Chapter 152: The Genius Lanqi (Third Request for Subscriptions and Monthly Votes)

"Hey! Have you guys heard? That genius has already made it to the fourth floor! It's terrifying! Hasn't it only been a little over two months?!"

"I heard, it's mind-blowing. Word is, that genius has a very strong chance of breaking the old record for the fifth floor!"

"Who are you guys talking about? How come I haven't heard?"

"Tch, so ill-informed. It's Lan Qi, the genius who came for the trial last month! I haven't seen him in person, but supposedly he's a reserved genius heavily cultivated by the Virtual Saint Clan!"

"Hiss! Isn't the Virtual Saint Clan the master of the Virtual Universe Network? That's an absolute behemoth!"

During their meal, all sorts of chattering voices drifted into Lan Tian's ears. After Bai provided a synchronized translation, a look of considerable interest appeared on his face.

Because of Supervisor He, he actually held a very favorable impression of the Virtual Saint Clan. Hearing that a genius cultivated by them had managed to reach the fourth floor of the Heaven-Defying Pagoda in just over two months, he couldn't help but marvel once again at the profound foundation of the Virtual Saint Clan.

The fourth floor of the Heaven-Defying Pagoda was no easy feat to reach. This could already be seen from Little Dao's previous description: out of ten thousand people who entered, only a sparse few managed to make it to the second floor. Although this probability wasn't high, compared to the massive trial population, it was still enough to produce a large batch of cultivators possessing the realm of the second layer of basic battle skills in a year's time.

Now Lan Tian knew that before Qipeng became the deputy commander of the city defense forces in a certain district of Huidu Star, he had spent a very long time in the military and thus secured a military quota to enter the Heaven-Defying Pagoda for the trial.

He had likewise made it to the second floor, which was already considered relatively high in talent. As for the third floor, according to his account, out of the millions of military elites in his batch, only ten had made it!

The military elites were originally selected from hundreds of millions of troops, making them the elite of the elites. Even so, only ten were able to enter the third floor, and someone as formidable as the God of War Mang Feng had back then stopped precisely at the third floor.

Although a person's future achievements had no direct correlation with the floor they could step onto, it still spoke volumes about many things.

As for this Lan Qi, in a mere two months, he had actually charged directly into the fourth floor. This also brought a fair amount of pressure to Lan Tian, because although he was full of confidence, before undergoing the actual trial, he truly couldn't be certain whether he could reach the upper floors...

How vast the universe was, and how many geniuses there were! It seemed one truly could not underestimate the people of the world.

Lan Tian sighed inwardly with such emotion. Shortly after, before he had even waited long—when their table of food and wine was barely half finished—Little Dao came running in jubilantly.

"Mr. Lan, I've made the connections! Two admission tokens ranked around the twelve-hundred mark. If luck is on our side, we can enter by this evening!" Little Dao's words made Lan Tian overjoyed.

"However, the other party's asking price is a bit high. Each token costs three grade-five energy crystals..." Little Dao then said with some trepidation, as it was indeed rather expensive.

"No problem, six grade-five energy crystals, right? We'll take them. The rest is a tip for your hard work," Wei Lin chimed in from the side, tossing over a grade-six energy crystal. Such a small amount of money, let alone for Lan Tian, was entirely negligible to her.

"Many thanks to this generous lady! I'll go take care of it immediately!" Seeing that this beautiful woman casually produced a grade-six energy crystal worth ten thousand Yuanlan coins, Little Dao was ecstatic. He had really made a killing this time!

With the extra tip, Little Dao's efficiency naturally increased even further. Before long, he returned before the trio holding two black tokens.

"Hmm... Not bad, two fairly close numbers: one is No. 1139, and the other is No. 1224." Lan Tian took the tokens, inspected them, and handed the No. 1139 token to Wei Lin.

"Hehe, consider you still have some manners~" Wei Lin happily took the token and shot Lan Tian a sideways glance.

"Naturally. Getting you in earlier saves you from chattering in my ear all the time and driving me crazy." Lan Tian said with a smile.

"You're courting death!" Wei Lin flew into a rage, wishing she could immediately pull out her scarlet-hued Crimson Cloud Sword and give Lan Tian a good whack on the head. However, upon catching sight of the Crimson Cloud Sword in her hand that was now left with only half a blade, her expression stiffened, and she angrily said, "Hmph, when are you going to compensate me for my Crimson Cloud Sword?"

Lan Tian smiled faintly, recalling his previous idle stunt.

On the way to the Heaven-Defying Pagoda, he kept tinkering with the two fifth-tier divine weapons he had obtained from the God of War. One was an inner armor used for defense, which, combined with the defensive effect of martial realm, could reportedly withstand an attack from a peak cosmic-grade powerhouse. The other was a cyan longsword formed by countless small swords converging together, named Azure Glow.

Unaware of the truth and relying on the fact that her Crimson Cloud Sword was a precious second-tier divine weapon, Wei Lin had actually provoked him, proposing to test the sharpness of the Azure Glow Sword. The result went without saying: upon the gentlest contact, her Crimson Cloud剑 snapped in response, turning the Crimson Cloud Sword into the Crimson Cloud Broken Sword...

"What are you laughing at? You owe me a Crimson Cloud Sword!" Wei Lin gnashed her teeth, feeling a deep pang of heartache.

This had been a gift presented by her father when she broke through to the Star-Stellar grade, gifted to her amidst his great joy, and it was worth ten thousand cosmic coins!

"Haha, you were the one who brought up the request yourself. What logic is there in demanding compensation from me now?" Lan Tian burst out laughing.

As for the Azure Glow Sword, he was truly extremely satisfied. Not only could it amplify cosmic stellar power and possess extreme durability and sharpness, but it could also be driven by mental power to transform into a rain of swords, carrying out all-around comprehensive attacks. Whether it was a single-target attack or a range attack, the effects were utterly stellar. It truly lived up to its name as a fifth-tier divine weapon!

Hearing this, Wei Lin felt extremely helpless, forced to swallow her grievances. This Lan Tian, clearly knowing the vast gap between the two swords, had still agreed to her request. He was simply too despicable!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Wei Lin was so mad she lost her appetite, let out a cold snort, and angrily stood up, preparing to return to her room.

"Hey, don't leave! We still need to stroll around the vicinity of the Heaven-Defying Pagoda shortly to scout out the situation! Are you not going?" Seeing this, Lan Tian hurriedly spoke up.

"...I'm going!" Hearing this, Wei Lin struggled internally for a moment, squeezed out a single word with difficulty, and sat back down, her little face scrunched up with grievance written all over it.

Lan Tian discovered that in the universe, apart from the frighteningly high expenses related to cultivation, everything else was truly very cheap, especially dining. As long as it wasn't some rare ingredient or fine wine, the prices were practically dirt cheap...

At least, this entire table of delicacies before him only cost a single grade-three energy crystal.

Having eaten and drunk to his satisfaction, Lan Tian walked out of the hotel with a satisfied smile, urged on incessantly by Wei Lin. Of course, he didn't forget to bring along Qipeng, who possessed Star-Domain-grade strength. With him around, many unnecessary troubles should be avoided.

No matter where one was, the more people there were, the more trouble there would be. Moreover, with an alluring beauty by his side, trouble was even more likely to seek them out proactively, as lecherous individuals certainly existed among cosmic cultivators.

Just moments ago, he had been dining inside a hotel brimming with high-tech ambiance, but the moment he stepped outside, he caught sight of the towering, ancient colossal pagoda piercing the clouds. Such a stark contrast left Lan Tian feeling immensely novel. Coupled with the crowds around the Heaven-Defying Pagoda—people of diverse skin colors, varying heights and builds, and vastly different facial features—it gave him a surreal, dreamlike feeling.

Could it be... these were human beings too?

So ugly!