54: Chapter 54 Group Stage Begins

The bell of the Deity Association rang, and the star map on the ceiling rotated rapidly. One hundred stars flew out from the map and descended.

This represented the top one hundred geniuses of Jiangnan Province being teleported to the competition venue, the Realm of Oblivion.

In the spectator stands, tens of thousands of gazes converged on the light screen in the center constructed from divine power. It was divided into one hundred independent frames, broadcasting each contestant's perspective in real-time.

"Everyone, quiet."

A gentle yet authoritative voice rang out.

In the center of the judges' bench, a middle-aged man stood up. He wore a suit and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

He was the Vice Chief Arbiter of this competition, Deputy Chief Referee Sun Zhiyuan.

Deputy Chief Referee Sun Zhiyuan had a smile on his face as his gaze swept across the venue. Finally, in an inconspicuous corner of the spectator stands, his eyes met Old Baitou's cold gaze for a moment, and the smile at the corners of his mouth deepened.

"I announce that the Ninth Jiangnan Province Genius Hegemony Competition, Group Stage, officially begins!"

As the words fell, one hundred pillars of light descended from the sky, enveloping every contestant.

Jiang Xun only felt a flash of white light before his eyes, followed by the sensation of space being pulled. When he could see clearly again, he had already arrived in an unfamiliar environment.

Beneath his feet was sticky mud, and the air was filled with the fishy smell of rotting plants mixed with moisture. All around were strange trees, so tall they blocked the sky.

The Realm of Oblivion was a virtual divine kingdom specially created for the Genius Competition. It was vast and had complex terrain, said to mimic the actual environment of certain extraterritorial battlefields.

Meanwhile, on the huge light screen outside the arena, all one hundred frames lit up.

Many people were watching Li Wei's screen.

He landed on an open plain, and almost as soon as he touched down, his S-rank Mechanical Civilization showed a strong advantage.

Signal base stations were quickly erected, and drones dispersed in all directions. An information network covering dozens of square kilometers was soon formed.

More than twenty members of his Hunter Alliance received his instructions at almost the same time.

"Everyone, converge on me. Prioritize clearing out the solo players in your respective areas. In five minutes, begin a map-wide search for Jiang Xun's location!"

Li Wei's voice was cold and confident. To him, this match was a one-sided siege from the very beginning.

Unlike Li Wei's high profile, another highly-watched S-rank genius, Long Ao of Winter City, was much more arrogant.

He landed on the peak of a snowy mountain. He just gave the leaderboard a cold glance and remained silent, as if the entire competition had nothing to do with him. Long Ao's Frost Dragon Civilization covered the entire snowy mountain in a visible layer of white frost. Any virtual creature that tried to approach was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.

Some of the other geniuses hid immediately, while others gathered in groups of three to five, forming temporary alliances and cautiously observing their surroundings.

Only a few minutes into the match, the entire Realm of Oblivion was filled with a tense atmosphere, with everyone feeling endangered.

As the primary target, Jiang Xun made a choice at this moment that no one could understand.

Instead of hiding, he walked openly toward the depths of the marshland.

"What is this guy doing? Does he have a death wish?"

In the spectator stands, many of Li Wei's supporters laughed mockingly.

"The marshland is a very dangerous area in the Realm of Oblivion. It's filled with toxic gas and a vast number of poisonous virtual creatures. Divine power detection is also severely interfered with. He's just looking for death!"

Even Xu Qingran clenched her fists nervously; she didn't understand Jiang Xun's intention.

Only in Old Baitou's eyes did a flash of understanding flicker.

He knew that Jiang Xun's mind held a complete history of world civilization warfare. Facing such seemingly desperate terrain, Jiang Xun could always find the most suitable tactics.

"Qingran, don't worry," Old Baitou lowered his voice. "To others, that is a land of despair. To him, it might just be his home turf."

Deep within the marsh.

Jiang Xun completely ignored the lethal toxic gases. His own divine kingdom had fused multiple civilization laws, making him almost immune to such low-level toxins.

As Jiang Xun walked, he focused on sensing the veins of this land.

"Isn't this the most classic 'Marsh Guerrilla Warfare' site from ancient wars?"

Jiang Xun stopped his pace, and the power of his divine kingdom was quietly activated.

Thousands upon thousands of Undead Skeletons crawled out of the mud. They didn't rush to attack but instead methodically modified the terrain under Jiang Xun's command.

Some were responsible for digging traps and covering them with duckweed and rotten leaves; others buried sharp beast bones on essential paths; still others carved Dwarf Runess onto dead marsh wood to construct small-scale confusion arrays.

Jiang Xun even found a special moss that could block divine power detection and smeared it onto the bodies of the undead soldiers.

In just half an hour, this seemingly peaceful marsh had become riddled with traps.

And Jiang Xun was the sole master of this labyrinth.

After finishing all this, Jiang Xun's figure completely vanished into the marsh mist. Along with him, his point ranking seemed locked, not moving at all.

Meanwhile, in the Hunter Alliance's channel.

"Brother Wei, we can't find him! It's like that kid can turn invisible. We've searched the nearby areas thoroughly and haven't found a single trace!"

"His score on the leaderboard hasn't moved either. He's probably scared out of his wits and found a crack in the ground to crawl into and hide."

Listening to his subordinates' reports, Li Wei's brow furrowed.

He didn't think Jiang Xun was a coward; instead, he felt something was off.

"Ignore him!" Li Wei snorted coldly. "He's just a shrinking turtle. Everyone, hunt freely. Clear out those solo players first. Once he's left all alone, I'll see where else he can hide!"

Once the order was given, the members of the Hunter Alliance began a frantic sweep of isolated contestants within the Realm of Oblivion.

For a time, screams and the light of elimination were everywhere.

At this moment, a three-man team from the alliance was hunting down a C-rank civilization genius from a small city.

This team consisted of one A-rank and two B+ rank geniuses. They were well-equipped and coordinated, chasing that genius until he had nowhere to run.

"Haha, kid, stop running. Just let us send you out obediently!"

"This is what happens when you dare not to join our alliance!"

In a panic, that genius plunged into a mist-covered area nearby.

The three-man team chased him to the edge of the mist and stopped.

One of the team members glanced at the map and frowned. "It's the marshland. The environment inside is complex and hard to navigate."

The team leader, that A-rank genius, glanced at the leaderboard and laughed disdainfully.

"What's there to fear? He's just C-rank trash. Look, that guy named Jiang Xun still has zero points. I bet he's hiding in this marsh like a shrinking turtle!"

Another team member chimed in, "Exactly. What a waste. To think Brother Wei took him so seriously. In my opinion, he doesn't even have the qualifications for us to take action."

The leader waved his hand with a joking expression.

"Let's go, get in there! We'll deal with that C-rank first as an appetizer. As for that coward Jiang Xun, if we're lucky enough to run into him, we'll send him home along the way."

With that, the three of them walked into the marsh without a second thought. This place looked peaceful, but it was actually full of danger.

They didn't notice that the moment they stepped in, a pair of cold eyes opened deep within the marsh.