As Li Chonglou felt a bit of difficulty, the staff on the stage called out another familiar name.
Ou Qi, the number 2 Ou Qi from the same team when he first entered, Li Chonglou did not expect him to persist until now.
"Could it be that everyone else also stayed?"
This thought flashed through his mind, and Li Chonglou immediately cast his gaze on the surrounding crowd for the first time, but he did not find the figures of the other three. Instead, he finally discovered Bo Qiang's presence.
"Bald guy?"
What Li Chonglou didn't expect even more was that the opponent's position was exactly within the Ghost Team, and he seemed to be deliberately avoiding his sight.
This guy…
If it were someone else, Li Chonglou might still have some doubts, but for Bo Qiang, he clearly understood why the other party would react this way. After all, this was the first outsider he had shown his true aura to since entering Iron Forest.
People of different realms had an overwhelming suppression just by their aura. Although Li Chonglou could see that Bo Qiang had also successfully broken through this time, psychological trauma, once planted, was difficult to remove.
"Wait, could it be..."
As he was thinking, Li Chonglou's expression suddenly stiffened, and then he quickly stared at Bo Qiang and the captain of the Ghost Team. As expected, after a while, he saw the Ghost Team captain, who was hostile towards him, actively communicating with him.
Moreover, judging by their appearance, their relationship was not shallow.
Damn it, I get it. So the hostility towards me comes from here.
Li Chonglou suddenly understood, and couldn't help but feel a little helpless. This time he really got caught in the crossfire.
At this time, the result of Ou Qi and his opponent was also out. The two had similar strengths, but in the end, Ou Qi made a mistake and the opponent seized the opportunity, losing the match.
However, Li Chonglou did not see much disappointment on his face, as if he was already satisfied with being able to hold on until here.
As time ticked by, the number of people around the stage quickly halved again.
There were only more than twenty people left at the scene, which meant that about ten more matches would determine the top ten.
To Li Chonglou's surprise, at this moment, the staff suddenly announced the current points ranking.
Not only him, but everyone else present was also dumbfounded. According to the rules, it was not the time to announce the points ranking, and everyone was clueless about what was happening.
This was until another staff member suddenly stood on the stage.
"To save time, the rules for the upcoming matches are now changed as follows: the top ten players in terms of current points will be the defending champions. The defending champions only need to win three matches, or the match ends, to directly enter the third round."
"And the others will be challengers. Challengers will only have one chance to challenge. You can choose any of the top ten defending champions as your opponent. If a challenger becomes a defending champion, their challenge opportunity will be refreshed."
This sudden change caught everyone off guard. It was only after the staff member stepped off the stage that people's expressions changed slightly.
Doesn't this mean that the top ten are basically a foregone conclusion? No, it should mean that the final list can be released now?
Everyone looked at each other. Originally, their rankings could still compete for a higher position besides the top ten, but with this change, the points were basically fixed.
At this time, another staff member, holding a list, walked onto the stage.
"I will now announce the current ten defending champions."
Undoubtedly, almost all of them were from the Ghost Team. However, what no one expected was that the tenth defending champion announced by the staff member was Li Chonglou!
He himself was stunned for a moment, until Yi Long's exclamation came from the side, and he finally reacted.
"Damn it, there must be something fishy here!"
Unlike Yi Long, Lei Feng, and other members of the Dark Department whose faces were excited, Li Chonglou's brows were tightly furrowed at this moment, and he finally realized that something was wrong.
According to the normal process or points, he should not have ranked in the top ten at all, as his number of combat matches was still relatively small, and many people had already started the tie-breaker matches.
In this regard alone, this points ranking was also very suspicious. Firstly, the officials had not announced how it was ranked. Secondly, currently, the stronger the person, the fewer matches they fought. It was impossible for the top ten to be basically members of the Ghost Team.
If he were not among the top ten, then everyone, including Li Chonglou himself, could understand this ranking. However, when he was ranked tenth, everything changed.
And this was only one of the points Li Chonglou thought was suspicious.
Thinking back, the opponents he faced in his subsequent matches were all those with whom he had conflicts. Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?
Thinking of this, Li Chonglou's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he suddenly remembered a name and a figure.
Geni Shau, the overall head of Iron Forest.
According to Xi Wen, all the major affairs of Iron Forest were decided by him. And according to the rules, every participant had to wear a kilogram bomb, but because of the key he gave, Li Chonglou was not violating the rules even if he didn't wear it.
To put it simply, the entire Iron Forest competition was decided by him.
Then...
Were his opponents and his points ranking also from him?
Once this thought emerged, Li Chonglou felt more and more that this was the truth. After all, a person's luck could not be so coincidental. And if one considered Geni Shau as the hidden hand behind it, all problems would be instantly solved.
While Li Chonglou was still pondering this question, the surroundings had already erupted.
He was reminded by Yi Long's exclamation, and so were others. When Yi Long instinctively shouted, the people around only then realized that this person ranked tenth was the newcomer from the Dark Department.
"Damn it, is this really a newcomer? How did he get into the top ten? He even pushed out the Ghost Team members!"
"This guy really hid his strength. I noticed it when I observed his battles before, but I didn't have time to say it."
"Stop talking nonsense after the event!"
The crowd booed, and then more were dissatisfied.
Yes, seeing a newcomer ranking tenth, few people present were convinced. For a time, almost all eyes were cast on him.
Li Chonglou's brow furrowed. It seemed he couldn't escape now.
As expected, the next second, someone directly and loudly asked the staff on the stage.