Tan Lei

Zhou Xuan's victory was like a silent slap across the face of everyone present.

The entire arena fell deathly silent. Everyone was like a duck with its throat squeezed shut, mouths hanging open but unable to make a sound.

He won?

That good-for-nothing who'd come in dead last for a thousand years, the Body Forging fifth-layer disciple who'd only gotten to compete because Chief Steward Wang had made an exception—he'd actually beaten Chen Hu, who was in the middle stage of Body Forging seventh layer?

How the hell was that possible?!

"Fluke! It was absolutely a fluke!"

"Exactly! Senior Brother Chen Hu was just too careless. That kid wore him down until he ran out of strength!"

"Damn it, that good-for-nothing sure got lucky!"

"Lucky? It really was luck?"

"He wore himself out and collapsed, and somehow landed right on Senior Brother Chen Hu's arm and broke it?"

After the silence came an even louder uproar. Unable to accept the result, they desperately searched for a reasonable explanation for Zhou Xuan's victory.

Luck. It had to be heaven-defying luck!

"But this is as far as he'll go!"

A Body Forging sixth-layer Chore Servant looked at Zhou Xuan, who was being helped up, his face as pale as paper and his legs barely able to keep him standing.

He said gleefully, "Look at him—he's practically half-dead. Forget the next match; it's questionable whether he can even stand up!"

Everyone immediately agreed.

That's right!

So what if he'd won the first match by sheer luck? He was already completely spent!

He was bound to lose the next match!

"Brother Xuan! Brother Xuan, are you all right?"

Zhou Ye rushed over at once, anxiously helping Zhou Xuan, who was swaying on his feet.

He could feel Zhou Xuan's entire weight leaning on him, his body trembling slightly.

"Brother Xuan, let's stop competing. We'll forfeit. You've already proven yourself!"

Zhou Ye's voice was choked with tears. He was genuinely afraid Zhou Xuan would pass out any second.

Leaning against Zhou Ye, Zhou Xuan gasped for breath and weakly waved a hand, but couldn't manage a word.

In the shade of a tree, Chief Steward Wang watched it all unfold, the cold smile at the corner of his mouth growing wider.

Still putting on an act?

This kid's acting was even better than he'd imagined!

Completely spent?

Luck?

Bullshit!

Every step in those seemingly clumsy evasions had been perfectly placed to avoid a vital spot.

That seemingly feeble body had contained unbelievable endurance.

And that final, seemingly accidental fall had demonstrated the utmost control over timing and force!

This kid was clearly a vicious wolf in sheep's clothing! The secrets he held were even more astonishing than Chief Steward Wang had imagined!

"The matches will continue!"

Chief Steward Wang couldn't be bothered with the idiots' chatter. He spoke coldly. His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly across the arena.

At his command, several more matches proceeded in quick succession.

Those who'd made it this far were all truly tough characters from the Chore Servant Courtyard. Body Forging seventh layer was only the starting point, and a few had even reached the eighth layer.

Soon, the first round ended, leaving fewer than thirty people.

Chief Steward Wang drummed his pudgy fingers rhythmically on the table, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the remaining contestants before settling on Zhou Xuan and another tall, slender young man.

"Second round, first match."

He spoke unhurriedly, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Tan Lei versus Zhou Xuan!"

"Boom!"

The moment the match-up was announced, the crowd erupted again!

"Senior Brother Tan Lei! It's actually Senior Brother Tan Lei!"

"Hahaha! Zhou Xuan's dead for sure! His luck's run out!"

"Senior Brother Tan Lei is a Body Forging eighth-layer expert!"

"Even at full strength, Zhou Xuan wouldn't stand a chance, let alone in this half-dead state!"

The Chore Servants who'd been humiliated by Zhou Xuan earlier were once again worked up. They shouted themselves hoarse, cheering on the young man called Tan Lei.

"Senior Brother Tan Lei, beat the hell out of him! Show him what real strength looks like!"

"Don't give him a chance to surrender. Just cripple him!"

Leaning against Zhou Ye, Zhou Xuan turned his gaze toward the young man slowly walking into the arena.

He'd heard the name Tan Lei before, in the Chore Servant Courtyard.

Apparently, Tan Lei had decent talent and was one of the few disciples in the entire Chore Servant Courtyard who'd been born into a cultivation family.

His parents had both been Outer Sect Disciples of the Spirit Sword Pavilion. They'd become Dao companions, and his future should have been bright.

Unfortunately, before Tan Lei was born, his mother had been attacked by someone, leaving him with an innate injury.

And not long after his birth, both his parents had perished during a Sect mission.

That was how he'd ended up in the Chore Servant Courtyard.

Zhou Xuan's thoughts stirred, and his divine sense quietly sank into the system.

"System, scan him."

[Scanning...]

[Name: Tan Lei]

[Cultivation: Body Forging, eighth layer]

[Spirit Root: Dual-attribute Metal and Wood mixed Spirit Root (moderate aptitude)]

[Status: Congenital Dantian damage, stagnant qi and blood, shrunken Meridians. Cultivation speed is only thirty percent of normal.]

[Note: His damaged Dantian can be perfectly repaired with a Life Creation Pill or by spending 5,000 Gold Touch Value.]

It could be cured!

Zhou Xuan's eyes brightened slightly.

If Tan Lei had a decent temperament, he might consider bringing him under his wing.

After all, he had a lot to do in the future, and Zhou Ye alone wasn't nearly enough manpower.

As Zhou Xuan pondered, Tan Lei had already walked up to him.

Unlike Chen Hu, he didn't open with a threat. He only frowned slightly as he looked at Zhou Xuan's paper-pale face and heaving chest, then spoke calmly.

"Just surrender."

His voice was faint, without mockery or pity.

"In your current condition, you can't fight again. You won the last match by sheer luck, but that kind of luck won't happen twice. I don't want to hurt you."

Zhou Xuan lifted his head and met his gaze.

Tan Lei's eyes were very calm—almost unnaturally so, like a stagnant pool. They held none of the vigor or ambition of a young man, only deep weariness and numbness.

"Cough, cough..."

Zhou Xuan coughed violently twice, as if he were about to cough up his lungs. He stubbornly shook his head and rasped, "No, I can't lose..."

"I can still fight!"

His eyes held the stubborn resolve of someone who wouldn't turn back until he'd hit a wall, a determination to the death.

He played the part of a lowborn nobody backed into a corner, forced to stake his life for a chance at a future, to perfection.

Tan Lei looked at him, his frown deepening, helplessness and confusion flickering in his eyes.

He didn't understand why this guy was pushing himself so hard.

For those few Qi Gathering Pills?

Or for that illusory chance to become an Outer Sect Disciple?

In his current condition, what was stepping into the arena if not asking for death?

"What's taking you so long?!"

Chief Steward Wang's impatient shout rang out from beneath the tree.

"Tan Lei, are you fucking deaf? Get moving!"

"If you don't act now, I'll declare you the loser!"

Chief Steward Wang's urging was like an order. The helplessness in Tan Lei's eyes vanished at once, replaced by that same stagnant calm.

He drew a deep breath and cupped his hands to Zhou Xuan in salute.

"Since you insist, forgive me for the offense."

With those words, the match officially began!