After the second round of elimination matches ended, the contestants were given only a half-hour break. They couldn't enter the restaurant and could only stay in their designated seating area to rest.
At this moment, the atmosphere in Leo's team was heavy.
In the second round, two more members had been eliminated!
Now, only Ben, Leo, and Hales remained in the competition.
Looking at the rankings on the Human Zone Leaderboard, and then at their own team's points, everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.
The gap was enormous.
And now, only the three of them were left!
Even if they continued advancing, they could never catch up to the top-ranked teams.
Unless…
Leo was willing to risk everything and become the Challenger when the official competition began!
But that was nothing short of courting death.
The Challenger had to accept battles from all competitors and defend the arena!
Even though Leo had received SSS-level mission evaluations in the first two rounds and her mental attribute had already exceeded a thousand—making her the strongest among the freshmen—it was still impossible to withstand the challenges from so many powerful contestants.
It was unrealistic.
"Ben, Leo, I'm really sorry," Joe Root said with shame. "If we hadn't dragged you down, you wouldn't be in this situation…"
He could already predict that when they left the Spirit Realm, if Leo only received a B-level mission evaluation, the news would spread like wildfire across the internet.
Those media outlets that had once praised Leo would undoubtedly trample her even harder!
He had relatives working in self-media, so he knew that for the sake of traffic, they would say anything without considering the feelings of those involved.
The backlash Leo would face upon returning would be relentless.
"There's no need to apologize," Leo said calmly. "You are already among the most outstanding students of Chicago University. It's not your fault that things turned out this way."
Despite her words, the others still felt ashamed.
"All right!" Ben suddenly said impatiently. "It's not over yet! Why are you all acting so pessimistic? Isn't this affecting morale? I still want to win the championship!"
Everyone turned to Ben in shock.
Win the championship?
How?
That was nothing but a dream at this point!
Even Leo looked at Ben, quickly realizing what he was planning.
He wanted to become the Challenger! Face everyone!
She had confidence in Ben's terrifying strength.
But…
It was still too risky.
While the human side was manageable, no one knew what kind of terrifying monsters existed on the beast civilization's side.
"That's too dangerous," Leo said worriedly. "Are you sure?"
"Let's give it a try!" Ben replied with a grin. "If I can't hold on, I'll just admit defeat. The worst that happens is my points reset to zero. At worst, I'll take the lowest possible score back from this Spirit Realm."
Leo thought of Ben's nearly indestructible defense.
Maybe… he wouldn't be in danger.
After a moment, she nodded in agreement.
Their conversation wasn't quiet.
Soon, everyone around them had overheard it.
Then—
A wave of shock swept through the crowd.
Ben wanted to become the Challenger?!
Wasn't this suicidal?!
Even if they had to gamble on a risky strategy, Leo would be the better choice as the Challenger.
After all, Leo's strength was undeniable, and if things went south, she could still admit defeat and escape.
Ben?
Wouldn't he just get obliterated by stronger opponents?
The Elimination Rounds Continue
The half-hour rest period ended quickly.
Then, the third round of elimination matches began.
Then the fourth…
Then the fifth…
Then the sixth…
Then the seventh…
Then the eighth…
Then the ninth…
In each round, half of the contestants were eliminated.
By the time the tenth round—the final round of elimination matches—began, fewer than ten thousand contestants remained.
Originally, there had been tens of millions of participants from the three major intelligent civilizations.
But after nine brutal rounds, over 99% had been eliminated.
The thousands of smaller battle arenas were merged into just ten super-large arenas, each covering an area of thousands of square meters, providing enough space for the remaining contestants to showcase their full strength.
By now, only the truly strong remained.
Luck might have allowed some weaker contestants to survive the early rounds, but by the tenth round, there was no room for weaklings.
For example, in Leo's team, only Ben and Leo remained.
Hales had been eliminated in the fifth round.
He had fought fiercely against a crocodile monster, refusing to admit defeat until he was severely injured.
If not for his Steel Hardening talent, he would have been killed outright.
The crocodile monster was extremely powerful and had already advanced to the tenth round.
The Rankings Before the Finals
Among the human contestants, the Conrad-led team was no longer ranked first.
They had slipped to second place, with three members still remaining.
First place was now held by Victor, a Thunder Fruit ability user from Great Bear Country.
His own strength was immense, and his team members were also exceptionally strong.
Despite other teams being wiped out, Victor's team still had five members advancing to the tenth round.
Current top three teams:Victor's Team – 82 pointsConrad's Team – 79 pointsGreen Lantern Team (Federal State) – 75 pointsAnd where was Leo's team?
Rank: 9988th place
Total Score: 24 points
Yes, despite their low score, they had still made it into the top ten thousand.
This was because most teams had already been eliminated, leaving only a handful of survivors.
Ben and Leo's steady performance had allowed them to surpass many others and break into the top ten thousand.
Preparing for the Final Battle
"Leo, how are you feeling?"
Seeing the exhaustion on her face, Ben asked with concern, "Why don't you take a break?"
The elimination rounds had lasted a long time.
Even with rest periods in between, it was clear that most contestants were worn out.
Except for physically abnormal monsters like Ben!
"I'm fine," Leo shook her head. "Let's keep going!"
She knew her persistence might not change much.
But she wanted to prove herself.
She wasn't just a pretty face.
She wanted to see how far she could push herself among the new generation's strongest!
"Alright," Ben nodded, knowing she wouldn't back down. "Just tell me if you're exhausted. Don't push yourself too hard."
"I will," Leo smiled.
At this moment—
The tenth round of elimination matches had begun.
One powerful contestant after another stepped into the arena.
The true battle was just beginning!
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