Chapter 1332: Astonishing Reward! Brutal Elimination Rate!

As the two spoke, the Lord of the Blade's gaze swept across the thousand prodigies below.

Those deep eyes seemed to pierce through all illusions, radiating overwhelming pressure.

Everyone his gaze touched involuntarily lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

"One thousand prodigies of the Star Torch Empire, from today I shall lead you personally."

The Lord of the Blade looked at them all, "You may call me 'Lord of the Blade.'"

For any questions regarding the subsequent rounds of the Talent War, come directly to me."

Remember, you are the pinnacle prodigies of the Star Torch Empire!"

You represent the glory of our entire Star Torch Empire!"

I expect at least one-tenth of you to rank among the top 100,000 in the cosmic overall standings!"

As his words ended, the Lord of the Blade turned directly to Xu Jingming, his voice low:

"Xu Jingming, you are a prodigy under the Emperor's special attention."

I expect you to rank within the top five hundred in the cosmic overall standings."

If you meet this requirement, the Emperor will reward you with an A9-class spacecraft equipped with a warp engine."

Additionally, five hundred life-bearing planets near your home world."

His words fell silent.

The entire Starry Square fell utterly still.

Then, a chorus of sharp intakes of breath erupted.

"An A9-class spacecraft?! With a warp engine?!"

"Just that ship alone is worth more than a hundred billion cosmic credits!"

"Not to mention those five hundred life-bearing planets—that's the real prize!"

"......"

Surrounding prodigies stared at Xu Jingming with envy.

An A9-class spacecraft with a warp engine requires a Cosmic-tier cultivator to maintain.

But with five hundred life-bearing planets, maintenance would be no issue at all.

It could even establish a family lineage lasting hundreds of thousands of years!

Of course, they understood.

This reward was reserved for those capable of reaching the top five hundred in the cosmic overall standings.

They had no such qualifications.

"This reward..." Xu Jingming's eyes burned with heat.

With an A9-class cosmic spacecraft, traveling anywhere in the future would be far easier.

As for the number of life-bearing planets, he would never turn them down.

"Silence."

The Lord of the Blade's cold voice silenced all commotion.

His gaze swept over them all, finally settling on Xu Jingming:

"This reward belongs only to those who can create miracles. Xu Jingming, do not disappoint the Emperor."

"Yes! I shall defend the glory of the Star Torch Empire!"

Xu Jingming's voice rang out clearly.

The Star Torch Empire had offered a reward of this caliber—shouting a few slogans was nothing.

"Good."

The Lord of the Blade nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the others:

"Besides Xu Jingming, if any of you meet the ranking requirements, you too will receive numerous rewards."

Enough. Now, follow me!"

Under the Lord of the Blade's guidance, the thousand prodigies of the Star Torch Empire simultaneously teleported.

They arrived on a vast continent.

Above the continent, flags of numerous advanced cosmic civilizations fluttered.

Each flag represented a powerful cosmic empire.

The area where Xu Jingming and the others teleported lay beneath the Star Torch Empire's banner.

At this moment, more than half of the cosmic empires on the entire continent had already arrived.

"The Star Torch Empire has arrived!"

"That's Xu Jingming? The one who earned the Abyss King rank?"

"Yes, that's him—Xue Sha!"

"......"

Xu Jingming could access information on prodigies from other cosmic empires.

Likewise, other prodigies could access his information.

Thus, the moment the Star Torch Empire's group teleported in,

prodigies from other cosmic empires turned their attention to Xu Jingming, their leader.

"Lei Di is too brilliant—it makes us seem expendable."

"Who can deny it? The gap in strength is undeniable."

"Sigh, if only I were stronger."

"I don't even hope for that much—I'd be satisfied just to enter the top ten thousand in the cosmic overall standings."

「...... 」

The prodigies of the Star Torch Empire were whispering among themselves.

Making it into the top one thousand of the Star Torch Empire is enough to prove their strength.

In their own star region, they were the top prodigies among hundreds of millions of star systems.

But here, the geniuses from other high-tier cosmic nations cared only about Xu Jingming.

Of course,

they were well aware of how vast the gap between them and Xu Jingming truly was.

After all, in the Abyss Arena, their highest rank was Master, while Xu Jingming was King.

"So these are the geniuses from other cosmic nations?"

Xu Jingming surveyed the surroundings.

Most of the prodigies from other cosmic nations had the form of ordinary humans.

But a few bore alien features—some had single horns on their heads.

Others had wings sprouting from their backs; some even had cat ears and slender tails.

Though their appearances varied slightly, all fell within the category of Cosmic Humanity.

And these individuals all unconsciously radiated the unique aura of a supreme expert.

"Defeat them, and I'll claim the number one rank in the entire universe..."

In Xu Jingming's cold, sharply defined black-and-white eyes, a rising battle spirit flickered faintly.

Throughout his life, he had always challenged opponents above his own level.

He had never once faced an equal-rank opponent.

But here, there were many.

The efficiency of the cosmic nations was extraordinary—within just one minute,

all teams from the hundred high-tier cosmic nations had arrived on the continent.

At the same time, in midair before the cosmic nation teams, a man appeared out of thin air.

He wore a green robe, with the emblem of the Eternal Star Alliance marked on the left chest.

He looked like an ordinary human.

Yet the faint but overwhelming aura he radiated silenced every prodigy present.

"Welcome, prodigies from all cosmic nations.

I shall preside over the second stage of the Cosmic Humanity Genius War, hosted by the Eternal Star Alliance."

The green-robed man's calm voice echoed in every ear:

"The second stage consists of two rounds: the first is a free-for-all arena battle; the second is one-on-one arena duels."

"You total 10.8 million people. In the first round, you will be divided into 100 arenas, competing simultaneously."

"Each arena will see all participants fight to the death; the final 100 survivors from each arena will be absorbed by the Eternal Star Alliance."

"The final 10 survivors from each arena will receive core cultivation."

"The single survivor from each arena will advance to the second round of one-on-one duels."

"The one survivor from each of the 100 arenas will become the top 100 in the Cosmic Humanity overall ranking."

"These 100 will determine their final rankings through the one-on-one arena duels."

"Apart from the 10,000 absorbed by the Eternal Star Alliance, all others are eliminated."

When he finished speaking, every prodigy present froze.

There were ten million people here!

That meant the first round of free-for-all arena battles would eliminate 99% of them!

This was far too brutal.

Moreover, only the top finisher in the free-for-all arena battle could enter the one-on-one duels.

Everyone else wouldn't even earn the right to compete in the one-on-one matches.