I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

"You brat, you even dare to tease your own sister! Wait till we get back, I'll teach you a lesson!"

"Hehe~ Please don't go easy on me, big sister~"

Ye Qianxue said with a smile, "As the saying goes, 'The more debts you have, the less burden you carry.' She had just been dealt with by Mu Mu, so having another older sister like her wouldn't be a problem."

"Looks like you've recovered your spirits." Mu Mu, standing in the line next to her, turned her head slightly and said with satisfaction, "Don't forget our promise."

"Ah."

On the way here, Yan Ziming made a promise with them.

If you're unlucky and encounter Ye Qianxue and her group during the draw, the outcome will be decided within ten moves to avoid hurting them.

This was one of the agreements they made.

Another thing is that when Yan Ziming and Mu Mu met, he did his best and went all out!

Yan Ziming didn't know why Mu Mu insisted on this agreement so much, as if she was about to make some major decision.

"Now, let's invite His Majesty Hyde, the organizer, to make a speech."

Hyde stood up on the platform and walked to the front, where countless telephoto lenses were pointed at him. He delivered a passionate speech.

"Hello everyone, I'm Hyde. Welcome to the United States for this grand event..."

He wasn't using a microphone, and from the camera's perspective, it looked like he was talking to himself. What didn't match his appearance was the deep, resonant voice that echoed throughout the arena, and the oppressive aura possessed by a ninth-tier expert.

Hyde's cultivation level is quite good. He is at the second level of the ninth rank, the Gathering Spirit realm, which ranks among the top ten in the world. If it had been earlier, before Liu Mengxian spoke, his speech would have been able to greatly awe the world.

Unfortunately, in this aspect alone, this supreme expert of the United States is far inferior to Liu Mengxian, and even an ordinary person can feel the difference.

Hyde didn't mind these things. After giving a passionate speech, he began to set the stage for the competition.

"Then I hereby declare the Civilization Cup officially open. Given the large number of participants in this Civilization Cup, it is necessary for us to conduct a single-elimination tournament."

According to Hyde, the knockout stage rules are roughly as follows—

Based on the draw, participants were assigned to different groups of forty people each, competing in a free-for-all format. Only the last four remaining were selected to advance to the next round of elimination matches. Each group's time limit was one hour. If a group's time exceeded one hour and a winner was still undecided, several judges would score the matches and determine the final rankings.

Upon hearing this, some amateur contestants waiting in the waiting area cried out in despair, feeling that this was an attempt to eliminate some contestants with questionable qualifications!

They know their own strength. A large portion of the contestants present did not have the superpowers they listed on the form. They had finally managed to get a chance to compete, but then an elimination round was added at the last minute!

But they couldn't voice their objections, as the last clause of the competition rules clearly stated that if the number of registered participants exceeded 3000, the organizers had the right to hold another elimination round to reduce the number of participants.

According to official statistics, the number of participants reached as many as 6,000. Even after removing some who were too old, there were still more than 5,000 participants, ranging from low to high levels, which greatly exceeded the organizer's expectations.

Therefore, after much discussion, it was decided to add two rounds of elimination. In the first round, the top four teams would compete in a free-for-all format with groups of forty people. In the second round, the teams would compete one-on-one until the top 128 teams were determined, at which point they would officially enter the round-robin tournament.

Besides these, there are twenty seeded players who do not need to go through the elimination rounds. Mu Mu is one of them, but Yan Ziming and the others are not, because they concealed their identities and their information was incomplete, so they cannot be considered seeded players.

"Start the draw."

"Follow Master Mo in one group, follow Master Mo in one group, follow Master Mo in one group..."

Tian Tian prayed desperately from the sidelines. Her strength was only at the fifth level, and if a big free-for-all happened, she would most likely be eliminated. At this moment, she could only pray that she would be drawn into the same group as Yan Ziming, Ye Qianxue, or Mo Xin, and then rely on them to get through this cruel elimination round.

"What's your number, Tiantian? Qianxue's number is 520~" Ye Qianxue asked worriedly.

"Uh... I'm number 4444..."

"Pfft—" Yan Ziming laughed out loud. 4444, how could she draw such an unlucky number? But Ye Qianxue's 520 was to Yan Ziming's liking, as was her own number.

"What are Mo Shi and Mo Xin's numbers?"

"I'm number 666, and Mo Xin..."

“Number 1314!” Mo Xin replied happily.

"Holy crap, are you guys all gods? What kind of numbers are these?!"

Qin Di heard it clearly from behind: four people, four divine numbers. How incredibly lucky must one be to achieve that?

Are they truly blessed by God?

Chapter Thirty: First Battle a Success

"My number is the most unlucky one..." Tian Tian said dejectedly.

"Don't be discouraged! Look on the bright side. Getting this number means you're lucky too!"

"I don't feel like you're trying to comfort me..."

Having regained her girlish demeanor, Mo Xin patted Tian Tian on the shoulder and gave her a thumbs up:

"It's okay, we're here. As long as you're paired with any one of us, it'll be hard for you to be eliminated!"

"I hope so..."

"I can't muster any energy every day" is an easy way of saying it. With forty people in each group and more than five thousand participants, there are roughly one hundred and twenty groups. That's a one in forty chance, which is far too slim.

"Master sister is so nice~ I don't have to participate in the elimination rounds."

Ye Qianxue teased her with a smile. She didn't seem worried about being eliminated at all. With solid skills, the elimination rounds felt like child's play.

"If you filled in your identity when you registered, wouldn't you be a seeded player now? You chose this path, so you have to finish it even if you have to crawl on your knees."

Mu Mu flicked Ye Qianxue's forehead and then reminded her, "Don't get too cocky after breaking through to the seventh level. You know what Xiao Momo discovered a few days ago. There are plenty of high-level ability users who have infiltrated!"

"Hehe, it's okay. If I can't beat them, I can at least avoid them! As long as I last until the last four, Mo Xin is here too!"

"Don't come crying to us when you get eliminated, okay?" Mu Mu said with a mischievous smile. She suddenly wanted to see Ye Qianxue's tearful face after being unexpectedly eliminated due to her overconfidence.

"Ah, the results are in. I'm in group thirty-three."

Yan Ziming, who had been watching the big screen, suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention.

"I'm... Holy crap, nice! I'm in group 33 too!" Tian Tian happily hugged Yan Ziming's neck and shook him wildly, only to be punched on the head by Yan Ziming.

"If you're excited, then be excited, but don't shake it around!"

"Qianxue... is in Group Thirty-Six."

"Mo Xin is also in Group 36."

Yan Ziming clicked her tongue slightly. Judging from the result of the draw, this situation was undoubtedly excellent. She didn't think it was a good thing for all four of them to be together; two people in pairs would be the best.

Only four people can advance from a group. If the four of them team up, they will be too conspicuous. If they try to take all the spots, it will inevitably attract the ire of others, who will unite against them. If the opposing side has a high-level ability user, it will be even more troublesome. There is no guarantee that all of them will advance.

"Hmm, it's our turn to go on stage soon, let's cheer each other on!"

Yan Ziming encouraged Ye Qianxue and the others.

Due to the limited competition venue, only a maximum of five groups can compete at the same time. The competition is divided into multiple rounds, which will allow Yan Ziming to observe the elimination process, summarize his experience, and formulate countermeasures.

The first group of players were in trouble. Most of them didn't get matched with anyone they knew, and they were completely lost as soon as they entered the game. They didn't get the best positions and were always in danger of being attacked from both sides.

"Then, I'm off."

Qin Di took a few steps forward and said, as if seeking encouragement.

"Huh? You actually got picked?! That's really bad luck... Don't worry, if I lose, I'll try my best for yours too!"

Yan Ziming's carefree attitude made Qin Di's face twitch. Was this guy really encouraging him?

"Fight!"

Ye Qianxue cheered her on earnestly, and Mu Mu gave him a encouraging look. Qin Di instantly felt empowered, his whole body filled with strength, and he strode confidently toward the arena.

He was the first to appear from the Bei'an team. A total of three people from the entire Huaguo team were selected, all of whom were at least at the sixth level. If they joined forces, they would be able to protect themselves.

"Well, as long as the opponents aren't too outrageous, there should be one or two of them who make it out. At the very least, Qin Di should be able to qualify."

Yan Ziming commented that Qin Di quickly secured a good position above and took up a defensive stance with his teammates.

"start--!"

With a loud shout from the referee, the most intense battles broke out simultaneously on all five arenas. The diverse array of superpowers illuminated the entire arena in a dazzling array of colors, making it difficult for the spectators outside to see clearly.

The moment the referee called "start," Qin Di released his domain. After more than ten days of settling, the domain became more solid, radiating the aura of a high-level ability user.

After he demonstrated his strength, those around him who had been plotting against them immediately stopped their scheming and turned to attack others instead.

Who would fight to the death with a seventh-tier ability user right from the start? Any idiot who does that shouldn't even think about surviving the elimination rounds.

At the same time, another high-level ability user, imitating Qin Di, released his domain, which also intimidated many people. Everyone around kept their distance to avoid being easily eliminated by him.

"Are there other high-level ability users besides me...?"

A glint flashed in Qin Di's eyes. This person only exerted his strength later, which meant that there might be someone else on the field pretending to be weak while waiting for them to make a mistake before launching a thunderous attack.

His guess was based on evidence, but the result was completely different.

The melee ended quickly. In just over ten minutes, Qin Di's group had eliminated more than twenty people. The remaining members were small groups of two or three people. Those who were alone had already been kicked out of the game earlier.

During this period, Qin Di and his group were not attacked by anyone, and their strength has remained intact until now.

That's not the case now.

They were being closely watched by the other teams, as were the teams of another seventh-tier expert.

The remaining small groups all realized one thing: all their efforts would be in vain if they didn't eliminate the two most threatening teams first.

Under these circumstances, they joined forces, forming a team of fifteen, and launched an attack on Qin Di and his group.

"on!"