Then Let Me See How Many Such Pawns You Have Prepared! (Seeking Follow-up Reads!)

A few seconds of stunned silence followed his words.

After a long pause, one of the male students couldn't help but scoff, "He actually dares to say it, Apex of the World? So many Martial Saints in the Jin Kingdom don't dare claim they've reached the Apex of the World, yet he hasn't even participated in the Martial Arts Examination yet."

"Exactly!"

Someone nearby immediately chimed in, "Apex of the World? He should at least aim to be first in the Martial School before boasting like that!"

"My guess is he's already compromised with Zhao He and won't have to worry about resources in the future, which is why he won't add us!"

"Enough!" Su Xiaowan's sharp voice cut through the increasingly unpleasant chatter.

"Since Senior Lu Jue is unwilling to add us, there's no point in wasting any more time here!"

"Tianhai City isn't without precedent. The student protest from the city's Martial Schools two years ago was a breakthrough success. My friends, take out your phones and call for more people to join us. As long as we work together, they'll surely hear our demands!"

Seeing their stubborn persistence, Lu Jue shook his head inwardly.

He clearly remembered that the reason the city's Martial Schools' protest two years ago forced the school administration to back down was that most of the participants were children of influential families. Their family backgrounds were a bargaining chip that couldn't be ignored.

The group before him, however, had nothing but fervent passion and a fragile belief.

In a world where strength and background determined one's standing, any cry without sufficient leverage was destined to be ruthlessly drowned out.

"Let's go, still not had enough?"

Lu Jue playfully tapped Liu Ga on the back of his head, breaking him out of his daze.

Liu Ga suddenly snapped back to reality, his ears slightly red. He tried to defend himself, "I, I was just observing the situation. I heard Su Xiaowan isn't weak..."

Lu Jue didn't bother to call him out and turned towards the Group D area. Liu Ga hurried to catch up, unable to resist glancing back at the white figure in the center of the crowd.

"But seriously!"

He leaned closer to Lu Jue, lowering his voice, "Wasn't what you just said a bit too harsh? Su Xiaowan looked like she was about to cry."

"Instead of giving them false hope, it's better to let them face reality sooner. In this world, no one is obligated to be responsible for anyone else's wishes!"

Lu Jue's footsteps didn't falter, his gaze already fixed on the Group D arena not far away.

His number was thirty-eight in Group D, and judging by the current pace of the matches, it would be his turn in less than ten minutes.

The closer he got to the arena, the more palpable the tension in the air became.

A recently concluded match was being cleared up as two medical personnel rushed past with a stretcher. The student lying on it had an unnaturally twisted arm and blood foam at the corner of his mouth.

On the arena ahead, another pair of students had already entered the ring. As soon as the referee shouted "Start," one of them lunged like a leopard, his fist wind sharp and aimed directly at his opponent's throat.

Lu Jue slowly moved his wrists, warming up.

Ten minutes later, a referee's voice could be vaguely heard from somewhere:

"Group D, thirty-seven and thirty-eight, prepare to enter the ring!"

Lu Jue steadily stepped onto the arena. Just as he took his position and prepared to cup his fists in greeting, the student opposite him suddenly took half a step back and raised his right hand high.

"Referee, I concede!"

The voice was crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

Lu Jue raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at the pale-faced youth opposite him. The latter forced a smile, turned, and quickly left the stage.

The referee glanced expressionlessly at the departing student's back before raising his right hand. "Group D, number thirty-eight, Lu Jue, wins!"

"Next group, Group D, thirty-nine and forty, prepare!"

Lu Jue shook his head and turned to walk off the arena.

Liu Ga was already waiting below, a look of wry amusement on his face. "That was too quick, wasn't it? You could have at least exchanged a couple of blows!"

"He's very smart!"

Lu Jue said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the other ongoing matches nearby. "Saving his strength for the Revival Match is the most rational choice!"

Before entering the playoffs, each participant had one chance to revive after a loss.

Many had already made detailed strategies, planning to surrender directly when encountering certain opponents to conserve their energy and hidden cards, and then go all out in the subsequent Revival Matches.

Lu Jue, who had already shown his prowess, was naturally on that list.

"I can't talk to you anymore, my match in Group B is about to start!"

Liu Ga glanced at the competition schedule on his phone, turned, and sprinted towards the Group B area, his figure quickly disappearing into the surging crowd.

Lu Jue remained alone, waiting for about half an hour. Finally, the referee for Arena Number Three called out, "Group D, number thirty-eight versus Group D, number seventy!"

Lu Jue steadily stepped onto the arena. This time, his opponent was a powerfully built student with bulging muscles, clearly a Martial Artist who favored a fierce style. However, before Lu Jue could even get his footing, the opponent suddenly raised his hand and shouted:

"Referee, I forfeit!"

Forfeit?

Lu Jue was slightly taken aback.

Forfeiting was different from conceding. It meant directly giving up the right to participate, losing even the chance for a subsequent Revival Match.

Just as he was wondering about this, a shout came from an adjacent arena: "Referee, I forfeit!"

The referee announced expressionlessly, "Group D, number seventy and number one hundred and eleven forfeit. Next, Group D's Lu Jue will face Group D's Wang Meng!"

A tall, thin student walked onto the stage, trembling. Fear was evident in his eyes, and his hands shook uncontrollably, yet he still managed to awkwardly assume a fighting stance.

Lu Jue felt a strange sensation rise within him, but he still bowed respectfully.

"Begin the match!"

Wang Meng cowered, afraid to advance. Lu Jue, unwilling to waste time, flashed past an opponent's wooden sword thrust and knocked him to the ground with a straight punch.

He controlled the force of this punch. It wasn't out of soft-heartedness; the opponent was just a commoner student. There was no need to cripple him with one blow. Making him retreat was enough.

Lu Jue thought the match was over and turned to look at the referee. But he saw Wang Meng grit his teeth, blood seeping from his lips, and stagger to his feet again, raising his wooden sword.

Lu Jue frowned, surprised by this unreasonable persistence.

He struck first again—

Bang!

A clean, swift sidekick sent the opponent down again.

"Ughhh..."

Wang Meng groaned in pain but still struggled to get up.

"Something's not right here."

Lu Jue's gaze swept past the stage, landing on two men in luxurious clothing below, watching him with ill intentions.

In an instant, he suddenly realized something.

The order of matches in the Quota Competition was decided by a lottery on the students' phones. Zhao He's group couldn't tamper with that.

However, they could "cleverly" use the competition rules to achieve their goals.

According to the rules, each contestant's match schedule was posted in advance on the mobile app.

In a duel, if one party forfeits, the other doesn't advance directly to the next round. Instead, the next opponent is immediately arranged.

If two people happened to forfeit at the same time, then those two people's opponents would directly face each other.

In other words, the two who just forfeited and this Wang Meng, whose strength was probably slightly superior, had been threatened or bribed by Zhao He's people. This was all to exhaust his stamina and trump cards as much as possible before his true strong opponents appeared.

"Heh."

A cold, sharp curve formed on Lu Jue's lips.

"Things are getting interesting. Let's see just how many such pawns you've prepared."