Everybody on the hill became excited after hearing what the Star Lord said.
“It’s finally begun!”
“Hurry up. My pet can’t wait any longer!”
“It must be eager to mate. What are you doing here?”
“The Sword Deity Academy will still be the academy with the most points. You’ll see what the best academy is capable of!”
“I’d like to call you bulls**tter!”
“Since when is the Sword Deity Academy the best academy? Do you have no respect for the Dragon Tomb Academy?”
“Stop arguing, clowns. The Hugh Mia Academy is the unquestionable best one of all!”
“The Holy Oriole Academy is like ‘You think we’re dead? Why, yes. We are dead.'”
The students on the hill had kept on taunting and mocking each other before the challenge started.
The four best academies were equally matched, but they always loved competing in every contest.
Such a competitive drive had been extended to that Illusionary God Monument Mysterious Realm.
Up on the hilltop—Su Ping and the other seven people woke up from their meditation and listened to the rules.
Su Ping was still reflecting on his cultivation; he felt he would have understood a new rule had he kept on cultivating a while longer.
He had gained a strange meta understanding of “law” itself after having grasped a hundred laws.
Still, the understanding was still vague; Su Ping felt that his combat ability might rise to a new level once he broke through that vague barrier and fully understood laws.
After introducing the rules, the Star Lord waved his hand and moved the monuments to hover above the hill. “Go and pick one.”
“Humph!”
Still within the circle of light, Dragon Emperor rose majestically as if he were holding up the sky. He was the first to reach an enormous monument, showing his determination to reclaim the glory that his academy had lost during the competition for seats had taken place.
He focused his attention on the monument; a simple briefing about the enemies inside the monument appeared soon after. Knowing he had chosen the right one, he decidedly stepped in.
The rough surface of the monument rippled as the Dragon Emperor entered and disappeared within.
Everybody was astonished by this, but none of them were too shocked since they had paid attention to the rules mentioned by the Star Lord.
Monuments could be selected twice; the person who entered an already selected monument would not meet the one who had entered earlier. Both would be teleported to different areas.
The circumstances of each monument were different; some enemies were good at mental attacks, some were good at pet deployment, some were exclusively dragons, and others were mixed.
“The Dragon Tomb Academy has indeed picked the dragon monument.”
“It’s a challenging monument that has nothing but dragons. It’s only a bit less difficult than the all-class monument!”
“He’s rather confident. I hope he won’t get slapped in the face.”
“Are you kidding me? You think Dragon Emperor will get slapped in the face? You clowns don’t know he has a full lineup of high-quality dragon pets, do you?”
All the students listening in on the conversation showed varied expressions. It was very expensive to develop a full lineup of dragons, unless they were of mediocre stock; but such lineups were pointless.
No wonder Dragon Emperor had become the top student of the Dragon Tomb Academy. Many people were too scared of him.
The young man who carried a wooden sword also rose and walked to a monument after Dragon Emperor entered the monument.
“It’s a sword class monument. Does he plan to hone his sword techniques there?”
“All the people from the Sword Deity Academy will probably pick that one.”
All the remaining participants took action moments after.
The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady, who was on Su Ping’s left side, opened her mouth curiously and said, “Which one will you pick?”
Su Ping glanced across the monuments and said casually, “The all-class one. The point coefficient there is higher.”
Every monument had a different point coefficient; the all-class monument was the most difficult of all, and would of course have the highest coefficient. Su Ping had met all sorts of monsters in cultivation sites, and that was why he was confident of defeating all of them.
“All class?”
While stunned for a moment, the Thousand Leaves Holy Lady gave a weird glance at Su Ping and said, “Even though the point coefficient of the all-class monument is high, you may encounter all kinds of enemies inside. You should go to the dragon-class or the element-class monuments since your pet is outstanding.”
“Okay.” Su Ping nodded.
The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady was relieved. However, she then discovered to her astonishment that Su Ping had flown straight towards the all-class monument the next moment.
Did the guy not hear what she just said?
Everybody looked at Su Ping when he stood before the all-class monument. Oasis Dragon King heard the exclamations when he was about to set foot in his monument. He then narrowed his eyes as he saw Su Ping’s choice.
The all-class monument was at the very peak of all the monuments. Su Ping was currently the only person standing in front of it.
“That guy…”
Oasis Dragon King showed a slightly changed expression. Then, he saw Su Ping set foot in the monument.
“He really went in!”
“You’re no woman. Do you have to shriek?”
“Damn, he entered an all-class monument? How confident is he?”
“Confident? I think he’s stupid. While the point coefficient for the all-class monument is high, 99% of the challengers lose when they go there.”
“Indeed, you have to choose the most suitable monument for you to get the most points. That coefficient is just a lethal temptation!”
The Thousand Leaves Holy Lady was also at a loss for words. Obviously, Su Ping didn’t follow her advice even though he nodded when she spoke with him. She sneered; it was the first time she had ever given a piece of friendly advice, yet she was ignored. She was eager to see Su Ping’s frustration after failing.
No longer giving it much thought, the Thousand Leaves Holy Lady found the most suitable monument and flew straight in.
Those at the middle of the hill also chose their own monuments as the people on the hilltop entered their own.
Most candidates from the Sword Deity Academy were picking the monument the young man with a wooden sword did.
Those from the Dragon Tomb Academy were picking the dragon-class monument.
The students from the Hugh Mia Academy and the Amir Royal Academy chose different monuments.
The graceful woman encouraged Yuan Linglu, “Lulu, keep it up. The academy has given you a recommendation so that you can grow stronger. Seize the opportunity!”
She was there to watch over Yuan Linglu, who had a lightning constitution that was one of the best in its class.
The constitution was so powerful that if fully activated, it would be possible to grasp lightning laws directly and reach the Star State.
Thanks to the constitution, she would also be able to perceive laws of lightning quickly!
To put it simply, Yuan Linglu could become the next Goddess of Light from the Holy Oriole Academy with ease!
The Goddess of Light ranked second in the Holy Oriole Academy, and could also rank among the top three in the Hugh Mia Academy. Although she merely had an elemental constitution, it was among the top ten in the Federation, which could compete with some of the powerful divine constitutions!
“Yes, I will.”
Yuan Linglu nodded quickly. She knew that the academy had high hopes for her; she had been sent there so she could gain more experience. She never thought that she could distinguish herself in the Universe Geniuses’ Contest.
She had learned from her seniors that those who distinguished themselves in the Universe Geniuses’ Contest would mostly be geniuses with powerful backgrounds or strong experts protecting them.
“Let’s get inside too,” said the graceful woman.
Yuan Linglu looked at the all-class monument that Su Ping had just entered. She was quite frustrated to see Su Ping defeat Dragon Devil; she had become significantly stronger while training in the Hugh Mia Academy. She had thought she could already crush Su Ping with ease.
However, Su Ping was growing faster than she had expected.
I need to earn more points and exchange them for an opportunity to train my pet! Yuan Linglu flew towards a monument with determination after setting a goal for herself.
…
Inside the all-class monument—
Hardly had Su Ping entered the place when he felt as if he were in space. Very soon, he felt as if something was directing his consciousness to a vortex in front of him.
He remembered the rules that the Star Lord had mentioned, so he didn’t protect himself; he merely allowed his consciousness to fly into the vortex.
Phew!
Su Ping found himself in a vast plain after his consciousness entered the monument.
He knew he was inside a mental domain.
He would only suffer mental damages if he died there, and death wouldn’t be real.
“The Star Lord mentioned that every monument has 99 floors. The Ascendant State expert who acquired this mysterious realm challenged all floors and gained control over it.
“Unfortunately, I won’t get the mysterious realm even if I overcome all floors.”
“Has it begun?” Su Ping mumbled, then three black clusters of mist appeared on the plain and turned into three gigantic wolves. They were almost fifty meters long, with sharp claws that could easily tear diamonds apart.
They’re indeed in the Fate State…
It’s true that the monument creates illusions based on the challenger’s level.
Su Ping detected the three wolves’ level and chuckled. Three Fate State beasts had shown up at the very beginning; a regular Fate State warrior would have to summon pets to fight them.
That first floor wasn’t too difficult.
Most people would usually pass it.
Roar!
The three wolves roared and charged at him, releasing tearing skills.
Su Ping stood still and waited for them to approach. He then snapped his fingers and shot three streams of compressed astral power to their heads.
The three wolves perished.
The astral power that Su Ping used was a tenth of what a regular Fate State person would, all thanks to his battle expertise.
The scene changed again, and he found himself in a jungle.
Six Fate State beasts appeared in one go; they were six poisonous lizards this time.
Su Ping raised his hand and easily killed them again.
Then, the third floor, the fourth floor… The scenes on every floor changed, and so did the enemies he encountered; some of them were of the combat-type and elemental beasts, while others were humanoid monsters.
He challenged beasts all the way to the tenth floor.
Su Ping encountered only one monster when he reached the eleventh floor, which was a demon pet with four black wings; it looked like a giant bird man with sharp talons, and pointy hooks stretched out of its chest. It was a creature still in the Fate State.
However, the monster showed an extraordinary speed, much higher than that of normal Fate State beings.
Bang.
Su Ping waved his fist and killed it with one punch as if it were a mosquito.
Although it was strong, it was just in the Fate State, which wouldn’t be challenging enough for Su Ping.
The monster wouldn’t have hurt him even if he would have simply stood there. After all, his body was as hard as that of some of the top Star State beasts!
The scene changed. Then, it was the twelfth floor…
…
The instructors from the five academies and the two managing Star Lords watched quietly on the hill after all their representatives entered the monuments.
“Have the points come out?”
“They’re being refreshed every ten minutes. Ten minutes haven’t passed yet.”
“We’re almost there.”
One of the Star Lord managers waved his hand and summoned a monument, which looked slightly different from the rest. It had been crafted by the current Ascendant State owner of that mysterious realm and was connected to other monuments.
“The points are out.”
Golden light surfaced on the monument; projections and rankings began to show up.
The monument was extremely high; even if the projections of other monuments were ranked instead of using names, they were still easy to read.
The projection ranking at the top belonged to Dragon Emperor!
He was on the 16th floor!
He had amassed 4,290 points thus far!
The young man with a wooden sword ranked second; he was on the 16th floor too, and had 3,820 points!
The point coefficient of the sword-class monument was lower than that of the dragon-class. Still, it was quite remarkable for him to reach the 16th floor that quickly.
“It’s been only ten minutes, and they’ve already reached the 16th level.”
“The one who’s ranked third has reached the 14th floor.”
“The others are somewhere around the thirteenth floor too.”
“One minute for each floor? What a horrifying speed!”
“It seems that all the candidates from the five academies are good; they’re better than the previous candidates.”
The two Star Lord managers had mixed feelings.
The instructors from the five academies were excited as they examined their students.
They knew about the results from the previous contestants; the current year’s average performance seemed to be better.
“The one challenging the all-class monument is in sixth place. Not bad.”
“He’s reached the twelfth floor. He’s quite fast. I think he entered the monument later than the others, right?”
“He’s only the twelfth floor, but his points are catching up to those of the top three.”
“Judging from their speed, it is possible that multiple little geniuses can surpass the fiftieth floor this year, right?”
