In many cases, the truth did not exist objectively but artificially created from top to bottom.

  People's observation ability was limited. A pair of eyes couldn't see through everything in Nine Regions. A pair of ears, couldn't hear all the secrets of the world. Thus, most of the information was obtained from various people.

  If one stared at the spread of information, one would find a three-dimensional network. This network was like a cone. From top to bottom, it expanded rapidly from one point to multiple levels and multiple dimensions. There were countless nodes on this cone. Most of the people on the node thought that they know the truth, but they couldn't see the source of everything far away at the top.

  "Alas, tomorrow would be the first day of the new competition system. I don't know what the elders of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals thought. They suddenly changed the competition system by cutting off half of it… Some people say that Wang Lu was bribed, but looking at the new competition system, it was all of us who take advantage of it.

  "Yeah, I think there's something wrong in the head of those Earth Immortals. How could they agree with this condition… One person, responsible for all the matches in the Grand Competition. Does that person thinks she is God?"

  "Even if it's true, it's impossible to put all of us in all the matches. We've seen all the matches designed by Wang Lu. If you don't have special training in advance, even if you have great skill, there's no use."

  "Ah, do you mean the ultimate version of the test? It's a hell of a thing. I'm well versed in books and poetry. There are at least tens of thousands of books in my collections. But I can't even get more than thirty percent of the score when I did that set of the test!"

  "Hahaha, at least you still have thirty percent overall score. I did three sets of questions, and I only managed to get thirty percent right! I'm afraid that even the real God will have a headache when trying to solve that test! Moreover, under the new competition system, I think there are many matches with the same level of trickery as that test. How much ability can Senior Gem Emperor have to surpass a lot of us?"

  "I think her mind is not yet fully awake. It is said that she woke up from a deep sleep not long ago. When she woke up, she launched a coup. Most likely is that she doesn't know how powerful the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals is. And here I thought the Earth Immortals are omnipotent…"

  "But I heard that she woke up not long ago and went to Nine Regions with Daoist Master Wang Lu, especially to see the five super sects. She knew nothing about the present age of cultivators. So…"

  "Speaking of this, I've heard that the relationship between Daoist Master Wang Lu and Senior Gem Emperor is extraordinary. And the degree of intimacy seems to be a personal one… Is this why the other side agreed to this bizarre condition? Daoist Master Wang Lu is indeed really good in taking drastic measures to deal with a situation, tsk tsk."

  "Yeah, before that, many people said that he would not choose one of his many confidants. It turned out that he left that spot to the Earth Immortal. His taste and realm are beyond our reach."

  …


  The previous dialogue could be heard everywhere in today's Nine Regions. When the competition system of the Grand Competition was changed, the opponent would only be Senior Gem Emperor alone, which was the truth that most people knew. Most people here referred to the ordinary people who were living in the City of Immortals. They were from inferior sects and had ordinary qualifications, and those entered the path of Immortal cultivation by chance. As for the reason behind this, there was a wide variety of opinions.

  Above them, some cultivators from the big sects would get the truth further.

  "… That Senior Gem Emperor is really a great person. When she woke up, she found that her companions had hurt the feelings of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals and assassinated some of its members. She then exiled the murderer and put all the burdens on her shoulders. This is an amazing spirit… Although she is just a woman, she is better than countless men with beards. It's just that she is too thoughtless. It's good that she is willing to take responsibility, but this kind of competition will only make people think that she is arrogant."

  "She is the Emperor of the Earth Immortals after all, so it's ok to be a little arrogant… Moreover, the Grand Competition's matches have been reduced by seventy to eighty percent after all. Although there are many tricky matches, there are more than enough straightforward ones. Maybe people will have the ability to win more than half of them, so we have nothing to lose."

  "But if you're a good talker, it doesn't matter if you lose to her. In any case, Wang Lu had already taken drastic measures to deal with the situation, we're all one family after all, hahaha!"

  For most of the middle and upper levels of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals, this is the truth of the sudden change in the Grand Competition. It was also the version that Wang Lu decided to release after his discussion with Daoist He Tu.

  This was a true man-made truth. But even so, only a few people in all the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals could know about it… In fact, this way of spreading the truth was very good, because people at the bottom would never be satisfied with their known parts. And as they continued to explore, this version of the truth would gradually spread and become the truth that people believed in.

  Only the top few knew that things were actually more exaggerated than what most people think.

  According to the requirements of Senior Gem Emperor, the Grand Competition was over. The past points and rules were totally invalid. Under the new competition system, there were no match restrictions at all. As long as it was not too boring and absurd, one could go to the stage to compete against Senior Gem Emperor. What's more, the outcome was not determined by the sum of the points.

  As long as the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals could win one of these numerous matches, Senior Gem Emperor would admit defeat on behalf of the Earth Immortals.

  The conditions were so generous that there was no reason to refuse. However, because of the excellent conditions offered by Senior Gem Emperor, people were worried about what was hidden behind the scenes. Those who had been in contact with Senior Gem Emperor would not doubt her ability and wisdom and thus, believed she dared to offer such conditions. She was very sure in her ability to subdue the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals with her own strength.

  Where this confidence came from remained a mystery.

  ——


  "Daoist Master Wang Lu, in your opinion, tomorrow's preliminary contest… how much hope could we have?"

  In the conference room of Heavenly Sage Hall in the City of Immortals, the last meeting before the match was coming to an end.

  Everything had been arranged. On the morning of the next day, Senior Gem Emperor would appear in the central stadium of Immortal One Area, waiting for the challenge from the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals.

  In theory, anyone could challenge her on the stage at that time. Senior Gem Emperor did not restrict the challengers. But in fact, the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals would not allow anyone to waste time on the stage. From the very beginning, everything was carried out in an orderly manner according to the plan.

  Wang Lu was still the one making the plan, because among the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals, only he had the most contact with Senior Gem Emperor and was most likely be able to make targeted arrangement. The first round arranged by Wang Lu was as follows: There was Supreme Tian Lun, who was responsible for the chess match. The poison expert witch doctor from the desolate era, A Wu, and the god of food Liu Li who would compete in culinary evaluation.

  These three people seemed to be randomly selected, and their accomplishments ranged from Unity Stage to Peak Jindan Stage. But in fact, these three people had one thing in common, and they were all the winners who had won with great advantages in the previous matches. In other words, they were the ones who had reached the top in their respective fields; no one could compare to them. They were the ones who would likely be able to win.

  Thus, theoretically speaking, such a lineup was the limit that the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals could achieve, which was equivalent to the trump card and killer move. However, some people couldn't see Wang Lu's intention in using the trump card right at the beginning. Thus, after the list was confirmed, someone walked Wang Lu on how likely they would be able to win for tomorrow's matches.

  "If you ask me how much hope I have for them to win, I'd like to say that I hope for them to be able to win very much. But unfortunately, in tomorrow's matches, we would most likely lose."

  Wang Lu calmly responded to the question, and then said, "Be prepared for a long-term struggle. Senior Gem Emperor is not such a simple opponent."

  With that, he got up and left the meeting, ignoring the questions behind him.

  In fact, even Wang Lu could not figure out how Senior Gem Emperor could win under the current competition system… It was impossible for her to be omniscient and defeat millions of cultivators in the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals with one person's strength. At the same time, with Senior Gem Emperor's personality, she disdained cheating in the match.

  How could the opponent win if they could not withstand the attack and unable to cheat, nor pull a trick?

  But on the other hand, Wang Lu was ready to lose. However, even if he was ready, he had to have an understanding. By placing a strong lineup on the first day, he wanted to see the bottom card of Senior Gem Emperor.

  In this contest against Senior Gem Emperor, the biggest advantage of the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals was that they had so many people. Because of this, they could safely and boldly send someone to test the opponent.

  A day later, Wang Lu opened his eyes.

  ——


  "… I lost."

  In the competition field in the Central Stadium in Immortal One Area, Supreme Tian Lun gave out a faint statement and then stood up to abandon the match.

  In front of him, on a huge chessboard, the black and white camps were hard to disentangle. The black pieces were like a fierce dragon, fighting viciously on the chessboard from left to right. While the white pieces were like a fairy, defusing the attack of the fierce dragon with ease.

  The one with the black pieces was Supreme Tian Lun.

  On the chessboard, it seemed that he took the initiative a little bit. Several major offensives were initiated by Supreme Tian Lun. Each time, Senior Gem Emperor scrambled to deal with the situation. At this time, although on the chessboard the situation was roughly equal, people thought that Supreme Tian Lun still had the upper hand.

  Who knew, Supreme Tian Lun actually abandoned the match and admitted defeat at this time. It was simply astonishing.

  The chessboard was too complex, so people couldn't understand why Supreme Tian Lun lost. It was just that… In the end, it was still a loss.

  "Correct, if this goes on, I would end up losing. I underestimated you a bit earlier."

  Supreme Tian Lun smiled and paid his respect to his opponent on the other side of the chessboard, and then left.

  At the same time, the chessboard on the arena disappeared, and the fierce fight between black and white chess pieces stopped abruptly.

  "All right, next."

  Senior Gem Emperor took back the chessboard without any trace of fatigue on her face. It was as if the four-hour match against Supreme Tian Lun was nothing at all to her.

  The second match contestant was A Wu, the desolate era witch doctor. The girl put on some serious face and came to the arena with a full set of witchcraft tools and equipment. She had a colorful feather crown on her head, and her face was covered with bloody patterns. She held a black skull in her right hand and a lantern in her left hand… Her cultivation was mediocre, but her witchcraft was passed down for generations. From the skill point of view alone, her witchcraft was not inferior to those of great witches who could call the wind and rain in the age of desolation. Even in the case of a general loss of witchcraft, the Earth Immortals could hardly surpass her in this way.

  In fact, the value of her victory in the previous match was higher than that of Supreme Tian Lun. After all, there were tens of thousands of people who could play chess. However, in the whole world, only a few people were proficient in witchcraft.

  Nevertheless… Half a day later, the highly anticipated match came to an end.

  "Fine, I admit defeat." The witch doctor looked at the black powder in her hand with great regret. Not long ago, it was an ancestral skull filled with infinite witchcraft power. But at this time, it had lost most of it.

  Even if it was used as the food material for breeding insects, the quality was not good enough… An ancient witchcraft treasure was broken by Senior Gem Emperor in this match, destroying its magical ability!