Xu Ke's words were too venomous.

Ye Fan had accused him of just running his mouth.

Xu Ke responded by simply presenting the facts.

Every sentence was like slapping Ye Fan across the face with the truth.

You call me a lowly commoner?

What about you, the so-called superiors?

Spineless cowards! Nothing more.

And you? You say I'm all talk?

Yet your cultivation hasn't even reached the Innate Middle Stage.

On this point, Xu Ke held the most critical advantage.

I mock you with my cultivation level.

In terms of cultivation, you can only be mocked.

Ye Fan's face turned livid, his expression fierce and twisted. "Xu Ke, you're asking for death!"

"Is that the only line you know?" Xu Ke said indifferently. "Aren't you tired of it?"

At this point, Ye Fan was too consumed by rage to think straight. He was no longer in a position to steamroll Xu Ke as he had when Xu Ke first entered the room.

And Huang Zhenyang's expression was even more unsightly.

This Ye Fan is too incompetent. A few words and he's left speechless. What a waste!

Huang Sheng knew that Ye Fan had targeted Xu Ke upon his arrival not just to vent his anger on his brother's behalf, but also to slap Huang Sheng in the face. It was as if to say, "You, Huang Sheng, claim that Xu Ke is formidable and must be treated with caution? I'm going to prove you wrong."

So, Ye Fan wasn't just trying to humiliate Xu Ke; he was also mocking Huang Sheng.

But now, Ye Fan had failed. It was Xu Ke's turn to have the upper hand.

Seeing this, Huang Sheng knew he had to speak up. Otherwise, their Ye and Huang families would lose face in today's life-or-death duel before it even began.

At that moment, Huang Sheng, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "Xu Ke, you've said so much. Let me ask you, have you put out the fire in your own backyard?"

At his words, Wong Qifu glanced at Huang Sheng. They all knew he was referring to the scandal that had been exposed the previous night.

Hearing this, Xu Ke, who had already anticipated they would bring this up, tilted his head. "A fire in my backyard is still better than the shit stuck to yours."

"Oh?" Huang Sheng replied with a faint smile.

"I'll leave it at that," Xu Ke said. He then gave a slight smile of his own and fell silent, elaborating no further.

Huang Sheng's expression didn't change, but his mind started racing.

He rapidly reviewed his past, wondering if he had left any loose ends that Xu Ke might have caught on to.

And with that, after being dismissed with just a couple of sentences from Xu Ke, Huang Sheng fell quiet.

The entire scene quieted down. The expressions on the faces of Huang Zhenyang and the others were grim. Even Huang Sheng had been shut down so easily by Xu Ke? They had been utterly humiliated today.

While Xu Ke's expression remained unchanged, he was thinking…

How the hell would I know what kind of shit is stuck to Huang Sheng's ass? I was just bluffing. From our negotiations four days ago, I got a read on his personality. According to his way of thinking, he'll try to find a motive behind my every word to identify his own vulnerabilities. So… I decided to exploit that. What I really wanted to say to him was… Go on and rack your brains over it!

At this moment, Ouyang Shuang spoke up. "Xu Ke, it seems you haven't improved at all in the past four days."

A smirk touched the corner of her mouth. She had been observing Xu Ke from the very beginning. She always assumed Xu Ke possessed some heaven-defying cultivation technique and might have forcefully broken through to the Postnatal Late Stage in the last four days. But up to now, she hadn't sensed any aura from him beyond the Innate Middle Stage.

The man hasn't changed one bit in four days.

Ouyang Shuang was relieved.

True Qi is everything. Even if you have earth-shattering abilities or moves with astonishing power, this Inner Armor I borrowed from Chang Yi is enough to withstand it all. And my absolute power will be enough to send you, Xu Ke, straight to hell.

Xu Ke smiled. "Ouyang Shuang, so you also like to engage in trash talk before a fight, just like them?"

As for not having a breakthrough, Xu Ke had already come to terms with it. He naturally wouldn't be affected by her taunt.

Ouyang Shuang snorted coldly and said no more. She didn't dare to continue, afraid that Xu Ke would seize the opportunity to vex her. That would be a major loss she couldn't afford.

Just then, another large gate to the martial arena was pushed open.

Chen Xiong and two bodyguards in black suits walked in.

"Elder Chen!"

"Alliance Hierarch."

The crowd greeted him in unison.

"Good," Chen Xiong nodded, then continued, "Is everyone here? We can begin the inspection."

The inspection was to ensure neither side was carrying firearms.

"Not yet," Huang Zhenyang stood up. "Huang Qi hasn't arrived."

"He's here," Wang Wu spoke up, before Chen Xiong could even ask the Wang Family.

Following his words, two people walked in from outside, escorting a fatigued-looking Huang Qi.

Huang Qi's face was somewhat emaciated, and he was still in a state of utter confusion. He had been locked away in the villa by the Wang Family for over four days, and every single minute had been an agonizing torment.

After all, he knew nothing. He certainly didn't know about the life-or-death duel. Of course the Wang Family wasn't going to tell him. He didn't even know if Ye Chen had ultimately died or not; as far as he knew, Ye Chen was supposed to have been released. So, for four days, he had been hovering on the brink of death and a total breakdown, tormented until he looked like neither a human nor a ghost.

Now, he was finally seeing people again—and they were from the Huang Family. Huang Qi immediately grew excited, thinking the Huang Family had finally come to rescue him.

"Fourth Uncle, Huang Sheng!" Huang Qi exclaimed excitedly.

But what sent an instant chill through his heart was Huang Zhenyang's cold snort. "You picked a fine time to show up."

What Huang Zhenyang was actually thinking was that if the Wang Family had failed to deliver Huang Qi on time, he would have definitely raised a fuss. Huang Qi's timely arrival felt like swallowing a fly.

Huang Qi's eyes widened.

Why would he say that?

The next moment, he understood.

"Have Huang Qi take a seat at the life-or-death gallery. His fate will be decided after the duel between Ouyang Shuang and Xu Ke is concluded," Chen Xiong said indifferently. "Next, begin the inspection for firearms."

"Life-or-death duel?"

"Life-or-death gallery?"

Huang Qi stared in a daze, and then his face drained of all color. As the young master of the Huang Family, he knew exactly what this meant.

His life had been thrown out as a bargaining chip.

"Huang Sheng, Huang Zhenyang, you bastards!" Huang Qi roared. "What did you do with my life?! Did you motherfuckers plan to send me to my death from the very beginning?"

His face was a mask of fury, vicious resentment, and utter disbelief. He had finally seen the light of day, thinking the Huang Family had rescued him. And in return? His life had already been tossed away?

"Shut up!" Huang Zhenyang retorted with a cold snort. "You're useless, only good for causing trouble! If you hadn't gotten yourself caught, would we need to be cleaning up this mess for you?"

He was extremely dissatisfied with Huang Qi. If Huang Qi had just killed Xu Ke that day, none of this would be happening. It's all because this punk is useless.

"You…" Huang Qi stared, his face a picture of disbelief.

At that moment, Chen Xiong's voice cut through the air. "Silence."

He hadn't been present earlier, so he had let the two factions argue as they pleased. But now that he was here, Huang Qi still dared to be so impudent?

Does he really think I, the Martial Alliance Leader, am just a decoration?

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