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

Zhou Mu sighed softly, his deep gaze sweeping over the virtual world. "The opponents in these qualifiers are far too weak. The vast majority of them can't even withstand a single strike from my domain. Killing them won't serve any purpose in honing my skills."

There was one more crucial reason in his heart that he didn't say aloud.

In this virtual universe, all bodies, life forms, and even blood are merely data simulated by massive computing power. Any genius he kills here will remain unharmed in the real world, their soul and body intact; at most, their consciousness will be forcibly kicked out of the virtual network.

Since there was no real death, the mysterious panel inside him that could steal the lifespan of others naturally became completely useless here!

"There's no lifespan to plunder, and it doesn't serve any purpose of tempering us. Continuing to play a battle royale with these weaklings in these ruins is simply a waste of time."

Zhou Mu lowered his eyelids slightly.

With his terrifying 650 million points, even if he remained completely still for the remaining 25 days, no one could surpass his overwhelming advantage, no matter how hard they tried. His first place in the 88th World Region was practically a done deal.

"Thor, good luck to you."

Zhou Mu gave his final instructions, then transformed into a purple rainbow and vanished into the sky in an instant.

A moment later.

At the very center of the eighth main city, atop a well-preserved skyscraper that stands a thousand meters tall and has not yet been ravaged by war.

"Buzz—"

A purple streak of light descended from the sky, and Zhou Mu's snow-white-haired figure landed steadily on the rooftop helipad of the building.

The wind howled, blowing against his dark gold Force suit.

With a thought, Zhou Mu unleashed a massive and terrifying lightning domain that instantly expanded, completely enveloping the entire building.

Any contestant who dares to step into the area within several kilometers of this building will be instantly annihilated into nothingness by the raging purple-gold lightning blades.

This building has become the most terrifying forbidden zone for life in the entire 88th World District!

Zhou Mu walked to the edge of the rooftop and sat down cross-legged.

He slowly closed his eyes, his handsome face showing no sign of agitation, as if the frenzied competition for points and the brutal battles outside had nothing to do with him.

He will not make a move for the next five days.

The sands of time slipped silently through death and slaughter.

The next five days were an eternity for the other survivors in the 88th World District, a period of agonizing hardship and resemblance to a struggle in purgatory.

As the preliminary elimination rounds drew to a close, the top experts who had been hiding in the shadows finally couldn't hold back any longer and completely tore off their disguises.

Except for the eighth city where Zhou Mu was located, all other cities, wilderness areas, and mountains in the entire world region were plunged into the most insane and brutal meat grinder state!

To compete for those last extremely limited survival spots and points, all the participating geniuses fought tooth and nail.

Various hidden trump cards and desperate forbidden techniques emerge one after another. Every minute and every second, thousands of geniuses fall, turning into white light and being kicked out of the virtual universe.

However, in this noisy world intertwined with war and bloodshed, the thousand-meter-tall skyscraper in the center of the eighth main city is like an absolute haven in the eye of the storm.

Amidst howling winds and a hazy sky, Zhou Mu, clad in a dark gold battle suit, sat quietly cross-legged on the rooftop helipad of the building. His snow-white hair flew wildly in the wind, and his handsome, godlike face remained calm and expressionless, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

The wildly popular online novel, "Swallowing the Stars: Only in My Later Years Did I Start Paying for My Life," is a heartfelt work by author Le Enbuleng. All of it is available here.

Within a radius of several kilometers, purplish-gold lightning flickered faintly, forming the terrifying "Lightning Domain" warning line.

Over the past five days, there have been desperate criminals, driven by rage and a thirst for revenge, who have tried to approach the building. But whoever they are, once they step across that invisible warning line, before they can even see the hem of Zhou Mu's clothes, they are instantly shredded into pure nothingness by the raging spacetime lightning blades.

Over time, this place became an absolute forbidden zone in the hearts of all survivors in the 88th World District, and no one dared to cross the line again.

While the outside world was in turmoil, Zhou Mu remained as still as a meditating monk, passing the last five days without any disturbance.

"boom--"

Finally, as the last second of the thirtieth day passed, a majestic, vast, and seemingly primordial voice resounded throughout the 1,008 cosmic nations and all world zones of the universe!

"The first stage of the Universe's Ultimate Genius Battle, the preliminary elimination rounds, has officially concluded!"

"All participants, cease the killing!"

As the voice faded, an irresistible, invisible force instantly enveloped the entire 88th World District. Those warriors who were raising their swords or fighting desperately froze in place.

The next instant, countless white lights flashed.

Zhou Mu felt a sudden dizziness, and the surrounding gray sky and metal ruins shattered instantly. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his luxurious manor on Black Dragon Mountain Island in the virtual universe.

"drop!"

On the wristband screen, lines of dazzling golden characters automatically appeared, announcing the final outcome to the entire universe:

Congratulations to contestant Zhou Mu!

Final Score: 658,900,000

Rank: #1!

Absolutely decisive! A crushing defeat!

Even the second-ranked Wildman Rong Jun's score is less than a fraction of Zhou Mu's!

"Master! You are truly a god descended to earth!! This is insane! This is magnificent!"

As soon as Zhou Mu stood in the living room of the manor, a cloud of gray mist eagerly surged out from his wristband, condensing in mid-air into the phantom of the intelligent life form "Lord Mist," an old man whose beard was trembling wildly with excitement.

Lord Mist's electronic eyes gleamed with fanatical worship, his voice sharp and high-pitched: "Number one in the war zone! And a league-leading number one who has broken all previous records, a number one that has left everyone in despair! Master, you are now completely famous throughout the entire Qianwu Universe!"

Zhou Mu calmly walked to the expensive leather sofa and sat down. He casually picked up a glass of water from the table to moisten his throat. His handsome face showed little excitement, as if he had just completed a trivial task.

"What's there to get excited about? This is just the qualifiers," Zhou Mu said calmly.

"Master is right! With Master's mastery of the laws, you'll be unstoppable in the finals!" Lord Mist flattered, then quickly reported, "By the way, Master, in the short half-minute you left the world zone, your virtual universe communication mailbox was completely overwhelmed!"

"After my initial screening, I have received a total of 1253 emails and 982 call requests!"

As Lord Wu spoke, he projected a densely packed screen of light into the air. "These emails and communications are all recruitment letters from the patriarchs of the top families in the Qianwu Universe Kingdom, and even from other powerful forces in other universe kingdoms! The conditions they offer are increasingly outrageous; some are even willing to send dozens of star systems as a gift, just to have a chance to meet you, Master!"