Qian Jun's voice was soft, devoid of killing intent or cruelty. Yet, anyone could easily detect the sheer disdain he held for Xu Ke, along with a lofty arrogance in his tone.

How could an ordinary person from Shan City possibly compare to a genius like him, born into a Martial Path family and accustomed to cutting a swath through all obstacles alongside a chosen one like Wong Ting? Clearly, it's impossible. From his very bones, Qian Jun looked down on Xu Ke! A different origin meant a different destiny. He, Qian Jun, believed he could reach the pinnacle of the world. Xu Ke is just a stumbling block on his long road to the summit. In his eyes, the best Xu Ke could ever do was engage in petty squabbles within Tianhai's small pond. How could a sparrow understand the ambition of a swan? Their visions are different, so their realms are inevitably different too. Xu Ke isn't qualified to stand on the same competitive platform as him.

Even though Xu Ke had embarrassed him several times, Qian Jun still looked down on him. This was because Xu Ke had never defeated him through sheer strength. This conviction was ingrained in his subconscious: Xu Ke was not his opponent!

He not only despised Xu Ke but also felt that Wong Ting was making a mountain out of a molehill. All this trouble, sending Sun Luo, Wong Qiang, and the others, one after another, only to have Xu Ke make fools of them, and letting Xu Ke delude himself into thinking he's powerful—what's the point? In Qian Jun's eyes, dealing with trash like Xu Ke should be as simple as crushing him underfoot. There was no need to waste time.

But he was Wong Ting's subordinate, so he could only obey orders. Now, he had finally reached the moment where he could personally stomp Xu Ke into the dust!

After Qian Jun finished speaking, his men behind him all shot contemptuous sneers at Xu Ke.

That's right! The boss is right, this guy is a dead man walking. So what if he made it to the finals? He's bound to be crushed under our boss's foot. We don't need to waste our breath arguing with him. We just have to wait until this afternoon and watch the boss defeat him with pure power!

Seeing this, Wang Qiya's eyes darkened. She was just about to lash out when Xu Ke held up a hand to stop her. He then looked at Qian Jun and smiled. "If you have more to say, go on. I'll give you the chance."

Seeing that Xu Ke had abandoned even his sharpest weapon—trash-talking—and was simply letting him speak, a thought suddenly struck Qian Jun. He knew Xu Ke's previous taunts were all backed by confidence. Knowing he could control the lottery results gave him the confidence to oppose Jin Hankang during the drawing ceremony. Knowing he could defeat Wong Qiang and Koo Zuo gave him the confidence to ignore them and let the facts speak for themselves.

But now, Xu Ke wasn't retorting!

What does this mean? It means Xu Ke knows he has no confidence in defeating me. He probably can't even beat Li Ming… What could cause such a situation? The poison must be taking effect!

At this thought, Qian Jun, believing his logic to be flawless, let out a laugh. "What, you don't even dare to refute me now?"

"It's not that I don't want to; I just want to give you more of a chance to perform," Xu Ke said with a faint smile. "I'm afraid that after today, you won't dare to open your mouth again."

"Because eating your words after talking so big really hurts," Xu Ke finished.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then they erupted into laughter, their voices dripping with mockery. "HAHAHA…"

"Does he even know what he's saying?"

"Eating his words? Talking big?"

"Xu Ke, do you get it? My boss isn't the one talking big; you are, with that attitude of yours."

"You know it hurts to be put in your place? Well, with the way you look right now, it's going to hurt you even more!"

Qian Jun laughed as well, looking smug. "Look at yourself. It's truly the impotent rage of the weak."

He clicked his tongue, shook his head, and said no more, turning to walk back to the contestant area. Zhao Xiangping and Su Ximing followed behind him, walking with a pompous swagger, as if they weren't the same people who had been staggering and hunchbacked the day before.

After Qian Jun and his group left, many in the spectator area began to murmur among themselves.

"Did Xu Ke just lose the argument?"

"To win an argument, your fists need to be hard enough."

"His fists aren't hard enough right now. How could he possibly win against Qian Jun?"

"Just look at his face, the poison is about to fully erupt. Tsk, tsk… Forget this afternoon, he might not even win his upcoming match against Li Ming."

The sounds of ridicule echoed around him, but Xu Ke turned a deaf ear. Beside him, Wang Qiya was fuming. "Brother-in-law, why didn't you humiliate them back?" Xu Ke usually wouldn't let things slide so easily.

"Save your energy. Be patient," Xu Ke said with a soft smile. "I've wasted so much time, putting on an act and spreading false news, all for the sole purpose of cutting off one of Wong Ting's arms."

"What are a few taunts?"

Wang Qiya's temper flared. "But…" This is too humiliating!

Xu Ke simply shook his head. In the end, Wang Qiya had no choice but to drop it.

At that moment, Yuan Shang approached from nearby. "Xu Ke…"

"What's up?"

"How are you feeling?" Yuan Shang asked, leaning in and lowering his voice.

Xu Ke smiled. "Great!"

"Be serious!" Yuan Shang was getting anxious. He had seen the exchange between Xu Ke and Qian Jun. Normally, Xu Ke's words alone could insult that group until their ancestors rolled in their graves, but now he didn't even have the energy to argue. Something was clearly wrong.

Seeing his concern, Xu Ke rubbed his nose and said vaguely, "It should be enough to deal with Li Ming."

The moment he said that, Yuan Shang's expression changed drastically.

'Should be enough' to fight Li Ming, who's only at the Innate Middle Stage? The old Xu Ke could cripple a drugged-up Wong Qiang with a single kick and pin Lin Zhongtian to the ground for a beatdown. For him to say something like this now… how could I not be worried?

After a moment's thought, Yuan Shang gritted his teeth. "Alliance Leader Chen and I discussed it all night. Don't push yourself. We can forget about the top three. We're already in the top four, and that's good enough!"

He had decided to have Xu Ke withdraw. If the poison from the Ghost Poison Elders fully erupted on stage, allowing Li Ming to cripple or even kill him, it would be the greatest loss of all.

Many in the arena noticed the commotion. Seeing Yuan Shang's genuine anxiety and recalling Xu Ke's earlier behavior, the crowd came to a realization.

Xu Ke is really in trouble!

This thought made them even more curious about the upcoming matches. How exactly is Xu Ke going to lose?

Hearing Yuan Shang's words, Xu Ke's expression changed. Withdraw now? Absolutely not!

He looked up and placed a hand on Yuan Shang's arm. "Don't worry, I have a method."

"We can't risk it," Yuan Shang paled. Xu Ke's words didn't sound right at all.

"I have a method"? What kind of method? One that burns his life force to delay the poison? Or one that grants a temporary burst of incredible power? These are all methods that amount to drinking poison to quench thirst, burning his future to survive the present. They are all paths to death!