Astral Pet Store (WN)

Some contestants from other planetary systems were transported over soon after Su Ping's arrival.

Those who had performed remarkably were garnering a lot of attention from the moment they showed up.

More than a hundred thousand people were gathered in the square outside of the temple; each of them was an expert able to crush those of their same level!

Tons of contestants had been picked mainly because Silvy was immense. Even if they considered limiting the quota to only ten thousand people from each planetary system, there would still be plenty of them.

Su Ping could see the countdown to the game via the Lord Badge.

Countless citizens of the Federation were already waiting for the game to start while on the Internet.

Highlights of the planetary system winners were being played back on Silvy's official streaming platform; it also showed a countdown, which was nearing zero at the moment.

The audience from various planets were already arguing heatedly on the streaming platform and cheering for the players from their hometowns.

There were even open bets on some of the popular platforms.

Apart from the bets, there were also many brands who had released commercials with player endorsements.

There were also a lot of relevant entertainment activities. There were even special VR games for the audience to better engage.

Su Ping wandered around and found that all the news he had seen had to do with that contest. All of Silvy's planets were actively taking part; a lot of corporations had invested in that contest, hoping to make a fortune out of it.

It was an exciting gala that involved everyone!

No wonder so many people want to participate and become famous here!

Once they make it big, they'll be able to earn plenty of money, even if they don't do a thing for the rest of their lives!

Fate State warriors can be seen as more precious than those in the Star State in that competition; their income could be a hundred times higher than that of the Star State! Su Ping thought.

It wasn't true that those who had higher levels would always make more money.

Many people who weren't battle pet warriors had made a fortune through smart investments.

Some business geniuses were ordinary people, but they were capable of hiring Star State warriors; after all, even though battle pet warriors were strong, an economic system depended on business wisdom. Ordinary people had their own set of values which couldn't be neglected!

The money they make here is enough for them to purchase more rare training resources, which will make them even stronger!

The experts are never afraid of any challenge!

More and more contestants arrived while Su Ping traveled in the virtual universe. Some of them were alone, while others had formed teams.

They were also observing the other contestants' highlights being played as their references.

Time flew.

Finally!

The Silvy-wide part of the Universe Geniuses' Contest began!

Once the countdown in the virtual world had ended, a few Star Lords stepped forward and offered encouraging speeches, as well as an introduction to the contestants.

After all, the contest had been organized by a Celestial; they had to appreciate the significance of that contest. The event's organizers claimed that they could select the future pillars of humankind.

The time for drawing lots came after the soul-stirring speech was over.

The ten regions would hold matches at the same time.

In the high sky—a Star Lord took out a giant metal ball, which spun and shot blue rays of light which enshrouded all the contestants. Then, everybody's irises and genetic data were scanned and saved.

Their identities were instantly registered. Then came the lot drawing.

The drawing process was also done by means of technology. Some places used unpredictable pets to draw lots, all in order to ensure fairness.

However, pets could be tamed or manipulated; such an option might not be absolutely fair.

While the AI that would draw the lots could be hacked, preventative measures had been taken. Besides, no hackers would have the courage to hack that top match-up system.

The metal ball projected a square area where pictures and names rolled quickly, like coding; contestants were being matched up randomly.

All the people in the continent were holding their breaths; the entire galaxy was doing the same.

Soon, the first match-ups were revealed.

The names inside the projection were frozen in two rows. Everybody's opponents in the first round had been decided.

The contestants quickly searched and found their own names and pictures.

A detailed list was produced In the virtual universe being streamed. It was prepared in a way that it was possible to search for names, plus their corresponding region and opponent.

This sorting criteria by name was quite convenient for the contestants' supporters and compatriots.

A Rhine native?

Su Ping saw that his opponent was a Rhine native who had brown skin and a slim body; their race was typically tall and long-limbed.

The hosting Star Lord announced, "Everybody, please go to the waiting area of your respective regions, then step up when you hear your name."

Oasis Dragon King found his name and said indifferently, "I'm in the seventh region. I'm leaving." He quickly left without bothering to talk to anyone.

Claesabe shrugged and said, "I'm in the second region. Why am I the second?"

"I'm in the fourth region. I'm leaving too," said Apocalypse casually; she had not smiled once ever since her failure in the mysterious realm.

"I'm in the fifth region. See you." Su Ping smiled and bid them farewell.

After all, he had traveled with those people, and most of them were nice.

Ten Star Lords stood in a row outside the temple.

They were standing in front of ten vortices that were as dark as black holes. There were numbers illustrated with astral power on said vortices.

Those ten portals led to the ten regions.

That continent was so vast that even Fate State warriors had to spend a lot of time reaching their region. Besides, flashing in deeper spaces also consumed astral power, so the regions that were further away from the temple were unfairly difficult.

The contestants flew over to the ten swirls one after the other and entered their respective regions.

Su Ping flew into the fifth vortex. There were a lot of people around him; all of them dashed into the abyss like a swarm of moths.

The familiar feeling of space teleportation was gone, and Su Ping found himself in the fifth region, which was a vast land with forests, lakes, plateaus and areas with special magnetic fields.

The land was even bigger than Rhea, allowing them to give chase and fight without being restricted.

The waiting area was a temple in midair; the contestants of the fifth region were arriving at the moment.

A Star Lord and a Star State warrior received them.

Star Lords were common there—while they were usually hard to come across in other places and would be actual dominators of planetary systems in the universe.

"He is Tian Qing, the Mad Swordsman!"

"It's him? I looked into him before. He was ranked within the top hundred in the last galactic match and fought on behalf of the Golden Star Zone!"

"He's already in the Star State now, and he's on par with that Star Lord!"

Some of the contestants recognized the Star State young man who was next to the Star Lord. They were quite astonished, as he was a contestant from the past match; they didn't expect him to be there, acting as host along with a Star Lord.

Many people were excited to see that he was talking to the Star Lord on equal terms.

Maybe, they could do the same very soon!

The Star Lord host chuckled and said, "I heard that there are plenty of geniuses this year. They're stronger than the ones who participated along with you back then."

Tian Qing smiled casually and said, "Maybe. It is said that geniuses will always be better than the previous ones."

"Haha."

The Star Lord smiled and said, "I heard that your junior brother is also here. Unfortunately, he's been allocated to the seventh region."

Tian Qing narrowed his eyes and replied, "This is just an internal selection within our galaxy. You'll have to wait until we go to the Golden Star Zone if you want to see what he's capable of."

"Oh?"

The Star Lord's interest was piqued. "Are you saying that your junior brother can't display his real capabilities in this part of the competition?"

"Not exactly. It's just that no one can make him draw his sword." Tian Qing smiled casually. "My junior brother is a rare genius like none I've ever seen. He's so gifted in sword techniques that I wouldn't endure five minutes if I ran into him during the contest!"

The Star Lord was stunned; then he said with glittering eyes, "I heard that the Sword God is capable of cutting stars, moons, skies and seas with his sword; I wonder how much has your junior brother learned."

"Not a lot, but I believe ten percent is enough." Tian Qing chuckled, with admiration in his eyes.

The contestants of the fifth region arrived while they talked.

Once he saw that, the Star Lord stepped up and gave a hint to the Star State assistant to summon the first group of contestants according to the list.

Two men dashed out soon after and looked at each other, then flew towards the land ahead of them.

The land was instantly closed.

There was an announcement echoing throughout the continent and the battle of the fifth region began.

The other regions also started their matches.

The ten arenas were streamed to all places; it was possible to watch the ten regions at the same time, or watch any of them in full screen.

Everybody was excited by the performances in the ten regions; countless people were watching the battles.

They were all thrilled to see the contestants summon rare pets.

Some contestants even summoned multiple Star State pets, making the Fate State warriors in the audience feel jealous.

"Are they what geniuses should be like?"

"Our planet is truly underdeveloped!"

"No wonder the top performer of our planet was eliminated; there's no way he can compare to those monsters. How can you fight a Fate State expert who has plenty of Star State pets?"

"Why is it so easy for them to tear into deep spaces?"

The audience watching on many planets were attracted to the intense battles, which were vastly different from the Fate State bouts they would usually see.

Ancient secret techniques and rare advanced arts were used; strategy and wisdom was displayed in evenly-matched fights. The games were truly entertaining.

"This is just the beginning."

"Everybody has to win ten rounds to make it to the top ten thousand. That's how they can become famous in our galaxy!"

"The real matches will come when it's time for the top hundred competitions; this is just an appetizer."

A lot of relaxed-looking geniuses were lounging in the waiting area; they obviously knew that they didn't have to try their best in battle just yet.

Of course, if they showed their full strength from the very beginning, it would mean that they were too weak and would probably be unable to make it to the top ten thousand.

While he sat in midair, Su Ping heard the whispers and raised his eyebrows; he had studied the rules online and knew he had to win ten rounds in order to advance.

It's going to be a long process, Su Ping thought.

He watched the ongoing battle; two contestants were currently fighting in the tertiary space, but their fight was still streamed with vivid detail.

There was equipment installed in both the secondary and the tertiary spaces to transmit the potential imaging of any fight.

Su Ping didn't know how such equipment worked.

Very soon, the battle in the fifth region had ended.

Many people looked solemn in the waiting area, since both contestants were as strong as Star State warriors.

The first group came out, then the second group took their place.

There were about twenty thousand people in the fifth region, which meant that ten thousand groups would have to fight.

Su Ping knew he had to wait for a long time; he was quite patient about it. He entered the virtual universe via the Lord Badge and watched battles from other regions in Silvy's official channel.

The other battles were just as splendid, but some of them were definitely unremarkable, making the audience choose to watch other battles instead.

Some of the competitions were marvelous. Many activities related to the contest were also being held outside of the arenas.

"Your junior brother is indeed not bad."

The Star Lord who was responsible for the fifth region was watching other arenas in the virtual universe. He saw that a young man carrying a wooden sword had defeated his opponent in the third region without even drawing his sword.

Such a neat victory raised a round of exclamations in the third region. After all, all the contestants were geniuses, and most battles were evenly-matched; such domination was rare.

His performance instantly turned him into the main center of attention; many considered him as one who would reach the finals.