And precisely because Duan Jia was in charge, he was the one who went to find Xu Ke when someone started causing trouble at the medical hall.

Xu Ke's eyes darkened. "Give them my phone number. Tell them to stop making a scene and wait for me."

"I'll be right there."

Duan Jia replied, "Great, thank you, Mister Xu! I'm so sorry to trouble you."

"It's nothing."

Xu Ke shook his head and, after hanging up, had Tang Yingchang drive straight to the medical hall.

「…」

On the way, Xu Ke felt a pang of regret. Why didn't I ask Duan Jia who was looking for me? Still, he figured he'd find out once he arrived.

At the same time, Xu Ke was silently trying to guess. Who exactly are this old man and this young man?

He knew his medical hall hadn't opened yet and had no reputation, so an ordinary person looking for him definitely wouldn't come here. They'd be better off looking for him in the urban village from the news or at the Wang Family Corporation. Information on those places was easy to find.

But since they knew about his medical hall, it was clear they were from a family with considerable influence in Tianhai, because ordinary people wouldn't know about it. However, ever since Ye Fan had used Zhao Chengyang to pinpoint his location, the major families definitely knew.

The car's engine hummed to life. Xu Ke wracked his brain but still couldn't figure it out. Who could it be?

「…」

When he arrived at the medical hall, Xu Ke immediately saw an old man and a young man sitting at the entrance.

The young man looked to be about Xu Ke's age. He wore a Versace shirt with shorts and had a bandage wrapped around one wrist. His entire look was bizarre.

The old man beside him was robust and looked very strong. More notably, he had a full head of thick, shiny black hair. You could tell at a glance that it was dyed.

When Xu Ke noticed their cultivation levels, his gaze sharpened.

The young man was at the Postnatal Late Stage—the same as him! This is no ordinary feat.

In fact, ever since Xu Ke had begun to recover his Martial Path cultivation, he had never met anyone his age at this level, aside from Qian Jun and the as-yet-unseen Ye Feng.

A name immediately surfaced in Xu Ke's mind: Chen Haiming.

This man was Chen Xiong's grandson, twenty-nine years old, and also a young talent. If it weren't for Xu Ke, Chen Haiming would have undoubtedly been the one to participate in the Martial Alliance selection competition.

With this in mind, the corners of Xu Ke's mouth quirked up slightly. He had a rough idea of why this person had come.

But there was something Xu Ke didn't quite understand. The last time Chen Xiong mentioned the Martial Alliance selection competition, he'd said their Chen Family had a twenty-nine-year-old, which had to be Chen Haiming. But at that time, Chen Xiong had repeatedly insisted that Chen Haiming was only at the Innate Middle Stage of cultivation.

How had he suddenly reached the Postnatal Late Stage? It seems he had a breakthrough!

Still pondering this, Xu Ke whispered to Tang Yingchang, who was about to get out, "Elder Tang, don't get out of the car yet. If things look like they're going south, then you can step in."

The old man beside Chen Haiming was only at the Innate Initial Stage, a level Xu Ke didn't consider a threat. That's why he decided to have Tang Yingchang lie in wait.

Tang Yingchang immediately nodded, signaling that he understood.

「…」

Afterward, Xu Ke got out of the car and walked toward the medical hall, which was filled with the din of renovations.

Chen Haiming and the old man, who were sitting at the entrance, immediately locked their gazes onto Xu Ke.

"Well now, what a pleasant surprise. Are you two here to help supervise my construction?"

Since the two of them were clearly here to cause trouble, Xu Ke saw no reason to be overly polite, even if one of them was Chen Xiong's grandson.

"Heh, you must be Xu Ke," Chen Haiming sneered, standing up as he approached.

Xu Ke smiled. "I am. And you are?"

"I am Chen Haiming, grandson of the Martial Alliance Leader, Chen Xiong. Surely you've heard my name?"

Chen Haiming carried himself with an air of superiority, looking down on Xu Ke with utter disdain. The word "arrogance" was practically written across his face.

Seeing this, Xu Ke raised an eyebrow. Just as I thought.

"And this gentleman is...?" Xu Ke asked, turning to the old man.

Politeness first, force later. Although these two had shown up at his door with ill intentions first thing in the morning, Xu Ke couldn't just start insulting the elder—calling him an "old beast" like he would someone from the Ye or Huang Families. After all, this man was from the Chen Family.

"I am Dongfang Mingliang, Young Master Haiming's sparring teacher," the old man stated flatly. Though his face showed no blatant arrogance, Xu Ke could still sense a subtle air of superiority. Perhaps from working under Chen Xiong or from spending too much time with the condescending Chen Haiming, Dongfang Mingliang naturally carried himself with the same haughty attitude.

Xu Ke gave a faint smile. "Then may I ask what brings Elder Dongfang and Young Master Haiming to my medical hall?"

"It's simple," Chen Haiming sneered, clearly having no time for pleasantries. "My time is far too precious to be wasted on someone like you."

"I'll put it simply. You are going to fight me. Then, after I defeat you, you will go and tell my grandfather that the spot for Tianhai in the Martial Alliance selection competition can only be mine."

"No one else, including you, is qualified!"

Xu Ke laughed. "And why can it only be you?"

So that's it, Xu Ke thought. The moment he saw Chen Haiming and recalled how Chen Xiong hadn't let him compete before, he knew this was almost certainly the reason.

"You still dare to ask why?!" Chen Haiming flew into a rage, slamming his hand on a nearby object as he shot to his feet. "I have cultivated painstakingly for twenty-nine years! I spent the last few years in seclusion, ignoring all worldly affairs, just so I could reach my peak at this age, bring glory to Tianhai, and win the right to be considered for Martial Alliance Leader!"

"Just the other day, I broke through to the Postnatal Late Stage while I was abroad, thinking I'd surprise my grandfather when I returned. And what happens? He tells me you were chosen instead?"

"I'd really like to know, on what grounds were you possibly selected!"

Chen Haiming was incredibly indignant. He had practiced martial arts for so many years with the sole goal of inheriting Chen Xiong's mantle and securing the position of Martial Alliance Leader. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until twenty-nine, the age limit for the competition, to participate.

But he had never imagined that Xu Ke would emerge out of nowhere and snatch the qualification right from under him. How could he possibly accept that?

If Xu Ke hadn't been the one his grandfather had chosen, he would have had him assassinated to solve the problem once and for all.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ke understood immediately. So Chen Xiong doesn't even know his grandson broke through to the Postnatal Late Stage.

"Did your grandfather not tell you that I, too, am at the Postnatal Late Stage?" Xu Ke asked, the corners of his mouth holding a faint smile, his calm demeanor unruffled.

"Of course I know that," Chen Haiming sneered in reply.

"But how could your Postnatal Late Stage possibly compare to mine?"

"I grew up practicing under the tutelage of famous masters and the direct supervision of my grandfather."

"Do you think some self-taught trash like you could ever compare?"

Of course, he'd heard of Xu Ke's accomplishments. Defeating an Innate Maestro? Instantly killing someone at Innate Great Perfection? So what?

Having just broken through to the Postnatal Late Stage, Chen Haiming was unbelievably full of himself. He was convinced that if he hadn't been in seclusion, he would have accomplished such feats long ago. That was precisely why he had come looking for Xu Ke. He would defeat him with ease and prove his own strength to Chen Xiong.

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