Shi Hongda frowned from behind and warned, "What are you investigating the Medical Saint for? Some people are not for us to investigate."

Hearing this, everyone was startled and looked at Shi Hongda.

"Elder Shi, do we need to be this cautious?"

"Hasn't the Medical Saint vanished from the martial world long ago, leaving behind only some unverifiable legends?"

"He's probably dead by now!"

Huang Zhendong was also a bit baffled. He was a patriarch of one of Tianhai's six great families. Did he really need to be so prudent? In his eyes, the legends of the Medical Saint had circulated for so many years that the man must have died long ago. This was also why Huang Zhendong felt it was possible Xu Ke was a disciple of the Medical Saint. After all, with a background like Xu Ke's, there was no way he could have actually caught the Medical Saint's eye and been accepted as a disciple. It was far more likely that Xu Ke had stumbled upon the Medical Saint's inheritance through sheer luck, thereby obtaining his Martial Path cultivation techniques and medical skills. To Huang Zhendong, this scenario seemed much more plausible!

But at this moment, Shi Hongda sneered. "You are all too young. You never saw the era when the Medical Saint dominated the martial world. Back then, the Martial Alliance was a mere nobody. If you so much as hint at any ill intentions toward the Medical Saint now, do you believe a horde of people wouldn't hunt you down? Dead? You wish!"

With that, Shi Hongda walked forward, saying no more. He didn't care what Huang Zhendong's reasons were for investigating the Medical Saint, but some people were simply off-limits.

Hearing this, Huang Zhendong's expression changed drastically. Dominating the entire Martial Alliance? Just how powerful was this figure?

「At another exit.」

"Family Head, Koo Zuo, who was scheduled to fight Xu Ke this afternoon, has decided to forfeit. He submitted a sick leave request to the Martial Alliance," a middle-aged man reported, standing before Ye Yunfeng. The man's name was Ye Liang, one of Ye Yunfeng's most trusted aides.

Ye Yunfeng's eyes narrowed slightly. "He doesn't even dare to get on stage?"

"These failures! Are they just giving Xu Ke a whole afternoon to rest? This will only allow him more time to delay the poison's onset!"

Ye Yunfeng was furious upon hearing of Koo Zuo's uselessness. Was his medicine wasted? A single pill cost several million!

At his side, Ye Feng gave a wry smile. "Dad, there's nothing to be done. The combat strength Xu Ke displayed this morning was simply too terrifying. It's only natural that Koo Zuo would forfeit; he doesn't want to end up crippled like Wong Qiang..."

Before he could finish, Ye Chong stepped forward with a sneer. "It's fine to say Koo Zuo made the right choice, but there's no need to praise Xu Ke. What's so great about him? He's just at the Postnatal Late Stage. You think we can't handle that?"

At these words, Ye Feng's brows furrowed.

Ye Yunfeng suppressed his anger. "There's no need to argue over something so trivial. Don't bother coming this afternoon. Just wait for Xu Ke's match against Qian Jun tomorrow." Judging by the attitude of Qian Jun's subordinates, they probably figured Xu Ke would sail straight to the finals anyway!

"Yes!"

「Meanwhile.」

As the Ye Family received the news, Xu Ke was also being notified by Yuan Shang and Chen Xiong.

"He forfeited?" Xu Ke raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Koo Zuo to be so spineless. He had put on such a convincing act; did that guy not have any desire to take him down and score an easy win? Besides guarding against Wong Ting, his performance had another purpose: to make Wong Ting's subordinates willing to fight him. That way, he could have crippled at least three of them. Now that Koo Zuo had forfeited, he was one person short. What a shame!

Yuan Shang nodded. "That's right, he forfeited. You'll advance directly to the top four this afternoon. You don't need to come in. Just get some proper rest and focus on your health."

He and Chen Xiong were most worried about Xu Ke's condition. If something happened to Xu Ke, it would be the greatest loss of this competition. In fact, whether Xu Ke made it into the top three was no longer important. With his current formidable strength, he could very well reach the Innate Realm before turning thirty. At that point, an Innate Realm Xu Ke would still be eligible to participate in the Martial Alliance's competitions. For those who still wanted to cause trouble, an Innate Xu Ke would be their worst nightmare! There was no need to rush.

Hearing this, Xu Ke nodded. "Alright, I understand."

Yuan Shang smiled and turned to leave. "I'll be heading out then."

After Yuan Shang left, Xu Ke shook his head slightly. Looks like I have the afternoon off.

「In the afternoon.」

When the audience at the venue finally received the news, a chorus of boos erupted.

What was the point of them coming now? To watch Qian Jun's men engage in some pointless infighting? How boring!

Of course, some people were mocking Koo Zuo for being too cowardly. If he had at least stepped onto the stage, people would have respected him as a man. But he didn't even dare to show up. Pathetic!

At the same time, others secretly sneered at Xu Ke's luck. If Koo Zuo hadn't been terrified by the power Xu Ke unleashed when he instantly defeated and crippled Wong Qiang, how could Xu Ke have entered the top four so easily? He completely lucked his way in!

But no matter what they said, Xu Ke was outside enjoying his unexpected break, ignoring all the drama.

「The next day.」

Xu Ke and his group returned to the stadium. This time, the crowd was buzzing with intense anticipation.

In the upper bracket, only Qian Jun's subordinate, Li Ming, and Xu Ke remained. In the lower bracket, only Qian Jun and another unknown contestant were left. As for Zhao Xiangping, he had been knocked out yesterday afternoon.

"Brother-in-law, does that mean you have to fight two matches today?" Wang Qiya asked, sitting beside Xu Ke.

Wong Qifu had corporation matters to attend to and would only arrive in the afternoon. In the morning, only Tang Yingchang, Wang Qiya, and Xu Ke were present.

Xu Ke laughed. "That's right. One to decide who makes it to the finals, and one for the final ranking."

Just then, Qian Jun and his group walked in through a nearby entrance. As their eyes met, hostility flared between the two sides.

"You got lucky advancing to the top four yesterday. You must have been secretly gloating all night, weren't you?" Zhao Xiangping couldn't control his foul mouth and started taunting him immediately.

Xu Ke met his words with a faint smile. "You're the ones who decided to forfeit. I don't need to gloat in secret. I can celebrate openly."

"Coward!"

At this, Zhao Xiangping's face stiffened, and he shot a vicious glare at Koo Zuo, who shrank back and subconsciously retreated a few steps.

Just as Zhao Xiangping was about to say more, Qian Jun waved his hand, stopping him.

"There's no need to waste words on a dead man," Qian Jun said coolly. Then, enduring Wang Qiya's hateful stare, he addressed Xu Ke. "Whether you're poisoned or not doesn't matter. On the contrary, I hope you win your morning match quickly and decisively. I hope you can maintain your peak condition for our battle this afternoon. Otherwise, I'm afraid today will become the nightmare of your life. Because this afternoon, I will crush you under my foot like a dog."