Hearing this, the Dali Realm Lord nearly laughed out loud. The speaker was none other than Zhang Boyuan of the Ten Elders—Zhang Yang’s grandfather.

Zhang Boyuan glared, his voice tight. "You..."

"Are you asking why I didn’t step up?" Ning Xuan cut in. "By all rights, I should have. But Zang Peng just told me his opponents were too weak, so he decided to join Zhang Yang for another round."

As soon as Ning Xuan finished speaking, Zang Peng was completely dumbstruck. I was just enjoying the show... and now the drama is about me! Damn it! When did I ever say that?! That bastard Ning Xuan is getting better and better at lying through his teeth!

"Zang Peng only just fought a moment ago, and he agreed. You shouldn’t have a problem with it, right?" While Zang Peng was still in a daze, Ning Xuan had already turned to look at Zhang Yang.

What the hell?! When did I agree?! Zang Peng finally came to his senses, utterly baffled.

But at that very moment, Zhang Yang readily agreed. "I can!"

With things having reached this point, what else could Zang Peng say? He might as well get on with it. Then again, what Ning Xuan said was technically true. My opponents really haven’t posed a challenge.

But very soon, Zang Peng wanted nothing more than to strangle Ning Xuan. The opponent he drew had also been impressive in the previous rounds, showing the potential of a dark horse. Facing him was bound to take some effort.

That bastard Ning Xuan... I’ll make him pay for this!

Burning with rage, Zang Peng stepped onto the dueling field. He immediately channeled his anger, treating his opponent as if he were Ning Xuan himself. As a result, he overwhelmed his opponent with his aura from the very start. The outcome was obvious. By the time Zang Peng had finished his fight, Zhang Yang was still locked in a fierce battle.

Seeing this, Zhang Boyuan felt a knot tighten in his stomach. His original plan had been to eliminate Ning Xuan and Zang Peng first, but now, Zang Peng had defeated his opponent in less time than his own grandson. Doesn’t this mean my grandson is inferior to Zang Peng?! And the person I really want to target hasn’t even been scratched! This left him exceedingly frustrated.

However, he could accept the final result. Zhang Yang won.

A smile had barely formed on Zhang Boyuan’s face when he saw Ning Xuan jogging toward the draw box. A sense of dread washed over him. Please, don’t let him draw Zhang Yang.

But his worst fear was realized. When Ning Xuan raised the plaque high for all to see, Zhang Boyuan nearly swore. Etched onto it was Zhang Yang’s name.

At this stage of the selection tournament, there was no dedicated time for recovery. This was unfair, even cruel, but this competition was for the chance to follow a True Saint. Performance under adverse conditions was what mattered most.

"You seem a little out of breath. Why don’t you rest for a while before we start?" Ning Xuan offered graciously on the dueling field.

Zhang Boyuan was overjoyed and was about to send a voice transmission to Zhang Yang, telling him to agree. But he was a step too late.

He saw Zhang Yang shake his head. "No need."

Then...

BANG!

Zhang Yang was sent flying backward, spraying a mouthful of blood.

"Fuck!" a Law Enforcement Officer familiar with Zhang Yang blurted out, stunned.

"What the hell..."

"This can’t be real, can it?"

Voice after voice rose from the crowd as countless people stared, dumbfounded. They simply couldn’t believe what they had just seen. Leaving aside Zhang Yang’s overall strength, a single number spoke volumes about his prowess: out of more than four hundred participants, he had already ranked in the top twenty. That alone was a testament to his power.

And yet, he had just been defeated by Ning Xuan in a single strike. It was simply absurd.

Zhang Boyuan’s furious voice suddenly boomed, "I protest! That was a cheap shot! Yangyang wasn’t even ready! My grandson just fought a battle and hadn’t recovered. That bastard Ning Xuan pretended to be magnanimous and then launched a surprise attack, catching him off guard. Otherwise, my grandson would never have lost!"

"Old Zhang, have some shame."

"That’s right, Old Zhang. You were the one who suggested it," another elder added. "And both this match and the last one only proceeded after Zhang Yang himself agreed."

The two elders who sided with the Realm Lord had both stood up. They were genuinely impressed by Ning Xuan’s courage and cunning.

"You!" Zhang Boyuan seethed.

"Well," Ning Xuan piped up at the perfect moment, "if you don’t accept the result, you can come down here yourself."

With those words, quite a few people began to look at him with new respect. Regardless of whether Zhang Boyuan would actually step onto the field, the sheer courage to face one of the Ten Elders head-on was admirable.

"You little beast," Zhang Boyuan hissed after a moment of stunned silence, his gaze filled with murderous intent. "Do you really think I won’t come down there?!"

At that moment, he felt the overwhelming urge to obliterate Ning Xuan.

"Zhang Boyuan, remember your position!"

But the thought had barely formed when the Dali Realm Lord’s sharp warning rang out. Simultaneously, Zhang Boyuan felt three powerful auras lock onto him. His face cycled between pale and red, but in the end, he gave up. Zhang Yang’s injuries weren’t severe; with some recovery, he could still participate in the repechage. If he acted rashly now, Zhang Yang might lose his eligibility altogether.

While Zhang Boyuan was protesting, the other duels had continued.

「An incense stick’s time later,」

The top eight of the selection tournament were decided. Among the Law Enforcement Officers previously expected to reach the top ten, Zhang Yang, He Ang, and Teng Zhenjie were eliminated. The new top eight were: Ning Xuan, Zang Peng, Luo Feng, Lin Yun, Gu Ting, Fan Tianyang, Kou Zhe, and Yi Zhu.

The true dark horses among them were Ning Xuan and Zang Peng. Even Yi Zhu, who secured the final spot, didn’t quite count, as his betting odds had already placed him somewhere between the first and second tiers.

Aside from the Dali Realm Lord and the two elders who had always sided with him, the other six members of the Ten Elders were extremely dissatisfied with this outcome. As for Zhang Boyuan, he was busy tending to his grandson and had yet to reappear.

"Old Zhang, don’t wear such a long face," the Dali Realm Lord said, his mood excellent. "Look, I’ll arrange the repechage right away!" With that, he immediately announced its start.

Meanwhile, Ning Xuan and the other seven qualifiers were escorted to the VIP seats. In front of them sat the Ten Elders of the Dali Realm.

"Do you have any thoughts on the upcoming ranking battles?" the Realm Lord asked Ning Xuan via a voice transmission.

"Are there any rewards?" Ning Xuan immediately shot back.

"The ranking battle is really just a formality, a series of friendly matches. The first-place winner gets a symbolic reward. Personally, I advise you not to participate. You’ve already offended enough people as it is."

Ning Xuan agreed without a second thought. Among the top eight, besides me and Zang Peng, four of the other six have grandfathers on the Council of Elders. It would be bad if the friendly matches turned into grudge matches.

The Realm Lord quickly relayed the news of Ning Xuan’s withdrawal from the friendly matches to the other elders and the top eight Law Enforcement Officers. A moment later, Ning Xuan received a voice transmission.