Chapter 1701: Unwanted Attention All eyes were on Grey, while Grey had the same expression on his face from when he first arrived, he didn't say a word and looked at Ezekiel calmly before politely declining the request. "No." Grey's reply was short, yet it shocked everyone in the arena. They didn't expect someone from the outside world to reject the request to spar by Xaden. Xanden, who was standing on the platform, was taken aback when he heard this. A mocking smile appeared on his face as he tried to edge Grey into agreeing to spar with him. "As expected from people of the outside world, gutless." Xaden laughed as he looked in the direction of Grey and the rest of the youths from the Pyrmond Faction. Keith and the others felt their blood boil when they heard Xaden's words, and they turned to look at Grey, hoping that he would go and beat the crap out of Xaden. To their surprise, Grey had the same expression as before, it was as if he didn't hear Xaden's words. The entire arena became awkwardly silent as everyone waited for what Grey would do. Since Xaden moved to provocation, they expected Grey to react to this. Like Xaden, they too look down on those from the outside world, but they were also very curious about this genius who seems to have gone against the norms in terms of his cultivation. The fact that Grey was able to get to this cultivation stage at such an age told these people that he was most definitely a top genius. "What?" Xanden asked to confirm if what he heard was right. "I'm not interested in sparring with you." Grey replied, this time, making sure to elaborate so he won't be questioned again. Xanden and the other youths from the Pyro Faction were shocked at Grey's words. The fact that he could confidently utter these words astounded them. According to what they knew, anyone from the outside world would want to try to show that they were not to be trifled with, this could be seen from the previous battles. Of course those from the Pyro Faction had a higher chance of winning, but it didn't mean that the people who were challenged didn't show what they were made of in these fights. The awkward silence lasted for only a few more seconds before the arena erupted with noise from multiple people speaking simultaneously. They were all speaking Grey, and speculating the reasons as to why he would refuse to spar with Xanden. Grey sensed the reaction from the crowd, and seeing that Xanden was still standing there, he couldn't help but wonder if this guy had hearing problems. Xanden stood still, unsure of what to do next. His aim for coming here was to challenge Grey and beat him up to show the superiority of the Pyro Faction. Grey, however, is proving to be elusive. Even using provocation didn't work, and he can't overdo it, so as not to offend the Half God experts from the Pyrmond Faction. They might not think much of the Pyrmond Facticon as a whole, but the presence of these Half God experts couldn't be neglected. Xanden stood on the platform for a few more seconds, and then without uttering another word, he jumped off the stage. He couldn't fight anyone else from the Pyrmond Faction, unless he challenges one of the Elders in the Sixth stage. He was confident that he could take on a Seventh stage Sovereign from the Pyrmond Faction too. Grey's eyes followed his figure as he left the platform. To Grey, this was just another place for him to relax. He didn't have the thoughts of even fighting. The only thing that has piqued his interest was the potential reward he could get if he gets into the top ten in this competition. Getting a top ten spot is easier said than done. This isn't the Aurora Continent where finding people his age who are above the Early stages of the Sovereign Plane is almost impossible. Here, he has seen each few he's even older than a stage higher than his current cultivation stage. He believed in his strength and was certain that he would be able to defeat this person. Since he entered the Sovereign Plane, this was the place he has seen people who were younger than he was, but have a higher cultivation stage than he does. Grey's eyes didn't linger on Xanden's body as the next candidate stepped on stage to challenge someone. Once again those from the Pyrmond Faction were challenged, and unlike what happened with Grey, everyone else who was challenged fought. They were also eager to see how they would fare against these geniuses, so they wanted this battle. Conversations about Grey started to spread, and it wasn't one that put Grey in a positive light. Refusing to fight with Xanden was like an act of looking down on not just his opponent, but the entire Pyro Faction... at least this was how these youths from the Pyro Faction saw it, so they wanted to teach Grey a lesson. Grey could notice the gazes fixated on him, he could sense the strong battle intent behind each gaze, but he just didn't care about what they thought. The sparring session was over and it was time for the main competition to start. Like most competitions in Factions like these, the competition was divided by cultivation stages, and only those from the Late stages of the Venerable Plane to the Late stages of the Sovereign Plane could compete. As for those with lower cultivation stages, they also have their competition. Those in the Venerable Plane started their battle, and most of the youths from the Pyrmond Faction who qualified for the competition decided to test their strengths. Even some of those who had been defeated before still didn't back down. The fights were short, and generally ends within two minutes, unless the gap in strength is minimal.