Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 141 I don't know where your room is. Come down and find me now! (3K Second Update)
"Competition Lobby"

When Han Tianyan saw the extremely glaring "52 stars" after Xia Ming on the updated ranking list, he fell silent.

There were only 800 stars in total, and Xia Ming took 52 of them.
It accounts for about 1/16 of the total.

Keep in mind that only a little over an hour has passed in the competition, and Han Tianyan, who is in second place, only has 29 stars.

What's more troublesome is that when he walked out of the arena, there were only 3 doors left, and the other 5 were closed.

However, the survival count on the side still showed 194 people.

This means that in just over an hour, six people have been eliminated, and these six were likely eliminated because they deliberately didn't participate in the competition.

In other words, they took away 24 stars. The total number is less than 800.

There are also dozens of unlucky players who only have one star. Although they haven't been eliminated yet, all three remaining gates already have two stars.

In other words, they are like fish out of water, slowly dying. Within an hour and a half, all of these 1-star contestants will be eliminated.

Han Tianyan could understand this, after all, he had only managed to reach the 1-star level, and was a player who had lost once in the 1-star and once in the 2-star levels.

It's reasonable that this kind of player didn't make it into the top 64.
Two-star players are also extremely anxious because they have virtually no chance of survival.

3星（包含3星）以上，有94人，5星以上暂时看来是46人。

More importantly, the top 20 players on the leaderboard received about 40% of the stars in the competition.
Putting aside the complicated calculation formulas, based on his calculations...

In the current situation, to enter the top 64, a star rating of 5 or higher is practically guaranteed, while a star rating of 4 has a lower probability, but it's not impossible.

This forces 2-star and 3-star players to fight desperately, hoping for a glimmer of hope in the 2-star gate.

"Conversely, for players with 5 to 10 stars, the best approach in this situation is to do nothing and wait for the 2 to 3 stars to fight their way through."

Han Tianyan understood that this meant at least half of the top 46 would choose to wait until the end of the competition.

This means that around 150 to 200 stars will not return to the competition, since no one would want to miss out on advancing.

What's more, there's Zheng Zeqian, who, with 19 stars, is already on the sidelines, completely unconcerned, dozing off in front of the camera.

After mentally assessing the reward ratio, the number of contestants, and analyzing their mentality, Han Tianyan suddenly realized that the total number of stars willing to enter the competition was no longer enough to help him surpass Xia Ming.
If Xia Ming just gets into any other competition and gets a top-three finish, he'll have the first place in this round completely secured.

Even if he doesn't, Xia Ming will have plenty of opportunities to enter another sect, which means no matter how you look at it, he can't stop Xia Ming.
In this situation, the so-called alliance becomes a joke.

Watching Xia Ming greet Qian Youdao and then walk into the Two Star Gate, Han Tianyan sighed.

"I finally let him get up. Oh well, since that's the case, I'll take a rest too."

As he spoke, he adjusted his glasses and then found a place to rest.
Most star players now have this attitude; only a very few who have made a mistake or have personal preferences will re-enter the competition.

Time passed slowly, and the number of people present dwindled.

After winning first place in a competition, Xia Ming, with 81 stars and some beef and meatballs he got from the competition, sat down to the side, eating and watching.

With a large number of contestants eliminated, the remaining matches became a formality, with a small group of contestants fiercely competing for the last seven or eight spots.

Even if Xia Ming goes in now, it will only mean one more elimination.
The viewers in the live stream gradually realized that after Xia Ming won the battle against Qian Youdao, the outcome was already predetermined.

[Those who entered the competition earlier gained resources quickly and started to snowball, while many later participants avoided competition altogether.]

[Who would play if they could advance? Aren't they afraid of losing? They're not going to get first place anyway, so why not take a break!]

[Yeah, I heard they arrived at 8 o'clock, and it's almost 12 o'clock now, they must be hungry!]

[Xia Ming has already eaten; I can tell now, he never skimps on himself, haha~]

Xia Ming has already won several first places. If this continues, the other players will basically be unable to compete!

[What do you mean "basic"? It's simply unsustainable. Xia Ming is now a top contender for the championship, and I heard that Chen Xiaodong's restaurant was so packed with customers that the doors were practically broken down.]

[Ah, what does this have to do with Chen Xiaodong?]

Hahaha, you can look it up yourself, it's definitely top-tier pleasure~

In the cheerful atmosphere of the live stream~
At 12:39 pm, after a series of arduous competitions, 64 contestants remained.

Xia Ming: 81 stars

Bai Heng: 56 stars

Qian Youdao: 44 stars

【.】

As the list was revealed, it was discovered that 21 of the previously announced star contestants had been eliminated.

However, most of the popular players stayed on based on their abilities, which proves that the official list does have some reference value.

As the form was displayed, the host came out to congratulate everyone.

"Congratulations on making it into the top 64 of the 'New Chef Competition'! Your names will appear on the leaderboard tonight. Keep up the good work; the journey ahead will be even more challenging and exciting." "Starting tomorrow, the competition will enter the 64-to-32 1V1 elimination round."

"Without further ado, now, please have the 64 contestants come up to the stage in turn to draw their opponents for tomorrow's match, based on their star ranking."

"Next, please welcome our number one player of this match, Xia Ming!"

As the host finished speaking, a large battle chart suddenly appeared on the big screen behind him.

The organizers did not divide the competition into groups A, B, C, and D as in the past. This means that after half of the 64 contestants are eliminated, they will still need to draw lots again to determine their opponents.

Xia Ming glanced at the battle list, didn't see anything wrong, and casually pulled a small white ball from the transparent box.

Open the ball, and it will be clearly marked with [14·A], meaning he will play against the player who drew [14·B].

At this moment, all the contestants knew how formidable Xia Ming was. Apart from a few who still had some confidence, the others wanted to stay as far away from this demon king as possible.
After him, Bai Heng, Qian Youdao, and He He went up on stage to draw lots in turn, and several people in a row did not show any signs of drawing the same lot.

Just as everyone was wondering if anyone would be unlucky enough to draw a star player, Zhu Wuneng looked at the number on the white ball in his hand and his brows furrowed sharply.

【14·B】.
That's right, this dark horse monk who rose from the bottom was very unfortunate to be drawn as Xia Ming's opponent in the round of 64 to 32.

The viewers in the live stream exclaimed that he had terrible skills, while the contestants below were relieved!

"Thank goodness, thanks to this monk getting caught in the crossfire, our chances have increased considerably!"

"Yeah, given Xia Ming's current performance, I'd rather turn around and fight Han Tianyan; at least there'd be a glimmer of hope."

"This monk is really in trouble. He was originally a promising top 20 pick, but he's stuck in this round."

"Do you think it's possible that he might suddenly pull out a 'Buddha's Palm' move, knock Xia Ming down, and then use that momentum to break into the top 10?"

"Dude, you clearly haven't fought Xia Ming in a single match. Let me put it this way, I feel like Xia Ming is even stronger than my master!"

While the other contestants below were either sighing or gloating, Zhu Wuneng showed a look of frustration.

He never expected that with such a high ranking, he would still draw such a bad draw, but after a moment, he regained his usual calm expression.

"Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Everything in this world has its cause and effect. Since the lot has been drawn, it means that I and Benefactor Xia Ming are destined to fight."

After he finished speaking, the large screen behind the host flashed and locked onto Xia Ming's and Zhu Wuneng's images simultaneously, which meant that Zhu Wuneng would definitely do his best in tomorrow's battle!
After such an unexpected draw, the remaining contestants went on stage one by one. The viewers in the live broadcast room were all on the lookout, wondering if there would be any other more exciting matches!

Not long after, the players on the field erupted in another gasp.

"It matches up! This matches up too!"

After advancing by accumulating points, the seasoned veteran "Zhou Jing" collided head-on with another dark horse, "Li Yuan"!

After that, some unexpected matchups also occurred frequently.

"Qian Youdao" VS "Chen Sui"

"Qiao Ruoning" VS "Guan Chongyun"

Bai Heng VS Qin Liansi

"Sun Xingyao" VS "Shuai Qixing"

To be honest, this draw was too fair. With no interference from the competition organizers, life and death depended entirely on strength and luck!

There will always be lucky ones who draw weaker opponents. Of course, it is still unknown who the real lucky one will be in such a weaker group.

With the draw concluded, today's live broadcast recording has come to an end.

All the contestants returned to the hotel to rest, while the eliminated contestants had to pack up and leave.

Xia Ming, who was having a buffet upstairs, glanced at the eliminated contestants who were crowding around waiting for their cars at the hotel entrance, and then calmly looked away.

Every world is the same; some are happy, and some are sad. Unless you can rise to the top through talent and strength, you will eventually be eliminated.

No longer paying attention to the loser, Xia Ming took out his phone, where he had many unread messages in his WeChat.

First it was his father's, then there were donations from Nicholas Tse, Qu Yuyu, Gao Yonghao, and others.
The main messages were congratulations to Xia Ming on advancing to the top 64.
Then there are the chefs from "One Battle to Fame," whose stories are mostly encouraging, and some are a bit longer, mainly reminding Xia Ming to take a break.

The most interesting one was Andy Lai, who simply posted a "awesome" emoji, which was quite down-to-earth.

Then there were some university classmates and high school classmates that Xia Ming himself barely remembered.
They were in his memories, but he wasn't really that familiar with them, so he basically skipped over them.

Just as he finished eating, processed the messages, and was preparing to go back to his room to rest.
A familiar green-mail phone number called.
Looking at the name "Deng Fangqing" on the screen, Xia Ming raised an eyebrow slightly and then pressed the call button.

Deng Fangqing, sitting opposite, seemed to be somewhat forced. Instead of rushing to congratulate Xia Ming like the others, she went straight to the point.

"Xia Ming, right? I'm in the lobby of your hotel. The 'Blood Hybrid (Thin Mulberry Knife)' and 'Blood Taotie (Bone Knife)' you ordered have been forged and brought over for you."

"I don't know where your room is. Come down and find me now!"

(End of this chapter)