And then—
The entire arena trembled not from Reon's pressure… but from the uproar that followed.
The crowd erupted—stunned, confused, and utterly shaken.
"W-What the hell just happened?!"
"D-Did anyone else see that? Or did I just hallucinate?!"
"I saw it too—crystal clear! But… was it even real?!"
"If it was an illusion, it was flawless... I couldn't tell at all!"
"I-It had to be an illusion. There's no way Xue Taiyang defeated a Minor Elder like that—without even drawing his sword!?"
"Y-Yeah! He didn't even use a single combat technique!"
"He took him down in just three steps!"
"The Minor Elder… got knocked out from just that?!"
"He must've used that high-grade artifact of his... he definitely pulled some trick!"
"Exactly! Otherwise, how could he beat a Minor Elder even faster than Goddess Yi Ran?"
"That's right! If he really used a proper technique, we would've seen it. But there was nothing—no flash, no move, no attack!"
Then came the wave of bitter voices—