Chapter 234: Reward

Li Yang’s rank was still 10th, with no change.

For geniuses like them, who could have taken first place in the previous Human Race Eternal Saint Hall selection, the melee was a mere formality.

"Just have to keep waiting."

The second stage’s melee wasn’t over yet.

Li Yang then waited for the others to be eliminated, just as the others had done during the ranking competition.

Time seemed to pass even faster as geniuses appeared one after another in the vast area.

’I... I was eliminated? What’s my rank?’

’I was ranked somewhere past 2,900 in the ranking competition. I won’t drop out of the top 3,000 in this stage, will I?’

The first thing each genius did upon appearing was to hastily check their own rank.

The ranking competition and the melee determined the three thousand who would be invited to join the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall. Anyone outside the top three thousand couldn’t get in and could only return home.

Those who saw their names still within the top three thousand couldn’t help but smile. This was especially true for those who were previously outside the top three thousand and had now broken in; they were ecstatic.

As for those who were previously in the top three thousand but suddenly found their names outside the list, their faces were filled with indignation.

However, indignation was useless. Their performance in the melee space had indeed been abysmal.

Eventually, the melee ended.

The last ones to emerge were Mixed Void and Lan Yu.

The two of them glanced at each other. Mixed Void’s expression was as calm as ever, his face ordinary and inconspicuous no matter where he was.

As for Lan Yu, he was still radiating a sharp aura, his eyes filled with battle intent as he stared at Mixed Void.

"Mixed Void and Lan Yu actually didn’t run into each other in the melee space."

"Did the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall arrange this intentionally? To have them meet on the final battlefield?"

"Perhaps. They are both peerless geniuses that appear once in a hundred million years. Who is stronger?"

The powerful beings discussed amongst themselves.

"What a pity. That Mixed Void and Lan Yu didn’t get to fight,"

Mute lamented, sitting next to Li Yang.

Their joint battle earlier had undoubtedly brought them closer.

"But we’ll be able to see them fight soon enough."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Li Yang was a little surprised. "Mute, do you know what the format of the next competition is?"

The Longyan Emperor had only mentioned the ranking competition and the melee before.

"Haha, my teacher told me,"

Mute said with a proud smile, "Just you wait, Li Yang. Not only will you see Mixed Void and Lan Yu fight, but you’ll also get to experience Mixed Void’s power for yourself."

Li Yang remained silent. Mute’s teacher was an expert at the Emperor Level! The cultivation conditions he had were truly not something Li Yang could compare to.

To this day, he had received almost no cultivation resources from any faction.

SWOOSH!

After Mixed Void and Lan Yu appeared, the void fluctuated, and then the Longyan Emperor emerged.

"The melee has concluded. The three thousand candidates have been decided. All those not within the top three thousand are eliminated,"

the Longyan Emperor said indifferently.

Hearing this, those not on the list clenched their fists, their eyes filled with indignation.

These were the top hundred thousand geniuses from across the Human Race’s Three Thousand Star Continents. Even the weakest among them were still powerful geniuses who had a real chance of becoming powerful Deities in the future!

However, the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall aimed to cultivate those who were one hundred percent guaranteed to become Deities, and even to nurture top-tier experts among Deities. Therefore, they were eliminated.

Even so, the eyes of the many eliminated geniuses burned with a refusal to admit defeat.

"Even if I can’t enter the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall, I can still cultivate and grow under an Emperor’s faction!"

"That’s right! Most Deities don’t come from the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall!"

"Our strength might not match the top three thousand now, but who can predict the future!"

"I refuse to believe I’ll still be weaker than them in the future."

The more powerful a genius was, the less willing they were to accept defeat.

It was only a temporary setback; they believed they could still catch up.

With these thoughts in mind, after the Longyan Emperor finished speaking, their figures vanished, having exited the selection space.

Only three thousand people now remained in the entire space.

"Congratulations on joining the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall." A smile appeared on the Longyan Emperor’s face as he looked down at the young faces below.

In terms of quality, this current generation of geniuses far surpassed those of the last several hundred thousand selections! This was a huge and pleasant surprise for the Human Race.

As the Longyan Emperor spoke, the eyes of the three thousand geniuses shone with joy.

They had gone through numerous selections to finally reach this point, on the verge of joining one of the Human Race’s most powerful factions!

Everyone knew that when it came to cultivation resources and training conditions, the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall and the Hunyuan Martial Dao Saint Realm were tied for first place!

As long as the geniuses cultivated by these two great factions did not perish, they were almost guaranteed to become Deities in the future!

The Longyan Emperor looked down at the many geniuses and said with a smile, "Within our Eternal Saint Hall, the cultivation resources provided to each genius are also different. Those with greater Talent and more strength will naturally receive more resources. Of course, you will need to compete for them yourselves and display even greater cultivation Talent!"

The many geniuses remained silent, all agreeing with what the Longyan Emperor said. In any place, the cultivation of geniuses was always differentiated. Every faction would be divided into Core Disciples, elite disciples, ordinary disciples, and so on.

"Many cultivation resources and other items need to be exchanged for with corresponding contribution points."

"Next, we will award different amounts of contribution points based on your specific ranks."

The Longyan Emperor continued, "Based on the first round’s ranking competition and the second round’s melee, we have divided your strength into three tiers."

"The first tier consists of the first and second place."

"The second tier consists of ranks 3 through 14."

"The third tier consists of rank 15 to the end."

No one spoke. It was obvious these three tiers were divided according to strength.

The top two, Mixed Void and Lan Yu, possessed the strength of a Starry Sky Lord.

Those from third to fourteenth place, like Li Yang, had the strength of someone invincible in the Longevity Realm.

As for the rest, their strength was around the Longevity Realm.

Although there were three thousand people, in reality, apart from Li Yang’s group, the two thousand or so geniuses at the back were not that different in strength.

Each one of them was the strongest genius from their respective Star Continent. How much weaker could they be than the others?

The Longyan Emperor continued, "Next, we will proceed to the third round of the competition! The geniuses from the three tiers will be divided into two groups for battle. The first group will be ranks one through fourteen, and the second group will be ranks fifteen through three thousand. This will determine your final, specific ranks!"

The top fourteen all had the strength to take first place in the previous Human Race Eternal Saint Hall selection. The power gap between them and those below was simply too great.

Even the 15th-ranked genius would be instantly killed by them! So there was simply no point in having them fight together.