Who is Wong Qiang?

This question swirled in everyone's mind.

Jin Hankang was dumbfounded.

Chen Xiong and Yuan Shang looked at each other in disbelief. How did Xu Ke manage this?

In the Martial Alliance Leaders Area, all the Alliance Hierarchs were baffled and completely clueless.

Just when they were at their most excited, eagerly waiting to see Xu Ke fight Zhao Xiangping or Su Ximing, out popped a Wong Qiang?

Where did this Wong Qiang come from?

At this moment, a question surfaced in many people's hearts.

Xu Ke, how did you do it?

They knew the program must have been tampered with, and it was undoubtedly Xu Ke's handiwork. What they couldn't understand was how he did it. Jin Hankang had only just brought out the program, a move that had greatly startled even Chen Xiong and Yuan Shang. Clearly, no one had known beforehand that the lottery would be conducted by a computer.

So how had Xu Ke managed to tamper with it in advance without anyone knowing?

Thinking of this, they could only arrive at one conclusion—

There must be a mole in Jin Hankang's camp!

At this moment, a bespectacled young man in the last row of the competitors' area turned pale, his hands and feet trembling as he muttered, "What's going on?"

He was Wong Qiang.

He had been mocking Xu Ke fiercely just moments ago, but if he actually had to face him, he would wet his pants.

Even Qian Jun couldn't guarantee to Wong Ting that he could instantly kill Xu Ke. If I go up there, wouldn't I just be serving myself up on a platter?

Just then, a voice suddenly shattered the dead silence in the hall.

Xu Ke spoke up. "What's the matter?"

"Why stop now that Wong Qiang has been drawn, Elder Jin?"

As soon as he spoke, all eyes focused on him.

Seeing Xu Ke step forward, Jin Hankang's face darkened. He could clearly see that Xu Ke was just trying to show off.

He glared at Xu Ke, grinding his teeth. "What's your hurry? It's just a small problem with the program."

Xu Ke smiled. "I don't see any problem. Isn't everything going smoothly?"

Jin Hankang stared at Xu Ke's face, wishing he could smash it with his fist.

"What do you know?" he snapped.

He turned and shot a vicious look at Peng Hetong. "Peng Hetong, go and see what the problem is! Quickly!"

"Yes!" Peng Hetong frantically turned to the technical staff. "What's going on?!"

He was panicking. According to the rigging they had programmed in advance, Xu Ke should be facing Su Ximing right now. They had tested it many times yesterday, and the result was always identical. But now, with the program in his hands, a problem had occurred...

Peng Hetong didn't even have to think to realize what would happen.

Jin Hankang will definitely suspect me! But I'm being framed! How could I possibly have anticipated this situation?

"You've worked hard, Chief Peng," Xu Ke said with a beaming smile.

How could I not see that Jin Hankang is starting to suspect Peng Hetong? This is exactly the situation I wanted to see. Let the dogs fight it out; it's always a messy business.

After checking for what felt like an eternity, the technicians were sweating bullets but couldn't find a single thing wrong.

Peng Hetong lowered his head, his voice trembling as he stammered, "Elder Jin, there's... there's no problem."

"Then continue..."

The words were squeezed through Jin Hankang's clenched teeth. He was on the verge of losing his mind.

It's obvious there's a problem, yet you tell me there isn't one? It seems the problem is with you, Peng Hetong!

Seeing Xu Ke's composed demeanor, like an angler calmly waiting for a bite, Chen Xiong and Yuan Shang started whispering to each other.

"Xu Ke really plays his cards close to his chest..."

"I'm going to interrogate that punk later. He really kept me in the dark."

Nearby, Shi Junneng and Mo Yunchang exchanged a look of helplessness. Who could have ever predicted this would happen?

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The screen above started selecting a new candidate.

Before long, a preoccupied Jin Hankang called out absentmindedly, "Stop!"

Since it was just for Qian Jun's opponent, he didn't much care. His mind was busy scheming how to place Su Ximing in the upper half of the bracket with Xu Ke. This time, there could be absolutely no room for error.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, the venue erupted in a commotion. The announcer stared at the result, silent for a long moment, not declaring who had been drawn as Qian Jun's opponent.

Peng Hetong's face instantly lost all color. "Wh-why?!"

From the contestant area, someone shouted in disbelief, "What's going on?"

Hearing the uproar, Jin Hankang, who had been lost in thought, felt a sudden sense of foreboding. He snapped his head up. As his eyes locked onto the large screen, his face turned deathly white.

Lower half, Seat number two: Su Ximing.

Opponent: Qian Jun.

The entire Martial Alliance hall fell into a long, heavy silence. For a good while, no one spoke.

Qian Jun and Su Ximing stared daggers at Xu Ke, their gazes filled with frustrated rage.

Seeing their identical expressions, Xu Ke was instantly amused. "Why are you two looking at me like that?"

"Is looking at you a crime?" Su Ximing squeezed out between clenched teeth.

The thought that all their hard work had been completely undone by Xu Ke, and now he had to face Qian Jun head-on... Su Ximing wished he could kill Xu Ke right then and there. Many people in the hall harbored that same thought, but unfortunately for them, none were capable of acting on it.

"Of course it's not a crime," Xu Ke said with a shrug, then added, "Congratulations on becoming opponents. The showdown will certainly be spectacular."

"Heh..." Su Ximing simply snorted and turned his head away, refusing to look at Xu Ke any longer.

As for Qian Jun, he had already fallen silent. He feared that if he opened his mouth, Xu Ke would enrage him to the point of spewing smoke.

While Xu Ke was reveling in his triumph, Yuan Shang was overjoyed. He walked up to Jin Hankang, unable to suppress his mirth. "Carry on, Elder Jin." The schadenfreude was practically written on his face.

"Mind your own business. I can control the pace of the drawing myself," Jin Hankang replied coldly.

Yuan Shang gave him a thumbs-up. "They say the older the wiser. Elder Jin's control is truly top-notch."

Hearing this, Jin Hankang felt a suffocating tightness in his chest. If he had heard such words before the lottery, he would have taken them as a compliment. But now? Now, they felt like a slap in the face.

Despite Jin Hankang stalling for time, Peng Hetong and the technicians still found nothing. In the end, a thoroughly exasperated Jin Hankang had no choice but to let the drawing continue.

When the lottery finally concluded, everyone was completely and utterly flabbergasted.

In Xu Ke's half of the bracket, every single contestant was at the Postnatal Middle Stage.

Meanwhile, in Qian Jun's half, every last one of the Postnatal Late Stage contestants had been crammed together.

Qian Jun would face Su Ximing in the first round and Zhao Xiangping in the second...

The script was an exact mirror of the one they had originally planned for Xu Ke.

Seeing this, no one in the arena dared to speak. Everyone could feel the ominously dark aura emanating from Jin Hankang and Qian Jun. Peng Hetong, in particular, trembled under Jin Hankang's murderous gaze.

"Alright, this concludes our drawing session," Chen Xiong announced, seeing Jin Hankang's prolonged silence and stepping in to take charge. "Contestants, please return and prepare. The first match will begin tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. sharp at the Tianhai Central Gymnasium!"