuous, because almost everyone else also won decisively. For breaking into the top 10, Longyun won with great difficulty. “This Longyun’s strength?” Luo Feng’s heart skipped a beat. “Right, I really haven’t paid attention to him!” Ordinary, low-key! That was Longyun! And yet, this seemingly ordinary fellow had now reached the top ten! “Luo Feng,” the wild youth sitting not far from Luo Feng transmitted via primal energy. “Something wrong?” Luo Feng looked over. “Be careful of Longyun,” the wild youth transmitted via primal energy. “According to my observations and previously collected data, among the previous top 20, 19 people comprehended two Origin Laws, and only one person comprehended just one Origin Law.” Luo Feng had stepped into the threshold of ‘Metal and Space’. Rongjun had stepped into the threshold of ‘Earth and Space’. Others were similar: Death God Bolan had stepped into the threshold of ‘Wind and Space’, Yifeng had stepped into the threshold of ‘Wind and Wood’, and Aichen had stepped into the threshold of ‘Light and Time Origin Laws’… “Among the 19 people who comprehended two laws, 8 had stepped into the Space Law threshold, 6 into the Time Law threshold, and 5 had comprehended neither ‘Time’ nor ‘Space’. But no matter what, these 19 people had all at least stepped into the dual Origin Law threshold.” “Only one person comprehended just one Origin Law, and that is Longyun,” the wild youth transmitted. “Oh?” Luo Feng was startled. He truly hadn’t gathered such detailed information. In every past peak genius battle of the entire cosmic human race across 1,008 cosmic nations, almost everyone who reached the top 20 understood dual Origin Laws, either ‘Space’ or ‘Time’. “He comprehends the Earth Origin Law. It’s profound and integrated, with extremely strong defense and offense. It’s far more terrifying than my simple use of the Earth Origin Law. Be careful,” Rongjun transmitted. “Thanks,” Luo Feng transmitted. “No need. My chances of winning this battle aren’t great. I’d be happy if you could win,” Rongjun said. Luo Feng looked at Rongjun, smiled slightly, and transmitted, “Go for it. Maybe you can even overturn Bolan.” “Haha! Maybe I can do it. I won’t give up easily,” Rongjun also laughed. Half an hour later. The original arenas on the Central Plaza had long disappeared. Now, five even more exquisite and luxurious arenas rumbled into existence. The protective shields above the arenas were massive translucent light membranes, reflecting dazzling rainbow light under the illumination of the sky’s light spheres, making them quite beautiful. As for the ten human youths, they were all teleported into their respective arenas. Rongjun against Bolan, Luo Feng against Longyun… Five battles, hailed as the strongest peak confrontations, were about to begin! On the arena adorned with beautiful patterns, Luo Feng and Longyun stood facing each other from a distance. Longyun, clad in heavy battle armor and wearing a horned helmet, flipped his hand to produce a terrifying great axe. His eyes, indifferent, stared at Luo Feng. He was a quintessential strength-type warrior. Luo Feng, lean in physique, stood on his Duntiansuo and carried his Yanshen Blade on his back, a quintessential spiritual force controller. “You are very strong.” A deep, low voice, like a roaring bull, emanated from Longyun as he stared indifferently at Luo Feng, stating solemnly, “Much stronger than anyone I’ve encountered before. To show respect for a powerful individual like you, I will use my full strength to defeat you directly.” As soon as his words fell, a faint earthy-yellow airflow began to emanate from his body. These earthy-yellow currents slowly undulated, and the surrounding space seemed to solidify. An inexplicable, suffocating pressure instantly changed Luo Feng’s expression from afar. “A, a true monster!” “Monster!” “This, this…” “Insane.” “This Longyun, he’s truly cunning, too cunning.” The 990 genius youths watching were all shocked. Even almost all of the 1,008 powerful Immortals in the distance paid attention to this battle, and many Immortal beings showed expressions of shock. “Indeed, to be able to break into the top ten relying solely on the Earth Origin Law, with such deep comprehension of the Earth Origin… it would be strange if he hadn’t stepped into the ‘Space Origin Law’. It’s truly as expected, truly as expected! And just his domain alone is already so terrifying…”