Chapter 119: The Undisputed Rankings (Fifth Update)

“What an extraordinary battle!”

“It's a pity that Luo Feng’s strength was a bit lacking; it ended without much resistance. Such a spectacular performance—I wish we could watch it a bit longer!”

“A Stellar-level cultivator who has comprehended the ‘Essence of Spatial Laws,’ and at least eighteen varieties of it—that’s a prodigy we haven’t seen in countless years.”

“The last one of such caliber seemed to be ‘Kedi,’ once a disciple of the Lord of Chaos City, but unfortunately fell during the life-and-death trials at the Lord level.”

“If only ‘Uchiha Shisui’ had not perished, he would surely have become a Spatial Sovereign in the future!”

The immortals conversed excitedly, all thoroughly impressed by Uchiha Shisui’s performance.

From their perspective, battles at this level were commonplace.

What was rare, however, was that both combatants were Stellar-level geniuses.

The significance of this was not lost on the leaders of various cosmic nations present.

“Congratulations to Lord of the Nine Swords!” an immortal said with a smile. “This generation’s Talent Battle, presided over by the Lord of the Nine Swords, has produced a prodigy born once in a billion epochs. This is a great joy for our Human race!”

“Congratulations to Lord of the Nine Swords!” echoed the others.

Take Berlan, for instance—a Stellar-level genius capable of manifesting over a thousand phantoms, already an extraordinary talent.

But even he was only the level of “once in hundreds of thousands of epochs.”

Whereas a Stellar-level cultivator who comprehends the ‘Essence of Spatial Laws,’ and eighteen varieties at that, undoubtedly reaches the prodigy standard of “once in a billion epochs.”

It should be known that there are only 108 kinds of spatial law essences in total; to grasp eighteen is to master a quarter of them.

Having such a profound understanding of spatial laws at the Stellar level, the likelihood of mastering all seventy-two essentials is very high.

If one were to comprehend the entire 108 essences, they would almost certainly penetrate the spatial laws and achieve the status of a Spatial Sovereign.

A Sovereign is an existence even higher than an immortal.

Among the Five Great Powers, such a figure would certainly be considered upper echelon.

Suddenly, an immortal deity sighed deeply and said, “It’s a pity that Uchiha Shisui was unlucky to encounter that monster!”

At these words, all immortals, including the Lord of the Nine Swords, showed odd expressions.

Uchiha Shisui was indeed a prodigy born once in a billion epochs.

But fate had him face a being who was a ‘monster’—undefeatable under the rules of this arena battle.

No matter how optimistic these immortals were about Uchiha Shisui, they accepted he would only place second, unable to contend for first.

“However, as long as Uchiha Shisui does not perish, in billions of epochs to come, he will undoubtedly become a super strong figure of our Human race, perhaps even the leader of our race! As for Jiang Chen… the path of technology is important, but its limits are somewhat low...”

One immortal voiced his thoughts.

Others nodded in agreement.

In the universe, the power of ‘technology’ has limits.

Moreover, it differs greatly from comprehending laws.

Laws exist objectively; whether one can grasp them depends solely on personal talent.

Many dazzling geniuses in technology have had their moments of brilliance.

Yet often, they hit a bottleneck and cannot advance further.

Across the entire universe, only the Mechanical race excels most in technology.

Still, even their technology has a ceiling.

The later the stage, the less aid technology provides, sometimes outweighed by certain naturally occurring rare treasures in the cosmos.

Though this generation’s talent battle’s champion was clear, the immortals present, including the Lord of the Nine Swords, were not overly optimistic about Jiang Chen’s future, instead placing greater emphasis on Uchiha Shisui.

If they knew these two identities were one and the same person, who knows what they would think.

—

Elsewhere, Luo Feng ‘revived’ in the central plaza. Seeing Jiang Chen, who had been transported off the arena, he hurried forward to express gratitude: “Uchiha Shisui, thank you for your guidance. I’ve gained much from this battle!”

“Hmm.” Jiang Chen nodded, feigning aloofness with a scoff from his nose.

This clone played a role unfamiliar to Luo Feng and was designed to be cold and reserved, naturally unsuitable for much conversation.

Luo Feng paid it no mind.

Compared to the gains from his previous battle, such an attitude was trivial.

If he could frequently spar and learn from Uchiha Shisui, Luo Feng was certain his strength would soar.

A thought stirred within Luo Feng, instinctively wanting to chat more with Uchiha Shisui to build rapport for future challenges and guidance.

But just then, the Lord of the Nine Swords reappeared and announced two names: “The second match—Long Yun and Berlan!”

…

The arena battles continued.

Each genius needed to face the other four participants once.

Jiang Chen’s true self, naturally, was unmatched—under the anti-matter blasts, no genius could withstand him; all were instantly defeated at the start.

The clone ‘Uchiha Shisui’ also performed extraordinarily.

The powerful spatial laws granted immense advantage in movement.

The illusions attached to attacks, under Jiang Chen’s deliberate control, were not enough to directly kill or control the universe’s top-tier talents, but were more than sufficient to disrupt them.

And this was without Jiang Chen’s full effort.

Don’t forget, Jiang Chen’s true self had already reached the Domain Lord level.

With that level of consciousness and willpower, combined with the exquisite illusions taught by the Phantom Spirit King, if he unleashed full power, even Domain Lords would fall prey; these Stellar-level geniuses could never withstand him.

Yet even with deliberately reduced power, it was enough to make opponents momentarily dazed.

Just one moment of confusion, and with the blade techniques enhanced by the Flame Law, the enemy’s defenses could be instantly broken, and they would be swiftly slain.

Among the Ten Great Laws, in terms of offensive power, the Flame Law is one of the strongest, rivaled only by the Metal and Lightning Laws.

With this ‘combination strike,’ no talent could withstand Uchiha Shisui’s assault.

Even Berlan, another prodigy, could only slightly delay the outcome with numerous phantoms.

Once Jiang Chen locked onto Berlan’s true position, he was pierced through the head by Jiang Chen’s dagger within a few moves and collapsed on the arena.

The battles concluded.

Final rankings: Jiang Chen’s true self was undefeated in four matches, earning four points and first place.

The Uchiha Shisui clone won three, lost one, ranking second; the sole defeat was to the clone representing the true self.

Berlan stood third with two wins and two losses.

The most intriguing was the match between Long Yun and Luo Feng.

After battling Uchiha Shisui, Luo Feng seemed to have reached a breakthrough during his match with Long Yun, culminating in mutual destruction and a draw.

This placed them joint last.

Only the first and second places qualified for the Primitive Secret Realm. Luo Feng and Long Yun, regardless of victor, had to enter the Primordial Secret Realm, so there was no need for a tiebreaker.

At the moment Luo Feng and Long Yun mutually perished on the arena, this generation’s Cosmos Peak Talent Battle came to a complete close.

———

On the plaza, one thousand talents and one thousand eight immortal beings lined up in two neat formations, listening to the Lord of the Nine Swords’ speech.

“I ask one last time, is there anyone unwilling to join the Virtual Universe Corporation, forfeiting their spot?”

The Lord of the Nine Swords gazed at the crowd solemnly. “This is your final chance. Once you choose to join, betrayal is forbidden under penalty of relentless pursuit by the Virtual Universe Corporation!”

No one spoke.

The Lord of the Nine Swords nodded in satisfaction, smiling gently. “This generation’s Talent Battle is perhaps the finest in many years. I believe that after long ages, many among you will make a name that shakes the cosmos.”

“Your future paths will no longer be ordinary.”

“Our Virtual Universe Corporation will do everything possible to aid you. But the cultivation path ultimately depends on yourselves.”

“Whether you become legendary super-strong figures in the universe, or remain ordinary, or fade into obscurity, or perish on the road to growth—it all depends on your own choices.”

“Work hard; your journey to strength is only just beginning!”

“Soon, someone will contact you to register your information, assign personnel to escort you to the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Corporation, where you will gather before being sent to the ‘Initial Universe.’”

The Lord of the Nine Swords’ voice echoed in every genius’s mind.

———

Elsewhere, in the Death Secret Realm of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

Another of Jiang Chen’s clones, ‘Erso,’ received notice and arrived at the open area outside the residential gate.

A spaceship shaped like a flying bird descended; a woman with purple hair stepped out, smiling warmly at Jiang Chen.

Seeing her, Jiang Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Teacher?! What are you doing here?”

“I happen to be going to the Initial Universe and thought I’d send you along,” the Phantom Spirit King said with a smile, beckoning, “What are you waiting for? Get on the ship!”

Jiang Chen hastened to respond respectfully, “Yes, Teacher.”

Then quickening his steps, he entered the ship cabin.

Inside the control room:

“This is the first time we meet in reality, teacher and disciple,” the Phantom Spirit King smiled at this youngest disciple.

Though only a formally registered disciple, the Phantom Spirit King was very pleased and quite fond of him.

At first, ‘Erso’ behaved oddly—among many secret techniques granted by the Phantom Spirit King, he only chose to cultivate soul defense techniques, which puzzled the master.

But as ‘Erso’ continued to train, his rapid progress surprised even the Phantom Spirit King.

With many specialties, especially the [High-Level Mental Power Manipulation], Jiang Chen showed exceptional compatibility when cultivating soul- and mind-related secret techniques.

Also, Jiang Chen’s ‘Soul Attributes’—intelligence, spirit, and mysticism—were extremely high, granting him great aptitude for such cultivation.

In just under three years since becoming the Phantom Spirit King’s disciple before the Talent Battle, and now seven or eight years later, Jiang Chen’s progress was astonishing.

Out of 627 secret techniques in the illusionist lineage granted by the Phantom Spirit King, Jiang Chen had mastered nearly two hundred!

It should be noted that the Phantom Spirit King’s ‘Direct Disciple Assessment’ requires mastery of all 627 techniques within three hundred years to pass.

But judging by Jiang Chen’s speed, he might accomplish this in less than thirty years.

Such a miraculous performance naturally delighted the Phantom Spirit King, who took even greater interest in Jiang Chen.

The Phantom Spirit King looked at Jiang Chen with satisfaction and said, “I promised to prepare weapons and battle armor for you; they are nearly ready. After you enter the Initial Universe and select your Chaos Monument, adjustments will be made accordingly, and someone will deliver them to you.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

Jiang Chen bowed respectfully, then asked, “Teacher, what exactly is the ‘Chaos Monument’ you mentioned?”

Jiang Chen certainly knew what the Chaos Monuments were, but could not show it.

Moreover, he hoped to receive some advice from the Phantom Spirit King regarding the selection.

“The Chaos Monuments are the most important heritage of our Human race. Each Chaos Monument represents a cultivation path leading to the highest realms. There are 52 in total—52 cultivation paths,” the Phantom Spirit King explained. “Choosing a Chaos Monument means choosing your future cultivation path.”

“Fifty-two cultivation paths?” Jiang Chen, aware of the number, asked eagerly, “Teacher, which Chaos Monument should I choose?”

“Only you can know which Chaos Monument suits you best. When the time comes, you will have the opportunity to sense the aura of different Chaos Monuments and select according to your own feelings.”

The Phantom Spirit King hesitated slightly, then continued, “The 52 Chaos Monuments can actually be divided into three categories based on the paths they represent.”

“The first category is the ‘Law Chaos Monuments,’ which focus on laws. For example, the ‘Cosmic Chaos Monument’ and the ‘Nine Universe Chaos Monument’ help you master the power of laws as much as possible, while involving less in other aspects.”

“The second category is the ‘Technique Chaos Monuments,’ representing the pinnacle of certain techniques. For instance, the ‘Great Axe Chaos Monument’ and the ‘Heart Scar Chaos Monument.’ These have strong specificity; for example, the ‘Heart Scar Chaos Monument’ is best suited for blade-wielding warriors or spiritual telepaths. Those using other weapons will find it less effective.”

“As for the third category, the ‘Miscellaneous Chaos Monuments,’ neither law-based nor technique-based, involve more niche systems outside the mainstream. However, if a cultivator’s path fits, they can gain far greater benefits from these than from the first two types. For example, the ‘Primordial Ancestor Chaos Monument’ suits practitioners of a very niche school—the formation masters.”

(End of chapter)