Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 199 Tenth Order, Great Terror!

In the corridor between life and death, only Hunzhen and the strange life form "Quilo" were present.

In this corridor of life and death, once the cosmic venerables enter, the monster Quiro's strength will gradually increase from a high-level venerable to the sixth-order limit, comparable to the theoretically weakest strongest being in the universe.

In his initial form, Quiro possessed the strength of a fourth-order Universe Lord, as he faced a candidate for the inheritance of the Universe Lord level.

The monster, Quiro, resembled a robust lion-man clad in black armor. Its fur was as sharp as silver needles, and its muscles were bulging and as hard as the hardest cosmic alloy. Yet, it exhibited no fluctuations of law power, displaying fourth-tier combat strength purely through its physical structure.

As Hunzhen entered the open corridor of life and death alone, the door slammed shut instantly. Kuiluo's eyes turned bloodshot as he stared intently at Hunzhen, then roared and transformed into a streak of black light as he pounced.

"roar!!!"

"die!!!"

Hunzhen observed Quilo's movements indifferently, remaining motionless as Quilo approached at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of me.

Quiro landed a punch!

boom!

The heavy punch passed through Hunzhen's body without any obstruction and landed on the metal floor of the corridor between life and death.

If it were a normal ruler of the universe, faced with such a strange situation, he would naturally be surprised and uncertain, and would retreat first before making a judgment.

However, Quiro does not possess rationality in the normal sense.

He was simply convinced that he had to kill the person in front of him.

So even though his heavy punches were useless, he launched another frenzied attack time and time again, only to miss each time, causing the entire corridor to vibrate continuously with a booming sound.

"Die! Die! Die!!!"

During this process, its strength increased dramatically over time.

Fourth-tier top-level, fifth-tier, fifth-tier top-level...

In the blink of an eye, he reached the sixth level! He's already comparable to the weakest and strongest in theory!

However, nothing changed; Quiro's attacks still missed once, as if no matter what he did, he could only achieve futile results.

Hunzhen observed Quiro, his silver-gray eyes gleaming, lost in thought.

He had already observed the root cause of the change in Quiro's strength.

"I've been thinking about this while reading the book: why Luo Feng never sent Quiro out as a puppet to help in battle after that. Even without the power of laws, he could still be a decent meat shield. Now I understand a little better."

"His aura is connected to the Tomb Ship, and his strength comes entirely from the energy within the Tomb Ship. Rather, he is an integral part of this Corridor of Life and Death. If a True God were to conduct a test, Quilo would inevitably have to reach the level of a Void True God. The reason he can withstand the tests of so many inheritors and even provide combat power at the level of a Void True God is not only because the Tomb Ship has a relatively abundant energy reserve. Another major reason is that most of the energy consumed by his attacks is ultimately recycled by the space of this Corridor of Life and Death."

"Considering all these factors, Luo Feng doesn't not want Quiro to help him, but he can't. Unless he lures the enemy into this corridor of life and death."

By the time Hunzhen reached his conclusion, Quilo's strength had already reached the top level of the ninth rank.

"it's over."

Hunzhen let Quilo's fist pass through him once again, and finally took a step.

Almost simultaneously, the moment Quiro's strength reached the tenth level, his movements finally froze, and the door to the corridor exit opened.

As Hunzhen crossed the exit, a phantom figure quietly appeared in the corridor between life and death.

Duan Donghe Wu Yuanyuan looked at Hunzhen's back, and a look of surprise and uncertainty flashed across his face.

"The Lord of the Universe?"

……

When Hunzhen stepped into the assessment area of ​​the Rhinoceros Emperor Bureau, it immediately caused an uproar.

No wonder.

"Isn't that the Lord of Time and Space?"

"At this point, he still comes over!?"

Behind the scenes, voices of doubt arose.

At this point, most people who are supposed to come have already arrived. In most people's eyes, those who are only coming now are just there to join in the fun.

Those in the top tier of examinees, like the Azure Blood Venerable, didn't even bother to glance in this direction.

They didn't consider Hunzhen, who had only arrived at this time, to be their competitor.

The Lord of Chaos City looked from afar, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Hunzhen had mentioned the "three thousand years" timeframe beforehand, but when it came time to actually come, he didn't specifically notify him again.

At this moment, even he, as the teacher, was not entirely sure what Hunzhen was confident about.

"Hey, Chaos, what's the situation with your disciple?" Master Peng asked telepathically from the side.

"I don't know either."

The Lord of Chaos City shook his head and replied, "However, my disciple never speaks without a purpose. Since he has come at this time, he must be certain that he can gain something from it."

At this point, a subtle smile flashed across the face of the Chaos City Lord.

He recalled the disciple's past deeds, and it was indeed so. He seemed reckless, but he never suffered a loss, nor did he ever suffer a loss.

The Lord of Penggong, who was nearby, noticed the change in the Chaos City Lord's expression and felt somewhat helpless. He said, "It would be best if that were the case. The Mechanical Race Father God is here. Even if the Lord of Time and Space doesn't obtain the inheritance after it ends, there will inevitably be some conflict. At that time, you and I need to be mentally prepared."

The Lord of Chaos City nodded: "I understand."

In a corner of this inheritance corridor, or rather, the inheritance hall, the three strongest individuals were restricted by an energy shield and unable to leave.

Two of them were True Lords of the Divine Eye Clan, and the remaining one was the Father God of the Mechanical Clan. The three of them somehow angered Duan Donghe Wu, and were not only stripped of their qualification to participate in the inheritance assessment, but were also imprisoned in place, awaiting further judgment after the assessment.

The mechanical god noticed Hunzhen's appearance from afar, and immediately gritted his teeth, staring intently at the other party with eyes that seemed to spit fire.

Although this energy shield is not just for show, it can only restrict ordinary True Gods and does not have coercive power, but the Mechanical Race Father God dares not make a move.

Whenever a new group of people enters, Duandonghe Wu will appear to explain the rules.

The same is true now.

The mechanical race's father god coldly watched Hunzhen's retreating figure, knowing that if he made a move, he would be killed by Duan Donghe Wu Qiangqiang before he could break the energy shield, so he could only express his resentment with his eyes.

Many cosmic lords also noticed this scene, their gazes shifting back and forth between Hunzhen and the mechanical race's father god, recalling the grudges between the two, and revealing expressions of great interest.

They knew that the Mechanical Race Father God dared not unleash his power at this moment, purely because of the suppression from Duan Donghe Wu. But once the inheritance assessment was over, there would definitely be a great show to watch.

Those cosmic venerables and immortal gods, who rarely get to hear such juicy gossip about the cosmic lord and the strongest being in the universe, immediately revealed expressions of curiosity and inquiry.

Amidst the discussions—

Suddenly, the sharp-eyed Lord of the Universe widened his eyes.

His companion, who had lost interest in watching the drama and was about to continue analyzing the situation, noticed his odd behavior and frowned, asking, "What's wrong with you?"

Suddenly, the Lord of the Universe trembled and raised his index finger, pointing at Hunzhen: "He, he, he!"

However, he seemed so shocked that he could not speak.

To avoid certain death, one must pass at least the first bottleneck in the Rhinoceros King Bureau's assessment. Those who dare to come here to take on this challenge are all outstanding individuals at their respective life levels.

Especially the Lord of the Universe, no one can reverse time and resurrect them, so those who dare to come are the best among them.

His companion knew his friend well; he was known for his aloofness and scholarly nature.

What kind of strange phenomenon could make him so distracted?

The companion then followed his friend's gaze and looked at Hunzhen, or more precisely, at the crystal pillar in front of Hunzhen used to resolve the situation.

His gaze shifted from doubt to astonishment, and finally to disbelief.

"That's impossible!"

And more and more people have noticed this anomaly.

Even some of the successor candidates who were originally focused on solving the puzzles began to spare a sliver of their attention to observe Hunzhen.

Then they saw a scene that shattered their worldview.

The three-dimensional scene in front of Hunzhen changed at an extremely fast speed. Compared to the slow pace of change of others who repeatedly hit walls and took years or decades to make slight progress, the changes in the Rhinoceros Emperor's Formation in front of Hunzhen seemed to happen in an instant.

With each blink, the 3D image steadily takes a step towards perfection.

Hunzhen didn't seem like a novice who had just entered the Rhinoceros Emperor Bureau at all, but rather a veteran who was completely familiar with the rules.

No, even with so many seasoned veterans here who have been immersed in the Rhinoceros King's Game for three thousand years, having already successfully solved the game once and having the previous 1, 2, and 3 perfect solutions as a reference, they still couldn't solve the game this quickly once again.

The player's movements were so natural, it was as if he had repeated the same action hundreds or thousands of times, and one could even faintly see a hint of impatience in his actions.

The latest novel is first published here!

And this is indeed the case...

ten years!

The maximum timeframe for simulated early access is ten years!

Over the past decade, he has spent almost every day resolving the Rhinoceros King puzzle, which he had previously solved perfectly.

Of course, "ten years" is just a figure of speech.

After all, having already experienced the challenges of the simulations, he was always able to get through them more quickly the next time. So, from the first simulation to the solution of the Rhinoceros King's Game, to now arriving at the Tomb Ship, it has been less than ten years.

But one thing is certain.

The higher the position of the endgame, the more times he would repeat it.

In the third year of simulating the Rhinoceros King's Formation, during the 1237th simulation, he finally completed the solution of 6000 formations, fulfilling the condition for ending the assessment ahead of schedule.

So he has already repeated the first game, which is ranked first, 1237 times!

At his level, solving problems has become almost an instinctive reaction.

What limits his speed in solving the puzzle is simply the time required for his divine manipulation to evolve the 3D image into a perfect whole.

The Rhinoceros King's Endgame consists of more than 10,000 endgame puzzles, which become increasingly complex as you progress.

The first two thousand games weren't enough to make him stop and think.

With his godlike skills and relentless execution, he can solve 100 games in a single day!

"First game, solved already?"

"Huh? Wait! He... he just moved on to the next game? Doesn't he even use his brain?"

"Faster! Too fast!"

Whenever a puzzle is solved, the 3D scene will naturally transition to the next game.

And with the smooth, high-speed operation, the scene changes again and again...

Change! Change! Change!

Seeing the ever-changing scene, the immortals, venerables, cosmic lords, and even true gods who were drawn to it were all stunned.

It is precisely because they themselves have understood the rules of the Rhinoceros King's Game and tried to solve it that they are at least beyond the "Mountain of Ignorance," which makes them all the more awe-inspiring.

The person before me has transformed into an indescribable being.

The "Mountain of Ignorance" is a phenomenon stemming from the famous Dunning-Kruger effect, a type of cognitive bias.

They established a Cartesian coordinate system by combining wisdom (X) and confidence (Y). The level of wisdom progresses from "not knowing what you don't know," "knowing what you don't know," "knowing what you know," and "not knowing what you know." The level of confidence first rises, then falls, and then rises continuously. It will pass through the "Mountain of Ignorance," the "Valley of Despair," and the "Slope of Enlightenment" before finally reaching the "Sustained and Stable Plateau."

Simply put, it's about thinking you're amazing when you know nothing, when you're actually just a stupid idiot, or someone who thinks "I could do that too" just because they see others doing something.

Once I understood a little, I realized how shallow my previous judgment had been, and I fell into the "valley of despair," realizing that "I really can't do it."

As one's understanding continues to expand, the path leads from mastery to proficiency and finally to mastery, leading to the conclusion that "learning has no end and the path is boundless; even if one dedicates the rest of one's life to it, it is impossible to exhaust it."

Among the candidates for succession present, there were many powerful individuals who had already stepped onto the "Slope of Enlightenment" and could already see the "Sustained and Stable Plateau" regarding their understanding of the Rhinoceros Emperor's Bureau.

Even they couldn't understand the scene before them.

An indescribable sense of awe made their souls and minds tremble.

That is life facing a terror far beyond its own comprehension, a presence so vast it exceeds the boundaries of cognition.

This terror, which even life itself cannot comprehend, transforms into awe and even faith because of its incomprehensible nature, causing those who witness it to willingly succumb to its power.

This is the concept of the so-called "Cthulhu Mythos".

At this moment, these powerful figures who were observing the Hunzhen Explanation Formation felt as if they were paying homage to the ancient rulers, and a great terror arose in their hearts.

That terror did not arise from facing an insurmountable force, but from facing wisdom that transcends human reason.

In the primordial universe, in the virtual universe.

The Primordial Ancestor discovered that the Chaos City Lord had completely stopped trying to resolve the situation, and that this had been the case for more than a few days.

He thought that his disciple had hit a bottleneck again, and that it was an unprecedented bottleneck, which was why he was completely still like a sculpture.

He then quietly appeared, intending to offer guidance.

"chaos--"

The Lord of Chaos City suddenly looked up, his eyes shining like stars: "Teacher, this inheritance will belong to humanity!"

"Um?"

Yuan Zu raised an eyebrow.

So, it wasn't that I was stuck in a bottleneck, but rather that I had an epiphany?

The Primordial Ancestor, pleased with his disciple's comprehension, smiled and said, "Not bad—"

Unexpectedly, the usually obedient Lord of Chaos City interrupted once again.

The Lord of Chaos City was so excited that he flew up in the virtual universe, but his voice still reached the ears of the Primordial Ancestor.

"My disciple, Hunzhen, solves a hundred puzzles a day, a hundred puzzles every day! Now, fifteen days later, he has solved 1,500 puzzles! He has successfully broken through the first bottleneck!"

Even the composed Primal Ancestor couldn't help but widen his eyes upon hearing this.

"I've spent three thousand years and I've only solved 3,670 puzzles!"

"My grand-disciple!!!"

"Truly a prodigy!"

"Truly a prodigy..."

Inside the Tomb Boat, Duan Donghe Wu Yaoyao looked at Hunzhen with a shocked expression and uttered the same exclamation as the original ancestor.

Quiro's Tenth Finger

(End of this chapter)