Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Battle of Geniuses

Chapter 83 Baffin, start stirring up trouble!

A thousand geniuses from various cosmic nations boarded spaceships and headed to the Virtual Universe Company's global headquarters.

Having witnessed the continent, dozens of light-years in diameter, at headquarters, I was awestruck by the world—whether a masterpiece of the universe or the result of individual power.

Finally, they met here and, led by the Nine Swords Venerable, arrived at Chaos City through the cosmic passage connecting the primordial universe and the initial universe.

Then, led by a host, they were introduced to the rules of the initial universe while being guided by a guide.

To summarize what the messenger said, the most crucial point is: fighting each other is prohibited within Chaos City.

In addition, they were reminded of the duration of their cultivation in Chaos City, some location restrictions within the city, and the opportunities left behind by the pioneers at the rooftop landscape, as well as the three treasures of Chaos City.

(To avoid padding the word count, please refer to Chapters 8 and 9 of Part 8 of the original work for details.)

Hunzhen was naturally very familiar with the opportunities within Chaos City.

So while the other geniuses were excited and overjoyed upon hearing the envoy's introduction, Hunzhen remained indifferent and even seemed to want to yawn.

"What's wrong with you, kid?"

Looking at the listless Hunzhen, Uka felt a surge of indignation for no apparent reason.

Good grief, we all cherish the cultivation opportunities in Chaos City to the extreme, but you treat them like they're nothing special?

It's not anger, it's just that I'm annoyed by this guy's nonchalant attitude!

Hunzhen glanced at Wuka and thought to himself, if you had experienced the benefits of Chaos City years in advance, you might have already started playing cards with your friends right there when someone explains what the benefits are now.

He reassured her, "I already asked about the cultivation opportunities in Chaos City, didn't I? Rather than listening to others' introductions, I'd rather finish this process quickly and find a blessed place to meditate and cultivate."

"Yo ho~"

Uka's brow furrowed, and he couldn't help but recall the scene from the gathering three years ago when Hunzhen gave them some pointers.

Seeing how knowledgeable this guy was about the various secret manuals, he already had some guesses...

Now that Hunzhen was saying this, Wuka naturally filled in the blanks in his mind to make it sound plausible. Then he thought of the nagging he had heard with his tribesmen in the Wilderness Secret Realm years ago, and instantly felt the same way about Hunzhen's attitude.

He immediately abandoned any pretense of arguing, a strange light flashing in his eyes. His arm naturally draped over Hunzhen's shoulder as he winked and said, "So, you've heard of the Chaos Stele, haven't you? Heh, putting everything else aside, I knew this crucial information a long time ago. Hunzhen, which one are you planning to choose? As for myself, I'm going to choose the strongest one, the giant axe Chaos Stele!"

"The Cosmic Chaos Monument"

Hunzhen answered immediately, then pushed away Uka's arm, feigning arrogance, and said, "If you ask me, there is no strongest Chaos Stele, only the strongest person! Tsk tsk, if you ask me, Uka, your mentality alone is unacceptable!"

Uka, who was already used to Hunzhen's eccentricities, was not annoyed at all. On the contrary, he was quite interested in discussing with Hunzhen the differences in the merits of the various Chaos Steles.

This discussion also drew in Rong Jun, Luo Feng, and several of their more familiar companions, who joined in the lively debate.

Meanwhile, the cold-blooded genius silently raised an eyebrow.

Bolan, who was secretly observing Hunzhen, felt that this statement resonated with him deeply.

Not long after, the black-robed envoy, having finished introducing the Chaos Stele, led the geniuses to the entrance of a dreamlike corridor outside the Chaos Stele. He then instructed them to comprehend the Chaos Stele's imprint, and through this comprehending imprint, which was akin to a general outline, to choose the Chaos Stele that best suited them.

One by one, geniuses filed into the dreamlike corridor.

Although Hunzhen had gained countless insights from the Chaos Stele, he had never actually seen the Chaos Stele or even its rubbings.

I immediately became interested and strode in.

There were fifty-two pictures, and only half an hour to view them. Hunzhen's gaze swept over the "Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele" picture with withered yellow leaves, the "Heart Mark Chaos Stele" picture with knife marks, and the "Nine Universes Chaos Stele" picture covered with raindrops, and stopped in front of a picture with complicated lines.

This is a rubbing of the "Cosmic Chaos Monument"!

At first glance, it appears to be just a doodle composed of disordered and tangled threads and messy black and white dots, but upon closer inspection, it seems to reveal countless intersecting orbits and stars.

Although it is a static rubbing, once you immerse yourself in it, the stars and orbits seem to move, creating endless mysteries and changes.

Hunzhen involuntarily sank into it.

"Okay, I'll be there in half an hour."

The black-robed messenger interrupted the geniuses who were engrossed in their drawings, and called out from outside the corridor, "Tell me which Chaos Monument you choose, and I will record it."

The choices of the other characters are exactly the same as those in the original work.

Hunzhen was also firm in his choice from the beginning and had no intention of changing it, so he gave the name of the Cosmic Chaos Stele.

This also means that... the long-standing resistance of the simulated humans has finally come to an end.

Even though he was already twenty-eight years old in this world and had become very composed, Hunzhen couldn't help but feel a little excited: "In the coming period, my understanding of the laws of time will finally experience a real explosive growth!"

Having finished recording, the black-robed messenger began to inform the selected geniuses who were free at the Chaos Stele to enter the Chaos Stele's cultivation chamber for comprehension.

The Cosmic Chaos Monument is prominently listed.

"Um?"

The black-robed envoy suddenly paused, frowned, and looked at Hunzhen, who was still standing in place, and said, "I know you. Hunzhen is the champion of this year's Genius Battle, right? Didn't you choose the Cosmic Chaos Stele? You're free right now."

Hunzhen shook his head and smiled, "Sir Envoy, I plan to accumulate more insights before I try to comprehend the Chaos Stele."

"this……"

The black-robed envoy frowned, but quickly relaxed.

Indeed, some people in the audience knew about the Chaos Stele in advance, but why did no one choose to reserve their chance to comprehend it?

Naturally, the first time one comprehends the Chaos Stele, the greater the inspiration; the earlier one comprehends it for the first time, the better.

But if one truly accumulates insights and delays the opportunity to comprehend them, is the disadvantage outweighed the advantage?

Geniuses have their own ideas, especially the top genius in the genius battle.

Even if they suffer losses as a result, that's their own business.

"Whatever you want."

The black-robed messenger waved his hand, indicating that he did not intend to interfere with Hunzhen's choice.

As someone who had also chosen the Cosmic Chaos Monument, Bolan turned back and gave Hunzhen a deep look before walking toward the cultivation chamber.

The remaining hundred or so geniuses, whose cultivation chambers were occupied, looked at Hunzhen with a hint of surprise.

Of the thousand geniuses, more than half were directly eliminated by the virtual universe system during the genius battle that year, failing to compete for the final spots in the Primordial Secret Realm and the Primordial Secret Realm.

But there were only two people, Hunzhen and Bolan, whose strength forced them to submit.

How could such a brilliant person make such an unwise choice at this moment?

Even Uka frowned and advised, "Hunzhen, whether you've ever studied the Chaos Stele or not makes a huge difference. You—"

"Sigh~"

Hunzhen interrupted lightly, waving his hand and saying, "How could I not know? It's just that my comprehension is about to hit a bottleneck. I'll accumulate a few more days and then go to study it further. I'm not in a hurry, so why are you?"

Upon hearing this, Uka felt he had nothing more to say to dissuade him, so he had no choice but to give up.

Shortly afterward, just as in the original story, someone caused trouble in Chaos City, prompting the Chaos City Lord to take action, which shocked a group of geniuses.

The remaining hundred or so geniuses also lined up and began their own comprehension.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

After each group of practitioners finished their enlightenment, they were reminded by the "Guardian of the Chaos Monument," Kandri, that the Bridge to Heaven existed.

"This is your first time entering the cultivation chamber, so I'm reminding you... First, find a place to stay for the next thirty years of your cultivation. Then, remember to enter the virtual universe and apply to enter the 'Bridge to Heaven'."

"Hehe, now that you've all chosen the Chaos Monument, the 'Bridge to Heaven' virtual universe dimension associated with it will naturally be unlocked."

With Candri's words as the catalyst, a new round of competition among the geniuses has begun, following the battle of geniuses.

……

"call!"

In the plane of the Sky Bridge, a figure in white appeared.

Recalling the battle on the Skybridge, Berlan was also filled with emotion.

The image of Hunzhen's "cold and stern" expression involuntarily flashed through his mind, and a flicker of excitement crossed his eyes: "In that case, you should be one step closer to him."

On the third level of the Bridge to Heaven, seemingly due to Hunzhen's inspiration, Bolan made a further progress compared to when he first crossed the Bridge to Heaven in the original story!

Even so, Bolan dared not say that he had surpassed Hunzhen.

With the guardian of the Tongtian Bridge as a benchmark, he had roughly judged that Hunzhen, who was able to perform the Arc Light Leap three years ago, had most likely barely reached this level.

The third and fourth levels of the Sky Bridge are a huge bottleneck. Three years have passed, and Hunzhen must have made some progress, but it is absolutely impossible for him to pass through.

Having spent thirty years cultivating in Chaos City, Bolan, who had never been surpassed before, was now filled with determination to catch up with and surpass Hunzhen!

"Um?"

Berlan noticed some movement on the Skybridge and glanced to the side, where he saw a somewhat familiar figure.

The person who arrived in the Tongtian Bridge dimension right after Bolan crossed the Tongtian Bridge was Luo Feng, the final challenger of the Nine Tongtian Bridges.

The latest novel is first published here!

"Berlan?"

Luo Feng frowned.

"Hehe."

Baffin, the guardian of the Tongtian Bridge, who had just finished introducing himself to Luo Feng and the others, noticed the exchange of glances between the two. As if he had seen something interesting, he stroked his chin and raised an eyebrow. "So far, including the nearly nine hundred people who have been tested before, ninety percent of your batch has been tested."

Baffin looked at Luo Feng meaningfully and smiled, "Of all these people, apart from this Berlan who just came out and the one I greeted first, none of the rest have made it past the first level."

"What!?"

Out of more than nine hundred people, only two made it through?

Luo Feng was extremely surprised.

The two who crossed the Tongtian Bridge were Bolan and... Hunzhen, had he also tried it here?

The overseer, Baffin, turned to look at Berlan and clicked his tongue in admiration, saying, "Kid, not bad. You managed to break through three levels in one go on your first attempt at the Sky Bridge."

Baffin, the "fanning the flames" guy, suddenly grinned at Luo Feng: "Hey, that other genius from the Primal Secret Realm, Longyun, also fell on the first level."

Judging from his tone and expression, this guy clearly watched a lot of "Genius Battle" episodes.

Luo Feng's pupils contracted as he suddenly felt an immense pressure.

Although the number of nine hundred geniuses surprised Luo Feng, most of them had never had combat experience.

But Longyun is different. Back then, he defeated and eliminated him before entering the final round of the Genius Battle and successfully entering the Primal Secret Realm!

"Even with Longyun's strength, the resources he received from the Virtual Universe Company after the Genius Battle, and three years of further training, he still couldn't pass?"

With this comparison, Luo Feng gained a general understanding of the difficulty of the Tongtian Bridge.

Bolan saw that Baffin had described the situation of most of the challengers and mentioned Longyun, but he didn't mention Hunzhen's situation. Luo Feng seemed to be stunned and didn't ask any questions.

He snorted coldly in his heart and was about to teleport away.

Given Berlan's personality, it would be unthinkable for him to ask about someone else's "achievements".

No matter how curious he was, he wouldn't ask unless Baffin told him.

With his immortal abilities, how could he not notice Berlan's reaction?

A hint of amusement flashed in Baffin's eyes. Just as Berlan was about to leave, he said quietly, "Oh, by the way, the first person I mentioned to receive was also a member of the Primal Secret Realm, the number one in your class, Hunzhen... He broke through to the fourth level seven days ago, when you were studying the Chaos Stele."

Berlan's stern face froze instantly.

His eyes betrayed his shock.

"He...he broke through to the fourth level!?"

Berlan's eyes widened as he recalled his thoughts when he broke through to the third level, and a sudden heat rose to his face for no reason.

"The fourth floor!"

Luo Feng was also shaken. He glanced at Bo Lan, who was frozen in place, and sighed inwardly, "As expected of Hunzhen."

At this moment, Luo Feng was unaware of the enormous difference between the third and fourth levels of the Tongtian Bridge. He didn't react much to the fact that Hunzhen, who had previously surpassed Bolan, had once again surpassed Bolan.

He felt pure admiration for Hunzhen and an ever-growing desire to challenge him.

Seeing Luo Feng's determined expression, Baffin's eyes flashed with admiration, and he smiled, "Go ahead, go and try."

Luo Feng entered the Nine Heavens Bridge, leaving only Baffin and Berlan in the original spot.

Baffin, of course, did not miss Berlan's reaction.

"Hehe, this Berlan is the only one among these kids who has faced the fourth level guardian head-on. He must be quite frightened now."

Baffin thought to himself without a trace of guilt, "But I'm sorry, I can't be the only one surprised."

If you can't even withstand this small setback, how can you become a strong person when there are countless hardships ahead?

Moreover...

"Judging from Hunzhen's progress during the Genius Battle, his talent in time and space is roughly equal. But this Bolan... in terms of spatial talent alone, is even superior to Hunzhen!"

Baffin shook his head inwardly: "So many people advised him to focus on the path of space, yet he still chose the path of time and space! Using the Law of Wind as a springboard, he still insisted on comprehending the Law of Time? It's a complete waste of talent!"

Therefore, Baffin felt no psychological burden at all, and even wished that Berlan would suffer more setbacks, realize the gap between himself and Hunzhen, and return to the right path.

Aside from that, he was simply amazed by Hun Zhen's performance.

Returning his gaze to Hunzhen, Bafen couldn't help but sigh inwardly that such two geniuses had emerged from the same Genius Battle.

Berlan's talent was already amazing enough, but this Hunzhen, whose talent in time and space complemented each other, was even more outstanding than Berlan's!

"It's only been three years since the Genius Battle ended, and he's already broken through to the fourth level? It's been so many years since we've seen a genius like this. Could he be another Kodi?"

Baffin shook his head inwardly again: "No, it's still a bit lacking. Koti easily passed the fifth level on his first try, and almost broke through to the sixth. The current Hunzhen is still not comparable."

On the other side, Berlan gazed intently in the direction of the Cosmic Bridge, clenching his fist slightly: "If Hunzhen can do it, so can I!"

Little did anyone know that just when Bolan believed that Hunzhen was still following the same path of time and space...

On the rooftop of a cultivation dwelling near the center of Chaos City, Hunzhen had quietly shifted the focus of his comprehension of the laws.

There are three paths to comprehend the Chaos Monument of the Universe.

One approach prioritizes time while using space as a secondary consideration.

One approach prioritizes space and uses time as a secondary factor.

One method is cultivation that combines time and space.

The third route is the most abnormal. In the early stages, it may require comprehending two superior laws at the same time, and the progress may be slow. However, in the later stages, after cultivating to a certain level, the space feeds back to the time progress, and the time feeds back to the space progress... so the more you cultivate, the faster you become!

This is a great road that leads directly to the Lord of the Universe!

However, Hunzhen was not blinded by this "high potential" path because of his experience with RPG games.

The family knows their own affairs.

Objectively speaking, even after being greatly nourished by the Chaos True Spirit, his spatial talent was only at an average level.

This is an extremely amazing talent for ordinary citizens of the universe, but in a virtual universe company full of geniuses... it's just so-so!

His true talent lies in the law of time!

(End of this chapter)