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nOn the battlefield, the location where Silver Frost and You Muming fought was now in ruins.

nCountless buildings collapsed. None of the buildings there were completely intact, as they were all damaged by You Muming’s sword aura. However, You Muming still did not claim the final victory.

n“You’re indeed powerful.” The heavily injured You Muming knelt on the ground and exhaled heavily. “You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever seen! You even mastered Realm. I can’t compare in that regard.”

n“Hahaha, Realm. I’ve mastered my Realm since a long time ago!” Silver Frost stood on the battlefield and roared at the sky after claiming the final victory. “I’m the first place! I’m the true king!”

n“No. You’re not the strongest yet. At least, you might not be.” You Muming shook his head. “I know a person. She’s definitely stronger than you. Definitely! You, you will never be her match!”

n“Gu Feifei! Are you talking about Gu Feifei?!” Silver Frost suddenly turned his head and stared at You Muming. “I knew that you know about Gu Feifei’s secret too. However, unfortunately, I do too! My biggest goal in coming here this time is to challenge her! Just wait. I will definitely defeat the legendary strongest woman!”

nSpeaking up to this point, Silver Frost fiercely slapped You Muming and ended the fight.

nSilver Frost claimed the final victory in the second stage of the Astral Genius Battle.

n…

nIn the audience stands, countless people marveled—

n“So strong. This Silver Frost is seriously too strong. Even the You Muming that was heavily favored by us could not put up a fight against him. He couldn’t even touch his real body.”

n“Indeed. You Muming is already very strong. This Silver Frost is obviously even stronger. He’s probably the strongest contestant we’ve had in the past few Astral Genius Battles, right?”

n“Definitely. Since when were the Chosen Ones so terrifying? My estimate is that his strength should be on the same level as the head of the Hong Family.”

n“That’s right. How old is he? After a few more decades, won’t he become the strongest person alive?”

n“Indeed. Seems like Hong Dali is the smartest one. He just chose to sit out since he knows how powerful that Silver Frost is. This way, he gets to keep his third place. It’s better than losing directly, at least.”

n“Haha, if you say so. That does seem like the case.”

nThese discussions continued, as everyone compared Hong Dali to Silver Frost. On the other side, those from the Hong Family were all frowning.

n“This is troublesome.” Hong Xingyu shook his head and said, “The more that they say things like that, the more Silver Frost will want to compete against Dali. Otherwise, he won’t feel at ease with his first place.”

n“This is dispiriting, indeed.” Hua Yueling sighed. “Fortunately, this is held in the virtual world. Even if you lose once, it doesn’t really matter.”

n…

n“You Muming, even you lost.” Kong frowned and walked forward as he saw You Muming quietly appear in the stands. “How strong is this Silver Frost?” Since Kong never faced off against Silver Frost, he was not sure of Silver Frost’s true strength.

n“Very strong. He is very skilled and powerful in controlling his Realm.” You Muming exclaimed. “He’s way ahead of us. I can see that he was still holding back just now. This Silver Frost. I wonder how he trained to this level. How can he be so powerful?”

n“Seems like we’re in big trouble,” Kong said helplessly. “I have no confidence in winning at all if I have to face off against him.”

n“Me too. Unless we can master control over our own Realms, we’ll just be waiting for death in the Shuraba.” Even though the two of them were likely to become nemesis in the future, You Muming still chose to form an ally first in order to tackle their common and stronger enemy. For now, they could take care of each other.

n“Seems like there might be a solution for now.” Kong sighed and remembered Hong Dali’s lackeys. That group of people looked very unique. More importantly, they were all very powerful.

n“What solution?” You Muming asked curiously.

n“Hong Dali.” Kong murmured. “Hong Dali might have a way to help us get stronger. However, I’m not sure whether he’ll be willing to help us.”

n“Hong Dali?” You Muming frowned. “Does he have such great strength? I can’t see that?”

n“It’s hard to say. I always feel like he’s a very amazing person.” Kong shrugged and suddenly smiled when talking about Hong Dali. “He’s so amazing that, even though he possesses great strength, he can choose to admit defeat without any hesitation.”

n“Haha, I feel like what you’re saying might be possible.” You Muming finally nodded. “Only smart people know how to advance and retreat at the right time. Once he returns, I will go meet him.”

n…

nOn the plaza in the Divine College, Dean Fergos stood on the podium and looked down at the bustling crowd before announcing loudly, “Alright, dear students and mentors, the Astral Genius Battle has concluded for now. Now, let me announce that the winner is our incredibly powerful young genius, the Chosen One, Silver Frost!”

n“Clap clap clap clap clap!”

nEveryone clapped at the same time. Countless young girls were screaming. Silver Frost, the powerful Chosen One, conquered everyone’s hearts with his incredible strength.

nSilver Frost walked onto the podium and looked at the other students below. He suddenly could not recite any of the words he originally prepared. In the end, he turned around and looked at Fergos before slowly speaking.

n“Dean Fergos, let this award ceremony wait until after I truly defeat Hong Dali and Gu Feifei.”

nAfter he said that, Silver Frost left the stage without turning back once.

nEveryone was stunned. Nobody imagined this ending. However, it was not completely out of everyone’s expectations, either. After all, even though Silver Frost was in first place for the Team Battle in the first stage, his glory was completely stolen by Hong Dali.

nHence, even though he was still in the first place, he had no chance to fight Hong Dali!

nIf they were in Silver Frost’s position, they might find this hard to accept too.

nThe entire venue was silent for over thirty seconds. Once Silver Frost left the podium completely, someone suddenly yelled. “Hong Dali!”

nThen, everyone on the plaza all started yelling.

n“Hong Dali! Hong Dali! Ask Hong Dali to come back and attend the competition!”

n“That’s right. No matter what, you have to get Hong Dali back for the competition. He needs to have a proper face-off against Silver Frost!”

n“He can’t forfeit. He definitely can’t!”

n“Hong Dali! Duel! Hong Dali! Duel!”

nFergos could only sigh silently as he listened to everyone’s yells.

nHe could not go against the will of the majority. Now that everyone was anticipating Hong Dali’s duel against Silver Frost, it was hard for him to disagree with that idea. Furthermore, Silver Frost would never be satisfied unless he got a proper fight against Hong Dali.

nForget it. Let them fight. It’s in the virtual world, anyways. It doesn’t matter.

nAfter he made up his mind, Fergos instantly coughed and cleared his throat. Then, he raised his hands up high. Soon, the plaza turned silent.

n“Alright, dear students and mentors from the different Astrals,” Fergos announced loudly. “You probably have a good guess about what I’m going to say next. Once Hong Dali returns, we will arrange for a duel between him and Silver Frost! I believe that’s your common wish. After all, it’s not every day that you get to see a top-level duel like that!”

nAfter Fergos said that, the plaza was silent for a short while. Then, it completely erupted!

nEveryone was chanting a single name, Hong Dali!

n…

nThe Astral Genius Battle had ended. However, it was obvious that things were far from over for the champion of the Astral Genius Battle.

nEven though Silver Frost had won, more people wanted to see who was more powerful between him and Hong Dali.

nWithin an instant, everyone on Shenglong Star knew about a young genius winning first place in the Astral Genius Battle. However, he gave up his award as the first place simply because a member of the Shenglong Royal Family, Hong Dali, chose not to participate in the competition. That young genius even said that if Hong Dali did not return to the competition, he would not acknowledge his position as the first place!

nThe topic of discussion within all the major families on Shenglong Star became the upcoming duel between Hong Dali and Silver Frost, as well as who was actually stronger. Their names were known by the entire planet. When people met one another, their first greeting would definitely be “Have you placed your bets today?” Then, they would be met with the reply, “I did! I bet on Silver Frost!”

n“Haha, great minds think alike. Me too!”

nThis was like on the street of Old Beijing, people would always greet their acquaintances with the sentence, “Have you eaten?” That phrase now became the most popular sentence on Shenglong Star this year.

n…

nSilver Frost was in the room specially prepared for him by Fergos, and he had an unexpected guest.

n“You are…” Silver Frost was a little confused as he looked at the big bald guy in front of him. “Are you looking for me?”

nThis big bald guy was naturally the nemesis of the Hong Family, Bei Mingxuan, the head of the Bei Family. Bei Mingxuan found the young man in front of him very pleasing to look at. “Indeed, I have some private matters to discuss.”

nAs he said, he walked into the room and sat down. Bei Mingxuan introduced himself slowly. “Hello, I’m Bei Mingxuan, the head of the Bei Family. We are one of the three major families on Shenglong Star. I’ve watched your performance in the entire competition. I have to say, heroes are cultivated from a young age. You are strong, incredibly strong. I’ve been alive for over two hundred years. You are the first young person to make me acknowledge my old age.”

n“Thank you, Mr. Bei.” Silver Frost slowly sat down and asked, “Sir, can you please let me know, what are you here for today?”

n“Collaboration.” Bei Mingxuan smiled. “I’m here today to discuss with you and see if we have any opportunities to collaborate and work together. Of course, I never mistreat anyone. I will raise the mode of cooperation, and you can raise the terms and requirements. As long as they’re within my abilities, I promise to fulfill all your demands.”

n“Sir, you’re very generous.” Silver Frost was silent for a while before nodding. “Alright, please start first.”

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