In the audience stands, the demon clan area erupted in huge cheers. The freak area remained indifferent. Meanwhile, the human area was demoralized.
The battle with Leo had a significant impact. Everyone acknowledged her as the number one of the new generation. Now that she had lost to Three-Eyes, it indirectly dampened the morale of the human side.
This made everyone feel that humans probably had no chance at claiming the champion's throne in this Martial Spirit Realm. Because even the strongest had lost.
With Three-Eyes around, who else could win?
Even though Leo's loss hurt human morale, no one blamed her. Everyone could see that Three-Eyes was absurdly strong, possessing bizarre and unpredictable abilities, including immunity to fire-based attacks.
Leo was completely countered. Continuing to fight would have been reckless, bordering on suicide. It was better to admit defeat and preserve her life.
Concern and Determination
"Haitang! How are you?"
Ben looked at Leo's bloody shoulder, his face livid. His anger was boiling over.
If he encountered Three-Eyes in the arena later, he would go all out, aiming to instantly defeat him without giving the opponent any chance to admit defeat.
"I'm fine."
Seeing Ben's concerned expression, Leo smiled faintly. "It's just a superficial wound. It doesn't matter. It will recover after leaving the Spirit Realm."
This was the Amnesia Spirit Realm. As long as one could leave alive, even the most severe injuries would be restored to their original state.
Although Ben knew this, he was still furious. If Leo hadn't reacted quickly and dodged in time, he could have lost this proud little wife of his!
"It's good that you're okay. Sit down and rest for a while. I'll help you treat the wound when we enter the rest area," Ben said.
Leo nodded. "Okay. I'll leave it to you next."
"Leave it to me, and rest assured."
Hearing Ben's confident words, Leo smiled. After their exchange, the others stepped forward to express their concern.
Ben's Victory and Strategy
A moment later, it was Ben's turn to compete.
His opponent was the crocodile freak, the one who had previously eliminated Hales.
Although Ben was furious and eager to vent, he didn't display too much strength after stepping into the arena. He merely waited for the right moment, grabbed the crocodile freak's tail, used brute force to hurl him out of the ring, and secured victory.
This move was calculated.
Ben deliberately gave off the impression of relying solely on brute strength to mislead the other contestants—especially Three-Eyes.
Upon returning victorious, Ben was met with admiration and worshipful gazes from his peers.
Only Hales observed him thoughtfully.
Having fought against the crocodile freak, Hales knew how formidable the opponent's strength was.
For Ben to have easily overpowered him—how high was Ben's strength attribute?
End of the Elimination Rounds
Two hours later, the tenth round of the elimination phase—also the final round—came to a close.
A total of 4,779 contestants successfully advanced.
Among Leo's team, only Ben remained. Even the strongest, Leo, had been eliminated.
Other teams fared no better, with many suffering heavy losses.
With the elimination phase concluded, it was time for the official finals.
Before the finals, the Spirit Realm granted a ten-hour rest period, allowing everyone time to recover and prepare for the decisive battles ahead.
When the teleportation channel appeared, the contestants entered one after another.
Fatigue weighed heavily on them; they had been fighting without rest for too long.
After arriving at the rest area, Ben instructed his teammates to grab some food, while he took Leo to the medical area.
Tending to Leo's Wounds
In the rest area, there were basic medical supplies to treat wounds temporarily.
"Leo, take off your coat. I need to clean your wound before bandaging it," Ben said.
Leo's cheeks flushed slightly but, without hesitation, she removed her coat, leaving only her underwear.
Ben inhaled sharply.
Under her usual cold and composed demeanor, her figure was surprisingly mesmerizing. Snow-white skin, a toned abdomen, and a slender waist devoid of excess fat—she was undeniably charming.
…
It took a full hour.
By the time Ben had finished tending to her wound, one might have assumed she was gravely injured—it took that long.
Afterward, the two met up with Joe Root and the others at the restaurant.
Once they had eaten their fill, everyone returned to the rest area and began discussing their next course of action.
A Bold Proposal
Looking at the demoralized expressions around him, Ben snorted.
"What? Are you all planning to give up? Do you not want to win the championship anymore?"
Everyone was taken aback.
Duminy asked curiously, "Ben, you're the only one left in the finals from our team. How can we possibly win? Is there another way?"
"Of course!" Ben replied confidently.
Everyone was surprised.
Joe Root pondered for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Ben, you're not thinking of becoming the ring master, are you?"
"What? Can't I?" Ben smirked.
Duminy and the others exchanged glances. Even someone with average intelligence knew the immense risk of becoming the ring master.
It meant accepting challenges from all contestants.
To them, this was essentially a death wish.
"Ben, calm down!" Shen Nana urged. "Being the ring master is too dangerous. Even if you're strong, there's no way you can withstand that many battles."
"Yeah! You'd have to face every single challenger. It's impossible to endure that!"
"Ben, don't be reckless. Losing isn't the end. At worst, we try again in the fourth level of the Spirit Realm. With your strength and Leo's, it won't be difficult to achieve another SSS-level mission rating."
Everyone tried to dissuade him.
To them, the idea was pure madness.
A Surprising Supporter
Seeing their reactions, Ben's expression darkened.
"Do you not trust me? Or are you afraid that if I lose, we'll lose all of our team's accumulated points?"
Joe Root quickly responded, "It's not about the points. Those were earned by you and Leo. If they get cleared, so be it. We're just worried about you not making it back…"
Suddenly, Hales spoke up.
"Ben, I support you!"
Everyone turned to him in shock.
"Oh? Hales, you support me?" Ben chuckled.
"Yes."
Hales ignored Ben's teasing tone and explained, "Before coming to the third level of the Spirit Realm, I did a test. Based on my current abilities, I know exactly how much force I can withstand after activating my hardening ability."
He continued, "Earlier, I was injured by the crocodile freak's tail. Based on my calculations, that creature's strength attribute must be at least 800 points."
"But you, Ben, grabbed its tail and threw it out of the ring like it was nothing."
Hales locked eyes with Ben and asked, "Ben, your strength attribute has surpassed 1,000, hasn't it?"
Ben laughed. "Not bad, Hales!"
Then he nodded.
"That's right."
Everyone was stunned.
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