Hong's defeat of Phantom Demon Galesi sent shockwaves through the entire arena.
No one had expected it.
Galesi's strength was unquestionable—among the Immortals, there had been near-unanimous agreement that he possessed top-ten combat power.
Hong, on the other hand, had performed steadily throughout the Genius Battle.
His fusion of Light Law and Domain control was clean, refined, and efficient—
But on paper, he should still have been slightly inferior to Galesi.
And yet—
He won.
"How could Galesi's illusion have no effect on Hong?"
Even the Immortals were puzzled.
In their understanding, only Jiang Yan and Death God Bolan should have been able to completely ignore Galesi's illusion techniques.
After all—
The deeper one's comprehension of the laws, the more one's spiritual will becomes infused with origin authority.
And once that threshold is crossed—
Illusions lose their meaning.
"Haha."
Scale-Armor Giant Thirteen chuckled softly.
"Hong really surprised me."
"Two in the top ten from the Qianwu Universe Kingdom."
"That alone makes this Genius Battle worth remembering."
His gaze shifted.
"Now let's see how Luo Feng and Rong Jun perform."
If both advanced—
Then Qianwu would have four contestants in the top ten.
Such a result had never happened before.
"The price of underestimating your opponent."
Jiang Yan shook his head slightly.
He had been watching Hong's battle closely.
Galesi never believed Hong posed a threat.
From the start, he relied solely on illusion techniques—testing, probing, controlling.
Had Galesi unleashed his full power immediately—
Illusions, soul attacks, telekinetic weapons combined—
The outcome would not have been decided so quickly.
But he hesitated.
And that hesitation was fatal.
Light Law was speed itself.
The moment Galesi realized Hong was unaffected—
Hong's attack had already arrived.
There was no second chance.
Soon after—
Death God Bolan finished his battle.
When he realized Hong had already won, his eyes narrowed.
"So fast…"
"Even if Jiang Yan is faster than me…"
"Where did this Hong come from?"
Luo Feng ended his battle shortly after.
"Haha!"
"Brother Hong winning against Galesi means the Primordial Secret Realm is secured!"
One victory after another followed.
The ten winners emerged:
Jiang Yan
Hong
Bolan
Luo Feng
Qian Shui
Uka
Jiang Mo
Rong Jun
Ai Chen
Long Yun
Then—
The real shock.
"Long Yun defeated Guthro?!"
"That Guthro ranked fourth in the Trial Space!"
"When did Long Yun reveal Space Law?!"
"The fusion of Space Law and Earth Law—no wonder Guthro's telekinetic weapons couldn't break his defense!"
The crowd erupted.
Long Yun had concealed his true strength until the very end.
Throughout the Genius Battle, he had only displayed Earth Law.
Only when forced—
Only when facing Guthro—
Did he finally expose his trump card.
"That guy…"
"Way too good at hiding."
Rong Jun stared at Long Yun, his expression grave.
According to his intelligence—
Among the top twenty, only Hong and Long Yun had supposedly crossed the threshold with a single law.
But now—
One defeated Phantom Demon Galesi.
The other revealed dual-law threshold mastery.
"Then what about Hong?" Rong Jun thought.
"There's no way he's that simple."
At that moment, the Nine Swords Venerable spoke.
"Congratulations."
"All ten of you may enter the Primordial Secret Realm."
"The reward is increased to 1,000 Mixed Element Units."
A pause.
"Next, the Top Five will be selected."
"And from them, the Top Three."
He continued calmly:
"The next matchups will be determined by victory order."
"Fastest winner vs. slowest."
"Second fastest vs. second slowest."
"And so on."
Silence.
Then realization.
The order of victory had been—
Jiang YanHongBolanLuo FengQian ShuiUkaJiang MoRong JunAi ChenLong Yun
Which meant—
Jiang Yan vs. Long YunHong vs. Ai ChenBolan vs. Rong JunLuo Feng vs. Jiang MoQian Shui vs. Uka
Rong Jun's face darkened.
"…So that's how it ends."
Facing Bolan—
There was no hope.
He exhaled slowly.
"Looks like luck really is a form of strength."
Then he glanced at Long Yun and felt slightly better.
"At least I'm not the only unlucky one."
"That guy just exposed everything—only to run into Jiang Yan."
After a brief rest—
The five battles began.
There was no suspense.
Jiang Yan ended Long Yun instantly.
Absolute suppression.
Ai Chen defeated Hong after several breaths.
Her dual-law mastery—Time + Light—left no room for recovery.
Bolan crushed Rong Jun.
The gap was undeniable.
Luo Feng defeated Jiang Mo.
Second-layer Divine Weapon mastery proved decisive.
Finally—
Qian Shui overcame Uka.
The Manka Star Prince fought fiercely, but the difference was clear.
The Top Five were decided:
Jiang Yan
Ai Chen
Bolan
Luo Feng
Qian Shui
The Nine Swords Venerable smiled.
"Congratulations."
"The final stage begins."
"You five will enter the Reincarnation Battle."
"Each of you will fight the other four once."
"The three with the highest number of victories…"
"…will enter the Primordial Secret Realm."
The true final battle—
Had arrived.