After withdrawing his hand, Zhou Qingzhi leaned in and whispered, "Ouyang Hao has to stay at the hospital to look after Qin Ya, so he didn't come."

Xu Ke nodded to show he understood. Whether the Ouyang Family came or not didn't make much difference.

"It's a shame," Zhou Qingzhi added with regret. "It's always livelier with more people. Hao Zi could've come to be your cheerleader and boost your morale."

Xu Ke didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The Family Head of a major clan acting as my cheerleader? What a joke.

Zhou Qingzhi chuckled, then looked around with feigned surprise. "I heard that while I was gone, you…"

Clearly, Zhou Qingzhi was asking about Xu Ke forcing Shi Hongda to injure himself.

Xu Ke nodded. "Look," he said, pointing unabashedly toward the Huang Family's section. "That old geezer is still over there spitting up blood."

Zhou Qingzhi turned his head just in time to meet Shi Hongda's venomous glare. He then saw the man's trembling hand clutching his chest, and he promptly burst out laughing.

Seeing the two of them laughing at him, Shi Hongda nearly erupted with rage. Although he couldn't hear what Xu Ke and Zhou Qingzhi were saying, he could guess the gist of it from Xu Ke's mannerisms.

While Zhou Qingzhi and Xu Ke were chatting, the members of the other families observed them coldly. It wasn't news to them that the Zhou Family had grown close to Xu Ke. They had known ever since the Zhou Family lent their support during Xu Ke's press conference.

But they could understand the Chen Family helping Xu Ke; that was at least justifiable. After all, the Wang Family and Chen Family had a good relationship, and Xu Ke's formidable strength could help Chen Xiong win his matches.

But what ties did the Zhou Family have with Xu Ke? They just couldn't figure it out!

Only Huang Zhendong, standing to the side, had a flicker in his eyes. The evidence was piling up, reinforcing a certain suspicion of his.

「」

Zhou Qingzhi chatted with Xu Ke for a bit longer before leaving. The entire time, Wang Qiya hadn't exchanged a single word with Zhou Yi Yi.

Just because she didn't leave her home didn't mean she was unaware of the situation with Wang Yu. Having learned that it was Zhou Yi Yi's loose talk with Wang Yu that caused the incident from two days ago, Wang Qiya was furious. While it wasn't to the point of severing ties, it was impossible for Zhou Yi Yi to placate her.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi Yi clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly. In the end, she left in silence alongside Zhou Qingzhi. As she departed, she glared at Xu Ke's back, her eyes filled with even greater fury.

It's all his fault!

「」

Besides the Ouyang Family, the Dapeng Trading Company didn't show up either. This was because Duan Chongfeng was from the Duan Family of Long Capital. While his attendance would have been perfectly reasonable, he chose not to come in order to avoid suspicion.

After Xu Ke had rested in his seat for a while, a new group of people suddenly walked in through the nearby entrance, causing a stir. It was a group of middle-aged and elderly men, all full of vigor, with straight postures and dressed in similar jackets. The Martial Alliance Leaders from various regions had arrived.

As they entered, each of them glanced at Xu Ke, who remained seated.

Xu Ke simply smiled, not even bothering to stand, and gave a cheerful wave. "Good morning to all the Alliance Hierarchs!"

As for the rest of the Wang Family, they didn't even spare the newcomers a glance.

"Hmph…"

"So rude."

"I wonder what kind of lowlifes they are..."

"And this Wang Family has no class either!"

The group of leaders sneered. They had also heard about what just happened. They had planned to question Xu Ke one by one as soon as they entered, asking about his injuries, whether he could still fight, and if he planned to withdraw. This was all a pretense of concern, of course. Their real intention was to mock him and regain some face for Jin Hankang and the others.

Who would have thought Xu Ke would provoke them so directly? This enraged them.

But while their rage surged, Xu Ke remained indifferent.

This bunch clearly colluded with Wong Ting to have me replaced, so they're obviously targeting me. Do I really need to be nice to them? Wouldn't that just be asking for humiliation?

Just then, another group entered from the side.

Seeing their leader, Xu Ke turned to Wong Qifu. "I have to go now."

"Go on," Wong Qifu said, her gaze fixed on the newcomers.

As the group entered, their leader stared coldly at both Xu Ke and Wong Qifu. It was Qian Jun. This group was made up of the tournament contestants. Now that they were making their entrance, Xu Ke naturally had to join them in the contestant area.

But just as Xu Ke was about to stand up, Qian Jun suddenly spoke. "Xu Ke, I know you were ambushed. I'll give you a chance to withdraw from the competition now."

"Otherwise," he continued, "I'm afraid you won't even be able to take Wong Qiang's punches."

The bespectacled Wong Qiang stepped forward with a cold sneer, making a show of clenching his fists in front of Xu Ke. He looked nothing like the panicked man from yesterday's draw who had just found out he would be fighting Xu Ke.

Wong Qiang and Qian Jun looked down on Xu Ke with condescension. In their eyes, the seriously injured Xu Ke was already a lamb to the slaughter, ready to be butchered. Jin Hankang had just messaged them, claiming Xu Ke was a spent force.

The fact that he looks so healthy now must be a complete act! In their minds, even a prime Xu Ke might not be able to defeat Qian Jun, let alone a severely injured one... He probably couldn't even get past Wong Qiang. After all, the Ye Family had sent over quite a few 'goodies' last night... Giving Xu Ke a chance to withdraw now is the greatest mercy we can show him!

As the two of them made their threatening remarks, all eyes in the arena focused on them. The spectators' faces showed they were anticipating a good show. They were eager to see what the heavily injured Xu Ke would say in response.

Would he erupt in furious frustration? Or offer a defiant sneer? Either way, it would just be the powerless rage of a man on the brink of death!

But just as the crowd was reveling in his misfortune, eagerly awaiting the drama, Xu Ke ignored Qian Jun completely, continuing his conversation with Wong Qifu. "Alright, I'll head over now."

With that, he walked straight to the contestant area without giving Qian Jun or his group so much as a glance. He had no interest in a war of words with these clowns.

When Xu Ke left, the arena fell deathly silent. The crowd's schadenfreude, Wong Qiang's ferocity, and Qian Jun's sneer all froze on their faces.

The next moment, Qian Jun's face turned green. When he came to his senses, he realized Xu Ke had completely ignored them.

Qian Jun was so furious his teeth itched. He took a deep breath and squeezed the words out from between his teeth, "He's just putting on an act. Pay him no mind."

Wong Qiang bowed his head, his face burning with embarrassment, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into. "...Yes!"

What could possibly be more humiliating than being ignored?

To be ignored like this, in a stadium under the gaze of countless people... The feeling was more agonizing than death itself.

Nearby, the contingent of Martial Alliance Leaders didn't dare say a word, their faces etched with awkwardness.

How incredibly awkward was that?

People in the spectator area were looking down, struggling to contain their laughter. They had expected to see a good show like the one earlier, but what they witnessed was a complete, one-sided social beatdown.

Qian Jun's expression was absolutely priceless!

If they weren't afraid of offending Wong Ting, they would have burst out laughing by now.

Qian Jun took a deep breath, acutely aware of the deathly silent atmosphere and the subtle but focused stares directed at him. Every single one of them was filled with thick mockery.