Swallowing the Stars: Only in my later years did I come to the life-spending panel.

Deep within the palace, the main hall was empty and deathly silent.

On a throne as wide as a mountain range, carved with totems of the birth and death of countless stars, a tall man in a dark gold robe sat languidly.

He had a refined and elegant appearance, with features as perfect as if carved by a knife and axe. Yet, between his brows was a hint of supreme domineering power, as if he held the power of life and death over all living beings. His long, flowing hair was casually draped over his broad shoulders, and his deep eyes seemed to reflect the movement and destruction of countless galaxies.

This man was none other than the supreme ruler of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, the Universe Venerable, and the Lord of the Qianwu Kingdom.

He rules over tens of thousands of vast star systems, with countless immortal gods under his command. He is the true and only master of this vast star field.

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom held a cup of amber-colored wine in his hand. As the liquid rippled slightly, faint, miniature star-like images appeared and disappeared within it, emitting a strange and intoxicating fragrance that could captivate the soul. This was "Star Brew," an absolute specialty unique to the Qianwu Secret Realm.

This wine is made from the essence of countless stars and brewed over 100,000 years using a secret spring.

Just this small cup is enough to allow ordinary universe-level powerhouses who are struggling in the outside world to break through a level directly without any bottleneck!

Opposite the ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom, in mid-air above the main hall.

A tall, imposing figure, resembling an ancient demon god, was floating cross-legged, holding a precious cup of star wine in his hand.

The dark gold heavy armor reflected a cold luster under the palace's light. The void around him subtly distorted, and the fluctuations of lightning and the laws of time naturally intertwined and died around him, as if he were the embodiment of destruction and order in this world.

"An era is ten thousand years; time really flies."

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom gently swirled the amber-colored star wine in his hand, his voice echoing like a grand bell in the empty palace, carrying a trace of vicissitudes and感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings) over the years. "The announcement of the Peak Genius Battle has been distributed through the highest authority of the Virtual Universe Company to all star systems under the jurisdiction of my Qianwu Universe Kingdom, and even to every corner of the 1,008 universe kingdoms in the entire universe."

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom sighed softly, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes: "I wonder how many truly outstanding young talents my Qianwu Universe Kingdom can produce this time. In the last Genius Battle, our performance in the finals was dismal. We were even suppressed by several other ancient universe kingdoms to the point of being unable to lift our heads, and we didn't even have a single person break into the top ten in the entire universe."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Lei Yu's cold and hard face remained expressionless. He simply downed the Star Wine in his cup in one gulp and gave a faint snort: "Flowers grown in a greenhouse, no matter how high their talent, are ultimately useless if they haven't experienced the trials of life and death. Those so-called geniuses you raised in the Qianwu Secret Realm are all arrogant and haughty. When they actually encounter those monsters that crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the final melee, they'll probably tremble at the sight of a drop of blood."

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom could only smile helplessly at his old friend's merciless and scathing critique, not taking his bad temper to heart.

The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom turned his gaze to Venerable Leiyu, asking with great interest, "Over the years, you've secretly sent a wisp of your spiritual power to the remote Black Dragon Mountain star region, keeping a close eye on a little fellow. Now, five years have passed, how is that little fellow doing? Anyone who can catch your eye, you 'killer' type, must be no ordinary person, right?"

Upon hearing the Qianwu Kingdom Lord mention this matter, a rare and strange light suddenly flashed in the Thunder Prison Venerable's eyes, which were as cold as an abyss.

"There was a little fellow." Venerable Lei Yu's voice was so deep it seemed to contain thunder. "More than five years ago, that little fellow bought a 'Divine Weapon' at the Qianwu Auction."

"Oh? A divine weapon of annihilation? The Ninefold Cosmic Lightning Strike?!"

The ruler of Qianwu Kingdom was slightly surprised. He knew the details of that weapon very well. It was one of the nine divine weapons of the spirit masters who were famous throughout the universe. It was also an unparalleled killing weapon that the Thunder Prison Venerable had created with countless efforts in the distant past!

Geniuses who can perfectly display its power in the vast universe are extremely rare, because it requires both extremely high lightning talent and an extremely abnormal perception of the laws of time.

"A mere mortal dares to buy the Divine Weapon of Annihilation; he certainly has some nerve," the ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom chuckled.

"It's not just about being bold." A rare smile curved the corners of Lei Yu's lips, a smile tinged with undisguised fervor and admiration. "For the past five years, a wisp of my spiritual power has been secretly watching him. Guess what?"

Lei Yu Venerable paused, then said, enunciating each word clearly, "Not only was he not harmed by the chaotic spacetime laws, but in these short five years, he also broke through the sixth level of the Divine Weapon's evolution—the 'World of Thunder' realm!"

"What?!" Upon hearing this, even the high and mighty ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom couldn't help but change his expression. The precious star wine in his cup rippled violently, and a dazzling light shot out from his eyes.

"A Hengxing level, deducing the sixth level of the Thunder Realm? How terrifying must one's understanding of the laws of time and the compatibility with lightning be? Such talent..." The ruler of the Qianwu Kingdom gasped, even with his extensive knowledge, he was deeply shocked.

"More than terrifying, he's practically a monster born for thunder and time." A flame of excitement burned in the eyes of Venerable Lei Yu. "Not only that, he recently crossed the threshold of the fundamental laws of space. This kid's potential is unfathomable, and I'm becoming more and more satisfied with him."

"Then why haven't you brought him to the Qianwu Secret Realm yet?" the Qianwu King laughed and scolded. "Such a peerless talent, why don't you hurry up and take him in as your personal disciple and train him properly? If those old guys from the Virtual Universe Company headquarters take a liking to him during the Genius Battle and try to steal him from you, I wonder where you'll go crying!"

"Taking on apprentices?"

Lei Yu Zun Zhe snorted coldly, and a terrifying thunder and pressure instantly surged within the palace. Countless purple lightning bolts tore through the void, and the surrounding dark gold jade stones emitted low groans as if they could not bear the weight.

He slowly stood up, his wild purple hair flying in the wind, his dark gold heavy armor clashing with a clanging sound of battle, his imposing body seemingly able to support the entire universe.

His eyes, reflecting the thunder and starry sky, seemed to pierce through endless space, gazing towards the direction of the Black Dragon Mountain star field.

The voice of Venerable Lei Yu was like thunder, a judgment of the gods, carrying an unyielding and domineering aura:

"The Dao of Thunder Prison is the ultimate destruction and spatial order of the universe! My personal disciples must never be second-rate mediocre talents!"

"No matter how talented he is, that's still potential. The battle of geniuses is the true touchstone!"

Lei Yu Venerable suddenly turned his head to look at the Qianwu Kingdom Lord, his words ringing with conviction:

"If he wants to become my disciple, Lei Yu, and inherit the supreme mantle of my lineage... he must crush all those so-called prodigies under his feet in this ultimate battle that encompasses 1008 cosmic nations and trillions of geniuses across the entire universe!"

"If he fails to achieve the top ranking in the entire universe during this Genius Battle, he is not qualified to call me 'teacher'!"