Is Lu Qingshan Too Confident?

Inside the Treasure Pavilion in the Virtual Universe. "My lord, I deliberately provoked that Lu Qingshan just as you ordered, but the fellow is as timid as a mouse—he does not dare to compete with me at all!" Blood Eye looked at the imposing figure across from him, his gaze full of admiration. The truth had turned out to be exactly what Yang had guessed—this Blood Eye was nothing more than a guard dog. "I must have been overthinking it..." Kunshaluo rubbed his temples, a flicker of weariness passing through his eyes. Over the past few years, he had been utterly worn out, in both body and mind... The Treasure Pavilion—the great company he had built with his own hands, which had even gone public in the Qianwu Universe Kingdom—had come crashing down. Its stock price plummeted, leaving it no choice but to delist. To guard against retaliation from that mysterious man, every branch apart from those on Qianwu Continent had been closed for business... The investment he had been negotiating with the Virtual Universe Company's Qianwu Universe Kingdom commerce department had, naturally, come to nothing as well. Kunshaluo ground his teeth in hatred at the man who had attacked his Treasure Pavilion, yet there was nothing he could do. The enemy would strike once and move on to another place, and he was exceptionally alert; though Kunshaluo had staked out the Treasure Pavilion's larger branches several times, he had never once run into him. During that time, Kunshaluo had run through all his enemies one by one, yet still could not work out who was behind the attacks. Lu Qingshan was, of course, also among those he considered. After all, Lu Qingshan was also at the World Master realm; perhaps he had used some method to slip quietly past his surveillance and attack the Treasure Pavilion... However, the more times the attacks occurred, the less Lu Qingshan seemed to be the culprit. The strength the enemy displayed was far beyond anything a rookie like Lu Qingshan, who had only just entered the World Master realm, could match. Even so, he had not entirely cleared away his suspicion of Lu Qingshan. It was true that he, Kunshaluo, had offended many people, but after he had joined the Qianwu Country Master's banner, those people had not dared to move against him openly. All these years had passed in peace—so why was it that only after he provoked Lu Qingshan did he begin suffering wave upon wave of retaliation? That was a little too much of a coincidence. And that was why there had been today's test. ... In the observation hall. One World Master instructor after another let out cries of amazement. "Her Highness Ling Yu is far too strong. She wields the second level of the Wind Thunder Sword with such ease. Those seven geniuses at domain level eight or nine surrounded Her Highness, yet were killed in an instant with a single move. There is no longer any doubt—she is already first in World District 12." "Indeed, Her Highness Ling Yu is certain to be first in the World District. With Her Highness's strength, going to the Arena Tournament would be nothing but a waste of time—better to keep cultivating in the Secret Realm for another three years." On the screen. After finishing off her opponents, Ling Yu darted through the cities of World District 12. She no longer carried out large-scale slaughter; instead, she focused on the strongest fighters in each city. After all, more than ten days had passed since the selection matches began, and the strong ones in every city now held enormous amounts of points—killing them was far more efficient! Ling Yu's points already stood in first place by a huge margin, with no suspense whatsoever... "Paris is doing well; he is now ranked 521st. As long as he does not run into an opponent who has crossed the threshold of Law, fighting his way into the Arena Tournament will be easy..." Yang remarked on Lu Qingshan's disciples. Paris's points kept climbing; the Star Level contestants who had died at his hands already numbered over a hundred thousand. His luck was good—he had not met any opponent who had crossed the threshold of Law. He need only hold on for a few more days; even if he were killed, his points would be enough to keep him within the top 1001 and pass the preliminaries. "That fellow Lei Ming... huh? Lei Ming is in for some bad luck!" At Yang's prompt, Lu Qingshan switched his view over to his disciple Lei Ming. Deep in the mountain forest. Lei Ming was darting swiftly through the dense woods, and behind him, a blond youth riding a mental-force weapon was hunting him down. "Stop struggling. You cannot escape the palm of Payne's hand." The youth waved his hand. The mental-force weapon Cloud-Piercing Shuttle transformed into countless sharp swords that stabbed viciously at Lei Ming's back. The golden swords were like a shower of meteors. "This youth is actually a genius who has stepped into the Metal Origin Law. Though he has only comprehended a mere trace of the origin law, Lei Ming is absolutely no match for him. What matters most is that this fellow is also a Mental Force Master—there is no running away..." Yang turned to glance at Lu Qingshan and saw that his expression had not changed. He continued, "Let me look up this youth's information... hm, he is actually a genius from the Giant Dragon Empire. What a shame that such a genius has not joined our Qianwu Secret Realm. Still, after the Genius Battle, he will certainly be taken into the Secret Realm." The Qianwu Secret Realm's three Undying would never allow geniuses who had stepped into the origin law to remain outside. This was not an invitation but a compulsory demand that they join the Qianwu Secret Realm—unless one had the ability to become one of the top thousand in the entire universe and join the Virtual Universe Core. "However, this fellow called Payne has only a trace of the Metal Origin Law. Reaching the top thousand of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom is likely his ceiling." Lu Qingshan did not doubt Yang's words. Across the entire universe, there were at least five hundred thousand geniuses in the Genius Battle who had crossed the threshold of the origin law! Among so many geniuses, if he wanted to fight his way into the top thousand, this bit of origin-law comprehension was nowhere near enough! "Bastard, I barely have any points on me—why must you hunt me down?!" Lei Ming's body instantly split into three Illusion Bodies, and he dodged the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle's attack by the slimmest of margins. The next instant, his body shifted into the Illusion Body on the left, and he fled on. Payne in the sky kept up the chase, showing no intention of letting Lei Ming go. "Passing the preliminaries is a piece of cake for me, Payne... Only hunting down an expert like you can get me excited!" "You lunatic!!" Lei Ming flipped over and dodged another attack, and the great tree behind him toppled with a crash. In this World District 88, the trees were impossibly sturdy; even a saber slash from an ordinary Star Level would leave no mark on them—which showed just how much power that single move carried... "Fortunately, this is a primeval forest. Had it been the terrain of any other World District, Lei Ming would likely have been killed long ago." Hearing Yang's assessment, Lu Qingshan nodded. Whether one had comprehended the origin law or not made all the difference in the world; even though Lei Ming was at domain level nine and had learned Thunderlight Flash, against a genius who had entered the origin law, he still could not hold out. "Still, it is not certain that no miracle will happen..." Lu Qingshan said in a low voice. Lei Ming was his own senior disciple, so Lu Qingshan knew him well. His talent might not match Paris's and Ling Yu's, but when driven to his limits, he possessed the ability to create miracles. Just as he had back then at Huancai Star, when, on the brink between life and death, he had comprehended the domain and turned the tables to slay his opponent. And now it happened to be the same conditions once more... domain level nine... in possession of Thunderlight Flash, that movement-technique secret manual which touched upon the Lightning Origin Law... and then there was that Purple Jade Mystic Thunder Crystal... Since entering the arena, Lei Ming had hidden himself away to cultivate in seclusion—perhaps he had already gained a trace of insight before the competition even began. "Brother Qingshan, do you really think that kid Lei Ming can still turn the tables and kill him?" Hearing Lu Qingshan's words, Yang shook his head... this younger brother of his was good in every way, except that he trusted his own disciples too much. For a martial artist at domain level nine to turn the tables and kill a Mental Force Master who had comprehended the origin law—how was that any different from talking in one's sleep... "Boom..." Another explosion rang out, and the ground was smashed into a crater dozens of meters wide. Once again Lei Ming escaped by a hair's breadth—his three Illusion Bodies had already been pushed to their very limit... ... Meanwhile. The imperial capital of the Giant Dragon Empire. Tens of thousands of nobles had all gathered in the Virtual Universe to watch the match, and the one they cheered for was, of course, the pride of their Giant Dragon Empire—Holy Sword Payne. The Third Prince "Kuntukuta Katikotesuwaxilasong," who had crossed paths with Lu Qingshan at the Qianwu Auction earlier, was shouting in excitement. "Payne, go! Take him down!" "Ugh... how did that one-horned brat get away again? Holy Sword Payne, you are the pride of our Giant Dragon Empire—take him down!!" "All right, Little Three... calm down a little." From the seat of honor, a burly man draped in an imperial robe and wearing a crown spoke in a low, muffled voice. "Imperial Father, is it not because I am anxious for Payne's sake? It has been so long and he still has not killed that brat. Is that fellow made of loach? He is so slippery..." Kuntu glared, his eyes wide, somewhat dissatisfied with Payne's performance. "Little Three, do not underestimate others. That one-horned youth is at the peak of domain level nine, and his movement technique is especially formidable... He seems to be using that very Secret Manual called Thunderlight Flash, which our Imperial Academy only recently obtained. Rumor has it that this manual was created by a Special-Class Instructor of the Qianwu Secret Realm. For him to have cultivated it to such a degree, he must be an elite of the Qianwu Secret Realm... Payne lacks combat experience, so it is perfectly normal that he cannot take down such a genius quickly." "Yes, Third Prince... just rest assured, there will be no mishap. If not for the complicated terrain of World District 88, Holy Sword Payne would have long since claimed first place in the World District." "Haha, watching Payne hunt down a Qianwu Secret Realm genius is a fine show in itself." "Drink, drink! To our Giant Dragon Empire producing a genius like Payne—cheers!!" ...