Xu Ke sneered. He didn't want to comment on their skill as assassins, but their acting was certainly impressive. He had seen through them from the moment they were at the clinic's entrance. Even if these two gave up the assassin trade, they would make excellent actors!

Having revealed that Kang Chenghua had hired them, the Ghost and Poison Elders frankly explained the whole story.

It turned out they had only arrived in Tianhai three days ago.

Just four days ago, right after Kang Dehui's death, Kang Chenghua had contacted them to come to Tianhai and avenge his son.

Kang Chenghua's original plan was to wait for the perfect moment to strike—right after Xu Ke's match against Qian Jun.

At that time, after a fierce battle, Xu Ke would surely be exhausted and complacent. Taking that opportunity to assassinate him would be a simple task.

So, for the past few days, the Ghost and Poison Elders had been monitoring and tracking Xu Ke. They had even discovered that he had a clinic near Global Square.

Upon learning this, Xu Ke's expression turned grave.

He had thought the Huang and Ye Families had given up, but now the Kang Family had its sights on him. He couldn't get a single day of peace!

"Then why did you act ahead of time?"

Xu Ke didn't understand one thing. If these two had investigated to such an extent, their chances of success would have been much higher later.

If they had truly waited to assassinate me after my fight with Qian Jun, my survival would have been far from certain.

Poison Elder replied, "We didn't want to act so soon, but for some reason, Kang Chenghua suddenly gave us an extra ten million and ordered us to make our move today..."

Xu Ke furrowed his brow, finding the matter very strange. To avenge his son, Kang Chenghua would never choose to act at this time. He had already waited for several days, so why the sudden rush?

Therefore, someone else must be forcing the Ghost and Poison Elders to try and kill me ahead of schedule. The purpose of this person… I can only guess that they want me to fail in the martial alliance selection competition. Who would benefit from my failure? That person is the prime suspect!

Xu Ke fell into deep thought.

The list of people who would benefit was indeed long!

While Xu Ke was lost in thought, Poison Elder looked up and fixed her eyes on him. "All right, we've answered. Now it's your turn."

Xu Ke looked up. "Ask."

"What kind of poison did you actually use?"

"I have never heard of any poison that can instantly strip an Innate Mid Stage expert of all their fighting ability."

Poison Elder's expression was grave, and her eyes held a deep desire for knowledge. Any poison user who encountered this situation would want to know the answer.

"Such a poison does not exist!"

Xu Ke smiled. "Because, from the very beginning, I wasn't using poison at all!"

"What?"

Poison Elder exclaimed in disbelief, "Impossible!"

Xu Ke continued, "If I'm not mistaken, in order to cultivate a body invulnerable to all poisons, you've used a wide variety of toxins on yourself to build resistance, correct?"

Poison Elder's pupils constricted, and she took a deep breath. "That's right!"

"The fact that you saw through that proves your insight is quite extraordinary!"

Xu Ke waved his hand dismissively. "Anyone who uses poisons knows of this method; it's nothing remarkable. But this method is far too risky; one could easily die by their own hand. For you to have cultivated your Poison Body to this extent is truly a rarity in this world!"

"When the Poison Body is perfected, not only will one be immune to all poisons, but their entire body, down to every strand of hair, becomes a lethal poison, killing anyone on contact."

"If you truly reached that stage, even with only an Innate Mid Stage cultivation, I'm afraid even an expert at Great Perfection wouldn't dare engage you in close combat."

Ghost Elder, standing to the side, snorted coldly. "Kid, are you just now figuring out how formidable we are?" There was a hint of pride in his voice.

But Xu Ke's tone quickly shifted as he smiled and said, "But in my view, it's rather foolish."

"What did you say? Believe it or not, I'll kill you!"

Ghost Elder flew into a rage, his eyes bulging like a ghost's.

Xu Ke gave a half-smile. "Poison Elder hasn't rushed to object. What are you in such a hurry for?"

Ghost Elder froze. Turning his head, he realized that Poison Elder had been completely silent ever since Xu Ke started his explanation.

"Old woman, what's wrong?"

Ghost Elder began to panic. The Poison Body had always been the achievement Poison Elder was most proud of. How could she show no anger when Xu Ke called it foolish?

Poison Elder shook her head, her expression suddenly downcast. "I'm fine, old man…"

Xu Ke's words had made her realize exactly what he had used to defeat her.

"It seems you've figured it out," Xu Ke said. "You used the Hundred-Year Spider Poison as the core for your Poison Body, intending to blend it with various other toxins."

"But you may have forgotten that when the Hundred-Year Spider Poison comes into contact with willow root juice, it completely disintegrates."

At these words, Ghost Elder's face went stiff. "You're saying you just stripped her of all her power, not by using a poison, but simply with willow root juice?"

He was incredulous. His wife's powerful poison arts had been defeated by a mere willow root?

Xu Ke simply smiled without a word.

Poison Elder let out a long sigh and admitted, "Indeed! But in all my years wandering the martial world, I've never met anyone who remembered such obscure knowledge."

"Heh… Forget remembering such knowledge; most can't even see that the Hundred-Year Spider Poison is the core of my Poison Body, hidden under layers of other toxins."

"Kid, I lost to you. It was a fair loss!"

With those words, Poison Elder seemed to age several years in an instant. After so many years in the Jianghu, to be defeated so easily by Xu Ke was a bitter pill to swallow.

But she had no choice but to accept it. Who else could have seen through the spider poison at the heart of her abilities?

Xu Ke gestured dismissively, remaining silent.

Yet, in the eyes of the Ghost and Poison Elders, his silhouette had become profoundly mysterious.

His strength was exceptional; he'd taken a punch from an Innate Mid Stage expert while only being at the Postnatal Late Stage and had been unharmed. His knowledge was extraordinary; he saw through the Poison Body and identified the Hundred-Year Spider Poison hidden beneath layers of other toxins at a glance. He was courageous yet meticulous, daring to take the risk of getting close to two powerful, unknown assassins. And most importantly, he was still so young—only twenty-five! What kind of major power could possibly have cultivated such a person?!

As the Ghost and Poison Elders speculated about Xu Ke's origins, Xu Ke felt a lingering ache in his back.

Right now, he appeared indifferent, as if he had everything under control.

But he knew the truth: his survival today was due to a combination of factors. It could almost entirely be chalked up to luck. These two were far too arrogant! They relied on their strength and assumed he was just some Postnatal Late Stage pushover, carelessly revealing themselves and giving him time to prepare after the phone call at Junyue Residence. Furthermore, their greatest arrogance was assuming no one could recognize the poisons they used. They were simply courting death!