While Ye Yunfeng and the others negotiated last night, Xu Ke hadn't been idle. He had already shared his plans with Yuan Shang, otherwise, Yuan Shang wouldn't have been able to coordinate with him so effectively.

"Of course," Xu Ke said with a smile. "Otherwise, why would I let Li Lang go for no reason? I'd be taking a loss."

Yuan Shang couldn't help but shake his head. After having someone killed and letting Li Lang take the fall for it, how could he possibly claim to be at a loss? This guy definitely won't rest until he has completely ruined both the Ye and Huang families. But he had to admit, he was excited and eager to see what Xu Ke would accomplish. After all, the Ye Family had offended him long ago.

...

Xu Ke went upstairs to Lin Zhongtian's office and handed him the antidote before heading to the meeting room.

Upon entering, Xu Ke found that Li Lang was already seated off to one side, while the main seats had three reserved spots. One was for Lin Zhongtian, who was temporarily handling Chen Xiong's duties, and the other two were for Yuan Shang and Peng Hetong.

After walking in, Xu Ke greeted Li Lang. "How did you sleep?"

"F-Fine..." Li Lang replied timidly.

Xu Ke smiled and said no more. He wasn't there to participate in any judgment today; he was merely a spectator. After the brief exchange, Xu Ke and Tang Yingchang found a cool spot to sit down.

A short while later, everyone else began to arrive. As they entered, they saw Xu Ke resting on the side with his eyes closed. The sight caused both Ye Chong and Huang Sheng's expressions to darken.

It had to be said that no matter how many underhanded schemes the Ye and Huang families had against each other privately, on the surface, they were united against the Wang Family and Xu Ke. They never imagined that they would be sitting on opposing sides today, forced to confront each other under Xu Ke's watchful eye.

How ironic is that?! They were furious.

Even though they had settled matters in private, the sight of himself sitting face-to-face with Huang Zhendong under Xu Ke's observation infuriated Ye Yunfeng. He felt that in Xu Ke's eyes, he and Huang Zhendong looked like a pair of monkeys!

And indeed, when Xu Ke opened his eyes and saw Ye Yunfeng and Huang Zhendong sitting opposite each other with gloomy faces, he thought they looked exactly like monkeys.

Apart from those two, Li Shichuan was also present. He cast a complicated glance at Li Lang but said nothing.

Just then, a voice seething with rage came from the side. "Xu Ke, you piece of filth, you still have the nerve to show up?!"

Xu Ke lifted his eyes. It was Kang Chenghua.

Seeing the murderously fierce man, Xu Ke let out a cold laugh. "Kang Family Patriarch, I've long heard your name. I hear you've *also* lost a son?"

Facing the hostile Kang Chenghua, Xu Ke certainly didn't hesitate to rub salt in the wound. But his use of the word "also" was quite deliberate. It not only twisted the knife in Kang Chenghua's wound but also made the faces of Ye Yunfeng, Huang Zhendong, and Li Shichuan turn sour. Yet, none of them dared to make a sarcastic remark. Who among them could win a war of words with Xu Ke?

Kang Chenghua's face turned green. "What did you say?!"

Xu Ke sprinkled more salt. "My apologies, poor choice of words. I meant... has your son passed away? Has he been cremated yet? Be careful with a burial; his grave might get dug up."

Considering this was the man who had kidnapped his family, Xu Ke felt his words were already quite civilized.

"You... you've gone too far!" Kang Chenghua trembled with rage, looking as if he wanted to pounce on Xu Ke and tear the flesh from his bones. In just two sentences, Xu Ke had shattered his composure.

As for the Ye and Huang families, no one intended to speak up for Kang Chenghua. They had all been rational enough upon entering to know not to get into a verbal spat with Xu Ke. Now that Kang Chenghua had come in and practically brought this upon himself, what was there for them to say? Besides, none of them were particularly close with him anyway.

Xu Ke feigned innocence. "Wasn't I just asking a serious question?"

Kang Chenghua looked as though his teeth were about to shatter from grinding them so hard. But he couldn't beat Xu Ke in a fight or a quarrel. Other than standing there and suffering the humiliation, there was truly nothing he could do.

At that moment, Yuan Shang walked in. "Everyone, please take your seats. We're all here now."

Seeing him, Kang Chenghua finally felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He shot a hateful glare at Xu Ke and found a chair to sit down.

Yuan Shang, Lin Zhongtian, and... with a furtive glance, Peng Hetong walked in, still bruised and swollen from the beating Xu Ke had given him two days ago.

At this sight, Ye Yunfeng frowned, glanced at Xu Ke, and his expression grew even darker. How could he be pleased when Peng Hetong, his man inside the Martial Alliance, had been beaten like a pig by Xu Ke, yet Xu Ke remained perfectly fine?

Huang Zhendong also wore an unpleasant expression. Lin Zhongtian, sent by Wong Ting, had publicly declared he would kill Li Lang to ensure justice was served. Wasn't this just Wong Ting helping Xu Ke slap their Huang Family in the face?

But Huang Sheng noticed something was amiss. "Vice Alliance Leader Yuan, isn't Qian Jun here yet?"

At the mention of that name, Xu Ke's eyes flickered.

Just as Yuan Shang was about to explain, a voice came from the doorway. "I'm here."

Qian Jun walked in slowly.

Yuan Shang nodded expressionlessly. "Good. Find a seat."

"Alright." Qian Jun, still in his grey shirt, didn't rush to find a spot. Instead, his gaze fell on Xu Ke. "You're Xu Ke?"

"Hello," Xu Ke replied indifferently.

Qian Jun suddenly taunted, "I heard you're representing Tianhai in the competition?"

Seeing Qian Jun bring this up so abruptly, Yuan Shang's eyes narrowed slightly. Is this guy trying to stir up trouble?

Xu Ke nodded. "That's right."

Upon getting his answer, Qian Jun made no attempt to hide his scorn. "See you at the competition, then. But don't be scared, I won't kill you. I'll just grind your head into the ground and take a picture for Brother Ting to see."

By the end of his statement, his murderous intent was palpable, sending a chill through the air.

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room was in shock. No one had expected Qian Jun to try and intimidate Xu Ke the moment they met. The members of the Ye, Huang, and Kang families immediately broke into gloating smiles. This was an open declaration of war! Threatened by such an exceptional talent from abroad, Xu Ke would likely live in constant fear until the competition.

Because of the poison, Lin Zhongtian didn't dare show his excitement, but he was secretly thrilled. Now that Qian Jun has arrived, Xu Ke is surely doomed!

As for Yuan Shang, his expression slowly darkened. When he and Chen Xiong learned that Wong Ting was sending people to represent other cities, they had been quite displeased. Wasn't this Wong Ting openly trying to undermine the Tianhai Martial Alliance? And they were genuinely worried. Although Xu Ke was undeniably a genius, Qian Jun was also an extremely formidable talent. He was two years older than Xu Ke, and his cultivation was stronger. How could they not be concerned?

Xu Ke looked at Qian Jun with a smile. "Alright, you can rest assured as well... As long as you don't cheat, I guarantee you'll be leaving the stage as a corpse."

His words were filled with undisguised, raw killing intent.

But at this, Qian Jun burst out laughing. "Everyone says you have a sharp tongue, Xu Ke, and today I've seen it for myself. When it comes to bragging, I, Qian Jun, am willing to admit you're the best. Killing me? I think you're living in a dream world, hahaha."

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