Star Luo Plaza was bustling with the noise of the crowd.
Although just a moment ago, the entire audience was still feeling shocked and confused by the Sun Moon Team's bizarre formation, and many knowledgeable Spirit Masters were even privately mocking Liu Yuan's recklessness...
But as the contestants from both sides officially took their positions on the stage, that clamor eerily and gradually subsided.
Everyone's gaze was firmly locked onto the tall and slender figure in the center of the stage.
Curiosity.
This was the strongest emotion permeating the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people at this moment.
Because everyone suddenly realized a very strange thing—
Until now, they didn't seem to know what kind of abilities this Liu Yuan, the captain of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy Team, actually possessed.
Looking back, since the opening of the tournament, hundreds of battles, large and small, had taken place.
Basically, the students of all teams had demonstrated their strength in previous matches.
But Liu Yuan was the sole exception.
In everyone's impression, he seemed to have always been an "invisible man."
Even in the occasional team battles where he appeared, he felt more like a commander standing in the back giving orders, or a slacker who just fired a couple of insignificant Soul Guidance Rays to get by.
No one had seen him truly take action.
No one even knew what his Spirit was, or what the effects of his Spirit Abilitys were.
He just stood there mysteriously, like a riddle wrapped in mist.
"Hey, do you think this Liu Yuan is actually any good?"
In the spectator stands, a Spirit Master couldn't help but nudge his companion and ask in a low voice:
"This is Crimson Flame Academy we're talking about, and their vanguard is at least a Rank 45 Soul Ancestor. If Liu Yuan doesn't have real skill and crashes in the first round, it'll be a huge joke."
"Who knows."
The companion shook his head, his eyes fixed on the stage:
"But to be the captain of the Sun Moon Team, he must have some skill, right? And look at how calm he is; it doesn't look like he's just putting on an act."
It wasn't just the ordinary spectators.
Even the other academy teams in the preparation area had their ears perked up and eyes wide open at this moment.
Intelligence is a crucial part of combat.
If they could figure out the background of this mysterious captain before meeting the Sun Moon Team in the finals, it would definitely be a huge advantage for them.
...
Shrek Academy rest area.
Elder Xuan's expression still carried a hint of contempt, but his originally cloudy old eyes were now slightly narrowed, revealing a sharp, shrewd light.
He took a sudden swig of wine, wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, and spoke to Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and the others who were intently watching the match:
"Xiaotao, Yue Heng, all of you watch closely."
"Since this kid is the first one up, he will surely expose all of his Spirit and Spirit Abilitys."
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."
"Although I think this kid is most likely just a pretty face with no substance, even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we have to see right through him."
"When it comes to the later matches, I want you to squash him like an ant and deal with him ruthlessly! Understand?"
"Yes! Elder Xuan!"
At this moment, Liu Yuan became the focus of the entire venue.
Countless eyes, filled with scrutiny, expectation, malice, and curiosity, surrounded him layer by layer.
...
On the stage.
The atmosphere had solidified to the extreme.
Standing opposite Liu Yuan was Crimson Flame Academy's red-haired vanguard.
At this moment, the Soul Ancestor named Huo Lie was looking at Liu Yuan with a sneer, his eyes showing unmasked disdain.
He cracked his neck with a series of loud pops, and the scorching spirit power fluctuations within him were already beginning to surge faintly.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, Sun Moon Team Captain."
Huo Lie grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, his tone extremely arrogant:
"Even though you're the captain, I advise you to be careful."
"My fire doesn't have eyes."
"If you kneel down and admit defeat now, I might go easy on you. Otherwise, if I burn that pretty little face of yours later, don't go crying to your mother! Hahaha!"
Facing Huo Lie's provocation, Liu Yuan gave no response.
He maintained his indifferent posture, not even lifting an eyelid.
He just stood there quietly, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, with no spirit power fluctuations leaking from his body, looking just like an ordinary person who didn't know martial arts at all.
This attitude of being ignored instead caused the anger in Huo Lie's heart to instantly flare up.
"Stop playing tricks!"
Huo Lie snorted coldly, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes.
"Since you want to seek death, I'll fulfill your wish!"
At the same time.
In mid-air, the middle-aged man acting as the referee confirmed the status of both contestants one last time.
He raised his right hand high, took a deep breath, and used spirit power to project his voice across the venue:
"Both sides, get ready!"
"Match..."
In this instant, the entire venue went silent.
Everyone's heart seemed to leap into their throats.
The muscles on Huo Lie's body tensed instantly, spirit power circulated frantically within him, and a red light was already flickering beneath his feet. He was clearly prepared to release his Spirit the moment the referee's words fell to give Liu Yuan a show of force.
"...Begin!"
As the referee's arm swung down sharply, the last word exploded like a thunderclap.
However.
In that split second.
Just as everyone's thoughts were still stuck on the idea that "the match has started, both sides are about to release their Spirits."
A sudden change occurred!
Boom—
The previously motionless Liu Yuan suddenly erupted with a terrifying Aura that even caused the space around him to distort.
But this Aura came quickly and left just as fast.
It was so fast that the vast majority of the audience present couldn't even see clearly what had happened.
Only an extremely blurry afterimage flashed across the stage.
That was speed pushed to the absolute limit.
A speed that surpassed the capture limit of the human retina.
"First Spirit Skill..."
A cold and indifferent voice, like a soft whisper in the wind, yet clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Extreme Speed."
The next second.
Huo Lie, who was just about to roar and release his powerful Redfire Violent Ape Spirit, only felt his vision blur.
The incantation that was already at his lips hadn't even had time to utter its first syllable.
The spirit power that had boiled to its peak within him hadn't even had time to burst out and turn into flames.
An irresistible force struck his chest without any warning.
Bang!
A dull sound of impact rang out.
Immediately after.
Whoosh—
A red figure, like a kite with a broken string—no, ten times faster than a kite—flew backwards!
Huo Lie's burly body traced a perfect parabola in the air, and with a shrill cry of surprise, he smashed heavily onto the hard ground below the stage.
Thud!
Dust flew everywhere.
Huo Lie lay spread-eagled on the ground, his eyes wide open, his face full of dullness and confusion.
His Spirit hadn't possessed him yet.
His spirit rings hadn't lit up yet.
Even his brain was still transmitting the "attack" command to his body.
But he was already inexplicably lying outside the arena.
Silence.
A deathly silence.
In the entire Star Luo Plaza, the breathing of hundreds of thousands of people seemed to vanish at this moment.
Everyone maintained their posture from the previous second, mouths agape and eyes wide, as if they had been collectively petrified by this scene.
Even Emperor Xu Jiawei on the viewing platform, holding a teacup with his lips slightly parted, forgot to swallow the mouthful of tea in his mouth.
Shrek rest area.
The smile on Ma Xiaotao's face froze.
The half-eaten chicken leg Elder Xuan had just picked up fell to the ground with a "splat," getting covered in dust, but he was completely unaware.
On the stage.
Liu Yuan was still standing there.
Only his position had moved from the original starting point to the edge of the stage. He looked down at Huo Lie below the stage for a moment, then slowly turned around.
He brushed off non-existent dust from his sleeve, then looked up at the referee in mid-air, who was also completely stunned.
Those eyes, as calm as a deep well, held a hint of a faint question:
"Referee."
Liu Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but in this dead silence, it was exceptionally clear:
"Aren't you going to announce the result? I believe he is already out of bounds."
The referee suddenly snapped out of it.
He subconsciously rubbed his eyes and looked down below the stage.
That's right.
That red-haired fellow was indeed lying outside the boundary. Although he didn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries, according to the rules...
Falling off the stage is a loss.
"Gulp."
The referee swallowed hard.
Even though he was a high-level Spirit Master with vast experience and had presided over countless matches, a situation like this...
Where one side was sent flying before even a second had passed and before their Spirit could even be clearly seen, was a first for him too!
"This... this..."
The referee took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart, and then shouted loudly:
"F-First match!"
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, victory!"
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