With that, the team ranking was settled without the slightest suspense. Jiang Chen's squad, with an absolutely dominant lead, claimed first place in the team standings.
Under the rules, Jiang Chen as squad leader received a reward of fifty points. Wu You received thirty points, and Gan Ning received twenty points.
In addition, each trial bead was worth one point. Jiang Chen had two hundred and twenty-six trial beads, which translated to two hundred and twenty-six points. Adding the fifty-point leader's bonus, his total points for this round of trials came to a staggering two hundred and seventy-six.
This kind of score was clearly far beyond what the ten great Sacred Lands' organizers had anticipated. They had never expected the distribution of trial beads to be this lopsided.
Jiang Chen alone had obtained more than one-third of all the trial beads. Lu Mingye, meanwhile, had also collected over one hundred beads, and with the second-place squad leader bonus on top, his points reached around one hundred and fifty.
Thus, Lu Mingye's individual score placed him second overall.
However, compared to the first-ranked Jiang Chen, his total was barely half.
The rankings below that were all tightly clustered.
The biggest surprise was Wu You and Gan Ning. Neither had been considered among the top fighters, yet their accumulated points vaulted them near the very top.
After the first phase of trials, Jiang Chen held an absolute and commanding lead.
Many who had been viewed as his primary rivals found themselves trailing by a massive margin. The most jaw-dropping case was Stone Qinglu, the Poison Fairy — this young generation's mysterious idol had suffered a crushing setback at Jiang Chen's hands, putting in a shockingly lackluster performance in the first phase.
Still, this was only the first phase — essentially a warm-up.
There was no time to rest. The next phase began immediately, and it was the core of this entire Genius Grand Competition.
"Pingsha Island has, since ancient times, been the highest-level forbidden zone of the ten great Sacred Lands. Surrounding this island are ten Forbidden Islands, encircling Pingsha Island in a ring. The second phase of competition will take place across these ten Forbidden Islands. On each island, you will receive a task. Complete the task, and you will have passed that Forbidden Island. Clearing the first Forbidden Island earns you ten points. Clearing the second earns twenty points. Clearing the third earns thirty points, and so on. The tenth Forbidden Island is worth one hundred points. The points earned on each island are cumulative."
"In other words, if you clear all ten islands, you can earn a total of five hundred and fifty points. This phase tests each of your individual abilities. Likewise, we have prepared bonuses for the top three. First place receives an additional one hundred points. Second place receives an extra fifty points. Third place receives an extra twenty points."
"The combined point totals from both phases will determine the final scores for this Genius Grand Competition, and will decide your rankings."
The second phase clearly carried far more points than the first.
Instantly, many geniuses who hadn't performed as well in the first phase felt their hearts race. They sensed this was their chance to stage an upset.
If they could deliver a standout performance in the second phase, the gap from the first round wasn't necessarily insurmountable.
However, someone immediately asked, "What if several geniuses all clear all ten islands? How would the ranking be determined?"
"Simple — if the number of islands cleared is the same, we compare completion times. The one who finishes faster ranks higher."
This design was perfectly reasonable.
No one had any further objections. Even Lu Mingye was rubbing his fists in anticipation. He had aimed for first place in the first phase, only to be overtaken by Jiang Chen, which had left a bitter taste. Fortunately, the second phase offered ample opportunity for a comeback. As long as he performed exceptionally in this round, overtaking Jiang Chen was still very much within reach.