After sending the message to Tang Yingchang, Xu Ke received a call from Wong Qifu.

"They've set the competition venue in Tianhai?" As soon as Xu Ke picked up, Wong Qifu went straight to the point.

"Yeah, Grandpa Chen just told me last night," Xu Ke replied.

"Are you guys going?"

Xu Ke looked up at the date. March first. The competition was tomorrow.

"Yes, we received invitations for tomorrow and the day after."

Wong Qifu nodded. "All the families registered with the Martial Alliance have been invited. Whether they go or not is their own choice."

"Then I expect everyone who wants me dead will show up," Xu Ke said with a smile.

The people coming will either be waiting to see me make a fool of myself or waiting to see me defeat Wong Ting.

"Did Wong Ting replace all his competitors?" Wong Qifu asked.

"All of them!"

"Looks like it really is fifteen people against just you."

"What's there to fear?" Xu Ke laughed. "At most, only four of them can fight me. Let the other eleven have their own civil war."

"You're pretty optimistic," Wong Qifu laughed.

"Of course!"

"Are you confident? If you're not, I won't come to watch."

Xu Ke paused for a moment. "I am!"

"Good."

…

Shortly after hanging up with Wong Qifu, Xu Ke received a call from Chen Xiong.

This took him by surprise. Why were the calls so non-stop the moment he got out of bed?

"Xu Ke, we're on the nine o'clock flight. Everyone is coming over," Chen Xiong said. "We'll go to the Martial Alliance at one in the afternoon for the draw."

Hearing this, Xu Ke pondered for a moment. "Who will draw?"

Chen Xiong fell silent. "...In previous years, the local representative referees did the draw, so it should be one of our people this year as well. But you also know what the situation is this year."

Xu Ke let out an angry laugh. "Do they really need to be so thorough?"

Since Jin Hankang wanted the position of referee, he would naturally be the one conducting the draw.

Chen Xiong sighed. "Let's just hope luck is on our side."

If Xu Ke had to fight three geniuses at the Postnatal Late Stage consecutively over two days, even a man made of iron would get injured. Meanwhile, on Qian Jun's side, everyone was from Wong Ting's faction. How could they possibly let Qian Jun suffer even the slightest injury? An injured Xu Ke clashing with a Qian Jun at his peak... the difficulty would undoubtedly skyrocket. If he didn't even make it to the finals, he'd have to compete for third place. The loss of face would be immense!

"It's fine, Grandpa Chen. Just have a safe flight. It doesn't matter who they send; I won't lose." Seeing his state, Xu Ke could only offer some comfort for now.

Chen Xiong grunted a couple of times, but still lacking confidence, he hung up.

After hanging up, Xu Ke's expression wasn't as optimistic as when he was comforting Chen Xiong.

Just because he had effortlessly handled Peng Hetong and those other cultivators at Innate Great Perfection, it didn't mean he could instantly defeat these geniuses at the Postnatal Late Stage. These people were all geniuses. Wong Ting would surely have prepared countermeasures for them, making this much more difficult than fighting those old dogs. All of it was designed to crush him completely. This competition wasn't just for Qian Jun to represent Wong Ting and show Xu Ke how strong their fists were. It was also to use these obviously rigged proceedings to show Xu Ke that the power they wielded was something a commoner like him could never hope to match!

…

「Twelve-thirty in the afternoon.」

Xu Ke arrived at the Tianhai Martial Alliance ahead of time.

"Vice Alliance Leader Yuan."

Xu Ke headed straight for Yuan Shang's office.

"You're here?" Yuan Shang put aside what he was doing and nodded at Xu Ke to take a seat.

"Have they arrived?" Xu Ke asked as he sat down. He was referring to the Martial Alliance personnel who had arrived by plane that morning.

"They've arrived," Yuan Shang sneered. "Alliance Leader Chen is hosting them for a meal at the restaurant right now, and that old beast Jin Hankang went along. It was too aggravating, so I found an excuse to skip it."

"What did he do?" Xu Ke asked, surprised.

Wasn't Jin Hankang just the Honorary Elder from Long Capital sent to replace the local referee?

Yuan Shang's anger surged at the thought. "He started making trouble the moment he landed last night, complaining that Alliance Leader Chen was being arrogant for not personally coming to greet him. Peng Hetong hosted him for dinner, but he was still dissatisfied. He slapped Peng Hetong across the face, claiming he was teaching us a lesson on behalf of Alliance Leader Chen. If I hadn't looked ready to throw down last night, he probably would have tried to slap me too."

"He slapped that spineless Peng Hetong, but it was also a slap in the face to our entire Tianhai Martial Alliance! He has absolutely no respect for the Tianhai Martial Alliance."

Yuan Shang's face was grim as he clenched his teeth. They, the local vipers, were so suppressed by this invading dragon, Jin Hankang, that they were left speechless.

"He's that arrogant?" Xu Ke's expression darkened.

"It was probably arranged by Wong Ting," Yuan Shang sneered. "Otherwise, that slap alone would be enough for us to go to the Main Alliance and ruin his reputation in his twilight years. He's just a puppet on a string."

Xu Ke nodded. "So he's the one doing the draw this afternoon?"

"Correct."

"How will they draw?"

Xu Ke wanted to know how they planned to manipulate the draw.

"The usual," Yuan Shang said. "Numbered balls, a drawing box. We'll see how lucky his hand is. Also, the sixteen competitors will be divided into left and right brackets. You and Qian Jun will almost certainly be placed in separate brackets, so you won't face each other before the finals. They want to stick you in a bracket with a bunch of geniuses at the Postnatal Late Stage and wear you down to death."

"Alright, no problem," Xu Ke nodded. "Wear me down? I'd like to see just how tough their bones are!"

"You're that confident?" Yuan Shang raised an eyebrow. It was an incredibly bold statement.

Xu Ke just spread his hands. "No, I think I'll lose."

He had comforted Wong Qifu and Chen Xiong because he didn't want them to worry. He certainly wasn't afraid of Yuan Shang worrying, though.

"Get out of here! Why did Alliance Leader Chen tell me you were certain you'd win?" Yuan Shang asked, laughing in exasperation.

"Grandpa Chen is old. He shouldn't be subjected to shocks and scares."

"And I should be?"

"You're still hale and hearty, aren't you?"

"Brat! I'm young and strong, not hale and hearty…"

…

After Xu Ke finished talking with Yuan Shang, he walked out of the room, planning to go outside for some fresh air and think of a strategy. But just then, Huang Sheng's call came through. Xu Ke frowned.

Why would Huang Sheng be calling him?

"Hello."

"Xu Ke, good afternoon. Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the corporation. What's up?" Xu Ke lied. He had a natural wariness towards these people.

"Stop kidding," Huang Sheng laughed, exasperated. "My people saw you go into the Martial Alliance building."

"If you already knew, why did you ask? Are you just calling to waste my time?" Xu Ke retorted.

"No need to be so hostile. I know you're in a bad mood today, but I didn't call to argue."

"Then state your business," Xu Ke said flatly.

Huang Sheng's tone was sincere. "I'm sure you already know that Brother Ting is looking for people to take you on. I'd be happy to see you lose to Brother Ting, but our Huang Family doesn't want Tianhai to truly fall out of the top three."

Hearing this, Xu Ke immediately raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying you're going to help me get into the finals?"

"With your abilities, do you really need me to *help* you? I'm just here to lower the difficulty for you to reach the finals."

Xu Ke laughed. "Then let's hear it…"

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