After the Huang and Ye Families left in disgrace, the crowd watching from the surrounding stands erupted into an uproar.

"Isn't Ki Qinyin being a little too overbearing?"

"This is Tianhai Central Gymnasium, not the Northern Territory Central Gymnasium. How can she be so brazen?"

"Exactly! It's not like she owns the place."

"Shh, keep it down. If she hears you, it won't matter if this is Tianhai or not; we'll all be forced to take the surname Yu."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Of course, these words couldn't escape the ears of those with profound True Qi.

You Jinlong's face flushed with anger, and he was about to erupt. How audacious! How dare they slander Ki Qinyin like that?

But Ki Qinyin raised her hand to stop him. Looking at the still-troubled Xu Ke with a smile, she said, "It's too noisy here. Let's find another place to discuss… about the position you're going to hold after joining the Northern Dragon Guard!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Qingzhi, Chen Xiong, Yuan Shang, and Wang Wu's eyes went wide.

What?!

Wasn't he supposed to start as a grunt?

How could Xu Ke get to choose his position the moment he joined the Northern Dragon Guard? This was absurd! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

After their initial shock, they were overcome with ecstatic joy. If he could immediately assume a position in the Northern Dragon Guard, it certainly wouldn't be a poor one. That was absolutely fantastic news! They all turned to look at Xu Ke with unconcealed excitement.

Xu Ke's expression tightened. Damn it, they've even decided on a position?! How can I refuse this? If I do, I'll offend Ki Qinyin to no end, won't I?

But at that moment, You Jinlong, after a brief pause, frowned and said, "Ma'am, I'm afraid this is inappropriate."

His words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over the joyous group. You Jinlong was objecting?

"Why?" Ki Qinyin's smile faded, and her expression cooled slightly.

Now that the Ye and Huang Families were no longer making trouble, she could focus all her efforts on tempting Xu Ke with a position to solidify his desire to join the Northern Dragon Guard. Everyone knew just how valuable an official post in the Northern Dragon Guard was.

But she never expected You Jinlong to be the one to raise an objection…

"Well…" You Jinlong hesitated. "If Xu Ke rashly takes on a position, I'm afraid the others won't accept it."

"If they won't accept it, let them take it up with Yu Kangan," Ki Qinyin said indifferently.

You Jinlong gritted his teeth. "But the Lord's rules have always been strict. He's never made exceptions…"

Every single member of their Northern Dragon Guard had started from the lowest rank. There was no precedent for someone to jump directly into a high-level position. Not even Yu Kangan himself had ever done such a thing.

Hearing this, the others reined in their excitement, a sense of disappointment setting in.

It was true. Ki Qinyin made it sound simple, but the Northern Dragon Guard's regulations strictly prohibited such promotions and parachute appointments. The rule even applied to the Northern Territory Dragon King. Thus, Xu Ke couldn't be so easily promoted.

However, Ki Qinyin just sneered. "If Yu Kangan won't agree, tell him to come see me."

You Jinlong fell silent.

The onlookers couldn't help but gasp. Ki Qinyin was really going all out for Xu Ke, wasn't she?

But what they didn't know was that as Ki Qinyin spoke those domineering words, a flash of shrewdness flickered in her eyes. She wasn't a domestic tyrant, and Yu Kangan wasn't a henpecked husband. She only dared to say such a thing because, before she came, Yu Kangan had personally told her that if she could recruit Xu Ke, breaking a rule or two wouldn't matter.

「...」

Afterward, the group moved to a private space to talk. Seeing that the show was truly over, the various great families and representatives of the martial alliances in the gymnasium scattered. Chen Xiong arranged for his men to guide the crowd out in an orderly fashion.

As they left, they all began to speculate.

Wouldn't Xu Ke joining the Northern Dragon Guard be a slap in the face to the martial alliances? He had just won the selection tournament and qualified to compete in Long Capital. And now he was immediately joining the Northern Dragon Guard? A member of the Northern Dragon Guard competing for the title of Alliance Hierarch? If Xu Ke actually won, it would be as if Yu Kangan were declaring that any random elite from the Northern Dragon Guard could beat the martial alliances to a pulp. Wouldn't the Long Capital Grand Alliance lose all face?

At this thought, they grew excited. There would definitely be some good drama to watch in the future!

「...」

While they were excited, someone else was most certainly not.

Jin Hankang stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of his hotel room, his face dark and gloomy. The moment Xu Ke had won, he had promptly left the gymnasium, returned to the hotel, and packed his bags to head back to Long Capital. Who would want to stick around for that humiliation?

"My Lord, the physician has examined Qian Jun. He has no serious injuries," a doctor reported, approaching from behind.

"Fine. Let him rest for two days, then have him return overseas to report to Wong Ting," Jin Hankang said flatly.

"Yes!"

Jin Hankang breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.

His greatest fear had been that Xu Ke, enraged by his abuse of authority, would lose his mind and cripple Qian Jun's Dantian. If Qian Jun became a cripple, Jin Hankang would, at the very least, be reprimanded by Wong Ting for failing to protect him. At worst, he could even be punished. That would have been a disaster.

Now that Qian Jun was fine, Jin Hankang finally relaxed and sneered to himself.

You're not a complete fool. You dared to cripple Wong Qiang and Li Ming, but you knew not to touch Qian Jun. Otherwise, you'd be dead. So what if you won the championship? If it weren't for the Black Divine Hall running rampant in the Southern Territory and tying Wong Ting's hands, they could crush you with a single finger! Besides, even without Wong Ting, I would have captured you and dragged you to Long Capital myself. You would have been a dead man if you hadn't gotten lucky with the Northern Dragon Guard deciding to expand and Ki Qinyin looking to suppress the martial alliances!

He muttered to himself for a moment, quickly shedding the humiliation from his defeat by Xu Ke and his oppression by Ki Qinyin. His confidence returned.

That's right. Even though Xu Ke had won the championship and forced him to flee the gymnasium in disgrace, he was still confident. The reason was simple.

So what if Xu Ke was the champion? Wong Ting could kill him with a flick of a finger, and he himself could have dragged him to Long Capital. Xu Ke had no power to resist! If it weren't for Ki Qinyin's arrival, he would have had Xu Ke under his control by now.

With such thoughts, how could Jin Hankang possibly believe Xu Ke was truly formidable? It was all just a stroke of luck!

The next time Xu Ke dared to come to Long Capital for a competition, he would make sure the man had no grave to call his own. I'll make you kneel and beg for mercy! Jin Hankang roared resentfully in his heart.

Just then…

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

A frantic knocking sounded at the door, accompanied by desperate wails.

"My Lord, please, you have to take me with you!"

"I can't stay in Tianhai anymore!"

Hearing the voice, Jin Hankang frowned and turned, commanding coldly, "Open the door."

The attendant standing by the entrance opened it.

Outside stood Peng Hetong, his face pale and etched with utter despair. He was at his wit's end.