24: He has a problem!

The preliminary rounds of the Outer Sect Minor Competition concluded amidst a flurry of noise and settling dust.

Some rejoiced, while others grieved.

Disciples who successfully advanced wore expressions of relief at surviving a calamity and nervousness for the next round; those who were eliminated, however, had ashen faces and hollow eyes, as if all their spirit had been drained. Many of them would be expelled from the Sect within days, forever separating them from the immortal path.

The cruel reality cast a somber atmosphere over the entire Martial Arts Training Ground.

However, within this oppressive atmosphere, one name was repeatedly mentioned by countless people, becoming a special symbol full of absurdity and mockery.

Lin Ye.

The 'Son of Fortune' who, relying on his 'turtle shell' defense and Heaven-Defying 'dog-shit luck,' stumbled into the top hundred.

His advancement became the greatest source of resentment for all the defeated, and the most scorned joke among all those who advanced. Almost everyone was convinced that his good luck had run out. In the next round of ranking matches, he would be the first to be thoroughly exposed and eliminated.

The crowd gradually dispersed, each carrying complex emotions, preparing for the next, more brutal battle.

But in a corner of the Martial Arts Training Ground, one figure remained, lingering for a long time.

Zhao Tian.

He stood with a grim face under a massive stone pillar, his eyes, filled with resentment and unwillingness, stared intently in the direction Lin Ye had disappeared, his gaze shifting, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark, contemplating how to deliver a fatal blow to its prey.

His few followers stood cautiously behind him, not even daring to breathe loudly.

"Senior Brother Zhao, please don't be angry," one follower bravely stepped forward to console him. "That kid is just a clown, he only got through the preliminaries by luck. When tomorrow's ranking matches come, he'll face tough opponents, and his dog-shit luck definitely won't work!"

"That's right, Senior Brother Zhao! At that time, you won't even need to make a move yourself; there will be plenty of people who will beat him black and blue, making him realize what true strength is!"

Listening to his followers' consolations, Zhao Tian's expression did not soften in the slightest; instead, it grew even more grim.

He slowly raised his right hand, which still throbbed faintly. Although the bones had reconnected after treatment with Medicinal Pills, the painful sensation of being crushed by a scorching Coiling Force remained deeply imprinted in his memory like a nightmare.

Luck?

Others could say that, but he, Zhao Tian, as the only one who had two 'close encounters' with Lin Ye, had a voice screaming wildly in his heart—

That was absolutely not luck!

The first time, in front of the dining hall, he charged with all his might and felt like he had slammed into a mountain! That indestructible recoil could absolutely not belong to a scrawny waste at Qi Refining Stage One!

The second time, he threw an angry punch, only to have his finger bones directly shattered by the opponent's seemingly soft palm! The strange, hot, and fierce Coiling Force that penetrated his arm still made him feel lingering fear when he thought about it now!

And today!

He personally watched Lin Ye on the arena, like an unyielding wooden stake, stubbornly enduring the storm-like attacks from Shi Lei, Feng San, and others!

What others saw was Lin Ye's discomfiture, his good fortune.

But what Zhao Tian saw was the terrifying defensive power hidden beneath that discomfiture, a power that made his heart tremble!

He knew how great Shi Lei's strength was! He had also experienced how fast Feng San was! Yet their attacks, landing on Lin Ye, were like scratching an itch through a boot!

Was this the defensive power an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple could possess?

Was this the Foundation a waste who hadn't even reached Qi Refining Stage One could possess?!

"Something's wrong... This kid, there's definitely something fishy about him!"

Zhao Tian suddenly slammed a fist against the stone pillar beside him, making The gravel fell down in a rustling sound.. His bloodshot eyes gleamed with frantic thought.

"Senior Brother Zhao, what... what's wrong with you?" His followers were startled by his sudden action.

Zhao Tian ignored them. He frowned deeply, filtering every detail about Lin Ye repeatedly in his mind.

That timid expression, that seemingly vulnerable posture, those always perfectly timed 'accidents'... A preposterous yet heart-pounding conjecture, like poisonous mushrooms after rain, frantically sprouted from the depths of his heart!

"He's... acting!" Zhao Tian's voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief. "This Little Bastard, he's been acting from beginning to end! He's pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger!"

"What? Acting?"

"Senior Brother Zhao, are you serious? Lin Ye, that good-for-nothing, he can act?"

The followers exchanged glances, all thinking their boss might have been angered into confusion.

"What do you know?!" Zhao Tian suddenly turned around and roared at his followers in an almost bellowing voice, "You haven't experienced it yourselves, you simply don't know! That kid's body is as hard as iron! His palm force is even more bizarre! This is absolutely not something an ordinary Disciple can possess!"

He excitedly waved his injured right hand, as if wanting his followers to also feel the pain he had suffered that day.

"Think about it carefully! Can a true waste, a truly lucky person, maintain the same good luck for four or five consecutive matches? How can there be such a coincidence in the world!"

"His turtle-shell-like defense is definitely due to Cultivating some extremely advanced Body Refining Cultivation Technique! He's not lucky; he's simply not afraid of being hit!"

"And that last seemingly lucky push wasn't a coincidence at all! It was him waiting! Waiting for the moment his opponent exhausted their strength and revealed an opening! This level of cunning, this level of forbearance, who among you can achieve it?!"

Zhao Tian's analysis, though filled with subjective anger, also hit the nail on the head regarding the core of the problem.

His followers were stunned by his roar, and the mockery on their faces gradually faded, replaced by a look of surprise and uncertainty.

"Senior Brother Zhao... do you mean... that kid Lin Ye has been hiding his strength all along?" one follower asked cautiously.

"Exactly!" Zhao Tian's eyes flickered with a flame of greed and envy. "This kid must have stumbled upon some incredible stroke of luck, obtained some extraordinary fortuitous encounter! Perhaps it's the Legacy of some fallen Senior! That's why he possesses these strange abilities!"

"He knows his Aptitude is mediocre, and he's afraid of being coveted, so he's been feigning ignorance and pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger! He wants to use this method to get through the Minor Competition!"

As soon as this conjecture was made, everyone gasped!

If this were true, then Lin Ye was not just a simple waste, but an extremely cunning individual, and also a walking Treasure Trove carrying immense riches!

In an instant, the followers' gazes changed.

"Then... then Senior Brother Zhao, what about us...?"

"Hmph!" Zhao Tian looked at the greedy expressions on their faces and sneered, "What? Tempted?"

He paused, his voice dropping extremely low, like a devil's whisper: "Don't spread this news yet. The few of us will quietly keep an eye on him. He can pretend, can he? I want to see how long he can keep up the act!"

"Tomorrow is the ranking match; he's bound to expose himself sooner or later! As long as we can gather evidence and pry his mouth open..."

A cruel and excited smile appeared on Zhao Tian's face.

"What he swallowed, I'll make him spit it all out, principal and interest!"

An aura of conspiracy quietly spread within this small circle.

Although the vast majority of Outer Sect Disciples still regarded Lin Ye as a joke.

But a whirlpool filled with greed and malice had quietly formed and was slowly beginning to swirl towards that slender figure who was still 'resting with closed eyes' in the corner.