Knocked Out! Three Mysterious Men in Black?

"Damn it, what rotten luck. If that kid got away, how am I supposed to explain this to Young Master Zhang?" Li Fugui stared in the direction Chen Huai'an had left and spat viciously.

If he had known, he would never have needed to curry favor with Chen Huai'an. He should have stood on the same side as the Zhang Family.

Sure enough, once Chen Huai'an ran off and Zhang Biao failed to find him, he vented all his anger on Li Fugui.

"Damn it, you old piece of trash. You can't even handle such a small matter. What use are you to me?" As Zhang Biao spoke, he viciously kicked Li Fugui in the chest.

Li Fugui spat out blood, his aura weakening.

Li Fugui curled up, his face pale as paper, unable to voice his grievances.

At the same time, he cursed Zhang Biao's ancestors for eighteen generations. Damn it, there's no way to bully people like this.

What Li Fugui did not know was that Zhang Biao's anger toward him was only half because of Chen Huai'an.

A large part of it was because he had failed to buy the high-grade Body Tempering Pill he wanted.

Only a small part of it was because he was in a bad mood and had taken it out on Li Fugui, this old fool.

What Old Li did not know was that Zhang Biao had taken his anger out on him because of Chen Huai'an. In that regard, Li Fugui had not been wronged at all.

However, no one told Chen Huai'an any of this.

And at this moment, had Chen Huai'an truly left?

Chen Huai'an had vanished before Li Fugui's eyes, but he had not actually gone far. He had concealed his aura and hidden nearby.

Zhang Biao wanted to cause him trouble. Chen Huai'an did not know how much Zhang Biao knew about him, but since they were enemies, he could not keep sitting around and waiting for trouble to come knocking, as he had this time. He could simply get rid of Zhang Biao.

Before breaking through to the eighth level of the late Body Tempering Realm, he had naturally kept his head down when facing an expert in the late Body Tempering Realm who ranked among the top hundred on the Spirit Elegance Ranking.

But things were different now. He could launch a sneak attack. Even if he could not kill the other party, he could still seriously injure him and teach him a lesson.

Chen Huai'an now regarded Zhang Biao as a whetstone on his path of cultivation. He would step on Zhang Biao and continue forward.

Zhang Biao asked Li Fugui a few more questions about Chen Huai'an. Once he learned that Chen Huai'an had left, he had no desire to wait for his return. He needed to hurry back to his residence to consolidate his cultivation and prepare for the challenge tournament seven days later.

Zhang Biao wanted to challenge someone ranked above him and rise in the rankings. Likewise, those ranked behind Zhang Biao were sharpening their blades, eager to step on Chen Huai'an's body to climb higher.

Over the past few days, several disciples in the sect had been secretly knocked unconscious.

With the competition approaching, if they suffered an accident or were injured during this period, then once the challenge tournament began, the challengers ranked below them would seize the opportunity to stomp them beneath their feet.

The Spirit Elegance Ranking was held once a year. Once the challenge tournament ended and the rankings were finalized, it determined their cultivation resources for the coming year.

Therefore, during this period, the geniuses who had ranked on last year's list did not dare act alone. As for those in the top hundred, although they were worried as well, they were not afraid. After a year of accumulation, they had obtained abundant cultivation resources, and their cultivation had only grown stronger.

Even a single rank's difference within the top hundred meant a difference in the cultivation resources they received.

The hundredth rank was a massive dividing line.

As for those ranked within the top five hundred, there were differences between ranks five hundred and four hundred fifty, four hundred, three hundred fifty, three hundred, two hundred fifty, two hundred, one hundred fifty, and one hundred. Every fifty ranks, the resources they received differed to a certain degree.

For example, among the fifty people ranked from one hundred ninety-nine to one hundred fifty, the higher one's rank, the sect's cultivation resource rewards increased by ten percent compared with the previous tier.

The ranks from two hundred to the top hundred formed another dividing line. So, if one wanted to become famous, one had to either enter the top two hundred or the top hundred.

However, there was one pattern: aside from the few top hundred disciples who entered the outer sect, the vacant spots were all filled by disciples from the top two hundred.

Therefore, disciples in the top two hundred were the most likely to be secretly plotted against.

Zhang Biao was very strong, and he was also a disciple of the Zhang Family, a cultivation family with an extremely powerful backing. Even if those outer sect servant disciples were given several times the courage, they would not dare scheme against him.

What he needed to do now was adjust his condition and keep himself at his peak. This time, he intended to challenge an expert in the top fifty.

"I thought members of the Zhang Family had a whole crowd of lackeys wherever they went. Zhang Biao, this time I'll let you know that some people hold grudges deeply and aren't so easily offended." When Chen Huai'an saw Li Fugui humbly escort Zhang Biao out of the courtyard, killing intent immediately rose within him.

Of course, Chen Huai'an would not make a move on Spirit Spring Peak. Even if he intended to knock Zhang Biao unconscious, he would not do it there. He would follow him, find a suitable opportunity, and completely remove himself from this conflict.

Zhang Biao was not well liked among the servant disciples. He was the kind of person everyone loathed. Whenever people recognized him from afar on the road, they immediately took a wide detour, which gave Chen Huai'an an opportunity to strike.

If there were too many people on the road, Chen Huai'an would not act.

At worst, once the challenge tournament began, he could challenge Zhang Biao himself.

That would only delay things by a few days. He could still avenge himself.

In truth, Chen Huai'an did not want to settle things with him during the challenge tournament. That would only make the conflict more intense, and afterward, the Zhang Family would certainly refuse to let the matter rest.

The best approach was to secretly knock him unconscious and deal with him quietly. That way, the danger would be strangled in the cradle before it could erupt. Even if it did erupt, no one knew when that would happen, giving him time to grow.

"Who is it? Who's following me? Get the hell out here!" Zhang Biao suddenly felt an inexplicable unease. He stopped abruptly and swept his gaze around, his face filled with vigilance.

Did this guy discover me? But that makes no sense. I've already concealed all my aura. I'm just an ordinary person now, and I'm still so far away. He shouldn't have noticed me. Could there be someone else nearby? Chen Huai'an stopped as well, glanced around, and frowned.

Just as Chen Huai'an finished muttering to himself inwardly, several men in black appeared in front of Zhang Biao.

When Chen Huai'an saw the men in black, his heart skipped a beat. Zhang Biao's heart skipped a beat as well. He stared vigilantly at the three masked men in black who had suddenly appeared around him, sensing that they had come for him.

"Who are you? What do you want? Don't you know I'm a disciple of the Zhang Family? If you offend the Zhang Family, you will have no place to stand—not on Servant Peak, not in the outer sect, and not even in the inner sect." Zhang Biao stared warily at the three men. They remained silent throughout, their eyes fixed dead on him, filling him with a chilling sense of dread.

Zhang Biao cursed inwardly, wondering which bastard had arranged this and wanted to deal with him here.

"Haha... what goes around comes around! Today, I can take this chance to get rid of this bastard." Seeing that the person being surrounded was Zhang Biao, Chen Huai'an was overjoyed.