Once Ye Chen and the others were brought into the temple, Ye Chen discovered that, including himself, thirty thousand people were standing in an enormous hall, with a plaque high above in the center inscribed with the four characters "Void God Temple."
"This is a temple hidden within the Starry Sky Waterfall."
"Will the final round of the Stellar Domain Genius Battle be conducted here?"
After being transported into the Void God Temple, Jiang Yao and Long Li stood by Ye Chen's side.
Jiang Yao looked at the four characters on the plaque and gently spoke to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen surveyed his surroundings and nodded: "Since we were brought here, the subsequent competitions are probably related to this place."
"However, this hall is quite peculiar. Apart from where we are standing, every other place is inexplicably shielded by Divine Power, making it impossible for me to probe deeper into the hall."
Long Li also nodded and said: "Indeed, it is quite peculiar. It seems we can only wait for the competition to begin for this hall to gradually reveal itself to us."
While Ye Chen, Jiang Yao, and Long Li softly conversed, other contestants who were drawn into the Void God Temple gathered in small groups to chat.
No one knew how the final round would be conducted or how the top ten of the three realms of the Stellar Domain Genius Battle would be decided.
However, they didn't have to wait long.
After the top ten thousand contestants from the three realms entered the Void God Temple for several breaths, a figure descended from the sky of the Void God Temple—it was none other than Emperor Liao, responsible for the Stellar Domain Genius Battle.
Emperor Liao is a peak existence of the Cosmic Emperor.
No matter how divinely marvelous this Void God Temple is, it is clearly incomparable to Emperor Liao.
While others were drawn into the Void God Temple, Emperor Liao directly entered, the void posing no obstruction to him.
Upon arriving in the sky above the Void God Temple, Emperor Liao addressed Ye Chen and all the contestants: "The final round of the universe-wide three-realm competition of the Stellar Domain Genius Battle will be held here in the Void God Temple."
"The Void God Temple is divided into four levels; this is just the first level."
"In the first level, the top ten thousand of each realm will determine the top one thousand, who will proceed to the second level of the Void God Temple for the next round."
"In the second level, the top one hundred will be determined, proceeding to the third level."
"In the third level, the top ten will be determined, and they will move to the final level—the fourth level—of the Void God Temple."
"In the fourth level, the specific rankings of the top ten in each realm will be determined, marking the end of the Stellar Domain Genius Battle!"
"Each level has different competition methods; let me first explain the rules for the first level!"
Emperor Liao's words stirred both excitement and tension among all contestants.
In the final round of the Stellar Domain Genius Battle, all rankings were to be decided within the Void God Temple.
By the time everyone left here, the specific rankings of this Stellar Domain Genius Battle would be finalized.
The contestants' gaze turned to others, especially towards figures like Ye Chen, Long Li, Moko Ye, and Long Ning.
Those who could make it to the final round were all strong contenders, chosen from the top ten thousand of a single realm across countless Divine Kingdoms in the universe.
After all, these contestants had gone through internal selection battles within Divine Kingdoms and triumphed in the first, second, and third round eliminations at the Sky Waterfall!
Each of them could be considered exceptional talents within any Divine Kingdom.
However, even among exceptional talents, there are distinctions of strength.
The specific strengths of other people were not yet clear, but the strongest few, including Ye Chen and Long Li, were certainly among them!
As the contestants assessed each other, Emperor Liao began to elucidate the specific rules for the first level of the Void God Temple.
"As I've mentioned, the first level of the Void God Temple will determine the top one thousand of the True God, Divine King, and Divine Venerable realms."
"The method of determination is divided into two steps: first, defeat the Ancient Tuo to obtain the Void Command; second, fight to contend for the Void Command."
After Emperor Liao finished speaking, with a wave of his hand, the previously inaccessible deeper areas of the Void God Temple that Ye Chen and Long Li couldn't probe into were unlocked, revealing their contents.
What shocked Ye Chen.
In this deeper part of the first level hall, there are three regions, each standing with stone figures that resemble statues, occupying large areas of the hall. Casting his Divine Sense, Ye Chen discovered that all the stone figures in each region together amounted to precisely one thousand.
One thousand stone figures per region.
The first level will determine the top one thousand of each realm.
Recalling what Emperor Liao had just said about defeating the Ancient Tuo to seize the Void Command.
Ye Chen immediately understood that the so-called Ancient Tuo were these stone figures.
Quite possibly, defeating the Ancient Tuo means fighting against these stone figures.
Seizing the Void Command, likely means to obtain them by defeating these stone figures Ancient Tuo.
Just as Ye Chen surmised.
As the three regions, each with a thousand stone figures appeared, Emperor Liao directly said: "These stone statues are the Ancient Tuo."
"Do not underestimate these Ancient Tuo; their combat power is extraordinarily formidable. Only by defeating them can you obtain the Void Command from them. Each region's one thousand Ancient Tuo hides one thousand Void Commands. Those one thousand Void Commands are the qualifying tokens to enter the next level of the Void God Temple."
"Each of you has only one chance to challenge the Ancient Tuo. Defeat it and you can seize the Void Command, becoming its temporary holder."
"Of course, if others fail to defeat the Ancient Tuo, or the Void Command is already taken by someone else without facing it, they can choose to challenge the temporary holder of the Void Command. If the current holder is defeated and loses the Void Command, they also have a chance to challenge others again."
"Remember, each person only has one chance to challenge others. If you fail, you'll completely lose the opportunity to vie for the Void Command, meaning you'll be entirely eliminated from the top thousand contenders."
"A genius must have not only strength but also insight and fortune. I will watch here to see who among the top ten thousand in each realm will become among the top one thousand victors."
"The region where True Gods battle the Ancient Tuo is the left area of the hall; the Divine Kings' region is the center; the Divine Venerables' region is the right."
Emperor Liao's words directed all the contestants' attention toward the direction of the Ancient Tuo stone statues.
You only have one chance to challenge the Ancient Tuo.
To fight with other contenders, there is also only one chance.
In this contest for the top thousand, that means there are at most two chances to take the initiative.
Especially since there are only a thousand Ancient Tuos on the field. If others defeat an Ancient Tuo and seize the Void Command first, you'll miss a chance to take the initiative to get it.
Taking the initiative to grab the Void Command means you can at least defend it, and if you fail, you have the opportunity to challenge others.
If you don't take the initiative and the Void Command is gone, you'll have only one chance to challenge other holders of the Void Command.
If you fail, you'll be directly eliminated.
This made many people prepare themselves, just waiting for Emperor Liao to announce the start of the competition, rushing first to challenge the Ancient Tuo to seize the chance.
Emperor Liao did not keep them waiting long.
After explaining the rules for competing in the top thousand of the Void God Temple's first level, he directly announced the beginning of the battle against the Ancient Tuo to seize the Void Command.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Instantly, countless figures flew towards the one thousand Ancient Tuo statues in the three major areas.
In front of even one Ancient Tuo, several people crowded together.
This time's competition didn't limit battles before facing the Ancient Tuo.
Quite a few battles erupted in front of several Ancient Tuos even before they began to fight them, competing for the opportunity to battle an Ancient Tuo first.
Such battles do not count towards the two opportunities to act proactively for the Void Command, so contestants can use this chance to gauge others' strengths. Even if they fail to seize the Void Command from the Ancient Tuo, they can choose weaker opponents to challenge for their Void Command.
Immediately, many battles broke out.
Of course, although these early battles don't involve elimination, they are extremely dangerous because any injury means a huge disadvantage in later battles with the Ancient Tuo or challenges against temporary holders of the Void Command.
This is exactly what Emperor Liao meant when he said geniuses need both strength and insight and should know when to make their move!
"Let's also try and see how the Ancient Tuo fights."
Ye Chen felt no pressure.
Whether it was battling the Ancient Tuo to grab the Void Command or not fighting it and choosing to take a Void Command from another holder, Ye Chen was fully confident.
This time, Ye Chen didn't hold back much.
He wanted to see how the Ancient Tuo, placed in the Void God Temple by the Ancestral God Temple, fought.
Seeing that Ye Chen wanted to make a move, Jiang Yao and Long Li exchanged a smile and said, "Just right, we also want to give it a try."
Ye Chen, Jiang Yao, and Long Li headed straight towards the three Ancient Tuos in the Divine King and Divine Venerable areas.
Noticing that Ye Chen was about to act, the little girl Qianqian's eyes lit up, and she flew in front of an Ancient Tuo.
What kind of character was Ye Chen?
The battles of the first three rounds had already earned him a formidable reputation among all the contestants.
Originally, at the Ancient Tuo's location where Ye Chen was heading, there were three Divine Kings battling, fighting for the chance to challenge this Ancient Tuo.
But when Ye Chen approached, these three Divine Kings froze and even paused their battle.
"Divine King Ye Chen, do you also want to challenge this Ancient Tuo?"
One of the three Divine Kings spoke to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen looked at this Divine King, then at the other two, nodded, and smiled, "Sorry, I happen to have some interest in this Ancient Tuo."
With just one sentence from Ye Chen, the three Divine Kings who were originally vying for this Ancient Tuo were instantly startled. Then, the three almost simultaneously cupped their hands towards Ye Chen and directly left this Ancient Tuo.
With Ye Chen personally coming to this Ancient Tuo, what was there left for those three to fight over?
They knew there was absolutely no chance of competing against Ye Chen.
The three then went to other Ancient Tuos to fight others for a chance to challenge.
Seeing the actions of the three, Ye Chen smiled.
Following that, Ye Chen's gaze directly turned to the Ancient Tuo statue in front of him.