1021 Control 1

Deep within the land of ice, a gathering of millions of geniuses was taking place.

In every direction, as far as even the eye of a saint martial warrior could see, there was endless white and cold. However, that didn't dampen the excitement of those that came.

The Valley of Geniuses didn't open often, with each iteration being decades apart. Because of this, many young geniuses missed their opportunity to enter, either as a result of them being within their trial worlds, or for various reasons related to the difficulty of reaching the entrances for this grand event.

Many, though, saw this as an opportunity they would rather slow their cultivations down for than miss. In the end, there were no shortage of geniuses who refused to break into the celestial tier before they could first enter the Valley of Geniuses.

It wasn't that the saint floors didn't allow celestials to enter, because they did. The only limiter for a given floor was your age, and for higher floors, there was also the matter of the prestige of your clan – that meaning that it was impossible to raise to the level of the dao floors without a King level clan, and without an Emperor level clan, one could not step onto the very top floor.

The reason why geniuses suppressed their cultivation in order to enter the Valley was precisely because of the pressure distribution.

Unlike the trials which only looked at age, the Valley was trial specifically tailored for sainthood cultivators. While it also, obviously, took into account talent, an event on a given floor would always be reserved for those who shared the majority cultivation of the floor, with the only exception being those who fell below that majority standard – which was why some essence gatherers would participate this time around, as well.

This was because these events were much like the Gates. They required 'off' periods where they would slowly re-accumulate strength before being opened once more.

One has to understand that the Valley of Geniuses, as a singular example, was responsible for maintaining the souls of often long dead or transcended geniuses alive, and also supplying them with enough power to pass on their legacies. For a tower that's been functioning for millions of years, the amount of energy that requires is astronomical.

Simply put, celestials would be able to make a mockery of the system, even to the point where they could forcibly take legacies that weren't meant for them. If you were a celestial? Go fight it out in the Valley of Geniuses on your floor. It was as simple as that.

Of course, since the tower was capable of having the energy to support another level of the Valley, energy constraints weren't the main focus behind its reasoning. Rather, it was to allow other geniuses the chance to grow.

The most important point was that the Valley of Geniuses was meant to be a measure of talent. If you failed as a saint, but still came back as a celestial, you hadn't proved anything.

It was a good thing for Sokzac that Lilith had stopped him from coming, or else he would have wasted a trip.

"HAHA! Am I late?" A booming voice cut through the fierce cold winds before an explosion of ice and snow that could have been mistaken for an avalanche erupted into the skies.

The millions of young geniuses, who were all capable in their own right considering they too had traversed the harsh climate to reach here, looked over. For someone to be so bold as to show off in front of them, this man had to have some ability.

When the snow finally cleared from the young man's violent drop from the sky, no one had the heart to berate him for his arrogance any longer…

There was no mistaking the fierce red armor, the ridiculous size and the overbearing aura. This was a member of the Clyanne Giant Clan. And the fact that the young man who spoke out was leading more than a dozen massive men and women, he had to be the 7th Clyanne young master, Amory Clyanne!

How could any of them have the heart to look down on a prince of an Emperor God Clan of the 14th ranked quadrant. Wasn't that asking to be embarrassed?

"Since Brother Amory has stepped onto the scene, I should make my own appearance lest he feel peerless, no?"

At that moment a world-toppling beauty descended from the skies, but what shocked them all was that this very same beauty wasn't the one who had spoken, rather, it was the young man she followed respectfully behind. Such a beauty was only a servant? Was there any justice in this world?

However, when they saw the twin moon sabers by his hips, his flowing silver hair, and his starry-like eyes, they lost all their conviction. Reprimanding the 11th young master of the Streyluna Clan and offending the 12th ranked quadrant? On top of the fact that the beauty might not even appreciate their help? Which of them here wasn't a genius? How could they also be stupid?

Seeing the pretty boy descend from the skies, Amory's battle intent soared. "Good, the esteemed gigolo Cullen is here."

Cullen Streyluna didn't seem perturbed by being called a gigolo, clearly he was used to it by now. Instead, he looked off into the skies, it seemed a few more world-shattering geniuses were arriving.