Chapter 92: Further Enhanced Benefits, An Assessment of Top-tier Geniuses!

In that instant, it was as if time itself had been paused for everyone present.

Every movement froze in place.

The awkward smile on Elder Mu’s face only grew more uncomfortable.

“Saint... Saint Spirit rank?!”

One of the city lords couldn’t help himself—even his words began to stutter.

“Yes,” City Lord Fu replied with a nod.

“Do you even hear what you’re saying?” another city lord, known for his straightforwardness, couldn’t restrain himself and stepped forward.

“Mythic-rank summoned beasts are one thing. Sure, no one’s ever summoned one before, but at least we’ve seen equipment of that caliber.”

“But a Saint Spirit rank summoned beast?!”

“Our entire human race has only two pieces of Saint Spirit equipment!”

“And as for Saint Spirit rank skills—we’ve never even seen one!”

“Now you’re telling me a thirty-year-old child has summoned a creature of this quality?!”

“What’s next—you’re going to say he’s Heaven’s favored child, blessed by destiny?”

City Lord Fu shrugged.

“I never said that,” he replied, “though I must admit, the thought did cross my mind.”

To obtain a Mythic-rank summoned beast at level one, and then a Saint Spirit rank at level twenty—for a moment, he doubted it himself, even after seeing the status panels with his own eyes.

Yet there it was, undeniably real!

“All right, enough—silence,” Elder Mu interrupted, stopping the city lord from continuing. He turned to City Lord Fu.

“I trust you wouldn’t lie about something like this,” he said, “but this is truly extraordinary. Without witnessing it myself, it’s hard not to be skeptical.”

“After all, Saint Spirit is the highest grade the human race has ever encountered.”

Saint Spirit rank wasn’t the ultimate limit of this world, but for the human race, it was the highest quality they had ever seen, and so that was the highest rank recorded.

After a moment’s thought, Elder Mu spoke again.

“By the way, is the quality of these two summoned beasts widely known?”

“Not at all,” City Lord Fu shook his head. “In the entire Seventh District, only the principal of one academy and I know about the Mythic-rank summoned beast. As for the Saint Spirit rank—until now, I was the only one.”

“But now, everyone present is aware.”

Elder Mu nodded in acknowledgment.

“All here are city lords. It doesn’t matter if they know.”

“However, this information must not be leaked further.”

City lords were already the highest echelon of the human race. A city lord–level powerhouse might not always be trustworthy, but a city lord himself certainly was.

For the thirteen city lords of the human race, their lives and power were bound, in one way or another, to the fate of humanity itself. Betrayal was near impossible.

“In addition,” Elder Mu continued after a pause, “when the competition concludes, bring Song Qi to see me. I need to conduct a full evaluation to determine whether he’s worthy of the treatment reserved for our top prodigies.”

At these words, the others were stunned.

To evaluate someone’s qualification as a top genius?

“The human race is about to have a fourth top prodigy?!”

Astonishment swept through the room.

“Elder Mu, have you truly made up your mind?”

“With a Saint Spirit rank summoned beast… If his abilities are exceptional enough, then in some sense, he does seem worthy of such an honor.”

They couldn't help but look at City Lord Fu with envy.

If Song Qi was chosen, not only would he ascend in a single leap, but the entire Seventh District would benefit.

City Lord Fu’s eyes widened with joy, a broad smile spreading across his face.

The surprises Song Qi brought him were endless!

He had devoted himself to nurturing Song Qi simply in the hope that the boy would reach the top ten in the Genius Tournament.

Yet now, Song Qi stood on the verge of ascending to the pinnacle!

Not only was he all but certain to be named a top-tier prodigy, but he might well become one of only four such geniuses in the history of the human race!

Even leaving aside the benefits this would bring, the title of “talent scout” alone was enough to keep him elated for a long time.

He straightened his back and patted his chest.

“Rest assured, Elder Mu!” he declared. “The moment the competition ends, I’ll bring him to you personally!”

....................

Deep within the forest...

Half the mountainside was piled with the corpses of berserk apes.

Song Qi opened his status panel and nodded with satisfaction.

“This round got me straight to level thirty-three!”

In one sweep, he’d gained three whole levels, rising from thirty to thirty-three without pause.

A berserk ape’s base experience was sixteen thousand; with the triple experience card, that became forty-eight thousand.

The first group of two hundred apes had given him nine million experience points.

And this latest group, led by the Abyssal Demon Ape, numbered five hundred!

Clearing them all had yielded over twenty million experience points.

Even more astonishing, the level-seventy Abyssal Demon Ape alone had given him a staggering twelve million experience!

“These two waves together have earned me forty million experience points.”

“I’m just a sliver away from level thirty-four.”

“One more wave of apes and I’ll hit the next level.”

“How is this a survival competition? It’s clearly a paradise for leveling up!”

Song Qi could hardly contain his delight.

While the experience from berserk apes was roughly equivalent to that from snow wolves, finding snow wolves was far more difficult.

Some days, you might not even come across two packs.

But here, all the berserk apes were gathered in a small territory—encounters came with little effort.

It was as if someone had spoon-fed him his meals; it would be rude not to clean his plate in honor of those who set up the scenario.

And for powerful beasts above level sixty, it was like opening a blind box—sometimes you’d just stumble onto one.

Surprises, one after another.

“However... I remember the booklet said each region contains at most a thousand monsters.”

“I wonder if there are any more berserk ape packs here.”

He pulled out the booklet and checked the map page carefully.

“The berserk apes’ territory is here. No need to go further in—that’s the domain for level thirty to forty monsters.”

“Left and right are zones for monsters of similar rank, with high-level creatures capped at about level seventy.”

“The center holds level-fifty monsters and is where Abyssal Flame Demons are released.”

The entire competition map was divided into three rings—the closer to the center, the higher the monsters’ levels.

The further outward, the lower the levels.

“The center is a gathering spot for level-fifty monsters, but... there’s no rush. I should clear out the monsters in this middle ring first.”

“This is the Genius Tournament. For ordinary professionals, fighting monsters twenty levels higher might be impossible.”

“But for this handpicked group of prodigies, it’s hardly a challenge.”

“Especially those from the top three districts—they’ve probably long set their sights on the level-forty monsters.”

He glanced up at the leaderboard in the sky.

Just as expected.

Though he’d taken first place in points, the scores of the others—apart from second-place Li Zong—were quickly catching up!

Clearly, everyone was picking up the pace.

“No, I need to hurry and farm more monsters before they’re all gone.”

With that, he tucked away the booklet and headed right.

He planned to follow the right-hand path, sweeping through all the monsters along the way!

And then, he would march to the center to face the final boss.