The Strange Gray Figure

It wasn't just Xiao Yan. The others in the stands couldn't understand how Xiao Fan had been eliminated either.

Xiao Fan clenched his fists, staring at his palms in stunned disbelief.

"Did I really throw that punch just now?"

He was shocked and frightened. He had clearly never learned Eight-Level Collapse, so how had he thrown that punch?

For an instant, he had even slipped into a daze, completely unaware of how he had unleashed that move. Yet somehow, the two of them seemed to have fought to a draw.

Xiao Mo was equally dumbfounded in the stands. He hadn't expected Xiao Yan to be sent flying.

"That wasn't how it went in the original novel!"

He was utterly shocked, unable to figure out where things had gone wrong.

"Could my arrival have caused some sort of butterfly effect? But what does that have to do with Xiao Ning? How did his strength become so strange?"

Xiao Mo couldn't make sense of it, but he finally understood why the system had suddenly offered a weapon as a reward.

He had thought he was here to scoop up an easy bargain. Instead, Xiao Yan had ended up facing a Xiao Ning whose strength matched his own.

"Something's wrong. This isn't right."

Xiao Mo simply couldn't understand why this was happening.

Xiao Ning could no longer suppress the surge of satisfaction in his chest. Especially when he saw Xiao Yan climb off the ground, delight spread across his face.

"Xiao Yan, today I'll use you as my stepping stone. I'll qualify!"

He roared, raising his fist as he shouted at Xiao Yan again.

"Eight-Level Collapse!"

Everyone thought he would unleash that earth-shaking punch again. Instead, his fist swung out and hit nothing but air.

Nor did that strange gray Dou Qi gather around his fist again.

"..."

Xiao Ning froze for a moment, then hurriedly clenched his fist and punched forward again, shouting over and over.

But he could no longer unleash that dazzling punch. Dou Qi did fly out with his repeated swings, but it no longer possessed the power it had before.

Fear rose in Xiao Ning's heart.

"Why? Why is this happening?"

The people on the platform broke out in cold sweats too.

"Seriously, is Xiao Ning trying to be funny? He's been pounding the air forever. Does he think he's a humping poodle?"

"That's strange. Xiao Ning really did land that punch just now. His strength suddenly dropping like this is pretty weird."

"If you don't have the strength, Xiao Ning, then you don't have it. Stop embarrassing yourself and get down."

Some people were already tired of watching him wave his fists around on the platform like a clown.

Xiao Ning felt heat sting the corners of his eyes. He gritted his teeth bitterly, unable to understand why he couldn't throw that same punch again.

Seeing Xiao Ning like this, Xiao Yan finally lost all patience. He sighed softly.

"Sorry."

With that, he clenched his fist again. Firelight surged as he prepared to end this fight once and for all.

Under Xiao Ning's frightened, shocked gaze, he drove a fist toward his chest.

But the next second, Xiao Ning clenched his fist again and met him with a bang.

Xiao Mo immediately stood up and turned toward the back of the platform.

Just then, a wisp of gray Dou Qi drifted through the air and vanished into a cloaked figure.

"Who are you?"

Xiao Mo quickly pushed through the crowd, trying to get a look at the person hidden at the very back.

But the figure merely raised their eyes and glanced in their direction, revealing a pair of gray-bronze eyes.

The figure's gaze lingered on Xiao Mo's face for an instant before they quickly rose, turned, and headed outside.

"Don't leave!"

Xiao Mo set off in pursuit, but there were too many people around him, and he was near the front of the stands' central section.

By the time he struggled free of the crowd, the person in the gray robe had already disappeared among the people, soon vanishing without a trace.

Xiao Mo clenched his fists.

"Damn it, who was that?"

He couldn't understand why someone like that had suddenly appeared.

The reason Xiao Ning had been able to fight back was precisely because that person had channeled their Dou Qi, mimicking Xiao Yan's movements and allowing Xiao Ning to throw those two punches.

"Xiao Yan, well done!"

"Xiao Ning, I told you that you couldn't do it! You should've gotten down sooner."

Cheers suddenly erupted behind him. He glanced back and saw Xiao Ning kneeling on the platform, his face ashen.

Xiao Yan stood firmly before him, his fist less than half an inch from Xiao Ning's cheek.

"Thank you for the match."

Xiao Yan straightened, settling the outcome of the contest.

Everyone thought the two punches Xiao Ning had thrown earlier had been flukes.

Now, only Xiao Mo knew that someone had secretly given Xiao Ning a helping hand.

After Xiao Ning's defeat, the other clan members became even more cautious when choosing their targets.

After all, if they failed to defeat those who had qualified this time, their futures would no longer be secure.

They would have no further chance to cultivate and could only spend the rest of their lives in some utterly inconspicuous corner of the clan.

Everyone knew Xiao Mo and Xiao Yan were powerful. Neither was a soft persimmon ripe for squeezing, and no one dared act arrogantly before them.

When these people chose their targets again, they were extremely cautious, afraid of suffering defeat as a result.

Of course, a select few still had a chance to defeat their opponents and qualify once more.

But there were only a handful of them. Most of those who lost were eliminated outright.

Xiao Mo simply stood silently in a corner, quietly pondering the appearance of that person from earlier.

He almost overlooked the system notification sounding in his ears.

[Congratulations, host. You successfully helped Xiao Yan achieve victory and amaze the crowd. You will receive one Ice Sword.]

He didn't immediately check the Ice Sword's attributes. Instead, he continued staring silently at the training ground's exit.

That person never appeared again.

The Xiao Clan was tightly guarded. Could someone really have slipped inside unnoticed?

He had hardly ever seen anyone with gray eyes.

While he was deep in thought, someone suddenly tapped his shoulder.

"Who is it?"

Xiao Mo turned to find Xiao Yan standing behind him, with a pouting Xiao Xun'er at his side.

"Brother Xiao Yan, you came straight to Xiao Mo as soon as you got down. Aren't you two a little too close?"

Looking at the two relaxed figures, Xiao Mo gave Xiao Yan's arm a gentle tug and pulled him into a secluded corner.

"Come here."

Xiao Xun'er immediately followed. Since she was part of the main cast anyway, he had no intention of keeping this from her.

He got straight to the point.

"Did either of you think there was something strange about Xiao Ning just now?"

Both froze for a moment, then immediately nodded.

Xiao Xun'er spoke in a clear, bright voice.

"He really was a little strange. With his current strength, he hasn't even reached the eighth stage. How could he suddenly unleash such a powerful fist technique?"