Although he’d heard his mentors mention the importance of these events, he knew very little about the details—especially the brutality of the Cosmic Genius Battle.
Hearing this question, Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing glanced at each other, their expressions turning serious.
Ultimately, it was Dragon Jade who spoke, his voice instinctively dropping a little. "My father was once fortunate enough to participate in the Cosmic Genius Battle. Though he was eliminated in the minor battle zones, he learned some inside information as a result."
Seeing he had the others’ full attention, Dragon Jade cleared his throat and said gravely, "First, the ’Starry Sky Cup’ we take part in is actually called the ’Ultramarines Chapter K-739 Star Zone Qualifiers.’ Only those who place in the final top one thousand earn the right to receive a ticket to the Cosmic Genius Battle after graduation."
"The Cosmic Genius Battle itself is far more brutal than you can imagine. It’s divided into two stages: the minor battle zones and the major battle zones."
"The first stage is the minor battle zones. The top one thousand geniuses from our K-739 Star Zone will compete against the top one thousand geniuses from *every* star zone under the Ultramarines Chapter’s command. They all fight in a single, massive virtual battlefield. And do you know how many star zones the Ultramarines Chapter governs?"
Dragon Jade held up one finger, a hint of shock in his own eyes. "Hundreds of millions of Star Zones! That means the number of competitors in the minor battle zones alone is in the hundreds of billions. It’s an astronomical figure. And from that terrifying horde of geniuses, only the final one million who fight their way to the top will qualify for the major battle zones."
The tavern’s din seemed to completely fade away, and both Ning Jing’s and Nissan’s breathing grew heavy.
Hundreds of millions of Star Zones. One thousand of the most elite geniuses from each. All gathered in one place, only for one million to advance.
This couldn’t be described by the word "brutal" anymore. This was a bloody path to the summit, paved with the corpses of geniuses.
Qin Feng mentally ran the numbers. Even with a will as firm as Divine Iron, he couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat.
’The Ultramarines Chapter is just one of a million Warbands in the human Empire.’
’Just the internal selection for a single Warband weeds out one million winners from trillions of prodigies.’
’The caliber of talent involved is breathtakingly high.’
Dragon Jade’s voice grew heavier. "Anyone who fights their way out of the minor battle zones is, without exception, a monster among monsters, a Demon among Demons."
"And they are the ones who will face the second stage: the major battle zones."
"As the name suggests, the major battle zones are where it all comes together. The top one million prodigies from every Warband under the so-called ’Million Warbands’ of our human Empire—all those who passed their own minor battle zone qualifiers—are gathered for a final showdown.
You can imagine how grand a spectacle it is—and how brutal."
"If... and I mean *if*... you can secure a reasonably high rank on that final stage, you’ll receive the Empire’s absolute highest level of resources and grooming. It’s a true meteoric rise. For geniuses of that caliber, the Black Hole Level is just the starting point."
When he finished, a long silence fell over the booth.
The impact of this information was simply too great.
The so-called Starry Sky Cup was nothing more than an insignificant ticket to this Cosmic Level extravaganza.
The true stage was in the depths of the distant Star Sea, a clash between the most brilliant geniuses of all human civilization.
"No wonder..."
Qin Feng murmured to himself, "Nurturing backed by the full might of the Empire... that’s certainly worth risking everything for."
He looked up at his three comrades. "What about you? Are you planning to enter the next Starry Sky Cup?"
Dragon Jade and the other two looked at each other and shook their heads.
"We’re not planning on it."
Dragon Jade admitted frankly, "The three of us only just advanced to the ninth level. Our mastery of the Slaughter Realm is still far from complete. With our current strength, even if we went, it’d be incredibly difficult to break into the top thousand.
Since we can’t get a ticket to the Cosmic Genius Battle, it would just be a waste of time. Besides, we saw all we needed to see the last time we went."
Nissan and Ning Jing nodded in agreement.
Without absolute confidence, they would rather focus on building their foundation and wait for the next opportunity than make a pointless attempt.
"I see."
Qin Feng gave a slight nod of understanding.
He glanced at the time on his terminal. There were still five full years until the next Starry Sky Cup.
’This is enough time for me to hone my abilities to a whole new level.’
"My plan now,"
Qin Feng looked at his three close friends and said calmly, "is to use these five years to further hone my slaughter arts. I’ll use the Imperial Arena to gain as much practical combat experience as possible against opponents of all different styles and techniques. Then, I’ll compete in the Starry Sky Cup and apply for graduation."
His tone was placid, but the determination within it was unmistakable.
"Alright!"
Dragon Jade slammed his hand on the table. "Before you graduate, you should take another run at Canaan Tower! Leave your mark past floor 901! It would be the perfect way to cap off your time at Canaan!"
Nissan and Ning Jing’s eyes also lit up with anticipation.
Qin Feng, however, slowly shook his head.
"I’ll pass."
He said in a low voice, "I’m going to collect all the Contribution Points from Canaan Tower. As for leaving a mark at the top... that’s up to fate. I won’t waste any extra time just to chase a record."