At that moment, the voice of the will of the universe once again sounded beside every participant’s ears.

[The elimination round has officially begun.]

[Battlefields are now being assigned at random. All participants must pay close attention to the incoming information!]

[You have been assigned to a team battle.]

[The rules of team battles will now be announced!]

John was momentarily surprised.

He had not expected his first match to be a team battle.

He immediately began examining the rules in detail.

[Multiple participants will engage in a chaotic team battle.]

[Members of the same team cannot inflict damage upon one another.]

[When every member of one side has either been defeated or killed, the opposing side will be declared victorious!]

[Notice: The number of participants on each side will be assigned randomly.]

[The two teams are not guaranteed to have equal numbers!]

[Notice: Once the battle begins, participants may voluntarily withdraw from the battlefield.]

[Voluntary withdrawal will be treated as immediate elimination from the tournament!]

The instant the announcement ended, a terrifying pulling force enveloped John’s body.

He was directly transported into a special region.

After steadying himself, John looked around.

Two powerhouses from other regions were already standing nearby.

They were presumably his teammates, as all three belonged to the same side.

The opposing camp, however, contained a total of five participants.

A transparent wall of light stood between the two sides, temporarily separating the opposing teams.

To the naked eye, the battlefield appeared to cover only around one hundred square meters.

Dense Spatial Law permeated the entire region, making its visible dimensions seem exceptionally limited.

However, once the participants began fighting at full strength, they would discover that the battlefield’s true expanded area was no smaller than an enormous secret realm.

Once the battle officially began, the transparent barrier between the two camps would presumably disappear.

The two sides would then fight until a victor was determined.

With John’s arrival, his side now contained three people.

The opposing side still had five.

When the two High Gods on John’s team saw him, disappointment immediately appeared on their faces.

"It would have been bad enough if the newcomer wasn’t Soren, but only one person was sent over?"

One of them could not help shaking his head and sighing.

"There are only three of us?"

"We’re outnumbered by two. There’s no way we can win."

The other powerhouse already looked completely defeated.

John paid little attention to their words.

Every participant who had reached the elimination round was a genuine powerhouse.

There were no true weaklings here.

A difference of only two people was not enough to decide the outcome immediately, although the opposing team certainly held the numerical advantage.

It was therefore understandable that his two teammates would react so pessimistically.

For John, however, this was actually excellent luck.

According to the rules, he only needed to collect nine other identity badges to advance.

Yet in his very first battle, he had encountered five opponents at once.

If he killed them all, he would immediately obtain five identity badges.

This was practically a heaven-sent opportunity.

His two teammates, however, had already concluded that defeat was inevitable and secretly began considering their options.

"The rewards of the Myriad Worlds Tournament may be generous, but I still need to be alive to enjoy them."

"My luck is terrible."

"I have to face five opponents in my first match."

"Once the battle begins, I’ll withdraw immediately."

"The difference between the two sides is far too great."

"If we had a supreme powerhouse on our team, we might still be able to rely upon them and risk a battle."

"But this new teammate looks completely ordinary."

"There’s no chance he possesses supreme combat strength."

"He’ll probably surrender shortly after the battle begins as well."

"I may as well withdraw with him."

Both High Gods had already decided to surrender.

Meanwhile, the five powerhouses in the opposing camp were also staring solemnly at John’s group.

What concerned them was not the possibility that they were weaker.

Their side had five participants, but the opposing team possessed only three identity badges.

That meant internal competition was almost inevitable.

All five would have to race against one another to secure a kill.

Anyone capable of reaching the elimination round desperately wanted to advance into the promotion round.

The five powerhouses stared fixedly at the three people opposite them, resembling starving wolves that had finally discovered prey.

In their eyes, John and his teammates had already become three identity badges waiting to be claimed.

At that moment, the voice of the will of the universe rang beside every participant’s ears.

[The battle officially begins now!]

[Determine life and death. Decide the victor.]

[Begin!]

The instant the announcement sounded, the transparent barrier separating the two camps vanished.

Almost simultaneously, the five opposing powerhouses erupted with their full speed and charged forward like starving wolves pouncing upon prey.

Although the battlefield appeared extremely small on the surface, it was filled with dense Spatial Law.

The true distance between the two sides was comparable to crossing an enormous abyss.

Therefore, both teams had more than enough time to react.

The two High Gods beside John looked around before one of them spoke.

"We have no hope of winning."

"I’m withdrawing from this battle."

"Goodbye."

The moment he finished speaking, he chose to surrender.

In the next instant, the will of the universe transported him away from the battlefield.

The remaining High God also prepared to withdraw.

He glanced at John with a dispirited expression before turning to leave.

Once he departed, John would be left alone to fight five High Gods of the same realm.

Unless John also surrendered, he would have no choice but to fight five opponents by himself.

To any outsider, his chances of victory would appear almost nonexistent.

Yet if he surrendered with them, he would immediately lose his qualification to continue participating in the tournament.

The High God felt sorry for John, but he also lamented his own terrible luck.

"What rotten luck."

"I should just leave and surrender."

"Remaining here to fight is completely meaningless."

After releasing a sigh, the man chose to withdraw.

His figure likewise disappeared from the battlefield.

After both of John’s teammates left, the five opposing participants were momentarily stunned.

Even their charging speed slowed considerably, and their expressions turned ugly.

According to the tournament rules, whenever someone voluntarily withdrew, their identity badge disappeared with them.

It would not remain behind on the battlefield.

"Damn it!"

"Two of them actually surrendered immediately!"

"There’s only one identity badge left now!"

"It belongs to me!"

"What a ridiculous tournament system!"

"Why don’t their identity badges remain behind when they surrender?"

John was now the only person left on his side of the battlefield.

The gazes of all five powerhouses simultaneously locked onto their sole remaining target.

Intense desire immediately filled their eyes.

Every one of them wanted to kill John personally and claim the only available identity badge.

John was not surprised that both of his teammates had surrendered.

He had already intended to kill all five opponents by himself.

Whether he had teammates made no difference whatsoever.

At that moment, five terrifying streams of Divine Sense and overwhelming will locked onto John simultaneously.

Layers of pressure descended upon him.

An ordinary High God would likely have been forced to their knees on the spot.

John merely released a cold snort.

In the next instant, his tyrannical Divine Sense swept outward.

The power of the Space-Time Law surged in reverse and enveloped all five opponents.