A faint, weary smile crept onto his face as he shook his head and muttered to himself.

'Turns out they both saw right through me long ago...'

In Grayfist's old mindset, victory or defeat usually depended on the difference in raw strength.

Simply put, only those who spoke with their fists could earn respect.

In his view, it had always been simple, if you could beat me, then you were stronger than me.

Otherwise, why would Black Blade and Steve both call him "elementary school minded"?

Grayfist didn't think he was weaker than Steve or Black Blade in terms of strength, because he felt they were evenly matched.

Besides, his fame was on par with theirs too.

It was precisely because of that thought that when Steve chose Black Blade, Grayfist was furious, because he never once thought he was any worse than Black Blade.

But now, he finally realized why he had lost.

He hadn't lost in strength, he had lost in mentality.

Grayfist's interactions with Steve and Black Blade had been relatively few, and the number of times they actually talked face-to-face definitely didn't exceed five.

His understanding of Steve and Black Blade was mostly limited to their PK techniques and fighting styles.

As for their personalities and state of mind, Grayfist's understanding basically stayed at the surface.

He didn't know what Steve or Black Blade's weaknesses were, nor did he know what they cared about the most.

Before, he didn't bother with those things at all, thinking they didn't matter.

In his eyes, as a man, you should show your strength through real combat, not through scheming or tricks. That was what petty women did.

But what he didn't expect was that, even though they hadn't met many times, Black Blade and Steve had already figured him out completely.

They knew his weaknesses clearly, and knew exactly what he cared about.

What made Grayfist feel powerless was that Steve and Black Blade didn't even need to plan carefully, they could easily lure him into the traps and setups they'd made.

At that moment, he finally admitted defeat, truly and wholeheartedly.

He finally understood why Steve chose Black Blade instead of him as a partner.

Grayfist deeply realized that Black Blade's mentality was far more mature than his own.

When facing complex problems, Black Blade could always think from every angle and find the best solution.

In comparison, Grayfist lacked such a detailed way of thinking.

His mind wasn't meticulous, and his thinking was often incomplete.

That was also why his subordinates often made mistakes when handling affairs, because they didn't have a careful, detail-oriented leader to back them up.

After all, if even the leader himself didn't notice the details, how could he expect his men to?

Thinking of that, Grayfist couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"To have made it this far… now that I think about it, I've really been too lucky..."

With Grayfist's kind of temperament, logically speaking, he should have hit walls everywhere by now.

However, since he entered the game, his progress hadn't been affected by his personality at all.

Relying on his excellent combat skills, he became a PVP expert known among the players.

Not only that, he even successfully founded his own guild, leading it to grow stronger and gain fame.

Now, his guild had become quite large, and was developing well.

All the way up till now, Grayfist had been sailing smoothly, never encountering any true setbacks.

So yes, he was indeed very lucky, if someone had schemed against him earlier, maybe he would've realized all this much sooner.

Still, it was good that he finally understood it now. It wasn't too late.

For Grayfist, this ending was still acceptable.

After all, everything that happened took place in the Trial Grounds, and wouldn't affect anything he had built in the main world.

If this had happened in the main world, Grayfist probably would've never recovered from it.

Thinking that, the gloom in Grayfist's heart cleared away completely, and his mind opened up. From the look of things now, the goddess of luck was still on his side.

After all, everything happened in the Trial Grounds, not the main world, luckily he realized his problem in time.

This defeat didn't cost him all his achievements. His accomplishments, his guild, none of it was affected.

The worst possible outcome was simply that he and his men would get kicked out of the Trial Grounds by Black Blade. Grayfist had never planned to fight Xu Yuan head-on anyway, nor did he ever expect to win the whole Trial.

He stayed only because he wanted to hold on a bit longer, to see how far he could go.

So even if he left a bit earlier, he wouldn't have any regrets.

Thinking that, Grayfist turned to his men with a serious look.

"All of this is my mistake. This situation we're in, it's all caused by me. The responsibility's entirely mine, none of it's on you."

Then he added sincerely, "When the time comes, if he… if Black Blade wants to keep you, then stay with him and do your best."

"Don't even think about revenge or anything like that. Just get along well with his people."

"I can't take you to the end, but maybe he can..."

Grayfist's words were easy to understand, he thought Black Blade's move was meant to wipe them all out.

After all, Steve's men had already hidden their supplies, and those players were nowhere to be found.

They must all be fully armed and waiting in ambush, ready to attack Grayfist's group the moment Black Blade gave the order.

If it had been the old Grayfist, in this situation, he would've definitely fought to the bitter end.

But now he knew, that would be meaningless.

In the past, every decision he made was based purely on his own will, never considering how his men felt.

But now, he finally realized, since these players chose to follow him, and respectfully called him "Boss," then he had the responsibility to take care of them.

It was because of his stubbornness that everyone following him ended up in this mess.

So he absolutely couldn't keep going down the same path, he had to do something to make up for it.

Grayfist knew very well that the reason their group made it this far in the Trial Grounds was thanks to every single member's hard work and effort.

He understood that everyone carried their own ambitions, wanting to go further in this world, wanting to witness the final showdown.

Grayfist wanted to see that too, to witness the birth of the final winner of the Trial Grounds alongside his players.

But as their leader, he knew that if he stayed, Black Blade would inevitably keep doubting both him and his players.

Just like when Steve joined their group, Grayfist had been wary of him every step of the way.

Steve's players must have felt frustrated too during that time.

He didn't want his own players to go through the same thing.

Right now, the only way to make sure his men could stay and not be suspected was for him to leave voluntarily, just like Steve had done before.

That's why he said what he said in front of Steve's captured players.

His words weren't fake, nor were they meant to imply anything. They came straight from his heart.

Grayfist sincerely hoped that after he left, Black Blade would keep his men.

He also truly hoped his players could let go of all schemes and follow Black Blade wholeheartedly to win the Trial together.

At that moment, seeing Grayfist's expression and hearing his tone, his men were completely dumbfounded.

"Wha… what? Is this really Boss?…"

"Oh no, oh no… Boss has lost his mind from the shock!!!!"

"Boss… Boss, what's wrong with you!! Don't scare us like this!!!"

"Boss… just yell at us! Hit us if you have to!! Just don't act like this! You're freaking us out!!"

The moment Grayfist's players finished, Steve's captured players nearby couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing.

Grayfist's team was truly a bunch of atmosphere destroyers. The emotional, heartfelt mood Grayfist had worked so hard to build up was completely ruined.

Grayfist almost rolled his eyes to the heavens, he was speechless toward his men.

In his head, he muttered, "I finally try to be a good boss, and all of you just gotta ruin it for me!"

Grayfist was just about to speak when he suddenly heard the sound of a door opening behind him.

Turning his head, he saw Black Blade walking out.

At that moment, the look on Black Blade's face was priceless, he couldn't even hold back his smirk.

He'd been eavesdropping from the start.

When he heard Grayfist's sincere, selfless words, even he was moved.

For a moment, he felt a rush of "the kid's finally grown up" pride.

Grayfist's self-realization really wasn't easy! Black Blade, the "old father," was nearly in tears.

Originally, he had planned to come out right after Grayfist finished his touching speech, but then he heard the players' reactions.

Black Blade just couldn't hold it anymore, he burst out laughing. Fortunately, the noise from Steve's players covered his voice.

He had already laughed it out once and only came out after he'd calmed down, and even then, the corners of his mouth were still twitching.

Although his amusement was all over his face, Grayfist still didn't notice.

The moment he heard the door open, he had already gotten tense, so he completely missed Black Blade's expression.

After thinking for a moment, Grayfist took a deep breath, looked at Black Blade seriously, and said,

"Just come at me for this. I'll leave the Trial Grounds on my own."

"As for them…"

He glanced at his men, then turned back to Black Blade, a trace of pleading in his eyes.

"They…"

"Could you…"

Grayfist wanted to ask Black Blade to take his players in, but since he had never begged anyone before, he really couldn't get the words out.

That look on Grayfist's face, it truly stunned Black Blade. He had never seen him like this before.

He had to admit, this side of Grayfist was surprisingly endearing.

Seeing that, Black Blade looked at him and said with a smirk, "You want me to take care of your men? Spare me, will you?"

Then, with a sly grin, he added, "But…"

"Taking care of you, that's not impossible."

Black Blade really gave him a taste of his own medicine, his expression now was exactly the same as Grayfist's when he had provoked him earlier.

Hearing that, Grayfist froze for a second, not quite processing what Black Blade meant.

"They're actually not weak at all. It's just me..."

He was about to defend his players, but halfway through, he suddenly realized.

"What…??"

"Take care of me???..."

Grayfist stared at Black Blade, completely in disbelief.