The match begins!

A few minutes later.

The Game System prompt popped up again:

[Attention all Blue Star players, your opponent this time is: Apocalypse Civilization!]

[Match Mode: 20 vs 20 Team Battle! (The 20 highest-level Professionals are randomly selected from both civilizations)]

[Below is a brief introduction to the Apocalypse Civilization:

Location: Hanling Star Field

Time since divine selection activation: Nine hundred and twenty-five years

Civilization Arena Match Win Rate: 85%]

[Match Countdown: 10 minutes]

..."Apocalypse Civilization? Why does that sound familiar..."

White Night slightly furrowed his brow.

"Team battle, randomly selecting the highest-level Professionals... Thankfully it's not a completely random draw, otherwise, if I wasn't picked, we'd be doomed..."

White Night let out a slight breath of relief.

With his current Level 299, he would definitely be on that list of 20 people.

Then, he continued reading.

"A civilization whose divine selection has been active for nine hundred and twenty-five years... It seems this is a formidable enemy!"

White Night's gaze sharpened, and his right hand subconsciously tightened its grip on the hilt of the [eternal demon blade].

The blade trembled slightly in his palm, sensing its owner's fighting intent!

Nine hundred and twenty-five years of development and an 85% win rate—these two numbers were enough to demonstrate the opponent civilization's strength and foundation!

A civilization whose 'divine selection' has been active for nearly a century, going against the Blue Star Civilization, whose 'divine selection' was activated three days ago.

No matter how you looked at it, this matching mechanism was unfair!

At the same time.

The other Blue Star players who saw this message completely lost their composure:

"Holy crap! The opponent has actually had divine selection active for over nine hundred years?!"

"Nine hundred years! Even if they only leveled up once a day, their average level must be over 300 by now, right?"

"What the hell are we supposed to compete with! We're guaranteed to lose!"

"Damn it! This is too unfair! Is the Game System targeting Blue Star?"

"What is the level of Blue Star's highest-level Professional right now? Does anyone know?"

"It must be Boss Bai Ye, that Boss previously defeated a boss unit!"

"It's definitely Boss Bai Ye. Someone previously rumored that he was already Lv99 on the very first day!"

"Didn't they say that was just a rumor?!"

"Many people called it a rumor, saying it would be impossible unless he was 'cheating'! But now, I actually hope it's true!"

"..."

Feelings of despair spread among the player base like a plague.

Discussions in the major communication channels gradually became depressed, and the few voices attempting to cheer people up were quickly drowned out by pessimistic remarks.

White Night returned home at this time.

He closed the forum on his computer, unwilling to look at the negative comments anymore.

"Only strength can break despair."

"Fortunately... I really do have a cheat..."

...Time passed minute by minute.

Players across Blue Star waited anxiously; some clasped their hands in prayer, some stood ready for battle, while others simply ignored it, adopting an attitude of 'I won't play this game anymore if it comes down to it.'

Ten minutes quickly passed.

The Game System prompt popped up in front of all players:

[Participant selection complete!]

[The Spectator Stands have opened!]

[The Match... Begins!]

The moment the system notification tone ended.

White Night felt the scene before his eyes change abruptly.

The surrounding scenery quickly dissolved, replaced by a vast, circular arena!

The arena floor was paved with dark red stone.

The edges were surrounded by light walls thousands of meters high, and countless blurred figures were vaguely visible on the other side of the light walls—evidently spectators from both civilizations.

White Night silently glanced at the opposite side.

The next moment.

19 figures appeared out of thin air beside him.

These people included both men and women.

Their classes varied: there were Warriors, Mages, Archers, and Priests, with levels ranging from 15 to 20.

Everyone's face showed nervousness and confusion.

At the other end of the arena, 20 figures also appeared.

They wore unified silver-white battle armor, held weapons gleaming with runic light, stood straight as pines, and had eyes sharp as eagles—it was clear they were veterans of many battles.

Leading them was a golden-haired man holding a longsword burning with golden flames; the level displayed above his head was Lv499!

He was clearly a powerful Professional who had undergone five class advancements!

White Night's gaze met the golden-haired man's.

The opponent curled his lips into a scornful arc, as if looking at a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered... The other nineteen Blue Star Professionals were curiously observing their surroundings.

When they saw White Night and the level above his head, they immediately gasped.

All of them looked shocked:

"Holy crap, Level 299?!"

"You are White Night? Level 299 in three days—you really do have a cheat!"

"Hahaha! With a Boss like you here, we might not necessarily lose this time!"

"Boss, I'm ready to lie down; you take care of the rest!"

"Boss, Boss, can I add you as a friend? Take care of me in the future!"

"Plus one, plus one! I want to add the Boss as a friend too!"

"..."

White Night gave them a helpless look. In the blink of an eye, several people had already surrounded him!

He could only say helplessly, "The match is about to start. Let's focus on the game first."

"Understood, Boss!"

The nineteen extremely excited Blue Star Professionals calmed down slightly then.

Next, they looked across the arena and were immediately shocked again:

"The Professionals of the Apocalypse Civilization must be on the other side of the light screen... Let me see... Holy crap! Wait!"

"Hiss... The lowest level is 399? And the highest one is even Level 499!"

"Oh my goodness, how are we supposed to fight this!"

"Where is the surrender button!? Can we surrender and only lose half!"

"..."

On the other side of the light screen.

The participating Professionals of the Apocalypse Civilization were also looking at White Night and the others, their faces indifferent and their eyes full of disdain.

Not long ago, when the Professionals of the Apocalypse Civilization saw that their opponent drawn for the Civilization Arena Match was a civilization that had only activated the 'divine selection' game three days prior, everyone was stunned.

They never expected such good luck.

This was practically a free buff!

Awesome!

At this moment, someone from the Apocalypse Civilization noticed White Night's level.

This was a Mage holding a beautiful blue staff. She pointed at White Night, her face full of shock, and said, "Look quickly! They actually have a Level 299 person opposite us!"

"Huh? How is that possible? Haven't they only had the 'divine selection' game active for three days?"

"Holy crap! It's true! How did he do that!"

"Something is fishy!"

"..."

The golden-haired man leading them was also looking at White Night, his eyes slightly narrowed, wondering what he was thinking... Just as both sides were discussing amongst themselves.

The Game System notification tone broke the deadlock.

[Team Battle Rules Confirmed: 20 people are divided into 4 teams of 5, fighting sequentially!]

[Team members whose turn has not come yet enter the waiting area. Interference with the battle is prohibited, and violators will be immediately judged as losers!]

[The first team to fight is selected by each side, and the subsequent order of appearance is randomly drawn!]

After White Night finished listening to the rules, his gaze swept over the nineteen Blue Star Professionals beside him.

Most of their levels were between 15 and 20. The highest-level Mage was only Level 18, a vast difference compared to the opponents' levels.

Clearly, they wouldn't be much help.

"Just the four of you."

White Night casually pointed to the two closest Warriors, one Archer, and one Priest.

The four people who were named froze for a moment, then looks of excitement burst onto their faces.

"Did you really choose me, Boss!"

"Don't worry, Boss Bai Ye, we'll try our best not to hold you back!"

"That's right, when the fight starts, Boss, you don't need to worry about us; we can use our bodies to take one of the opponent's attacks!"

The four Professionals tightly gripped the weapons in their hands, their knuckles turning white.

Hearing this, White Night didn't say anything, but secretly shook his head: "One attack? You wouldn't be able to withstand even a puff of air from the opponent..."

On the other side.

In the Apocalypse Civilization team, a Warrior clad in blood-colored armor stepped forward. He was the captain of this team, and his level was also 499!

"Just a bunch of little guys who just got weaned."

A cold smile curled his lips. His gaze lingered on White Night for a moment, then he ordered the people behind him: "We'll go first. Let's test this person's strength."

"Yes!"

Four Apocalypse Professionals responded and stepped out: one Warrior, one Assassin, one Mage, and one Priest. Their lineup was balanced, and the equipment on their bodies shone faintly, clearly high-grade gear!

At this moment.

Dense crowds of figures began to appear in the spectator stands on both sides of the arena.

On the Blue Star side of the stands, countless phantom figures of Professionals gradually condensed. They were mostly players who failed to make the participant list, and they were now staring wide-eyed at the center of the arena.

"This is my first time watching a Civilization Arena Match, I'm so nervous!"

"Look quickly! That's White Night. Wow, he really does have a cheat; he's already Level 299!"

"Boss Bai Ye must win! Whether we can get rid of the debuff depends on him!"

"It's too hard! They have five Level 399s, and on our side, everyone except Boss Bai Ye is below Level 20... How can we fight this?"

"It's already come to this, so don't lose heart! Can't you see that Boss Bai Ye isn't panicked at all?"

The spectators whispered to each other; some clenched their fists, and others clasped their hands in prayer.

The Apocalypse Civilization's spectator stands were completely relaxed, and many people were even chatting casually.

"I bet an Epic-grade material that Team One will finish the battle within one minute."

"One minute? Dealing with this kind of beginner civilization, ten seconds is too much time!"

"Look, they actually have a Level 299 person opposite us. That's a bit interesting, but that's all. A 100-level gap barrier isn't something he can break alone, and we also have five Level 499 powerhouses participating in this match."

Suddenly.

The light screen in the center of the arena slowly rose, revealing the flat stone platform below.

White Night stood on the left side of the platform with his four teammates.

The [eternal holy armor] on him emitted a faint milky white luster, while the [eternal demon blade] in his hand was black-purple, occasionally flashing with a streak of lightning.

The five Apocalypse Professionals opposite stood on the right side with arrogant expressions.

One Mage even pulled out a handkerchief and casually wiped her staff.

Clearly, they didn't take White Night and the others seriously!

[First Team 5v5 Battle, Countdown 10 seconds!]

[10...]

The system countdown echoed throughout the entire arena.

The Blue Star spectators held their breath.

White Night raised his eyes to look across, a slight smile curving his lips.

Level 399?

It's the perfect time to test the power of the Power Aura!

...