Bo Qiang stood frozen.
The air around him seemed to tighten, pressing against his chest like an iron vice.
The smug smile that had previously lit up his face faltered, replaced by a flicker of unease.
Jun Wu's question was simple.
Almost too simple.
Yet, everyone present understood the weight behind it.
The implication was sharp, dangerous, and filled with consequences that Bo Qiang had not prepared for.
He suddenly realized that words spoken carelessly on this stage were no different from stepping into a battlefield without armor.
He swallowed hard.
His false bravado, which had carried him until now, threatened to collapse under the crushing silence that followed Jun Wu's words.
One wrong response, one misplaced answer, and no one… not the Gong clan, not the Frostwind Academy, not even the heavens themselves… would be able to shield him.
Around him, tens of thousands of eyes burned into his back.
