At this moment,
as the referee's announcement of "Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy wins" faded, the entire Star Luo Plaza instantly erupted in a massive uproar.
Countless spectators jumped from their seats, looking at one another, the confusion in their eyes so thick it was almost tangible.
"Wait... it's over already? Can someone explain to me what exactly just happened?"
"I... I just looked down to peel an orange. How did that red-haired guy fly out? Was he blown away by the wind?"
"What kind of wind can blow a four-ring Soul Ancestor dozens of meters away? Is the wind at your house that strong?"
"But I didn't even see Liu Yuan move! I just saw him standing there, then 'whoosh', the guy was gone, and 'whoosh', he was back again."
The spectator stands were in utter chaos.
For the vast majority of commoners and even low-level Spirit Masters, the scene just now was far beyond their understanding.
Human eyes have a capture limit.
When speed reaches a certain point, it causes phenomena like "visual persistence" or even "visual loss."
In their eyes, the match was like a movie with a frame cut out; one second the two were facing off, and the next, the match was already over.
This kind of "unfathomable" match brought not boredom, but a deep sense of the unknown and fear.
...
It wasn't just the audience.
In the preparation area, the participants from various high-level Spirit Master academies were also gaping, looking as if they had seen a ghost.
"Captain... did you see Liu Yuan's movements clearly just now?"
In one academy's rest area, a member asked their Spirit King captain with a trembling voice.
The captain swallowed hard, cold sweat dripping from his forehead as he shook his head stiffly.
"No... I didn't."
"Too fast, it's simply unreasonably fast. If I had been the one on that stage just now..."
The captain didn't continue, but the deep despair in his eyes already said everything.
If you can't even see your opponent, how can you fight?
...
Shrek Academy rest area.
The atmosphere here was also extremely strange.
Originally, Ma Xiaotao and the others had intended to "thoroughly understand Liu Yuan's background through the first match" while watching.
But now that the match was over, they had even more questions in their minds.
"Elder Xuan."
Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath and turned to look at the scruffy old man sitting beside her.
In her view, with Elder Xuan's terrifying cultivation as a Level 98 Super Douluo, no matter how fast Liu Yuan was, he couldn't have escaped Elder Xuan's Dharma Eye.
"In that instant, what Spirit Ability did Liu Yuan use? Was it pure speed enhancement, or some special teleportation-type skill?"
Ma Xiaotao's question was also what Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and all the other Shrek members wanted to ask.
Everyone's gaze converged on Elder Xuan, waiting for the authoritative answer from this top expert.
However,
hearing Ma Xiaotao's inquiry, Elder Xuan's already stiff face instantly became even more embarrassed.
He was still holding a chicken leg with a wine gourd in his other hand, his old face flushed red.
What should he say?
Should he tell these juniors that at that exact moment, he happened to tilt his head back for a big gulp of wine?
And because the wine was so strong, he even let out a long burp?
In that short second of looking down, tilting back, and burping, the match... freaking ended?!
Even for a Super Douluo, attention can waver during physiological reflexes like drinking and burping!
"Cough, cough..."
Elder Xuan coughed violently to hide his embarrassment and frustration.
"Well..."
"That strike just now did indeed have some tricks to it."
"However, since none of you saw it clearly, it means your cultivation is insufficient! Your observation skills are too poor!"
"If I were to tell you directly now, it would be harming you! You must learn to observe and analyze for yourselves!"
Saying this, Elder Xuan seemed to feel guilty and waved his hand, feigning impatience.
"Alright, alright, stop looking at me and keep watching the match! Watch the next one carefully and don't zone out again!"
Seeing Elder Xuan like this, Ma Xiaotao and the others were confused but didn't dare to ask more, turning back to stare fixedly at the ring.
They didn't know that at this moment, Elder Xuan was cursing internally.
"That damn brat! He didn't even give a warning before moving! He made me lose face! Next time... next time I'll keep my eyes wide like copper bells; let's see how fast you can be then!"
...
In stark contrast to the shock, confusion, and chaos of the crowd,
the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's rest area was calm, one could even say... accustomed to it.
Looking at the audience with their dropped jaws, Xiao Hongchen curled his lip disdainfully, leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, and snorted.
"A bunch of country bumpkins who've seen nothing."
"This is just the beginning."
"Brother Liu Yuan has many more tricks up his sleeve."
Meng Hongchen chuckled beside him, covering her mouth.
"Yeah, Brother Liu Yuan hasn't even exerted himself yet."
"But looking at it this way, maybe Brother Liu Yuan really can pull off a One-vs-Seven Sweep."
"I wonder what their expressions will be then..."
...
On the city walls of the Star Luo Imperial City,
the Emperor of Star Luo, Xu Jiawei, had already recovered from his initial shock.
As a monarch, his composure was naturally beyond that of ordinary people.
Although he was also shocked, he immediately thought of a way to handle it.
"Prime Minister."
Xu Jiawei called out in a deep voice.
"I am here," the Prime Minister hurried forward.
"Relay my decree."
Xu Jiawei pointed at the massive soul tool screen in the center of the arena, a high-tech product the Star Luo Empire had specifically invested heavily in for this tournament, capable of video playback.
"Have the referee immediately play a slow-motion replay of that battle."
"I want to see clearly what that kid did!"
"Also, let the entire audience see clearly, lest someone says there was cheating in the tournament hosted by my Star Luo Empire."
"As you command!"
The Prime Minister left to carry out the order.
...
A moment later,
the referee's voice rang out again, interrupting the audience's discussions.
"Silence!"
"By His Majesty's decree, to help everyone understand the battle process more clearly, a slow-motion replay of the first match will now be shown!"
"Please look at the big screen!"
As soon as he spoke, the gazes of hundreds of thousands of people instantly shifted to the massive soul tool screen.
The noisy plaza fell silent once more.
The big screen flickered and froze on the moment the referee waved his hand and shouted "Start."
Then,
the footage began to play.
But this was not normal speed; it was a super slow-motion replay, slowed down by exactly sixteen times!
Under such a slow lens, everyone finally saw it.
In the footage,
the referee's arm slowly fell.
Huo Lie from Crimson Flame Academy had a ferocious smile on his face, his mouth slightly open as if he were chanting the first syllable of a spirit incantation. Beneath his feet, a pale red halo had just begun to emerge, a sign of spirit power about to erupt.
However,
at that same moment,
Liu Yuan, standing opposite him, moved.
On the screen, the granite ground beneath Liu Yuan's feet instantly cracked into fine spiderweb-like fissures.
That was the result of terrifying explosive force acting on the ground.
Then, Liu Yuan vanished from the spot, leaving behind a long, ghost-like white afterimage.
At this point, Huo Lie's expression was still frozen in that ferocious grin, his eyes looking at where Liu Yuan had originally stood, completely unaware of the imminent danger.
Then,
Liu Yuan simply raised his right shoulder and, in the most brutal manner, slammed hard into Huo Lie's chest!
"Boom—"
Even without sound, everyone's mind automatically filled in the heavy thud of the impact.
At that moment, Huo Lie instantly lost his balance and flew backward.
And Liu Yuan?
The moment he knocked his opponent away, he used the reaction force to elegantly perform a backflip in the air, landing steadily at the edge of the ring.
Then, he lightly brushed his sleeves.
The screen froze.
The playback ended.
...
At this moment,
the entire venue was silent.
If they were confused before because they "couldn't see,"
now, after "seeing clearly," everyone felt a shudder from the depths of their Souls.
No fancy techniques.
No strange spatial abilities.
Pure speed.
That was everything Liu Yuan had just displayed.
"Who could react to this?"
After a long time, someone in the crowd shouted with a trembling voice.
This voice seemed to break a certain Seal.
Exclamations and gasps rose one after another.
"Too fast... even at sixteen times slower it feels fast; seeing it live was basically teleportation!"
"And look at the floor under his feet. How terrifying must that explosive force be?"
"So he didn't skip using a Spirit Ability; he used his Spirit Ability to ram straight through! Is that 'Extreme Speed'?"
"No wonder... no wonder he dared to go first! No wonder he didn't even use a spirit tool!"
"This is the crushing weight of absolute strength!"
When people looked at the youth standing with his hands behind his back again, their contempt had long since vanished.
In its place was deep awe and an unspeakable fear.
At Shrek Academy,
Ma Xiaotao's expression became more solemn than ever.
"This kind of speed..."
She murmured softly to herself.
"Even if I activate my Phoenix flame enhancement, I'm afraid it would be hard to keep up with his rhythm."
"And the most troublesome part is, this is just his First Spirit Skill..."
Elder Xuan stopped pretending now; he stared fixedly at the frozen image on the screen, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"Good kid, this speed is practically comparable to a Titled Douluo."
"It seems we misjudged him before."
"This kid is a real tough nut to crack!"
...
While the whole venue was shocked by Liu Yuan's strength,
some sharp-witted people suddenly realized an even more startling issue.
In the stands, an elderly Spirit Master's eyes widened as he pointed at Liu Yuan on the stage, his voice trembling.
"Wait..."
"Since he has such terrifying speed..."
"Since he can defeat an opponent in less than a second while barely consuming any spirit power..."
"Then if he's the first one up..."
The surrounding audience also realized, their faces changing drastically one by one.
"Hiss—"
"Holy crap! No way?"
"Is his plan... to take down the entire Crimson Flame Academy team by himself?!"
"A One-vs-Seven Sweep?!!"
------------------------
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