After eight hours of relentless travel, the Demon God Palace hurtled through subspace. To save time reaching the Sea of Shura, Ye Chen expended vast energy, executing over a dozen cosmic leaps, depleting 10% of the initial universes' reserves just to arrive at the heart of the Ancient Continent!
At the core of the Ancient Continent lies a landmass named the Emperor State. Within this Emperor State, two locations stand out as preeminent, renowned across the world: the Sea of Shura and the Heaven-Reaching Mountain!
The Sea of Shura is claimed by the Spiritual Civilization. This nexus of auspicious energy has resisted all challengers across countless eons; in fact, no one has even dared to contest it. The Sea of Shura boasts a diameter of 80 light-years, and calculated at over 940 billion kilometers per light-year, its sheer expanse is difficult to fathom.
A mere 20 light-years from the Sea of Shura stands the Ancient Continent's second divine mountain, the Heaven-Reaching Mountain. This peak soars to a height of 99 light-years. Legend holds that no one has ever reached its summit; even ascending beyond 50 light-years results in obliteration by the surging Heavenly Winds, crushing even Dao Artifact-grade vessels into fragments.
This Genius Battle is nominally held on the fringes of the Sea of Shura. However, after layers of external elimination rounds, the final showdown for the top eight combatants is relocated to a peak spanning 9 light-years within the Heaven-Reaching Mountain Range. When people speak of past Genius Battles, they mention the Sea of Shura because it is a household name, known even to three-year-olds learning from their textbooks!
Under the immense prestige of the Sea of Shura, the Heaven-Reaching Peak is completely overshadowed, yet this in no way diminishes its inherent mystery.
The Demon God Palace burst from subspace, roaring across the wilderness toward a peak visible across the distance. Despite being nearly ten light-years away, the Heaven-Reaching Peak was as clear as the moon in the heavens. Against this mountain, the entire Demon God Palace seemed like a speck of dust, infinitesimally small.
The Demon God Palace effortlessly pushed its speed past a thousand times the speed of light, punctuated by occasional spatial jumps. A few hours later, they arrived before the Heaven-Reaching Mountain.
This mountain dominates the center, surrounded by numerous undulating ranges perpetually shrouded in thin mist, their peaks held high. Before this massive range stood a security perimeter.
The Demon God Palace’s detection radar immediately flagged this perimeter, causing it to halt tens of millions of kilometers away. Zixiang glanced at Ye Chen, lowered her head slightly, and murmured, "Master, the security line ahead is of Peak Dao Artifact grade. If we try to slip past, we risk exposure."
Specialized reconnaissance Peak Dao Artifacts possess detection capabilities far superior to those of combat- and defense-oriented Dao Artifacts like the Demon God Palace.
Ye Chen nodded slightly. "Head to the main gate. We'll buy tickets directly."
"Understood." Zixiang offered a bright smile, quickly manipulating the controls. She steered the entire vessel, following the map displayed on the radar, toward the main entrance of the Heaven-Reaching Mountain. Here, a space fortress was erected, from which stretched immensely long energy pathways where numerous ships flowed slowly inward. Upon passing checkpoints, they were automatically scanned and directed toward the ticket purchasing area.
Adjacent to this, pedestrian light-lanes allowed many visitors to enter on foot.
The Demon God Palace entered the ship light-lane, quickly passing through security and arriving at the ticket counter. After a scan confirmed his identity—an identity recorded within the shared system of all nations across the Ancient Continent, traceable through his record in the Blazing God Empire—the transaction proceeded.
"Observation ticket, Premium Seating, price: 100 True God Stones!"
"Identity: Citizen of the Blazing God Empire!"
"Name: Ye Chen!"
An electronic voice chimed from a mechanical head. The automaton accepted the 100 True God Stones, placing them into a nearby verification device. Once the device glowed green, it retrieved a magnetic card from the side and presented it to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen took it casually, then steered the Demon God Palace off the main thoroughfare into the adjacent docking bay. He disembarked, retracting the vessel, and proceeded toward the Teleportation Light Elevator, guided by the map on his magnetic card.
He stepped into the cabin—a metallic space about 100 meters in diameter, already holding several dozen people. As Ye Chen entered, the elevator door sealed shut and then vanished into thin air.
Those inside felt a slight sensation of upward movement, which dissipated quickly. The light elevator door then slid open, depositing them on the summit of the mountain hosting the final eight-man showdown of the Genius Battle.
Ye Chen followed the metallic conduit directly to the inner premium seating area. Upon entering this section, a metal barrier blocked his path. He swiped his magnetic card, which registered passage, and the barrier slowly opened into a vast viewing deck packed with a dense crowd. Although designated as premium seating, the people here numbered in the tens of billions!
However, even the premium zone was subdivided into districts, much like a football stadium, encircling the entire battle stage. This mountain peak was nine light-years high, and its summit spanned approximately 0.8 light-years—still immense, capable of comfortably seating tens of trillions.
At the edge of the combat platform were press booths. Reporters from every nation and vassal state broadcast the events live to public energy stations across the cities and countries. During the Genius Battle, all other entertainment programming across the Ancient Continent ceased; only news reports and the battle itself were aired, replayed continuously.
This was destined to be a spectacle commanding universal attention.
Even a brief appearance on this stage guaranteed widespread recognition across the Ancient Continent, cementing fame and spreading prestige far and wide.
The atmosphere at the venue was incandescently hot. If not for the sound-absorbing devices lining the walls, which suppressed all noise to a barely audible level requiring proximity to hear, the entire viewing area would have been shattered by sonic waves!
Ye Chen found his designated seat: Section 86, Row 382, Seat 853. He inserted his magnetic card into the slot. Several metallic strips, resembling harnesses, extended from the seat, enveloping his body. In front of him, a pair of glasses materialized, immersing him so completely that his very soul seemed to float, as if he stood personally on the battlefield watching the ferocious contest.
On the arena floor were a man and a woman. The man was none other than Feng Wuji, whom Ye Chen had defeated previously. The woman was dark-haired, her expression cold as ice, her ruthless eyes fixed as if gazing upon a corpse. Her offensive techniques were sharp and vicious, granting Feng Wuji no respite.
Judging by the amplitude readings of the secret arts they unleashed below the display, Feng Wuji had clearly improved substantially over the past century, his Secret Art Amplitude reaching 3 trillion times—ten times his previous level! The girl's amplitude was even more terrifying, reaching 4.2 trillion times, surpassing Feng Wuji!
The spectators, seeing such terrifying amplitudes, gaped, their eyes popping wide. This astonishment quickly gave way to an earth-shattering roar, turning the entire viewing platform into a scorching furnace. Those wearing 9D haptic glasses trembled slightly, their necks flushed crimson with excitement.
Shock, exhilaration, passion!
In the eyes of ordinary folk, a Half-God Warrior achieving an amplitude of 1,000 times was already remarkable; tens of thousands of times was the stuff of legends. Hundreds of thousands of times was beyond even audacious fantasy.
Half-Gods with millions of times amplitude were considered limitless prospects, actively courted by minor vassal states, certain to become Gods with proper cultivation. But amplitudes in the trillions? Unless witnessed firsthand, such numbers couldn't even be imagined; they defied the limits of conception.
And yet, they were real!
Ye Chen’s expression remained detached. He spared the fighting pair a cursory glance before letting his gaze wander toward the contestant seating area behind the stage. His eyes flickered, and he sent a silent probe of brainwaves into the Demon God Palace, questioning Zixiang: "Can you sense the monitoring systems here? Is there any way to evade them?"
Zixiang grimaced. "Master, the security here is incredibly tight, featuring several Peak Dao Artifact-grade detection arrays. With my current capabilities, infiltrating them is unlikely. This is a gathering place for numerous geniuses; the Ten Halls and Ten Nations organizing the battle have likely secured this area heavily to protect their mutual interests, preventing outside interference or assassination attempts on the talents."
Ye Chen nodded slightly. While the geniuses on stage were powerful, they were still fledgling sprouts. A single High God carrying a Peak Divine Artifact could annihilate Feng Wuji and the others effortlessly. No matter their talent, crossing two cultivation realms was too vast a gap.
Sacrificing a High God and a Peak Divine Artifact to eliminate a genius like Feng Wuji would be an undeniable profit. After all, someone like Feng Wuji, if fully nurtured, was guaranteed to become a God Emperor-level powerhouse!
As Ye Chen frowned, a voice suddenly cut in: "I can help you." Turning toward the sound, he saw it was the Seventh Princess. Ye Chen looked at her. "Can you help me bypass these monitoring systems?"
"Yes." The Seventh Princess lifted her chin slightly. "My Imperial Father crafted a personal anti-detection treasure for me. Evading these Peak Dao Artifact-grade sensors won't be difficult."
Ye Chen’s eyes brightened. Recalling her successful jailbreak that even fooled Zixiang, his confidence grew. He nodded. "In that case, follow me."
"Wait!" the Seventh Princess quickly called out, then forced herself to regain composure, stating coldly, "I will agree, but you must help me save my Imperial Father. If not now, then later—you owe me this favor!"
"Agreed," Ye Chen accepted without hesitation.
The Seventh Princess paused, surprised by his immediate acceptance. She frowned slightly, feeling something was amiss, though she couldn't pinpoint it, merely pouting before following him out of the Demon God Palace.
Outside, Ye Chen retrieved his magnetic card, and the tactile sensors on his suit deactivated. He left the premium seating area and entered the nearby lavatory, opening the Demon God Palace. The red-haired Seventh Princess floated out, immediately letting out a shriek: "Ah! Where is this? Where are we!"