As if waking up from a dream, the crowd went from total silence to making a lot of noise, their reactions oscillating between shock and disbelief. It was utter chaos as if the scene before them was just a lie, a fantastical illusion shattered by an unexpected reality.

"Impossible!"

"How can this trash beat Senior Brother?" They still persisted in calling him trash despite witnessing his astonishing victory.

Ning could even see a few people slapping themselves to check if it was all a dream, especially the emotional wreck of a fatty sitting beside him.

"N-Ning! Xiao Fan really won." Fatty Li couldn't contain his joy, his cheeks trembling in happiness, and he clung to Ning and shook him as if to verify it was all true.

While Fatty Li reveled in happiness, Ning couldn't fully share the sentiment.

"U-Ugh, F-fatty ...too strong." Fatty Li was strong, abnormally strong, so much so that he would not be surprised if he was born with innate supernatural strength.

Why must each of the companions of the protagonist be so weird?

Finally, having had enough of Fatty Li's grip, Ning shook him off, diverting his attention to something more pressing.

"Fatty Li, check up on Xiao Fan first..." Ning massaged his shoulder, which seemed to hurt a lot, and then pointed toward the unconscious protagonist.

"Y-yeah, I forgot about that," Fatty Li replied sheepishly.

Xiao Fan was currently lying face flat in the arena. He was recklessly snoring away, seemingly oblivious to the world around him.

One of the general shounen rules seemed to be that each time the protagonist has an intense battle, they need to pass out after finishing it; otherwise, it wouldn't explain this recklessness.

Just for the record, Xiao Fan just offended an elder, and his current state was extremely vulnerable. Thankfully, Hu Chen was nowhere to be found, or else who knows what that angry guy will do?

Well, Ning didn't have high expectations in the first place. He already knew that the protagonist had the survival instincts of a deer running straight into headlights, meaning they didn't have any survival instincts at all.

Though, with his luck, it would probably end up fine.

"Here, feed this to Xiao Fan." Ning handed a qi replenishing pill to Fatty Li.

It was a basic Tier One pill with the ability to refill Qi. Ning had bought some just in case of emergencies, so he gave one to Xiao Fan, who had clearly passed out due to the lack of Qi.

Since he would earn a lot thanks to Xiao Fan, he did not mind much. Thinking of the windfall he was going to get soon, Ning smiled creepily.

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"Heuheu."

Ignoring the sudden creepy laugh from Ning, Fatty Li said, "Thanks. Are you not coming with me?"

"Nope." Ning declined, popping the 'p'.

Fatty Li blinked.

"I meant no. I don't know much about the guy in the first place. I will just watch the remaining matches. Maybe I'll be challenged?" Ning explained.

Hearing that, Fatty Li didn't urge any longer, saying he would be back again, he quickly walked toward the arena.

At some point, Qi Tian seemed to have already been taken by one of the disciples for recovery. Only Xiao Fan was lying motionless in the arena before Fatty Li arrived.

Seeing the scene, Ning's thoughts raced.

As Doctor Oak once said, there was a time and place for everything, and now was definitely not the time to be chummy with the protagonist. It would just attract too much attention, especially from a certain elder who had a hate boner against the protagonist.

Maintaining an indirect relation before he obtained substantial strength or backing would be the most optimal. Fatty Li would probably become the bridge for communication later on; even the blood and qi replenishing pill he gave could be used later on.

...

The matches continued. Fights for the ranking happened left and right, but the crowd couldn't care much about it anymore. The spotlight was taken by Xiao Fan, and the other matches no longer seemed interesting. Everyone was busy discussing the fight between Xiao Fan and Qi Tian.

Unsurprisingly, Ning was not challenged. Not only he, but none of the top rankers were also challenged as if the main event of the competition was over, and it didn't matter if the competition took place anymore.

While people were busy chatting away, the tournament also came to an end.

An old man with a white beard walked onto the stage, his hands clasped behind his back. He emanated a formidable pressure that hushed the rowdy crowd. After waiting a few seconds to ensure silence, he began his speech.

"My name is Ze Xuan. You can call me Elder Ze Xuan. I am the inner sect elder here to welcome the new inner sect disciples and announce the prizes." Ning became interested after hearing that.

"I will call upon the winners, and when I call your name, come forward to claim your prizes." Elder Ze continued to call out the names of the winners.

For the lower-ranking disciples, the prize was just a few spirit stones. Yan Shuo, the sixth-ranking disciple, received 500 spirit stones.

"Now, for the top five disciples. Ji Ning." Elder Ze Xuan called out in a resounding voice.

Ning stepped forward to the arena and was awarded 600 spirit stones.

"You have performed well. The future can be expected." Elder Ze Xuan unexpectedly complimented Ning.

For the previous few, he just handed them the prizes and nothing more, so Ning was admittedly quite surprised.

Still, though surprised, Ning quickly cupped his fist and responded, "Elder is too polite. It's thanks to the teaching of the sect."

Elder Ze Xuan's lips twitched, remembering this kid's fighting style, which was 'unique' in the sect. He felt amused hearing Ning, but he quickly covered it up with a cough, "Continue to work hard."

Respectfully cupping his hands, Ning happily went to his seat with his reward. It might not have been a significant sum for him now, but it wasn't an insignificant amount either. Gratefully thanking the elder, Ning returned to his spot.

Everyone else received spirit stones except for Xiao Fan, the first-place holder.

Xiao Fan, being the winner, was rewarded with the opportunity to select a yellow-grade martial art from the Martial Arts Pavilion and 1000 spirit stones.

It was the same prize as the previous outer sect competitions. Only the first-place disciple was given a special prize, others were just given spirit stones.

It was because of this that Ning settled for the fifth place. There was not much benefit in being too conspicuous. As it is said, a big tree attracts the wind. He wanted to accumulate his strength slowly, inconspicuously until he became strong enough or found a good enough backing.

Taking his prize, back Ning had only one thought in mind.

"Space pouch. Need to buy it as soon as possible."

Since he did not have a space pouch, he had to carry a huge sack filled with stones. It was quite a comical sight, with anyone without a space pouch having to lug around sacks filled with their winnings.