Chapter 246: Cosmic Genius Battle Ends! Qin Feng Ranks First! Imperial

Chapter 246 The Cosmic Talent Warfare Concludes! Qin Feng Ranks First! Imperial Chief! Renowned Across the Sea of Stars!

Qin Feng's figure tore through the sub-space, and the moment he appeared within this bizarre seven-star force field, an anxious and resolute mental message pierced into the deep sea of his consciousness like a swift arrow.

"Qin Feng, nine paragons of the myriad races, as well as three chaos chosen aside from the chosen of Nurgle, are lying in ambush here, this place has a naturally formed grand array."

"My words end here."

"Forced by my very life, I had no choice."

The master of the message was precisely Yan Sheng.

His voice was urgent and concise.

The transmission of this message was completed almost at the exact same instant that Qin Feng appeared.

Immediately afterward, in the void not far from Qin Feng's side, Yan Sheng's figure, burning with blazing flames, showed no hesitation whatsoever, the space around him suddenly twisted, directly initiating a sub-space teleportation, fleeing toward the most distant boundary corner of the competition zone without looking back.

He chose the wisest manner to completely detach himself from the center of this vortex that was about to turn into a Shura field.

All of this happened in the spark of a flint and the flash of a thunderbolt.

From Qin Feng's appearance, to receiving the warning, to Yan Sheng's flight, the entire process took less than a thousandth of a second.

Faced with this sudden "betrayal" and warning, a cold smile emerged on Qin Feng's face.

He showed no surprise, as if everything was within his grasp.

His gaze calmly swept across the surroundings, across those seven massive stars slowly revolving in bizarre orbits, the gravitational and energy fields they released tangled and tore at each other, forming an invisible natural cage sufficient to strangle an ordinary galaxy-level powerhouse.

Right at this moment, with Yan Sheng's departure, a succession of auras—some furious, some cold, some holy, some treacherous—slowly rose from behind the halos of the seven stars.

Nine paragons of the myriad races, along with three chaos chosen, like gods and demons stepping out of the abyss, appeared simultaneously upon the various nodes of this seven-star grand array, completely surrounding Qin Feng.

"Qin Feng! Surrender without a struggle!"

A roar that shook the starry universe resounded, coming from that chosen of Khorne who possessed twin horns upon his head and radiated an endless aura of tyranny and bloodthirstiness.

His gaze locked deathly onto the blood-jade skull hanging from Qin Feng's waist, a fire of revenge and greed burning within his crimson pupils, revealing a cruel smile that made one shudder.

However, Qin Feng merely stood quietly above this starry sky fraught with hidden killing intent.

His posture was erect, holding the Star-Devouring Spear, wearing no power armor, relying solely on his physical body to resist the furious force field around him.

Qin Feng's expression was indifferent, devoid of fear, that composure and pride making it seem as though he were not a trapped beast being hunted, but a sovereign reigning over this domain.

Behind him, that immortal high tower symbolizing the foundation of his martial path stood majestically.

Nine hundred and ninety-nine floors, its entire form transformed into the purest, most dazzling radiant gold!

Countless profound and complex golden runes flowed ceaselessly upon the surface of the high tower, like a galaxy composed of hundreds of millions of stars, slowly encircling the tower's body.

That aura of perfect harmony and eternal suppression spanned across the deep space of the universe, causing the light of the seven massive stars to pale in comparison.

"Galaxy-level?!"

"This guy... he has actually reached the galaxy-level!"

"How is it possible! How long has he been in secluded meditation? This speed of advancement..."

"Yan Sheng, that bastard! He actually concealed such critical information! He knew long ago that Qin Feng had already broken through!"

Roars of absolute horror and fury came from every direction. The alliance, which had originally been full of confidence and held victory securely in its grasp, felt its confidence begin to disintegrate the moment they beheld that pure gold high tower.

They had envisioned that Qin Feng's strength would be very formidable, and had even prepared themselves for a bitter battle.

But no matter what, they could never have imagined that Qin Feng had already crossed that heavenly chasm, becoming an existence of an entirely different dimension from them.

Following the horror came endless killing intent.

They knew deeply that there was no longer any path of retreat.

At the exact instant they prepared to strike, Qin Feng's vast and boundless mental strength, condensing into physical substance, crashed outward like an invisible tide.

The pure golden mental force field clashed violently with the furious force field of the seven-star natural grand array, and far from being dispersed, it completely congealed and locked down the surrounding space!

The channels for sub-space teleportation were forcibly shut.

For a moment, the only thing left to them was the bloody dead-end of battle!

"Kill!"

The reason of the Khorne chosen was swallowed by endless rage and battle intent, and he was the first to launch a death-defying charge toward Qin Feng.

The battle erupted amidst despair and madness.

Facing those twelve enemies who represented the pinnacle of combat power in this session of the grand competition, Qin Feng's expression remained tranquil.

The moment he stepped into the galaxy-level, his cultivation, physical body, and mental strength had already achieved absolute crushing dominance over these half-step galaxy-level entities.

Holding the Star-Devouring Spear, his figure unmoved, he thrust the long spear forward.

This strike possessed no world-shaking grandeur, yet it triggered a resonance from the pure gold high tower behind him.

The eighth-rank controlling kill method—The Boundless Mountain Range—displayed its true divine might at this moment.

Infinities of golden mental strength instantly constructed the illusion of an ancient divine mountain spanning heaven and earth in an unimaginably complex manner.

That was no mere illusion, but a manifestation containing Qin Feng's martial will—the "True Intent of Martial Arts"!

That heavy, vast, tyrannical will that suppressed everything with absolute power caused the entire seven-star force field to stagnate.

Boom!

The long spear collided with the bone blade of the Khorne chosen.

A grand power akin to an ancient divine mountain bore down, and the strike of the Khorne chosen, which was sufficient to cleave a planet, was as fragile as paper before this force.

The bone blade fractured inch by inch, and his demon body, blessed by chaos and incomparably resilient, caved in violently at the chest, the divine blood he sprayed out instantly evaporating in the universe.

Like a meteorite struck by a giant hammer, he flew backward, smashing heavily against the surface of a massive star, stirring up ten thousand changs of energy waves.

A single strike, severely wounded!

"Attack together!"

Jin Jia of the Starry Sky Behemoth race unleashed a roar, his colossal body transforming into a streak of golden light, a giant claw capable of tearing stars grasping downward.

Ying Sha of the Shadow race merged into the shadows, appearing noiselessly behind Qin Feng, a poisoned dagger piercing straight toward the back of Qin Feng's neck.

Ji Ba Tian of the Mechanical race deployed his entire body, transforming into a starry sky armed platform, as hundreds of millions of annihilation rays shot forth simultaneously, sealing off all of Qin Feng's evasion space.

The remaining paragons of the myriad races also unleashed their strongest ultimate moves at the same time.

For a time, sword light, blade gleams, divine arts, curses... all kinds of dazzling attacks, like a pouring galaxy, completely submerged Qin Feng from all directions.

However, Qin Feng merely took a step forward.

The Star-Devouring Spear in his hand turned into a bolt of black lightning, piercing out with absolute precision amidst the dazzling torrent of energy.

Ding!

A single strike precisely struck the tip of Ying Sha's dagger.

The furious true intent of martial arts erupted instantly, and Ying Sha's dagger turned into a sky full of fine powder amid extreme vibrations, his physical body suffering severe trauma, his chest blown apart, his soul likewise nearly shattered, heavily wounded on the spot.

Boom!

The long spear swept horizontally, and those hundreds of millions of annihilation rays were forcibly deflected and twisted by an invisible mountain power, ultimately gathering into an out-of-control stream of energy that blasted back onto Ji Ba Tian's armed platform, triggering a violent chain explosion.

Pfft!

The spear went out like a dragon, piercing straight through the biomass armor of the behemoth Star Beast, "Golden Armor," and without losing momentum, it impaled its massive fleshly body, leaving a bottomless cavern of a hole.

A mere dozen seconds passed.

In the deep, dark expanse of space, only muffled groans of agony and ragged gasps for air remained.

The nine once-insufferably arrogant chosen geniuses of the myriad races were now all grievously wounded; their immortal projections were dim and lusterless, even marred by cracks, as they drifted in the void, no longer capable of organizing any effective offense.

Qin Feng had not even moved a distance of more than ten meters.

"Sardar! Keep hiding your strength, and we will all die at Qin Feng's hands!"

Struggling to tear himself away from the surface of a star, the heavily wounded Khorne Champion bellowed in despair toward the Tzeentch Champion, who was shrouded in a black robe and had not struck from the very beginning.

Sardar was the true name of this Tzeentch Champion.

He had been standing quietly at the edge of the battlefield, and atop his staff, which was embedded with a sinister gemstone, floated an ancient book page that radiated an aura of infinite knowledge and mystery.

Finally, at the Khorne Champion's roar, a flicker of madness flashed across Sardar's eyes.

He activated that page.

The page expanded rapidly and noiselessly, countless twisted runes lighting up on its surface to release a bizarre fluctuation that transcended both mind and matter.

In an instant, this fluctuation was like a drop of ink in clear water, immediately blotting out all spiritual perception and enveloping the entire Seven-Star Array!

In every corner of the universe, upon countless planets within the human territories, the light screens of all the spectators watching the live broadcast of the Cosmic Genius War's grand warzone suddenly, without any warning, turned into absolute blackness.

The live stream was cut off.

"??? What's going on?"

"A black screen? Is my personal terminal broken?"

"No, everyone's is black! Did the organizers cut the broadcast signal?!"

"What on earth happened? Wasn't Qin Feng just slaughtering everything in all directions a moment ago? Has there been some unexpected turn of events?"

"What was that thing the Tzeentch Champion activated? What a terrifying aura!"

"I don't know! Judging by the galaxy-level strength Qin Feng just displayed, he should be completely crushing them, but now... it's hard to say, Chaos's methods have always been bizarre and unpredictable!"

"..."

Countless bullet comments and discussions instantaneously ignited innumerable viewing institutions.

The hearts of the spectators were tightly suspended by this sudden, unexpected darkness.

...

Within the Seven-Star Array enveloped in darkness, time and space seemed to fall into stagnation.

Qin Feng could feel that the power released by that bizarre page had not only shielded them from outside prying eyes, but had furthermore triggered a riot in the natural array of this place.

The force fields of the seven giant stars became a hundred times more violent than before, as countless chaotic energy torrents frantically crisscrossed through the darkness like giant serpents seeking to devour men.

"Jie-jie-jie... Under the shroud of this 'Page of the Deceiver,' the might of our secret arts shall be multiplied tenfold."

The owl-like, sinister laughter of Sardar, the Tzeentch Champion, echoed in the darkness.

"Qin Feng, your martial path is indeed powerful, but is your mind as formidable as your strength?"

Before his voice could fade, an almost imperceptible figure sliced through the dark void.

It was the Slaanesh Champion.

Condensed in his hand was a spike composed of pure spiritual force that radiated a seven-colored light, thrusting silently toward the towering golden pagoda behind Qin Feng.

Buzz—

The moment the spike touched the pagoda, no explosion occurred; instead, it quietly dissolved like a drop of water merging into a lake.

And at that exact instant, the world abruptly changed before Qin Feng's eyes.

It was no longer the freezing cold universe, but his warm homeland.

The voice and expression of his father, the shoulder-to-shoulder battles with old friends, the tender whispers of a past lover, the pinnacle of power, oceans of wealth, the temptation of eternal life...

Countless illusions capable of making any living being sink into oblivion assailed his mind wave after wave, like a rising tide.

This was an attack aimed directly at the origin of the mind, just like the Slaanesh demons he had encountered during missions years ago, yet its power was more than ten thousand times greater.

"Now is the time!"

"His mind has been shaken! Destroy his immortal projection! The page will trap his physical body, and by then he will be entirely controlled by the Evil God, becoming our bargaining chip for negotiations!"

The Tzeentch Champion issued the command for the total onslaught.

In that instant, the Khorne Champion burned his own divine blood, Shi Panshan of the Stone Race sacrificed his Stone Core, and all the remaining heavily injured geniuses erupted with the most brilliant—and final—attacks of their lives!

Twelve beams of light containing destruction and despair merged into one, turning into a genesis light capable of piercing through a galaxy, aimed directly at the golden pagoda behind Qin Feng, which seemed slightly dimmed due to its master's wavering mind!

This was their final hope, and their most lethal killing move.

Yet, what welcomed them was a cold snort from Qin Feng.

"Hmph—"

This single cold snort carried not a shred of emotion.

The dark void froze because of it, the violent force fields quieted down because of it, and the illusions capable of making gods sink shattered instantly like a reflection of the moon in water.

Qin Feng's eyes remained as clear as they had been at the start, as calm as a ten-thousand-year-old ancient well without a single ripple.

The Star-Devouring Spear in his hand struck out fiercely at this very moment!

It was still the 【Boundless Mountains】, but this time, that heavy, powerful martial intent carried an extra touch of resoluteness that severed all illusions!

The primordial divine mountain pressed down, crashing directly into the genesis light that gathered the lifelong strength of the twelve geniuses.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

The light was forcibly crushed, obliterated, and ground into nothingness by the divine mountain.

Immediately afterward, the spear maintained its momentum, and with a single strike, it completely ground Shi Panshan of the Stone Race—who bore the brunt of the impact—along with his physical body and soul, into the most basic dust of the universe!

Another strike!

The spear traced a perfect arc, and the head of another genius of the myriad races soared into the sky, his soul collapsing along with it.

"How is this possible!"

"There is no desire whatsoever capable of stirring a ripple in his state of mind!"

"This is impossible! No living being in the world can resist the temptation of my Lord!"

The Slaanesh Champion shrieked in disbelief, his faith even wavering at this moment.

Qin Feng's gaze turned toward him with chilling indifference.

"I walk this path, my heart as firm as a boulder."

"All that I do is for the great cause of humanity, following the great man."

As the words fell, the Star-Devouring Spear had already pierced through the void, descending right before the Slaanesh Champion.

Before the latter could even make any reaction, his entire body blew apart with a resounding crash.

His spirit and soul were utterly purified before the pure martial truth of Qin Feng.

In an instant, a mass of dazzling light emerged from his shattered body, eventually coalescing into a seven-colored skull that seemed to stir the deepest desires within one's heart. With a crisp sound, it flew of its own accord toward Qin Feng and hung at his waist.

In that moment, Qin Feng felt a tremendous surge in both his spiritual strength and physical prowess.

"Killing a Chosen One brings a great boost."

"This is the peculiarity of us Chaos Bane..."

Qin Feng murmured to himself, without a moment's pause.

His figure flickered, and his next target was the Khorne Chosen, who still burned with the last of his divine blood.

A single, unadorned spear thrust, carrying the most extreme force.

The Khorne Chosen desperately raised his shattered bone blade to block, but was pierced through, blade and all, killed on the spot!

Another blood-jade skull took shape, hanging alongside the previous one at Qin Feng's waist.

The slaughter continued.

Qin Feng was like a tiger among sheep, felling each of the remaining prodigies from myriad races with one spear strike, using the most fierce, domineering, and pure force.

The battlefield was left with only the trembling Tzeentch Chosen, Sadar.

His eerie, owl-like laughter had vanished, replaced by boundless terror.

"No... impossible..."

He hurled the mysterious page at Qin Feng and began chanting a long, bizarre incantation, trying to unleash his final trump card.

But before he could finish the first syllable, Qin Feng's spear, heavy and crushing, had already descended.

Sadar's flesh and soul, before absolute power, were utterly shattered.

And that strange page, no longer under its master's control, did not dissipate. Instead, it transformed into a streak of light and docilely slipped into Qin Feng's hand.

The final skull, engraved with countless blue, eerie runes, also took shape and hung at Qin Feng's waist.

All this, though lengthy to tell, happened in the blink of an eye.

From the moment Qin Feng broke the illusion to the slaying of all enemies, the entire process took no more than two seconds.

...

The live broadcast screen, after a brief darkness, lit up again.

All of humanity's viewers, after holding their breath through those long two seconds, finally saw the scene within the Seven-Star Formation once more.

Yet the image before them plunged everyone into a deathly silence.

There, in the cold void of space, floated vast amounts of blood mist, fragments of shattered armor, and broken weapon remnants—the last traces left in this world by the nine prodigies and three Chaos Chosen.

The seven colossal stars continued their eerie orbital dance, forming the grand backdrop to this bloody tableau.

And at the center of those seven giant stars, that man's figure stood tall and proud.

At his waist hung two blood-jade skulls radiating a thirst for blood, one seven-colored skull that seemed to ensnare souls, and one skull engraved with countless blue runes, exuding a mysterious aura.

He was like a god from ancient myth, ruling over all.

"...What's going on?!"

"He won?! Qin Feng won!"

"My god... In just two seconds of black screen, Qin Feng killed all those prodigies and Chaos Chosen?!"

"Exactly! Look at the scoreboard! Qin Feng's points have reached twenty-three thousand! And the second place has only eleven thousand!"

"A double gap... The first place in this war zone is locked in for Qin Feng! No, it's already sealed!"

"How terrifying... Is this our human empire's unparalleled prodigy? Even Chaos Chosen are no match for a single blow! This is the future guardian of the empire!"

After the silence came an eruption of cheers and discussions, like a volcano bursting forth.

The entire audience in the live stream was in an uproar.

...

Qiming Star, Qiming First High School.

In the martial arts office, Wu Shangfeng, Lin Yue, and many senior mentors quietly watched the godlike figure on the screen.

After a long while, their faces broke into heartfelt, deeply gratified smiles.

"That kid... He really did it!"

"An extraordinary prodigy who rose from Qiming Star!"

"The empire's chief prodigy comes from our Qiming First High!"

...

Duna Star Martial Arts University, a lively tavern.

Wang Hao and Wang Jie were drinking, and when the live broadcast resumed, the cups in their hands froze mid-air.

The next second, they leaped to their feet, letting out deafening cheers.

"He got it!!" "He's definitely got first in the war zone! The empire's chief prodigy! Holy crap! My big brother is the empire's chief prodigy!"

Many puzzled martial artists in the tavern turned their heads, wondering why these usually composed seniors were so out of control.

"The empire's chief prodigy?"

Someone asked in confusion.

Those around them paused, then all eyes turned to the screen before Wang Hao and Wang Jie.

When they saw the overwhelming lead on the scoreboard and the invincible figure with four skulls at his waist, they understood everything in an instant.

The entire tavern was filled with the sound of sharp intakes of breath.

The empire's chief prodigy!

This term, within the human empire, carried a weight as heavy as Mount Tai!

Its value was immeasurable!

...

On the distant myriad-race battlefield.

Inside a transport pod undergoing space jump, Mentor Gu Yue watched the image on her personal terminal, suddenly leaped from her seat, waved her fists in silent cheers, her face flushed with excitement.

...

Canaan Star System, on a heavy industrial planet.

Inside a massive power armor assembly workshop, the harsh noise of machinery was unceasing.

Qin Feng's uncle, Wang Ming, a special cigarette dangling from his lips, was tightening a high-strength bolt while heatedly discussing a technical parameter with a technical martial artist dressed in the robes of the Empire's Mechanicum.

Through his study of power armor, Wang Ming's spiritual power had unexpectedly grown rapidly—after all, learning knowledge also tempered the spirit.

His passion for his hobby, coupled with his status as Qin Feng's uncle, had earned him the attention and training of the Empire's Mechanicum, and his strength was now nearing the planetary level.

Just then, a martial artist in noticeably higher-ranking, neater officer attire strode over quickly, an irrepressible smile on his face.

"Wang Ming, good news! Qin Feng has done it!"

Wang Ming paused mid-motion, exhaled a smoke ring, and looked up with slight confusion: "Huh? Done what?"

"The Empire's Champion!"

The officer's voice brimmed with excitement.

Wang Ming froze for a moment: "Huh? Isn't the competition still ongoing?"

"It's basically settled!"

The officer clapped him firmly on the shoulder. "No one can surpass him now—his points are in a league of their own! Your nephew is about to become the brightest star of this generation!"

Wang Ming's hands trembled slightly.

He quickly set down the power armor parts in his hands and opened his personal terminal's light screen.

When he saw the overwhelmingly leading points ranking on the live broadcast, and that familiar yet unfamiliar young figure who had grown into a towering colossus, the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a proud smile.

...

The silence of the cosmos is the victor's finest medal.

Qin Feng stood atop the gravitational singularity where seven colossal stars orbited, his form like a spear piercing through the ages, unmoving and unyielding.

Around him swirled the residual energy waves of nine prodigies from myriad races and three chosen of Chaos, yet to fully dissipate after their fall. They shimmered like resplendent nebulae, silently narrating the earth-shattering instant annihilation that had just occurred.

He first confirmed the four skulls hanging at his waist.

The three chosen of Chaos he had just slain had more than doubled Qin Feng's strength, but the side effect was that the chosen of Chaos could now detect his location coordinates.

If he ventured into the battlefields of myriad races, it would likely be troublesome.

"Bane of Chaos..."

Qin Feng murmured to himself.

He then opened his personal jade tablet and looked at the glaring points ranking.

[First Place: Qin Feng (Limit Legion), Points: 28,100]

[Second Place: Caesar (Blood Angels Legion), Points: 11,350]

[Third Place: Robetan (Imperial Fists), Points: 10,980]

...

A vast chasm, like an insurmountable heavenly moat, completely isolated him from all pursuers behind.

The points of twelve top-tier powerhouses had been devoured by him alone—this was no mere lead, but utter termination.

The championship of this cosmic prodigy tournament was now beyond any doubt.

Under the new competition rules set 900 years later, eliminating a warrior only granted 1 point, not the warrior's total points. So even if someone killed all the other warriors, their points would still fall short of Qin Feng's.

Qin Feng let out a long breath of stale air, which condensed into a white streak in the absolute-zero vacuum of space, lingering for a long time.

From the damaged foundation of that youth who had emerged from Qiming Star to this moment of standing proudly atop billions of prodigies—twelve hundred years of bitter cultivation and conquest had finally yielded their most glorious reward.

"It's over."

The taut string in his heart finally relaxed.

Now, he only needed to wait for the competition to end. He planned to use the remaining thirty years to solidify his newly broken-through galaxy-level cultivation.

But just as his mind eased, a sudden change occurred.

The blue, eerie page belonging to the chosen of Tzeentch trembled faintly deep within his consciousness.

Hum—

A mental shock far surpassing the illusions of the chosen of Slaanesh erupted without warning.

It was not a destructive attack, but an erosion as pervasive as a tide, as if trying to forcibly flood his soul with an infinite stream of information.

Qin Feng felt a sharp pain in his consciousness, as if it were being torn apart.

He grunted and had to immediately sit cross-legged at the gravitational core of the seven stars, focusing his mind to resist.

Behind him, the towering 999-layer Immortal Tower materialized instantly, radiating brilliant pure golden light, suppressing the turmoil within his consciousness with all its might.

"This... is a treasure of Tzeentch?"

The thought had just arisen when a voice—gentle, wise, and brimming with infinite allure—spoke directly into the depths of Qin Feng's soul.

The voice was not like a demon's whisper, but rather like a learned mentor offering patient guidance.

"Qin Feng, do not resist.

What you feel is not an attack."

"This page contains vast knowledge. From the macroscopic laws governing all things to the microscopic analysis of psychic tides;

from the most basic structure of mental power to the countless trillions of mysterious permutations of mental force fields... Here lies every answer."

Qin Feng's mind grew alert, the golden tower's light blazing ever brighter, his will as firm as divine iron: "Deceptive words!"

The voice seemed to let out a soft laugh, full of tolerance and understanding.

"I know you are wary, but this is no conspiracy.

Knowledge itself is neutral—it is the most fundamental law of the universe.

Learn it, and it can let you traverse the entire path of accumulation before the black hole level at the fastest speed, allowing you to qualify for the 'Domain Lord' realm in the shortest time."

"The Domain Lord—that is where true cultivation begins. Don't you wish to reach that realm faster and gain greater power to protect all you hold dear?"

The voice struck at the deepest desires of Qin Feng's heart.

But his tempered martial will instinctively rejected such a shortcut gained without effort.

Yet the next words caused a crack in Qin Feng's defenses.

"Heaven rewards diligence."

The voice calmly uttered these four words, as if it had uncovered his greatest secret.

"Qin Feng, you are a diligent martial artist—no one can deny that.

You firmly believe that effort yields reward, that sweat forges glory.

Your heart holds great righteousness, the ideal of protecting humanity—this does not conflict with accepting knowledge."

"What I give you is merely knowledge itself.

Knowledge is not a gift that appears from nowhere; it requires you to understand, digest, and master it.

This, too, demands effort and time.

Knowledge is something you can learn as long as you work hard to study it.

Through systematic learning, an ordinary being can go from the simplest 'one plus one' to advanced mathematics, then to cultivation, gradually understanding the ultimate rules of the entire universe..."

The voice's logic began to eerily overlap with Qin Feng's beliefs.

"This is the essence of 'Heaven rewards diligence,' isn't it, Qin Feng?

Why refuse? Haven't you already witnessed firsthand what 'Heaven rewards diligence' truly is?"

"The panel in your sea of consciousness that made you rise step by step—have you forgotten it?"

"Boom!"

This final sentence, like a thunderbolt of creation, instantly shattered all of Qin Feng's psychological defenses.

The panel!

That was his greatest secret since crossing over, the foundation of his rise, the miracle belonging solely to him that he had never mentioned to anyone!

This voice, this creation of the Chaos Evil God, actually knew of the panel's existence!

In a flash of shock, terror, and turmoil, his will's defenses wavered for an instant.

And the torrent of knowledge from the blue pages seized that one-in-ten-thousand-second gap, surging instantly into his sea of consciousness.

Qin Feng's consciousness, in that moment, plunged into an endless ocean composed of pure knowledge.

Here were recorded the detailed information of billions of cosmic races—their physiological structures, civilizational legacies, cultivation methods, strengths, weaknesses... everything, down to the finest detail.

There were the deepest, most essential studies of the universe's fundamental energies—psychic energy and spiritual power—far surpassing the depths of the *Canaan Sutra*.

Also stored were tens of thousands of top-tier cultivation techniques comparable to the *Canaan Sutra*, each profound and vast, pointing toward a path to the supreme.

After the mention of the Heavenly Dao panel, Qin Feng's consciousness could no longer hold firm.

Like a student on the verge of sleep in class, Qin Feng could no longer control his awareness.

Learning meant improvement.

Understanding one rune refined his spiritual power by a thread;

Mastering a technique of energy use stabilized the Indestructible Tower by a fraction.

This immediate, efficient, and inexhaustible positive feedback was the ultimate temptation no "grinder" could resist.

It was precisely with this feedback from the "Heaven Rewards Diligence" panel that he had initially persisted in cultivation, earning the titles of grinder and madman.

And now, the pleasure of reading these blue pages was amplified billions of times.

Outside, in the eyes of all spectators, Qin Feng had merely entered some profound meditative state, digesting the insights from this battle.

No one knew that he was enrapturedly perusing a vast, boundless sea of "knowledge."

...

Time flew by in the final revelry and slaughter.

Within a newly spawned galaxy-level resource point, the "Molten Heart," Caesar slew the last competitor with a single sword stroke.

Scorching holy flames purified everything. He stood alone on a molten planet, tall and elegant, his golden indestructible holy wings slowly opening and closing behind him.

He glanced at the points leaderboard. The name at the top and its astronomical score brought a genuine smile to his lips.

"Already fully stepped into the galaxy level, huh... Thirty years left until the end of the tournament. This guy always manages to create miracles."

He felt no frustration at the vast gap between himself and first place, only a joy of shared pride.

Qin Feng's victory, in a sense, was also a victory for their alliance.

"Then, with the chief position settled, next..."

A blazing battle intent ignited in Caesar's golden eyes. "It's time to decide who's second!"

Almost simultaneously, all surviving thousand-plus martial artists saw the unshakable shift in rankings.

After the initial shock and despair, everyone's mindset changed.

Since first place was unattainable, second place became their sole and ultimate goal!

The rewards for second and third were worlds apart!

Enough to change a martial artist's future destiny!

Let alone those outside the top three.

The final frenzy thus began.

On the points leaderboard, Qin Feng's 23,000 points stood like an insurmountable monument, quietly overlooking all.

Second place, Caesar, had 11,000 points.

Third place had just over 10,000, and down to the thousandth, everyone's points were fiercely interlocked within the range just above 10,000!

This was an extremely crowded track—any kill, any mistake could cause drastic shifts in ranking.

The territory of the great war zone mercilessly shrank.

Distances between star systems were forcibly compressed; the once vast buffer zones vanished. Survivors, like cornered beasts driven into the final arena of a colosseum, could encounter another hungry predator with every move.

Yan Sheng, who had once given Qin Feng headaches, and the ever-low-key Nurgle Chosen, now became the most succulent prey in everyone's eyes.

They carried a massive bounty of 1,000 points each.

In an instant, countless martial artists began frantically searching for these two through various means.

This made Yan Sheng and the Nurgle Chosen miserable, transforming from hunters into rats hunted by all.

Time surged on in blood and fire.

Tournament year 970.

Surviving martial artists: 1,000.

The great war zone's territory officially shrank to just one core star system.

All survivors rushed to this final battlefield.

Tournament year 990.

Surviving martial artists: 300.

The great war zone shrank further, leaving only a hundred star systems.

In these twenty years, brutal combat eliminated seven hundred strong warriors.

Meanwhile, under immense survival pressure and resource plundering, martial artists began to exhaust their accumulations one after another, officially stepping into the star system level.

Unfortunately, though they broke through, their points had long been swept away by Qin Feng; catching up was a pipe dream.

The final melee erupted during the hunt for the Nurgle Chosen.

Caesar, wielding his holy sword, had all his indestructible holy wings, formed from billions of light feathers, turned into dazzling gold.

In the final chaos, he encountered the mysterious Nurgle Chosen and several other top-ten-ranked powerful opponents.

A cataclysmic melee ensued.

In the end, Caesar, at great cost, unleashed unparalleled destructive power with his ultimate trump card—*Black Rage*.

He not only vaporized the Nurgle Chosen, whose vitality was extreme, but also swept up several other top prodigies, eliminating them all!

After this battle, Caesar's points skyrocketed, firmly securing his second-place throne in the great war zone, unshakable.

...

Tournament year 1,000.

As the final second of the countdown elapsed, all strife, slaughter, and pursuit in the great war zone came to an abrupt halt.

Only one hundred and twenty survivors remained on the field.

Each of them, having endured a millennium of bloody trials, had emerged from five trillion contestants, all successfully breaking through to the galactic level.

A grand, majestic voice, devoid of any emotion, resounded through every jade token into the minds of all survivors.

"The Cosmic Genius Tournament - Major Zone Event has concluded."

"Final rankings will be settled according to individual points."

"All warriors, please check your final rankings and rewards on your jade tokens."

……

At the gravitational core of seven giant stars, Qin Feng sat cross-legged, eyes still tightly shut, utterly unresponsive to the outside world.

His entire aura had become profoundly deep and vast.

His consciousness still roamed the endless ocean of knowledge, unable to extricate itself.

The announcement of the competition's end, like a pebble cast into the sea, stirred but a faint ripple in his soul, far from enough to wake him from that extreme positive-feedback obsession.

Yet, at that moment, a new anomaly occurred.

Deep within his soul, the two "golden nails" suddenly blazed with blinding golden light without any warning!

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Two sharp, piercing pains, like red-hot divine needles, stabbed fiercely into the core of Qin Feng's entranced consciousness!

That agony was not physical pain; it struck the very origin of his soul, carrying the Emperor's overbearing, pure, and unyielding will that tolerated no foreign taint!

"Ahhh—!"

Qin Feng, who had been immersed in the ocean of knowledge for thirty long years, suddenly let out a pained roar, and his tightly shut eyes flew open!

His gaze remained resolute and deep, but now tinged with a hint of trepidation.

"Chaos creations are too terrifying; better to steer clear of them."

"And my 'Heaven Rewards Diligence' panel... better not look at it too often either."

Qin Feng felt a lingering fear in his heart.

(End of this chapter)