After Chen Xiong finished speaking, it should have been a moment for applause and dismissal, but an eerie silence fell over the crowd below the stage.

No one clapped. They just looked at each other in utter disbelief. And that's it? Did Wong Ting's whole scheme just collapse like that? How utterly humiliating for Jin Hankang!

They were all watching Jin Hankang, waiting to see if the retired elder would object to the results of the drawing. If Jin Hankang were to oppose it, they would then consider whether to follow suit.

At that moment, Chen Xiong understood perfectly that this group was waiting to see if Jin Hankang would acknowledge the outcome. He turned his head and looked at Jin Hankang. "Elder Jin, may I ask if you think we can conclude now?"

Jin Hankang stared back at Chen Xiong. After a long moment, he took a deep breath. "Of course."

No matter how unwilling he was, he couldn't possibly overturn a result produced by the very lottery system he himself had introduced. If he did, that eager Xu Ke down below would surely make his life miserable.

Didn't I just champion fairness and justice? Why would I go back on my word now? Xu Ke would surely throw those words right back at me.

Seeing that Jin Hankang had finally conceded, the audience below the stage began to applaud sporadically. Their expressions were strange, however, as if they were constipated.

***

After the applause, the crowd slowly began to file out of the Martial Alliance headquarters.

When Qian Jun rose to his feet, the look of fury was gone from his face. He stared at Xu Ke and said coldly, "You think you've won?"

"So what if it was a lottery?" he continued. "At most, it just means we have to expend a little more effort. But in the actual competition, I can still eliminate you effortlessly! Just you wait. I will crush your head beneath my feet."

Hearing this, Xu Ke simply nodded. "Good! Remember to tell Wong Qiang and the other two to get ready."

Qian Jun's expression darkened. With a cold snort, he turned and left without a backward glance. Su Ximing and Zhao Xiangping shot Xu Ke a vicious look before hurrying to follow Qian Jun out.

***

In the blink of an eye, only members of the Tianhai Martial Alliance remained in the grand hall.

Xu Ke walked up to the stage, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at Jin Hankang and Peng Hetong. "Thank you, Elder Jin, for drawing such a great lot for me."

"Hmph!" Jin Hankang refused to even look at him.

Undeterred, Xu Ke turned to the pale-faced Peng Hetong. "Chief Peng, you worked hard running around today, too."

Peng Hetong, who had expected an attack, was taken aback by the comment and subconsciously replied, "It's… it's nothing…"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Peng Hetong noticed the look in Jin Hankang's eyes had changed! Only then did he realize what was happening. Xu Ke's feigned gratitude was actually a move to cement the "fact" that Peng Hetong had helped him!

He hurriedly tried to explain, "No, that's not right!"

But Xu Ke paid him no mind, turning his back to walk toward Yuan Shang and Chen Xiong, leaving Jin Hankang gritting his teeth. "Bastard!"

Not many people knew about the lottery program in advance. The only ones with close access to it were Peng Hetong and the technical department. Seeing Xu Ke's attitude now, how could Jin Hankang not understand…

I, a mighty dragon crossing the river, have been outmaneuvered by Xu Ke colluding with Peng Hetong!

Peng Hetong was on the verge of tears. "Elder Jin, please, let me explain…"

If Jin Hankang didn't believe him, all his dreams of promotion would be shattered.

"Get out!" Jin Hankang roared.

***

「In the office.」

"Kid, how did you do it?" Yuan Shang laughed heartily, slapping Xu Ke on the shoulder.

Xu Ke smiled. "I got a tip beforehand. I had Uncle Hua bring my people over to invade your Martial Alliance intranet and tamper with their program."

"Well done!" Yuan Shang clapped his hands. "You really had the foresight! That old bastard's face was green when he left. I finally got to vent some of my frustration!"

Chen Xiong was also full of praise. "We really owe you this time. Otherwise, the Tianhai Martial Alliance's reputation would have been completely ruined."

It was bad enough that Wong Ting had blatantly stuffed more than a dozen extra contestants into their tournament. If they had also been manipulated on their own turf, Chen Xiong truly felt he would have lost all honor as the Martial Alliance Leader.

"It's nothing, Grandpa Chen," Xu Ke said with a smile.

"Alright, you should go back and prepare. I won't keep you," Yuan Shang said earnestly. "Tomorrow's opponents aren't strong, but we don't know what other tricks they have up their sleeves. Don't let your guard down."

Xu Ke nodded. "I know."

***

Xu Ke left through the Martial Alliance's back exit, a passageway known only to internal members of the Tianhai branch. When he stepped outside, Feng Wei and Hua Xingxue were waiting for him.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Hua," Xu Ke said.

"It was nothing. It's what I ought to do," Hua Xingxue replied, waving his hand with a look of pure exhilaration. Clearly, he had already heard what happened inside.

"Feng Wei, you worked hard, too," Xu Ke said with a smile.

Feng Wei shook his head. "There was no need to crack the intranet. A direct intrusion was enough. A trivial matter."

Xu Ke, accustomed to Feng Wei's nonchalant demeanor, cleared his throat. "Alright then, let's head back."

"Okay."

***

After returning to the Junyue Residence, Xu Ke received a call from Huang Sheng.

"How did you do it?"

The moment he answered, Xu Ke heard Huang Sheng's flustered and frustrated voice. He was calling to interrogate him.

"Is something wrong?" Xu Ke asked with a light laugh.

"Still playing dumb? All I did was put Qian Jun and his men in the same bracket. What's the problem?"

Huang Sheng's voice cracked. "Didn't I only give you the method to change the result *once*?"

The Huang Family had taken a fall this time, too.

Originally, Huang Sheng had told Xu Ke about a loophole in the program: forcibly extending the draw time would change the assigned opponent. Huang Sheng's thinking was that if Xu Ke knew this loophole, he could forcibly change his opponent once. This would allow him to avoid the grim outcome of facing three Postnatal Late Stage powerhouses. With Xu Ke's skills, this would significantly lower the difficulty of placing in the top three. And after Xu Ke interfered once, Jin Hankang would surely learn his lesson and prevent it from happening again. This way, the Huang Family could enjoy the resources that came with Xu Ke representing Tianhai in the top three without disrupting Wong Ting's plans.

Who could have known? The moment Xu Ke discovered Jin Hankang intended to use the program to manipulate his fate, he had Feng Wei reverse it outright. He not only smashed Jin Hankang's scheme but also completely upended the Huang Family's careful calculations.

"There's really no difference between changing it once or three times," Xu Ke said with a cheerful smile. "Speaking of which, I should thank you for the tip. I'll have to treat you to a meal when I get the chance."

Huang Sheng was genuinely fuming now. "You bastard…"

"Don't curse at me. I was nice enough not to rat you out to Jin Hankang," Xu Ke chuckled. "Right now, they're all suspecting Peng Hetong. If you keep cursing me, I can't guarantee you won't get a call from Wong Ting yourself!"

BEEP.

Huang Sheng had hung up, unable to stomach another word.

Xu Ke put his phone away, the corner of his mouth curling into a smirk.

The Huang Family wanted to reap all the benefits without suffering any of the consequences? As if. Since they'd practically served themselves up on a silver platter, it would be an insult not to take advantage of them.