Seeing that Grayfist didn't get angry on the spot, the two players let out a sigh of relief. Like their feet had been greased, they quickly stood up and left.

Not long after, they came back with Black Blade and brought him before Grayfist.

Once they led Black Blade into the room, the two of them wisely turned around and left right away.

Black Blade, of course, didn't treat himself like an outsider at all. After entering Grayfist's room, he casually looked around at the furnishings and praised as he spoke.

"Yo, not bad. Looks pretty good."

"Didn't expect you to have such taste."

Saying that, he found a comfortable spot and sat down.

Seeing this, Grayfist couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

"You really don't see yourself as an outsider, do you?"

"Want me to pour you a cup of tea too? Maybe bring out some fruit?"

Hearing that, Black Blade grinned. "Well, I wouldn't say no."

Grayfist couldn't stand it anymore, the way Black Blade was still being slick with his words was seriously testing his patience.

He didn't want to waste any more time talking. He went straight to the point.

"Cut the crap. I hate people who play games."

"What do you want?"

After that, Grayfist paused for a moment, then continued.

"I'm not accepting negotiations."

"I'm not like Steve. I'm not that easily swayed, and I won't throw away my pride."

"Face it. Just because you convinced Steve doesn't mean you can convince me."

Since Black Blade came to the base alone, it obviously meant he was here for negotiations.

Grayfist knew that perfectly well, so before Black Blade could even speak, he blocked that path right away.

Hearing Grayfist's words, Black Blade raised his eyebrows slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into a teasing smile.

"Looks like Steve left quite an impression on you."

That sentence stabbed into Grayfist's heart like a thorn, and his face instantly darkened. He glared at Black Blade, eyes blazing with anger.

"Seems like you really mind his 'betrayal,' huh?" Black Blade went on, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.

Grayfist had never been able to let go of Steve's decision to side with Black Blade, his heart was full of resentment and unwillingness.

And now, Black Blade deliberately brought it up, like he was mocking Grayfist's failure.

That was adding fuel to the fire. Grayfist couldn't stand it anymore.

He suddenly stood up, strode over to Black Blade, pulled out a sharp enchanted diamond sword from his backpack, and pressed it against Black Blade's neck without hesitation.

"Recognize your situation!" Grayfist gritted his teeth, his voice filled with cold determination.

"Steve's already been sent out by me. I don't mind sending you along with him."

His gaze was icy and firm, and the enchanted diamond sword gleamed with cold light, as if it could slice through Black Blade's throat at any second.

But Black Blade didn't panic in the slightest. Instead, he smiled calmly and looked back at Grayfist.

"No need to get so worked up."

He chuckled, lifted the sword from his neck with his hand, and looked at Grayfist again.

"By the way, are you really not planning to change your guards?"

"I was already at your front gate before anyone thought to surround me."

"Your security is pretty lousy, you know."

Black Blade's words hit another sore spot.

Grayfist had already been furious about the two guards who failed their post, and now Black Blade's comment was salt in the wound.

"You trying to teach me how to do my job?"

"My subordinates aren't yours to criticize."

"Quit running your mouth! What the hell do you want?!"

Grayfist was already a hot-tempered, impatient man. He had no tolerance for long-winded, nagging talk.

If it had been anyone else acting like this, maybe he could've held back, but this was Black Blade standing in front of him.

Although Grayfist had always seen Steve as his strongest rival, ever since the first Divine Domain Tournament, he had to admit that another name had joined that list, Black Blade.

When they fought back then, Black Blade's ferocious offense had pressed him so hard that Grayfist barely had room to breathe.

That image of Black Blade, the "River God" wielding twin axes, was deeply etched in Grayfist's mind.

Even long after the tournament ended, Grayfist often dreamed of the "River God" swinging his twin axes at him.

Still, Grayfist never truly hated Black Blade.

After all, during that competition, he had personally experienced Black Blade's overwhelming strength.

He wasn't the kind of man to hold grudges. He wouldn't treat someone as an enemy just because they were stronger than him.

On the contrary, he saw that difference as a challenge, something that pushed him to grow stronger.

To him, fighting Black Blade was like taking a valuable lesson. Before that, his fighting style was mainly about attacking first.

But compared to Black Blade's, his aggression was mild.

Black Blade's bold, all-out style had given him lots of new insights, he really had learned a lot from it.

So even though he lost that first tournament, Grayfist didn't feel hatred toward Black Blade.

The real reason his attitude changed later… was Steve.

Steve had always been Grayfist's inner demon.

But no matter what, Grayfist was confident in his strength.

He never thought he was worse than anyone.

Even when Black Blade's relentless attacks left him breathless, he didn't think he was any weaker.

Because a lot of what made Black Blade dangerous wasn't about technique, it was about mindset.

Grayfist just hadn't thought of that approach yet. It wasn't that he couldn't do it.

And once he learned it, he quickly turned that same style against Black Blade.

In the end, the "River God" Black Blade still fell to the twin axes Grayfist handed to Steve.

So, in Grayfist's eyes, he, Steve, and Black Blade were all equals in strength.

After that tournament, Grayfist believed that if he and Steve worked together, they could absolutely stand against Black Blade.

And he always thought that when Steve had to choose between him and Black Blade, Steve would stand with him.

After all, they had once fought side by side and defeated Black Blade together.

But reality proved him dead wrong. Steve gave him a painful lesson.

Normally, Steve's "betrayal" should've been Steve's fault.

But somehow, Grayfist kept shifting most of the blame onto Black Blade.

Just like how most people, after finding out their partner cheated, first blame the "third party."

But in truth, a fly doesn't land on an uncracked egg, the one who cheats is always the real problem.

Clearly, Grayfist never realized that.

To him, sending Steve out of the Trial Grounds was already punishment enough.

But that punishment didn't heal his wounds, so he turned his anger toward the "third party," Black Blade.

Now, standing face-to-face with that "third party," there was no way Grayfist could stay calm.

The fact that he hadn't attacked yet already took serious restraint.

Hearing Grayfist's words, Black Blade shrugged, then put on an innocent face and looked at him.

"I don't get it. Why are you mad at me?"

"First of all, Steve was the one who approached me."

"Second, I never persuaded him to do anything."

"And lastly, I never tried to recruit him. Every choice he made was entirely his own."

Then Black Blade spread his hands, looking helpless.

"Emotionally and logically speaking, I had no reason to refuse him, right?"

He lifted his eyes toward Grayfist and added, "When he wanted to join your side, you didn't refuse him either, did you?"

What he said… almost sounded like he was implying, "He came onto me first."

But that was the truth, Black Blade was just stating facts.

Of course, Grayfist couldn't stand hearing that.

Especially that last line, "When he wanted to join your side, you didn't refuse him either, did you?"

That one hit like a heavy blow.

Because back then, Steve did join Grayfist's side, but that wasn't Steve's idea.

Grayfist was the one who went to Steve and offered to "take him in."

In other words, Grayfist was the one who made the first move. Steve only accepted his offer.

That was completely different from Steve taking the initiative to join Black Blade later.

When Steve went to Black Blade, he was the one who asked to join.

That fact alone was brutal, it meant Steve didn't really "cheat" at all.

The truth was, Grayfist had never been one of Steve's options.

Even when he accepted Grayfist's offer before, he probably just saw Grayfist as a "backup plan."

Now, hearing Black Blade say all this, Grayfist clenched his fists tight. He wanted to punch him, badly, but he couldn't find a reason.

Because everything Black Blade said was watertight.

There was nothing wrong with it.

Grayfist truly had no reason to blame him, and that, more than anything, made him furious.

He took several deep breaths before finally forcing his anger down.

Just as he was about to speak, Black Blade beat him to it.

"I know where your anger comes from."

"You, Steve, and I, we're the top players among players."

"All three of us have our pride. None of us ever thought someone else was better."

"You think Steve doesn't have pride? His fame's way bigger than ours."

"But have you ever thought about why he chose me?"

Before Grayfist could respond, Black Blade asked again.

"Do you really think he joined me just to win the trial?"

"Even if we really did win, the one who'd actually get the reward wouldn't be him, right?"

Hearing that, Grayfist froze a little. After a moment of thought, he didn't argue.

He'd asked Steve the same thing before, even if Steve joined Black Blade, at best he'd just be another follower taking orders.

He'd have no say in how the Trial Grounds were managed or in any of the decisions.

So even if Xu Yuan's faction did win the Trial Grounds, the only real beneficiary would be Xu Yuan himself.

Steve joining that camp… at most, he'd just get a sip of the leftover soup.