Li Xiaoyao's face remained expressionless, but seeing Li Li's smug smile, he chuckled coldly to himself. Lucky, huh? Li Li wouldn't think that for long.

To be fair, Li Xiaoyao had been lucky so far. In the first round, Li Xin gave him a pass. In the second, his strongest opponent, Li Dan, forfeited. He hadn't even had a chance to show his real strength. Now, in this round, he faced the weakest opponent, Li Li.

"Maybe the Sixth Elder set it up this way on purpose," Li Xiaoyao thought to himself.

"You go first!" Li Li boldly declared, a bit of swagger in his voice.

"Alright." Li Xiaoyao nodded, skipping the banter.

"Fleeting Shadows, Furious Wolf—Ninth Wave!" Li Xiaoyao's voice was calm, but the moment he appeared beside Li Li, that cocky smile vanished.

As the ferocious wolf howled through the air, terror replaced Li Li's grin. He tried to defend himself, but it was already too late.

Boom!

"Fuck off!" Li Xiaoyao's fist sent Li Li flying, his frozen smile twisting into a grimace. He couldn't even handle one punch. So much for being "lucky."

"Looks like everyone underestimated him," Li Kai thought to himself. He knew how perfect that hit was. It seemed casual, but the force was like being caught in the middle of an endless ocean, a storm you couldn't escape from. The scariest part? Despite the devastating power, Li Li wasn't seriously hurt. That level of control? Flawless.

"Trash, or a genius?" Li Li lay there with no resentment, staring at Li Xiaoyao with awe and fear, knowing full well he had held back.

"Li Xiaoyao wins," the Sixth Elder declared calmly, as the crowd murmured in disbelief. Another one-hit win? Even against someone at the eighth level of Qi Martial Realm like Li Li? What was Li Xiaoyao's actual strength?

The crowd's perception of him was shifting—this "loser" was starting to seem more mysterious and unpredictable.

"A sneak attack, trash is still trash. He only knows cheap tricks," Li Wu spat mockingly, dismissing the crowd's chatter.

"Yeah, no way he beat Li Li fair and square. Must've been a dirty move," someone else echoed, convinced they had figured out the truth.

But Li Xiaoyao ignored the insults entirely, walking off calmly. Trash? A sneak attack? These people were in for a disappointment.

The fourth fight: Li Wu vs. Li Hen.

As Li Xiaoyao watched the two standing in the arena, his eyes flickered. In the previous round, Li Wu and Li Hen had been grouped together, but right before their fight, Li Hen had surrendered, losing without a battle. Now, they were paired up again. Was this really just a coincidence, or had the Sixth Elder arranged it this way?

"Are you even going to fight this time?" Li Wu sneered at Li Hen, mocking him for surrendering without a fight.

"No need." Li Hen shook his head with a faint smile.

"Coward."

"You're disgracing the Li family."

The crowd started cursing. In the last round, it made sense for Li Hen to surrender since it was an advancement round. But now, in the elimination round, to retreat again without fighting? That was truly embarrassing.

"Coward, if you're not going to fight, just get lost!" Li Wu scoffed when he heard Li Hen surrender again, clearly contemptuous.

Li Hen, however, stared at Li Wu with a strange expression. Then, instead of backing away, he started walking forward, toward Li Wu.

"I'll count to three. If you don't move, you'll deal with the consequences." Li Hen suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a chilling edge. At that moment, an overwhelming, primal aura burst out from him—raw, untamed, wild.

"Three." He started counting.

Li Wu's body began to tremble uncontrollably. He stared at Li Hen, wide-eyed.

"Impossible! How could this be?!" Li Wu shook his head wildly. "How can you have the power of a Spirit Martial Realm master?"

Everyone was shocked. Spirit Martial Realm—a power that belonged to only the strongest! Li Hen, always so low-key, had been hiding his strength this whole time. And now, he wasn't just showing it—he was showing it in a way that stunned everyone.

Besides Li Xin, it seemed that Li Hen was the only one among the Li family youth to reach the Spirit Martial Realm. To be mentioned in the same breath as Li Xin—what an honor!

The Sixth Elder couldn't help but feel quite pleased with himself, a smile spreading across his face. Li Hen had mastered a special concealment technique, which allowed him to hide his true strength. Unless he actively revealed his power, it was nearly impossible for anyone to tell that he had already broken through to the Spirit Martial Realm.

"Hiding so well," Li Batian and the others thought to themselves as they glanced at the Sixth Elder. Still, Li Batian remained confident, believing he had the upper hand in the long run.

"You better know your place," Li Batian muttered with a sneer as he eyed the Sixth Elder. In his mind, when the annual gathering was over, he would claim the position of clan leader. He had always been bitter that the old man left the clan's leadership to Li Kai, the second brother, instead of him. After all, Li Kai had spent much of his youth away from the family, while Li Batian had been its pillar, contributing much over the years.

The role of clan leader had always been a sore spot for Li Batian.

"Two," Li Hen continued stepping closer to Li Wu, the wild pressure he emitted nearly suffocating Li Wu. It was terrifying. Li Wu's pride was being crushed in this moment.

While everyone believed Li Wu was in the eighth stage of Qi Martial Realm, he had actually broken through to the ninth stage not long ago. He had thought this annual gathering would be his time to shine, but now, before he could even show his talent, Li Hen was threatening him to back down—or face the consequences.

"When you insult others, you'd better weigh your own strength first," Li Hen said coldly, his tone brimming with arrogance. "I didn't refuse to fight you because I'm weaker; I just don't think you're worth my time."

"One."

"I surrender." Li Wu barely squeezed the words out from between his teeth, the overwhelming aura forcing him to admit defeat. Without looking back, he turned and walked off the stage.

"Li Hen's so domineering." Awe flickered in the eyes of the onlookers. Spirit Martial Realm—the dream of every young cultivator. Anyone who could reach it before the age of twenty had a high chance of advancing to even greater realms: the Divine Power Realm, or perhaps even the legendary Divine Punishment Realm!

"Interesting," Li Xiaoyao chuckled to himself. Li Hen, a Spirit Martial expert. The Sixth Elder's scheme had paid off. By having Li Hen surrender in the third round, he'd ensured that Li Hen could humiliate Li Wu in this round.

"You idoit! What gives you the right to laugh, you disgrace to the family!" Li Wu snarled when he noticed the smirk on Li Xiaoyao's face. His roar echoed across the training grounds.

Seeing Li Wu direct his anger toward Li Xiaoyao, many onlookers couldn't help but chuckle, especially Li Batian and his crew, who went out of their way to mock him.

"It's no shame to lose to Li Hen, who's in the Spirit Martial Realm, but it's laughable that a nobody like you thinks he can chime in," Li Batian sneered.

The Seventh Elder's face softened upon hearing that, letting out a cold snort, "A worthless fool who doesn't know his place."

Li Kai, not far off, narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Li Xiaoyao was caught off guard. He hadn't expected Li Wu, humiliated by Li Hen, to suddenly turn on him as if he were easy prey.

"What are you staring at, huh? Just a waste living off your dad's reputation. What? You want to fight me?" Li Wu's anger needed an outlet, and Li Xiaoyao just happened to be in his way.

"I've never seen anything so pathetic," Li Xiaoyao chuckled, shaking his head as he walked toward Li Wu. "You just got humiliated and now you think you're tough again?"

"I'll count to three. Get the fuck off the stage, or face the consequences."

The arena fell silent. The only sound was Li Xiaoyao's footsteps closing in.